Volume 1, Chapter 5: It Is You, Not Me, Who Should Stay Away From Him

The Xie and Lu families were long-standing family friends, and with the added bond of a planned marital union, the children of both families had been exceptionally close since childhood.

Lu Shixin was five years younger than Xie Wanning and had been a devoted "little fan" of her brother and his future bride for over a decade. She had spent years happily watching their relationship blossom.

However, three years ago, when her brother fell ill, Xie Wanning’s true colors were revealed. She abandoned her fiancé and married someone else. From that moment on, Lu Shixin’s admiration turned to hatred; she despised her.

"Xie Wanning, it really is you!" Lu Shixin gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with resentment and loathing as she glared at Xie Wanning.

"You ungrateful, heartless wretch! When you were in trouble, my brother risked offending the entire Xie family to protect you. And how did you repay him? You betrayed him! You abandoned him!"

"What now? Are you trying to trick my brother with some superstitious nonsense? I’m warning you—stay away from him!"

As she spoke, Lu Shixin stepped closer until she stood right by the hospital bed. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she stared at Xie Wanning with venomous intensity. "From beginning to end, you were never worthy of my brother!"

Xie Wanning raised her eyes to meet Lu Shixin’s condescending gaze. A faint, mocking smile touched her lips, and her tone was indifferent. "You are mistaken. It is not I who should stay away from him; it is all of you."

"His body is currently possessed by malevolent energy—he is a harbinger of doom. Those who remain close to him will, at the very least, be plagued by misfortune, or at worst, succumb to the deathly aura and lose their lives."

"Xie Wanning!" Lu Shixin’s lips twitched with rage. She raised her hand, ready to strike Xie Wanning across the face. "You vile woman, how dare you call my brother a harbinger of doom? I’ll tear your mouth apart!"

Xie Wanning lifted her chin, neither flinching nor retreating, watching with icy composure as Lu Shixin’s hand descended.

"Xinxin!"

Before the blow could land, a large hand gripped Lu Shixin’s wrist. "Don't be impulsive."

"Brother, this woman is treating you like this, and you’re still protecting her?" Lu Shixin’s pupils dilated in shock, her face filled with disbelief. "If Mom and Dad find out you brought her back, they will surely... Brother!?"

Before Lu Shixin could finish her sentence, Lu Yanzheng’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the floor as if his strength had been completely drained.

"Young Master!" Old Fu, caught off guard, reached out to steady him, but he was a step too late.

"Brother!" Lu Shixin scrambled to support him, her voice trembling with terror. "Are you alright? Doctor! Old Fu, go get the doctor!"

Old Fu, equally stunned by the sudden turn of events, snapped out of his daze upon hearing her call. "Yes, yes, I’m going right now!" With that, he rushed out.

"Doctors are useless; let me handle this," Xie Wanning said. Gritting her teeth against the pain in her own body, she struggled to sit up from the bed, then stumbled over to kneel beside Lu Yanzheng.

Seeing this, Lu Shixin’s fury reignited. She violently shoved Xie Wanning away and shouted, "Get lost! Don't touch my brother!"

"Hiss—"

Caught by surprise, Xie Wanning landed hard on the floor. The impact sent waves of agony through her body as if every wound she had sustained was being torn open at once, forcing her to gasp for air.

Memories of the original owner’s two years of imprisonment and torture flooded her mind like a tidal wave. The fear and despair of the moment the original owner had finally escaped, only to be hunted down again, threatened to swallow her whole.

The wound on the back of her head, caused by a rock, began to throb dully. She lay on the floor, powerless and breathless, until, after a long time, she managed to muster a sliver of strength. Xie Wanning bit her lip, suppressing the pain, and struggled to her feet.

Suddenly, an ethereal, mournful voice echoed in her mind: *See? Until you feel the pain yourself, you can never truly understand how much others are suffering.*

Xie Wanning offered a cold, mirthless laugh. She looked up at the spectral presence, her voice carrying a chilling, ancient detachment. "Your pain... I have experienced it as well." After all, in her past life, she had been a creature of slaughter, and she had met a brutal end herself.

"Don't worry," Xie Wanning said, lowering her gaze. When she looked up again, her eyes were filled with murderous intent. "The vengeance for your death—I will give you the chance to exact it with your own hands."

With that, she turned and walked, with great difficulty, out of the hospital room.

Once she stepped into the hallway, she witnessed a bizarre sight: a thick, dark mist—a manifestation of deathly aura—was seeping out from the slightly ajar door across the hall, curling into fine threads that drifted away like smoke.

Driven by instinct, Xie Wanning leaned against the wall and made her way toward that room. She placed her fingers on the door handle, which was shrouded in the deathly aura. Strangely, the moment the aura touched her, it recoiled as if a living person had encountered a ghost, scattering in every direction.

Xie Wanning paused in surprise. *This deathly aura is afraid of me?*

Her eyes flickered. She realized that in her past life, her hands had been stained with so much blood and murderous intent that even this deathly aura recoiled from her.

She pushed the door open to reveal a magnificent, golden Buddha statue. The statue’s expression was one of solemn mercy, its eyes seemingly capable of seeing through all the joys and sorrows of the world. Beneath the statue were offerings; the incense in the burner was almost spent, leaving a faint, lingering scent in the air. On the dark floor lay a prayer mat, depressed as if from long hours of kneeling.

Xie Wanning stared sharply at the statue, as if seeing something else entirely through its golden exterior. After a brief look at the dying incense, she turned and left.

Following the trail of the deathly aura, she reached the second-floor corridor. At the end of the hall, she saw the backs of Lu Shixin, Old Fu, and Lu’s parents, all of them radiating grief. Lu Mother’s tears flowed like broken pearls; if not for her husband and daughter supporting her, she would have collapsed to the floor in a heap of sobs.

Just then, the hospital room door was flung open from within, accompanied by a shriek of terror. "A ghost! There’s a ghost! The Young Master... he’s been possessed by a ghost!"

It was Lu Yanzheng’s attending physician, the elderly practitioner of Chinese medicine, Dr. Hu. He clung to the doorframe, sliding weakly to the floor. His weathered face was ashen with terror, as if he had truly seen a demon.

"What did you say?" Lu Mother’s eyes widened, shimmering with disbelief. "What do you mean, possessed by a ghost?" Every word she spoke trembled with dread.

"Old Hu! Pull yourself together! It’s broad daylight—where would a ghost come from?" Lu Boshang, seeing his wife on the verge of fainting, shouted at the collapsed doctor.

"You... you should go in and see for yourselves. Just go in and look..." Dr. Hu struggled to find his voice; the fact that he hadn't fainted was a testament to his mental fortitude. "The Young Master is convulsing, his face is twisted—he looks exactly like someone possessed by an evil spirit..."

Having practiced medicine for decades, Dr. Hu had never encountered a strange illness like this. The Young Master had been in a comatose state for three years with no identifiable cause, only to wake up inexplicably. It should have been a cause for celebration, but a few days later, he had suddenly fallen into this violent state, leaving them completely helpless. They had tried both traditional and modern medicine, but they could find no diagnosis. Although they loathed to admit it, only the supernatural could explain this.

Hearing this, Lu Mother felt as if her heart had been seized by an invisible hand. She collapsed, her strength failing her. Yet, desperate to see her son, she clung to a final thread of resolve. "Xinxin, help me inside. I must see your brother."