"Still clutching a copper coin even in death..." Ban Xia bent down, picked up the coin, and turned it over repeatedly: "There's nothing special about this coin." After speaking, she placed the coin in Xuan Ye's palm.
Xuan Ye also examined the coin carefully and found nothing unusual, so he leaned over to inspect Yuan Fang.
Yuan Fang's expression was eerie—appearing both terrified and with lips slightly parted as if moaning faintly.
"Check her body," Xuan Ye turned to Ban Xia.
Ban Xia stepped forward, lifted Yuan Fang's gauze garment, and couldn't help but let out a cold laugh: "It seems Minister Hou was quite wild last night—she's covered in kiss marks."
"What are kiss marks?"
"If I kiss you hard, very very hard, the marks left behind are called kiss marks."
Xuan Ye cleared his throat softly.
They fell into silence. Yuan Fang's death was peculiar, but they couldn't pinpoint exactly why, so they left the room and waited in the side hall for her husband to return.
Soon the master of the house rushed back, heading straight for the inner chamber with hurried footsteps that betrayed his anxiety.
Ban Xia and Xuan Ye followed, watching as Minister Hou charged into the room, gathered his wife Yuan Fang in his arms, and broke down sobbing.
"How could this happen? She was perfectly fine last night, perfectly fine!"
"Did you share a room with your wife last night?" Xuan Ye asked at this point.
"Yes. This morning I saw she was sleeping deeply, so I didn't wake her."
"Your wife died late at night—at least two hours ago, meaning she died right beside you."
Minister Hou froze at these words, as if waking from a dream, and looked up to ask: "Who are you? Why are you in my house? Do you suspect I killed my own wife?!"
"I am a soul collector, specializing in capturing Evil Ghosts. I don't suspect you," Xuan Ye said gently. "I just want to ask if you noticed anything unusual last night."
"Nothing unusual at all! I slept very well last night, nothing happened!"
Hearing this, Ban Xia laughed: "Well, that makes sense. After your passionate lovemaking with your wife last night, naturally you'd sleep soundly and notice nothing."
"Who is this woman!" Minister Hou finally roared, his eyes blazing. "What lovemaking? What passionate affairs? How dare you speak such vulgar words! Last night my wife and I washed up and went straight to sleep—we did nothing!!"
"Then what about those marks on her body? They're fresh—don't tell me they're not yours."
Minister Hou was shocked again, quickly shoving them out of the room before uncovering Yuan Fang's clothes to check.
Sure enough, there were marks—rust-red traces of kisses—winding from her chest all the way to the back of her neck, numbering more than ten places.
When they had bathed before bed last night, he had even wiped Yuan Fang's back himself—there had clearly been nothing there.
They had shared the same bed all night—had he been dead to the world, unaware of his wife's affair with someone else?!
Minister Hou went mad, clawing his fingers through his hair as he let out a long, wolf-like howl.
That same day, in the afternoon, on a small path at the foot of Guanmao Mountain in the outskirts, the autumn wind grew sharper.
Aunt He tightened her clothes around her, carrying her covered basket, feeling an eerie chill down her spine that made her quicken her pace.
Coming upon a cave ahead, she glanced inside and felt a sudden jolt in her chest, as if struck hard by an invisible force.
"Silver, gleaming silver—don't you want to take it away..."A woman's voice suddenly drifted from the cave, chilling and eerie, seeming both distant and close at hand. Its trailing tone made all the hairs on Aunt He's body stand on end.
Aunt He clasped her hands together, repeatedly murmuring "Buddha bless me," wanting to step forward but finding herself unable to even lift a foot.
"Silver, gleaming silver, don't you want to take it..."
The woman's voice repeated.
True to her word, as soon as her voice faded, a shiny silver ingot indeed appeared at Aunt He's feet, bright and glittering, looking to be at least ten taels.
"You can take it. From now on, she is yours..." the woman's voice floated again.
Aunt He's legs began trembling uncontrollably, and her speech stammered: "G-great immortal... spare me, I... I... I dare not take the great immortal's money."
"If you don't take it, you die. Take it, and you'll be fine..."
A chilly wind rustled through the cave. Every word from the woman's voice felt like cold needles—soft to the ear but piercing straight to the heart.
Aunt He trembled even more violently, dropping her covered basket. She had to press her knees to speak: "G-great immortal... why... why are you giving me money? I... I... I..."
"Take the silver. You only need to do one small thing for me."
"W-what thing?"
"Throw this copper coin in a place where beautiful women often appear." The voice from the cave spoke, tossing a copper coin out. It landed squarely on the back of Aunt He's foot.
At Rouge Workshop, Miss Gu Wanyun was the last customer. She bought a box of rouge and a box of face powder. After she left, the shopkeeper closed for the day.
A sedan chair was waiting outside the shop. As Miss Gu lifted her skirt to board, she noticed a copper coin at her feet.
A single coin wouldn't normally catch her attention, but the more she looked at it, the more she felt strangely drawn, finding the coin quite unusual.
So she bent down and picked it up.
It was an ordinary copper coin with the characters "Jiayou Tongbao" inscribed. The only peculiarity was a reddish-brown mark on it, resembling a wisp of colored clouds.
Gu Wanyun touched it with her finger—the mark was uneven, almost like rust.
"Red rust. A copper coin with red rust—how peculiar," she murmured to herself, tucking the coin away before lowering her head and stepping into the sedan chair.
By the time she arrived home, it was completely dark. Dinner was already set in the dining hall, consisting of several small dishes she loved.
The Gu family were merchants, not particularly wealthy, but they doted on their only daughter, who was graceful and charming, treating her like a princess.
Gu Wanyun picked up her bowl as usual, eating half a bowl of rice while her mother continuously served her more dishes, urging her to eat more.
Somehow, she felt uneasy throughout the meal, constantly thinking about the peculiar coin she had placed in her sachet. It felt alternately cold and warm, emitting an indescribable eeriness.
After finishing dinner and returning to her room, she took out the coin to examine it. Faintly, she thought she saw the red rust come alive, truly resembling colored clouds, slowly rising.
The oil lamp in the room was dim. Suspecting her eyes were playing tricks on her, she quickly went to adjust the wick.
When she looked again, the coin was just a coin—the rust was lifeless, with no unusual signs at all.
"Truly, suspicion breeds imaginary ghosts," Gu Wanyun chuckled to herself, feeling somewhat tired. She called her maid to undo her hair, wash her feet, and prepare for bed.
The Gu residence was always tranquil, and she was a calm person with few worries, so she soon drifted into sleep.The copper coin remained on the table.
About half an hour later, she began to feel a tickling sensation in her soles, as if someone were holding her feet and toying with them.
She didn’t wake, but let out two soft, muffled giggles.
Soon, the presence moved upward, damp and cool, kissing her ankles—a lingering yet icy kiss.
Gu Wanyun turned over, dismissing it as a spring dream, and still did not wake.
The kisses then trailed upward, gradually growing more forceful—from her slender calves to her smooth, plump thighs, finally pausing at the patch of dark hair.
Gu Wanyun remained lost in the dream, but her body’s desires were undeniable. She couldn’t help arching her waist and letting out a faint, delicate moan.
The kiss descended—two lips enveloping her core, sucking fiercely, while a tongue probed inward with a shallow, tantalizing tremor that sent shivers of ecstasy.
A wave of tingling pleasure surged to her head. Gu Wanyun’s body arched, her heels rubbing against the sheets as if trapped in a nightmare, still unable to wake.
The teasing below continued as the presence enveloped her pearl, sucking and toying with it repeatedly.
In her dream, Gu Wanyun freed one hand to clutch the edge of the bed, her breathing growing increasingly ragged. Though fear and resistance lingered in her heart, she couldn’t help parting her legs slightly, yearning for a deeper penetration.
The presence paused briefly, as if understanding her desire, and began to enter slowly, with unexpected tenderness.
Gu Wanyun was still a virgin, yet the penetration was not difficult. The intruding member was slick, and with a slight push, the two merged as one.
At the same moment, the kisses traveled upward—starting from her waist, gradually ascending to her chest, growing more fervent until they reached her peak, where they culminated in a sharp, biting nip.
“Mmm… mmm… ah…”
The rhythm below quickened. Gu Wanyun could no longer suppress her moans, though they were faint, as if stifled by the dream, escaping only as ragged whispers.
The kisses climbed higher, gliding over her breasts to her collarbone, finally reaching her earlobe. A nimble tongue slipped into her ear—another of a woman’s sensitive spots.
Below, blood flowed more freely—the blood of her maidenhood, carrying a primal scent, pushing the half-dreaming Gu Wanyun toward climax.
It was an indescribable sensation, like a hundred flowers blooming at once or walking the edge of a cliff—so intensely thrilling that her mind was left in a hazy void.
Gu Wanyun let out a long, drawn-out moan, feeling the presence release a surge of thick fluid inside her. Abruptly, she awoke from the dream.
The tremors in her body had yet to subside; the climax still lingered. Dazed, she opened her eyes and saw only two points of green light.
They were a pair of eyes, gleaming with an eerie emerald glow in the pitch-black, haunting night.
Gu Wanyun opened her mouth to scream, but before any sound could escape, a powerful force clamped around her throat, instantly cutting off her breath.
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