In the tree, two people crouched.

Neither could blink their eyes. What entered their sight was a scene that made them “want to go die.”

The coffin opened wide;

The corpse in the coffin emitting the stench of death;

The young woman standing prettily beside the coffin, her slender fingers stroking the corpse’s face while talking to the corpse, her tone gentler than when speaking to the living.

Pei Xiao stared at Xie Zhifei with a deathly pale face.

Xie Zhifei was creeped out by his staring and glared back: Why look at me? Look at her!

Pei Xiao’s teeth chattered incessantly: I wouldn’t dare!

His heart said he didn’t dare, but his eyes were honest. Looking up, Pei Xiao nearly failed to catch his breath.

The black mist suddenly surged from Yan Sanhe’s fingertips, returning entirely to the old madam’s face. Yan Sanhe abruptly withdrew her hand and staggered backward several steps.

Li Buyan quickly reached out to support her. “Miss?”

“I’m fine!”

Yan Sanhe opened her eyes, her gaze falling distantly on Ji Lingchuan, asking word by word: “Does your family raise dogs?”

Ji Lingchuan instinctively shook his head: “No, we don’t.”

“Listen carefully.”

Yan Sanhe paused for a long while before speaking: “What your mother can’t let go of—her heart demon—is a dog.”

“Crack.”

It sounded like a dry branch breaking.

Then.

“Ah!”

It sounded like someone falling from a tree.

Yan Sanhe didn’t even bother glancing over with the corner of her eye. She took out her handkerchief and wiped her fingers.

She still wiped very slowly, so slowly that the black clouds dispersed, the waning moon quietly hung in the sky, and the sound of insects returned.

Ji Lingchuan finally regained his senses: “Miss Yan, what does that dog look like?”

Yan Sanhe: “Black, half a man’s height.”

Ji Lingchuan felt his chest constrict and compress. “So now what do we…”

“Turn back, return to the residence.”

Yan Sanhe’s voice was indescribably weary, as if completely exhausted. “Buyan, pull me up.”

Li Buyan closed the coffin to its original half-open position, then jumped up first and pulled Yan Sanhe up.

Yan Sanhe approached Ji Lingchuan.

“Prepare a quiet courtyard with three meals a day. Starting tomorrow, I’ll stay at the Ji residence until the old madam’s coffin closes.”

Ji Lingchuan struggled to climb up from the ground. Just as he raised his head to speak, he was shocked.

The young woman looked as if she’d been pulled from water. Sweat from her forehead and face was dripping down her slightly pointed chin.

“Miss Yan, you…”

“I’m fine!”

Li Buyan walked over and bent down. Yan Sanhe collapsed onto her back. “Wake me when we arrive.”

“Mm!”

Li Buyan straightened. “Master Ji, call everyone over. Let’s depart!”

Ji Lingchuan stared dumbfounded: “She’s…”

Li Buyan: “Exhausted!”

…

On the return journey, no one was in the mood to speak.

Ji Lingchuan was like an eggplant beaten by frost, needing support to walk.

Yan Sanhe lay motionless on Li Buyan’s back, her face deathly pale—no different from a corpse.

Xie Zhifei stared at Yan Sanhe’s back for a long time, then walked to Li Buyan’s side: “Is Miss tired? Should I carry her instead?”

Li Buyan smiled at him: “Even if I agreed, my miss wouldn’t.”

Xie Zhifei considered for a moment. “That, does she always…”

“Third Master Xie!”

Li Buyan smiled until her eyes narrowed to slits. “If you continue like this, my eyes won’t be able to confirm anything.”

Xie Zhifei: “…”

Li Buyan gave him a flirtatious wink. “Don’t be too curious about unmarried young ladies. Any curiosity not aimed at marriage is just being a scoundrel.”

Xie Zhifei: “…”

Pei Xiao walked to Xie Zhifei’s side and looked thoughtfully at the master-servant pair’s backs. “Brother, my eyes have confirmed it for you.”

Xie Zhifei: “Speak!”

“That maid’s face looks all smiles, but her eyes are actually sharp—what can be said, what can’t be said, she’s crystal clear.”

Pei Xiao lowered his voice. “Compared to the slippery maid, the miss’s temperament is relatively straightforward. Who she likes, who she doesn’t like—it’s all on her face.”

“Your confirmation is very accurate, so…”

Xie Zhifei said quietly: “We still need to work through the miss.”

Work through her, my ass!

Pei Xiao sighed. “First help me figure out why my maternal grandmother’s heart demon is a dog?”

Xie Zhifei’s expression cracked apart.

A dog?

Who would believe it if told?

…

When the carriage reached the city gate, the fifth watch had already passed.

Xie Zhifei produced his official token and additionally slipped twenty taels of silver. The gate guards happily opened the gates.

Entering the city, the group split into three routes, each returning to their own residence.

Before long, the carriage stopped at the side gate of the Xie residence.

Yan Sanhe had already awakened and jumped down from the carriage herself.

“Miss Yan.”

Xie Zhifei dismounted and hurried after her.

Yan Sanhe turned to look at him.

Xie Zhifei paused quietly, only instructing one sentence: “Rest well.”

Yan Sanhe nodded and stepped through the side gate.

“Third Master?”

Steward Xie, waiting at the side gate, hurried forward: “Eldest Master instructed that no matter how late you return, Third Master must go to his study.”

“I’ll go now!”

Xie Zhifei’s peripheral vision caught Steward Xie covering his mouth as he yawned. His long arm reached out and hooked the man under his armpit.

“Little Flower Xie, early tomorrow morning, no matter what method you use, keep Yan Sanhe here for me. If you can’t keep her…”

“…”

Steward Xie’s tears—whether from Third Master’s threat or the yawn—flowed down with a whoosh.

What other methods does this old servant have? Only kneeling!

…

“Sanhe, why would Old Madam Ji’s heart demon be a dog?”

When no one else was around, Li Buyan stopped calling her “Miss, Miss” and her manner became more casual. “You didn’t see it, but when Master Ji heard it was a dog, he nearly fainted.”

Yan Sanhe thought for a moment. “After I enter the Ji household, I’ll investigate slowly. I’ll eventually uncover something.”

Li Buyan: “This matter has already affected his children and grandchildren. Time won’t allow you to investigate slowly.”

Yan Sanhe: “That’s why I only took that little money.”

Li Buyan glared at her: “That little money isn’t even enough to fill the gaps between your teeth.”

“Buyan?”

“Don’t act cute—it doesn’t suit your character. Oh, right!”

Li Buyan suddenly remembered something: “Will the Xie family let you leave tomorrow?”

Yan Sanhe: “They have no reason to stop me.”

Li Buyan “oh-ed.” “Then I’ll pack up first thing in the morning.”

“Good!”

The moment the word “good” fell, Li Buyan’s eyes sharpened. “Who’s there? Come out!”

From around the corner, Xie Buhuo emerged, showing Yan Sanhe a calm yet apologetic smile.

“My apologies for disturbing Miss.”

“What are you sneaking around there for?”

“Buyan, he’s Second Master Xie of the residence.”

Yan Sanhe stepped forward, expression indifferent: “What are you waiting for me about?”

Using the word “waiting,” Xie Buhuo was stunned for a moment, then answered truthfully: “Indeed waited quite a while. Only wanted to express thanks on Wanshu’s behalf.”

Yan Sanhe: “It’s not a big matter.”

Xie Buhuo looked at the gauze on her forehead. “To me, to Wanshu, to Auntie—it’s an enormous matter.”

With that, he bowed deeply.

Yan Sanhe turned sideways and only accepted half his bow.

After finishing the bow, Xie Buhuo handed over the paper package in his hand.

“The second branch doesn’t have anything good. This old ginseng is for Miss to help heal your wound. Please don’t refuse.”

Hearing these words, Yan Sanhe didn’t know why her heart ached. She always felt this scene seemed familiar, as if she’d seen it somewhere before.