The old man before her looked to be around seventy or eighty years old. But if one looked closely, there was still a faint resemblance between him and Uncle Zheng, the steward of the Xia family—though time had etched many more wrinkles into his face.
The old man trembled as he spoke. “M-Miss… if you still remember your old servant, then you must know I was always loyal to the Xia household. You’ve been gone for so many years—why would you return from the afterlife to find me now?”
Fengguang’s expression turned cold. “Explain yourself. What do you mean, I’ve been dead for years?”
“Miss…” Old Zheng’s voice quivered; he couldn’t even finish a full sentence.
Fengguang noticed the crowd beginning to gather around them. This couldn’t go on. She stepped closer and said sharply, “Look at me carefully. I’m not a ghost. If I were, would there still be a shadow of me on the ground?”
“Shadow?” Old Zheng glanced down—and sure enough, there was her shadow. His expression shifted to confusion.
Fengguang didn’t care whether he believed her or not. In a firm tone, she said, “Xiu’er, I have questions for your grandfather. Take him back to the residence.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Half coaxing, half supporting him, Xiu’er helped her grandfather back to the Xia family’s grand estate in the capital.
Once inside the main hall, Fengguang asked directly, “Uncle Zheng, why did you say I’m a ghost?”
“Miss… you’re not a ghost? Then… did I mistake you for someone else?” The old man hesitated, still uneasy. “But… but your face—it’s the same as our young lady’s was…”
“Oh, Grandpa, of course Miss is a person!” Xiu’er said, rolling her eyes. Unlike her superstitious grandfather, she wasn’t easily spooked. “Just tell us everything. Why did you think she was a ghost?”
The old man finally began to calm down. He stared at Fengguang for a long moment before speaking slowly. “Miss… forgive me for losing my composure. It’s just that your face—it’s identical to the young lady of the Xia family from over forty years ago. Back then, I was still working at the Xia estate in Tong County…”
As the old man began recounting events from decades past, his voice trembled with age. Each word peeled back a layer of fog in Fengguang’s mind, revealing fragments of something long buried.
More than forty years ago, at the Xia estate in Tong County—
It was late at night when tragedy struck. The Xia family’s young daughter had been kidnapped by a notorious thief. The incident immediately alarmed the authorities. The only female constable in the county, Chen Hongdou, volunteered to lead a team in pursuit.
As for the reason behind the abduction, it was simple. The thief was infamous for stealing the most precious treasures from every wealthy household he passed through. In the Xia family, that “treasure” was none other than their only daughter, who was also renowned as one of the county’s great beauties.
The thief was said to be a roguish man of charm and arrogance. Whenever he grew bored of the treasures he stole, he would send them back. But this time was different—what he had taken wasn’t gold or jewels, but a living, breathing maiden.
He had committed countless crimes and had never once been caught. But on that night, his luck finally ran out. With officers surrounding him, he was forced to flee into a remote manor—and there, he encountered someone unexpected.
The young girl he had kidnapped looked up and saw the man inside the manor. Her eyes lit up instantly.
The man wore snow-white robes, his presence ethereal and serene. When he saw the intruders, he showed no alarm. Instead, he calmly poured himself a cup of tea and smiled.
“A guest has come,” he said lightly. “Would you care to share a drink?”
Lucien On ABRWF Chapter 34.1