Chapter 115: The Backer Has Been Eaten
After playing the villain once again, Ning Xiyue lay back down on her bed. The system spirit, System, was already urging her to hurry and enter the space to check out the red mist — it had already captured it.
“Coming, coming, wait for me.” Ning Xiyue hurriedly entered the space, eager to see exactly what that thing was.
To save time, as soon as her consciousness entered the space, she went straight to the study with endless shelves of books. System was already there waiting for her.
Pointing to a small energy orb on the desk that contained a trace of red mist, System said, [Host, look — this is the red mist. I’ve trapped it inside.]
“What on earth is this thing?” Ning Xiyue asked, picking up the orb to examine it closely.
“Hold on, let me do something.”
System fiddled with the orb for a moment, and then Ning Xiyue’s eyes widened in shock as the thing inside materialized. “Oh my god — it’s a carp. A koi?”
System took out a small, intricately carved jade koi ornament and placed it on the table.
“Yes and no,” System explained. “It actually started as this jade koi ornament, which by some chance developed a trace of spiritual consciousness over time. It somehow learned a sinister method — surviving and strengthening itself by absorbing human fortune and luck.”
System patiently explained, and the red mist itself also gave its answers, revealing a truth that infuriated Ning Xiyue.
The red mist had targeted Ning Xiyue and Chen Yechu precisely because of their strong luck, partnering with Ning Xiaoxiao to pull off its schemes. Of course, Ning Xiaoxiao had no idea that more than half of her own fortune had already been siphoned away by this thing.
There was another major reason the red mist chose Ning Xiaoxiao: it had somehow learned that she would acquire a treasure extremely beneficial to its growth — the spiritual spring planting space inside Ning Xiyue’s small stone energy core. If Ning Xiaoxiao really obtained it, both she and the red mist would succeed, and the plot would unfold just like a cheap, second-rate story.
What enraged Ning Xiyue most was the revelation that this red koi ornament had once appeared in her family’s home in that “bad script.” In other words, the original host’s family had suffered so miserably because this cursed thing had drained their fortune.
Ning Xiyue had long since regarded that family as her own. The thought of their fate made her fury surge as she glared at the red mist.
“Speak. How many people’s luck have you drained? Did you drain my family’s? If you don’t confess right now, I’ll have System eat you.”
The red mist wailed from inside the energy orb. “I’m innocent! I only absorbed luck from that Ning Xiaoxiao. As for others — I wanted to, but before I could act, you caught me. Wuuuu…”
Ning Xiyue exploded with rage. “Well, well. So you were planning on it. System, eat it.”
There was no forgiving this. Even if she liked koi fish, this malicious red koi was a scourge — a parasitic thing that fed on human fortune.
“Don’t… don’t eat me! I can help you reach the peak of life — make you the richest person alive!”
Even now, it still tried to tempt her as it had tempted Ning Xiaoxiao. That only made her loathe it more.
“System, get rid of it.”
[Got it.] The little turtle poked the energy orb and glared at the red mist inside. “Hmph, you troublesome fish — trying to steal my job and my host. I’ll refine you!”
“Spare me—ahh…”
A miserable scream rang out — and then silence.
The spirit inside the energy orb was slowly refined by the system, eventually turning into pure liquid energy.
System absorbed half of it and divided the rest into five small portions, sealing each into a tiny bottle and handing them to Ning Xiyue.
She looked at the little turtle in surprise.
[Host, these are for you. Give one drop to each of your family members. Even though it was a wicked thing, its energy is useful. One drop will subtly strengthen their bodies, slowly heal hidden ailments, and even boost their luck a little — especially crucial at key moments.]
“Thank you, System.” Ning Xiyue held the five drops of energy and hugged the little turtle. Her greatest fortune was meeting Little Turtle.
She needed to make use of this energy and get it to her family as soon as possible.
Entering the kitchen space, she mixed the three drops meant for her and her two brothers into flour and made three large meat buns.
From her backpack, she took out the fresh mushrooms she had stored earlier, mixing the two drops meant for her parents into the mushrooms to make a fragrant, spicy mushroom sauce.
Once everything was ready, she placed it all in her time-frozen backpack, waiting for the right opportunity to deliver them.
Finally, Ning Xiyue ate the meat bun meant for herself, washed up, and left the space to lie back down and sleep.
Ning Xiaoxiao’s backer had been eaten — with no one left to protect her, Ning Xiyue couldn’t wait for morning to see her handiwork.
The next day, at the first light of dawn, Wang Mazi’s mother woke up to make breakfast. As soon as she stirred, she heard faint noises. Thinking they were being robbed, she quickly dressed, grabbed a broom, and went out into the yard.
Wang Mazi’s room was in the far right corner of the courtyard, while Liu Guifen’s room was on the far left.
The closer she got, the clearer the sounds became. She heard her son’s low groans echoing directly into her ears, making her blush.
She assumed her son was daydreaming about having a wife again.
She muttered a few curses under her breath.
But just as she was about to turn back, she heard a woman’s voice — and her face changed drastically. Then she noticed the windows of her son’s room shaking and the door half open. She immediately rushed over.
“Good heavens…”
Liu Guifen stood frozen, staring at the chaotic, tangled scene inside. The air was thick with a lustful, indecent smell.
She was both delighted and terrified — delighted that her son might finally have a wife and give her a grandchild, terrified because the woman looked like one of the educated youths from the compound. Assault was a serious crime.
Finally, after some thought, Liu Guifen calmed herself. With a firm and ruthless expression, she quietly closed the door and went back to the kitchen to make breakfast as if nothing had happened.
Better not to make a scene. Since it happened in her house, there were plenty of ways she could… deal with it. Hmph.
But Liu Guifen’s plan to stay quiet quickly fell apart. Before she even reached the kitchen, a large crowd was already pounding on her door, shouting loudly.
The team leader’s authoritative voice boomed:
“Liu Guifen! Open up! Hurry!”
“Guifen, hurry and open the door!”
Leading the charge were Aunt Yang Liu, Aunt Qiuju, and four other gossip-loving women, all shouting anxiously, their faces filled with worry and tension.
Meanwhile, Li Cuihua and her group watched gleefully, and the rest wore the excited expressions of people about to watch a scandal unfold.
Inside the courtyard, Liu Guifen panicked when she heard so many people calling for her. Peeking through a crack in the door, she saw the crowd outside and didn’t know what to do.
She glanced toward her son’s room, pacing nervously by the door. What now? Why were they here? She needed a plan.
But as she delayed opening the door, everyone outside began to suspect the worst. The worried grew even more anxious, the gloating faces could no longer hide their glee, and the onlookers were practically buzzing with excitement — it was true. Everything the letter said was true.
Outside, Team Leader Zhang Dawei shouted, “You three, break the door down! And you — climb over the wall and get in!”
