Qin Liuxi sipped her tea leisurely, listening to the ghost's reluctance to reincarnate.
"...My name is Ling Rong. I was a tea vendor in a tea house. Xie Qikang was my cousin. After my parents passed away, he came to our family. He was useless at everything except studying. My father and I scrimped and saved every penny from selling tea to support his education. He promised that once he passed the imperial examinations, he would bring us great fortune and make me his honored wife. But in reality, he only became a scholar and was noticed by the Zhou family."
Qin Liuxi lowered her gaze, her interest waning. Ling Rong's tale was akin to many others, where virtuous women sacrificed everything to educate unworthy men, only for them to abandon their benefactors for wealthier wives.
Ling Rong seemed oblivious to Qin Liuxi's lack of enthusiasm, immersed in her own boundless resentment. "The Zhou family's wealth enabled him to have the finest study materials and servants at his disposal. He could indulge in scholarly pursuits, akin to a nobleman, while turning a blind eye to the world outside, dressed in silk and satin, dining on delicacies. He aspired to be the Zhou family's son-in-law, unwilling to live with us in a dilapidated, damp house, eating coarse food."
"My father threatened to expose his true nature to the Zhou family, so he cruelly murdered my father," Ling Rong continued, her resentment flaring up once more. "At the time, I was seven months pregnant. After killing my father, he lied to me, claiming my father had gone to the mountains to pick tea. It was raining heavily that day. He deceived me into searching for my father on a deserted hillside, where he brutally smashed my head with a stone."
Qin Liuxi lifted her head and glanced over. Ling Rong's appearance had changed; her body was drenched, and half of her head was obliterated, rendering her features indistinguishable.
This was her appearance at the time of her death.
"My labor pains had already begun, but he didn't let me live, nor did he allow the child to live. I died, and the child suffocated inside me. We were only a hair's breadth away from him entering this world," Ling Rong said, looking down at the child by her feet with a bitter smile. "Xie Qikang was ruthless. Despite having hands accustomed to holding pens, he wielded the stone without mercy, with astonishing strength. I still remember the feeling of the stone smashing into my head, thud, thud, thud..."
"Stop!" Qin Liuxi interrupted, saying, "There's no need to go into such detail. I understand what you've been through. But since you've been dead for ten years, why have you come to seek revenge now? Oh, first, let's tidy up your pitiful appearance; I'm afraid I'll have nightmares if I see it too often."
Ling Rong sighed inwardly. This master was so fierce!
She reluctantly composed herself, returning to her former appearance, and said, "Xie Qikang was extremely cruel. After killing me, he, fearing that I would become a vengeful ghost, found a Taoist priest to seal me in a box, drove seven soul-binding nails into it, and then pushed it to the bottom of the lake. I was deprived of daylight for many years."
Qin Liuxi's expression turned solemn at once. Such dark magic was unfathomable. She inquired, "What happened next?"
"Earlier this year, the rust on the soul-binding nails loosened, and my son and I escaped. At that time, my soul was extremely weak, so I devoured a few lonely souls..." Ling Rong's voice trailed off as she spoke softer. She feared that Qin Liuxi might capture her at any moment, but seeing no reaction from Qin Liuxi, she gathered her courage and continued, "After consuming a few lonely souls, I sought out Xie Qikang. He had a jade pendant blessed by a temple. I didn't dare to get too close, only followed at a distance. Later, when he went to the concubine's quarters, the jade pendant shattered, giving me the opportunity to approach him and strangle him. I used my resentment to torment him, wanting him to experience the suffocation I felt. Master, our family suffered a great injustice. If Xie Qikang doesn't die, how can I quell the hatred in my heart? How can I reincarnate?"