He'd rather run than be turned into a cannon fodder for the broken engagement.

"Stop talking nonsense!" Old Madam Wu shouted sternly, "Guards, take her away immediately! Lock her in the woodshed to reflect on her actions, lest she offend the guests!"

Several burly servants immediately stepped forward and grabbed the maid. Hearing that she was to be locked in the woodshed, the maid became even more frightened and struggled violently, begging for mercy repeatedly: "No, Madam, I know I was wrong! Please, Madam, have mercy on me, I really was just now..."

Before she could finish speaking, the servant covered her mouth and dragged her away, silencing the maid's gasp.

With a grim expression, Wu Shaoping cupped his hands to Leng Huan and the other man, forcing a smile: "I'm sorry you two were frightened today. I'll have the steward escort you back to rest."

Leng Huan and Fu Xun exchanged a glance and bowed in unison: "Madam, Young Master, Miss Wu, we'll go back to our room now."

-

Back in the guest room, Fu Xun went in first, and Leng Huan followed right behind. She turned around to close the door, glancing around to make sure no one was there before neatly shutting it.

Sneaky closer to Fu Xun, who was tall, long-legged, and had a solid build—he seemed reliable at first glance—and whispered, "Could it really be true..."

—The Wu family is haunted.

"..." Fu Xun didn't expect her to still be so timid, making wild guesses about things that had nothing to do with her. He stared at her for a while, then raised his hand to rub his temples. "It should be fine, don't worry. Even if it is, it's not aimed at us."

He walked to the bedside, sat down, straightened his clothes, and asked calmly, "So, you're going to stay with me tonight?"

The butler arranged separate guest rooms for each person.

Leng Huan breathed a sigh of relief and followed him to the bedside: "Okay, I believe you if you write a lot today."

The next second, she quickly switched to a fawning expression, fawningly moving closer to Fu Xun, and suddenly reached out to put her arm around his shoulder and pat him on the shoulder:

"Hehe, we're practically family, what's yours is mine, and what's mine is yours. We'll definitely sleep in this bed together!"

Suddenly embraced by her, Fu Xun caught a whiff of her fragrance at close range, his heart skipped a beat, and he abruptly stood up, leaving Leng Huan with nothing to lean on!

Fu Xun stepped back, looked at her embarrassed expression, and let out a long sigh: "Okay, you go to sleep first. Once you're sound asleep, you won't be afraid. I'll meditate and sleep after you've fallen asleep."

"Ah, okay, okay." Leng Huan quickly agreed, and to repay his generosity, he readily added, "Then I'll let you choose the room first from now on..."

This is incredibly generous! Fu Xun gritted his teeth: "If we're brothers, then there's no question!"

Leng Huan was delighted, as this was the first time Fu Xun had said such a thing, and immediately chimed in, "That's right, you've finally spoken like a human being!"

Fu Xun: "..."

-

Late at night, the dew is heavy.

The courtyard and the Wu residence were shrouded in the tranquil night. Except, of course, for the snoring of someone sleeping in a guest room, which sounded like a raccoon dog was fast asleep.

Snoring, snoring...

Fu Xunsheng lay flat on the bed, his iron sword in the middle, his hand under his head, his eyes wide open, staring at the carved bed railing. After a long while, he glanced at the person sleeping comfortably and sighed inwardly. He really wanted to shake her awake.

How could she possibly fall asleep?!

Already feeling a bit annoyed by the events in Beijun City, and with Leng Huan snoring away, Fu Xun found it even harder to sleep. Just as he was thinking he would probably have to stay awake until dawn, he suddenly heard a scream coming from afar.

"Ah—" The sound echoed throughout the entire Wu family.

Soon everyone was in motion. Fu Xun flipped over, picked up his sword, took a few steps to the door, and opened the crack to check the situation.

Lights appeared in the inner courtyard in the distance, and there were faint voices. Fu Xun was hesitating whether to go out and investigate when he heard Leng Huan behind him exclaim in surprise, "Ah! What's wrong?!"

She sat up abruptly, her eyes still open, and instinctively pulled out a frying pan in a defensive stance. Then, she rubbed her eyes and looked at Fu Xun, her voice heavy with sleepiness: "There seems to be some movement!!"

"...Yes, it came from the inner courtyard." After a pause, Fu Xun turned around briskly and grabbed her arm. "Come on, let's go take a look!"

"..." Before Leng Huan could even utter a word of approval, he had already led her out the door. It wasn't until Fu Xun carried her and leaped onto the artificial hill in the connecting corridor, stepping over the flowers and trees, that she snapped back to reality. There was no way around it; the winter night breeze was so warm that even a corpse would get hot...

-

"Ah! It's her! The young mistress has returned, it's..."

The two rushed to the brightly lit inner courtyard, and as soon as they stepped inside, they faintly heard the maid say this in fear.

Immediately afterwards, the old lady angrily shouted, "Shut up! Stop talking nonsense! Guards, take this scoundrel away!"

Wu Shaoping, looking exhausted, stopped her, saying, "Mother, they must be too tired from their night shift. The servants probably just mistook something and panicked. Let her go first..."

The old lady listened to him, hesitated for a moment, then nodded and scolded the maid: "Didn't you hear what the young master said? Get out of here now!"

The old lady looked to be only in her thirties and very young, but she was actually over sixty. It was said that Wu Shaoping had a son late in life, and it was another six years before Miss Wu Xinrou was born.

Perhaps due to the loss of her husband and the recent unrest in the household, the old lady now looks somewhat haggard, and her features bear a striking resemblance to Miss Wu's, displaying a certain meanness.

At this moment, Wu Shaoping saw Leng Huan and the other person arrive and said apologetically, "I didn't expect to disturb you two. I'm really sorry to have made you laugh."

Leng Huan asked with concern, "What happened? If the manor needs any help, young master, please don't hesitate to ask."

"It's nothing serious, it's just that Mother hasn't been in a good mood since Father passed away, and the servants were also frightened, so she was a bit angry." Wu Shaoping suddenly sighed:

"Hey... the manor is spotless, how could ordinary demons and monsters run rampant here? There's nothing else... please go back and rest."

Leng Huan cupped his hands in greeting: "Then we'll go back inside."

The night was thick and dark. This courtyard belonged to Wu Xinrou and was called Bilian Courtyard. Under the lamplight, she was seen huddled up against the old lady, looking frightened and pale.

Leng Huan glanced at him secretly, nodded to Wu Shaoping, and turned to leave. As soon as he stepped out, he quickly grabbed Fu Xun's sleeve and whispered, "Hurry up..."

"..." Fu Xun followed her lead and asked, "What?"

Leng Huan held his breath until he returned to his room, then gasped for air: "I think something's fishy!"

She leaned closer to Fu Xun with a serious expression, then turned her head to look at the tightly closed doors and windows. "These Wu family members and servants all seem strange."

"That maid was truly terrified, and Old Madam Wu and Wu Xinrou also seemed off..."

Of course, he also noticed something unusual. Fu Xun nodded and took a step back imperceptibly: "It has nothing to do with us. Don't be afraid. If there really is a ghost, I'll shield you first."

So, are you still sleeping?

"...No, I'm fully awake now. Let's meditate. It's almost dawn."

"okay."

After a while—

“Junior Brother Yin Xun, when I close my eyes I keep thinking about bad things…”

"...For example?" Fu Xun opened his eyes helplessly and asked casually, looking at Leng Huan standing next to him. Good heavens, she still had her eyes closed, her long eyelashes casting two shadows.

"For example, the Yinshan Corpse, the Chainsaw Maniac, Sadako coming out of the closet, the Coffin Bride, Kayako looking back, the Toilet Ghost..."

Fu Xun: "..."

"Ah, I'm a little scared. Do you think I can defeat these terrifying ghosts right now?"

"..."

. . . . . .