Edited—

After returning from the Meng family ruins, the first thing Zhou Jiayu did was send those two thieves to the police station. After all, stealing an incense burner was one thing, but not even letting a spirit tablet go—it was truly intolerable.

After last night’s heavy rainstorm, the Meng family ruins had been completely buried by mud, their former glory erased of its final traces. Before long, the legends of the Meng family would gradually disappear into the torrent of time.

However, although they had left the Meng family, new mysteries had emerged. What exactly were those charred corpses that had surrounded them that night? If they really were living people, as Lin Zhushui and the others had said, then how could living people become like that?

Having escaped death and returned to the secular world from the deep mountains, everyone was somewhat exhausted. Added to that, they had been drenched by rain, and Zhou Jiayu and Shen Yiqiong had actually both caught colds.

Zhou Jiayu first felt a sore throat, then began having a stuffy nose. By the time he woke up the next morning, he was already groggy and not doing well. So the two of them went to the hospital together and lay in bed receiving IV drips.

“You young people, your bodies are just too weak.” Lin Jue bought them fruit and sat nearby peeling it. “Once you get better this time, I’ll buy you some supplements to properly nourish you. You’re so young; catching colds at the drop of a hat—what kind of thing is that?”

Neither of them had the energy to speak. Zhou Jiayu asked in a muffled voice where Sir was.

Lin Jue said he had gone to look into some matters and told the two of them to rest well. There was no rush to go back after they recovered.

“Oh.” Zhou Jiayu responded. His cold was indeed quite severe, accompanied by a low fever. When his nose was blocked, he always felt like his brain wasn’t quite sufficient either. No matter what he tried to think about, it wouldn’t turn.

After finishing the IV drip, Shen Yiqiong and Zhou Jiayu slowly made their way back to the hotel. Lin Jue told them to eat and hurry back to their rooms to rest, saying that when you have a cold, you need to rest well.

The two of them didn’t force themselves either. After casually eating something, they lay back down in their rooms.

As the host, Xu Jian had arranged quite a nice hotel for them. Next to it was a very beautiful large river. Zhou Jiayu didn’t know the name of this river, but the water quality was good. Willows were planted alongside it. It was currently the height of spring, and new buds were sprouting on the treetops. A gentle breeze brushed by; the scenery was quite beautiful.

Zhou Jiayu had slept too much during the day and couldn’t fall asleep now. He lay in bed, turned on the TV, and watched.

The TV programs were rather boring. Zhou Jiayu held the remote, listlessly flipping through channels. After flipping for a while without finding anything he wanted to watch, he simply put on a movie.

The movie seemed to be a romance film. Zhou Jiayu played with his phone, occasionally lifting his eyes to glance at it once or twice.

Outside, the sky gradually darkened, and the streetlights cast a dim yellow glow. Zhou Jiayu thought for a moment, then called Lin Zhushui.

“Hello.” Lin Zhushui answered the phone. “Guan’er.”

“Sir.” Zhou Jiayu called out with a nasal voice. “What are you doing?”

“I’m looking into some matters regarding the Meng family. Have you been taking your medicine properly?” Lin Zhushui asked him.

Zhou Jiayu said, “I have. I’ve been taking my medicine properly, and I even got shots.”

Lin Zhushui said, “Good boy. Get well properly. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Zhou Jiayu made an affirmative sound, his mood lifting considerably. He chatted with Lin Zhushui for a while. It was almost eleven o’clock when Lin Zhushui told him over the phone to go to sleep early.

Zhou Jiayu hung up the phone. After a simple wash-up, he prepared to get into bed and rest. However, when he lay on the bed and closed his eyes, he heard a very strange sound, as if something was knocking on the wall. The sound wasn’t loud, but in the silent room, it was hard to ignore. Zhou Jiayu listened for a while, feeling somewhat uneasy in his heart. He climbed out of bed, held Xiao Zhi in his embrace, and began searching for the source of the sound.

After searching for a while, he discovered that this sound was actually coming from next door, and the person staying next door to him was Shen Yiqiong.

Zhou Jiayu thought for a moment, took out his phone, and called Shen Yiqiong.

The phone rang a dozen or so times before Shen Yiqiong picked up. Shen Yiqiong had already fallen asleep, and his voice was groggy: “Guan’er?”

Zhou Jiayu said, “What are you doing?”

Shen Yiqiong said, “Sleeping.”

Zhou Jiayu turned his head to look at the wall: “…Didn’t you hear any sound?”

Shen Yiqiong was baffled: “What sound?” He paused for a moment, seemingly trying to figure out what Zhou Jiayu meant, but in the end was still completely at a loss. “Didn’t hear anything.”

Zhou Jiayu gripped the phone: “Open your door. I’m coming over to take a look.”

Shen Yiqiong made an affirmative sound.

Zhou Jiayu carried Xiao Zhi out the door and waited a moment before seeing Shen Yiqiong’s room door open. Shen Yiqiong poked his head out: “Guan’er, what sound?”

Zhou Jiayu turned and entered his room.

Because the room was next door, the layout was about the same. What Zhou Jiayu found strange was that after entering Shen Yiqiong’s room, that knocking sound on the wall indeed disappeared.

“What’s wrong?” Shen Yiqiong was wearing pajamas and yawning. “I didn’t hear any sound. But this hotel’s soundproofing is pretty good…”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Strange.” He didn’t hear anything in Shen Yiqiong’s room.

Shen Yiqiong said, “Go take a look in your room?”

Zhou Jiayu nodded, so the two of them returned to Zhou Jiayu’s room. The moment they entered, that knocking sound appeared again. Shen Yiqiong also heard this sound. He was a bit surprised because this sound did indeed seem to be coming from his room.

“Is it here?” The two of them approached the corner of the room, wanting to more precisely determine the sound source. However, after the two of them approached the corner, Zhou Jiayu suddenly had a horrifying realization. He and Shen Yiqiong exchanged a glance, and both saw the flavor of fear in the other’s eyes.

The sound source indeed wasn’t in Shen Yiqiong’s room, but right before them—that small refrigerator placed in the corner was the source of the sound.

Dong, dong, dong. One sound after another, as if something inside was gently knocking. Zhou Jiayu and Shen Yiqiong’s footsteps both halted, then slowly retreated a few steps.

“It’s inside the refrigerator?” Zhou Jiayu said.

“It is.” Shen Yiqiong also confirmed it.

“Should we open it?” Zhou Jiayu’s grip on Xiao Zhi tightened.

“Let Xiao Zhi go.” Shen Yiqiong came up with a good idea. Anyway, Xiao Zhi wouldn’t get scared.

“Alright.” Zhou Jiayu felt this suggestion was quite reliable. He reached out and rubbed Xiao Zhi’s head, signaling him to open the refrigerator. Xiao Zhi made an affirmative sound, ran to the refrigerator, and nimbly pulled the refrigerator door directly open.

The moment the refrigerator door was opened, Zhou Jiayu saw black liquid pouring out from inside. Following that was an indescribable stench. This smell, he had only ever smelled on one thing before—a rotting corpse.

Fortunately, right now the two of them both had severe stuffy noses and could only smell a bit of the odor. But even this little bit made Shen Yiqiong somewhat nauseated, dry-heaving several times.

Zhou Jiayu quickly told Xiao Zhi to come over and not get stained by that black, viscous liquid. This liquid looked extremely viscous. Zhou Jiayu even saw hair and tissue similar to teeth mixed inside. Just what this thing was, one truly didn’t want to guess.

“I’m going to vomit.” Shen Yiqiong covered his nose and mouth, his complexion awful.

After this thing flowed out from the refrigerator, it directly pooled on the ground. Zhou Jiayu was now certain there were body tissues inside. He said, “Find the hotel, call the police.”

Shen Yiqiong said okay.

They first went next door to find Lin Jue. The moment Lin Jue heard their description, she immediately came over to check the situation. Seeing that puddle of black, foul-smelling liquid, she asked a question: “Guan’er, you said you heard the sound coming from the refrigerator, and inside the refrigerator there’s only this thing. Then doesn’t that mean…”

Zhou Jiayu instantly understood what Lin Jue meant: “This thing can move?”

“Don’t know.” Lin Jue looked at the time. “Tell the hotel first. This thing should be a person.”

So they called the police and changed rooms. This liquid caused the entire floor to be filled with a nauseating stench. The police were also startled when they arrived. It was truly hard on them; they still had to endure the foul smell to examine the composition of that puddle of liquid.

Zhou Jiayu’s room was changed three floors higher. He had originally wanted to rest well, but after this disturbance, his sleep quality was affected again.

The most miserable one was Shen Yiqiong. Affected by the smell, he went to the bathroom and took several more showers, but still felt that the odor lingered in his nasal cavity, unable to disperse.

“Too disgusting. Just what was that thing?” Shen Yiqiong’s complexion was very bad.

The two severe cold patients were already physically weak. After this stimulation, they felt their colds had gotten worse. At this time, Zhou Jiayu hated his good eyesight to the extreme. He closed his eyes, yet what floated before them were those teeth and hair mixed in that puddle of black, thick liquid. Xiao Zhi probably knew Zhou Jiayu’s mood was not good right now. He reached out and rubbed his hair, wanting to comfort him.

“Too disgusting.” Shen Yiqiong was listless.

“I’ll burn some calming incense for you two.” Seeing their listless appearances, Lin Jue was also somewhat helpless. Who could have thought that staying at a hotel would lead to this kind of thing? So many rooms, and it was truly thanks to Zhou Jiayu’s luck that he encountered it.

Zhou Jiayu and Shen Yiqiong didn’t force themselves either. They obediently lay in bed watching Lin Jue light a stick of incense in the incense burner. This time, they specifically requested the hotel give them a standard twin room, feeling that if anything happened, they could look out for each other.

Fortunately, no other accidents occurred in the latter half of the night. The two slept until dawn. However, Zhou Jiayu’s dreams were all of that clump of black, viscous liquid. He even dreamed that the clump of liquid was writhing toward him, leaving strings of sticky black traces on the ground…

Originally, as the first person to discover the scene, Zhou Jiayu should have gone to the police station to give a statement. But Xu Jian had connections, so this layer of trouble was skipped.

When Zhou Jiayu got up the next day, he had no appetite at all. His face, already haggard from the cold, gained an additional layer of frailty. He and Shen Yiqiong didn’t eat breakfast. They sat in the room, their faces full of despair toward life.

Actually, they all suspected this matter was related to Meng Yangtian. But they hadn’t expected that the police who came to investigate the next day would inform them that this situation wasn’t the first time it had appeared.

“Not the first time?” Zhou Jiayu was shocked. “You mean it’s happened before?”

That police officer looked quite young. Hearing Zhou Jiayu’s question, he nodded: “Yeah.” The moment he said this, he was smacked by an older colleague beside him, who signaled with his eyes for him to stop talking.

“Oh, sorry.” The young police officer hurriedly corrected himself, “I’m not clear either.”

Zhou Jiayu completely didn’t believe it, but seeing that they had no intention of revealing more information, he could only let it go.

Fortunately, the day after this incident, Xu Jian and Lin Zhushui returned. After learning of the situation, Xu Jian immediately said he would have someone ask what exactly was going on.

The Xu family still held considerable status in the northeast. Wanting to find out something from the police wasn’t particularly difficult.

Lin Zhushui also seemed somewhat unhappy that his salted fish Guan’er had been scared again. He had only been away for one night, and yet these things happened again. He rubbed Zhou Jiayu’s head and said, “In the future, you’ll sleep with me.”

Zhou Jiayu took a moment to react to what Lin Zhushui’s words meant. He instantly grew excited: “Can I?”

“Why not.” Lin Zhushui’s tone was very natural. “It also saves on one room’s cost.”

Zhou Jiayu thought to himself, since when did Sir become so thrifty?

Xu Jian watched the interaction between the two, his expression extremely complicated. In the end, he couldn’t hold back and said, “Lin Zhushui, what’s going on with you and your disciple?”

Lin Zhushui directly took Zhou Jiayu’s hand and kissed the back of it: “We’re together.”

Xu Jian: “Together?” He was still a bit confused.

“Mm.” Lin Zhushui responded indifferently.

Xu Jian was silent for a moment before saying, “The kind of together that’s man and woman?”

“Yes.” Lin Zhushui answered very directly.

“What benefit is there in a master and disciple being together?” Xu Jian was obviously somewhat conflicted. “Moreover, you two are both men…”

Hearing Xu Jian’s question, Zhou Jiayu said with thick skin that after being with Lin Zhushui, he felt he had become more powerful. He could see dirty things even more clearly, and he could draw three talismans in one go without stopping to catch his breath.

Xu Jian’s eyes were full of disbelief. Then he moved his gaze to Xu Ruwang, who was currently eating an apple nearby.

Xu Ruwang was instantly choked. He coughed forcefully a few times, struggling to swallow the apple, and said in terror, “Master, if you want to mess with my hair, fine, but don’t seriously think about being with me.”

Xu Jian said, “What the hell are you babbling about? Am I that kind of master?”

“What kind of master?” Lin Zhushui asked coolly from the side.

“Oh, Mr. Lin, don’t misunderstand. I’m saying I’m not the kind who would do anything to make my disciple stronger.” Xu Jian said righteously, “I still have a bottom line.”

Zhou Jiayu glanced at Xu Ruwang’s hairstyle that had been messed with several times and thought that your words weren’t very convincing.

“You’re really not? If I told you this method could let Xu Ruwang also see those things, would you consider it?” Lin Zhushui was clearly already very familiar with this old friend of his. After he said this, Zhou Jiayu saw Xu Jian fall into contemplation.

Xu Ruwang was practically about to cry. He said, Mr. Lin, please don’t joke around. My master will really take it seriously.

Zhou Jiayu couldn’t help laughing out loud.

However, after thinking for a while, Xu Jian also understood that Lin Zhushui was teasing him. Zhou Jiayu’s talent wasn’t so easily obtained. If being with one’s master could unlock something like this, then the most popular thing in their industry would have become master-disciple romance, and all of the same-sex variety at that.

But Xu Ruwang was clearly still shaken by this matter. The next day, he quietly went and shaved that beautiful long hair into a bald head, once again transforming from a wandering rock singer back into a convict who had just been released from prison.

This look was actually much more pleasing to the eye than the head full of flowing hair.

Regarding that puddle of black water, Xu Jian had the police station look into it and quickly got news. It was said that this matter had actually been going on for some time already, but the police had never had any leads. The times and locations where the black water appeared were both very random. Sometimes it was in residential buildings, sometimes in the wilderness. As for Zhou Jiayu encountering it while staying at a hotel, that was a first.

“If this were a novel, Zhou Jiayu would definitely be the protagonist.” Shen Yiqiong declared with his thick nasal voice, “So many buildings, a one-in-several-hundred probability, and you still encountered it.”

Xu Jian said, “Sorry, I was actually the one who booked the room…”

Shen Yiqiong: “…Then you’re pretty impressive too?”

Xu Jian silently took out a cigarette and lit it.

According to the police investigation, the composition of that black water was very peculiar. It contained a lot of human tissue, such as the teeth and hair Zhou Jiayu saw before, as well as some bones that weren’t hard. But if one said the black water was a person, it couldn’t be completely explained either, because currently the police couldn’t think of any method that could turn a human into that kind of state.

Hearing Xu Jian’s description, Zhou Jiayu’s first reaction was to think of those good deeds Xu Jinghuo and his lot had done before. But he didn’t mention it and just quietly listened.

“The police haven’t had any reaction after so many incidents?” Shen Yiqiong found it quite unbelievable.

“There are no corpses, and no one reported anyone missing. Of course, it’s better to avoid unnecessary trouble.” Xu Jian said, “There’s no evidence proving this liquid belongs to a human. Since that’s the case, why invite trouble?”

That did seem to make sense. For the police to file a case, they first had to prove that the black liquid belonged to a human. Although hair and teeth were mixed inside, currently it seemed this black liquid had exceeded the scope of scientific understanding.

“To be honest, the authorities don’t like dealing with us either. Every time they ask us to take action, it’s because things have already blown up and they have no choice.” Xu Jian said this with some annoyance, “As long as no lives are lost, they won’t take the matter to heart.”

Zhou Jiayu thought of that black water and felt creeped out all over. His intuition told him that the black water was at least eighty percent related to humans. And if they had been hearing the refrigerator making noise the whole time, then didn’t that mean the black water could actually move…

“Where is that black water? After the police collected it, where did they put it?” Zhou Jiayu asked.

“There should be a department that keeps evidence separately. Why do you ask?” Xu Jian was a bit puzzled.

Zhou Jiayu laughed dryly: “Because I feel like the black water they collected might be alive…”

The moment these words came out, Xu Jian’s expression froze for a few seconds, then instantly twisted: “…Are you sure?”

Zhou Jiayu could only say the possibility was quite high, because the process of them discovering the black water was hearing a sound coming from the refrigerator. Although after Shen Yiqiong opened the refrigerator, that liquid didn’t move anymore, the possibility that the liquid was a living thing actually existed.

“I’ll ask them.” Xu Jian’s expression didn’t look good. He took out his phone and called the police.

Zhou Jiayu also made an excuse to go to the bathroom and called Xu Jinghuo from inside.

Xu Jinghuo’s phone was quickly picked up. On the other end, his voice lazily said, “Hello.”

Zhou Jiayu said, Xu Jinghuo, is this something you guys did?

Xu Jinghuo was baffled: “What do you mean? What do you mean by something we did?”

Zhou Jiayu briefly described seeing the black water last night. “That black water might still be alive—just what are you guys trying to do?”

Xu Jinghuo was silent for a moment: “This matter has nothing to do with me.” His tone was firm, not like he was lying. “The Xu clan is gone. What’s the point of me doing these things?”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Don’t you want to resurrect the people of the Xu clan?”

Xu Jinghuo laughed, “You’re quite understanding. But this matter indeed wasn’t done by me.”

Zhou Jiayu said, “But I always feel it’s related to you guys.”

“There might be some relation.” Xu Jinghuo said, “Meng Yangtian has more than just me under him. He has so many madmen under his command. The number of people who could do this kind of thing can’t be counted on one hand.”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Give me a range?”

Xu Jinghuo said, “Why should I give you a range?”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Because Xiao Zhi recognizes me as his father.”

Xu Jinghuo discovered he actually couldn’t refute this. As the only remaining sprout of the Xu clan, Xiao Zhi’s status in Xu Jinghuo’s eyes was about the same as the Ancestral Tree. If anything happened to Zhou Jiayu, Xiao Zhi probably wouldn’t survive either.

“Alright, do you remember that man wearing a mask who was with us at the school that time?” Xu Jinghuo said, “His family is from the northeast region. The possibility that it was him who made a move is very high. The information I can give you isn’t much. This person’s surname is Jiang, called Jiang Zhu. He’s from H City.”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Okay, thank you.”

Xu Jinghuo didn’t speak and directly hung up the phone.

Zhou Jiayu knew Xu Jinghuo definitely knew something. This phone call truly didn’t disappoint him. He directly obtained key information, saving quite a few detours.

Zhou Jiayu put away the phone and came out of the bathroom.

After Xu Jian contacted the police station, he learned that the liquid was indeed still stored at the police station. But the specific method of storage was unknown. If what Zhou Jiayu said was true, then it was truly worrying.

Zhou Jiayu said, “I just obtained some information. Mr. Xu, can you have your friend at the police station help me look up a person? The name is Jiang Zhu, from H City.”

Xu Jian said, “Jiang Zhu? Sure, I’ll have someone look into it.”

Then he found that there were only three people named Jiang Zhu in H City. Only one met Zhou Jiayu’s age and gender conditions.

“Is there a problem with this person?” Xu Jian didn’t understand.

Zhou Jiayu responded, saying this person might be related to that black liquid. If they wanted to investigate this matter, they could start with him.

Hearing this, Xu Jian fell into thought and said he would have someone look into it more carefully.

After Xu Jian left, Zhou Jiayu then spoke about his phone call with Xu Jinghuo. Ever since the Mount She incident, everyone had thought there were no adults left in the Xu clan. Xu Jinghuo was one of the exceptions. Although Xu Jian was a decent person, Zhou Jiayu still wanted to keep this matter confidential to avoid unnecessary trouble.

“Guan’er still has contact with Xu Jinghuo?” Lin Jue looked at him with a smile.

Zhou Jiayu inexplicably felt a bit weak and said the contact wasn’t much. It was just because of that courier package that he had called him a few times.

“A few times?” Lin Zhushui, who hadn’t spoken nearby, suddenly opened his mouth.

“J-just about seven or eight times.” Zhou Jiayu said with a stiff scalp.

Lin Zhushui made an “oh” sound.

Zhou Jiayu had originally thought this matter was over. Who knew that Lin Zhushui would add in an indifferent tone: “You’ve only called me five times in total.”

Zhou Jiayu: “…!!!”

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Author’s Note:

After Lin Zhushui finished counting the number of times Zhou Jiayu had called him, he began to sulk unhappily.

Zhou Jiayu leaned over to kiss and hug him, coaxing him that although he didn’t make many calls, they had kissed many, many times.