In the pitch-black room, a small, warm hand touched Zong Yuan’s hand.
Zong Yuan pulled Zhou Ning to sit down, tapping the tabletop with his right hand.
The maid outside who had been silently welcoming Zhou Ning suddenly went mad and tried to run outside, trembling and screaming, “It’s coming! The ghost is coming…”
“Young Master!”
The people Zong Yuan brought with him had a change in expression, ready to rush into the room. Zong Yuan raised his voice to stop them, “I’m fine. Wait outside with peace of mind!”
He had certainly heard the maid’s shout outside. A ghost? What nonsense.
Did they think he hadn’t seen any horror movies? He only believed that all anomalies were man-made.
“Brother.”
A childish voice sounded, surprising Zong Yuan. “Zhou Ning, you spoke?” He wanted to pinch Zhou Ning’s little cheek. However, when he raised his hand, it was suppressed by a cold and sinister atmosphere, and an intense chill surrounded him. Zong Yuan suddenly found himself unable to move!
The cold on his back approached, and the damp cold breath even brought a sense of pain. Zong Yuan endured until beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. “Damn it…”
His fingers gradually regained movement. Zong Yuan inexplicably felt as if someone was clinging to his back, pressing his hands against his ears. The more he imagined, the more real it became. The strength in Zong Yuan’s hands increased, finally breaking through the unfounded restraint. He quickly stood up but, in the next moment, fell backward as if carrying a thousand-pound stone.
He didn’t fall onto a hard surface but instead felt like he was plunging into a deep and cold abyss. In the last second before losing consciousness, Zong Yuan raised his middle finger, thinking, “Fuck, you better wait for me!”
Zhou Ning shouted discontentedly, “Brother!”
“Why hasn’t the young master woken up?”
“Maybe he’s too tired.”
“He’s been asleep since last night.”
“Come on, let’s take Young Master Ning to the courtyard for a meal, so as not to disturb the young master.”
Zong Yuan’s consciousness was now clear. He could hear these sentences distinctly. He wanted to say, “Tired? Clearly, there’s some dirty stuff at play!” However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t open his eyes or speak.
Zong Yuan thought about the events before. He still remembered Zhou Ning’s shout of “Brother.” He could guess whom he was calling, the deceased Third Young Master of the Zhou family, named Zhou Jin. Just as this name popped into his mind, his body suddenly relaxed. Zong Yuan turned over and sat up, only to see the unremarkable roof.
He was still in Zhou Ning’s small courtyard.
He didn’t think about running away. He lazily continued to sit there, thinking in his heart about the events from last night. How did Zhou Jin die? What secrets did the Zhou Mansion hide? He needed to give that ghost from last night a lesson.
As he was mulling over these thoughts, Awu suddenly rushed in from outside. Seeing that he was awake, Awu breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, “Young Master, Madam Wang is dead!”
After leaving the hall tonight, Madam Wang returned to her own courtyard. As soon as she stepped into her room, waves of oppressive heat hit her. Staying in such a room was suffocating, but Madam Wang felt nothing but comfort and satisfaction.
In the room, only a heat-resistant maid named Ah-mei was left to burn charcoal. Madam Wang lay on the bed, covered with several quilts to rest.
Every time Ah-mei’s gaze fell on her, she felt an inexplicable fear. In such weather, burning charcoal and covering with quilts seemed strange enough to make people speculate. Ah-mei dared not think further and focused on burning the charcoal.
After a while, when Ah-mei could no longer bear the feeling of struggling for breath, Madam Wang suddenly woke up from her dream. She touched her pounding chest and, with an unpleasant expression, said to Ah-mei, “Go and bring me a bowl of lotus seed porridge.”
Ah-mei went off happily.
When Ah-mei returned, she saw Madam Wang’s face buried in the small basin, drowned alive.
“Ah!!!”
This incident was truly horrifying. Madam Wang escaped the drowning incident last time, but she couldn’t escape the fate of being drowned.
A basin! It was just a basin!
Zhou Taixing stood outside Madam Wang’s room, his face unsightly. Zhou You, standing beside him, was wailing loudly.
“This matter must be kept secret,” after a while, Zhou Taixing ordered with a stern face. “Do you want everyone to know that there are strange things in our Zhou Mansion, huh? Causing even our own madam to die?!”
“Dad, I understand,” Zhou You said while crying. There was still undisguised fear on his face. “But what should we do next? The next one to die…”
Zhou Taixing interrupted him, determined. “Isn’t the young master from the Zong family in our mansion? You and Zhou Fang go and beg him. The young masters from prominent families must know many strange and skilled individuals! They surely have a broader network than us! Just plead with him! We must keep him here, no matter what!”
“Dad!” Zhou Fang, who was silent on the side, was surprised. “He’s from the Zong family…”
“Even so, he must stay for me!” Zhou Taixing firmly tapped his cane. “With the mother of the family dead, no one is allowed to leave!”
After calming down for a while, he added, “Be polite when you talk to him! Explain the situation logically and appeal to his emotions, understand?”
Zhou Fang shivered inside. “I understand, Dad.”
As Zong Yuan walked out, he listened to Awu’s description. “Are you sure it’s not intentional?”
“Where is it intentional?” Awu gestured excitedly. “Madam Wang showed no signs of struggling on her body, and she ended up drowned by that bit of water! Young Master, do you think there’s something dirty in the Zhou Mansion?”
Zong Yuan nodded solemnly, “Yes, your young master encountered it last night.”
Awu looked disbelieving, “Young Master, it’s so late, and you’re still joking with me?”
Zong Yuan didn’t want to bother with this fool. After washing up, he had his meal on the table in the courtyard. Zhou Ning had already finished eating and squatted nearby, staring at him intently.
Zong Yuan said, “Zhou Ning, let me ask you…”
Before he could finish, Zhou Ning ran into the room again, holding the spirit tablet he saw yesterday. He walked to the base of a tree, glanced at the soil under the tree, and then looked at Zong Yuan.
Once they saw what Zhou Ning was holding, Awu, Ayu, and the others turned pale.
The weather wasn’t cold, but they all felt a chill.
Where did this thing come from?
And it’s placed in a child’s room!
Zong Yuan, who was eating, felt his teeth ache a bit. “Zhou Ning, is there something under the tree?”
He glanced at the lush and green large locust tree, very verdant. A locust tree is considered ominous, full of yin energy, and attracts spirits.
Zong Yuan said, “…Are you, an artificial intelligence, telling me that a locust tree attracts spirits?”
In his mind, 0046 was babbling about various functions of the locust tree.
Zhou Ning squatted silently on the ground, and after a long time, nodded at Zong Yuan.
Ayu approached Zong Yuan and whispered, “Young Master, I inquired about it. Young Master Zhou Ning and Young Master Zhou Jin, the third son of the Zhou family, are full siblings, both born to the third wife. However, the third wife was once falsely accused of adultery with an outsider. Although it was later proven to be false, at that time, Master Zhou had already developed a dislike for Young Master Zhou Ning, and it extended to doubts about the identity of Young Master Zhou Jin.”
Zong Yuan stared at Zhou Ning’s actions. “Did you find out how Zhou Jin died?”
Awu shook his head.
Zhou Ning inserted the spirit tablet under the tree root and began digging the soil with his small hands.
Zong Yuan stood up and walked to his side, deliberately avoiding the area Zhou Ning was working on, and looked at Zhou Ning’s hands.
His small and tender palms were covered with dirt, and he had dug a small hole in the ground. Zhou Ning slowly filled the hole back up.
Zong Yuan stood firm, gazing at the locust tree. He calmly asked, “Ah-ning, how did your brother die?”
Zhou Ning glanced at him, clearly not understanding his meaning.
“Was he murdered?” Zong Yuan rubbed his chin, not caring whether he touched a sore spot for someone else.
Suddenly, a chilling atmosphere enveloped him as something slowly caressed his neck. Zong Yuan’s brow twitched, and he turned around instantly, on high alert.
Nothing was there. Zong Yuan observed the surroundings for any movement but was forcefully pushed from the front, colliding straight into the large locust tree behind him.
“Damn it…”
It happened again.
It seemed like the people around him were in a different dimension. Zong Yuan faced utter darkness, unable to hear any sound. In this vast space, it felt like only the presence of the large locust tree behind him existed.
His hand was nailed to the tree, and a bone-chilling coldness pierced his wrist as if thousands of needles were penetrating his bones.
He couldn’t move. He couldn’t see. Yet, he sneered, “Which ghost is so cowardly to show itself?!”
A barely audible voice echoed in his ears. The coldness he just experienced returned, something touching his neck and chest, resembling the sensation of hands.
Zong Yuan couldn’t move his hand, but he delivered a futile kick. He knew it wouldn’t work, yet he continued to assert dominance verbally, “Where did this pervert come from? Never seen a man in your life? Do you think you’re worthy of touching me?”
Zhou Ning paused in burying the soil, turning to look at Zong Yuan.
Zong Yuan stood steadily, eyes closed, appearing to bask in the warmth of the sunlight.
Awu and Ayu were still discussing the matters of the Zhou residence, oblivious to any unusual signs.
Zhou Ning ran to Zong Yuan, pulling at his clothes and snuggling into his embrace, his face filled with affection. “Brother…”
With his eyes unable to see, Zong Yuan relied on his heightened senses.
The incessant touching on his body finally ceased, and Zong Yuan’s nerves were taut. “0046, where is he?”
No response.
A mixture of earthy scents, tinged with the aroma of soil, filled his nostrils. A breeze grazed his face, and a cold breath approached. Zong Yuan mentally conjured an image of a decaying corpse facing him.
Fortunately, there was no stench of decay.
The breath paused and resumed.
Something was speaking to his face.
But he couldn’t hear.
Apparently, that entity also realized the issue. Zong Yuan’s brow furrowed slightly, and before he could react, the darkness and coldness retreated rapidly, and suddenly, everything brightened.
Zong Yuan opened his eyes to a blue sky, white clouds, and a gentle breeze. Zhou Ning still clung to his clothes, leaning affectionately against him.
Holding Zhou Ning’s hand, Zong Yuan approached the tree, crouching down to inspect the spot where he encountered the ghost in that other dimension. However, he found nothing.
Perhaps due to his displeased expression, Zhou Ning hugged his neck and comforted him with a tender kiss.
Awu and Ayu noticed Zong Yuan’s actions and hurried over, asking, “Young Master, what’s wrong?”
Zong Yuan picked up the spirit tablet Zhou Ning had placed under the tree, chuckling coldly. “It seems we need to investigate this Young Master Zhou Jin thoroughly.”
As he walked towards the house with Zhou Ning in his arms, he heard Awu’s exclamation from behind, “Young Master!”
Turning around, Zong Yuan saw their distorted expressions, glaring at his back indignantly.
Setting Zhou Ning down, Zong Yuan took off the recently changed outer garment. There were several bloody characters written on the back of the shirt.
Get out of Zhou Mansion.
This was what that entity wanted to tell him.
Awu rushed over to take the clothes for burning, but Zong Yuan stopped him. Without changing his expression, he continued to put on the shirt. Whether the entity could hear it or not, he spoke to the large expanse of air in front of the locust tree, “It’s easy to invite a god, but difficult to send one away. Has Young Master Zhou Jin of Zhou Mansion never heard this saying?”
“Whether I stay or leave is none of your damn business.”
Author’s note:
Zhou Jin: None of my damn business…?
