Edited—

This question obviously made the atmosphere in the room awkward. Lin Jue’s expression froze for three seconds before she said, “This… not for the time being, no.”

The old lady sighed repeatedly upon hearing this, saying what to do, he was already so old and still hadn’t found a partner. Back then she told him to take the civil service exam but he wouldn’t. Now he was working odd jobs everywhere, without even social insurance or a housing fund, let alone buying a house and taking a wife.

Listening to the old lady’s complaints, Zhou Jiayu had a somewhat dazed feeling, as if he had returned to when he was a civil servant, surrounded by old folks who talked all day about these trivial family matters.

No one in the room dared to make a sound. After all, it seemed none of them had social insurance or a housing fund either.

When people get old and have no children by their side, they easily grow lonely. Now that she finally had people to talk to, she rattled on about many things.

Zhou Jiayu learned from the old lady that after the cloaked man’s parents died, he had lived with her for a period of time. But this period wasn’t long. Soon, Xiaotian disappeared. It wasn’t until several years later that he appeared again.

As the old lady spoke, she shed tears, saying this child had a bitter fate and had never enjoyed happiness from childhood to adulthood. She also said she was incompetent as an aunt, unable to keep him in line.

It seemed the news that the Meng family’s third son’s wife was not from a feng shui family was indeed true. The old lady before their eyes seemed completely ignorant of feng shui matters and had no guard against them.

They stayed at the old lady’s home for the entire morning. At lunchtime, everyone politely declined her enthusiastic invitation and left her residence.

When they came out, everyone was somewhat silent. Lin Jue sighed, “I really can’t figure out what Meng Yangtian wants to do.” They had also learned the cloaked man’s name.

“Let’s find a place to eat first.” Zhou Jiayu said, “Everyone’s hungry.”

So the few of them found a restaurant nearby and casually ordered a few dishes. This area was quite far from the city center. The only places to eat were small restaurants, and the hygiene situation was quite worrying.

But everyone was hungry and no one cared that much. They picked up their bowls and started eating. Of course, Lin Zhushui, as usual, wasn’t interested in these things and didn’t touch his chopsticks from beginning to end.

“What do we do next?” Shen Yiqiong said, “It seems the old lady doesn’t know where Meng Yangtian’s father was buried. Do we just go over like this?”

The old lady had quite a few complaints about Meng Yangtian’s father. In her words were implicit grievances, saying Meng Yangtian’s father had no conscience—unwilling to return even when his mother was on her deathbed, only hurriedly appearing once at the funeral.

“We definitely can’t just go like this.” Lin Jue said, “Doesn’t Xu Jian know the northeast quite well? I’ll call and ask if he has any clues.” She said she’d call and did so right away, putting down her chopsticks and dialing.

The call quickly connected. Lin Jue and Xu Jian exchanged words. She briefly mentioned the Meng family ancestral grave matter, asking if they had any information.

Zhou Jiayu had originally thought she would talk for a while, but hadn’t expected the call to end so quickly. Lin Jue put down the phone: “Xu Jian said it’s not clear over the phone. He’s coming directly to talk with us in detail.” Previously, the Xu family owed them a great favor; it was normal for them to be enthusiastic now.

After eating, the few of them found a place to rest, preparing to wait for Xu Jian to arrive.

Zhou Jiayu carried the kraft paper on him. During his noon nap, he took it out to study again. Ever since he had dropped his blood on it, a small bird resembling Jiba had appeared on the kraft paper. There were no other changes to the rest of it. Zhou Jiayu stroked the paper, suddenly wondering what would happen if he let Lin Zhushui drop his blood on it too. Would he also see the future he cared about most?

With this thought, Zhou Jiayu went next door and knocked on Lin Zhushui’s door, telling him his idea.

After hearing this, Lin Zhushui was quite straightforward. He directly took out a needle from his bosom, pricked his finger, and smeared his blood onto the paper.

Zhou Jiayu watched expectantly.

But to his disappointment, after Lin Zhushui’s blood was smeared on, nothing happened at all. No other changes appeared on the kraft paper, and Lin Zhushui also didn’t seem to see any images.

“It seems a single sheet can only be used once.” Zhou Jiayu said, “Once there’s a pattern on this paper, it can’t be used again…” He was somewhat regretful, but fortunately he was mentally prepared for this situation.

“Mm.” Lin Zhushui said, “Whether I can see it or not, it’s all the same.”

After finishing his experiment, Zhou Jiayu planned to return to his room to rest. But when he was about to leave, Lin Zhushui gently grabbed his wrist: “Sleep in my room.” He said this.

Zhou Jiayu hesitated for a moment, then very spinelessly agreed.

So in the next moment, the two of them became positioned with Lin Zhushui sitting on the bed and Zhou Jiayu lying on his stomach. Zhou Jiayu felt Lin Zhushui’s firm yet supple abdomen through the thin spring clothing and couldn’t help rubbing his face against it.

Lin Zhushui had originally been recording something. After sensing Zhou Jiayu’s movement, the motion of his hands instantly stopped. Then he suddenly lowered his head and said seriously, “Mine looks better or his looks better?”

Zhou Jiayu was asked completely baffled: “What?”

Lin Zhushui said, “That security guard.”

Zhou Jiayu: “…” He hadn’t expected Lin Zhushui would still remember this matter. His face instantly flushed red. He said he didn’t remember it long ago, and even if he did, Sir definitely looked better.

“Is that so.” Lin Zhushui smiled yet didn’t smile.

Zhou Jiayu knew he was in the wrong and hurriedly laid on a thick round of flattery, expressing that Lin Zhushui was the best-looking in the world. Everyone else was floating clouds; even if they stripped naked, he wouldn’t spare them a glance.

Lin Zhushui didn’t speak. He reached out and pinched Zhou Jiayu’s face. Only then was this matter settled.

In the afternoon, Xu Jian and the others rushed over. Xu Ruwang also came along. Before he arrived, Zhou Jiayu had been very curious about what Xu Ruwang’s hairstyle looked like. Now upon seeing it, it truly didn’t disappoint him.

He saw that Xu Ruwang’s long hair had already reached his waist, tied in a ponytail, looking like he was about to ascend to immortality at any moment.

Zhou Jiayu: “…Pfft.”

Shen Yiqiong was even less kind to Xu Ruwang. He burst into laughter on the spot, nearly passing out. Xu Ruwang’s face was gloomy, and he mentally noted another strike against Shen Yiqiong.

It seemed Xu Jian’s aesthetic sense could never be corrected in this lifetime. He always went from one extreme to another. Zhou Jiayu felt that Xu Ruwang would look better with a shaved head. Now his hair truly reached his waist; he’d have to lift it to take a shit.

After laughing, they still had to discuss proper business. Xu Jian and the others were indeed quite familiar with the northeast and also knew quite a bit about the Meng family. They weren’t surprised to learn they wanted to find the Meng ancestral grave, saying that actually quite a few people wanted to find it.

“Quite a few?” Lin Jue found it strange. “What are they looking for the Meng family ancestral grave for?”

“Before the Meng family incident, there had always been rumors in the industry that they had found a rare treasure.” Xu Jian explained, “After the Meng family incident, some people suspected that what happened to them was related to that treasure. Something that could destroy a large clan—who wouldn’t be tempted?”

Lin Jue found it strange: “Then aren’t they afraid they’ll also be killed by that treasure?”

“Risk and opportunity coexist. But this matter is only hot around here; other places haven’t really heard much about it.” Xu Jian said, “Although the ancestral grave can’t be found, I can take you to see the Meng family ruins.”

Zhou Jiayu and the others had all thought that after the fire disaster, the Meng family ruins would have definitely disappeared. But according to Xu Jian’s explanation, the ruins were still there. It was just that the place was no longer suitable for human habitation and had become a dead zone; it hadn’t completely vanished.

After confirming the plan, everyone decided to set out tomorrow to see the situation at the Meng family ruins.

Logically speaking, having not seen Xu Ruwang for so long, they should have had a good late-night meal to catch up. But everyone was afraid of Zhou Jiayu’s constitution, so they had to change the late-night meal to casual chatting.

During the chat, Xu Ruwang quietly asked Zhou Jiayu how things were developing with Lin Zhushui. Zhou Jiayu said it was pretty much there.

Xu Ruwang asked in detail just what degree “pretty much there” meant. Zhou Jiayu answered deeply: “Some things are better left unsaid.”

Xu Ruwang let out a long “oh,” his expression full of admiration.

Little did he know that this coward Zhou Jiayu had currently only developed with Lin Zhushui to the point of contributing his five-fingered maiden—still eighty thousand miles away from hitting a home run.

The next day, the group headed toward the Meng family ruins.

The Meng family lived among active volcanoes. That place was already remote to begin with. After the fire disaster several decades ago, it became even more of a no-man’s-land. Normally, no one went there at all.

Zhou Jiayu knew that the most serious problem after a volcanic eruption was actually that volcanic ash and toxic substances would spread in all directions with the wind. He didn’t know if the magma that had spewed out at the time had cooled yet…

Entering the mountains could only be done on foot. Everyone changed into gear and also prepared gas masks to prevent toxic fumes.

Xu Jian was quite experienced. He said he had entered twice before and hadn’t discovered anything particularly special. The buildings in that area were actually still there, but because the volcano was still active, it was no longer suitable for human habitation.

It took half a day to walk there. Zhou Jiayu carried his pack, observing the surroundings.

Actually, approaching this area, one could already clearly see the strange aspects of the environment. Although forty years had passed, the volcanic eruption had still left a deep mark on this region. There were almost no tall trees on the surface, only low shrubs. Because of the lack of dense vegetation, the mountain body was exposed. Xu Jian said this place used to be a forest; now it was completely gone. Now when it rained heavily, mudslides easily occurred, so it was generally best not to come in summer.

Although these were just details, one could still see from them that this place had once been a land of clear mountains and beautiful waters. It was a pity that after encountering a natural disaster, everything had changed.

“We’re almost there.” Xu Jian walked at the very front. “Go around that mountain depression up ahead and you’ll be able to see where the Meng family lived. Their clan was quite prosperous…” Speaking to this point, he also let out a sigh. Clearly he had thought of something unpleasant.

Following Xu Jian and walking a bit further, Zhou Jiayu stood atop the mountain and finally saw the Meng family ruins that Xu Jian spoke of.

The Meng family had indeed been prosperous. The mountain depression was full of buildings. These buildings were neatly arranged, already forming a rather sizable village. One could even see roads running through the settlement.

It seemed the Meng family was quite different from the Xu clan of Mount She. They didn’t have the concept of avoiding the secular world. Although their old residence was deep in the mountains, it wasn’t backward at all.

“Their clan was quite prosperous at the time.” As they walked down the mountain, Xu Jian said, “When the volcanic eruption happened back then, I was still a small child, but I vaguely remember that this matter caused a huge earthquake in the feng shui world.”

“It did seem to cause quite a stir at the time.” Lin Jue sighed. “But people’s memories are even shorter…”

In just forty short years, the new generation had almost forgotten the Meng clan. Not to mention what happened back then—almost no one remembered anymore.

The small path down the mountain was somewhat steep and required great care.

As Zhou Jiayu descended, he looked at the Meng family ruins. What surfaced in his mind was the image of the cloaked man sitting in his wheelchair. He didn’t know whether it was to conceal his identity or for some other reason that he wrapped himself in a thick cloak.

After a long trek, everyone finally arrived at their destination: the Meng ruins.

The buildings here stood row upon row. One could see they had been carefully planned. The streets were wide and empty, piled with some black dust. No traces of weeds could be seen. The outer walls of the buildings should have originally been white, but after a layer of dust adhered to them, they turned into an unpleasant gray-black color.

It was extremely silent here. Walking upon it, one could only hear the sound of one’s own footsteps stepping on the cement. Neither insect chirps nor bird calls could be heard. It was as if this place had truly become a forbidden zone for life.

“The streets here have been cleaned?” Lin Zhushui suddenly asked.

Xu Jian was startled upon hearing this, then nodded: “Right. After the incident, the government also attempted rescue, but it was already too late. They could only wait until after the volcanic eruption stopped, then send people in once to roughly clean the streets and try to find the victims’ bodies…”

“Did they find them?” Lin Zhushui asked.

“No.” Xu Jian said, “Later there was news that when the volcano erupted, they had all entered the mountain… Several hundred people, not a single bone remained.”

Everyone fell into silence upon hearing this.

Lin Jue let out a light sigh, saying it was truly a sin.

The Meng family ruins were very well preserved. Even though over forty years had passed, the passage of time here seemed frozen in that accident. Zhou Jiayu even saw a tall building inside. That tall building should have been over ten stories. With the technological level of forty years ago, wanting to build such a structure deep in the mountains was definitely no easy feat.

“If the Meng family hadn’t had their incident, they would probably be the dominant power in the northeast by now. Everyone in their clan was full of yang energy. What they were most suited for was eliminating those yin, hidden things.” Xu Jian said, “It’s just a pity…”

“The Meng family should have an ancestral hall, right?” Lin Jue said. “Where is it?”

Xu Jian said, “At the east end of the village, below the mountain foot. I’ve been there before and didn’t see anything useful.”

Although he said there was nothing there, everyone still went to take a look at the ancestral hall.

This ancestral hall was very beautiful. One could faintly see its former splendor. Whether it was the exquisite patterns carved on the thick supporting pillars or the materials used for the doors, windows, tables, and chairs inside, everything was of fine quality.

However, the altar was somewhat messy. The spirit tablets had all fallen over, and the place where incense burners should have been was completely empty.

“Someone has been here.” Xu Jian was somewhat unhappy. “These people truly accumulate no virtue, daring to touch the things of the dead.”

“Do people often come here?” Zhou Jiayu noticed there were some footprints in the ancestral hall. These footprints had clearly been made before they arrived.

“They used to come often before, but not many now. After all, so many people have come and found nothing.” Xu Jian said, “The Meng family’s worship wasn’t conducted in the ancestral hall. They had a special place, very close to the volcano.”

Because of this, when the volcano erupted at the time, almost no one survived.

“Strange.” Lin Jue suddenly said, “These traces are fresh. Someone just came here?”

Zhou Jiayu looked in the direction Lin Jue indicated and discovered that near the doorframe, some mud was attached. This mud had clearly been brought in from outside and was still wet.

“Hm?” Xu Jian said doubtfully, “It can’t be such a coincidence. This place is lucky to get a dozen or so people in a year…”

“Who knows.” Lin Jue looked around the desolate village. “Be careful. We’re going to have to spend the night here tonight.”

When they entered, the sky was already almost completely dark. After walking around a bit, they prepared to set up camp here. Xu Jian chose a single-story building with a courtyard, removed the lock on the door, and said everyone would make do in the courtyard for one night.

“Alright, everyone split up to keep watch.” Lin Jue said, “Those traces just now weren’t normal. Everyone should still be careful.”

Zhou Jiayu nodded, took out the small portable gas stove he carried with him, and prepared to cook.

After walking mountain roads all day, everyone was somewhat hungry. Zhou Jiayu simply made some easy-to-eat food. After everyone finished eating, they prepared to rest.

Although the weather wasn’t cold and there weren’t any beasts, Lin Jue still assigned the watch order. Zhou Jiayu was naturally grouped with Lin Zhushui. The remaining people were randomly grouped. In total they were divided into three groups to keep watch separately.

The weather today was good. After the sky darkened, dots of stars appeared in the sky along with a bright, clear moon.

Zhou Jiayu fell asleep not long after getting into his sleeping bag, until he was woken up at dawn by Shen Yiqiong, who was on the first watch.

“Guan’er, get up.” Shen Yiqiong gently pushed Zhou Jiayu.

Zhou Jiayu woke up groggily, reached out and heavily wiped his face: “Mm… changing shifts?”

“Mm.” Shen Yiqiong said, “Sir is already outside. Go on.”

Zhou Jiayu nodded and left his tent.

Lin Zhushui had indeed woken up early. At this moment he was quietly sitting beside the fire. Zhou Jiayu yawned and also sat down by his side, calling out “Sir” with his mouth.

“Mm.” Lin Zhushui said, “Still sleepy?”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Still okay. I’ll be fine after a moment.”

After Shen Yiqiong and the others crawled into their tents to sleep, this place became completely quiet. One had to admit that the night in the ruins had a kind of unsettling silence. Besides the occasional crackling sound from the fire, there were no other sounds. It was like a black-and-white silent film.

This abandoned city exuded a deathly stillness, as if life itself had become something out of place here.

Zhou Jiayu sat beside Lin Zhushui. The two of them spoke in low voices, discussing some irrelevant topics.

The bright moon climbed to the zenith of the sky. Zhou Jiayu, sitting beside the fire, suddenly heard a strange sound, and in his nasal cavity smelled an unusual odor.

It was the charred stench of burnt meat, accompanied by the rustling sound of heavy objects being dragged across the ground. Zhou Jiayu’s expression instantly grew tense: “Sir?”

Lin Zhushui slightly tilted his head and made an affirmative sound.

“Did you hear that?” Zhou Jiayu asked.

Lin Zhushui furrowed his brows: “No, but there is something around.”

The one with the strongest spiritual sense here was Zhou Jiayu. Sometimes the things he could see, Lin Zhushui could only detect a rough outline of. This sound and aura seemed to be something only Zhou Jiayu could sense. His throat went dry, and he said, “I smell something burnt…”

Lin Zhushui didn’t speak. He directly took out a talisman paper and gently pressed it onto Zhou Jiayu’s chest.

After the talisman paper was pressed onto his chest, that heart-palpitation feeling improved a bit. But in reality, Zhou Jiayu still felt a kind of instinctive fear. It was like a rabbit seeing a wolf, like prey being targeted by a predator. That chill emanating from his bones made his breathing grow heavy as well, and even his hands and feet began to grow cold.

Bang bang bang. Something knocked on their door.

Lin Zhushui didn’t move. A trace of puzzlement also appeared between his brows: “How could there be the aura of a living person?”

“It’s a living person outside?” Honestly, the moment he heard knocking, Zhou Jiayu’s first thought was that it was a dirty thing knocking. But seeing Lin Zhushui’s reaction, what was outside didn’t seem to be anything strange but rather humans.

“Open the door, save me—” Seeing there was no movement, the voice rang out again. Only this time it became the cry for help of an unfamiliar woman. She seemed to have encountered something extremely terrifying. Her voice was distorted as she shouted, “Save me, please save me—”

“It’s a living person.” Lin Zhushui made a definitive judgment. “Sit here and don’t move. I’ll go take a look.”

Zhou Jiayu said okay.

Lin Zhushui stood up and walked toward the door. And that suffocating feeling still lingered around Zhou Jiayu. He even began to feel an indescribable fear toward the fire before his eyes, involuntarily retreating a bit.

Lin Zhushui stood at the doorway and opened the door. The moment he opened it, two people actually rushed in from outside—a man and a woman, both in utter disarray, rolling and crawling into the courtyard.

Their bodies were covered in a kind of filthy black ash, looking very dirty.

“Save me, save me—” The man’s face was full of terror. Even after entering the courtyard, he kept shouting, turning his head to look behind him.

Zhou Jiayu also followed his gaze and looked out. After seeing the scene outside the house, his body directly froze. At this moment, he finally understood the source of his fear.

Outside the door burned raging flames, but these flames were not scorching. Instead, they carried a cold taste.

Within the flames stood hunched humanoid shadows. At first glance, one might think they were silhouettes against the light. But if one looked carefully, one would discover they weren’t standing against the light at all. Rather, their bodies were charred, and one could even see their white eyes staring at this place.

These charred corpses began slowly moving toward the courtyard. Their numbers were extremely great. At a rough glance, there were at least over a hundred of them densely packed together.

Seeing this scene, Zhou Jiayu cursed “holy shit” in his heart. A very ill-timed thought popped into his brain—if they stripped dark-skinned Shen Yiqiong naked and threw him among these people, would Shen Yiqiong be recognized?

At this time, Shen Yiqiong, who was still sleeping, suddenly sneezed, muttering in his heart about who the hell was talking shit about him behind his back again.

Bang. Lin Zhushui, after letting the two people in, cleanly and crisply shut the large door before him. He turned his head, facing Zhou Jiayu: “What did you see?”

Zhou Jiayu’s lips and tongue went dry: “Outside burns a great fire, and there are many charred corpses…”

As he spoke, the people in the courtyard heard the commotion and all woke up one after another. Lin Jue crawled out of her tent, looking at the two disheveled men and women in the courtyard: “What’s going on?”

Zhou Jiayu shook his head, indicating he didn’t know either.

__

Author’s Note:

Zhou Jiayu: Looking at these charred corpses, for some reason I thought of when Sir confessed to me on the Ferris wheel…

Lin Zhushui: Wait.

Zhou Jiayu: ?

Lin Zhushui: There are more people this time; the heart can be even bigger.

Zhou Jiayu: …No, no!!