“You dare call for the Eldest Young Master?”
“Is the Eldest Young Master even human? Just the Eldest Young Master!”
Gu Daosheng gave a start at the call, then chased after him as if his pants were on fire.
You can call anyone but the Eldest Young Master.
“The Eldest Young Master is deader than dead! Didn’t you say you saw it with your own eyes? He was smashed into six pancakes!” Gu Daosheng ran swiftly. Upon reaching the courtyard gate, he braced his foot against the wall, leaped directly over Lou Ling’s head, and blocked his path, refusing to budge an inch. “You’re not allowed to look for him!”
Lou Mingzhang was not “Ming” (bright) at all. He didn’t understand what was happening. Tucked under Lou Ling’s arm, he rolled his eyes upward and saw Lou Ling, who often took care of him, looking as if he had just been fished out of water. Salty, acrid sweat trickled into his eyes, making him blink incessantly.
Then he saw Gu Daosheng land lightly in front of them, blocking the way. His expression was the very picture of a “Taoist priest” dealing with the dead. Father had once brought someone to the house in the middle of the night to perform a ritual. No one knew, but he had seen it.
These two didn’t seem to be playing. Lou Mingzhang immediately “inherited” Lou Ling’s mantle and wanted to tear his throat open to scream at the top of his lungs.
Lou Ling clamped a hand over his mouth.
The “smashed into six pancakes” Eldest Young Master entered his ears, sank into his heart, and materialized in his mind. Lou Ling recalled in meticulous detail how Lou Hongchen had leaped from the roof.
How the body smashed into six pieces against the hard ground;
How blood sprayed and flowed;
And finally, how it all coalesced once more amidst the scattered, unclosed eyes and blood-soaked flesh; many of these scenes were not things he had witnessed firsthand. They were merely details his mind had filled in, born from a fear so deep it magnified the horror.
His courage had been shattered by his own imagination, his own “fear of the unknown.”
Lou Ling stared straight ahead, momentarily forgetting why the Eldest Young Master had ordered him to keep an eye on Gu Daosheng. His pupils rolled upward, defying gravity.
With a dull thud, he collapsed.
He had fainted.
Gu Daosheng: “…”
He had expected to waste a lot of breath trying to convince the boy to stay and was still mentally rehearsing his pitch. In a household like this, any ally was a good ally; and if he couldn’t win one over, he at least couldn’t afford to leave behind a potential threat.
He hadn’t expected Lou Ling to faint so quickly. The boy was far too fragile.
Still, Gu Daosheng felt a wave of relief. This was much easier. Then, his gaze shifted to the other small figure still standing on the ground.
“And then there’s you…” He scratched his chin and bent down to meet Lou Mingzhang’s eyes, wondering what to do with him.
A child this young, constantly scolded by Lou Guangrui and frequently surrounded by his “Ghost Mothers,” would have his yang and yin energies in total disarray. It was a miracle he hadn’t gone mad; his memory was bound to be poor.
Lou Mingzhang lay fearfully on Lou Ling, who offered no protection, and lifted one of Lou Ling’s arms to drape over his own shoulder. This made it look as if Lou Ling were awake, holding him protectively in his arms.
Whether the boy’s memory was good or not was one thing, but after only two years of life, his ability to read a person’s mood was truly remarkable.
The moment his eyes met Gu Daosheng’s, he seemed to sense that “Twelve Mothers” was not someone to be trifled with. Recalling Lou Ling’s earlier actions, he decided to learn from the best. He tilted his head, let out a soft “ugh,” and collapsed.
He had very sensibly fainted.
Gu Daosheng: “…”
What a masterful performance.
“He’s faking it,” Nan Ying said, circling Lou Mingzhang with his backside sticking out impertinently, his little ghost face practically pressed against the boy’s as he sniffed him like a puppy.
He tried to poke the boy’s cheek with his finger.
But he missed. The ghost’s finger blurred the moment it touched the human body.
Like a stone hitting water, it only sent out a ripple, leaving nothing behind. Nan Ying pursed his lips and said, “I’m incorporeal.”
Gu Daosheng lightly smacked the back of Nan Ying’s head. “Is this the time to be moping? Do you want to get out of here or not? Focus on the task at hand.”
This man and ghost had met through “grave robbing,” and their initial encounter had been anything but amicable. The Heavenly Master had intended to capture the little ghost to refine his soul, while the little ghost had lured the Heavenly Master into the Ghost Origin Land. Both had been fierce, and neither had come out ahead.
Although Gu Daosheng refused to admit he was the one who had desecrated the little ghost’s grave, he vowed to chop the culprit to pieces if he ever found them! What kind of idiot would desecrate a grave for no reason? Were they trying to mix mud and water to roast a wild chicken?
Their current predicament was not only perilous but also utterly exasperating. The two had completely set aside their grudge over the grave-robbing and soul-refining, joining forces against their common enemy.
Nan Ying, in particular, was not bluffing when he promised to serve Gu Daosheng as his loyal servant. Once he gave his word, he kept it, working with utmost diligence. As long as Gu Daosheng didn’t make him eat shit, he would do whatever he was told, no matter what.
Nan Ying, his backside sticking up in the air, rummaged through the cabinets and chests, floating about without his feet ever touching the ground. After thoroughly exploring every corner of the upper and lower floors, he finally found a rope as thick as a little finger and swiftly tied up Lou Ling.
Lest he wake up and run to the ghostly entity to report what he’d seen.
Along with the rope, a small lambskin whip had been unearthed. Nan Ying found it amusing and tugged at Gu Daosheng’s hem, asking his Master to burn it for him.
Gu Daosheng’s expression turned complicated as he stared at the little whip, his face twisting as if he had a toothache. He couldn’t fathom what Lou Guangrui had stashed in this house before Nan Ying “married” into it; the man was a complete pervert.
After receiving the burned whip, Nan Ying went to find Lou Mingzhang.
Children sleep a lot. Lou Mingzhang had only been pretending to be unconscious, but after closing his eyes for a few minutes, he actually fell fast asleep.
The yang energy he’d received from the “kisses” of the Little Mothers early that morning had weakened, and he couldn’t replenish it so quickly. After a day filled with so many scares, he was now sleeping as soundly as a little pig.
Nan Ying, who never needed sleep, had long forgotten the common sense that children sleep a lot. Measuring others by his own standards, he assumed Lou Mingzhang would quietly open his eyes and sneak away while he and Gu Daosheng weren’t paying attention.
Just in case, Nan Ying tapped Lou Mingzhang’s head, as if checking if a watermelon was ripe. He knocked the boy’s “soul” out of his sleeping body, causing it to emerge from the top of his head.
Without a word, Nan Ying opened his mouth wide and loomed over the face, his expression so fierce it seemed he would swallow him whole. The soul, still half-asleep and groggy, thought it was dreaming. But the sight of that gaping maw sent a jolt of terror through it, causing it to gasp and faint from the shock.
This time, it was truly unconscious.
“Good boy,” Nan Ying patted Lou Mingzhang’s head, waving his leather whip in a triumphant dance, utterly pleased with his handiwork.
Before this, he’d even known to “knock” before scaring a soul. He was too polite.
Gu Daosheng: “…”
He had just finished sealing all the windows with talismans, making the room airtight inside and out. Turning around, he witnessed this scene.
Truly a little demon.
“Touching the soul of a child under three directly can easily kill them,” Gu Daosheng warned, hastily producing a Soul-Stabilizing Talisman. He pressed his index finger to the space between Lou Mingzhang’s eyebrows, stabilizing the bond between his body and soul. “Stop harming others, you little brat. If you act up again, I’ll refine you into a tool.”
Nan Ying had even dared to eat a head; what did a weak child matter? He felt no remorse, but he wouldn’t stoop to his master’s level. He nodded and replied, “Ow.”
A ghostly wind began to howl outside.
The Lou Family residence was far from peaceful. The grounds were crawling with vengeful spirits, none of whom were willing to leave. Whether they were forced to stay or chose to do so, however, was hard to say.
Nine women, all under twenty-one, had died within this opulent family estate. The First Madam had passed away three years ago, her age roughly similar to Lou Guangrui’s.
Every blade of grass and every tree in the Lou Family estate was shrouded in a gloom cast by these women, whispering the grievances they could never voice in life. This was despite the gentle, even innocent, first impression they had made upon meeting Gu Daosheng.
Now, there was Teacher Cheng to add to their number.
While Gu Daosheng was busy chasing Lou Ling, Teacher Cheng, who had spent her entire life being polite and following the rules, chose to defy heaven and die. She then scampered off, vanishing without a trace.
After she “came back to life,” she was momentarily held back by a mirror. She was anxious and confused, terrified that her appearance was too hideous for her daughter to recognize her. Otherwise, her first instinct would have been to bolt.
She fled so hastily that Gu Daosheng couldn’t even catch a glimpse of her as she disappeared. He wondered, Is your daughter still human? Can she even see you? Why run so fast?
Just like humans, ghosts vary in strength, as do their obsessions. If Gu Daosheng hadn’t known that a Ghost Origin Land can only be generated by a single ghost, he would have looked at the sky suddenly thick with fog and assumed the Ghost Origin was determined by the number of vengeful spirits.
Fortunately, this was his Ghost Origin Land.
Whatever the outcome, all intentions would be centered on him.
For example, Nan Ying said that Gu Daosheng was self-aware enough to know that being with Lou Hongchen forever was a pipe dream; he just wanted to sleep with him.
Sleeping wouldn’t kill anyone.
Compared to Lou Hongchen’s absurdly stubborn obsession, “Gu Daosheng could die for this”, his wish was too modest.
Gu Daosheng never realized that “Gu Daosheng’s” wish was so easy to fulfill!
He was too kind.
To ensure their safety, the outside of the house had to be plastered with talismans. The more, the better; no ghostly entity could be allowed inside.
Manually pasting talismans was too tiring. Gu Daosheng reached into the Golden Flag Net, which could hold over a hundred magical artifacts, and pulled out a Talisman Gun. Its “bullets” were connected to the talismans already drawn within the net. He fired them at the entrance, thwip thwip, sealing it three layers thick.
Nan Ying watched in awe. The golden runes glowed brilliantly, flowing with patterns he couldn’t understand but strangely didn’t find unfamiliar. He reached out to touch them, only to be swatted away by Gu Daosheng.
“How dare a little ghost touch talismans meant to subdue ghosts? These are all offensive talismans. You’re staying inside the house now, and you can’t leave without my permission. If you dare to step a single left foot outside, you’ll be split down the middle, all the way to your skull. Scared yet? Hurry up and pull back those little claws of yours, or do you not want them anymore?”
“I want it, I want it…” Nan Ying snatched his hand back. In all his years, he’d never seen another Heavenly Master treat Gu Daosheng like a dog. “When you drew the talisman on my mouth, you didn’t use talismans; you just drew it in the air. Why are you using a Talisman Gun now? And you have a whole stack of talismans ready-made!”
“Drawing in the air requires ‘Qi’, and it’s not an inexhaustible resource. Why bother when I have pre-drawn talismans?” Gu Daosheng shut the door, then began firing talismans freely against it. The talismans vanished the moment they appeared, only becoming visible when triggered.
Nan Ying wondered how many talismans Gu Daosheng had brought down the mountain. It pained him to watch the waste, but then again, it wasn’t his stuff. Let him squander it.
He asked, “What is Qi?”
“It’s… tsk, how do I explain it to you?” Gu Daosheng kept firing talismans at the wall, thinking for a moment before offering an analogy. “It’s like a person’s vital energy, invisible and intangible.”
“When you’re full of energy, you’re bursting with vitality, and I can use Qi to draw talismans. The first thing a Heavenly Master must learn is how to sense and wield Qi. But just like vital energy, if you use too much, you’ll get exhausted and need to rest.”
“When you’re not yet skilled, you can only use Qi to draw on talisman paper. Once you’ve mastered it, you can use anything in heaven and earth as a medium. As long as you don’t drain yourself completely.”
“Resting also takes time.”
Nan Ying asked curiously, “How long?”
“More than half a day,” Gu Daosheng said.
Nan Ying’s face paled with alarm. “Then you need to use them sparingly! How much talisman paper did you bring? What if you run out?!”
“How could I?” Gu Daosheng declared with boundless confidence and inhuman lavishness. “I brought at least a few million sheets.”
Nan Ying sat back down. “Fine.”
Gu Daosheng had plastered his living quarters into a Talisman Palace, a fortress so densely covered that no spirit could slip through. He felt immensely secure.
The talismans designed to ward off ghosts could keep out the Second Young Lady and her entourage; they only appeared once a month, and this month’s opportunity had already passed, so there was no need to ward them off anyway. Whether they could ward off “Evil Spirits,” he didn’t know.
But Gu Daosheng was an optimistic Little Celestial Master. Lou Hongchen didn’t even know Gu Daosheng had already seen through his disguise; he was still wearing that human skin. If he came to visit, he would only do so during the day, just like he had a few days ago.
To eat a meal, to touch the soles of his feet…
Gu Daosheng had already put on his shoes!
Otherwise, wouldn’t Lou Hongchen be exposed?
Why would he expose himself for no reason?
So his father could find out the truth and hire a bunch of charlatans to perform an exorcism?
Lou Hongchen certainly wouldn’t go looking for trouble.
Night fell.
Light from inside the house seeped through the gaps in the doors and windows, spilling out into the courtyard but stopping at a fixed boundary, refusing to go any further. The crescent moon had yet to appear, leaving the courtyard as black as if it had been splashed with ink.
Inside, Gu Daosheng found himself staring into a pair of black-and-white eyes.
Lou Ling had long since woken up. Realizing he was bound hand and foot and unable to move his upper body, he didn’t panic.
His “nap” seemed to have made him smarter. He now knew instinctively what to ask and what not to ask. Ignoring Gu Daosheng’s warning to “behave,” he said, “There’s a secret passage behind the living room. If you’ve locked the door and don’t open it for Mr. Lou in time, he’ll come in through there.”
Gu Daosheng froze. “Huh?”
He quickly sent Nan Ying to find this so-called secret passage. Nan Ying brandished his whip at Lou Ling in a menacing display, but the bastard couldn’t see his own imposing figure in a mirror, so he didn’t react.
With a snort, Nan Ying waddled off on his short legs to search for the passage.
“What the hell is Lou Guangrui doing here?” Gu Daosheng muttered, bewildered.
Lou Ling replied, “He was looking for Young Master Mingzhang this morning, which proves his… Well, why do you think he’s looking for you?”
Gu Daosheng: “…”
That damned bastard Lou Guangrui had indeed said he would come tonight.
The talismans couldn’t block living people, after all.
Lou Ling’s legs weren’t bound. He pulled the still-sleeping Young Master Mingzhang into the crook of his legs, shielding him. A mocking and malicious smile spread across his face as he said to Gu Daosheng, “You left me here. When Mr. Lou sees me, he’ll be even more excited. He’ll make me watch you two first… and then let me join in.”
He licked his lips, his smile blooming with a numb disdain. “Young Master Twelve, do you want me?”
Gu Daosheng felt as if he’d been struck by lightning, as if he’d heard words that deserved divine punishment. The strike had left him charred and stunned. He wished he could rip his entire brain out by the roots and throw it away rather than hear such words that would make one’s ears ooze pus. Disgusting!
Just then, a rhythmic knock suddenly pierced the silent night.
Knock, knock, knock,
Gu Daosheng shuddered violently, goosebumps erupting all over his skin.
He thought to himself: Who says Heavenly Masters only deal with ghosts and not humans? I can’t kill him, but can’t I beat him half to death? It’s not like I’ll be cursed for it.
He immediately rolled up his sleeves, ready to go out and fight.
A low, pleasant, yet utterly cold voice came from the door: “Open the door.”
“It’s me, Sheng Sheng…” At this, he seemed to smile, softly grinding the next two words against his tongue, calling out ambiguously, “Little Stepmother.”
Lou Hongchen spoke, enunciating every word:
“Please. Let. Me. In.”