Edited—

And so, the matter of Lu Xingdong came to an end.

Zhu Hanlan seized control of the Lu family with thunderous swiftness, and the young Lu Qixun became the next head of the household.

Before Lin Zhushui left, at Zhu Hanlan’s request, he altered the feng shui layout of the Lu family estate, dismantling most of the wealth-attracting formations previously arranged within the residence and replacing them with more moderate, gentler feng shui arrangements.

Lin Zhushui warned her to think carefully—once these things were removed, the Lu family’s fortunes would be affected.

Zhu Hanlan merely smiled and said that children and grandchildren have their own blessings. She only asked that Lu Qixun live a safe and peaceful life. Zhou Jiayu looked at her expression and saw that she did not seem to be pretending. It seemed that making a move against Lu Qixun had been Gan Qianping’s worst move. She had touched Zhu Hanlan’s bottom line, aroused her maternal instincts, and ended up with such a fate.

Previously, Zhou Jiayu had not thought about it carefully, but now, upon reflection, he realized that the skeleton suddenly discovered in the backyard of the Lu residence was likely also Zhu Hanlan’s handiwork. To be able to find the place where Gan Qianping had discarded the body in such a short time—an enraged Zhu Hanlan was truly not someone to be trifled with.

As for exactly how Zhu Hanlan had killed Lu Xingdong, that seemed to remain a mystery, though it was likely related to the disappearance of the auspicious aura from her body.

Decades of accumulated merit from good deeds were lost all at once, and instead, a trace of black qi now clung to her. It seemed that using yin arts to kill someone was truly something one should not do.

Lin Zhushui also seemed to find Zhu Hanlan somewhat pitiable, but matters of karma were not something he could casually interfere with. When they parted, he merely told Zhu Hanlan that Lu Qixun’s destiny was quite good. The only flaw was that he would encounter a life tribulation in his twenties. If he survived it, his life would be smooth sailing thereafter. This car accident should have been that tribulation. Since Lu Qixun had pulled through, as long as he didn’t do anything particularly heinous in the future, his life should be quite smooth.

Hearing this, Zhu Hanlan smiled and said that if that was the case, she could rest assured.

Lin Zhushui nodded, turned, and left.

Zhu Hanlan called out from behind: “Mr. Lin, if there is anything we can help with in the future, please do not hesitate to ask. The Lu family and the Zhu family owe you a tremendous debt of gratitude.”

Lin Zhushui waved his hand without responding.

After boarding the plane, Lin Zhushui asked Zhou Jiayu and Shen Yiqiong if there was anything they didn’t understand.

Zhou Jiayu organized his thoughts. From the beginning, Lu Xingdong’s money sores had been caused by Gan Qianping. He remembered that after Lin Zhushui examined Lu Xingdong’s money sores, he had said, “Only dead people contract these sores.” Presumably, he had already discovered that Lu Xingdong had shown such symptoms after eating the flesh of some dead person. Although Gan Qianping had made Lu Xingdong ill, she had not intended for him to die so quickly, because she needed Lu Xingdong to know that even if everyone left him and despised him, she was willing to stay by his side without complaint.

And because Gan Qianping worried that Lu Qixun would affect her status in the Lu family, she had also made a move against him. That secretary named Zhang Yao had likely been involved as well.

After Zhu Hanlan discovered all of this, she acted decisively: she killed Lu Xingdong and exposed Gan Qianping’s corpse-buying scheme, completely cutting off any possibility of retaliation.

Zhou Jiayu asked, “Sir, then who is Lu Xiaoxu’s real father?”

Lin Zhushui said indifferently, “I don’t know. However, if my guess is correct, he has no blood relation to Gan Qianping either.”

Zhou Jiayu and Shen Yiqiong were both shocked; they hadn’t considered this possibility.

Lin Zhushui said, “Gan Qianping likely began dabbling in these dark, yin-related things very early on. If not handled properly, they have a great impact on the body. She herself was affected, and even Zhang Yao, who had a secret relationship with her, lost his fertility.”

Zhou Jiayu thought to himself that this profession was actually so dangerous. Fortunately, he completely didn’t need to worry about having children.

Lin Zhushui also reminded Zhou Jiayu to carry that mirror on him at all times to prevent accidents.

Speaking of the mirror, Zhou Jiayu thought of that paper man. He inexplicably felt a bit aggrieved, feeling like he was being targeted by some pervert. He said, “Sir, why does he keep fixating on me?”

Lin Zhushui heard this and said very gently, “Because you look delicious.”

Zhou Jiayu: “…”

Shen Yiqiong explained from the side, “Didn’t they already say you’re a walking, extra-large ice cream cone? Oh, it’s cold now, so ice cream isn’t popular anymore. Then you’re an extra-large chicken drumstick.”

Zhou Jiayu was utterly aggrieved.

Shen Yiqiong patted his shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, we won’t let you get eaten. Even if you’re a drumstick, you should have the right to choose who eats you.”

Zhou Jiayu said: “…”

Because of Zhou Jiayu’s situation, not long after returning, Lin Zhushui set a date for a trip to Mount She, saying they would depart after two days of rest and told them to prepare.

When Shen Yiqiong heard “prepare,” he shouted that he needed to buy glutinous rice. Zhou Jiayu asked him how many pounds he planned to carry this time. Shen Yiqiong said at least ten pounds. Zhou Jiayu gave Shen Yiqiong’s physical fitness a thumbs-up.

Before he knew it, Zhou Jiayu had been here for half a year, from the sweltering heat of summer until the first snowfall of the season.

Drifting snowflakes fell in the courtyard, and overnight, the treetops and ground were covered in a delightful layer of white.

The yellow weasel had officially been promoted to Zhou Jiayu’s scarf, refusing to come down even when he was cooking. In the end, Shen Yiqiong forcibly pulled it off, saying, “You shed fur so badly and you still want to go into the kitchen? I don’t want to eat with a mouthful of fur.” The yellow weasel’s molting period was a bit late—it was already early winter and it had only shed half its fur, filling the entire room with floating hair. Shen Yiqiong was practically going crazy.

The yellow weasel chattered angrily, arguing fiercely with Shen Yiqiong. Shen Yiqiong said, “If you insist on going in, Mr. Lin is coming for dinner tonight too. When he ends up eating your fur, let’s see what you do.”

At the mention of Lin Zhushui, the yellow weasel withered. It glared with its bean-sized eyes, curled into a ball on the sofa, its paw pads terribly cold, so it covered its eyes with its paws to warm them.

When Zhou Jiayu finished cooking and came out, seeing this scene, his heart practically melted. He had always loved small animals but never had the time to raise them. This yellow weasel had more or less fulfilled an obsession of his.

That evening, when Lin Zhushui came for dinner, he told them to pack more cold-weather clothing. He said it was very cold and remote at Mount She, and it was only accessible by train.

Zhou Jiayu said, “Sir, can they really control paper people?”

Lin Zhushui said, “Mm. The Xu clan of Mount She is also considered a prestigious family, but in recent years their descendants have grown increasingly few, and many precious secret techniques have been lost.”

Zhou Jiayu asked, “Then why are their descendants becoming fewer and fewer?”

Lin Zhushui said in a light tone, “Probably because after the founding of the nation, animals aren’t allowed to become spirits.”

Zhou Jiayu: “…” He turned his head to look at the yellow weasel curled up on the sofa.

The yellow weasel noticed Zhou Jiayu’s gaze, its expression twisting as it chattered twice, though no one knew what it was saying.

The corners of Lin Zhushui’s lips curved up slightly, as if he was in a good mood.

On the day of departure, Zhou Jiayu wrapped himself up tightly. Shen Yiqiong, young and full of vigor, claimed he wasn’t afraid of the cold at all. But the moment he stepped outside, he retreated in defeat, shivering as he went upstairs to change into a thick down jacket.

Zhou Jiayu said, “Weren’t you not afraid of the cold?”

Shen Yiqiong said, “I’m not afraid, I’m just too dark, so I dissipate heat a bit too fast…”

Zhou Jiayu: “…But you’d also absorb heat quickly.”

Shen Yiqiong snapped, “I’m going to wear it!!”

Zhou Jiayu saw what it meant to be furious out of humiliation.

Lin Zhushui had also changed into winter clothes, but his so-called winter attire was nothing more than a rather thin-looking windbreaker. Zhou Jiayu strongly suspected he had changed purely for the sake of the season—even if he continued wearing summer clothes, it probably wouldn’t affect him in the slightest.

Mount She was indeed rather remote. After taking a plane, they still had to take a train. It was one of those green-skinned trains without air conditioning. With the windows closed, it was stuffy; with the windows open, cold wind poured in through the cracks, chilling Zhou Jiayu so much he felt his whole mind was going numb.

Shen Yiqiong said, “Zhou Jiayu, are you okay? Why do you look so dazed?”

Zhou Jiayu said, “I… am… fine…”

Shen Yiqiong: “…” The way he was speaking didn’t sound like he was fine.

Zhou Jiayu, wrapped up like a rice dumpling, formed a sharp contrast with Lin Zhushui sitting across from him in thin clothing. Lin Zhushui, however, seemed to have anticipated Zhou Jiayu’s condition. He picked up a thermos from beside him and handed it to Zhou Jiayu, saying, “Drink a little.”

Zhou Jiayu took it and gulped down a mouthful of water. At first, he thought it was just ordinary hot water, but after one sip, he detected a faint fishy taste. However, the fishiness was very faint and dissipated quickly after entering his mouth. The hot water passed down his throat and into his stomach, and in the next moment, Zhou Jiayu felt a surge of heat rise within his body, driving away the cold that had been tormenting his nerves from the inside out.

Shen Yiqiong said in surprise, “Zhou Jiayu, why is your face so red?”

Zhou Jiayu said, “…I-I’m so hot.” After drinking the water, his whole body had warmed up, his face was flushed red, and he busily removed the thick scarf from around his neck.

Shen Yiqiong said, “Wow, that powerful? Sir, what is this water? Can I try some?”

Lin Zhushui said, “You can’t drink it.”

Shen Yiqiong said, “Huh?”

Lin Zhushui said, “The yang energy in the water is too heavy. Your body can’t withstand it.”

Shen Yiqiong nodded after hearing this. Actually, it didn’t matter whether he drank it or not—after all, he wasn’t as cold as Zhou Jiayu. He was just curious.

There were very few passengers in the train car. In the entire car, besides them, there were only seven other people: five university students and a middle-aged couple. The students seemed to be there for tourism. They were young and lively, talking loudly in the car, discussing where they planned to go after getting off.

In winter, the sky darkened early. Before six o’clock, the sky outside was already completely black. A silent night was about to descend. The sound of the train running on the tracks, combined with the howling wind outside the window, made Zhou Jiayu somewhat drowsy.

In his hazy sleepiness, Zhou Jiayu looked at Lin Zhushui, who sat silently across from him. Lin Zhushui’s eyes were closed. In the dim light, his long eyelashes cast faint shadows. Zhou Jiayu suddenly remembered someone saying before that if one’s eyelashes were long enough, you could place several matchsticks on them… Zhou Jiayu thought muddledly that if he had the chance in the future, he definitely had to try… He thought and thought, then fell asleep.

“Screech… screech…” A grating sound echoed in his ears. Zhou Jiayu woke with a start from his dream and found himself asleep, slumped over in the train car. He rubbed his eyes and mumbled, “What’s that sound?” Once he was fully awake, he realized that Lin Zhushui, who should have been sitting across from him, had disappeared.

Shen Yiqiong beside him was still curled up in a ball, dozing.

Zhou Jiayu looked up and discovered that the source of the sound was the roof. The sound was somewhat strange, like something on the roof was scratching or poking with a sharp object.

Zhou Jiayu thought for a moment, then turned and shook Shen Yiqiong awake.

After waking up, Shen Yiqiong was completely muddle-headed. He said, “Guan’er, what’s wrong?”

Zhou Jiayu whispered, “There seems to be something up there.” He pointed above their heads.

Shen Yiqiong said, “Something?” He immediately sobered up upon hearing this, climbed up from his seat, and listened carefully. He said in surprise, “There really is something…” He laughed dryly and said, “Hey, doesn’t this sound like someone scratching the roof with their fingernails?”

Zhou Jiayu: “…”

Seeing Zhou Jiayu’s expression, Shen Yiqiong said, “I was joking! Don’t be so serious…”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Brother, do you know what happens to people who joke around in horror stories?”

Shen Yiqiong made a motion of zipping his mouth shut.

The sound grew louder and louder, grating and unbearable. The remaining people in the car were all awakened by the noise. The university students were very curious and came over, saying, “What’s that sound?”

Zhou Jiayu said, “How would I know?” He looked around but still didn’t see Lin Zhushui anywhere. “Where’s Sir?”

Shen Yiqiong shook his head. “I was asleep just now. I didn’t notice.”

“Screech… screech…” If the sound just now could still be ignored, now it had grown so loud that the entire car found it impossible to sleep.

Everyone’s gaze gathered above Zhou Jiayu and Shen Yiqiong’s seats. A rather timid girl trembled and said, “What could that be?”

No one could answer this question.

At this moment, the outside was shrouded in darkness, the cold wind howling, yet exceptionally desolate. That strange sound filled the entire car. Zhou Jiayu found it unbearable to listen to. He said, “How about I go look for Sir somewhere else?”

Shen Yiqiong said, “By yourself? I’ll go with you.”

Zhou Jiayu agreed. The two of them were just about to head to another car when one of the girls who had been staying in the car suddenly let out a miserable scream: “Ahhhh!!! There’s a ghost!!!” Her scream was piercingly sharp. After screaming, she rolled off her seat in a panic.

“What’s wrong?” A male companion immediately went to ask.

“There’s someone, there’s someone outside the window!!” The girl was shaking all over, her entire face as pale as paper. She said, “I saw a face pressed against the window, and hair, black hair—”

Zhou Jiayu looked in the direction the girl pointed, but saw nothing but boundless darkness.

Another girl in the group said, “This is a train, how could there be someone? Xiao Ju, you must have seen wrong, right?”

The girl called Xiao Ju said angrily, “I didn’t see wrong! There really was a face pressed against it, it was there just now, it was there just now!”

She huddled on the side, refusing to go near that window no matter what.

“Really? Are you sure?” one of the boys said. “T-that’s impossible, right? I also think you saw wrong…”

Seeing that no one believed her, Xiao Ju said, “Fine, even if I saw wrong, then how do you explain the sound on top of our heads?”

Once these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the car grew even heavier. Indeed, a face outside the window could still be dismissed with the word “hallucination,” but the sound above their heads was real, and it was growing louder.

One of the university students couldn’t take it anymore and said, “Let’s not stay in this car. Let’s go find the train attendant first. They’ll definitely know what’s going on.”

That made sense, and Zhou Jiayu quite agreed. However, he and Shen Yiqiong weren’t looking for an attendant but for the disappeared Lin Zhushui.

“Then let’s go.” Several people stood up, all preparing to go to other cars. Zhou Jiayu walked at the back. His eyes swept over the crowd when he suddenly noticed something. “W-wait…”

“What is it?” The leading university student turned back with an unfriendly attitude.

Zhou Jiayu said with difficulty, “Earlier, I thought there were five of you. How come now… there are six?”

Everyone fell silent, leaving only heavy breathing.

The leader’s expression flickered with panic. He said, “What are you talking about? There have always been six of us.” He counted the people beside him and even said their names out loud.

Zhou Jiayu really wanted to have miscounted earlier, but he distinctly remembered that this group only had five people. Because a train seat could fit three people, the five of them had been sitting with one extra empty seat, on which lay a large red bag. Zhou Jiayu looked toward their seats and, unsurprisingly, saw that the large red bag was still lying quietly on the seat.

“I-I also remember there being five of you.” The woman from the middle-aged couple, who had been silent the whole time, also spoke up. She was clearly a bit frightened and took a few steps back as she said this.

“How did one extra person appear?” One of the girls looked like she was about to have an emotional breakdown. She choked back sobs and said in a trembling voice, “How could one extra person appear?”

No one spoke.

Zhou Jiayu said, “How about… we go somewhere with more people first? With more people, that thing might get scared and perhaps disappear?”

There was safety in numbers, and Zhou Jiayu’s proposal received the group’s agreement.

“Wait.” The leader stopped them. He said, “Don’t go over yet. Haven’t you considered a problem?”

“What problem?” the girl who had seen the face asked.

The leader said, “If there’s one extra person among us and we can’t find out who it is, then how can we be sure that what we see in the other cars are people?”

Once these words were spoken, no one spoke again.

“What if, what if they’re not people,” the leader said. “Then if we go over, wouldn’t we be…”

As they were discussing, Zhou Jiayu glanced toward the window. That one glance nearly made him stop breathing—on the pitch-black window, there really was a twisted face pressed against it. The face was somewhat blurry, but the facial features vaguely similar to a human’s were visible, along with the black hair scattered around the face.

Zhou Jiayu saw this scene, words stuck in his throat. He reached out and grabbed Shen Yiqiong’s arm hard, saying, “The window…”

Shen Yiqiong was full of confusion. Following Zhou Jiayu’s gaze, he also saw that hideous face. He wasn’t as calm as Zhou Jiayu and cursed directly: “Fuck! What the hell is that!”

The moment these words left his mouth, that face instantly vanished.

Everyone’s nerves were already stretched taut. With Shen Yiqiong’s outburst, they nearly lost their minds.

“I said I didn’t see wrong. You all saw it too, right?” The girl who had seen the face earlier said urgently, “There’s really something outside the window. What do we do, what do we do?”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Calm down first. Even if something has mixed in with you, the things you brought with you shouldn’t have changed, right? Train tickets? ID cards? Take them all out and check them one by one, and we can find out!”

This method sounded quite reliable. The six people hurriedly returned to their seats, wanting to dig out something that could prove their identities.

But things were indeed not as simple as Zhou Jiayu had thought, because they quickly discovered that the bags containing their important items had been taken.

All six were without exception. In fact, besides the large red bag full of snacks on the chair, all their other luggage had completely disappeared.

After discovering this fact, all six turned ashen-faced. Two of the girls embraced each other and wept, not knowing what to do for a moment.

Shen Yiqiong said, “How about this—have each of them hold a mouthful of glutinous rice or something and see who reacts?”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Would that work?”

Shen Yiqiong said, “There’s no other way, is there? Otherwise, what method is there to see their true forms?”

Hearing Shen Yiqiong’s words, Zhou Jiayu suddenly remembered something. He said, “Wait, I think I have a way.” He took out a jade silk pouch from his bosom and then fished out the ancient mirror placed inside the pouch.

Zhou Jiayu remembered Lin Zhushui saying that this mirror could reveal one’s truest form. Presumably, if something had really mixed in, it would be visible. He shone the mirror over them but found that it didn’t seem to have any effect…

Shen Yiqiong said, “Is it working?”

Zhou Jiayu frowned for a moment, then suddenly realized—he hadn’t smeared blood on the mirror. He forcefully bit open his finger and smeared a bit of fresh blood on the mirror surface, saying, “This should be fine now.” As he spoke, he aimed the mirror at the six university students who had collapsed to the ground in fear.

Inside the mirror, their figures were reflected.

One, two, three, four, five, six… Zhou Jiayu was stunned. After a rough count, there were indeed six people in the mirror. Why was it like this? As Zhou Jiayu was pondering, he suddenly noticed that in the mirror surface, a person who shouldn’t exist at all had appeared—Shen Yiqiong.

Shen Yiqiong, who should have been standing beside him, was now sitting across from him, seemingly distressed and searching for something. Blood rushed to Zhou Jiayu’s head, while the person beside him continued to ask, “Is it working?”

Zhou Jiayu’s entire body stiffened. He forced himself to say, “It seems… not very useful.”

“Really not useful?” The voice belonging to Shen Yiqiong continued to ask, “Since it’s not useful, why are you trembling?”

Zhou Jiayu said very calmly, “A little cold.”

“Cold?” the voice said. “Give me the mirror to look at. I want to see too.”

This voice’s tone was exactly the same as Shen Yiqiong’s. Zhou Jiayu couldn’t detect any difference at all. He told himself to stay calm, then turned the mirror in his hand to face behind him while saying, “Ah, I really can’t tell the difference. Let’s still go find Sir.”

“Okay.” “Shen Yiqiong” happily agreed.

Zhou Jiayu took the opportunity to lower his head slightly and saw the scene reflected in the mirror—in the mirror appeared a strange figure. That figure didn’t belong to a human at all. Its facial features were twisted, its black hair scattered about, and it was standing beside him, opening its mouth to urge him on.

Zhou Jiayu licked his dry lips and put his other hand into his pants pocket.

“Zhou Jiayu?” That thing was still speaking. “Let’s go, let’s go find Sir. Hurry up.”

Zhou Jiayu turned around, swiftly pulled the talisman paper from his pants pocket, and slapped it onto the thing’s back: “Find my ass, get the hell away from me!”

The moment the talisman paper stuck to that thing’s back, black smoke began to rise from its back, and miserable screams came from its mouth. It turned to look at Zhou Jiayu with a gaze full of resentment: “Zhou Jiayu—” It seemed to know it had been exposed, turned around, and fled directly toward the other cars.

Zhou Jiayu had wanted to chase it, but that thing was extremely fast, disappearing before his eyes in almost an instant.

“Damn it!” Zhou Jiayu cursed under his breath. He didn’t choose to pursue it but instead looked at Shen Yiqiong, who still had a bewildered expression beside him.

The remaining people in the car were dumbfounded seeing this scene. Someone kept asking what that thing was, was it a ghost?

Zhou Jiayu thought to himself, how would I know? He ignored the person and walked toward Shen Yiqiong, who had a serious expression, and slapped him on the forehead.

Shen Yiqiong was a bit stunned from being hit and said aggrievedly, “Why did you hit me?”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Shen Yiqiong, wake up! Since when are you a university student! You dropped out of middle school!”

Shen Yiqiong: “…”

Zhou Jiayu raised his hand, planning to give him a few more hits on the head to snap him out of the illusion. Shen Yiqiong quickly covered his head and said, “I remember now! Lighter! Lighter!”

Zhou Jiayu looked at him with some disbelief, his eyes full of suspicion: “You really remember?”

Shen Yiqiong said, “Give me five more minutes!”

Zhou Jiayu: “…”

He looked helpless. He simply took out a wakefulness talisman he had drawn himself from his bag and stuck it on Shen Yiqiong’s forehead. This talisman paper was something he had been practicing recently. It was still drawn very ugly, and he didn’t know if it would have any effect.

After the talisman was stuck on, Shen Yiqiong suddenly shuddered violently, then looked terrified. “Jiayu, I remember now—what the hell was that thing just now?” He didn’t know when it had started, but he had felt from the bottom of his heart that he had come here with these university students. And the most terrifying thing was, when these students pointed at him and said a name he had never even heard of, he had felt that that name belonged to him.

“I don’t know.” Zhou Jiayu said, “It’s nothing good. Wait, the sound on the roof seems to have stopped…”

Hearing this, everyone looked up and discovered that the scratching sound on the roof had disappeared.

Just as the atmosphere was stagnating, a figure approached from the end of the car. Zhou Jiayu focused his eyes and saw that it was Lin Zhushui. He said excitedly, “Sir!”

Lin Zhushui slowly walked into the car. It looked like he was holding something in his hand. When he walked to a place with dim light, Zhou Jiayu finally saw clearly what he was holding in his right hand.

It was something that looked a bit like a monkey, small in size, being pinched by the neck by Lin Zhushui. Its facial features were extremely similar to a human’s, and it even had long black hair growing on its head.

Seeing this thing, Zhou Jiayu immediately thought of the face he had seen outside the train window and the thing that had just disguised itself as Shen Yiqiong.

“Mountain spirits,” Lin Zhushui’s voice was light. “There were seven or eight of them outside the car.”

Zhou Jiayu swallowed and said, “M-mountain spirits? I’ve never heard of them. Are they a nationally protected animal?”

Shen Yiqiong, standing beside him, showed an expression of not being able to bear watching, and said, “If they were a protected animal, would you contact the Forestry Bureau?”

Zhou Jiayu said embarrassedly, “I was just asking, no other meaning.” He was also too nervous. Thinking about how he had almost been tricked by that thing into going out, he felt a chill down his back.

Lin Zhushui let out a light sigh. Even Zhou Jiayu could sense the helplessness in his tone. He said, “These things are rare and not something ordinary people would encounter.”

Zhou Jiayu let out a soft “oh.”

Then Lin Zhushui briefly introduced this creature, saying that mountain spirits were a type of animal in the mountains. Their physical constitution wasn’t good, but their intelligence was very high, and they usually existed in groups. Their hunting method was somewhat special—they would emit a special substance from their bodies that caused their prey to hallucinate, then trick the prey into traps to kill them. These creatures didn’t like approaching humans, but when extremely lacking in food, they would also feed on humans.

He just hadn’t expected that they would target this train, and from the looks of it, they had likely boarded at the previous station.

“The situation is a bit off,” Lin Zhushui said. “It has only just entered winter. These things shouldn’t be lacking food.” He casually threw the dead mountain spirit onto the ground. “I killed four. A few more ran away. Be more careful.”

The people in this car looked at Lin Zhushui with shining eyes.

The girl who had seen the face earlier said excitedly, “Master, master, you’re amazing.”

Lin Zhushui ignored her and beckoned to Zhou Jiayu: “Come here.”

Zhou Jiayu hurriedly scurried over.

Lin Zhushui said, “You performed well.” He took out some more talisman papers and said, “Carry them with you.”

It was the first time Zhou Jiayu had been praised by Lin Zhushui like this. He felt like he was about to explode from the inside out. Even the hand holding the talisman papers was trembling. He said, “Thank you, Sir!!!”

Lin Zhushui didn’t forget Shen Yiqiong either, saying, “Yours.”

Shen Yiqiong took the talisman papers and also expressed his thanks.

“Then what do we do with this thing?” Zhou Jiayu looked at the dead mountain spirit by Lin Zhushui’s feet.

Lin Zhushui said very calmly, “We’ll find a place to throw it away later.”

Once Lin Zhushui returned, Zhou Jiayu felt completely at ease. He yawned, curled up across from Lin Zhushui, and began dozing off again.

Lin Zhushui was explaining some of the mountain spirits’ habits. He said that mountain spirits’ illusions required a medium—either through sound or smell, at least one of the two. The sound on the roof had been created by their companions. As for Shen Yiqiong, he had been bewitched from the very beginning.

Zhou Jiayu mumbled softly in his drowsiness, “Sir, if I hadn’t noticed something wrong and followed it away?”

Lin Zhushui fell silent for a moment after hearing this, then said softly, “Little fool, as long as I’m here, it won’t touch you.” This voice was so light that Zhou Jiayu even thought for a moment that he had heard wrong. But when he saw Lin Zhushui’s softened expression through the dim yellow light, he confirmed that these words were not his imagination.

“Thank you, Sir.” He was somewhat tired after all. After saying this, Zhou Jiayu fell into a deep sleep, and together with Shen Yiqiong beside him, sank into the land of dreams.

The next day, Zhou Jiayu only woke up after daylight.

Shen Yiqiong had woken up a bit earlier and was sitting by the window, saying that yesterday really felt like a dream.

Zhou Jiayu said yeah. He looked around, saw Lin Zhushui sitting across from him, and said, “Are you guys hungry? I’ll go buy something to eat… Where’s that mountain spirit we caught yesterday?”

Shen Yiqiong said, “Sir just opened the window and threw it out.”

Zhou Jiayu: “…” This method of disposal was something he had never expected.

He had slept and was finally clearer-headed today. Recalling what happened last night, he discovered some doubts. He said softly, “Sir, if mountain spirits are just animals, then… why would talisman papers work on them?”

Lin Zhushui seemed not to have expected Zhou Jiayu to think of this. The corners of his mouth curved up slightly, his voice low. “Then tell me, if I told the people in the car that these were dirty things, what would their reaction be?”

Zhou Jiayu was stunned; he hadn’t considered this.

Lin Zhushui said, “The truth is not always that important. At least for some people, it’s not that important.” What was the point of knowing? It would only add to the panic. He said, “Good comprehension. I originally planned to tell you separately after getting off the train. I didn’t expect you would discover it yourself.”

Being praised again… While Zhou Jiayu was happy inside, he also felt a bit embarrassed, reflecting on why he hadn’t discovered before how gentle Sir was.

__

Author’s Note:

Zhou Jiayu is addicted to petting the yellow weasel.

Lin Zhushui is addicted to petting Zhou Jiayu, who is addicted to petting the yellow weasel.