【Exactly. He said one thing before and another now. Is he backing up his granddaughter?】
【I don't think so. It was probably too dark outside earlier, so the streamer’s grandfather didn't get a good look.】
【Anyway, what does corpse wax smell like? I just took a screenshot of him sniffing it, and he didn't look like he was pretending.】
【All you're hearing is what those people say. Those trolls are something else—how much did they pay you to deny it to the bitter end?!】
After I pulled Grandpa aside, I winked at him.
“Ahem—Grandpa, what are you talking about? That was just stolen from a tomb. Do you think we can just buy it?”
He suddenly caught on.
“No wonder she kept insisting it was fake, and even tried to trick me!”
Then he looked at Tôn Khả Khả gravely.
“Young lady, trafficking in cultural relics is against the law. We can't take this from you. You're still young, so don't go down the wrong path. Take these shoes back and turn them over to the state.”
Tôn Khả Khả's eyes nearly rolled out of her head.
“At first, I only wanted to expose Mộ Dung Nguyệt as a liar, but who knew it really was true that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree?”
“Mộ Dung Nguyệt, I gave you a chance, but you stubbornly refuse to admit it. Don't blame me, then.”
Tôn Khả Khả curled her lip smugly and reached into her pocket for another item.
“Open your eyes wide and take a look at this!”
9.
Tôn Khả Khả held a handkerchief made of the same material as the peach-red brocade shoes.
She held one end of the handkerchief while Grandpa and I leaned in to examine the fabric closely.
Grandpa was so excited that his hands were shaking.
“Ha! It's the same material as the shoes, and it's been preserved so well. That's truly rare!”
“This is looped embroidery. Young lady, relax your grip and let me see what the design is.”
Tôn Khả Khả held back her laughter, her shoulders trembling, then opened her hand. When we saw the embroidered design, Grandpa and I both froze.
It was a Peppa Pig!
“Ha ha ha! What, are you two not satisfied unless I die laughing? Didn't you say this was looped embroidery? So is this a handkerchief from the Ming dynasty?”
Grandpa and I gaped like a pair of fools.
The chat immediately erupted.
【Ha ha ha, what the heck is this? Ha ha ha—】
【I'm laughing so hard I'm rolling on the floor. This is too exciting! Peppa Pig from the Ming dynasty, ha ha ha…】
【I'm laughing like a pig, I swear. Does anyone get me? Where are those trolls? Come out and spin this!】
【Where'd you all go? Why'd you disappear? Can't spin this one, can you?】
I stared at the handkerchief, unable to make sense of it no matter how hard I tried.
“That can't be. There's corpse wax on this too. It must have been buried in the same tomb as that shoe.”
Grandpa furrowed his brow.
“These threads look new, but something's not right. Let me get my magnifying glass.”
Tôn Khả Khả paced excitedly around the room.
“See? I wasn't lying. My sister-in-law embroidered that Peppa Pig on it just the other day.”
“The handkerchief and shoes are made of the same material, and the embroidery technique is identical. Doesn't that prove the shoes aren't really from the Ming dynasty?”
“Everyone watching the livestream, listen up! If I hadn't stepped in, who knows how many more people Mộ Dung Nguyệt would've deceived! I'm an honest, upright person, and I can't stand watching people pull a scam!”
【You did the right thing! Raising my hand to give you a like-ing!】
【Of course! I've suspected for a while that Mộ Dung Nguyệt was scamming her livestream viewers, treating everyone like fools and stringing them along!】
Seeing more and more people support her, Tôn Khả Khả was over the moon. She grabbed her phone and took a bunch of pictures of the ceramic jars and vases in the hallway.
“Let me tell you, that family sells antiques and cheats people. Anyway, Mộ Dung Nguyệt's grandfather used to be— Ahem, never mind. I'm sure you all know what I mean.”
10.
Grandpa and I didn't have time to bother with her either. We took the fabric to the desk in the study, switched on the bright desk lamp, and brought out a magnifying glass to examine it closely.
“There are still tiny signs of corrosion on the fabric's surface, but the stitches really do look newly embroidered.”
I glanced at Tôn Khả Khả and quietly asked Grandpa,
“Could Tôn Khả Khả's sister-in-law have inherited an ancient embroidery technique and deliberately pulled this stunt to humiliate us?”
“But even so, why embroider Peppa Pig on such fine material? That ruins it completely!”
Grandpa stroked his beard and shook his head.
“But that doesn't seem right either—Kid, look closer. There's also a faint layer of corpse wax on these stitches!”
Corpse wax seeps into objects. You can't see anything unusual just by looking at the surface, but under a magnifying glass, the outermost layer appears slightly darker.
“That's strange. How can new stitches have corpse wax on them? Unless the mummy embroidered them itself…”
I suddenly fell silent, staring at Grandpa with wide, frightened eyes. Then we both turned to look at Liễu Oánh, who was standing inside the house.
“Gulp—”
I swallowed nervously and said,
“Grandpa, you're the one who taught me that mummies can't undergo corpse transformation.”
As I spoke, I didn't realize my phone was still on the table and the livestream was still going.
【Honestly, I kind of admire Mộ Dung Nguyệt. She'd rather believe a corpse can embroider than admit she made a mistake. I wish I had that kind of confidence!】
【I admire you trolls too. You can still find a way to praise her at a time like this.】
【But it won't help them to deny it. Didn't they say mummies can't undergo corpse transformation? They're contradicting themselves. Let's see what she does next.】
【Exactly! People who run their mouths like that deserve to be humiliated good and proper!】
【Oh, come on, her grandfather's probably about to come up with another excuse. Just wait. Those two are a perfect team when it comes to making things up.】
Grandpa took two steps back, a trace of hesitation crossing his face.
“In theory, it's not impossible for an unusual case to occur.”
11.
In the chat:
【Damn! The person above called it perfectly. He's really starting to make excuses!】
【This is hilarious. Let's see what kind of story he's going to make up now.】
Grandpa warily watched Liễu Oánh and lowered his voice.
“There’s a special kind of corpse creature called a blood corpse.”
“Mummies are rare enough, but blood corpses are even rarer. A coffin has to be soaked in fresh blood and sealed for forty-nine days before it can create a blood corpse.”
“I once heard my master say that two people fought over a coin. One of them killed the other, and the blood soaked into the coffin. The corpse turned into a blood corpse and caused a whole lot of trouble.”
“An ancient blood corpse doesn’t fear sunlight. It can blend into a crowd in broad daylight. If that girl really is a blood corpse, you and I are going to die here.”
Grandpa put on a relaxed air and patted my shoulder gently.
“Don’t worry. I’ve calculated your fate, and your birth chart is strong. You’ll live to at least ninety.”
“Besides, a blood corpse bleeds from all nine orifices on the fifteenth of every month. Today just happens to be the fifteenth, and look—it hasn’t done anything, right?”
I scratched my head, confused.
“If it’s neither one thing nor the other, then how do we explain the material?”
In the chat:
【What kind of situation could it be, sis? Can’t you admit you got it wrong? There’s no way that thing is from the Ming dynasty.】
【I’m impressed, folks. She’s still stubbornly insisting she’s right about a Peppa Pig handkerchief.】
【Mộ Dung Nguyệt is all mouth. You could burn her to ashes and that mouth would still be running.】
【Oh my God, that’s hilarious. If blood corpses exist in this world, I’ll livestream myself eating shit upside down.】
【Hey, person above! Last time a corpse creature appeared, someone said they’d eat shit too, and they still haven’t done it. How about adding me as a friend? Nothing weird—I’ve just never seen anyone eat shit before.】
【Deal. If there’s no blood corpse, you’d better eat shit for me to see!】
12.
The comments kept pouring in, but Tôn Khả Khả paid them no mind. She was still busy walking around the courtyard, taking pictures and talking until her mouth was dry.
“Hey, Mộ Dung Nguyệt, I came to visit your house, so how come there isn’t even a glass of water?”
“Just a minute.”
Grandpa continued carefully examining the handkerchief and the shoes. I went to the kitchen and poured two glasses of water.
As I handed the water to Liễu Oánh, a red drop suddenly fell into her glass.
Then more and more drops fell, turning the whole glass of water red.
I looked up, and my mind went blank in an instant.
Tôn Khả Khả screamed.
“Sister-in-law, your nose is bleeding!”
“Mộ Dung Nguyệt, what are you standing there staring for? Go get my sister-in-law some tissues!”
I stumbled back inside to get some tissues and brought them to Tôn Khả Khả. She helped Liễu Oánh lie back on a chair and tilt her head up.
My heart pounded like a war drum, my hands and feet went icy cold, and my ears started ringing.
Bleeding from all nine orifices—surely it was just a coincidence, right?
In a daze, I went back into the study and grabbed Grandpa’s arm.
The chat erupted into chaos.
【Holy shit! We just said she’d bleed from all nine orifices, and now her nose is bleeding! Streamer, run! She’s definitely a blood corpse!】