Although the young masters of the Qian family had been away from home for many years, they still understood their own household far better than any outsider ever could.
Qian Shengke took out a small hand lantern. The light it cast was dim and faint, yet compared to complete darkness, it felt like a blessing. Since he had remained unconscious in the kitchen for so long without being harmed, it was unlikely that anything monstrous still lingered inside.
Everyone held their breath. The kitchen was so silent it felt like untouched soil where no human footprints had ever existed.
The faint glow of the fire drew Qian Shengke’s attention. The tofu he had simmered earlier was still gently bubbling, the fragrance curling through the air. He had not managed to eat a single bite before fainting, and now the hunger clawing at him was almost unbearable.
He cast a pleading glance at the group. As if responding in perfect harmony, the others inhaled the rich aroma of tofu and their stomachs all grumbled at the same time.
One person’s stomach growling was embarrassing. A whole group growling together meant only one thing. All eyes shifted toward the pot of tofu.
They walked straight toward the stove. Steam rose in steady white puffs and the distinctive fragrance of tofu rushed out to greet them, filling their noses and making their mouths water.
“Brother Qian, why does this tofu smell so good? There is nothing strange about it, right?” Lu Xiao’s stomach growled even louder, but fear still lingered from everything they had just experienced. What if something was wrong with this pot of tofu too?
Qian Jinye stepped forward and sniffed at the steam. He hesitated, lifted the lid again, and inhaled once more.
The dim lighting made it hard to read his expression. Just as Lu Xiao was about to ask, Qian Jinye scooped a small spoonful of the broth and tasted it.
Lu Xiao jumped in shock. He had opened his mouth to scold him for eating before confirming it was safe, but before he could say anything, Qian Jinye suddenly grabbed Qian Shengke by the collar and shouted.
“You added white pearl powder again did you not. You hate it so much yet you can never leave it behind. Brother.”
His sudden outburst startled everyone except Qian Shengke, who stood quietly, letting his brother shout himself hoarse. Lu Xiao rushed forward to pull the younger brother back and soothe him, terrified the two might start fighting if anyone made a wrong move.
The kitchen instantly became a mess of noise. Qian Jinye was yelling, Lu Xiao and the others were trying to calm him down, and Qian Shengke let out a soft, trembling sound, halfway between a sigh and a sob.
“Jinye, I am sorry. My body is weak. I truly cannot live without pearl powder any longer. I know you hate what white pearl transformation represents, but is there not another method available?”
Another method. The members of the Pearl House immediately perked up. Their curiosity burned hot. What other method?
Qian Jinye froze for a moment. He did remember something. His face twisted as he snapped back, “I remember now. And that other method is even more cruel than the first. Is it not?”
Qian Sheng के looked at him and could not give an answer. He closed his eyes and whispered, “At least it does not require human sacrifice.”
Listening to the two brothers whispering in riddles only made the Mingzhu courtyard group itch even more with questions. Li Xianguan was the first to lose patience.
“Brother Qian, both of you. We do not understand a single thing. Could the two of you explain what this other method actually is?”
Qian Jinye remained silent and refused to look at him, acting exactly like the arrogant young master he had been when they first met. Qian Shengke, however, seemed to be thinking.
“There is no harm in telling you,” he said at last. “At this point, we may not even leave the Qian residence alive. And you have not visited the stable yet, have you? I will take you there. Once you see it for yourselves, you will understand.”
The two brothers no longer spoke to each other. They walked like strangers forced to share a path.
Qian Shengke led the way at the front. That alone was enough to trigger a reaction in Qian Jinye, who immediately insisted on walking at the very back, dragging Lu Xiao with him as if determined to physically separate himself from his elder brother.
Li Xianguan and Chen Yue’Er ended up stuck awkwardly in the middle, suffering silently.
On the way, Qian Shengke tried to ease the atmosphere. He could feel that the conflict was entirely one sided. He himself had never planned to fall out with his younger brother.
“Jinye, I see you seem close with this young man Lu Xiao. Did you meet him after I left home? He seems like a good friend.”
Qian Jinye refused to respond, but that did not mean Lu Xiao could stay silent.
“Brother Qian, we only met today. But we clicked the moment we saw each other.”
He put on a polite New Year greeting smile, the kind used when meeting elders, trying to smooth things over.
Qian Shengke was clearly not fooled. He returned a more polished smile and said nothing, neither confirming nor denying the implication.
“I see. Jinye has no real friends. It seems he has taken quite a liking to you. Take good care of him.”
For a moment Lu Xiao froze. The words sounded strangely loaded. Did Brother Qian already notice the nature of their relationship?
The feeling was strange, and Lu Xiao did not know how to respond. If he and Jinye were ordinary friends, he could cheerfully promise to look after him.
But in truth he was the hungry pig that had stolen the Qian family’s sweet cabbage. Facing the brother of the cabbage made him feel guilty.
Qian Jinye bristled like an angry cat. “Mind your own business, Qian Shengke. You should worry about getting yourself a sister in law first.”
He grabbed Lu Xiao’s hand and turned his head away.
Lu Xiao was truly dizzy now. So it had been discovered after all. Since Qian Jinye was holding his hand, should he hold back or pull away. He carefully glanced toward Qian Shengke.
To his shock, Qian Shengke’s entire face was dark with tangled emotion. His steps even slowed.
Chen Yue’Er and Li Xianguan were equally bewildered. At that moment, Li Xianguan had a brilliant but foolish idea. He grabbed Chen Yue’Er’s hand. Chen Yue’Er’s face instantly flushed bright red. Qian Shengke’s expression darkened even further and he turned away completely.
Watching his lonely back, everyone except Qian Jinye felt a twinge of pity. Chen Yue’Er felt especially guilty. The elder brother had kindly shared his family affairs with them and in return their troublesome younger members had essentially robbed his home.
“Brother Qian, one of my colleagues in the Imperial Medical Institute has a younger sister who is about to come of age. If you are interested, I could introduce her to you.”
Chen Yue’Er offered the line in a hesitant, gentle voice. To her surprise, Qian Shengke’s mood brightened immediately. If he had animal ears, they would have perked straight up.
He suddenly became very invested in the subject of young ladies, asking endless questions. He even forgot temporarily about his feud with his brother and the Mingzhu courtyard group.
Only when they nearly reached the stable did he suddenly remember and glare at Qian Jinye.
“You troublemaker. I cannot control you, but I will let father deal with you later.”
The brothers’ childish bickering made everyone briefly forget the danger they were in, trapped within the Qian family estate.
Their idle chatter made the journey pass quickly. Soon, they arrived at a small, shabby looking door that connected to the stable and beyond it, the outside world.
Lu Xiao stared at the dilapidated structure. It was hard to believe something so worn down existed within the grand Qian residence.
The two brothers who had been quarreling fell silent at once.
“Go in,” Qian Jinye said quietly.
Qian Shengke pushed open the door. There were no horses on the other side, only a narrow and winding path stretching into darkness.
Nobody spoke. They walked along the twisting path in heavy silence.
After who knew how long, Lu Xiao noticed the distinct scent of poultry, exactly like the smell of chicken coops he had encountered in the countryside.
“This is it. Everyone watch your step,” Qian Shengke said as he led them through an even smaller door.
A stable was supposed to be a stable. The structure and layout indeed resembled one.
But there was not a single horse.
Everywhere they looked, there were roosters. Yet the sounds they made were the soft clucking of hens. When the roosters noticed the group entering, they fluttered wildly, filling the air with frantic noise.
“This is a stable. How is it full of chickens and not horses?” Li Xianguan blurted out before he could help himself. Lu Xiao and Chen Yue’Er had been trying to find a tactful way to ask, but he said it for them.
Fortunately, asking directly was not a crime.
“Yes this is the stable, and yes it is for raising chickens,” Qian Jinye replied with unsettling calm. Now that he remembered the truth, everything seemed dreadfully obvious to him.
He chased away one of the roosters and reached into its nest.
He pulled out an egg.
But roosters do not lay eggs.
Lu Xiao blinked, then recalled belatedly that in this world there were roosters that did lay eggs. Perhaps from the very beginning, nothing here had ever been normal.
Qian Jinye tapped the egg against the railing. A white pearl, covered in a slick layer of fluid, rolled out. This must be the so called alternate method.
“These chickens come from Loulan. If they eat human flesh, they will lay these eggs. You say no one is harmed. That is a joke. The victims of transformation are fed to the chickens instead.”
His cold voice echoed. He tossed the pearl to Lu Xiao. Chen Yue’Er suddenly felt the pearl in her own arms becoming unbearably hot, impossible to hold for much longer.
Qian Shengke hurried to soften the blow. “It is true. But the production increases drastically this way. The white pearl is still a life prolonging medicine. Without it I would have died long ago. I disapprove of these black dealings, yet I also cannot survive without the pearl. Jinye has every right to resent me.”
The roosters tilted their heads at the humans in confusion, unable to understand why people cared so much about moral dilemmas.
Lu Xiao could not judge any of them. He had no right to stand upon the moral high ground and condemn either brother. He did not know whether, if pushed to the brink of death, he would have the courage to reject a life saving medicine in order to remain righteous.
Most people were not heroes after all.
The roosters seemed entirely unfazed by their presence. They strutted freely out of the pens, pecking at stones and rotten flesh scattered across the ground.
“Brother Qian, so there truly are no horses in this stable?” Li Xianguan asked again.
“Yes there are no horses here. Only roosters,” Qian Jinye answered.
“Then what is that?” Chen Yue’Er pointed toward a corner.
A horse, or rather a monster that vaguely resembled one, stared at them with cold goat-like eyes. Its four legs had become writhing octopus tentacles tangled beneath its body. Its nostrils flared heavily. Its mouth was chewing something.
A wet cracking sound echoed. A chicken head fell out of its mouth. The creature stopped chewing. Its horizontal pupils slowly rotated until they morphed into the vertical pupils of a large cat.
Qian Shengke paled. “Run. Now. There should never be any real horses here.”
Qian Jinye did not hesitate for even a heartbeat. He lit a black pearl and grabbed Lu Xiao as he shouted, “Do not look back. That thing is not a horse. The black pearl will not hold it for long.”
The sight of such a creature was far more terrifying than any giant serpent. Li Xianguan hauled Chen Yue’Er onto his back and sprinted after the others.
Behind them came a piercing, shrill cry. The sticky slap of tentacles striking the ground followed close behind. The creature was fast, terrifyingly fast. It was right behind them.
And the more terrifying it was, the more they knew they must not look back. They could only force their legs to run, run, and run.
✦ ✧ ✦
Nycreth
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
Please distract the translator from abandoning everything with coffee. (ง •̀_•́)ง
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · The beginning of the tragedyChapter 2 · Don’t forgetChapter 3 · Look at it directlyChapter 4 · Whom are you trying to seduce?Chapter 5 · TeaseChapter 6 · Sleeping in the same bedChapter 7 · Internal locksChapter 8 · Tampering The rules…Chapter 9 · Black LotusChapter 10 · FledglingChapter 11 · There are no horses in the stable.Chapter 12 · Water-oil separationChapter 13 · The cost of backtrackingChapter 14 · It got biggerChapter 15 · Was it a mouse?Chapter 16 · Too fieryChapter 17 · Administer medicineChapter 18 · Tracing the PearlChapter 19 · A KissChapter 20 · Ge, Kiss meChapter 21 · Ten Thousand Deaths Without RegretChapter 22 · Endless CorridorChapter 23 · CowardChapter 24 · GoodbyeChapter 25 · Back toChapter 26 · It’s is me, Not MeChapter 27 · VictimChapter 28 · Crossed CupsChapter 29 · IntuitionChapter 30 · ChangeChapter 31 · DifferentChapter 32 · ErrorChapter 33 · Mind Your Own BusinessChapter 34 · WanderingChapter 35 · EmbraceChapter 36 · LoveChapter 37 · UnrestrainedChapter 38 · Asking Over a DrinkChapter 39 · As BeforeChapter 40 · SatiatedChapter 41 · A Change in the WindsChapter 42 · A’SuChapter 43 · Welcoming the BrideChapter 44 · GossipChapter 45 · WeaknessChapter 46 · Wedding NightChapter 47 · Brother QingChapter 48 · FadingChapter 49 · Lying LowChapter 50 · CaressChapter 51 · OnceChapter 52 · The Hidden PassageChapter 53 · MotherChapter 54 · FlawlessChapter 55 · ProphecyChapter 56 · EtherealChapter 57 · DecipheringChapter 58 · The TrapChapter 59 · Stone StatueChapter 60 · ChessChapter 61 · AssassinsChapter 62 · The National Preceptor?Chapter 63 · Please return my belongings to me.Chapter 64 · I’m not that desperate.Chapter 65 · No wayChapter 66 · No turning backChapter 67 · I told you, get out of the wayChapter 68 · Still became a monsterChapter 69 · Let’s end thisChapter 70 · Why do you look so much like him?Chapter 71 · One wanted to kill, two stopped himChapter 72 · Unless, the people at Mingzhu Academy are keeping it from himChapter 73 · FraudChapter 74 · Don’t look back, Lu XiaoChapter 75 · It’s coldChapter 76 · Kill MeChapter 77 · We are even marriedChapter 78 · Gege… I Love YouChapter 79 · “It” had arrivedChapter 80 · Wake Up!Chapter 81 · How Nostalgic….Chapter 82 · You already Promised meChapter 83 · Their TerritoryChapter 84 · Jokes were JokesChapter 85 · What you dream was realChapter 86 · Did you cry?Chapter 87 · What’s wrong, young Master?Chapter 88 · No, I only ever said it to youChapter 89 · Honey, Please let me go.Chapter 90 · What are you pretending to be, a gentleman?Chapter 91 · It’s just a shoddy trick to fool people, but I like it anywayChapter 92 · Ge, I did it voluntarily, it’s no useChapter 93 · You little BratChapter 94 · Gege~ please have mercyChapter 95 · Hearing Lu Xiao come in, he patted the seat next to himChapter 96 · Stop fooling around, let me kiss youChapter 97 · “I want…” “Want what?”Chapter 98 · Gege, watch closely how I get youChapter 99 · Little Eleven, how about we talk to ‘it’ first?Chapter 100 · Had it gone mad?Chapter 101 · I will make my decisionChapter 102 · Tsk, how indecentChapter 103 · You are the creator of my original worldChapter 104 · The world is not your toy, go back to where you came fromChapter 105 · He was a boy with snow-white hair and a handsome faceChapter 106 · Haven’t seen you for a long timeChapter 107 · TYRBL Extra: 1Chapter 108 · TYRBL Extra: 2Chapter 109 · TYRBL Extra: 3Chapter 110 · TYRBL Extra: 4