INHA Chapter 105

Xu Dongyou stood blankly on the pitch-black street, feeling an absurd and incredibly false sensation about the world before him.

He glanced down at his hands, then lifted his head again. After a while, he slowly started walking forward. A few minutes later, he stopped again and looked down at his feet.

It was as if his sluggish, frozen brain had only begun functioning. Xu Dongyou, in his dull state, had a strange thought.

Where was his shadow?

Why had it disappeared?

Xu Dongyou turned around, confirming that his shadow was indeed gone, and stood there dazed for a while.

The street was silent and passersby walked forward in silence. Xu Dongyou noticed that he couldn’t make out their faces at all, making him feel all the more out of place standing there.

A vague sense of crisis welled up in his heart: he couldn’t stay in place, or something terrible would happen.

Instinctively, Xu Dongyou moved his legs forward. After a while, it felt as if something within him awakened from its slumber. His clouded mind snapped back to clarity.

Suppressing the fear and confusion in his heart, Xu Dongyou kept his vacant expression as he walked forward, though his mind was racing with thoughts.

He clearly remembered that he had been sleeping, but now he was inexplicably in this strange, unfamiliar place. Most concerning of all, his shadow was gone.

Xu Dongyou discreetly pressed his nails into his palm but felt no pain. This led him to conclude that he was most likely trapped in an illusion or perhaps… a dream.

Whichever it was, it didn’t seem like something a ghost could have done.

Xu Dongyou tried to heighten his senses, but he didn’t perceive any danger. Yet, there was an oppressive feeling of disgust in the air, a sensation he was all too familiar with—the aura of resentful spirits.

On top of that, the faceless shadows of the people around him, along with the hazy, distant world, gradually calmed his initially panicked mind.

This kind of resentful spirit, one capable of dragging people into dreams or illusions, was similar to the one that could pull people into a game.

For the time being, it seemed Xu Dongyou wouldn’t face any immediate danger. He tried standing still again, and the sense of crisis did not resurface.

With a strange expression, Xu Dongyou attempted to shut off his senses. Sure enough, the inexplicable feeling of danger returned, constantly warning him that if he remained stationary, uncontrollable peril would soon unfold.

Xu Dongyou naturally trusted only his own five senses, so he stood still, unmoving, even as the sense of crisis in his heart intensified, eventually reaching its peak. It gave him a chilling premonition that if he remained in place any longer, he would die.

Suppressing this feeling, Xu Dongyou continued to wait where he stood.

Perhaps the resentful spirit had realized that Xu Dongyou truly wasn’t going to move anymore. The crowd around him fell completely silent, and all of the gray, featureless faces turned in unison to stare at him.

Though they had no facial features, Xu Dongyou could feel the cold, eerie gazes coming at him from every direction.

The scene was bizarre and coupled with the fact that he had no idea where he was, a small sense of retreat began to creep into Xu Dongyou’s mind. His heart raced.

But then he thought about how he would undoubtedly encounter more powerful and terrifying resentful spirits in the future. How could he retreat now over something like this?

Xu Dongyou took a deep breath and continued standing in place.

Soon, countless shadowy figures began slowly approaching him, raising their hands as if to strangle him.

The sense of impending doom grew even stronger than before, making him want to flee immediately. Xu Dongyou activated his five senses again, and the crisis instantly disappeared. He could feel the resentful spirit’s presence fading away.

This was enough for Xu Dongyou to understand what was happening.

So he kept his senses active, even as the shadowy figures finally wrapped their hands around his neck and began to squeeze. Though he didn’t feel any pain, he could sense the tightening around his neck, the suffocating pressure.

As his breathing became labored and the world in front of him shattered like broken glass, Xu Dongyou abruptly opened his eyes. He realized that the suffocating sensation had come from his blanket, which had wrapped tightly around his neck.

The room was clean and quiet, with nothing out of the ordinary—and his shadow was still there, as it should be.

Xu Dongyou activated his five senses again and felt the faint remnants of a resentful spirit lingering in the room, especially on the floor, where there were traces of a gray, hazy evil source.

This indicated that the resentful spirit had indeed been in the room.

Xu Dongyou sat up, retrieved the dagger from the table, and slashed at the area where the grayish evil source was present.

The evil source vanished instantly.

The room was clean once more.

Xu Dongyou pursed his lips, his confusion deepening. He had been following his usual routine without any anomalies in the past few days, so how had this resentful spirit latched onto him?

He carefully searched the entire room but found nothing. The next day, he activated his five senses again, checking on his parents to ensure they weren’t affected. For extra caution, he asked how they had slept the night before.

His parents said they slept just fine.

Only then did Xu Dongyou feel reassured and returned to his usual work. He remained especially vigilant throughout the day, but no abnormalities appeared.

It seemed as if he had triggered the resentful spirit completely by accident.

That night, Xu Dongyou deliberately stayed awake, pretending to be engrossed in a video game. Nothing strange happened throughout the night.

On the third day, Xu Dongyou finally decided to sleep, and as expected, he once again found himself in that gray, hazy world. The same countless people were walking forward and the mysterious sense of crisis subtly urged Xu Dongyou to move as well.

He didn’t follow the urge, staying in place as the crowd surrounded him, hands reaching for his throat. When he woke up, Xu Dongyou discovered black handprints on his neck.

His expression darkened slightly. Moving forward would surely lead to danger, but staying in place also seemed perilous.

Unable to find the source of the resentful spirit, Xu Dongyou decided to seek help from Tian Ze. After hearing the story, Tian Ze was shocked and incredulous. “That shouldn’t be possible. Come on, let’s go find the chief.”

After Xu Dongyou explained everything to the chief, the chief pondered for a moment before using his abilities to test Xu Dongyou. The chief specialized in matters of the soul, so he examined Xu Dongyou’s soul and discovered that it seemed to be entangled with something strange.

Something strange?

Xu Dongyou had an idea and said, “I think I know what to do.”

The chief nodded, not pressing for details, and simply said, “If anything happens, come find me.”

Xu Dongyou nodded and quickly headed to the sealed array. When Zhulong saw him, joy was evident on its face. Xu Dongyou then shared the issue he was facing.

Zhulong listened with a dark expression, but unlike before, when anger would drive it to madness, it now suppressed the fury roiling within and said, “Once I’m free, I will find the one responsible for trying to harm you.”

Xu Dongyou was stunned. “So someone or something is deliberately trying to infect me with evil energy?”

That would explain how, despite having done nothing suspicious in the past few days and showing no signs of being contaminated by evil forces, he had somehow fallen prey to it.

If someone—or something—had intentionally targeted him, everything would make sense.

Xu Dongyou was now the most well-known figure in the bureau, naturally making him the easiest target for anyone seeking to cause harm.

But how had the enemy managed to do this?

Xu Dongyou had not only the protection of dragon bones but also powerful foresight abilities, and yet, he had no awareness of the resentful spirit latching onto him.

Suppressing the chaotic thoughts swirling in his mind, Xu Dongyou shared his plan with Zhulong. After hearing it, Zhulong’s gaze steadied, and it nodded, saying, “It’s feasible. Though my powers are sealed, with me around, no resentful spirit would dare come near you.”

Xu Dongyou nodded, then, as usual, chatted with Zhulong for a while. When it was time to sleep, he lay down and, turning to the enormous ancient dragon, said, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Xu Dongyou closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep. After some time, he dreamt that he had once again arrived in that eerie place. However, before he could stop moving, the shadows around him suddenly became terrified, screaming as they vanished.

Xu Dongyou stood there, bewildered. He reached out his hand and his body emitted a red-gold glow—the unique aura of Zhulong.

Shortly after, Xu Dongyou opened his eyes, still wearing a look of confusion.

Zhulong, who hadn’t slept, began explaining to Xu Dongyou, “Your shadow just turned into a human figure, but I activated the dragon bones inside you to destroy it. The resentful spirit has been dealt with.”

Xu Dongyou suddenly understood. No wonder he saw Zhulong’s power in his dream. He was also surprised that the resentful spirit incident had been resolved so easily.

However, he still hadn’t figured out who had placed the evil source on him.

Zhulong said, “Whoever it was, they will face the backlash of my power. They’re as good as dead.”

Zhulong’s voice was calm, yet there was an icy edge to it. Xu Dongyou could keenly sense Zhulong’s anger toward whoever was responsible.

Quickly, Xu Dongyou reassured Zhulong, “Luckily, I had you. Besides, I’m fine now, so don’t let someone else’s actions upset you.”

Zhulong swished its tail, smashing nearby stones off the mountain wall with a loud thud. “Take those with you later. Have the humans make a decoration for your home to ward off resentful spirits.”

Xu Dongyou froze, feeling a bit embarrassed but also deeply touched. Despite Zhulong’s immense strength, it was always so thoughtful—even when it was on the verge of madness, it treated him with the utmost care.

Xu Dongyou found himself at a loss, unsure of how to properly thank and repay Zhulong for everything.

“Thank you… really,” Xu Dongyou said softly.

Zhulong felt as if a feather had brushed against its heart, leaving a tickling sensation. There was an odd, inexplicable urge to seize Xu Dongyou, and then… it didn’t know what to do after that.

This strange, uncertain feeling stirred a rare bit of frustration within Zhulong, though it didn’t want to show it in front of Xu Dongyou. So it simply replied, “No need to thank me.”

Still feeling embarrassed, Xu Dongyou couldn’t shake the thought that no amount of snacks or gifts could truly express his gratitude for all that Zhulong had done for him.

Seeing this, Zhulong lowered its head. “If you really want to thank me, you can visit me more often.”

Zhulong was well aware that Xu Dongyou was already dedicating most of his time to it, yet somehow, it still wasn’t enough.

It realized that it had become greedy, wanting even more.

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