### Chapter 56: The Ghostly Visit and Paper Magic Ritual - Ah? The Wives I Abandoned Turned Out to Be Real

### Chapter 56: The Ghostly Visit and Paper Magic Ritual **[Upon hearing your explanation, your mother understands that given the circumstances, this outcome is the best it could be.]** **[After seeing your mother off, you dismiss all household servants and, armed only with a letter of appointment, head to the ancient county of Gu Lan.]** **[However, it appears Xiao Huang is intent on preventing your escape; you sense that someone is covertly following you until you cross the boundary into Gu Lan County.]** **[Once you enter the county, this sensation dissipates. It becomes clear that those who were tracking you are also wary of entering and thus fall back to report.]** **[Despite the daunting rumors surrounding Gu Lan County, you remain unfazed, having studied the classics since childhood, believing that true righteousness will protect you even against the supernatural.]** **[You travel boldly, eating dried rations when hungry, drinking from roadside rivers when thirsty, and sleeping wherever you choose.]** **[Along the way, you encounter no demons or monsters, not even robbers, wolves, or tigers.]** **[On the second day after entering Gu Lan County, you arrive outside an inn designated for hosting visiting officials.]** **[Upon approaching the inn, you notice something amiss; as if hitting an invisible wall of air, a pungent, rotting stench invades your nose, as though the food inside has been left to spoil for months during the peak of summer.]** **[This odor stirs a storm of oppressive, irritable, and disagreeable emotions within you, erasing your prior ease.]** "Virtue is open and honest, while base minds dwell on worry." **[Reciting these sage words, you clutch your appointment letter and knock on the inn’s gate.]** **[The innkeeper soon appears, astonished by your arrival, as no official had visited since the last magistrate went mad two years ago.]** **[Upon inspecting your letter, he realizes you are the third prince of the previous dynasty, relinquishing the title of King of Qi to serve as a lowly county magistrate, which he finds perplexing.]** **[Yet, since you have come alone, the innkeeper must host you, leading you inside where a fouler stench assaults you.]** **[Although it is mid-noon, the inn is shrouded in darkness, lacking even a single open window, with only an antiquated oil lamp casting a dim glow over a tiny area.]** **[The environment feels stifling, like stepping into an immense tomb.]** **[Recalling rumors of hauntings and demons, a chill runs down your spine.]** "Why, in broad daylight, are no windows open here?" "Instead, you waste oil by lighting a lamp." **[The innkeeper, showing a mouth of crooked teeth, responds.]** "Sir, this inn was constructed without windows, relying only on light filtered through gaps between walls." "Hence, it remains dark even during the day." "I only lit the lamp upon your arrival; I would not waste it otherwise." "Considering how long it's been since funds were allocated to this inn." **[Studying the peculiar innkeeper, you remain suspicious.]** **[But with over thirty miles remaining to Gu Lan County, you decide to spend the night here and continue early next morning to arrive before nightfall.]** **[After consuming a simple meal prepared by the innkeeper—two hard but filling rice cakes—you read by the lamp until night descends.]** **[The inn, isolated in the wilderness, sways with a windstorm, the likes of which you hadn’t encountered during your journey.]** **[Donning clothes, you exit your room.]** **[Inside, you find the innkeeper awake, pacing the hallway with a lamp, scattering paper money from his pouch as if placating ghosts or spirits residing there.]** **[Surprised by your presence, he raises the lamp, shadows deepening across his wrinkled face.]** "Sir, it’s dark and windy outside, best not to venture out." **[His odd conduct only deepens your suspicion of the eeriness surrounding the inn.]** **[Resolved, you return to your room, intending to order the inn demolished and rebuilt spaciously once appointed magistrate.]** **[Whatever mysteries it holds would vanish thereafter.]** **[Just as you settle back into slumber, a knock resounds at your door.]** **[Puzzled, you open it to find a barefoot woman in a white dress standing there.]** **[She is beautiful, with a slender waist and elegant legs, yet you feel no attraction.]** … Seeing the apparition on the screen, Su Mo moved closer. A woman with long black hair obscuring her face, revealing only part of a pale visage as white as paper. Chills shot through Su Mo. Darn, it’s a ghost! Though, perhaps if her full face is attractive... … "Young master, I'm lost. May I take shelter in your room from the wind?" **[Her voice flows melodiously like a nightingale’s song.]** **[What will you choose?]** **[Option 1: Refuse the woman’s request, close the door, and sleep until morning.]** **[Option 2: Seize and pull her inside, asserting your desires.]** **[Option 3: Permit her inside and seek the innkeeper to arrange another room for yourself.]** … Faced with these choices, Su Mo pondered seriously. Having learned that a single poor choice could be fatal, Su Mo, not wishing to squander his current role, approached each decision with care. He had no desire to simulate another life. Recollections of being a brothel attendant, dealing with mundane tasks, offered no appeal, especially when talents didn’t allow for a grand change of fate. Finally gaining the role of a prince, he wouldn’t waste this chance. Regarding the current options, the second was out of the question—nurturing righteousness would demand discarding such a choice as ruinous. Nor could he choose the first. Rejecting her might lead to being haunted; proactive measures were necessary. Ultimately, only the third option remained viable. With a settled mind, Su Mo chose the third option. … **[You choose the third option.]** **[You invite the woman inside, quickly shutting the door as you depart to find the innkeeper and request a room change.]** **[Relaying your experience, the innkeeper suddenly collapses, as if possessed.]** **[Upon examination, he’s already dead, his body unnaturally light like paper.]** **[Attempting to lift him reveals merely a paper effigy, glued together with rice paste for paper crafting.]** **[The figure you conversed with was merely a paper doll all this time!]** (End of Chapter)