Xu Muchan was held in his arms, turning his head to look at the people who had stopped where they stood as though someone had pressed a pause button.
They no longer made a sound, but their deathly pale faces turned like sunflower heads, following Wei Xilou’s movements as he walked. Their bodies remained frozen in their original positions and postures, standing completely motionless. Only those pale faces turned around, staring fixedly at Xu Muchan until the courtyard gate was closed.
Once they entered the courtyard, Xu Muchan released his arms from around Wei Xilou’s neck and tried to get down.
Although Wei Xilou was strong enough to carry him as though it were effortless, Xu Muchan himself felt extremely awkward. From childhood until now, he had never been held like this by anyone.
But Wei Xilou had no intention of letting go. Seeing him squirming around in his arms, he gave him a warning pat on the butt.
“Stop moving.”
The sudden pat nearly made Xu Muchan jump. His ears flushed red as he glared at him. But the effect was clearly immediate. Perhaps worried that Wei Xilou might do it again, Xu Muchan no longer dared struggle and could only obediently let himself be carried into the bedroom.
Wei Xilou set him down on the chaise longue by the window.
Then he picked up the teapot from the small table, poured a cup of clear tea, and held it to Xu Muchan’s lips.
“Have some tea to calm yourself down.”
Xu Muchan had a stomach full of questions, but he obediently cooperated and took a sip.
Only after seeing him stop drinking did Wei Xilou take the small teacup between his fingers and sit down in the grand armchair opposite him. He took an unhurried sip.
“Ask whatever you want.”
Xu Muchan had originally wanted to remind him that the teacup was the one he had just drunk from. After spending all this time together, he had discovered that Wei Xilou was not only extremely particular about his food, clothing, living arrangements, and daily routine, but also seemed to have something of a cleanliness obsession. But before he could say anything, another sentence diverted his attention.
Xu Muchan frowned thoughtfully, carefully considering how to phrase his question.
“Is that wooden pagoda the Wei family’s ancestral hall? What exactly is worshiped inside? When I went in, there was clearly nothing there, but I kept feeling like several pairs of eyes were watching me… And the people who suddenly surrounded me at the residence just now were being controlled by whatever was inside the wooden pagoda too, weren’t they?”
Wei Xilou swirled his teacup and sighed.
“Our A-Chan really is such a curious little thing.”
Xu Muchan was startled. He abruptly raised his head and stared at him so intensely that it seemed as though his gaze could almost bore a hole through Wei Xilou’s face.
Wei Xilou raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
Xu Muchan realized that he had apparently only called him that casually and that Brother had not regained his memories. He lowered his eyes and shook his head.
“Nothing.”
Wei Xilou chuckled softly and did not press him. After downing the tea in his cup, he idly toyed with the teacup between his fingers and slowly answered Xu Muchan’s earlier questions.
“That wooden pagoda is the ancestral hall. As for what’s inside… it should count as a god.”
Xu Muchan asked curiously, “But if it’s a god being worshiped, why isn’t there a statue?”
Wei Xilou seemed annoyed by how many questions he had.
“Tsk.”
“Gods are born from human desires. Human desires are often ugly beyond measure, so how beautiful could the gods born from them possibly be? If you made a statue and worshiped it, wouldn’t that force everyone who prayed to the god to confront their own ugliness?”
Xu Muchan froze. This was the first time he had ever heard such an explanation.
But then he felt that perhaps Wei Xilou was merely brushing him off. Unwilling to give up, he pressed on.
“If it’s a god, then it must have a name, right?”
Although he had already been trapped in this ghost domain for so many days, his understanding of it still barely scratched the surface. Whom this ghost domain belonged to, why it had formed, and how he was supposed to break out of it and leave—he had no clue about any of it.
This ghost domain was closely connected to the Wei family. Perhaps the god worshiped by the Wei family would be a crucial clue.
But Wei Xilou was unwilling to say anything more. He pinched the young man’s soft lips shut, preventing him from speaking again.
“I’ve already told you. You’ve asked too many questions today. It’s time to go to bed.”
Xu Muchan glared at him, slapped his hand away, and headed to the bathroom to wash up.
Wei Xilou rubbed his fingertips, which still held a trace of moisture, and smiled.
“Not only are you terribly curious, you’ve got quite a temper too.”
Unable to get anything else out of Wei Xilou, Xu Muchan could only go to bed feeling thoroughly dissatisfied. He had thought that after what happened, he would have trouble falling asleep, but in fact, he was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.
It seemed that he slept for a long time. Xu Muchan was awakened by the sound of rain beating against the window.
He opened his sleepy eyes and discovered that the bed beside him was already empty. Faintly, he could hear voices outside.
He got up and put on his shoes, then walked around the screen into the outer room. Outside, the sky was gloomy, and torrents of rain poured down, making everything between heaven and earth appear hazy and misty.
Wei Xilou was sitting beneath the eaves on a chaise longue, admiring the rain. Two young girls dressed as servants stood before him with their heads lowered. One of them held a porcelain bowl and spoke.
“Young Master, this is the nourishing soup Master asked us to bring you.”
Xu Muchan recognized the two girls as being from the kitchen. But Wei Xilou looked perfectly strong and healthy, so why did he need nourishing soup?
Wei Xilou accepted the porcelain bowl. His face was reflected against the curtain of rain behind him, making his features seem somewhat blurred and indistinct as well. He casually waved his hand, his voice light and indifferent.
“I know. I’ll drink it. You may leave.”
But the two girls, who were clearly terrified of Wei Xilou, stubbornly remained where they were instead of leaving. In soft voices, they said, “Master said we have to watch Young Master drink it before we’re allowed to leave.”
Wei Xilou frowned, an expression of disgust appearing on his face. Yet, unusually, he did not lose his temper. Instead, looking listless, he lifted the lid of the porcelain bowl.
Xu Muchan saw the black nourishing soup inside and caught a strange yet familiar smell. What was inside the porcelain bowl was actually Black Taisui.
Xu Muchan’s heart jolted. Before he could say anything, he saw Wei Xilou already down the entire bowl of “nourishing soup” in one go, then impatiently tossed the porcelain bowl back onto the tray held by the girl.
Xu Muchan was a step too late. He could only walk over and ask with concern, “Is Young Master sick? Why do you have to drink nourishing soup?”
Only after getting closer did he realize that the soup seemed not to be exactly the same as Black Taisui. It also carried a strange fishy smell. His brows furrowed even more deeply as he looked at Wei Xilou with concern.
“That’s an adult’s business. Children shouldn’t meddle.”
Wei Xilou waved his hand in disgust, and the two girls, as though granted a reprieve, hurried away carrying their things.
Seeing Xu Muchan still staring reluctantly after them, Wei Xilou laughed again.
“Does your family not feed you? Why are you even getting greedy over nourishing soup? That isn’t something good.”
Xu Muchan had no way to explain himself, so he could only silently accept Wei Xilou’s interpretation and lower his eyes, studying the person in front of him.
The rain outside stopped as abruptly as it had begun. The water that had not yet drained away gathered together and flowed from the upturned eaves, falling in transparent streams behind Wei Xilou.
Against that backdrop, even his face seemed somewhat translucent.
For some inexplicable reason, Xu Muchan’s heart tightened.
“Why do you have to drink that?”
Wei Xilou did not answer. Instead, he beckoned to him.
“Come here.”
Xu Muchan pressed his lips together and stubbornly refused to move.
Wei Xilou looked at him, then suddenly laughed. He grabbed his hand and pulled him over, smiling as he said, “Such a childish temper.”
As he spoke, something slightly cool was placed into Xu Muchan’s palm.
Xu Muchan lowered his head and looked. It was actually a Mountain God tablet.
It was almost identical to the one hanging around his neck, except that the wood was thicker and more lustrous. Xu Muchan could not tell how old it was, but he could clearly sense the aura emanating from within the wooden tablet.
The patterns also seemed somewhat different. Xu Muchan had not had time to examine them carefully when Wei Xilou said, “This was made from the thousand-year-old locust tree in the courtyard. It’s more effective than the one around your neck. Switch to this one.”
Xu Muchan took out the Mountain God tablet hidden beneath his collar. The tablet was already extremely old, and he could no longer remember when Brother had made it for him.
He did not listen to Wei Xilou. Instead, he untied the red cord holding the Mountain God tablet around his neck and tied the two tablets together.
Wei Xilou saw this and clicked his tongue in displeasure.
Xu Muchan ignored him and asked, “Are the patterns on the Mountain God tablet writing?”
He had been curious about this for a long time, but Brother had never told him anything. Now that he happened to see that the patterns on the Mountain God tablet seemed to have changed, Xu Muchan wanted to take advantage of Brother’s amnesia and try to coax some information out of him.
Wei Xilou once again selectively went deaf. He patted Xu Muchan on the waist, leaned back into the chaise longue, and dismissed him.
“All right. I have other things to do. Go outside and play. Don’t come back until before the hour of the Rat.”
Xu Muchan felt that something about his condition was strange, but before he could investigate further, Wei Xilou raised his voice and called for someone, then had him escorted out.
Only after coming outside did Xu Muchan discover that, at some point, the area outside the courtyard had become packed with people.
At a glance, he saw that the people standing at the front were all dressed in wealthy-looking clothes. They were probably the heads of the Wei family. The man and woman standing at the very front looked somewhat similar to Wei Xilou, so they should be Master Wei and Madam Wei, who had never shown themselves before.
Beside them stood two boys and a girl, all appearing to be around twelve or thirteen years old. They were laughing and playing around.
Unlike the relaxed children, the adults standing there tried their best to appear calm, but their bodies were all tense.
The servants standing farther back were even afraid to make a sound. Every movement was slowed down, as though they were afraid of disturbing something.
An eerie atmosphere spread through the area.
As the person currently most favored in the Young Master’s courtyard, Xu Muchan was summoned before Master Wei and questioned.
“How is the Young Master?”
Xu Muchan was unsure what exactly he wanted to know, so he cautiously replied, “He seemed fine when I came out.”
Master Wei nodded and waved a hand, sending him to stand at the back.
Xu Muchan lowered his eyes obediently and joined the line of Wei family servants standing behind.
Time passed little by little. Under the gloomy sky, there was no way to tell how much time had passed. Relying on his height, Xu Muchan looked toward the front and saw Master Wei holding a pocket watch and checking the time.
Unfortunately, he was too far away, and Brother had confiscated his glasses, so he could not see what time it was.
Xu Muchan withdrew his gaze and looked at the people from the other branches of the family. For some reason, they suddenly became restless. It seemed someone had said,
“It’s time.”
Time for what?
Xu Muchan looked around in confusion, but suddenly caught the sound of familiar waves.
It sounded as though there were a great river, its waters surging and rushing toward them from afar. The sound seemed to come from the horizon, yet at the same time, it seemed to be right beneath his feet.
No matter how hard Xu Muchan tried to distinguish its source, he could not determine where the sound was coming from.
Then it began to rain again.
The fine, hair-like rain landed on his skin. Xu Muchan reached out uncomfortably to wipe it away, only to discover in shock that the rain was actually black. A thin layer coated his skin like some kind of stain.
He immediately turned to look at the people around him, only to see that their expressions had become extremely solemn, with even a trace of fear showing through, as though they were waiting in terror for something to happen.
The black rain fell onto their bodies, accumulating into thick layers before sliding down their skin. Every one of them looked as though they were wrapped in heavy, filthy stains, giving off a thick, rotten stench.
Rainwater accumulated into puddles on the ground. A rumble of thunder rolled across the sky from far away, drawing closer and closer, and even the ground seemed to tremble faintly.
The Wei family’s Second Young Master, Third Young Master, and Little Miss standing at the front squeezed fearfully against their parents and whispered that they wanted to go back.
Madam Wei gently stroked their heads and softly reassured them.
“Don’t be afraid. This is a good thing. Once your eldest brother gets through this ordeal, our Wei family will have nothing but good days ahead.”
The children did not understand the complicated thoughts of adults. Upon hearing this, the Second Young Master pouted and raised his voice slightly.
“After Big Brother ascends to immortality, I won’t have to see him anymore, right? I don’t want to see him again!”
Madam Wei unhappily pinched him.
“What nonsense are you talking about? After your big brother ascends to immortality, the entire Wei family will be under his protection, including you. You mustn’t say such foolish things again. If your big brother hears you, you’ll suffer for it!”
After being scolded by their mother, the children obediently fell silent.
Xu Muchan could not hear any other useful information, so he could only turn his attention toward the courtyard where Wei Xilou was.
From Madam Wei’s words, was it actually Wei Xilou who was going to ascend to immortality?
How was he supposed to ascend?
And what was Wei Xilou doing inside the courtyard right now?
Xu Muchan felt increasingly uneasy. His thoughts raced rapidly, one after another, only to be interrupted by another booming rumble of thunder—
The thunder shook the ground with several deafening booms. There was a slight stir among the crowd, but it quickly settled down again.
Xu Muchan looked around and discovered that every single person was eagerly staring toward Wei Xilou’s courtyard. Their necks were stretched long, while their faces, drenched in black rain, faintly took on a bluish-gray hue. Their expressions were filled with a ferocity and greed that they themselves did not even seem to notice.
The uneasiness in Xu Muchan’s heart gradually intensified.
He looked toward the courtyard again. It was unnaturally quiet inside, until another muffled rumble sounded—
Something was wrong!
Xu Muchan suddenly realized that the thunder was not coming from the distant sky.
It was coming from inside the courtyard.
And it was not even thunder.
It sounded like the roar of some kind of creature.
Xu Muchan’s heart began pounding faster and faster. The fingers hanging at his sides trembled faintly. Almost without hesitation, he quietly slipped away from the edge of the crowd, then circled around to the base of a wall where no one could see him and climbed into the courtyard.
He jumped down from the not-too-high courtyard wall, wiped the rain from his face, and ran toward the main house.
After running through the long, rain-soaked corridor, Xu Muchan saw Wei Xilou still sitting on the chaise longue beneath the eaves. Only then did the breath that had inexplicably caught in his chest loosen somewhat.
He hurried toward Wei Xilou, muttering as he went, “Brother, why are you still sitting here? There are so many… people… outside the courtyard…”
Xu Muchan’s voice grew quieter and quieter, and the color drained from his face.
Wei Xilou was still leaning against the chaise longue in exactly the same position as when Xu Muchan had left.
But anyone could see that the thing in front of him was not a living person.
Xu Muchan’s lips trembled slightly. He swallowed hard and tentatively reached out to touch the person who had not the slightest trace of warmth or vitality.
The skin was cold, with a faint softness to it. It did not feel like a corpse.
It felt more like… like…
Xu Muchan thought for a long time before finally finding the right description—
More like an empty skin that had been peeled off.
Then what was inside that skin?
Xu Muchan suddenly straightened, about to turn around, but abruptly froze.
Something cold and sinister pressed against his back.
At the same time, noisy voices rang out beside his ears, muttering and rambling about something.
Xu Muchan refused to listen and instead cautiously called out,
“Brother? Wei Xilou?”
The cold, sinister thing did not stop. It slowly slid over Xu Muchan’s body like a snake before dropping onto the chaise longue beside Wei Xilou.
It was a shapeless mass of black liquid, somewhat resembling the form Brother had taken before he had a physical body. But if Xu Muchan had to make a comparison, it actually looked more like Black Taisui.
His heart pounding wildly in his chest, Xu Muchan desperately clenched his hands to force himself to stay calm, then softly called out again.
“Brother?”
Whether or not the mass of black liquid had heard Xu Muchan’s voice, it slowly began to move.
First, it stretched itself out. Then slender branches extended from its side… Those branches gradually took shape, and in the end, they actually became a replica of the Wei Xilou beside them.
The same height.
The same build.
Except that its entire body was pitch-black, and its face had no features.
The pitch-black humanoid approached Xu Muchan and bent slightly to look at him. Its featureless face split open down the middle, revealing a scarlet pupil that stared fixedly at him.
Xu Muchan unexpectedly met that eye.
His head immediately spun with dizziness.
The noisy voices rang out in his ears again. They called the same name in different voices.
“A-Chan…”
“A-Chan…”
Xu Muchan desperately tried to stay conscious, but his mind seemed to be wrapped in thick, viscous water. He murmured, “Brother,” and his body uncontrollably pitched toward the ground—
The inhuman creature reached out and caught him. Two more arms extended from its back and lifted him horizontally before carrying him into the room.
Xu Muchan’s consciousness was hazy. He wanted to struggle but could not break free, and could only let the creature carry him and place him on the bed.
Then the inhuman creature sat down beside the bed as though it knew exactly what it was doing. Numerous branch-like tentacles extended from its back, every one of them impatiently reaching out to touch Xu Muchan.
Whether stroking his cheek or touching his eyelashes… some even wound around Xu Muchan’s calves like snakes, slithering back and forth…
Xu Muchan’s eyelashes trembled. Deliberately avoiding the scarlet vertical pupil on the creature’s face, he finally managed to recover a little of his senses.
Struggling, he grabbed one of the creature’s hands and said, “Brother, do you remember that we originally went down into the Wei family’s ancestral tomb? We’re only trapped in the ghost domain right now. Wake up!”
The inhuman creature sitting beside the bed did not seem to understand whether he was saying anything at all. But it lowered itself, its face hovering directly above Xu Muchan. That scarlet pupil slowly turned, the sinister malice within it almost overflowing.
Xu Muchan did not dare meet its gaze and could only squeeze his eyes tightly shut.
He heard a voice above him that seemed to be a mixture of many different voices saying, “A-Chan, don’t be afraid. Brother will protect you.”
With that, the body pressed down.
Xu Muchan felt something poking and probing at his lips. He opened his eyes in a trembling daze, only to see a finger searching between his lips. His tightly pursed mouth was forced open, and the finger slipped inside…
He bit down hard and called out, “Brother,” though the word came out muffled.
But when he inadvertently raised his eyes, he met that scarlet vertical pupil again. The clarity he had struggled so hard to regain once more became hazy. Xu Muchan stared blankly, his pupils widening. The force of his clenched teeth weakened, and his lips parted slightly.
The finger happily slipped farther inside…
“A-Chan is so good…”
“Such a good child…”
Numerous voices rang out throughout the room, overlapping as they expressed admiration and praise.
The dark shadow completely covered him, its body enveloping the young man entirely…
“A-Chan…”
A gentle voice softly called beside his ear. Xu Muchan suddenly opened his eyes and found himself looking straight into Wei Xilou’s exceptionally gentle face.
It was the same position and the same posture as before he had lost consciousness. The only difference was that the sinister inhuman creature had disappeared without a trace. The man sitting beside the bed possessed a handsome face capable of beguiling anyone.
It was as though the monster had put human skin back on.
The monster reached out and touched Xu Muchan’s forehead. “No fever. You must have slept yourself silly. Why are you staring blankly instead of saying anything?”
Xu Muchan’s eyelashes trembled. His unfocused eyes gradually came back into focus, but he still looked at the person before him in confusion. He could not quite tell who the person in front of him really was.
After a long while, he finally asked a question, his voice unusually hoarse, as though his vocal cords had been damaged.
“What year is it now?”
Wei Xilou froze slightly, apparently not expecting him to ask that. Nevertheless, he answered gently, “It’s the third year of the Republic of China.”
…It was actually the third year of the Republic of China.
Xu Muchan stared blankly into space.
He had already sensed that this ghost domain was unusually different. Rather than saying the people inside were ghosts, they were actually closer to living people. At times, they would become extremely strange, but most of the time, they had their own joys and sorrows and even went about their work methodically.
This was different from all the ghosts Xu Muchan had encountered before.
After all, most ghosts only remembered the obsession they had carried before death. No matter how convincingly they pretended, there was still a great difference between them and living people.
But now, Xu Muchan vaguely had an answer.
Perhaps the reason they seemed like living people was because they had actually been living people all along.
And this place was very likely not a ghost domain either.
Xu Muchan’s heartbeat quickened, and he felt a little nauseous from the aftermath of his shock, as though he might vomit. But he suppressed all his discomfort, turned his head, and stared intently at Wei Xilou.
“Those people outside… are they alive?”
Wei Xilou looked at him with a smile. “What difference does it make whether they’re alive or dead? The living will eventually die, while the dead… can also come back to life.”
Xu Muchan stubbornly pressed his lips together, as though he absolutely had to get an answer from him.
The smile faded from Wei Xilou’s face, and he slowly sighed.
Xu Muchan said nothing. He merely took his hand and buried his face in his warm palm.
Wei Xilou’s palm was damp. With his other hand, he gently stroked Xu Muchan’s back, his voice sounding helpless.
“What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
Xu Muchan did not lift his head or say anything.
Instead, he was thinking about some of the old Wei family affairs that Wei Yao had told him about later.
Wei Yao had said that their ancestor was from the main Wei family in Yundong. Sometime around the early years of the Republic of China, something happened to the main family in Yundong. The entire family was wiped out overnight, and only their ancestor managed to escape to Jiangcheng with his younger brother, Wei Ting.
Afterward, the Wei family put down roots in Jiangcheng. But not long after, their ancestor died of illness, while Wei Ting married and had children there, carrying on the Wei family line. That was how Wei Yao and his branch of the family came to be.
And now, it was the third year of the Republic of China.
Xu Muchan lifted his face and looked at Wei Xilou through the hazy sheen of tears. But what he was thinking was—
Had Wei Xilou really fled to Jiangcheng and died of illness there?