The Aloof Lord's Mysterious Wife
Chapter 86: The Ghost Hiding in the Brush

Chapter 86: The Ghost Hiding in the Brush

Prime Minister Lu couldn’t afford any delay and immediately dispatched someone to the Marquis of Anyang’s residence.

The courtyard was close to the gatehouse, so as soon as someone knocked on the door, Zhi Mi woke up.

Hearing that they were looking for Nanli, he quickly got up and dressed.

He carried a small cloth bag and a peach wood sword on his back, hurriedly went out, and said to the gatekeeper, "No need to wake up Senior Sister, I’ll go and check the situation first."

The servant from the Prime Minister’s residence knew that it was difficult to find someone late at night, so he was grateful that the young Taoist was willing to accompany him.

When they arrived at the Prime Minister’s residence, Prime Minister Lu had an anxious expression. "Why hasn’t Miss Chu arrived?"

"My Senior Sister is exhausted today and woke up in a bad mood. It’s best not to disturb her," Zhi Mi replied.

Prime Minister Lu saw that Zhi Mi was just a young Taoist with a round face, barely thirteen years old.

How could he be reliable?

He said, "My son seems to have been possessed by an evil spirit for several days. Since you are Miss Chu’s junior brother, it would be better to invite her over to prevent any accidents."

Zhi Mi said earnestly, "Rest assured, if it’s too difficult, I won’t force it. Let me go in and take a look first."

Helpless, Prime Minister Lu had no choice but to follow him.

Zhi Mi pushed open the door, and indeed, the room was extremely cold, with the candlelight seemingly turning a shimmering green.

On the floor were numerous exquisite paintings, all of them top-notch works that could be passed down for centuries.

Lu Zheng was still frantically painting, muttering something under his breath.

Zhi Mi saw that the brush in his hand was emitting black smoke, which had already wrapped around Lu Zheng’s hand and crawled up his arm.

His expression turned cold, and he immediately used a ghost-sealing talisman. However, the talisman was rebounded and turned into ashes.

Prime Minister Lu was shocked and quickly stepped back, thinking that this young Taoist was useless.

But Zhi Mi remained calm and used the talisman drawn by Nanli.

He placed one on Lu Zheng’s forehead and another on his arm. The ghostly aura was temporarily suppressed, and Lu Zheng immediately fainted.

Zhi Mi approached, wanting to take the brush away, but Lu Zheng held it tightly. "This ghostly aura has already invaded the his right arm. It may have to be severed," Zhi Mi said in a low voice.

Prime Minister Lu almost couldn’t catch his breath.

He hurriedly said, "How can that be! If my son loses his hand, how can he participate in next year’s imperial examination!" Losing a hand meant losing all future prospects. He only had this one son!

Zhi Mi said, "I have no other choice, but Senior Sister must have a solution. Let’s wait until she arrives tomorrow."

"You..." Prime Minister Lu patted his chest.

"I knew it, I should have invited Miss Chu from the beginning!"

Zhi Mi wasn’t annoyed and said, "For now, I have sealed the ghostly aura, so nothing will happen. I will stay with him. Please rest assured."

How could Prime Minister Lu rest assured?

He wanted to send someone to the Marquis of Anyang’s residence, but he was afraid of angering Chu Nanli.

After all, his daughter had offended her before.

Thinking of this, Prime Minister Lu’s anger surged again.

After leaving the room, he had to instruct someone to restrict Lu Yanyan’s movements and reduce her monthly allowance.

Finally, when dawn arrived, Prime Minister Lu hurriedly left his house and personally went to invite Nanli.

Nanli had a good night’s sleep and was in a good mood.

She only then realized that Zhi Mi had gone out for her in the middle of the night.

She couldn’t help but sigh with emotion that having a junior brother was truly wonderful.

After washing up and changing clothes, and after eating a steamed bun, she went with Prime Minister Lu to his son’s room.

There, she saw Zhi Mi meditating while Lu Zheng remained unconscious due to the talisman’s suppression.

"Senior Sister, you’re here!" Zhi Mi heard the movement and opened his eyes.

Nanli nodded. "What’s the situation?"

Zhi Mi said, "This brush has a strong ghostly aura that has already entangled Lu Zheng’s arm. Senior Sister, if you have no solution, I’m afraid we’ll have to sever his hand to save his life."

Prime Minister Lu tightly clasped his hands and anxiously said, "Miss Chu, please think of a solution. My son can’t lose his hand."

"Don’t worry, this ghost was already suppressed last night, so there shouldn’t be a problem," Nanli said, focusing her attention.

She reached out and took the brush, and as the brush left, the black aura no longer entangled Lu Zheng’s right hand.

However, the black aura then tried to entangle Nanli’s hand.

"Senior Sister, be careful!" Zhi Mi exclaimed.

Nanli remained calm, and the black aura quickly retreated after entwining her hand for a short while.

She flicked her finger, and a ghostly figure shot out from the brush.

It turned out to be a handsome scholar.

Prime Minister Lu encountered a visible ghost for the first time, trembling all over, struggling to catch his breath.

The scholar, provoked, reluctantly put down his calligraphy brush and grew indignant, "He begged me to paint a masterpiece that would astonish the world! You cannot drive me away!"

"Painting a masterpiece that would astonish the world? Is this his idea or your obsession?"

Nanli stared at the scholar, "If you two have reached an agreement, I cannot interfere with this brush."

Realizing that she possessed genuine talent, the scholar’s expression changed, and he attempted to retract into his brush.

However, having harmed numerous individuals and drained them of their vitality and essence, Nanli would not let him off easily.

Summoning a heaven thunder talisman, she instantly obliterated the scholar.

Zhi Mi exclaimed with delight, "Senior sister is great!"

Prime Minister Lu glanced around the room and felt that the chilling aura had dissipated significantly.

He breathed a sigh of relief, "Is it resolved then?"

"It is resolved, Your Excellency. My junior brother stayed here for the night, which was no easy task. I even rushed over early in the morning. This should be worth at least three thousand taels of silver," Nanli said.

Zhi Mi widened his eyes and swallowed nervously.

Usually, when they descended from the mountain to exorcise spirits for the villagers, they would only receive ten or twenty taels of silver.

Indeed, the capital... truly a good place!

"Ok, quite reasonable!" Prime Minister Lu did not consider the price exorbitant at all.

He instructed his servant to fetch the silver notes and asked, "When will my son wake up?"

"Now," Nanli squatted down and pinched the acupoint between Lu Zheng’s eyebrows.

Lu Zheng felt exhausted all over, his eyes dry.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a delicate and fair face.

However, her gaze was calm and serene, contrasting with her youthful appearance.

"Miss Chu?" He propped himself up, experiencing not only a headache but also aching in his right hand.

"What is going on? How did you end up in my study?"

"Zheng’er, we owe a great deal to Miss Chu," Prime Minister Lu immediately approached, supporting his son and recounting his unusual condition over the past few days.

Lu Zheng listened with trepidation, as he had no recollection of any of these events.

No wonder his hand was so sore; it turned out he had been painting for days on end!

"Thanks to Miss Chu." Lu Zheng then proceeded to explain the origin of this brush.

It was a gift from his friend, supposedly brought from a distant country, and it was said to possess a divine touch when used.

So it wasn’t a divine touch, but a ghostly one.

"Your friend is quite generous, giving you such a splendid gift," Nanli teased.

Lu Zheng still felt lingering fear, "He probably didn’t know. We have been friends for many years, and if he had known, he would never have given me this."

"One must always be cautious," Nanli said, handing him a protective talisman.

"A gift, keep it safe."

Having experienced this ordeal, Lu Zheng held Nanli in high regard and expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Miss Chu."

He dared not keep the paintings in the room any longer, after all, they were created by supernatural means.

He hastily instructed his servants to dispose of them.

As luck would have it, one painting slipped from their grasp and unfolded before Nanli.

Nanli froze, unable to help but murmur, "Is it her?"

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.