Chapter 115: Scumbag

Upon hearing Xu Yingying’s words, Bai Ranhe’s look of astonishment immediately hardened into an expression of severe gravity. He glared at me with furious eyes and snapped, "Pi Yangxi, you have gone too far! What do you take the Bai family for?"

"Xu Yingying, stop talking nonsense! I am not the father of your child," I retorted coldly, staring her down. At this point, I could not afford to yield an inch. Although Bai Xiaoli knew about my history with Xu Yingying, the others would not listen to her. If these Feng Shui masters spread word of today’s events, my reputation as a scoundrel would be set in stone, effectively ending my career in the Feng Shui community—not to mention my chances of finding my grandfather.

"Hmph, Pi Yangxi! If you aren't the father, how would you know the name of this malevolent spirit is Xu Yingying?" Chen Zhiqiang seized the opportunity and shouted aloud.

Hearing Chen Zhiqiang’s remark, the gazes of the gathered Feng Shui masters shifted toward me with suspicion.

I had not expected Chen Zhiqiang to strike first with a false accusation. I glared at him fiercely before pointing at Xu Yingying. "Xu Yingying, have you forgotten what Granny Wan told you when we performed the soul-delivery for you? Chen Zhiqiang is the real father of your child, and he is the one who caused your death!"

Xu Yingying slowly turned her head toward Chen Zhiqiang. Beneath her tangled hair, her waterlogged, bloated eyes radiated a crimson, murderous light.

Chen Zhiqiang, feeling guilty, recoiled in terror. Had Chen Yetian not stepped forward to shield him, the spineless wretch would have likely collapsed to the floor.

"Xu Yingying, tell everyone, who is it that drove you to this state?" Chen Yetian put on a facade of righteousness, shouting at the top of his lungs in front of Bai Ranhe and the other masters.

Xu Yingying turned her head back to me and bared her teeth in a grin that made my heart race with alarm.

I stared at her and said, "Xu Yingying, whether you are human or ghost, you must have a conscience. Every debt has a debtor; don't go biting the wrong person."

A sinister expression crossed her sunken, withered face as she looked at me. "Pi Yangxi, don't you know in your heart? You are the one who caused me to end up like this! Husband, it is so cold in the water—I want you to come down and join me!"

"So it was Pi Yangxi’s dirty work after all!" The remaining Feng Shui masters exchanged glances, their faces filled with shock after hearing the spirit name me directly.

"You... you..." Bai Ranhe was so enraged that his fingers trembled, leaving him unable to speak.

I cursed silently, wondering where things had gone so wrong. Xu Yingying had completely forgotten the night of the soul-delivery and was now convinced I was the one who had killed her.

With things having reached this point, I no longer held any hope for her. I took a few steps back, surreptitiously reaching into my pocket to touch a packet of black ash, and began to weigh my options.

This was the residue from the blood of the malevolent spirits we had burned during the delivery. Granny Wan had specifically instructed me to collect it, claiming it was highly effective against such entities. I had brought it today just in case of an emergency, and my premonition had unfortunately proven correct.

Having lost all expectation of reasoning with the spirit, I searched for a solution. If I could handle her once, I could do it again. However, without a pre-set Feng Shui formation to leverage, I would have to reveal my ghost-beating whip to escape her grasp. Doing so would inevitably expose the fact that I had inherited my grandfather’s true teachings—this was a desperate, final resort.

"Xu Yingying, we have gone to great lengths to provide a memorial tablet for your child, yet you turn around and slander me. Have you considered the consequences?" I reminded her, hoping to leverage the fact that the tablet was still being honored at Granny Wan’s house. "If you don't tell the truth, not only will you meet a miserable end today, but your child will suffer because of you."

In truth, I wouldn't actually harm the child, who was innocent. But I had to threaten her. Even if I killed her after much struggle, the label of a scoundrel would be firmly attached to me, leaving no room for redemption.

Sure enough, upon hearing my words, a flicker of hesitation crossed her face as she turned to look toward Chen Yetian.

Chen Yetian shouted at me, "How dare you, Pi Yangxi! So you really do have a child with this spirit? Xu Yingying, take your revenge! The Chen family will take your child in and provide for it!"

*Whoosh!*

Hearing Chen Yetian’s words, I couldn't help but gasp. His statement had struck at Xu Yingying’s most vulnerable point.

Granny Wan had taught us that a child should ideally be honored in their own family’s ancestral hall. Anything else was a compromise. Since the child’s background was linked to the Chen family, being honored in their ancestral hall was an immense benefit.

"Hehehe... Pi Yangxi, I’m sorry. You’re a good person, but for the sake of my child, I must kill you!" No sooner had she said this than Xu Yingying tilted her head back and let out a sharp, piercing shriek. The sound was earsplitting; the cups and bowls on the table began to tremble.

Some of the masters with weaker willpower covered their ears.

As the screech grew longer and more intense, the malevolent energy radiating from her surged, instantly filling the entire room with a suffocating, overwhelming darkness.