Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains-Chapter 109 - 092, Maiden Hong

The moment sleepiness attacked his mind, Hou Yuxiao’s blood qi activated the Gangsha within, without his own volition flowing into his eyes like an instinctual reaction, instantly dispelling the drowsiness, and he gradually became fully awake.

There’s a ghost...

Definitely a ghost!

There’s a saying among the common folk that martial artists with a cultivation below the Gathering Evil Phase shouldn’t take shortcuts, as it’s only when they reach the Gathering Evil Phase and generate blood evil in their bodies that they can identify, deter, or even harm demons and evil spirits.

That wave of sleepiness was scattered by his own blood evil. In other words, that fatigue must have been caused by something nefarious. Fourth Elder encountered the same thing earlier, but because his cultivation was only at the Coagulate Gang Phase, he couldn’t resist the sleepiness.

Under the night sky, Hou Yuxiao on the rooftop watched the direction Hou Yuduan had left, his eyes flickering with a trace of hesitation.

He had been in this world for over two years, but this was the first time he had encountered such a thing.

"That brat Old Fifth, told him to stay home, and he sneaks out to attract ghosts..."

The hesitation in Hou Yuxiao’s eyes didn’t last long. Still, he leaped forward intending to catch up, but after only a couple of steps, he suddenly heard a noise behind him. Turning his head back, he saw it was from Xueyang Garden.

Fourth Elder hasn’t had another mishap, has he?

Hou Yuxiao glanced at Hou Yuduan, who wasn’t far away, then quickly turned back and rushed to the door of Xueyang Garden. He swung open the door and upon entering the room, found Hou Yujie lying on the ground.

"Fourth Elder, Fourth Elder..."

Without a second thought, he rushed over to lift up Fourth Elder, checked his pulse, and found nothing amiss, which allowed him to relax. He lowered his voice to wake him, but after several calls, he couldn’t rouse him.

What’s going on?

Hou Yuxiao suddenly recalled the wave of sleepiness he had just felt and promptly realized he needed to draw out the blood evil from within his body and pass it into Hou Yujie’s body.

As the blood evil entered him, Hou Yujie suddenly jerked awake, eyes snapping open. Seeing someone holding him, his first reaction was to draw his sword in defense.

"Don’t panic, it’s me!"

Recognizing the familiar voice, Hou Yujie took a closer look, then calmed down and quickly spoke, "Brother, there’s trouble. I deliberately stayed awake tonight to check on Old Fifth. As soon as he got up, I noticed and wanted to follow him. But when I reached the door, that wave of sleepiness hit me again. There must be a problem..."

He went on for quite a while, only to realize that Hou Yuxiao was simply nodding with a solemn face. Recalling that Hou Yuxiao should be at the iron mine at this time, Hou Yujie quickly understood.

"Come with me, let’s see what kind of ghostly business Old Fifth is up to!"

Hou Yujie nodded and followed Hou Yuxiao. Without using their Gang Qi, they moved quietly and followed in the direction where Hou Yuduan had gone.

......

"No, I must let Maiden Hong know tonight to stop seeking me out in the future. Otherwise, if Big Brother finds out, we definitely won’t be able to meet again!"

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Hou Yuduan muttered to himself, activated his Gang Qi, leapt out of the west city gate and onto the Official Road. With an anxious look on his face, he hurried along for more than two miles, then left the Official Road, heading towards Black Ghost Ridge in the north.

The night wind howled through Black Ghost Ridge, but Hou Yuduan showed no fear on his face. He walked with an open expression through a forest of tombstones until he passed Black Ghost Ridge and traveled another ten miles north.

A range of vermilion pavilions stretching for two to three hundred meters came into view. Hou Yuduan’s face suddenly showed an unnatural flush, and he approached the entrance to the large vermilion residence with a slightly uneasy gait. Gazing at the two carved golden lanterns hanging at the entrance, he nervously adjusted his clothing, then approached with a solemn expression and softly knocked on the door.

The door promptly opened, revealing a courtyard with pavilions and waterside galleries, bright with clustered lanterns, where dozens of maids and servants bustled about—a scene that spoke of grandeur and prosperity.

The door was opened by an old man with a goatee. Hou Yuxiao was obviously quite familiar with him. Seeing him, Hou Yuxiao immediately bowed and said, "Steward Yang, I’ve come to trouble you again. Please forgive me!"

Steward Yang’s face beamed with a smile as he reached out and grabbed his hand, laughing, "I was wondering why the young lady suddenly started eating and dressing up today. It turns out that Young Master Hou is visiting. Please come in, come in..."

Upon hearing this, Hou Yuduan followed Steward Yang inside while showing a worried expression, "With my siblings having returned from the Prefectural City, there are numerous affairs to tend to in the city. Hou Yuduan must share in my brother’s concerns.

Also, I fear Big Brother coming to know of this place; hence, I haven’t visited these past few days. How could Maiden Hong be out of sorts? Could she be ill?"

Steward Yang’s face stiffened slightly, and with heavy sarcasm, he said, "Isn’t that so?"

Hou Yuduan’s expression turned anxious as he quickly asked, "What illness, is it serious?"

Before Steward Yang could answer, a maidservant clad in green rushed out from inside, her pretty face showing annoyance as she spoke for him.

"Young Master Hou, not visiting for over ten days, haven’t you caused our young mistress to suffer from lovesickness? She’s naturally frail and has been unable to eat or drink properly for several days. If you didn’t show up soon, she might have lost her life, hmph..."

Realizing the two were teasing him, Hou Yuduan’s face flushed red as he repeatedly bowed to the green-clad maidservant, "Maiden Lv Luo speaks too gravely, too gravely, it is my fault… it is my fault!"

Seeing Hou Yuduan’s flustered manner, Lv Luo giggled, her angry expression turning to a smile, and she teasingly said, "Apologies won’t work here; you’ll have to speak to our young mistress about that. She’s waiting for you in her room. Go quickly."

Hou Yuduan finally relaxed, bowed deeply to both of them and, lifting his eyes to the half-open window on the second floor that let out a glow of red candlelight, his gaze turned dreamy. He hurried up to her room.

Approaching the door, a faint fragrance rushed to his nose. Hou Yuduan adjusted his clothes and expression one more time, then pushed open the slightly ajar door to slowly step inside.

The room was not large, containing only a red embroidered bed, a green screen, a set of rosewood table and chairs, and a dressing table inlaid with gold carvings of phoenixes. The floor was covered with a red carpet etched with mandarin duck patterns, and on either side, there were potted plants radiating brilliance.

The moment Hou Yuduan entered, his gaze involuntarily drifted toward the dressing table.

On the table stood a red gold candle holder. Beneath it sat a young lady in a red skirt, her eyebrows knit with sorrow as she half-leant on the table. Resting her cheek on one hand, only half of her side profile was visible, but even just that sight stirred limitless reverie in the onlooker...

"Maiden Hong, Yuduan is here!"

At these words, the girl turned her head, revealing her full face to Hou Yuduan’s gaze. Despite having seen her many times, he couldn’t help but reveal a look of sheer infatuation.

The girl looked about seventeen or eighteen, with strands of beautiful hair fluttering slightly, slender willow eyebrows, charming and flirtatious eyes, a refined nose, cheeks faintly blushing, and lips tender and alluring. Her jade-like complexion was crystal clear as snow, her skin astonishingly beautiful, her figure petite and delicate.

Her eyes were ablaze as she looked at Hou Yuduan, making no attempt to hide the deep love within them. Yet, seeming to remember something, a touch of annoyance crossed her face, soon followed by a mist of tears welling in her eyes.

"So many days... how could you bring yourself... to not see me for so many days, not even a message? Do you know how much I’ve missed you every day..."

Large tears began to slide down the girl’s exquisitely beautiful face, her voice laced with such desolation that it could move anyone to tears, let alone Hou Yuduan who was right in the room.

Immediately, he showed a look of guilt, stepped forward to gently embrace the girl, caressed her cheek, and wiped away her tears, with love clearly visible in his eyes. It was evidently not the first time this had happened.

Only after the girl’s emotions had somewhat stabilized did he speak to her tenderly, "Maiden Hong, it’s not that Yuduan hasn’t thought of you every day. Alas, mundane affairs entangled me in town, and with the return of my three elder siblings, I feared they would discover our affair, which is why I haven’t visited you for so long."

Upon hearing this, the girl’s eyes immediately sparkled with a dim light. She cast a covert glance out the window and her tone became subtly heavier as she said, "Then when do you plan to tell your three elder brothers and sister about us? I have given you everything!"

A blush crept onto Hou Yuduan’s face, appearing somewhat embarrassed. His eyes occasionally flashed a clarity, and his expression became tangled, a struggle etching itself gradually into his gaze...

The girl nestled in his arms, raising her head to see his troubled expression, pity flashing in her eyes as she soothed his cheek and softly said, "It’s okay, Hong’er isn’t in a hurry. As long as I have a place in your heart, Hong’er is not afraid."

Hearing this, Hou Yuduan’s gaze grew even more affectionate, his inner conflict intensifying further. The two clung to each other, silent for a long time.

......

"Old Fifth has lost his mind. He ran over here in the middle of the night just to gnaw on a pillar?"

In the pitch-black night, beside a dilapidated temple, a massive tree that could be embraced by ten people sported a thick branch behind which two heads peeked out, spying on the situation inside the temple—it was Hou Yuxiao and Hou Yujie, who had been following Hou Yuduan.

Staring at the second floor of the decrepit temple where Hou Yuduan was hugging a pillar and seemingly nibbling on it, Hou Yujie wore an incredulous look on his face. He turned to quietly ask Hou Yuxiao, but noticed an extremely grave expression on his face.

Without a word, Hou Yuxiao extended a hand to lightly touch Hou Yujie’s forehead. Summoning a strand of Gangsha into his eyes, he whispered, "Take another look."

Hou Yujie turned his head doubtfully again to look at the temple.

At that glance, his body shook violently, and had Hou Yuxiao not been ready to catch him, he might have stumbled and fallen off the branch.

"Old Fifth has entered the Ghost Den!"

It took more than ten breaths for Hou Yujie to regain his composure before he whispered a sentence to Hou Yuxiao beside him, his right hand tightly clutching the Swan Shadow Sword at his waist, as if this gave him some sense of security.

Through his eyes, the dilapidated temple was now shrouded in a red mist, with scenes of a grand courtyard flickering in and out of sight. That alone wouldn’t have scared him so.

The key was that dozens of servants and maids drifting through the mist were all floating off the ground, each emanating a black fog, clearly not human. Among them, even a goat-headed, human-bodied demon could be seen walking upright.

What Old Fifth was embracing on the second floor wasn’t a pillar, but a peculiar girl in red with a delicate and charming figure...

Why peculiar? Because that girl had no discernible facial features on her face.

Noticing Fourth Elder’s horrified look at the girl, Hou Yuxiao’s eyes filled with suspicion and he tentatively inquired, "The girl that Old Fifth is holding, what does she look like to you?"

Hou Yujie paused, then replied in a low voice, "What girl? That’s a female ghost with no features..."

Hou Yuxiao then realized why Fourth Elder was so terrified...

He had just seen the face of that female ghost, and it looked exactly like Sikong Yue. He knew right away that couldn’t be possible. Sikong Yue was in Jiuling Prefecture; there was no way she could be here, romancing Hou Yuduan in the middle of the night.

The face of that female ghost appeared differently to each person. Hou Yujie saw a faceless ghost; he saw Sikong Yue. This meant that the female ghost seen by Hou Yuduan also differed from what they saw.

"This humble one, has met the two elder brothers..."

With a chill night breeze, a delicate female voice suddenly rang by their ears. Hou Yuxiao and Hou Yujie stiffened, their gazes frozen as cold sweat poured out from their foreheads and backs.

Old Fifth, you dare to play with anything, and now it’s led to trouble...