“Big Brother, I’m back.”
The young man wearing a raincoat walked in from outside. He first took off his raincoat at the doorway, hung the dripping-wet raincoat and umbrella on the protruding wooden peg beside the wall, and only then hurriedly shut the wooden door, cutting off the raging wind and rain outside.
During the Qingming season, Yundong had already been raining continuously for more than half a month.
The wind and rain were especially strong today. The umbrella could not withstand it, while the raincoat could barely keep him covered. Xu Muchan was soaked from head to toe. His shoes had absorbed so much mud and rainwater that every step squeezed out muddy water, leaving him looking utterly miserable.
There was no response from inside the house, but he had no time to worry about it. Feeling his way in the darkness, he first took off his shoes before going barefoot to search for the light switch.
He pressed the switch, but the light did not come on. Xu Muchan guessed that the power had probably gone out because of the strong wind and rain, so he had no choice but to feel his way toward the candles beneath the altar.
Candles were always kept in the house. Xu Muchan felt around for two and lit them. The dim, flickering candlelight illuminated the altar standing in the very center of the room.
Inside the old vermilion shrine stood a stone statue of a god whose facial features had long since become indistinguishable.
Xu Muchan met the statue’s eyes and instinctively looked away. Enduring the damp cold, he first lit three sticks of incense and bowed in worship before squinting in the dim light to change his clothes.
Yundong had not yet warmed up in April. The crude house built beside the Mountain God Cave was damp and cold as well. The moment Xu Muchan took off his soaked shirt, he shuddered violently.
He rubbed the goosebumps covering his arms vigorously, then bent down to take off his pants.
But when his gaze touched the swaying shadow on the ground, his movements suddenly froze.
Beside his shadow, elongated by the candlelight, there was an additional shadow.
The shadow was as dark as ink. Its body completely overlapped with his own. Only its head and shoulders leaned out from the left, as though someone were crouching behind him, slightly bending forward and resting their head against his left shoulder.
Xu Muchan’s heart rate became slightly erratic. He calmly took a deep breath and adjusted his breathing before softly calling, “Big Brother?”
The shadow did not answer.
But he could feel a cold aura traveling across his bare back, as if something were moving along his spine. Goosebumps erupted one after another across his icy skin.
Yet Xu Muchan did not dare to dodge or put on his clothes. He could only maintain his slightly bent posture stiffly and continue explaining in a soft voice, “There was a heavy storm today, and the roads in the village were difficult to travel, so I came home late.”
The candle flame beside the shrine flickered. A spark burst with a tiny crackling sound, startling Xu Muchan into a hard heartbeat.
The cold aura moved from behind him to the front.
Whether from the cold or fear, Xu Muchan’s overly slender waist trembled. His voice tightened, carrying a hint of weakness and pleading.
“I’ll definitely come home on time next time. Is Big Brother hungry? I’ll go make you something to eat right now.”
Before that cold aura could wander to a dangerous place, Xu Muchan hurriedly escaped. He did not even have time to change his soaked pants.
He first went to the kitchen, scooped a bowl of uncooked rice from the rice jar, then took out three sticks of incense and lit them. After bowing in worship, he inserted them into the rice and tried his best to remain calm as he placed the bowl on the wooden table before the shrine.
“Big Brother, eat first.”
The thin incense sticks inserted into the rice slowly burned. The smoke drifted around the room before finally becoming a thin mist that enveloped Xu Muchan.
Under the candlelight, the shadow began to writhe.
At last, it peeled itself away from Xu Muchan’s shadow and moved toward the wooden table.
He had gone to eat.
Xu Muchan quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he hurriedly changed into a clean shirt and pants before going to the kitchen beside the room to start a fire and heat some water.
There was instant noodles stocked at home.
Xu Muchan was not very good at cooking, and he had never been picky about food. At school, he ate in the cafeteria. When he came home during breaks and was too lazy to cook, he simply ate instant noodles.
He poured the hot water into the bowl. The scorching temperature and fragrance reached him, dispelling the coldness from earlier.
After traveling through the wind and rain all the way home, Xu Muchan was indeed hungry. He wolfed down an entire bowl of instant noodles.
The wind and rain outside had yet to stop.
The violent wind and torrential rain battered the old locust tree in front of the cave, making it rustle loudly, like the sound of some creature baring its claws and fangs.
Xu Muchan disliked this kind of weather.
After washing the dishes, he hurriedly took a bath with the remaining hot water, blew out the candles, and crawled into bed.
The well-used quilt cover was soft against his skin, blocking out the cold from outside.
Xu Muchan let out a comfortable sigh and completely relaxed, stretching out his body.
His arm accidentally brushed against something cold.
He immediately pulled his hand back as if he had been burned.
His body tensed as he lay there, not daring to move even an inch.
He was not unfamiliar with the thing inside the quilt.
It was Big Brother.
Although they had lived together day and night for so many years, every time the other suddenly appeared, Xu Muchan still could not control his wildly beating heart.
He closed his eyes and tried his best to relax his stiff limbs, adjusting to the cold aura drawing close beside him.
But this time, perhaps because he had come home too late and made Him angry, that cold aura did not quietly lie beside him.
Instead, it pressed over him with an overwhelming sense of oppression.
Xu Muchan did not open his eyes, but he felt that the other person should be hovering above him, because a cool stream of air gently brushed across his face.
The airflow was rhythmic, moving in and out at a steady pace, like something was slowly breathing above his face.
Xu Muchan’s eyelashes trembled.
He convinced himself not to pay attention to it. If he fell asleep, everything would be fine, just like on countless nights before.
But soon he discovered that something was different tonight.
The cold aura lingered over his face for a moment before gradually moving downward.
The hem of his shirt was lifted, and inch by inch, his skin was exposed to the slightly cool air, instantly breaking out in goosebumps.
An unfamiliar limb touched his sensitive waist.
Xu Muchan trembled violently.
Finally unable to endure it, he opened his eyes and reached out to brush it away—
The hand he raised was restrained by an invisible limb and pressed above his head.
The cold aura clung to Xu Muchan’s ear, and in a vague, sticky voice unlike that of a human, it said:
“A-Chan was naughty today.”
A shiver instantly spread throughout Xu Muchan’s body from the point where their ears touched.
His entire body broke out in goosebumps.
He suddenly jolted awake and sat up, gasping heavily.
Noisy sounds surged toward him from all directions like a rushing torrent.
Xu Muchan blinked his empty, unfocused eyes and turned his head around. Only then did he vaguely remember that he was no longer in the Mountain God Cave.
This was the airport waiting hall.
Three days ago, Qiu Ze, who claimed to be his biological father’s assistant, had found him at the hospital together with two police officers. They said that he was the second son of the chairman of the Xu Group who had gone missing, and that they wanted to take him back to the Xu family to confirm his identity.
The Xu family was in Jiang City.
Xu Muchan agreed.
Before leaving, he told Big Brother about it.
Big Brother seemed unhappy, but this time Xu Muchan had no intention of listening to Him.
However, he had still brought the shrine with him.
Xu Muchan felt around and hugged the backpack on the seat beside him into his arms. The shrine inside had a bit of weight to it, heavy and solid, which also caused Xu Muchan’s heart to settle.
He tilted his head and listened to the sounds around him.
Qiu Ze did not seem to be nearby. He did not know where he had gone.
Xu Muchan leaned back against the seat, furrowing his brows as he continued to rest with his eyes closed.
Ever since he had lost his eyesight, his other senses had become more sensitive.
The sounds in the waiting hall were too noisy, and the smells were far too mixed together.
Xu Muchan felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Qiu Ze came out of the restroom and saw that Xu Muchan was still sleeping not far away.
The large screen at the airport showed that their flight had already begun boarding, so Qiu Ze quickened his pace and walked over. He reached out to wake Xu Muchan. “Second Young Master, it’s time to boar—”
He did not get the chance to say the last word. It caught in his throat.
The instant his fingers touched Xu Muchan’s shoulder, he saw a tall black shadow crouched over him. Its upper body propped itself up as it slowly twisted its head around and looked toward him—
At that moment, Qiu Ze could not describe what he felt. He only felt a sinister chill rapidly spreading upward along his fingers, freezing his limbs stiff and leaving his mind completely blank.
The sleeping boy with his eyes closed opened them and grasped his hand.
“Assistant Qiu? Is it time to board?”
Qiu Ze shuddered violently and finally came back to his senses from that chilling state in which his thoughts had seemed to stop. His expression was still somewhat dazed. “Ah, yes. It’s time to board.”
Xu Muchan nodded and released him. With one hand holding his schoolbag, he felt around for his white cane with the other and stood up.
Where was there any black shadow?
Qiu Ze came to his senses as if waking from a dream. He clasped his hands together and rubbed them hard, thinking that perhaps he had been suffering from insomnia and poor sleep these past few days and had started hallucinating.
Once this business trip was over, he would have to take some annual leave and properly relax. Otherwise, he would probably die from overwork sooner or later.
The two of them boarded the plane and found their seats.
Xu Muchan sat on the inside, while Qiu Ze sat on the outside.
Seeing that he kept holding onto that old schoolbag without letting go, Qiu Ze reminded him, “Give me the schoolbag. I’ll put it in the overhead compartment. You can’t hold it during takeoff.”
The boy did not say much, but he obediently handed over the schoolbag.
Qiu Ze reached out to take it, but the instant he received it, both his hands sank downward—the schoolbag was astonishingly heavy.
He could not help being curious and squeezed it a little. He discovered that whatever was inside seemed to be quite large, with edges and corners. It also faintly emitted a chilling sensation that made people uncomfortable.
Holding it in his arms was like holding a block of ice.
This strange feeling aroused Qiu Ze’s curiosity.
When they had left Yundong County, the boy had brought only this old schoolbag with him. He had held onto it every step of the way and had never been seen opening it.
What was inside?
Qiu Ze glanced at the boy.
Xu Muchan was currently turned toward the window. His slightly long bangs hung down, covering half of his pale cheek and also concealing those lifeless eyes.
The other party was blind. Sneaking a look probably would not be noticed.
Thinking this, Qiu Ze’s fingers were already resting on the zipper.
He did not know that an almost feverishly excited expression had appeared on his face. His breathing had also begun to grow heavy, and his fingers even started to tremble slightly from excessive excitement.
The poor-quality zipper was pulled open little by little, making muffled click, click sounds. The thing inside gradually became visible—
“Assistant Qiu, have you put it away?”
The boy’s clear voice was like a drumbeat, pounding heavily against Qiu Ze’s eardrums.
Qiu Ze’s entire body jolted. He raised his head blankly. The abnormal feverish excitement had already disappeared from his face.
He stared blankly for a moment before saying, “Oh. I’ll put it up now.”
The schoolbag, whose zipper had already been opened slightly, was pushed into the overhead compartment.
Qiu Ze shook his somewhat sore arm and sat back down.
Thus, he failed to see the corner of a vermilion shrine revealed through the slightly open gap in the zipper.
Inside the shrine stood a stone statue of a god.
The corners of its mouth were turned downward, its expression cold and sinister.