PWE – Chapter 25 Why Are You So Naive?

The Mu family was utterly terrified.

Old Madam Mu asked, “What’s going on? Why is it dark? What’s happening?” It had clearly been the middle of a sunny afternoon, yet in an instant, the sky had turned pitch black.

Madam Mu was so shocked she jumped up from the sofa. She wanted to turn on the lights, but suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed her ankles, freezing her in place. Those hands were icy cold, so cold that her feet ached with pain.

Her breath caught, and cold sweat seeped from her forehead.

Mu Yunhao tried to push his wheelchair to switch on the light as well, but suddenly his wheelchair wouldn’t budge, as though it had been nailed to the ground.

He frowned tightly and urged Mu Yuncheng beside him: “Yuncheng, go turn on the lights, quickly!”

But Yuncheng, too, was immobilized.

His body felt pinned to the floor, unable to move even an inch.

Yuncheng’s face darkened, his brows furrowed as he spoke in a cold voice: “Miss, this is some sort of illusion trick? Why are you doing this? Trying to scare us?!”

He dared not call it sorcery. After all, he had just claimed there were no such things as ghosts. If there were no ghosts, how could there be supernatural arts? To admit otherwise would be to slap himself in the face.

In the living room, aside from his voice, the sounds of Old Madam Mu and Gong Nianzhen had also disappeared. Suddenly… the air fell eerily silent.

So quiet it felt unnatural, as though everyone else had vanished, leaving Yuncheng alone in the world.

Clenching his fists, he tried to maintain composure, but panic was rising inside him.

His gloomy eyes darted about the room, but all he saw was darkness. It was as though he were trapped in some infernal abyss.

Yet he knew he was still inside his own living room.

Tentatively, he tried to move his feet — and found that now, he could. Groping in the dark, he stumbled toward the wall to reach the light switch.

But then…

After only two steps, something felt wrong. Beneath his feet lay bones. Stepping on them was like stepping on skulls.

His pupils shrank. Instinctively, he bent down and touched them. The moment his fingers brushed the surface, his whole body trembled in horror.

They really were skulls. But how could there be skulls in the living room? Could this be the woman’s doing?

Just as doubt filled him, the darkness abruptly vanished. Light streamed down from above, flooding everything.

Yuncheng could finally see clearly.

And when he looked down at his feet — he was standing on a field of skulls. All around him stretched a desert, its ground completely covered in bones, like some kind of skeletal hellscape.

He froze. Even knowing this was the woman’s trick, he still couldn’t process the sight before him.

“Daddy…” A childish voice suddenly rang out.

He looked up — it was his son. The very boy he had killed and refined into a ghost, walking slowly toward him.

The child’s face was pale, with blood streaming from his mouth and nose, his hands dripping red. He looked exactly as he had the moment of death — body pierced with nails, blood pouring from every wound.

“Daddy, you killed me, turned me into a ghost, and made me do evil. Do you know how much I hate you? I want to kill you. I want you to be a dead man too.” Taotao’s words were slow and deliberate, his pale face curling into a chilling smile.

Yuncheng gritted his teeth and pulled out a talisman — one given to him by Daoist Qu. With this talisman, he had always been able to control Taotao. Surely it would work now.

Holding it up, he threatened: “You recognize this, don’t you? If you dare defy me, I’ll destroy you with this! Don’t think that woman can protect you. You—”

Before he could finish, Taotao lunged forward, snatching the talisman from his hand.

The boy slapped it onto his own forehead, smiling mockingly: “Daddy, you always stuck it on me like this, right? Tell me, is it straight? Did I put it crooked?”

Yuncheng: “…”

Shock flooded his face. He had never imagined the talisman would fail.

His voice trembled: “You… why…”

“This talisman only works on ordinary ghosts. But I am no longer ordinary. I am a vengeful spirit now. Daddy, how naïve can you be? To think a scrap of paper could control me.” With that, Taotao ripped the talisman to shreds.

He scattered the fragments on the ground and smiled: “Daddy, I want to tear you apart the same way.”

He reached out, his bleeding hand morphing into a clawed, monstrous appendage.

The sight made Yuncheng recoil, fear written plainly on his face.

“Ungrateful child! I am your father — how dare you kill your father?!” he shouted.

“But you just told Grandma and the others… I’m not your son. Since you deny me, why should I acknowledge you?” Taotao sneered, sending shivers down Yuncheng’s spine.

Yuncheng gritted his teeth. “Even if I said that, you are still my child by blood. Without me, you wouldn’t even exist!”

“Oh? So you admit I’m your son? Fine, then I’ll be your son once more. But Daddy, you killed me. You didn’t just kill me, you handed me over to that wicked Daoist to be refined into a ghost! Do you know how painful it is? Like being flayed alive, every single day. You made me live in agony, forced me to attack Uncle. I couldn’t kill him, so I only crippled his leg. But you raged and had that Daoist punish me — hammering soul-nails into my body! Daddy, is there a crueler father in the world than you? If I could choose, I’d never want to be your child.”

His tone was icy, but by the end, tears streamed down his face.

He had once dreamed of growing up, going to school, learning like other children. But his father had robbed him of that — with unimaginable cruelty.

“I…” Yuncheng began, but Taotao cut him off: “I know you killed me for the Mu family inheritance. You deceived everyone, pretending you wanted to be a teacher, a man of virtue. But you are more venomous than any villain. You’re the most vicious person I’ve ever seen!”

Yuncheng tried to deny it, but facing those hateful eyes, the words stuck in his throat.

“You really are heartless. Not only did you make me kill Uncle, you even wanted me to kill Grandfather — your own father! I couldn’t do it, so I only made him ill. And again you punished me! If I hadn’t escaped, I would’ve suffered more soul-nail torment!”

Every word dripped with anger and hatred.

Hearing his ghost son condemn him, Yuncheng grew enraged. At last, his voice broke through: “They deserved to die! With them alive, the Mu inheritance would never come to me. Killing them was not wrong! Everyone lives for their own benefit. I just took measures for mine. And after they’re gone, I’ll burn more offerings for them, make their afterlife easier!”

“Well said,” came a cold voice.

In an instant, the bone-strewn desert dissolved, replaced by the Mu family living room.

Old Madam Mu, Madam Mu, and the others all stood there, looking at Yuncheng with utter disappointment.

A loud ringing filled Yuncheng’s head, like a snapped string.

He opened his mouth to explain, but Yunhao glared at him, furious: “Yuncheng, so this is who you really are. We all misjudged you!”

Since childhood, Yuncheng had acted gentle, humble, never competing for anything. They had believed him sincere. Never did they imagine such venom lurked within him — a man who would kill his own father and brother.

“Brother, I…”

“Yuncheng, when did we ever wrong you, that you’d betray us this way?!” Gong Nianzhen cried, eyes filled with fury and grief.

“We pitied you, comforted you daily. And yet it was all your scheme! Yuncheng, you’ve broken our hearts. How could you be such a man!” Old Madam Mu sobbed. The grandson she had doted on was a monster — her failure in raising him.

Panic overwhelmed Yuncheng.

He licked his lips and stammered: “Grandmother, Mother, it’s not like that, I… I didn’t know why I said those words. It was like something possessed me! Yes, possessed! It must be her doing!” He pointed at Xiao Wange. “She made something take me over! Those weren’t my words! I never wanted the inheritance. My dream is still to be a teacher, to educate the young, I—”

“Second Young Master Mu, stop lying. You did all of it. That ghost — I helped you refine him.” Daoist Qu stepped forward, eyes fixed coldly on him.

“You…” Yuncheng tried to retort, but the Daoist turned to bow before Old Madam Mu and Madam Mu. “I am Qu Jingkang of Qingfeng Monastery, styled Daoist Qingzhen. Surely you’ve heard of my temple.”

“What? You’re Daoist Qingzhen?” Gong Nianzhen gasped.

Qingfeng Monastery was famous. Many wealthy families visited it for blessings. Qingzhen was its abbot, revered as a living immortal. Gong herself had long admired him, though she’d never met him in person.

Now, hearing this man admit his identity, she was stunned.

“It is true. If you doubt me, come with me to verify at the monastery,” he said solemnly.

Studying his face, Gong finally nodded. “Yes… you match the descriptions. I believe you.”

“Good. Madam Mu, your second son paid me handsomely to refine a ghost from his own child. I witnessed him hammer nails into that boy myself. The child’s resentment was immense, perfect for ghost refinement. He gave him to me fully, and I complied. Later, he ordered the ghost to kill your husband and Mr. Yunhao — I knew, for I had to assist. Everything he confessed earlier is true. He has plotted this for over a year.”

Qu’s words were grave, carrying the weight of truth.

“Lies! You lying Daoist, conspiring with that woman to frame me!” Yuncheng roared, glaring. “You dare sully your own temple’s reputation for this?!”

“Enough!” Gong cut him off, her gaze icy. “I believe Daoist Qingzhen. Everything he said is true.” After all, Yuncheng himself had admitted it moments ago.

Though he claimed possession, they all knew better.

“Mother…” Yuncheng’s face broke into cold sweat.

At that moment, a woman who had been standing quietly beside Zhao Guixiang stepped forward, tears streaming down her face.

She cried before Old Madam Mu: “I was the one who cared for that child before his death. We lived in a shabby house on the east side of town. That boy was so sweet, so clever. Before he turned one, he could already talk and recite poems. I treated him like my own grandson. He’d follow me, calling me ‘Granny Chi,’ bringing his little bowl to the stove at mealtime, insisting I eat first because I worked hard cooking.

“He never left that house. His whole world was the courtyard. He used to tell me he wanted to go outside, play with other children, go to school. On his first birthday, he asked for noodles with two eggs. I promised him eggs and meat. He was so happy, saying every birthday he wanted the same.”

She choked on her words, wiping tears before continuing: “That morning after breakfast, Second Young Master Mu sent me away. He gave me money, told me never to return. I resisted — I loved that boy. But he forced me out. Near noon, I worried he’d be hungry, so I sneaked back. What I saw… he was hammering nails into the child’s body! Blood everywhere, staining the floor. The boy screamed in pain, crying for his mother, though he’d never met her. He cried for me too: ‘Granny Chi, save me, it hurts so much!’ But I couldn’t help. They had sealed the room with a formation. I could only watch as he killed the child.”

“You beast! You wretched beast!” Old Madam Mu suddenly lifted her cane and struck at Yuncheng.

He dodged frantically, protesting: “Grandmother, it’s lies, all lies! Don’t trust them!”

“You still try to twist words now? You think I’m a fool?!” Old Madam Mu was shaking with rage and grief. She had never imagined her grandson capable of such cruelty.

Gong Nianzhen stood and slapped Yuncheng hard across the face.

Her eyes burned red. “Even a tiger won’t eat its cubs. How could you do this to your own child!”