Shades that linger in this world, never dissipating, all harbor unspeakable grievances.
When recalling this part of her story, "Gao Mengzhu" gnashed her teeth in fury.
"That woman was pregnant with a son, and because of the unborn brother in her belly, their attitude towards me seemed to improve a bit; at least they stopped cursing me for not being able to bring a brother into the world, and they didn’t beat or scold me every day."
"However, in just a short two months, the policy suddenly became strict, forbidding families with children to have a second child, and they even dragged pregnant women off for abortions..."
"Some people hid in the mountains, others took refuge in relatives’ homes, so guess what that woman chose?"
The girl lifted her head, staring straight at Yue Qingqing.
With a snort from Yan Sinian, "Gao Mengzhu" slowly lowered her head.
"They chose to let me die, for with me dead, the baby inside her could be born smoothly, and that woman would no longer have to hide and seek."
"After all, I was just a mute who couldn’t speak and had no name."
"That day I tasted my first piece of candy in my life; she told me to close my eyes obediently, saying she wanted to play a game with me. I was led to the woods with that piece of candy in my mouth, and then—she pushed me into a pit."
"I couldn’t open my eyes, and baskets and baskets of earth smashed into my face, I couldn’t see anything but could only hear the sound of the iron shovel; I wanted to scream for help, but I was a mute..."
"By the time I finally managed to utter that cry for help, I realized I had died; I was suffocated alive, do you know what that feels like?"
"Gao Mengzhu" took deep breaths of air, her eyeballs almost falling out of their sockets.
Swallowing hard, Yue Qingqing then heard her senior brother’s icy voice.
"So you took over this girl’s body?"
"Gao Mengzhu," resentful, said, "Why can’t I? She’s also a girl, yet she can live; I want to live, too; we all want to live!"
Yan Sinian, cold and indifferent, was not the least bit moved by her tragic story.
"I’m not a judge; you don’t need to waste your breath on me. Tell me where you died and your original information."
Biting her lip, "Gao Mengzhu" gave out the location and her name, as well as her former residence.
In life, she was mute; in death, she found her voice, and her desire to express herself was especially strong.
It’s just that she hadn’t expected to meet a reticent cultivator, forcing her to swallow much of her bitterness.
It was the girl beside her who looked at her with sympathy, which gave her some relief.
Yue Qingqing couldn’t help but sigh as she thought of the child her aunt had lost.
Her aunt, at least, had been determined to protect the child; it was just unfortunate that after giving birth, she fell into weakness and could not save herself.
As for this girl, she had been murdered by her own mother; no wonder she was so resentful, bearing such a grave injustice.
Compared to Yue Qingqing’s myriad feelings, Yan Sinian’s approach was much more clinical and detached.
In a world so full of injustice, he was a cold-hearted sword cultivator, who never harbored any ambitions to rectify every wrong in the world.
If they hadn’t bothered his little sister’s friend, Yan Sinian probably wouldn’t have even blinked an eye at them.
"Keep the storytelling simple from now on, tone down the embellishments. Just let me know the cause and your information," he commanded.
The other shades: "..."
Having finally met a living person who could hear them, couldn’t they be allowed a bit more time on stage?
"Hurry up," Yan Sinian urged impatiently.
The shades could only speak up one after another, recounting their grievances.
What should have been a tear-jerking competition of suffering,
Turned dull and flavorless due to an overly indifferent audience.
Only Yue Qingqing considerately sniffled and let tears rim her eyes,
Making the shades wish they could embrace and weep with her.
But they were met with a cold glance from Yan Sinian, and could only lower their heads and continue to narrate quietly.