When the blackness in Lan Yu’s vision gradually receded, what appeared before his eyes was a mass of interwoven black surges, rising like mountain ranges. The horizon line had been completely erased.
Between the leaden gray clouds and the sea surface, where black waves rolled up without any discernible rhythm, a towering pitch black form, like a sovereign presiding over heaven and earth, was gazing down at him.
The overwhelming darkness, so deep that its depths could not be seen, pressed a heavy shadow onto Lan Yu’s heart, as if even the crimson glow of his blood were being devoured. Only then did Lan Yu realize that the black shadow he had always thought was gradually becoming friendly, even harmless, was in fact such an immeasurable and boundless unknown existence.
Lan Yu still felt as though he was sitting on the ground, ground that could not be warmed by his body heat, hard and immovable yet the pitch black water surrounding him seemed to mislead his senses.
Where exactly was he now? Was he still in that deserted alley or had the shadow dragged him into another world entirely?
It should… be fine, right?
Because all he could see was an endless black sea, Lan Yu did not dare stand up. He was afraid that if he lost his balance even slightly, he would fall into the sea and be submerged by the blackness, his mouth and nose drowned and the darkest existence now looking down at him, lofty, immense, stood like an unshakable pillar between sea and sky.
Lan Yu swallowed hard.
“I… I came to apologize. Before… before, I said some very harsh things to you…”
His voice came out broken and intermittent. Even though he had rehearsed countless times in his mind during the day what he should say, how he should explain the circumstances back then, how he should express his feelings at the time, how he should pay attention to his wording, clearly state the reason for his apology and then apologize earnestly,
At this moment, gazing up at the colossal black shadow, after opening his mouth again and again, he ultimately only managed to say one sentence.
“I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
The black waves seemed to calm slightly. Lan Yu stared fixedly at the darkness yet he still could not tell how far away it was from him.
Was he being entangled right now?
If the shadow were human, what kind of expression would it be wearing at this moment?
Though “sorry” might sound light and insufficient, Lan Yu was apologizing with utmost sincerity.
“Go home.”
Suddenly, a voice sounded beside his hand. Lan Yu jolted in fright and immediately looked down, only to discover that the sound was coming from his phone, it was the voice of the smart assistant he had set up.
“Let everyone see you.”
This time, Lan Yu was no longer so resolute.
“If it’s just an apology, of course I’ll do that but going home… I mean, right now, I’m actually living pretty well. I finally rented a place, I’ve stabilized my life and I’ve even made new friends. I can live well…” Lan Yu tried to say what he wanted to say but his instincts told him that the shadow was pressing down on him.
The massive black shadow instantly engulfed him. Helpless and alone, Lan Yu could only allow himself to be swallowed. The fear of being submerged by black seawater made him instinctively hold his breath.
A faint breeze brushed across his cheek.
Lan Yu suddenly opened his eyes.
He was back in the alley.
In his field of vision, his hands were still shrouded in darkness. He lowered his gaze and watched as the blackness slowly receded from his hands.
A familiar ornate yet ancient key appeared in his palm.
This was the key he had once handed over to the police after receiving an anonymous package. Lan Yu suddenly realized that it hadn’t belonged to some other tenant at all, it had truly been meant for him.
Could it be… a house key?
His fingers traced the rough surface of the key. There were no grooves or notches. What kind of door could such a straight, uncut key open? If their home used this kind of lock, weren’t they afraid of thieves?
Lan Yu stood up but his legs went weak, forcing him to brace himself against the wall. He looked around; the shadow was gone.
From here, it was only a three minute walk to his rental. His fingers unconsciously rubbed the intricate vine like patterns carved into the key. When he stood before the door of his small rented room, he instinctively reached for his keys but the ancient key in his hand felt far more present.
Lan Yu looked at the door, then at the key.
A key was something meant to open a door.
The shadow had said they were not ghosts but strange existences. Were “strange existences” truly completely different from ghosts?
He looked at the peculiar key. It was large, far too large to fit into the lock of a security door yet, as if guided by some inexplicable impulse, Lan Yu pressed the key against the keyhole.
What am I doing… Lan Yu sighed.
Something gently nudged his arm. In an instant, his hair stood on end. He snapped his gaze around, only to see the stairwell and the doors of other tenants nearby.
He turned back and froze.
The key had slid into the lock.
The massive key seemed to distort space at the small keyhole, perfectly aligning with the lock.
Slowly, Lan Yu reached out and grasped the key. It was icy cold. Even after all this time, his touch had failed to warm it in the slightest.
He exerted force and slowly turned the key.
Click!
The door opened.
A narrow gap appeared between the door and the frame. From that slender opening, Lan Yu seemed to catch the scent of soil drifting out.
The door before him swung open as if stirred by a gentle breeze.
Inside what should have been his cramped rental of barely a dozen square meters, another world appeared. Wind rushed toward him, making Lan Yu instinctively squint and raise an arm to shield his eyes.
When the wind passed, he lowered his arm and looked again at the world before him, a world he could neither understand nor accept, one that left him utterly lost.
Clouds hung impossibly low, as though within arm’s reach, churning with a blood tinged crimson hue. They pressed down upon a pitch black building devoid of any identifiable architectural style, pinning it firmly to the ground.
Black fissures spread across the building’s surface, like irregular vines crawling wildly over uncorrupted walls. At the boundary where the red black sky intertwined with the structure, there crouched a grotesque manifestation beyond human comprehension.
A prostrate aberration, a colossal black mass so enormous that Lan Yu’s field of vision could not encompass it, slowly writhed. It resembled a corrosive substance, moving sluggishly and minutely, like viscous tar in motion, endlessly expanding its nearly solidified surface.
Sound without direction wrapped around Lan Yu from all sides. Each word carried a completely different tone, neither male nor female, not even human: “Come here, baby. Welcome back home. Mom and Dad missed you very much.”
The black fluid gathered and entwined, repeatedly shaping itself. A portion extended toward Lan Yu, swelling with grotesque nodules that were then smoothed away, until it finally hovered before him, forming a black hand. As the palm slowly opened, an eye split open along the arm, its pupil reflecting Lan Yu’s figure.
On the other side of the door, the hand extended by the approaching aberration, mixed with some unknown corrosive substance, presented a small cake in its palm, topped with a candle burning a blue flame.
“You’ve worked hard, baby. Mom and Dad prepared dessert for you.”
Lan Yu’s eyes rolled back.
He collapsed straight backward.
Lan Yu woke up.
But he didn’t dare open his eyes.
He was truly terrified. He could clearly feel that the bed beneath him was absolutely not the bed in his rental room.
The soft mattress beneath him bore no resemblance whatsoever to the bed at his place, which only had a thin quilt laid over it. This bed was excessively soft yet not so sunken that it failed to support his body and unlike the cheap, slightly hard pillow he owned, this pillow was incredibly comfortable.
Lan Yu vividly remembered what he had seen before passing out. He even recalled something he had forgotten before.
He had seen that enormous one eyed creature, so large it could cover an entire villa. It had once appeared in his bedroom, accompanied by a doctor wrapped tightly from head to toe, who administered some unknown injection to him.
Back then, he had fainted from sheer terror and ended up having nightmares. Thinking about it now, weren’t those nightmares simply dreams born from having seen that thing and being overwhelmed by fear?!
Lan Yu’s entire body tensed. He didn’t dare open his eyes at all. He sincerely wished he could faint again but his lifelong habit of sleeping lightly chose the worst possible moment to assert itself. He couldn’t fall asleep no matter what.
Vaguely, Lan Yu sensed something disturbing him.
When an intangible touch pressed against his forehead, fear made the contacted skin burn. What was most fatal was that the cool temperature, as it brushed past his cheek and ear, felt like flames fueled by terror.
The sticky contact was like a mass of scalding wet cotton repeatedly stripping away sensation, his hair stirring with subtle movements. These touches were so faint yet impossible to ignore, utterly grotesque.
Lan Yu couldn’t take it anymore.
He opened his eyes.
There was no sunlight at all. With his eyes closed, he had perceived nothing but darkness yet once he opened them, he could clearly see every furnishing in the room.
This was a room without a discernible style. The dark wallpaper exuded a low key luxury yet even upon close inspection, its pattern was impossible to identify. A double bed, a desk, a computer table, a vanity, a wardrobe and in the corner, decorative fake plants that completely filled the space. It looked ordinary yet deeply strange.
And when Lan Yu slowly turned his head to look beside him, his breathing abruptly stopped.
It was a double bed. The bed was large. Soft, snow white pillows adorned with intricate lace, two of them. One beneath his head and the other… beneath another shadow.
The snow white pillow formed an almost painfully stark contrast with the blackness beside it, so deep it resembled a glimpse into an abyss, a darkness whose depth could not be discerned.
That darkness seemed vaguely humanoid, large in build, closer to a tall, broad shouldered adult male. Strand after strand of what looked like extremely soft hair swayed slightly with Lan Yu’s movement as he sat up yet it was so dense it felt as though it was constantly absorbing all the light that came too close.
Lan Yu closed his eyes.
Lan Yu opened his eyes.
This should be the shadow.
Thank goodness, it was the shadow.
Nothing made him feel more at ease than seeing the shadow. Lan Yu himself didn’t understand where this inexplicable sense of closeness toward it came from. Could it be because, among a whole crowd of bizarre and terrifying entities, this was the only one that seemed gentle?
Looking at the strange furnishings around him now, it seemed that he really was inside that enormous and uncanny house he had seen earlier.
The black shadow propped one arm on the bed and straightened up yet Lan Yu still couldn’t tell whether the shadow was facing him or had its back turned, until it lifted both hands, cupped Lan Yu’s cheeks and wiped away the dampness at the corners of his eyes where unconscious tears of fear had formed. Only then did Lan Yu realize that this was definitely its front.
“You can actually look like a person here,” Lan Yu murmured.
In his own world, the shadow had never fully taken shape, more like mist that refused to disperse.
So that was why the shadow said this place was home? Like an office worker who maintained a respectable façade outside, only to completely let themselves go once they returned to their parents’ house?
The shadow’s frame was large, a whole size bigger than Lan Yu’s. Lan Yu noticed that even its hands, once barely able to hold a shape, now had clearly defined fingers. Though still pitch black, their form was surprisingly elegant.
This probably wasn’t its true body either, was it? Lan Yu thought, as if possessed. The shadow’s true form should be that vast, pitch black sea.
“Baby, you’re awake?”
From the enormous window, clearly without curtains yet still letting in very little light, a gigantic eye appeared. The voice he had heard before sent Lan Yu’s hair standing on end the instant it sounded.
No, why was this even more terrifying than seeing the other ghosts? Was this some kind of instinctive suppression, like a bloodline hierarchy?
That thing called itself Mom and Dad! And the voice was both male and female at the same time, were they fused together?
“Mm… I’m awake,” Lan Yu replied with a trembling, tearful tone. He really didn’t want to respond but he didn’t dare remain silent.
“What is it? Are you uncomfortable?”
The window was pushed open. The fluid like parents slowly flowed inside, bit by bit, like mud saturated with decay, spreading across the floor. From the window to the bedside, the ground was gradually covered.
Part of it coiled upward, climbing onto the bed and a single eye opened near him. “Could it be… yesterday… the car accident hurt you? Let Mom and Dad… take a look.”
“I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m really fine!” Lan Yu refused frantically. Absolutely not, he absolutely did not want close contact with that thing!
“You really make Mom and Dad worry. Baby is too… fragile.” The eye showed a helpless glimmer. “We’re very worried. Don’t run around outside anymore.”
Lan Yu forced a smile. “N.. no… I have to go to work.”
“Oh, right. Children have to work, earn money, live. Mom and Dad must properly help you become independent.”
Hearing this, Lan Yu felt the tension in his heart loosen just a little. Did this mean he could still go back to work, instead of being trapped forever in this terrifying, bizarre place?
There was… still hope.
“Then I’ll get ready for work. I’ll end the visit here for today,” Lan Yu said and instantly regretted it. He sounded far too eager. Would that offend these eerie beings?
“There is still… plenty of time.”
The parents said this calmly and Lan Yu’s whole body tensed again. Did these things even have his work schedule memorized?
“But baby… you can’t fall asleep anymore, right? Go take a bath. Mom and Dad put clean clothes by the door.”
“Uh… okay.” Lan Yu’s voice trembled with barely suppressed terror. Even his poor sleeping habits, had they figured those out too? He was shaking from head to toe. “Bath… bath…”
“Over there, baby.”
A hand with a single eye pointed toward a door in the vast room.
Lan Yu stood up from the soft bed. When his feet touched the floor, the sensation was surprisingly comfortable. It was the kind of long pile carpet that should have been extremely hard to clean yet in this gloomy place it was inexplicably dry and soft. Shouldn’t the parents’ body have dragged in filth and sludge when they came inside?
Stiffly, he moved toward the door and grasped the bathroom doorknob but a pair of pitch black arms suddenly rested on his shoulders, stopping him from opening it.
“Chiguang, baby is going to bathe. Don’t be so clingy with baby.”
After the parents’ voice came from behind, Lan Yu watched as the black arms that had been wrapped around his shoulders loosened.
Just as relief washed over him, those same arms wrapped around his waist again, the black head resting against his shoulder, applying slight pressure to stop him from moving forward.
“Oh dear, you’re really too clingy, baby. Family bonds are truly… wonderful.”
Wonderful my ass!!
Lan Yu was so scared his entire body felt frozen stiff. These beings had him completely figured out, so why were they completely ignoring his rejection?
“Humans must stay clean,” the parents said.
But after those words, Lan Yu felt an all too familiar sensation, one he had experienced back when his leg had been in a cast. Something cool and mud-like spread over his leg, slowly moving downward. Last time, he didn’t know what it was. This time, however, he could clearly see what was happening.
It was licking him!!
Lan Yu’s hair stood on end.
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Cresvynia
[Translator]
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Who wants to go back to be a minor plot device?Chapter 2 · StartChapter 3 · I’m terrified of ghostsChapter 4 · Do ghosts exist in this world?Chapter 5 · ShadowChapter 6 · There’s something wrong with how this book is dressedChapter 7 · The ghost drew a heart for himChapter 8 · Make troubleChapter 9 · Don’t scare me!Chapter 10 · I’d rather be scared to death than go backChapter 11 · Want to eat together?Chapter 12 · A cleaning ghostChapter 13 · Regret it now?Chapter 14 · ParentsChapter 15 · Find FaultChapter 16 · Ghostly photos?Chapter 17 · Nickname: White ShadowChapter 18 · A haunted taxi?Chapter 19 · Extreme fear turns to angerChapter 20 · I used to be a messChapter 21 · Best friendChapter 22 · Turning pointChapter 23 · The threat of ghostsChapter 24 · It’s not a ghost, it’s eerinessChapter 25 Part 1 · First time entering the eerie houseChapter 25 Part 2 · First time entering the eerie houseChapter 26 · Borrow moneyChapter 27 · He’s jealousChapter 28 · RetributionChapter 29 · Revenge from a Strange SourceChapter 30 Part 1 · How could you be so carelessChapter 30 Part 2 · How could you be so carelessChapter 31 Part 1 · What would happen if I ran away from home again?Chapter 31 Part 2 · What would happen if I ran away from home again?Chapter 32 Part 1 · Firmly uphold the right to privacyChapter 32 Part 2 · Firmly uphold the right to privacyChapter 33 Part 1 · The brother who brought down death to protect his belovedChapter 33 Part 2 · The brother who brought down death to protect his belovedChapter 34 Part 1 · Being secretly massaged by a shadowy figure in publicChapter 34 Part 2 · Being secretly massaged by a shadowy figure in publicChapter 35 Part 1 · Go to my dear older brother and sister’s bedroomChapter 35 Part 2 · Go to my dear older brother and sister’s bedroomChapter 36 Part 1 · Being favored by everyone in the eerie houseChapter 36 Part 2 · Being favored by everyone in the eerie houseChapter 37 · We must protect our precious childChapter 38 · It’s too tragic, I can’t bear to watch anymoreChapter 39 · Because of the unique companionshipChapter 40 · The first meeting with the admirer of the protagonistChapter 41 · It’s eerie, but they’re all real family members!Chapter 42 · Using the eerie house to get a cheat codeChapter 43 · The baby’s crying after getting drunk is so cute!Chapter 44 · A traitorChapter 45 · All family members can help the baby.Chapter 46 · When the family is happy, they will hug their waistChapter 47 · Ear piercings were adornedChapter 48 · Treasure are the most precious itemsChapter 49 · Revenge is not an easy thing to doChapter 50 · Because I couldn’t see his faceChapter 51 · One of his brothers is a continuous mountain rangeChapter 52 · How could we possibly run into characters from the original storyChapter 53 · The gems my brother gave me piled up into a small mountainChapter 54 · One can feel an overwhelming sense of superiority.Chapter 55 · Sleeping with a shadowy figure means you won’t be afraid of ghosts at allChapter 56 · The fireworks display to celebrate my baby was absolutely devastating!Chapter 57 · It wasn’t this restaurant that treated us; it was another oneChapter 58 · His super-rich older sister paid for his treat!Chapter 59 · He’s different from beforeChapter 60 · It’s all so weird, isn’t it normal for people to want to disappear?Chapter 61 · Wen JieChapter 62 · Has the identity of this strange child been discovered?Chapter 63 · Those who make their child angry are unforgivableChapter 64 · Being too inquisitive about other people’s private affairs will bring you troubleChapter 65 · A person not to be covetedChapter 66 · Can you bridge the racial divide by staying close to your family?Chapter 67 · What to do if my child doesn’t want to celebrate their birthday?Chapter 68 · The baby is also a second-generation, a bizarre second-generation!Chapter 69 · We are clearly each other’s only friendsChapter 70 · The House of Eeries really did throw a ridiculously huge birthday partyChapter 71 · Why would he feel competitive towards his friend?Chapter 72 · Try to appease the jealous shadow.Chapter 73 · If you’re going to take revenge, you should do it in front of him!Chapter 74 · Now that things have come to thisChapter 75 · My baby’s travel is strange and worryingChapter 76 · One of the older brothers who crawled into the suitcase and followedChapter 77 · He resolutely refused to leave his abandoned brotherChapter 78 · I don’t want my baby to see my terrifying true formChapter 79 · I love hugging you like this.Chapter 80 · It’s a good thing to know you.Chapter 81 · Does my brother also want to go out and have some fun?Chapter 82 · His Older brother?Chapter 83 · Xiao Ming!Chapter 84 · I’m doing great as long as the original text doesn’t go crazyChapter 85 · What’s there to be afraid of when everything’s shrouded in eeriness?Chapter 86 · Let’s have a fight for the sake of the original ownerChapter 87 · How did they know he wasn’t the original owner?Chapter 88 Part 1 · Was the shadowy figure injured?Chapter 88 Part 2 · Was the shadowy figure injured?Chapter 88 Part 3 · Was the shadowy figure injured?Chapter 89 Part 1 · To inflict countless severe emotional blows on someoneChapter 89 Part 2 · To inflict countless severe emotional blows on someoneChapter 91 Part 1 · He was like a human in a supernatural taleChapter 91 Part 2 · He was like a human in a supernatural taleChapter 92 · Someone is secretly using underhanded tacticsChapter 93 · The right people I once followedChapter 94 · Let go of your prejudices against the protagonist.Okay! How come on one complain that we can’t right click the link and open a it in a new webapge??Chapter 95 · Favoritism from his current friendsChapter 96 · The baby is going to marry into our familyChapter 97 · The idea of falling in loveChapter 98 · Want to replace your baby?Chapter 99 · What’s wrong with double happiness?!Chapter 100 · It’s just a matter of raceChapter 101 · I need to balance dating and studying!Chapter 102 · After the shadowy figure gained a physical bodyChapter 103 · Confess your love to the eerie house!Chapter 104 · Even with such pampering, your baby still lacks a sense of security.Chapter 105 · How much help did he receive that he didn’t know about?Chapter 106 · You are not worthy to be the middlemanChapter 107 · Is there anything wrong with me being petty?Chapter 108 · You can have both love and studies!Chapter 109 · Suppressed and restrained desiresChapter 110 · What does an unforgettable yet ordinary date need?