Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 7: Late Night at the Shrine

Before leaving, Fang Xiu tugged on Bai Shuangying’s sleeve. “This time, you hold on to me.”

“Why?” Bai Shuangying had intended to pretend not to hear, but curiosity got the better of him.

“The evil spirits outside are just circling around. They haven’t barged in to tear us apart. They’re being quite polite,” Fang Xiu whispered. “Polite evil spirits wouldn’t steal someone else’s neatly packed meal.”

Bai Shuangying mulled over the statement before realizing that he was the “someone else”, and Fang Xiu was the “neatly packed meal”.

It seemed logical, yet also somehow not quite right.

“If they do decide to attack, what would you do?” Bai Shuangying asked on purpose.

Fang Xiu tilted his head. “Then you could use your ability to make the spirits ignore us.”

…Did this human know his ability? 

It was as if Bai Shuangying had suddenly sobered from a pleasant daze. His pale eyes fixed intently on Fang Xiu’s chest, unblinking.

Fang Xiu didn’t notice and continued muttering, “Yesterday, you made Lao Mian and Mai Zi ignore you, so it should work on evil spirits too, right?”

“How did you figure that out?” Bai Shuangying’s tone was flat.

“They saw such a good-looking face and just assumed you were human, which doesn’t make sense… Even if they were lying, with how good-looking you are, a normal person would at least glance at you a few times.” 

Fang Xiu said seriously, “So I guessed you did something. Nicely done.” 

He emphasized “good-looking” both times. After finishing, he stared at Bai Shuangying’s face for a moment, his eyes filled with straightforward admiration.

Bai Shuangying: “……”

He pulled his gaze away from Fang Xiu’s chest and turned toward the ceiling.

Fang Xiu placed his hand on the door, concerned about his ghost. “Don’t worry. If it doesn’t work, I’ll think of something else…”

“I can handle it.” Bai Shuangying grabbed Fang Xiu’s arm. “Let’s go.”

Since ancient times, humans always said he was unpredictable, but now Bai Shuangying felt stuck between amusement and annoyance—unable to laugh, unable to get angry, feeling strangely calm.

With a creak, the door opened and closed. 

In the gloomy rainy night, the world outside was somehow brighter than inside, as though the threshold divided two entirely different realms.

Fang Xiu carefully shut the door and, turning around, was once again met with the sight of Lao Mian and Mai Zi’s corpses. A day had passed, and they still lay where they had fallen. Their flesh had turned pale from the rain, their bodies swollen from the water.

Fang Xiu’s gaze lingered on the copper coin sword in Mai Zi’s chest. 

The sword wasn’t large, its blade about the length of an adult’s forearm, but the coins along its body were tattered and worn. Someone had taken all of Mai Zi’s other charms, leaving only this sword behind.

Bai Shuangying: “That sword’s nearly useless. No point in picking up…” 

Before he could finish saying “trash”, Fang Xiu had already pulled the sword out, rinsing off the blood with rainwater.

“Even if it’s almost broken, it can still hurt evil spirits, right?”

“…Barely.”

“That’s good enough.” Fang Xiu tucked the sword away and crouched down, looking at Mai Zi’s deformed corpse.

“I’m taking your sword. Just letting you know.” 

In the rain, his voice was calm and sincere. “Thank you for telling us so much. Rest in peace.”

With that, Fang Xiu reached out and gently closed Mai Zi’s eyes.

……

The village wasn’t exactly quiet at night. 

Thunder rumbled, and lightning occasionally flashed across the sky, illuminating the village as if it were broad daylight.

Along the way, Fang Xiu saw many strange shadows and heard whispers, soft laughter, and sobs. Fortunately, the village’s “security” was decent, and no evil spirits attacked them. 

Looking around, he noticed lights in the houses and shadowy figures moving near the windows, giving the place a sense of life. Regrettably, after observing for a while, he didn’t see smoke rising from any chimneys.

“Too bad no one’s cooking,” he sighed, adjusting his straw hat. His disappointment was genuine. 

Bai Shuangying didn’t want to talk.

The two continued along the path, one they had walked earlier in the day. Ever since leaving the house, Fang Xiu had been heading straight for the shrine with the ease of someone going home.

The area near the shrine, however, was far from ordinary.

It looked like a small marketplace outside the shrine. The road was adorned with lanterns and streamers, though the lanterns were blue and the streamers were white. The market stalls were neatly arranged, filled with mysterious bones and strange body parts. 

Evil spirits shuffled along, silently trading goods. Most were wandering souls, barely retaining a vague human shape, like ownerless shadows.

The surrounding chill was intense, and though it was a summer night, Fang Xiu’s breath came out in visible white puffs.

“What a lively scene. Is this what a rural market is like?” Fang Xiu pushed aside his bangs, his eyes gleaming. “Too bad they don’t sell human food.” 

Seeing food speaking, the wandering souls’ eyes also brightened, and they began to gather around Fang Xiu.

Fang Xiu drew the copper coin sword and gently nudged the spirits away. “Make way, make way.”

The blade sizzled like grilling meat as it touched the souls, and they silently parted, forming layers of onlookers around him.

Fang Xiu grabbed hold of Bai Shuangying’s arm without looking back, walking directly into the shrine.

During the day, the shrine had been locked and looked gray and dingy. Now, its doors were slightly ajar, with red candlelight spilling out, making it appear warm and inviting. 

The plaque above the door read “Weishan Shrine” from right to left. Inside, not a single evil spirit was present, and the wandering souls that had followed Fang Xiu all stopped outside. Bai Shuangying didn’t mind, crossing the threshold with Fang Xiu.

At the center of the shrine stood a statue of a god.

The statue had five arms and three legs, with two additional heads on either side of its neck. These extra heads and limbs varied in size, haphazardly placed, without any sense of aesthetics. 

The statue’s entire face was painted a ghostly white, with only a smiling mouth on its features. Now, the paint was peeling, and the dark marks made it look like distorted eyes and brows, giving off an unsettling feeling.

A golden couplet hung on either side of the statue. 

[Do no evil, and heaven will bestow blessings and fortune for generations.]

[Practice all virtues, and the rain will nourish all things with deep love and justice.]

Fang Xiu took a couple more steps forward to get a closer look. 

The statue was carved from ordinary wood, its colors garish and crude, much like the rest of the village. It didn’t feel particularly old, likely less than a hundred years old.

But that wasn’t the point. The point was the offering table in front of the statue. 

There was no incense burner or memorial tablets, only a table full of offerings— 

Fresh fruit, roasted chicken, and a pig’s head, along with canned peaches and bottles of branded milk. The table also had flaky pastries and fruit candies, with several crates of almond milk stacked underneath.

Fang Xiu picked up a drink to examine it. The production date was from a year ago, but the packaging was fresh, with no signs of spoilage.

There was enough food for everyone to last two days, maybe three or four if they rationed.

Bai Shuangying watched as Fang Xiu snapped off a chicken leg. “…You’re just going to eat it?”

“Oh right, I almost forgot because I was so hungry.” 

Fang Xiu put the chicken leg down, cleared his throat, and respectfully bowed to the statue. “Sorry to disturb you. We’re really starving, so we’ll take some of your offerings. When we escape, we’ll repay you double.”

The statue made no response.

Fang Xiu promptly took a bite of the chicken leg. The meat was tender and flavorful, the bones soft and crisp, with no strange aftertaste. 

Delicious. After being hungry for so long, it felt amazing to eat. Fang Xiu opened a drink, grabbed a pastry, and devoured them quickly.

Bai Shuangying almost felt sorry for the statue. “Did you come straight to the shrine just for this?”

“Yup. ‘Sacrifice’ is another word for ‘offering’. If sacrifices can be eaten, then offerings probably can too.”

Fang Xiu, now full and energized, added, “I think one of the taboos is that ‘food and water within the village cannot be consumed, except for offerings.’”

Bai Shuangying fell silent.

It was true that “sacrifices” could be eaten… The woman who ran away earlier had indeed been eaten by the other group.

But was this really the first thought of a normal person upon witnessing cannibalism?

On the other side, Fang Xiu, now satiated, exhaled contentedly. 

“Thank you,” he said, wiping his mouth and expressing his gratitude to the statue.

Weishan Shrine wasn’t large, and inside it resembled an ordinary house. Aside from the statue in the center, the only other notable features were two rows of wooden tables, with red candles melted into pools of wax, covering the tables like a layer of flesh.

Fang Xiu circled around to the back of the statue, where a large brick platform resembling a communal bed had been constructed. The straw mats on it had long rotted away. 

The firelight in the hall flickered, casting the statue’s grotesque shadow across the platform, like a strange, malformed tree canopy.

Fang Xiu knocked here and there. Both the floor and platform were solid, with no signs of a hidden passage. Even the statue was solid, made entirely of wood.

The candlelight flickered, casting shadows on the statue’s lips, making its smile seem more and more alive.

“Did I tickle you? Sorry, I just wanted to check,” Fang Xiu apologized sincerely. “By the way, you don’t have any moths. You’re in excellent condition.”

The statue’s smile faded slightly: “……”

Bai Shuangying: “……”

“Aren’t you afraid?” Bai Shuangying asked after a long pause.

Fang Xiu sighed. “Of course I’m afraid, which is why I came to the shrine first. After all, cemeteries also have offerings according to tradition.”

This person’s thoughts were still bizarrely refreshing. Bai Shuangying gave up questioning him and shifted his attention toward the door. 

Fang Xiu was backing toward the door, trying to keep the entire statue in his view. Behind him, a low-level evil spirit was pressed against the doorframe, its blood-red eyes locked onto Fang Xiu.

Just a mere pest, Bai Shuangying thought. With a single thought, he could make it disappear. But by now, a new idea had formed— 

He wanted to see Fang Xiu’s unshakable calm break, to show some other expression. 

And in the critical moment, he could easily save Fang Xiu and dispel the man’s absurd misconceptions about him. It would be like killing two birds with one stone.

Bai Shuangying watched as Fang Xiu backed right up to the threshold, now within reach of the spirit. His hands were behind his back, and his fingers were about to slip through the door.

The evil spirit couldn’t resist such a temptation. It crossed the threshold, lunging to grab Fang Xiu’s wrist and drag him into the darkness.

In the next instant, a scream pierced the air. 

But it wasn’t Fang Xiu who screamed—the moment the spirit’s clawed hand crossed the doorway, a flash of golden light sliced through. Fang Xiu’s right hand moved in a swift, practiced motion, the copper coin sword severing the spirit’s entire forearm. 

It all happened in the blink of an eye, and Fang Xiu didn’t even turn his head.

The severed limb rolled inside, stopping in the center of the shrine. Fang Xiu closed the door, picked up the green-black ghostly arm.

“I felt bad making you just watch me eat earlier… Here, why don’t you have something to eat too?” 

He smiled sincerely at Bai Shuangying.

……

At the top of the Disaster Relief Tower

“The Yin evil star rises, heralding a great calamity.” 

In the shadows, a cold female voice spoke. “The omen is unclear, as if there are two shadows… two shadows…” 

She paused abruptly.

“…There are two of those bastards?” the voice muttered to herself. “Forget it, it’s none of my business.”

The sacrifices continued day and night, with countless offerings. Even if a world-shattering evil star appeared, that was a problem for the mortal realm. As long as “That One” didn’t make any moves, it wasn’t her concern. 

The evil spirit she was guarding was far more important. That evil spirit was unpredictable, running rampant without a care for the human world. 

There had been a prophecy a thousand years ago: When ■■■ appears in the world, the gates of hell will shake…

■■■…■■■… What was it she was guarding again? 

Whatever, as long as “That One” didn’t make any moves, there wouldn’t be a problem…

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The author has something to say:

Two bastards, no × 

A matching pair of bastards, yes √ 

Don’t worry, Bai Shuangying hasn’t made any moves, he’s just quietly speechless. 

By the way, Fang Xiu is purely a brains-over-brawn type—he’s still quite fragile. His methods will be explained later on, and this story isn’t about him being invincible… After all, if he were invincible, there wouldn’t be any sense of tension. Although, with his personality, it doesn’t seem like he’d feel much tension anyway (…

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