With a sudden movement, Wan Ruo threw herself into Bai Chen's arms and burst into tears.
Bai Chen was startled by Wan Ruo's unexpected embrace. At a loss, he gently stroked her head to comfort her and asked tenderly, "What on earth happened?"
Wan Ruo sobbed and said, "Why are some people more cruel than ghosts? They treat living lives as if they were mere grass! It's so cruel..."
Hearing this, Bai Chen was utterly confused and frowned slightly.
Wan Ruo told Bai Chen the ins and outs of what had happened today.
He had never seen such a vulnerable side of Wan Ruo before. She must have been terribly frightened after going through all this.
Bai Chen lovingly pulled Wan Ruo into his arms. Just rely on me like this forever!
After Wan Ruo's emotions had calmed down a bit.
Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she frowned tightly and guessed, "Could it be the infant ghost from last night?"
"It's not impossible! But since it was injured by you yesterday, it should be looking for a chance to restore its spiritual power!" Bai Chen speculated.
"What does that mean?"
Seeing the look of confusion on Wan Ruo's face, Bai Chen patiently explained, "The quickest way for it to restore its spiritual power is to suck the essence of humans. That is to say... there may well be another victim!"
"What? If that's the case, another life will be harmed!" Wan Ruo frowned slightly, finding it hard to believe. "What should we do? What can we do?"
"However, there was a smell of blood on it last night!" Bai Chen continued.
The smell of blood? What did that mean? Wan Ruo looked puzzled, not understanding what he meant.
Seeing Wan Ruo's dazed look, Bai Chen knew she didn't understand and explained, "Didn't you say that you haven't found its body yet? I guess that someone with ulterior motives might have taken it to offer sacrifices. By sacrificing their own blood, the spiritual power of the infant ghost was mixed with the smell of blood!"
"Oh? Is that so? Then we have to find the person who offered the sacrifice to find the body of the infant ghost?" Wan Ruo said.
"This is just a speculation, but there's nothing we can do now. We can only wait!" Bai Chen said coldly.
On the other side, in the pitch - black night, in the small bamboo forest.
Two mysterious black - cloaked men were having a conversation in the dim moonlight.
Under the black cloak was a golden mask. The man wearing it demanded, "Last night, something happened in my mansion. Two maids died mysteriously. Did you do something to the people in my mansion?"
"Are you suspecting me? Why would I do something to the people in your mansion? Trust is the basis of cooperation. You don't trust me at all!" The man with the white mask said coldly.
"Really not you? Then why did such a strange thing happen in my mansion!" The man with the golden mask asked doubtfully.
"Of course not me. Did you call me here today just for this?"
"King Pingnan has been secretly investigating the cases of mysterious deaths recently. You'd better be careful in your actions these days!"
"Remember, we're in the same boat. I'll naturally be careful. The heir of the foreign vassal state will be coming in two days. Don't forget to act according to the plan then!"
It was already night.
In the Prime Minister's Mansion, everyone was in a panic, and no one dared to go out alone at night.
Qin Manman had tried to sound out Zhang's opinion during the day but didn't get the information she wanted. Now it was night.
She paced anxiously back and forth in the room, not knowing what to do for a moment.
Suddenly, she heard a noise in the yard. She immediately blew out the candle and looked out through the window.
She saw Zhang looking at her bedroom, then sneaking out furtively.
Qin Manman immediately chased after her, quietly following behind.
Seeing that there was no one around, Zhang secretly came to the place where she had hidden something last night.
She had accidentally heard the servants' gossips today and was afraid that it was related to what she had hidden. She had been feeling uneasy all the time, fearing that it might be discovered, so she came to check when no one was around.
At this moment, Zhang was groping repeatedly in the gap of the rockery. It seemed that she had touched something, and the stone in her heart finally fell to the ground.
Just as she was about to put the thing back in her hand, suddenly someone behind her covered her mouth.
Zhang was so frightened that her heart almost jumped out.
She widened her pupils and looked back in horror.
"Don't make a sound! It's me!" Qin Manman whispered in her ear.
"Manman?"
Qin Manman let go of her and snatched the thing from Zhang's hand. When she opened it, it was indeed the mummified body of the baby!
"I knew it was you who did it!" After saying that, Qin Manman quickly hugged the thing and left.
Zhang chased after her, wanting a chance to explain.
Qin Manman didn't want to listen to any of Zhang's explanations. She just wanted to put the thing back in its original place as soon as possible.
She hoped that everything would be all right!
At this moment, Qin Manman returned to the room. She quickly put the mummified body back in its original place, lit three sticks of incense, and knelt on the ground to kowtow.
"Manman, what are you doing? Do you know what you're doing? Doing such things will harm your moral integrity. Can't you listen to me, child!"
Zhang, standing beside her, felt that her daughter had gone crazy. No matter how much she tried to persuade her, it was of no use.
Just then, a cold wind suddenly blew. The incense on the offering table seemed to be eaten by something, and in the blink of an eye, the incense had burned out.
"Your body has been retrieved. Please don't be angry. You're magnanimous. Please spare us!" Qin Manman mumbled as she knelt on the ground, kowtowing loudly.
Seeing this, although Zhang was a bit scared, for the sake of her daughter, she summoned up her courage and shouted, "What kind of evil ghost is causing trouble here? I'm not afraid of you. You can't hurt my daughter. If you have the guts, come at me. Stop pretending to be a ghost. I'm not afraid of you!"
Hearing Zhang say such offensive words to the infant ghost, Qin Manman's heart skipped a beat. She thought it was all over now.
She was just about to turn around and look at her mother when she found that Zhang had widened her pupils as if she had seen something.
"Ah..." Zhang let out a scream of terror.
She was so frightened that she knelt on the ground instantly, with her mouth wide open, as if she was being controlled and couldn't move.
"Mother!" Qin Manman rushed forward quickly, but it was too late. Zhang fell into Qin Manman's arms and was already out of breath.
"Ah... Dirty soul. Since you're seeking death, consider it your retribution!" The infant ghost sneered sinisterly.
At this moment, Qin Jiang rushed over upon hearing the sound and found that Zhang was already dead in Qin Manman's arms.
"How could this happen? You... You actually killed her?" Qin Jiang looked at Qin Manman in front of him fearfully and questioned her in disbelief.
"No, it's not like this. It wasn't me!" Qin Manman tried to explain.
Unexpectedly, Qin Jiang stepped back fearfully, trying to escape. Before he could reach the door.
With a 'bang', the door was shut tightly!
This made Qin Jiang even more frightened. He tried his best but couldn't open the door.
He turned back and looked at Qin Manman in horror, stepping back continuously, but it seemed that his body no longer listened to him and he couldn't move.
"No, don't!"