"What!"
Master Sun immediately took a few steps forward, clenching his fists. "Didn't we tie her up in her room? How did she break free from the ropes and end up back in the coffin?"
The servant, terrified by Master Sun's advance, trembled and lowered his head. "We don't know either. We had several maids watching Miss Sun, but she inexplicably vanished during the day."
"We figured her disappearance must have something to do with the coffin. When we rushed over, we saw Miss Sun lying inside. We didn't dare disturb her and came to get you right away, Master."
Master Sun sighed, unclenching his fist, and looked at Lady Sun beside him. "Crying, crying, that's all you know how to do! Get a move on and come with me!"
At this, Lady Sun stopped crying and hurriedly followed behind Master Sun.
Everyone left the main house and entered the courtyard.
Beside the courtyard was a spacious small building.
At this moment, its door was securely locked.
Master Sun walked up to the door. Seeing the lock hanging on it, he pointed and said, "The lock wasn't broken. How did you discover that Miss Sun was in the coffin?"
The servant quickly explained, "When we got here, the lock was already on the ground. We were afraid something else might happen to Miss Sun, so we locked it on our way out."
"Open it." Master Sun waved his hand.
The servant hurried forward, unlocked it, and carefully pushed the door open.
Master Sun rushed inside.
Inside the room, a coffin rested in the very center, its lid lying on the floor.
The coffin was crafted from fine wood and coated in vermilion lacquer.
Surrounding the coffin was a circle of candles.
The flickering candlelight cast a bizarre and eerie glow throughout the room.
Master Sun walked forward a few steps and looked at the scene inside the coffin, the sense of helplessness in his eyes growing.
A delicate-looking young woman lay in the coffin, her hands folded over her abdomen. She had her eyes closed, as if sound asleep.
But upon closer inspection, one would see that her face was as pale as paper, and a wisp of black Qi swirled on her forehead.
"Xin'Er, wake up," Master Sun called out softly.
The sleeping Miss Sun frowned but did not wake.
Beside them, Lady Sun approached the coffin. After looking at her sleeping daughter, she could no longer control her emotions and began to wail.
"My poor girl! Why must you suffer so? It's all your father's fault! He just had to believe that slovenly Daoist, and now look at you, neither human nor ghost..."
Her sobs echoed through the room. The surrounding servants and maids didn't dare to look, afraid that a single glance might draw this misfortune upon themselves.
Amidst the wailing, Miss Sun finally awoke and opened her eyes.
Her eyes were filled with exhaustion, as if she hadn't slept for days and nights on end.
Miss Sun spoke, her voice incredibly weak.
"Father, Mother... I'm in the coffin again."
Her tone, however, was surprisingly calm, proof that this had happened many times before.
Master Sun gave a bitter smile. "Get out first, then we can talk."
Miss Sun nodded and weakly climbed out of the coffin.
Supported by several maids, she was helped to her feet on the floor.
The moment her feet touched the ground, Miss Sun's legs went soft.
Fortunately, the maids were there to support her, and she didn't collapse.
"Master, let's just get help from the Government Office."
Lady Sun tugged on Master Sun's sleeve, her voice choked with sobs.
Hearing the words "Government Office," Master Sun's expression became conflicted. A moment later, he shook off Lady Sun's hand.
"We can't involve the people from the Government Office."
"Why not?" Lady Sun cried. "Your daughter is in this state! Why won't you go to the Government Office? If she dies... after all these years together, how could I possibly go on living?"
Master Sun's face turned grim. "Someone, take the madam away. And while you're at it, take the young miss away too. We'll leave this matter as it is. Lock the door, and add a few more people to watch Miss Sun."
"Yes, sir."
The servants and maids quickly complied, leading Lady Sun and Miss Sun out of the room.
In the blink of an eye, only Master Sun remained in the room with the coffin.
Master Sun paced back and forth, circling the coffin several times. He placed a hand on its edge, lost in thought.
After about the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, Master Sun finally left the room and returned to the main house.
Shen Bai, hidden atop a wall, had a crystal-clear view of the entire scene.
'There's something wrong with this Master Sun.'
Setting aside everything else, when faced with such a strange and eerie event, a normal person's first instinct would be to seek help from the Government Office.
What's more, the Sun Family was a wealthy merchant household in Shengyun County. They paid a significant amount in taxes, so the Government Office would be more than willing to help.
Yet, Master Sun was determined to keep this matter under wraps.
It would be stranger still if Shen Bai couldn't see that something was afoot.
Of course, that wasn't the most critical part.
The most critical part was that Shen Bai had noticed something unusual about the coffin.
A sliver of cold, sinister energy emanated from within it.
An ordinary person entering the room would, at most, feel a bit of a chill.
But Shen Bai, with Qi in his body, could feel that beyond the coldness, it was also radiating an overwhelming resentment.
'Aberration.'
That one word surfaced in Shen Bai's mind.
Shen Bai thought for a moment, and a plan began to form.
'The sun is still up, so it's not a good time to act. I'll come back tonight. Master Sun is hiding something, and I can take the opportunity to see what it is.'
'I also need to find out who that old Daoist is.'
He was determined to claim this Evil Qi.
Eradicating aberrations was the duty of a Cultivator, so it was only natural for Shen Bai to collect the Evil Qi in the process.
As for the old Daoist and Master Sun, Shen Bai wanted to see how their story would unfold.
If he could score some more Evil Qi out of it, that would be a huge bonus.
With his plan in place, Shen Bai didn't dwell on it further. He slipped down from the wall, found a spot near the Sun Family's estate, and sat down to eat and drink some tea.
From this vantage point, he could observe most of what was happening at the Sun residence, which he found quite convenient.
In the meantime, however, Shen Bai planned to use the wisp of Evil Qi he had just obtained.
'Right now, I have two choices: qualitatively transform my Bright Jade Body, or identify the Ancient True Scripture.'
Shen Bai tapped his fingers on the table. After taking a sip of tea, he had his answer.
'After identifying the Ancient True Scripture, I'd still have to grind its Skill Level. That doesn't seem worthwhile right now.'
'Transforming my Bright Jade Body, on the other hand, will double my Attributes and grant me new ones. That's a much better deal.'
Thinking this, Shen Bai didn't hesitate. With a mere thought, he rapidly consumed the Evil Qi.
Before his eyes, the wisp of Evil Qi vanished, and his Bright Jade Body began its qualitative transformation.
A mist appeared before him, instantly condensing into new words that floated in mid-air.