PWE – Chapter 48 He couldn’t accept it; she had fallen for another man.

Zhan Hongda and Zhan Hongjun came out of their rooms just then.

Zhan Hongda immediately stepped forward and slapped Zhan Hongxin across the face. “Have you lost your mind? You used to say that Hu Laizi was ugly and disgusting — that you couldn’t even eat when you saw him. And now you suddenly want to marry him?”

“Yeah, are you possessed or something?” Zhan Hongjun added.

The moment the word possessed was spoken, a flash of light seemed to streak through Zhan Songbai’s mind. Suddenly, something occurred to him.

He turned to Zhan Hongxin. “Where’s that talisman paper? The one I gave you?”

Zhan Hongxin frowned. “You mean the one from this afternoon? I left it at Siqiang’s house. It accidentally got stuck to my back, and Siqiang said that once it was on me, the symbol started glowing. Dad, that talisman…”

“How could this happen—how could this happen!” Before she could finish, Zhan Songbai slapped his thigh and cried out.

He shouted a few times, then grabbed her by the shoulders. “Did you recite the incantation? Did you say the spell on yourself?”

Zhan Hongxin shook her head. “Incantation? No, I didn’t.”

“If you didn’t say it, how could the talisman have worked?!” Zhan Songbai roared, shoving her away angrily. “Something must have gone wrong—something definitely went wrong.”

After a moment of thought, he turned to Zhan Hongda and Zhan Hongjun. “You two keep an eye on Hongxin. Don’t let her leave the house. I’m going out to find that Taoist priest!”

Right now, the top priority was to undo the talisman’s effect. Otherwise, Hongxin and that Hu Laizi were bound to cause trouble.

He could investigate the rest later. Since Hongxin said she hadn’t recited the spell herself, someone else must have secretly activated it. The talisman couldn’t have worked on its own — the priest had said it needed to be spoken aloud.

Zhan Hongda hesitated. “Got it, Dad. But it’s so late already… maybe wait until morning?”

“I can’t wait! I’m going now!” Zhan Songbai barked. He couldn’t rest easy until the curse was broken. Even though it was already dark, he rushed out, nearly tripping at the gate in his hurry.

But…

When Zhan Songbai returned home, something had gone wrong.

The house was eerily quiet — not a sound, not a person in sight.

He hurried to his eldest son’s room and found him fast asleep in bed.

Zhan Songbai’s face darkened instantly. He strode over and shook him awake. “Didn’t I tell you to watch Hongxin? Where is she?!”

Startled awake, Zhan Hongda rubbed his eyes. “Dad, Hongxin’s in her room. Me and Xiao Jun were too tired, so we tied her up with a rope. Don’t worry, she’s fine. She can’t go anywhere. You should rest too, Dad — it’s really late.”

He was about to lie back down when Zhan Songbai smacked him hard on the head. “Sleep? Go check on her right now!”

The blow was strong enough to wake him completely. He jolted upright and scrambled out of bed. “Alright, alright! I’ll go check on her right now.”

Zhan Songbai followed, frowning deeply.

Zhan Hongda expected to find his sister still bound in bed.

But when he opened the door, he froze.

The room was empty — the rope they had tied her with lay neatly coiled on the floor.

He glanced at the window. It was wide open. Clearly, Zhan Hongxin had escaped through it.

He turned, stunned. “Dad, Hongxin, she—”

“Useless! You can’t even watch one person! Why did I bother raising you? A dog would’ve been more useful!” Zhan Songbai roared, storming toward the door.

That unfilial girl must have gone to Hu Laizi! He was sure Hu Laizi had come to rescue her.

Just imagining his daughter with that disgusting man made his face go dark with fury — he was so angry he could kill someone.

Hearing the noise, Zhan Hongjun rushed out of his room.

“Dad, you’re back? What happened? Did something—did Hongxin—?”

“You’re useless too! You can’t study, you don’t earn money — why do I even feed you?!” Zhan Songbai snapped, glaring at him with pure disgust.

None of his children were any good. Lazy, useless disappointments — all of them.

Zhan Hongjun stood there, face burning with humiliation, unable to reply.

Zhan Songbai ignored him and stormed off.

Zhan Hongjun clenched his fists, then hurried to follow. He hated how his father talked to him — but since he still depended on him, he could only swallow his anger.

…

Zhan Songbai marched straight toward Hu Laizi’s house.

He was certain Hongxin was there. At this hour, the two of them alone together — who knew what might happen.

He had to drag her home and lock her up if he had to.

But—

He hadn’t gone far when a villager came running up to him.

“Zhan Songbai? It is you! Didn’t expect you to still be up this late. Good thing, too — hurry to the grain-drying field! Your daughter… something happened. She and Hu Laizi, they’re at the field—”

The villager trailed off awkwardly, but his expression said it all.

The light from Zhan Songbai’s flashlight illuminated the man’s face. Seeing the look in his eyes, Zhan Songbai’s breath hitched, his knees nearly buckling. Without another word, he took off running toward the grain field.

The villager sighed as he watched him go. “That Zhan family… truly rotten from top to bottom.”

…

Meanwhile, in Zhan Zeyan’s house.

He was a light sleeper — he’d heard everything happening next door.

He stared up at the canopy above him, face shrouded in darkness.

Then Xiao Wange suddenly sat up. “Why don’t we go watch the show?”

She couldn’t sleep anyway — might as well go see the drama unfold. Maybe it would even help her fall asleep afterward.

Zhan Zeyan pressed his lips together. “If you want to go, I’ll come with you. But it’s cold out — don’t let the wind make you sick.”

Xiao Wange smiled. “I’m not like other women. A little cold wind won’t hurt me.”

Zhan Zeyan fell silent — right, he’d nearly forgotten she was the kind of “immortal” who could summon Yama himself. Winter chill surely didn’t bother her.

He got up and dressed. “Alright then, let’s go see what’s happening at the grain field.”

…

By the time they arrived, Zhan Songbai was swinging his fists at Hu Laizi.

Hu Laizi was dodging frantically, shouting, “Dad, stop! Please, stop hitting me!”

Zhan Hongxin was crying as she tried to block her father. “Dad, please don’t hit Siqiang! We really love each other—please stop!”

Xiao Wange’s lips curved in a mocking smile.

She leaned toward Zhan Zeyan and whispered, “That talisman worked better than I expected. Look — ever since Zhan Hongxin used it, she’s madly in love with Hu Siqiang. If that thing were used on Mu Yunhao, his marriage would be doomed. And with your uncle as his father-in-law, his whole family would probably go down too.”

Zhan Zeyan frowned, glancing coldly at Zhan Hongxin’s desperate face. There wasn’t a hint of sympathy in his eyes. People like them — who had killed his mother and felt no remorse — didn’t deserve pity.

Still, hearing Mu Yunhao’s name from her lips made something twist uncomfortably inside him.

He turned to her and asked quietly, “Do you… admire Mu Yunhao?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Why do you ask that?”

Zhan Zeyan muttered, “No reason. I just heard he’s tall, good-looking, and rich. Men like that — most women like them, don’t they?”

He regretted asking the moment the words left his mouth. What if she said yes — that she did like Mu Yunhao? What would he do then?

He realized he couldn’t stand the thought of her liking anyone else.

Frowning, he cut her off before she could answer. “Forget it — it’s not important. Let’s just keep watching.”

Not that it wasn’t important. He just didn’t dare hear the answer.

He fixed his eyes on the chaotic scene below, pretending to be deeply absorbed.

Xiao Wange gave him a sidelong glance — so he was afraid of her answer.

For someone usually so calm and detached, he could be surprisingly… human.

She was about to tease him when a shrill, harsh voice rang out across the field.

“Zhan Songbai, you heartless old bastard! Your daughter seduced my son — and instead of coming to apologize, you’re beating him?! Who gave you the right?! You think our Hu family’s easy to bully?!”

Everyone turned to see a wiry, sharp-faced old woman in her fifties rushing toward them.

Her features were mean, her expression ferocious, and she glared daggers at the Zhan family.

Behind her came nine burly Hu cousins — towering, broad-shouldered men whose presence alone made onlookers shrink back.

The old woman stormed into the middle of the field and slapped Zhan Hongxin across the face. “Shameless slut! You think you can seduce my son? Look at yourself! Plain face, no figure, lazy and useless — what man would want you? My son must’ve lost his mind to fall for trash like you! You’re fit to marry a fool, maybe!”

It was an insult of the worst kind.

Zhan Songbai’s face flushed scarlet with rage.

Seeing his daughter’s cheek swell red and puffy, he gritted his teeth and swung his arm at the old woman. “What do you mean, ‘trash’? My daughter’s at least a decent, unmarried girl — unlike your son! He’s divorced, abandoned by his wife! And you call him good-looking? He’s a pockmarked freak! He’s not fit to polish my daughter’s shoes!”

The old woman spat. “Unmarried? You call her pure after she’s been throwing herself at my son? Don’t flatter yourself! Let me tell you — our Hu family would never take a lazy wench like her!”

She dodged his hand, her expression growing even nastier.

Before Zhan Songbai could reply, Zhan Hongxin suddenly dropped to her knees before the old woman, looking up at her with tearful eyes.

“Mom, please don’t reject me! I love Siqiang — I really love him. I’ll do anything if you’ll just let us be together. I’ll cook, wash, farm — I’ll work like a beast if I have to.”

Seeing his daughter kneeling like that, Zhan Songbai nearly fainted.

He grabbed her arm. “Get up! What’s so good about that bastard Hu Laizi? He’s not worthy of you! Get up right now!”

But she wouldn’t budge.

She turned and looked at him. “Dad, please stop meddling. I told you, I’ll never marry anyone but Siqiang. I want to be with him — to have his children.”

Then she added softly, “Besides… I already belong to him. Who else could I marry?”