Chapter 7: She Was Truly Afraid!

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Bai Ruyu narrowed her eyes. Was Bai Dalang trying to manipulate her father again? Her gaze landed on the person kneeling on the ground, frozen in place. Just as she thought her father would soften his heart, she heard him sneer coldly.

“Hmph, why did you bring me back? Why did you raise me until I was three? You all must know the answer well enough.”

Wasn’t it simply because his parents and those who went with them had all perished, leaving no one aware of his origins? Seeing that he was a boy, they raised him as free labor, someone who could work and earn money, allowing their family to live in comfort!

Had he been a girl or refused to work, he probably wouldn’t have survived to this day.

Fortunately, from a young age, he sensed he was unloved and tried to work harder, earn more, and seek their approval.

“Please, Village Chief, make a decision!”

Determination shone in Bai Xiuming’s eyes. What he didn’t understand before, he now saw clearly. He no longer harbored any illusions.

All he wanted now was to reclaim what was rightfully his and raise his children well.

“Child, get up quickly. It’s also my fault these years for being blind, letting them deceive us.”

Village Chief Bai helped Bai Xiuming to his feet, his gaze sharp as a blade fixed on the elderly Bai family couple.

“We will go to the ancestral hall now, sever ties and amend the family register. Tomorrow, I will go to the government office to help you establish your own household. This brick and tile house was left by your parents and should be returned to you, but...”

Village Chief Bai hesitated, troubled. What was evident on the surface he could handle, but what lay beneath was unknown even to him.

“Village Chief, don’t be too unreasonable! After all, we have raised this beast for so many years; the house should belong to us. These words were spoken by my sister herself.”

Seeing the situation was irreversible, the two people on the ground no longer pretended, scrambling up angrily.

“Even if we treated him poorly, so what? At least we gave him food.”

Old Bai’s heart was full of regret. If he had known, he should never have been greedy and should have ended this beast’s life long ago.

“Oh? Nana said so herself? Should we have them come tonight for a chat?”

Bai Ruyu had no particular attachment to the brick and tile house. Having been an orphan, she had lived everywhere and cared little for such things.

But since her father had finally made a stand, she had to uphold the facade.

“Who are you trying to scare? If they wanted to come up, they would have done so long ago. It wouldn’t have come to this day.”

Zhang Shi was utterly fearless. At first, she might have been afraid, but nothing had happened and she thought those vengeful spirits were mere superstition.

“Maybe before, they couldn’t come because of insufficient merit; the spirits cannot interfere in human affairs.”

Bai Ruyu looked seriously at the scowling old Bai family with a smile in her eyes.

“But now that the merit is enough, they might intervene a bit, taking away one or two evildoers to rid the people of harm. I believe the King of Hell would turn a blind eye, wouldn’t he?”

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Seeing their silence, she turned to the others, spreading her hands with a smile. “Otherwise, why would the King of Hell not take me but send me back, and why would my grandfather and grandmother heal me?”

The crowd watching the scene shivered under her gaze and hurriedly nodded in agreement.

“Yes, yes, the silly... Ruyu girl is right.”

“By that logic, the King of Hell must already know the crimes of the old Bai family.”

“Heavens! Could they be taking it out on us? After all, we benefited from the Qinfeng couple in the past, yet their child was tormented right under our noses...”

Fear and unease began to show on their faces. Their looks towards the Bai family were as if they were staring at a plague god.

“You—how can you believe in these ghostly stories? Don’t forget, my son Anger is about to become a scholar-official!”

Zhang Shi shouted angrily at the chattering crowd.

“A scholar-official?”

Under her astonished gaze, Bai Ruyu stepped closer, whispering into her ear. Zhang Shi’s face instantly turned pale; her lips trembled in panic.

“How... how do you know?”

How could this be? Even her foolish sister didn’t know! She was holding her hand before she died, calling her a good sister!

“If you want no one to know, then don’t do it! You better return everything you swallowed, or whether your son can become a scholar-official...”

Bai Ruyu paused, snorted coldly, “Hmph! That’s another matter!”

Seeing Zhang Shi’s growing panic and pleading expression, she didn’t look at her any longer and turned back to Jiang’s side.

She had done all she could.

The rest would be handled by the professionals.

A quarter of an hour later, the Bai family elders sat in armchairs on either side of the ancestral hall. Village Chief Bai stood in the middle, inserting incense into the burner and chanting.

On the ground kneeled the old Bai family and Bai Xiuming’s family.

After a moment, Village Chief Bai faced the crowd, bowed to the elders, and recounted the entire story.

The elders, previously confused, were now shocked.

“What? You say Xiuming is Qinfeng’s child?”

An elderly elder with white hair stood trembling, tears in his eyes, voice filled with emotion.

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Village Chief Bai bowed to him respectfully. “Elder, everything I say is true.”

Bai Qinfeng belonged to the elder’s branch, and he had watched him grow up, forming a deep bond.

“Child...”

The elder, leaning on his cane, hurried to Bai Xiuming’s side, dropping his cane to embrace him.

His somewhat dim eyes gradually reddened, tears falling on Bai Xiuming’s shoulder.

“You have suffered, child. It was our blindness that let you suffer!”

Bai Xiuming gently patted his back to comfort him. “Elder, it’s not your fault. Now that the truth is out, I just want to reclaim what my parents left and restore my place in the family register.”

The elder nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes, everything belonging to Qinfeng should be yours. You must be listed in the genealogy. Qinfeng will be considered to have descendants…”

Standing, he faced everyone, wiping away tears, his expression grave.

“Qinfeng’s public fields and property shall all be returned to Xiuming. As for the hidden ones, you two calculate whether you lost money or are simply restoring what belongs to others.”

Once the elder spoke, no one dared to argue, even those who had been on decent terms with the old Bai family closed their eyes, unwilling to meet their gaze.

The couple had destroyed their own line and mistreated their sister’s children.

If they spoke up to help today, tomorrow they would be scorned and cursed by the village!

Zhang Shi remained dazed, her mind filled with Bai Ruyu’s words.

At this moment, she was truly afraid!

Half an hour later, Bai Ruyu followed behind her family, feeling refreshed as they exited the ancestral hall.

Except for the old Bai family, who were outcasts, the rest were not too bad.

“There’s still half a day. I hope you move out of the house before dark, or don’t blame me.”

Bai Xiuming looked at the somewhat dejected old Bai family as if they were strangers.

“Er Lang! How can you be so heartless? We lived together for over thirty years. Even if we had faults, don’t you have any feelings?”

Liu Shi, upon learning she had to move out of the brick and tile house and that her mother-in-law had agreed to compensate Bai Xiuming with a hundred taels of silver and return some household items, was filled with resentment.

She lunged at Bai Xiuming, wildly striking him.