After making the announcement, Xu Muchen paid no attention to the expressions on anyone else’s faces. He simply walked out and got into the car.
Perhaps because his eyesight had improved, Xu Muchen was in an especially good mood. Even Uncle Wu, the driver, seemed more amiable to him. He sat down in the back seat, and Xu Wangchuan opened the door on the other side and got in beside him. Putting on the air of a caring older brother, he said earnestly, “Muchen, even though your eyes have gotten a little better, you can’t be this willful. Just because you’re angry with Mom and Dad, you want to live at school. If something happens to you at school, won’t Mom and Dad still have to worry?”
He kept rambling on, but Xu Muchen looked at him in surprise.
This was the first time he had ever clearly seen what Xu Wangchuan looked like.
Xu Wangchuan was a few centimeters shorter than him. His skin was fairly pale, and his facial features were rather plain. Wearing the Nánmíng school uniform, he looked somewhat clean-cut and scholarly, like a neat and refined student. However, the red threads emerging one by one from the surface of his skin completely ruined that clean, refined appearance, making him look extremely eerie.
Those red threads were semi-transparent. They contracted slightly like blood vessels, with one end embedded in Xu Wangchuan’s skin and the other passing through the roof of the car, extending upward toward somewhere unknown.
Xu Muchen asked Uncle Wu to wait for a moment, then opened the car door and looked upward. He saw that the blood-vessel-like threads passed through the roof and continued all the way toward the sky, disappearing into the clouds.
What was behind the clouds?
Looking at those scattered threads, Xu Muchen couldn’t shake the feeling that something enormous was connected to them on the other end.
As if responding to Xu Muchen’s confusion, the thick clouds suddenly scattered under the wind. At the edge of the clouds, a corner of a dark, aged red object was revealed.
As more and more of that red became visible and clearer, Xu Muchen finally recognized it—
It was actually the Joy God’s red bridal veil.
As if it had sensed someone spying on it, the enormous monster behind the clouds slowly lowered its head. The tassels hanging from the red veil swayed slightly, while its neck was long and flexible like a snake…
As it moved, the red threads connected to its body were pulled along with it.
Xu Muchen immediately withdrew his gaze, not daring to look anymore. He sat back inside the car, closed the door, and said to Uncle Wu, “Uncle Wu, let’s go.”
Uncle Wu answered, and the car drove away.
But the Joy God had clearly already been alerted. The red veil appeared outside the car window on Xu Wangchuan’s side. Its face, covered by the red cloth, was pressed tightly against the car window, as though it were peering inside to see what was happening.
Xu Muchen sat upright, facing forward, pretending not to see the monster outside the window.
Xu Wangchuan, on the other hand, for some reason began to feel restless. That faint, bone-chilling sensation had returned.
Ever since his family had invited a new divine statue into the house, he hadn’t experienced this feeling for a long time.
Xu Wangchuan frowned deeply and glanced out the window. The scenery outside was rushing past, and there was nothing there.
But the suffocating feeling followed him like a shadow. Xu Wangchuan simply opened the window, leaned his face close to the window frame, and breathed in the outside air.
Out of the corner of his eye, Xu Muchen saw that Xu Wangchuan was practically face-to-face with the Joy God.
No one knew what state the Joy God was in now. A section of snake-like neck extended from beneath the red veil, while two deformed hands reached out from below and pinched the edge of the veil, as though trying to lift it.
Xu Wangchuan was completely oblivious to this. He even had absolutely no sense of danger and leaned his head farther out, looking as though he was almost about to crawl underneath the Joy God’s red veil.
“Xu Wangchuan, close the window a little. The wind is giving me a headache,” Xu Muchen said.
Xu Wangchuan froze. But he was accustomed to playing the role of the good-tempered elder brother, so he could only pull himself back inside. He smiled at Xu Muchen, then closed the window.
The Joy God was shut outside, separated from them by a single car window.
Xu Muchen felt much more comfortable and continued resting with his eyes closed.
Today, the first two periods happened to be taught by their homeroom teacher, Wan Zheng. Xu Muchen wanted to ask about applying to live on campus, so as soon as class ended, he hurried after him.
“You want to apply to live at school?” Wan Zheng was somewhat surprised when he heard this.
Most of the students at Nánmíng came from extremely affluent families. It could be said that they were either rich or powerful, so most of them wouldn’t choose to live in the dormitories. Either their drivers picked them up and dropped them off every day, or their families had bought apartments in the neighborhoods near the school.
The only students who lived in the dormitories were generally those from relatively ordinary families who had gotten into the school on scholarships.
Xu Muchen nodded. He had already thought of a reason. “I feel like my home is too far from school. Living on campus would be more convenient.”
Wan Zheng’s expression immediately became even stranger.
After all, he knew something about Xu Muchen’s family. A family like his had no reason to make their child live in a dormitory. Even if it were simply for the convenience of attending school, at most they would find him a nice place to live off campus.
However, when he saw Xu Muchen’s serious expression and remembered the gossip he had seen trending online before, he figured there might be circumstances he wasn’t aware of.
After thinking for a moment, he said, “There’s only one dormitory building at the school. If I remember correctly, the Grade One dormitories are already full this year. Since you’re applying to live on campus at the last minute, there might not be a spot available. I’ll ask around and see what I can find out.”
Xu Muchen clearly hadn’t expected the dormitories at Nánmíng to be in such high demand. After a moment of surprise, he nodded. “Okay. Sorry to trouble you, Teacher.”
Wan Zheng thought for a moment before tactfully suggesting, “You haven’t transferred here for very long. If you run into any difficulties, whether with your studies or your daily life, you can always come talk to me.”
Xu Muchen was a little puzzled, but he still nodded again.
When he returned to the classroom, Xu Muchen felt a little dejected at having failed before he had even begun. If he couldn’t get a dormitory spot, then he would have to rent a place off campus.
But housing near Nánmíng wasn’t cheap, and renting would be another considerable expense. Xu Muchen calculated how much money he currently had saved.
Back in Yundong, he had worked part-time in the city during his winter and summer vacations and managed to save nearly ten thousand yuan. After coming to Jiang City, Xu Zhifei had also given him quite a bit of spending money.
Altogether, he had around thirty thousand yuan in savings.
That amount would already count as a lot in Yundong. But Nánmíng’s annual tuition alone was a considerable expense, and the pace of study was also much more intense than at his school in Yundong. Evening self-study lasted until nearly ten o’clock, so Xu Muchen estimated that he would have very little time to work part-time during the week.
Fortunately, he didn’t need to worry about tuition for this semester yet.
Xu Muchen sighed. He figured that once summer vacation came, perhaps he could look into finding a summer job.
As for the regular school term, he could only see whether he could find a weekend part-time job.
During the lunch break, Xu Muchen went with Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang to get a leave slip from Wan Zheng and leave the school grounds. They went to the nearby police station to finish giving their statements.
Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang were probably experiencing, for the first time, the joy of not having to climb over the wall but instead being able to walk out of school openly with an official leave slip. They were so delighted that they almost forgot themselves.
Wei Yao said to Xu Muchen, “We’ve still got an hour. How about we go to an internet café and play some games?”
Xu Muchen had never played games before and shook his head without interest. “You guys go. I want to see if I can get a pair of glasses, and then buy a phone and get a replacement SIM card.”
Now that his eyesight had recovered enough for him to see things, he didn’t have as much need for a phone, but he still needed one.
“Can you even get glasses for your condition? Why didn’t you get them sooner?”
As soon as the two heard that this was something important, they immediately abandoned the idea of playing games. They grabbed Xu Muchen and headed toward a nearby optical shop.
“Come on, come on, come on. There’s an optical shop right near the school.”
Xu Muchen vaguely explained that when he woke up that morning, he had felt that his eyesight had improved considerably, so he wanted to get his vision tested and see what was going on.
At the optical shop, Xu Muchen had his eyesight tested.
Nine hundred degrees, with another one hundred and fifty degrees of astigmatism.
That prescription was extremely strong, but to Xu Muchen, it was already an unexpected pleasant surprise. It meant that he really could temporarily make up for his poor eyesight with glasses.
Unfortunately, high-prescription lenses had to be specially made. Xu Muchen paid, left his contact information, and was still somewhat excited when he walked out of the optical shop.
Once he had glasses, he would be able to attend class and do his homework just like a normal person.
Wei Yao still found it somewhat unbelievable. He had previously thought there was something seriously wrong with Xu Muchen’s eyes, but now it seemed that wasn’t it at all—he simply had severe myopia.
He stuck his big face right in front of Xu Muchen.
“Hey, can you see what I look like?”
Xu Muchen leaned his head backward in disgust.
“Two eyes, one nose, one mouth. That’s about it.”
Wei Yao clicked his tongue.
“Everyone has two eyes, one nose, and one mouth, but only your Brother Yao is naturally handsome!”
Xu Muchen’s mouth twitched, and he ignored him.
Wen Dajiang rolled his eyes and exposed him. “Look at you showing off. Xu Muchen is way better-looking than you. If you want to look at a handsome guy, why don’t you just look in the mirror?”
Wei Yao turned his head and glanced back. The boy walking behind them was so pale under the sunlight that he seemed to glow. His newly grown bowl-cut hair made him look obedient and pretty.
But Wei Yao didn’t dare say that out loud. Xu Muchen had already given him a terrible attitude because of that comment before, and he still remembered it.
With Xu Muchen, the well-behaved model student, around, going to an internet café to play games was obviously out of the question. After buying a phone and getting a replacement SIM card, the three of them returned to school half an hour early.
Unexpectedly, they saw Yan He at the school gate.
Yan He had clearly been waiting there specifically for them. The moment Wei Yao saw him, he guiltily went over and threw an arm around Yan He’s shoulders like they were close brothers, using enthusiasm to cover up his guilty conscience.
“Brother Yan, what brings you here?”
“Go, go, go. Don’t pretend we’re close. I’m here to see Xu Muchen.”
Yan He disgustedly slapped his arm away. He still remembered how heartless this brat had been the night before—actually leaving him alone at the police station while sneaking off first.
Xu Muchen was puzzled. “You’re looking for me?”
Yan He studied him carefully.
He hadn’t paid much attention last night amid all the chaos, but today he immediately noticed that Xu Muchen’s hair seemed to have grown much longer. When they had met at Rose Garden yesterday afternoon, the other boy definitely hadn’t had this hairstyle.
Thinking of the ghost’s waist-length hair in the ghost domain, Yan He’s heart gave a sudden jolt.
“That ghost we encountered in the ghost domain last night that looked exactly like you… I’ve been thinking about it, and I’m still very concerned. I’m worried it might cause you some harm… Would you mind letting me take a look at your hand?”
So that was why he had come.
Xu Muchen lowered his eyes and extended his right hand.
Yan He examined it carefully for a long while, but he couldn’t see any of the unusual characteristics his master had mentioned.
After returning last night, he had immediately video-called his master and senior brother. First, he had complained bitterly about that Judge, asking his senior brother to pass along a message to Lord Cui when making offerings to Cui Fu Jun, informing him of the serious corruption and embezzlement among the current Judges.
After that, he brought up the Starving Ghost in Ghost Domain 101, the black water, and the ghost that looked exactly like Xu Muchen.
The Starving Ghost had already been dissolved by the black water while they were in the ghost domain, so the threat had been eliminated and there was no need to worry about it anymore.
But the ghost that looked exactly like Xu Muchen still bothered him.
Especially when Yan He had seen Xu Muchen outside Building Nine last night, he had noticed that there were many things about him that didn’t seem right. It had simply been too chaotic at the time for him to investigate carefully.
Only after telling his master about it did he learn a term he had never heard before—
Heavenly Fetus.
His master told him that people born during the Qingming Festival, when yin energy was at its strongest, were known as “Heavenly Fetuses.”
Heavenly Fetuses possessed extraordinary talents, exceptionally strong spiritual sensitivity, and powerful sixth senses. Some were even born with innate knowledge. They were often excellent candidates for learning Taoist arts.
If they could make it far enough in life, then even if they didn’t become leaders of the Taoist sects, they would still become highly influential figures.
But because Heavenly Fetuses possessed unusual constitutions, they were often prone to dying young.
If they died naturally of old age or illness, that was one thing. But if they died while harboring an unresolved obsession and carrying deep resentment, they could easily become a Ghost King, becoming a great disaster that brought calamity upon the human world.
And according to Yan He’s description, the ghost he had seen in the ghost domain was very likely a Ghost King.
His master even suspected that the Red-Robed Judge had probably been killed by the Ghost King.
After all, Ghost Kings were naturally capable of devouring their own kind to strengthen themselves.
Yan He had been horrified by what he heard and barely slept that night.
He had originally planned to go directly to the school to find Xu Muchen that morning, but the school security was extremely strict, and he couldn’t get inside. With no other choice, he had waited outside Nánmíng’s school gate.
“There’s nothing wrong. Looks like I was overthinking it.”
Yan He relaxed somewhat.
Following the method his master had taught him, he carefully examined Xu Muchen’s palm lines. Not only did he confirm that Xu Muchen was human rather than a ghost, he also discovered that Xu Muchen’s fate was filled with hardships and calamities.
He was simply a poor, unlucky kid.
Seeing such a smart and good-looking child with such a terrible fate, Yan He felt somewhat sympathetic. He also felt a little guilty for suspecting him, so, almost as an apology, he took out three Peace Charms and handed one to each of them.
“Jiang City hasn’t been very peaceful lately. Don’t wander around after school. Go home early. These Peace Charms can protect you and keep you safe and well.”
Of course, for someone as unlucky as Xu Muchen, they could only offer some comfort at best.
Yan He looked at him sympathetically once more, then waved his hand, telling them to hurry into the school.
Wei Yao entered the school clutching his Peace Charm, still muttering to himself.
“I didn’t expect Daoist Yan to be such a nice guy. He actually made a special trip here just to check your palm, then gave us three talismans. He didn’t even ask us for money. I heard my grandfather say his talismans are pretty expensive!”
Xu Muchen stared at the Peace Charm in his hand, deep in thought.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that Yan He had another purpose for coming.
He looked at his palm. The lines were very faint, with many branches and relatively short lengths. He didn’t know how to read palms and couldn’t see anything wrong.
But when he remembered how obviously relieved Yan He had looked when he left, he felt that it probably wasn’t anything serious. Otherwise, Yan He wouldn’t have looked as though a great burden had been lifted from him.
Since that was the case, there was no need to think about it any further.
That evening after school, Xu Muchen hesitated for a moment before asking Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang whether they knew of anywhere near the school that was hiring for weekend part-time jobs.
Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang obviously had no need to work part-time for money. But they knew a lot of people, and Xu Muchen was currently only familiar with the two of them, so he could only ask and hope for the best.
If that didn’t work, he would have to go around asking at the shops outside himself.
“Did your family go bankrupt?”
Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang were stunned. They couldn’t understand why Xu Muchen needed to find a part-time job.
Xu Muchen didn’t want to say much, so he vaguely replied, “No. I had a bit of a falling-out with my family. I might have to support myself from now on.”
Wei Yao sucked in a sharp breath when he heard that.
“Are your parents’ hearts made of cement? Even if you had an argument, they can’t just cut off your living expenses, can they?”
Xu Muchen felt that these two probably wouldn’t be able to provide any useful information. His eyes began drifting toward the entrances of the surrounding shops, looking for hiring notices.
Seeing him looking so distracted, Wei Yao immediately imagined an entire melodramatic rich-family television drama in his head.
And Xu Muchen was clearly the poor little victim who was about to be kicked out of his wealthy family and would even have to earn his own living expenses.
He put an arm around Xu Muchen’s neck and said in exasperation, “You’re still in school. Why are you looking for a part-time job? If you’re really short on money, I’ll give you some. I can’t even spend all my pocket money anyway. You can help me spend some of it.”
Then he lowered his voice and asked, “Did that bastard Xu Wangchuan pull some dirty trick on you?”
Otherwise, he couldn’t understand it. The Xu family had only one biological son, and after finally finding him, how could they suddenly decide they didn’t want to support him anymore?
Xu Muchen pulled his gaze back and was about to push Wei Yao’s arm away when he met a pair of cold, gloomy eyes staring over.
Wei Xilou had appeared behind Wei Yao at some point.
His eyes were slightly narrowed, his gaze fixed on the arm Wei Yao had draped over Xu Muchen’s shoulder. The corners of his pursed lips curled into a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.
Xu Muchen: “…”
He pushed Wei Yao’s arm away, gave him a sympathetic look, then walked without hesitation over to Wei Xilou. He tilted his face upward and said happily, “Brother, what are you doing here?”
Wei Xilou patted his head.
“Here to pick you up.”
Wei Yao, standing nearby, had a look of complete disbelief.
“What the hell? Why do you call my family’s Old Ancestor ‘Brother’? Doesn’t that mean I’m suddenly several generations below you?”
Xu Muchen ignored him, silently praying that he would stop talking.
The more he talked, the faster he would die.
Couldn’t he tell that his brother had already started releasing killing intent?
Wei Yao genuinely didn’t notice.
By now, he had completely accepted the fact that Wei Xilou was his family’s Old Ancestor. And perhaps because he had gotten along fairly well with his godmother, Wei Yao had also developed considerably more affection for the Old Ancestor who had guided him into becoming sworn godmother and godson.
He grinned broadly.
“Old Ancestor, Xu Muchen is the same age as me. How can he call you Brother? Shouldn’t he address you according to my generation?”
The corner of Wei Xilou’s mouth twitched. With a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, he asked, “Are all the people in A-Chan’s family dead? Does he need you to give him money?”
Wei Yao froze for a moment.
But he quickly interpreted it on his own as his Old Ancestor thinking that Xu Muchen had parents, so there was no place for a classmate like him to spend money on him.
Thinking the Old Ancestor simply didn’t know about Xu Muchen’s family situation, he stupidly explained, “Xu Muchen had a fight with his parents. They aren’t giving him any living expenses, and now he has to find a part-time job. How pitiful! Besides, I’ve got plenty of pocket money. I can’t spend it all anyway, so having one more person spend it won’t matter.”
Wei Xilou nodded.
“Looks like you have too much pocket money.”
Wei Yao: “??”
Before he could figure out what was going on, Wei Xilou had already taken Xu Muchen by the hand and turned away.
“Let’s go.”
Xu Muchen was surprisingly obedient as well. He didn’t even say goodbye to the others and simply allowed himself to be led away.
Wei Yao stood there with an expression of utter disbelief. He turned around and looked solemnly at Wen Dajiang.
“Dajiang, don’t you feel that—”
Wen Dajiang nodded before he could even finish.
“I do.”
Wei Yao’s eyes lit up. He thought that Wen Dajiang really was his childhood friend. They were practically of one mind.
Wen Dajiang looked at him sympathetically.
“I think your pocket money might be flying away very soon.”
Wei Yao: “???”
Xu Muchen got into Wei Xilou’s car. The driver was still the same one as last time, but this time they didn’t return to Jiahe Garden. Instead, the car drove onto a familiar road.
Xu Muchen looked curiously out the window.
“Are we going to Oak Manor?”
Wei Xilou still looked rather gloomy, but he answered Xu Muchen’s question.
“I’m taking you to see your new house.”
“New house?”
Xu Muchen was even more puzzled.
“Where did this new house come from?”
“I took some things and traded them with the Wei family. A-Chan doesn’t want to live at the Xu family home anymore, right?”
Wei Xilou reached out and touched his hair. When his hand slid down to the back of Xu Muchen’s neck, it simply stopped there instead of moving away. His fingertips played with the ends of Xu Muchen’s hair.
Xu Muchen’s neck felt a little ticklish, and he instinctively shrank away. He had originally wanted to dodge, but when he caught sight of Wei Xilou’s clearly displeased expression, he thought about it and decided not to move.
Instead, he rubbed his head lightly against Wei Xilou’s palm.
Wei Xilou’s expression immediately brightened considerably.
Taking advantage of the moment, Xu Muchen asked, “What did you trade for it?”
He had lived with his brother for seven or eight years, but he had no idea what kind of treasure the other man could possibly have that was valuable enough to trade for a house. If he really had such treasures, how could they have been so poor before?
As if he had seen the doubt written all over his face, Wei Xilou closed his hand and pinched the back of his neck like he was holding a little kitten.
“I left some things in one of my old tombs. I forgot about them before and only remembered recently. When I left a few days ago, I went to retrieve some of them. But something unexpected happened along the way, and I only had time to bring out some junk.”
“The Wei family was willing to take it, so I gave it to them.”
Originally, Wei Xilou had planned to handle things himself. But Xu Muchen had looked too pitiful last night, practically like a little kitten with nowhere to go. He didn’t want to wait any longer, so he went straight to the Wei family.
Old Man Wei, on the other hand, had happily accepted the junk, saying that these were all things from the Wei family’s main branch back in the old days and could be kept as family heirlooms in the future.
Wei Xilou didn’t care what he planned to do with them. All he wanted was a villa, along with a driver and the Bentley they were currently riding in.
Xu Muchen was about to ask where the new house was, but before he could speak, the back of his neck was given another light pinch. Wei Xilou said casually, “A-Chan really likes Old Man Wei’s grandson?”
Xu Muchen’s heart tightened.
Here it comes.
He immediately shook his head. “I don’t like him. He talks too much. He’s noisy.”
It was impossible to tell whether Wei Xilou was satisfied or dissatisfied with that answer. He merely nodded his chin, his gaze slowly traveling over Xu Muchen’s face.
“I thought A-Chan had finally made some friends at school. Old Man Wei’s grandson is at least a member of the Wei family. There’s nothing wrong with the two of you getting a little closer.”
Xu Muchen didn’t respond, still speaking firmly. “I went to school to study hard, not to make friends.”
Wei Xilou rubbed his thumb against the rim of his ear. “Is that so?”
“A-Chan doesn’t have any friends in Yundong. And your brother is so much older than you. I can’t always keep you company, either. It’s fine for A-Chan to make some friends. From what I’ve seen, kids these days are always running around in groups, making a lot of noise together. You’re always alone. Don’t you ever feel lonely?”
Xu Muchen sighed inwardly.
Why was he even harder to coax after taking human form?
He lowered his eyes and said softly, “Then Brother can spend more time with me when you’re free. That’s enough. I don’t need anyone else.”
Wei Xilou finally smiled with satisfaction. He slipped his fingers into Xu Muchen’s hair and gently ruffled it.
“A-Chan really is a good boy.”