Chapter 306: Plague Taisui1

Hua City hardly ever saw snow in the past, but ever since the nights began to stretch longer, the winter seasons became distinctively pronounced.

Snowflakes gently drifted down onto Mudan Street, where ancient alleys crisscrossed, snow piled up on the wooden windows of each house, and the bluestone pavement meandered alongside clear, rippling streams, composing a picturesque scene unique to winter days.

Bai Kai sat alone in front of the Lu Family old mansion, a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. In front of him, a charcoal stove glowed with red-hot embers, grilling sweet potatoes and yellow croakers, wafting tantalizing aromas through the air.

“That darn girl, in such cold weather, she should be staying at home. Where could she have run off to?”

Baked fish and sweet potatoes were Nanling Rao Hua’s favorites. Back in the desert gobi, when food was scarce, Lu Ming would often bring these foods to her, and she would be delighted for a long time.

In fact, Nanling Rao Hua’s obsession with Hua City and Lu Yibei was planted during those times. Lu Ming always coaxed her by saying, “There’s even tastier food at my home, and my son cooks better than I do.”

Having finally managed to temporarily wrap up his work, Bai Kai came here to seek out Nanling Rao Hua, hoping for a nostalgic gathering. However, after a long wait without her appearance, the nostalgic gathering gradually trended towards becoming a self-pity session.

After taking one last drag of his cigarette, Bai Kai stubbed out the butt, his gaze sullenly fixed on the old mansion behind him, muttering, “Too bad, after that, I specifically learned barbecuing skills from Lu Ming.”

Bai Kai didn’t have any family culinary skills to rely on, but he was always willing to learn any trick that might win a girl’s heart.

However, all the tricks he learned were originally meant to woo one person, but unexpectedly, they all ended up being used on other girls.

Thinking of that woman, a surge of unnamed anger rose in Bai Kai’s heart.

Back when the two brothers had just emerged from the gobi desert, one unmatched in spell formations and the other supreme in swordsmanship, they traveled together, truly embodying the poetic line, “Untouched by sorrowful dust, bearing swords, we carried wines.” They were unbeatably dashing.

Regrettably, they both eventually fell because of a woman.

Lu Ming claimed he was knocked out and kidnapped, but Bai Kai didn’t believe it.

With his skill in casting triple-layered defensive spells, he shouldn’t have been knocked out so easily.

Thus, Bai Kai was still unsure whether Lu Ming had fallen for that crazy woman’s scheme or if the crazy woman had fallen into his brother’s trap. It might have been both, just an act.

As for Bai Kai, he was tricked. The process was pretty much a gorgeous older sister meeting a pure young man, a little maneuvering, and success in scoring first blood, double kills, pentakills, going godlike…

Originally, Bai Kai’s Spirit Pattern was purely of the Heroic Spirit type, which required abstinence for smooth advancement. However, due to a momentary lapse, he had to switch pathways, becoming a Mixed type Spirit Pattern, weakening his power by half.

In principle, he was willing to make sacrifices for love.

However, after resolutely giving up a more powerful pathway of advancement to help that woman advance using his Spirit Pattern, not only did he not gain love, but he also ended up in debt from purchasing various materials.

As the saying goes, Bai Kai was maliciously PUA’d by that woman.

If it weren’t for Lu Ming’s timely rescue, Bai Kai, with his Spirit Pattern out of control and severely weakened, would have truly been forced by creditors to pay with his body.

Afterwards, Bai Kai even declared he would repay his good friend with his body.

However, Lu Ming immediately refused, saying, “Bro, just put on your pants! Aren’t you supposed to be indebted like an ox or horse in such situations?”

Bai Kai thought he would never see that woman who left without a word again, but recently, somehow, she had managed to rise up the ranks and become his boss, throwing him completely off balance.

If he fell into that woman’s hands again, how could he have good days ahead? Just the thought of being constantly thwarted by her in the future gave Bai Kai a headache.

Like this time when he applied to activate the Hua City barrier, he could have submitted the application through a relatively simpler process.

But because of that woman’s interference, he stopped Li Xuan and An Qing from submitting the application. In two days, with just his own two legs, he traveled across half of Country Z, visiting four of the five Class S psychic energy practitioners capable of setting up barriers.

Only then did he manage to obtain a one-time use talisman from a certain big shot.

Can’t I avoid trouble if I can’t provoke it?

Dead woman, times have changed; you won’t get a single benefit from me anymore! Bai Kai thought angrily.

Lost in thought, he clenched his fist tightly, “Crunch!” He crushed a freshly baked sweet potato in his hand, the searing heat pressing against his palm.

“Ouch-! Hot, hot!”

Lu Yibei, carrying his luggage, passed by the front of his family’s old mansion, and seeing Bai Kai flustered, flinging the sticky, orange-yellow substance everywhere, was taken aback.

“Holy moly! Shui-Ge, what are you doing? Playing with poop in broad daylight in front of my house? That’s just disgusting!”

“……”

Hearing the familiar voice, Bai Kai’s mouth twitched violently, and he furiously threw the remaining half of the sweet potato to the ground.

“It’s a sweet potato! A sweet potato!”

Bai Kai loudly clarified, turning to face Lu Yibei, only to notice he was carrying lots of luggage, prompting him to ask curiously, “Yibei, you’re with luggage…”

He paused halfway through his question, then turned to look back at the Lu Family old mansion, “Could it be that you’re planning to move back in?”

That would be absurd!

I know the layout of your house; the restaurant is downstairs, and there’s only a bed in the attic.

You and your father squeezing in to sleep is one thing, but you can’t squeeze in with Ah-Hua! Even if there’s an engagement, it’s too soon. Bai Kai thought to himself.

“Things have been unstable outside recently. Staying at The Midnight Watchers Society seems safer,” Lu Yibei said.

I’m injured, and those dark forces wouldn’t risk everything over a small grudge to come all the way to the Hua City Folk Culture Administration Bureau, would they?

Even if they were that audacious, they’d have to step over the bodies of five main operators who’d stand in their way before they could get to me!

Besides, I still have three doses of the potion left to take, and with all this trouble, who knows how long I’ll have to wait to complete my treatment. Lu Yibei thought to himself.

“That does make some sense.” Bai Kai nodded in agreement. “But, it’s getting colder recently, have you prepared enough warm stuff? Do you want me to bring some over later?”

“And if you’re bored at night, just call me. I can come over and keep you company!”

Seeing Bai Kai making suggestive gestures, Lu Yibei tensed up and quickly waved his hands, “No need, no need! I’m not a kid anymore, you don’t have to worry about these things.”

Calling a gigolo to my room to play at night, if someone saw that, it would be just as hard to explain as Shui-Ge flinging baked sweet potatoes in front of my house at night.

Lu Yibei thought to himself, tightening the straps on his pack and walking forward, “Alright Shui-Ge, you have fun. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now.”

“I still need to go back and bring some toiletries over.”

Before the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts in Hua City calms down, Lu Yibei had already prepared for a long haul.

He had barely walked a few steps when he stopped, turned his head to look at the door smeared with sticky sweet potato, and said expressionlessly, “By the way, Shui-Ge, remember to clean up before you leave!”

“I don’t mean anything by it! I trust your character, but that doesn’t mean others will. I still need to come back here to open the business. Also…”

“Those things on your hands… they’ve dried.”

Bai Kai looked down at his golden-hued palms, then instinctively brought them to his nose to sniff.

Lu Yibei, “???”

Seeing Lu Yibei’s increasingly disdainful look, Bai Kai, “……”

No! Why did I sniff it?

I’m innocent!

The winter night seemed to arrive even more swiftly than before. As soon as the sun dipped below the horizon, Hua City was once again enveloped in the veil of night.

In a remote location in Hua City, a supermarket that had long been closed occasionally saw eerie shadows flit by.

After the Hua City Ceramics Factory was attacked, the Dusk Maiden moved her base here.

Inside the deserted underground cold storage, old lighting fixtures weakly cast a dim yellow glow, and the air was filled with the bizarre odor of meat decomposing in a sealed space. An ancient-looking bronze mirror stood in the center of the vast space.

“Creak-!”

Accompanied by a grating squeak, the thick door of the cold storage was opened, and a woman in red entered, walking straight to the bronze mirror.

She stopped in front of the mirror, but the impeccably smooth surface failed to reflect her image, showing only a deep darkness.

Within that profound darkness and the swirling dark auras, a distorted, massive shape that seemed to be constantly splitting and proliferating could be faintly seen sitting in the depths.

Despite the layers of darkness and fog-like dark auras, the terrifying psychic energy fluctuations and the exuberantly vigorous life force emanating from it could still be felt.

Cowed by that powerful psychic energy fluctuation, the Dusk Maiden respectfully knelt on one knee before the mirror, a strange and complex mark on her forehead glowing a crimson light.

“Following the master’s summons, the Dusk Maiden has come to report.”

The massive shadow in the darkness sternly asked, “How are you progressing with the task I assigned? Have you encountered any obstacles?”

“…” The Dusk Maiden paused for a moment, her teeth lightly biting her lip, “All is well.”

“Oh? Why do I hear that someone has been causing trouble?”

The massive shadow questioned sharply, and the psychic energy fluctuations billowing out from the mirror whistled sharply, grinding the long-frozen ice in the vicinity into powder in an instant.

“…”

The Dusk Maiden dared not respond. As she heard the question from the mirror, she also sensed countless eyes on the other side of the mirror, all focusing on her simultaneously. Those bizarre, twisted gazes conveyed almost tangible negative emotions, nearly driving her mad.

At that moment, the bronze mirror suddenly vibrated, something passing through the mirror, rippling across its surface, and then falling in front of the Dusk Maiden.

“Go, plant my flesh in the soil of Hua City. It will make your actions more smooth.”

It was a fist-sized, dark green, weird substance, roughly spherical and smooth, with no protrusions, organs, or limbs visible, resembling some ancient slime mold’s spore complex, easily reminiscent of something known as Taisui.

But upon closer inspection, the Dusk Maiden realized that the Taisui-like substance, though the color was abnormal, was covered with a layer of transparent gelatinous material.

Beneath the gel, traces of something flowed slowly, spreading a thin layer of dark green mist around it.

From that mist, the Dusk Maiden sensed a strong, vigorous, and almost life-force-stealing evil vitality.

“…”

Would planting this thing in the soil of Hua City really not cause major problems? The Dusk Maiden wondered.

She suddenly became curious about the origins of her enigmatic master, who the Black Cloak Men called “Plague Taisui,” and how such a haunting had come to be.

When the Dusk Maiden emerged from the icehouse, a Black Cloak Man hurried over from outside and stood before her, bowing his fists. “Lady Witch, there is a new discovery in the search.”

“A new discovery?” The Dusk Maiden slightly furrowed her brows and asked, “What is it?”

“We have found a group of hauntings secretly organizing the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts. They have occupied an area with a radius of less than ten kilometers centered on University Town. I suspect…”

“You suspect they are covertly causing destruction?” The Dusk Maiden interrupted coldly with a glance at the Black Cloak Man.

“Exactly,” replied the Black Cloak Man.

But how could a haunting involving the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts only cover ten kilometers?

Isn’t that an inefficient effort?

Muttering internally with a chilly gaze, the Dusk Maiden said, “Well then, do you have their latest movements? If they are indeed the culprits behind the recent destruction, I’ll know once I check myself.”

After tidying up his temporary office space, Lu Yibei noticed it was getting dark outside.

As winter approached, night fell without warning.

To avoid the embarrassment of suddenly transforming into a haunting while moving household items, Lu Yibei left the vicinity of Mudan Street early, returning to the unfinished building in University Town. He waited until it was completely dark, ending the transformation, before casually walking toward Jingyi Apartment.

Just as he pulled out his keys and opened the door, he was shocked by the sight before him and jumped back a step.

What the heck? What’s going on? When did so many hauntings get into my place?

Looking around, the originally spacious apartment was now home to eerie stretching hands under the sofa, tongues like slugs in the kitchen, and plaster statues covered with moss and graffiti… Various hauntings were popping up in nearly every corner.

These hauntings rolled unabashedly on the carpet, licked the outlets of the water dispenser and sink, and a few that looked like mannequins even tried to assemble his unopened MG Red Comet Gundam model.

This was too much!

Finally, after a few seconds of staring blankly at this real chaos, Lu Yibei’s emotions erupted.

“Damn it! Someone explain what the hell is going on here! Otherwise, tonight, you all turn into core entities.”

Initially playful and jubilant, the hauntings froze upon hearing his roar, stiffening their bodies and turning towards the door, facing Lu Yibei awkwardly for a couple of seconds before letting out terrified screams.

“Help! Killing hauntings-!”

“He can see us, that human can see us!”

“Mommy, I’m scared!”

“I’m scared too…”

Consequently, the apartment became even more chaotic, with countless tangled shadows flying around, sounds of furniture and dishes being knocked over filled the air.

A few minutes later.

A hairball, denture, eyeball, and nightgown kneeled before Lu Yibei, with a dense crowd of miscellaneous hauntings crawling behind them.

After briefly explaining the situation to Lu Yibei, the hairball said with a choked voice, “Lady Witch, that’s what happened. We also brought them here because they were homeless and pitiful.”

Lu Yibei crossed his arms and glared at the hairball, pondering for a moment before frowning, “So, you mean these minor hauntings came here because someone was secretly organizing the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts and destroyed their dwelling places?”

“Yes, yes! Exactly!” Seeing his fabricated excuse work, the hairball hurriedly responded, “We meant well! We hope for your understanding, Lady Witch.”

Although the reason the hairball gave Lu Yibei was made-up, it wasn’t entirely false.

Among these hauntings, aside from forty percent that they had subdued through the Night Parade, another forty percent came seeking refuge due to the Dusk Maiden organizing the Parade and repeatedly attacking their gathering places, threatening their survival. The remaining twenty percent…

Were the hauntings displaced due to collateral damage caused by the Explosion Maniac and the Successor of Will.

Lu Yibei, “…”

They indeed were pitiful, but that doesn’t mean you should bring them home!

Look what they’ve done to the place?

Cleaning up would take at least a day or two…

Today, Lu Yibei understood why his father looked as bitter as a gourd when he used to bring buddies home to play in his childhood.

Moreover, this was far more serious than bringing buddies home, wasn’t it?

There was nobody else at home to hear the noise, how would he explain it if the neighbors heard? Not only the noise, but also seeing mannequins and plaster statues moving around the house. If it didn’t scare them to death, they would definitely call the police, and it might even reach The Midnight Watchers Society. Lu Yibei thought.

Seeing Lu Yibei remaining silent, the eyeball, trying to incite a rebellion among the hauntings, hadn’t finished speaking when it felt a chill on its back. With its body wriggling and pupils rotating to look behind, it saw a jagged broken sword pressed against its back.

“Who told you I have no sympathy?” Lu Yibei held the sword against the eyeball’s back with one hand while poking it with the other, “It’s just that you brought them here and made such a mess at home, which is really infuriating, you know?”

“And you guys!” Lu Yibei continued, pointing his sword at a few sneaky hauntings trying to assemble models, growling, “I’m talking here! Can you take this seriously?”

Following Lu Yibei’s words, the mannequin hauntings looked at each other as if making a decision, nodded, and with a clang, fell to the ground, pretending to be dead.

“…”

Such perfunctory acting… Lu Yibei muttered internally, then added, “Anyway, none of you stay at home anymore. I’ll find a place for you!”

After all, they were truly miserable. During the hairball’s narration, the interjecting remarks from the other hauntings almost reached the level of trite, tear-jerking reality TV shows.

“Lady Witch is wise! May your fortune be as vast as the seas and your life as long as the mountains!”

“Would you shut up! Want to lose your life?” Lu Yibei glared at the cheering hairball, “Every inch of land belongs to the state, to the people. In my Country Z, we have our national conditions.”

“Yes, yes, Lady Witch teaches well!” the hairball quickly agreed, “But, could you tell us in advance where we are supposed to go next?”

“Hmm…” Lu Yibei stroked his chin and pondered for a couple of seconds, “Go to the underground garage of Xingfu Community and find a haunting in a green theater costume. She will take care of you.”

He had already inquired from Meng where she usually hid.

Deeper than the underground garage of Xingfu Community, the cellar of the old theater was still hidden somewhere, and Meng usually hid there.

As for whether these minor hauntings could endure Meng’s pig-slaughtering and somewhat hallucinogenic music, that was beyond his control.

Hearing Lu Yibei mention Xingfu Community, many hauntings showed a look of fear; they knew of a terrifying haunting residing in that community.

“Lady Witch, may I ask what your relationship with the haunting of Xingfu Community is? We are a bit scared,” a milky voice inquired.

Following the direction of the voice, Lu Yibei saw a haunting composed of a plastic lamb’s head attached to a David plaster statue, twitching at the corner of his eye and silently covering his eyes.

“She is one of my familiars… Rest assured, you’ll be fine! I have other things to do, so I won’t send you off.”

With that, Lu Yibei stood up and quickly walked towards the bathroom to gather his toiletries. As he turned around, the little hauntings in the living room began whispering among themselves.

“Who would have thought Lady Witch was so powerful! Even the haunting of Xingfu Community is one of his familiars. You don’t know, I was driven out of that community by that terrifying creature.”

“You only know what happened, not why it happened. Overcoming a haunting and subduing a haunting require vastly different strengths. It’s said that to forcibly make a haunting a familiar, one’s strength must be at least ten times greater, even more!”

“Then… Lady Witch must be the most powerful and terrifying haunting in Hua City?”

“…”

Anyone would feel pleased to hear others speak well of them behind their back, and Lu Yibei was no exception. However, as he listened, he felt something was off.

“Do you think Lady Witch likes strong men? I heard that witch types like strong men,” the milky voice asked.

“Very likely!”

“Another question, why does Lady Witch choose to look like a boy?”

“Maybe she has some special preference?”

“…”

Lu Yibei, “…”

Damn it! You’re truly hauntings, unable to think of anything normal!

He fumed internally, reaching for his toothbrush on the washstand, only to grab a sticky mass. Turning to look, he discovered that some haunting had laid several eggs on his toothbrush.

“…”

I guess I’ll go to the convenience store and buy a new set of toiletries. Lu Yibei thought.

Footnote:

1. Taisui(太岁): A mysterious gelatinous organism in Chinese folklore, believed to possess supernatural vitality and often associated with taboos.