I am the Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysterious-Chapter 217 - 186: Night Watch

He Buning explained the matter of curses to Sang Que, while Xia Chan and Xuan Yu were playing at the table, still with the paper frogs that Skinny initially folded for Xia Chan. Sang Que later learned and folded many for Xia Chan.

Xia Chan pressed one, Xuan Yu pressed one, whoever’s paper frog was closest to the edge of the table would win, and the loser would get a flick on the forehead.

Xuan Yu claw’s control over strength was better than Xia Chan’s, so it was always Xia Chan who got flicked on the forehead by Xuan Yu’s cat paw.

Seeing Xia Chan holding her forehead, pouting in anger, yet becoming more and more courageous with each setback, He Buning’s tone shifted from cold and hard to soft when speaking with Sang Que. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t have the patience to explain things to people, usually letting Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu handle it.

Sang Que saw Xuan Yu, the naughty cat, making Xia Chan’s forehead all red.

Noticing a slight resentment in He Buning’s gaze towards Xuan Yu, Sang Que chuckled internally and quickly said to Xia Chan, "Little Chan, try using your hair."

Xia Chan’s eyes lit up as a strand of her hair, hanging by her side, curled and gently pressed against the paper frog’s butt. This time, Xia Chan’s frog barely stopped at the edge of the table, with half its body suspended but not falling off.

Now, Sang Que required Xia Chan to practice offensive and defensive maneuvers with her hair every day, making her control over her hair even more nimble than with her hands.

"Haha, Little Chan won, Little Chan finally won!"

Xia Chan clapped happily, made a fierce expression, crooked her fingers and breathed on them, while Xuan Yu shrunk her neck, ears pressed to her head, showing a defensive posture with a meow.

But Xia Chan didn’t flick Xuan Yu painfully, just a gentle flick.

He Buning’s lips involuntarily curled upwards, making him appear much softer.

Sang Que praised Xia Chan without reservation, "Little Chan, you’re even more amazing than before. Well done!"

Xia Chan wrinkled her nose, raised her chin, innocent and naive, smiling smugly.

He Buning picked up the awful tea on the table, took a sip, "You’re good at coaxing children."

Sang Que casually replied, "When I was young, my... my mother, my mother praised me like that, learned from her."

He Buning slightly nodded, unconsciously envious, "Your mother must have cherished you greatly. I wonder where the old lady is now?"

Sang Que whispered, "In another world."

Truly another world.

He Buning glanced at Sang Que, knowing that Sang Mulan’s parents had long since passed away, but he had just asked it casually.

He didn’t speak further, the tea was really awful, blowing on it twice before putting it down, asking Xia Chan, "What about you, Little Chan? Did your mother treat you well?"

Xia Chan tilted her head, "Little Chan was good, so mom gave Little Chan tasty food. If Little Chan was naughty, mom would scold Little Chan. Little Chan ran around in the Witch Temple, ran to Witch Lady’s head. Mom couldn’t catch Little Chan. Mom... Little Chan doesn’t have a mom anymore..."

Xia Chan suddenly became downcast, Sang Que carefully observed He Buning, who also had a furrowed brow and remained silent.

Didn’t He Buning wonder whether her mother actually died? Or has he already assumed she’s dead, so there’s no need to ask?

Sang Que broke the silence, "Captain He, I heard some things about your relationship with Xia Chan from Xiao Liu, it wasn’t him who told me openly, I guessed it."

"I know," He Buning said in a deep voice.

"If you want Xia Chan to get close to you, don’t treat her like a child, treat her like a regular person. She’s not dumb, she just learns slower than others, but she’s very persistent and can hold on longer than others. Don’t always think about protecting her; she’s inherently strong-willed, and if you respect her, she can be comfortable and natural in front of you. She’s not a canary; she’s a fledgling eagle."

If one day, her identity is clarified, she hopes He Buning can respect her, treat her as a friend and a partner, not as a little sister who needs protection and care.

She would rather, during disputes or problems, directly fight with He Buning than listen to any talk about how an elder brother should let a younger sister win. Everyone is independent and equal, and there is no principle of yielding because of age or status.

He Buning looked at Sang Que, "Indeed, you understand Little Chan better than I do, no wonder she always prioritizes you."

Knock, knock, knock.

"Sang Er, are you home?"

Outside came the voice of Old Yu, and Sang Que went outside to open the door.

Before entering, Old Yu held onto Sang Que, quietly asking what He Buning came to find him for, to which Sang Que straightforwardly answered that he was afflicted with a Soul Life Blood Curse, and Old Yu looked shocked.

"Was it done by the person behind the Gambling Ghost?"

Even Old Yu thought so, and Sang Que didn’t explain, just vaguely said, "Maybe."

Sang Que took Old Yu to see He Buning. He Buning directly said he would invite Captain Cui to help Sang Que get through these three nights. What Old Yu needed to do was to find a Substitute Death Grassman for Sang Que and help transfer the Curse Line on the third night.

Old Yu pondered for a moment and nodded, "As long as both captains can break the Curse Line, I have no problem with transferring it, but I need your real name and birth date, Sang Er."

Sang Que’s heart skipped a beat; the household registration only had her name and birth year, not the specific birth date, and Old Yu and He Buning could probably guess she was using a false name, which is why Old Yu said this.

She didn’t know her specific birth date either, until Kou Yushan mentioned that she was born on the same day as Xia Chan, did she know her exact birthday.

The problem is, if her birth date is exposed, He Buning will definitely be suspicious.

Additionally, the true name as defined by the Deceit Dynasty is the name written by parents on the Life Scroll at birth. Sang Que didn’t know if she had a Life Scroll or what her true name should be.

The name Sang Que was given by her mother, written on the household booklet with a red seal. It should have the same effect as a Life Scroll, shouldn’t it count as a true name?

"Sang Er, you don’t need to worry. Later I’ll give you a piece of Yellow Paper, you can write your details in blood and keep it yourself. I’ll tell you when it’s needed, and I won’t look at it."

Sang Que nodded, her thumb brushing the ring her mother had given her, and said, "Does the curse on me have to be transferred to someone else? Can’t it be transferred to a dead object, or even livestock? I remember Old Yu mentioned that there are such transfer methods in witchcraft. If someone harms me, I can kill them without hesitation, but I can’t actively do evil and harm others."

Upon hearing this, Old Yu looked at Sang Que with comfort, and He Buning was also surprised by Sang Que’s nature of not viewing lives as worthless and not actively harming others. In such times, anyone with a bit of power wouldn’t care for ordinary lives; someone like Sang Que is rare.

Old Yu laughed, "Don’t worry, no need to use the living. I’ll use the ’Grassman Life Replacement Technique’ to transfer the curse for you. Just put your birth date and true name into the grassman, and afterwards, the grassman will be burned, so no one will know your true name and birth date."

Hearing this, Sang Que breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Is the Substitute Death Grassman like this?"

Old Yu replied, "More or less, but I’ll make one larger and more intricate than that. Captain He, please write a note, and I’ll go to the Evil Suppression Bureau to get materials and find craftsmen at the Merit Office to rush the job."

He Buning nodded, asked Sang Que for paper and a pen, and wrote a note with his official seal on it.

"Tell Little Five and Little Six at the Evil Suppression Bureau that I’ll be on guard here tonight, and they can find me here if anything comes up."

"Okay."

Old Yu took the note and left, and Sang Que suddenly felt a bit awkward.

He Buning sat steadily in the main hall chair, resting his eyes, "Don’t mind me. Do what you need to do. I’ll call you when the Curse Ghost comes. The Curse Ghost tonight won’t be too strong; I can handle it alone. Tomorrow and the day after, Captain Cui will come to help."

Sang Que looked around and said helplessly, "Then I’ll take Little Chan to sleep first."

Xia Chan must have been playing with He Buning all day and was tired. Sang Que hadn’t even told her a story before Xia Chan fell asleep holding Xuan Yu, who then slipped out from Xia Chan’s embrace upon hearing her even breathing.

Sang Que patted Xuan Yu’s head, "Don’t go out to play tonight. The Curse Ghost will come for me, so stay here and watch over Xia Chan."

Meow~

Xuan Yu nodded, licking its lips.

Sang Que chuckled, "I brought it, but it’s not convenient to give it to you now. How about tomorrow?"

Xuan Yu flopped to the side, disappointedly flicking its tail.

After settling Xia Chan and Xuan Yu, Sang Que came out from the west room and pasted three Exorcism Talismans on the door.

With her superior still sitting here, Sang Que felt embarrassed to go to sleep directly, so she went over to chat with He Buning.

"Have you found out about the person behind the Gambling Ghost?" Sang Que brought up a topic.

He Buning shook his head, "The person behind the scenes is hiding very well. We’re currently secretly investigating those Wu Renxing has interacted with in the last six months, but likely won’t find much."

"What about Qu Tianhe? Did he reveal anything?" Sang Que asked another topic.

He Buning glanced at her, "Behind Qu Tianhe is the Ghost Opera Troupe, researching quick methods to raise corpses, trying to create a controllable Zombie Army. Their goal is to provoke chaos so that the Opera God they worship can harvest more fear and despair."

"The person Qu Tianhe interacts with is called ’Wan Xiangtou.’ The blood sacrifice in Tangyuan County and its surroundings was conducted by this Wan Xiangtou. He now has the power of the fifth layer, commanding a Deceitful Bride. And this Deceitful Bride was once one of the sacrifices offered to the Nie God outside the Ming Mansion in Dongyang County in past years."