Ch11 – The Jing family’s secret

Translator: Abo Dammen

Jing Liansheng, however, remained completely unmoved. 

Bai Qing thought: He probably hasn’t noticed.

So, to maximize his presence, Bai Qing gritted his teeth, putting on an expression of extreme suffering while making his body tremble. As he shook, the large black umbrella he was holding shook as well.

At this point, even a blind person would have noticed something was wrong.

Sure enough, Jing Liansheng noticed the anomaly. He looked up at the black umbrella, then glanced at Bai Qing out of the corner of his eye, saying, “Are you…” 

Sensing his gaze, Bai Qing immediately spoke up, “…It seems the sun is a bit too harsh. But it’s fine, I’ll manage.” Bai Qing coughed lightly, revealing a fragile, ethereal smile. “Please don’t worry about me, Eldest Young Master.”

Jing Liansheng replied, “I wasn’t.”

Bai Qing: …You heartless, unfeeling dead ghost.

Bai Qing wordlessly led Jing Liansheng through the bustling commercial district. Skyscrapers stood tall, shopping malls lined up one after another, and various luxury stores displayed a dazzling array of goods, attracting a continuous stream of people. Jing Liansheng’s gaze fell on some individuals wearing sun hats, sunglasses, face masks, and also holding umbrellas. He couldn’t help but express surprise. “Why do these people seem to fear the sunlight more than I do?” 

Bai Qing coughed. “Yes, many living people are quite afraid of sunlight nowadays. So we don’t stand out at all in the crowd, rest assured.”

Jing Liansheng felt the human world had truly turned upside down.

Just then, a young man’s voice came from behind them, “Is that… Bai Qing?”

Bai Qing was startled. He turned to look, paused for a moment before remembering who it was. “Young Master Chen?” 

It was that rich young master who had bid against him for the leather shoes and ultimately reminded him to be careful and inquire about the Jing family!

Young Master Chen hesitated for a while, looking at the large black umbrella Bai Qing was holding. His face stiffened as if seeing something terrifying. “Th-this… why are you using an umbrella like that?”

“What’s wrong with this umbrella?” Bai Qing asked, puzzled. “Many people use black umbrellas.”

Although, for maximum efficacy, Bai Qing had specifically acquired this umbrella from a funeral establishment. 

“A black umbrella is fine…” Young Master Chen pointed at the white paper flowers adorning the black umbrella, “But this… isn’t it a bit…”

Only then did Bai Qing notice the white flowers on the black umbrella. He thought: This is indeed a bit unlucky.

But both he and Jing Liansheng needed precisely this kind of unluckiness. Of course, Bai Qing couldn’t tell Young Master Chen the blunt truth. Therefore, Bai Qing said with a perfectly normal expression, “Oh, this is an umbrella from ChXnel.“

“Ah, it’s from ChXnel? Then it’s fine.” Young Master Chen immediately relaxed. 

After all, who doesn’t come out of a ChXnel boutique carrying a black box tied with a white ribbon and a small white flower attached? Thinking it was from their brand, it didn’t feel unlucky anymore. Instead, it felt somewhat noble.

Just as Young Master Chen relaxed, he saw Jing Liansheng turn his face towards him.

He saw Jing Liansheng’s face was utterly bloodless, deathly pale, paired with eyes red as blood and pupils black as night, inexplicably making one feel cold.

Young Master Chen began trembling again. “You… you… you…” 

Seeing Young Master Chen nearly faint from fright, Jing Liansheng, not wanting to scare him to death, said calmly, “I’m Er Ci Yuan.”

“Ah, so you’re ‘two-dimensional’…” Young Master Chen immediately relaxed his guard. However, after a moment, he couldn’t help but ask, “Then, which character are you cosplaying?”

This truly hit Jing Liansheng’s blind spot.

Bai Qing coughed and said, “He’s a… rather niche character. It’s normal you wouldn’t know.” 

As he spoke, Bai Qing quickly changed the subject. “By the way, Young Master Chen, what are you doing here?”

Young Master Chen said, “Oh, I haven’t spent all my trust fund for this month, so I thought I’d come out and buy something.”

Bai Qing: … There’s such a thing as money that can’t be spent? I don’t believe it, unless you let me try spending it!

Young Master Chen looked at Jing Liansheng, then at Bai Qing, and nodded satisfactorily. “It seems you took my advice and didn’t enter the Jing family to become the eldest young mistress?” 

Bai Qing choked slightly, glancing at Jing Liansheng from the corner of his eye. Detecting no change in Jing Liansheng’s expression, he turned to Young Master Chen and said, “How can you tell I didn’t enter the Jing family?”

Young Master Chen pointed at Jing Liansheng. “You’re already commissioning. You definitely didn’t get married.”

Jing Liansheng’s brows furrowed almost imperceptibly as he looked at Bai Qing, as if silently asking: What is ‘commissioning’?

Bai Qing couldn’t explain right now. He rubbed his nose and thought: Have you ever seen a client holding an umbrella for their commissioned cosplayer? 

Bai Qing coughed and said, “It’s so hot, and it’s very sunny here. How about we go into the mall to talk?”

Young Master Chen agreed with a nod and entered the mall with Bai Qing and Jing Liansheng.

Once inside the mall, Bai Qing put away the large black umbrella and asked Young Master Chen, “Back then, you told me to inquire about the Jing family. Actually, I didn’t find out anything particularly special…”

“Not special?” Young Master Chen was quite surprised. 

Bai Qing took the opportunity to probe, “I just heard that the eldest young master has never appeared, and that his fate is bad, bringing harm to relatives?”

“Really?” Young Master Chen seemed to be hearing this information for the first time as well. “I didn’t know that. The Jing family seems to keep their eldest young master’s information very tightly under wraps.”

Hearing this, Bai Qing immediately realized his previous assumptions were wrong. Bai Qing and his Shifu had originally thought the ‘big pitfall’ Young Master Chen hinted at was the Jing family seeking a bride for a ghost marriage. Now it seemed Young Master Chen knew nothing about that.

So, what exactly was the ‘big pitfall’ Young Master Chen referred to? 

Could the Jing family be hiding other unknown secrets?

Unable to restrain his curiosity, Bai Qing blurted out, “Then what exactly did you want me to inquire about?”

Young Master Chen’s face instantly stiffened, his expression very unnatural. “You… you mean you haven’t heard any other news?”

“Other news?” Bai Qing frowned deeply, pressing further, “What else should I know?” 

Realizing he might have said too much, Young Master Chen quickly clamped his lips shut, shaking his head, refusing to reveal another word. Bai Qing pondered how to pry open Young Master Chen’s mouth.

Logically, since Young Master Chen had revealed so much to a stranger like himself, he probably wasn’t someone who could keep secrets tightly. With a little trick, it should be easy to get him to talk.

However, before Bai Qing could display his cleverness, Jing Liansheng had already grown impatient.

Jing Liansheng, true to his bad-tempered young master nature, had no desire to bother with clever tricks. He simply stepped forward. 

Bai Qing watched Jing Liansheng curiously.

Jing Liansheng merely raised his hand and slapped the back of Young Master Chen’s head.

Bai Qing immediately understood. —Ah, it’s ‘ghost slaps the back of the head’!

When a ghost slaps the back of a person’s head, their mouth automatically opens, involuntarily revealing things they originally didn’t want to or shouldn’t say. Bai Qing couldn’t help but give Jing Liansheng a thumbs-up. You’re still the best! 

Ordinary, weak-willed people like Young Master Chen had no resistance against Jing Liansheng’s light slap. His eyes looked slightly dazed as his mouth, ahead of his consciousness, spilled the words hidden in his heart, “It’s true! In Luocheng, you can try to climb the social ladder with anyone, but you must not try with the Jing family!”

“Why is that?” Bai Qing asked swiftly, following up immediately.

Under the supernatural influence, Young Master Chen answered without hesitation, “Because, every single person who marries into the Jing family meets an unnatural end!”

Bai Qing looked at Jing Liansheng in shock. Jing Liansheng frowned slightly, clearly unaware of this matter. Bai Qing intensified his tone, continuing to press him, “Every single one? You mean there were others before me?” 

Young Master Chen nodded. “Yes. Every single one…” he said in a daze. “Do you know Jing Er, Jing San, and Jing Si?”

“Of course I know.” Bai Qing nodded. “They are the three children Madam Jing adopted…”

Young Master Chen continued, “Then do you know that all three of them have been married before?”

This shocked Bai Qing greatly. “I really haven’t heard about that. Their spouses… could it be?” 

“Their spouses were all from poor backgrounds, thinking they could seize the opportunity to rise instantly, transforming into a phoenix upon a high branch,” Young Master Chen rambled on, driven by the unnatural force, unable to stop. “But what was the result? Every single one died mysteriously. They were all selected based on birth chart compatibility, just like you.”

Hearing this, Bai Qing was stunned. He exchanged a glance with Jing Liansheng. Both sensed something very fishy about this.

These words seemed to have been pent up in Young Master Chen’s heart for a long time. Now, given this chance to pour them out, he became more and more agitated as he spoke, “Of course, to outsiders, these are just accidents. But those in our circle, who doesn’t see the strangeness in this? Think about it, how could a prominent family like the Jings not choose in-laws of comparable status? If the younger generation fell in love freely and happened to marry someone from an ordinary family, that would be one thing. But these are arranged marriages, yet they don’t care about gender, only selecting poor people with compatible birth chart. And the result? Each one died under unclear circumstances. Afterwards, they just throw some money at the victims’ families, and they stop pursuing it. Besides, since they always choose poor people, many are still willing to take the risk, hoping they’ll be the exception, and marry in even after hearing about previous deaths.”

Bai Qing found this truly chilling and continued asking, “What else do you know?” 

Young Master Chen, however, frowned and shook his head. “I really don’t know more than that. The Jing family is immensely wealthy and powerful, their fortune is incredibly good. Everything they touch turns to gold. In Luocheng, they are not only the richest but also monopolize many industries. Both their financial power and influence far surpass other prominent families. How could someone of my small stature possibly know the secrets they want to keep?”

Jing Liansheng probably also saw that Young Master Chen had nothing more to say and withdrew his power.

Young Master Chen swayed dizzily, staggering a couple of steps before steadying himself. He belatedly covered his mouth, remembering how much he had accidentally revealed.

Young Master Chen said in terror, “I… how did I…” 

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Bai Qing quickly put on a big, reassuring smile, patting Young Master Chen’s shoulder reassuringly. “I won’t tell anyone.”

Young Master Chen swallowed and looked up at Jing Liansheng. “Then… you won’t tell either, right?”

Jing Liansheng didn’t answer. 

Young Master Chen looked somewhat apprehensively at Bai Qing.

Bai Qing hurriedly said, “He’s naturally not talkative, let alone gossipy.”

Young Master Chen assessed Jing Liansheng, seeing he indeed looked the silent type, and felt slightly relieved. However, Young Master Chen deeply regretted his slip of the tongue and lost his mood for shopping. He said, “I… I should go back…”

Having said that, Young Master Chen didn’t even say goodbye and headed straight for the mall entrance. Seeing Young Master Chen’s dazed state, Bai Qing felt somewhat concerned and followed him. Jing Liansheng also silently followed behind Bai Qing. 

Just as Young Master Chen pushed open the mall’s heavy glass door and stepped one foot out, suddenly… BANG!—a tremendous crash—a figure, like a kite with its string cut, landed heavily on the ground right in front of him.

Accompanied by a scream from the crowd. “Ah! Someone fell!”

Seeing the corpse fallen before his eyes, Young Master Chen was so frightened he stumbled backward, about to fall onto Bai Qing. Bai Qing momentarily didn’t know whether to catch him or move aside.

However, Jing Liansheng made the decision for Bai Qing half a second early.