Chapter 12: A Word Becomes a Proverb—The Departed Soul Expresses Gratitude

Sometimes, words should not be spoken recklessly. No sooner had Li Chengfeng spoken than Ye Wushuang, her face flushed with fury, pointed at him and began cursing vehemently. But after only a few harsh words, her vision suddenly blurred, and she clutched her eyes in terror, panic-stricken.

“My… my eyes,” she stammered.

“I can’t see,” she cried out desperately.

“Mengyao, Mengyao, where are you? I can’t see,” Ye Wushuang’s panic deepened as she flailed her hands about blindly.

Ye Mengyao hurried forward, gently grasping Ye Wushuang’s trembling hands.

“Aunt, I’m here,” she said softly.

She could hardly believe it. Just moments ago, Aunt’s eyes had been perfectly fine—how could she suddenly have gone blind? She waved her hand before Ye Wushuang’s eyes, but there was no response.

Ye Wushuang gripped Ye Mengyao’s wrists tightly and pleaded in a frantic voice, “Mengyao, Mengyao, I can’t see. Take me to Master Hu at once. I don’t want to become blind!”

It was true—her aunt had really gone blind. Ye Mengyao could not accept it. In her eyes, all of this was Li Chengfeng’s doing; he had cursed her aunt. The moment he finished cursing, her aunt lost her sight. This man was truly terrifying.

With a look of horror and anger, Ye Mengyao glared at Li Chengfeng. He was utterly despicable. First, he cursed her father, and now her aunt.

“Li Chengfeng, you are truly cruel. The Ye family has no grudge against you.”

“You cursed my father first, and now you curse my aunt.”

“Li Chengfeng, if you do not lift the curses on my father and aunt, I, Ye Mengyao, will never let this go. It will be a fight to the death.”

Supporting her aunt, Ye Mengyao turned to leave, determined to find Hu Yansong. At that moment, Ye Wushuang also turned around and threw a chilling threat over her shoulder.

“Li, just you wait. The Ye family isn’t finished with you.”

Li Chengfeng watched the two graceful figures depart, his expression complicated. How could it be such a coincidence? No sooner had he spoken than Ye Wushuang truly went blind. Now, explaining this matter was utterly impossible.

He raised his hand and slapped himself twice across the face.

“Ah!”

“It’s all because of my foul mouth.”

By now, Li Chengfeng had guessed that the reason Ye Gucheng and Ye Wushuang—siblings—both suddenly lost their sight and speech was because of problems with their ancestral tomb’s feng shui.

If those issues weren’t resolved, the next to suffer would be Ye Mengyao.

Closing the door to the Suirentang, Li Chengfeng shook his head helplessly. Since reopening Suirentang, he hadn’t earned a single cent, and now this huge trouble had arisen.

Had he known this would happen, he never would have reopened Suirentang. Matters like divining yin and yang or feng shui were all about one’s age.

No matter how gifted one was, if young, no one believed them.

Even if you knew nothing, as long as you were older and could talk a good game, people would trust you.

If this continued, he wouldn’t even have enough to eat; better to find a proper job and work.

Li Chengfeng lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, unsure where tomorrow’s meal money would come from. After an unknown length of time, he finally slipped into sleep.

In a hazy state, he heard knocking. Just as he fell asleep, someone disturbed him. Irritated, he got up and opened the door to find two little boys standing there.

The two boys held hands, naked and pale as paper, their bodies still wet.

Seeing them, Li Chengfeng shivered, his scalp tingling, sweat bristling on his skin. He suddenly realized—they were the two drowned boys he had found earlier that day using the gourd corpse-seeking technique.

He had encountered the infamous midnight ghost knock.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself calm, thinking, “If you've done nothing wrong, there is nothing to fear from ghosts knocking at midnight.”

The boys noticed Li Chengfeng’s fear and smiled sweetly, their gratitude clear.

“Brother, don’t be afraid. We’re here to thank you.”

“Thank you for finding us in the water.”

“So that our parents could see us one last time.”

As they spoke, both boys lowered their heads, deeply sorrowful.

Perhaps reluctant to leave their parents behind, clinging to this bustling world, they were so young, having lost their lives before ever embracing the world.

Li Chengfeng sighed, no longer afraid. With sympathy in his eyes, he looked at the two boys at the door and spoke gently.

“This is what I should do. Don’t worry about it.”

“I hope you are reborn soon and stay away from water next time.”

“Hmm,” the boys nodded in unison, tears filling their eyes.

“Brother, could you help us send a message to our parents?”

Li Chengfeng nodded, and the boys continued.

“Thank you, brother!”

“Please tell our parents not to think about us, to forget us, and live happily.”

“Hmm.”

Tears welled up in Li Chengfeng’s eyes as he nodded. The boys then told him that in Qingcheng Reservoir, there was a glowing fish, and it was that fish that had pulled them under the water.

As Li Chengfeng watched the boys disappear, he suddenly awoke with a start. Rushing to open his eyes, he realized what had just happened was a dream—yet it felt so real.

Sitting up in bed, he understood these were the drowned children’s spirits, returning in dreams to express gratitude. Though young, they understood thanks—a truly sensible pair of children.

Sadly, they were gone.

Recalling the boys’ last words about the glowing fish in the reservoir, he suddenly realized that the green flickering light he had seen in the water at the reservoir’s edge was emitted by that very fish.

Li Chengfeng sat on his bed, pondering why the fish in the reservoir glowed.

Suddenly, outside came the sound of pounding on the door, accompanied by Ye Mengyao’s furious shouts.

“Li Chengfeng, you bastard, come out here right now!”

Li Chengfeng furrowed his brow and glanced at the clock—it was just past four in the morning.

Why was that woman here again?

The pounding and shouting continued relentlessly, growing ever more vexing.