Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 20: Inside and Outside the Shrine

Fang Xiu glanced at Bai Shuangying, then at the giant hands, and then back at Bai Shuangying again.

Bai Shuangying suddenly had a bad feeling. Sure enough, Fang Xiu cautiously asked, “Your relatives?”

This human was truly unique, capable of offending him with just a few words. Bai Shuangying silently recited in his mind, “When Fang Xiu dies, deduct his cultivation,” barely managing to keep his expression neutral.

Fang Xiu, seeing his face, said, “Looks like they aren’t. My apologies.”

Bai Shuangying replied, “Don’t say those words again. They’re annoying.”

While the two of them were having their casual conversation, Fourth Master shoved Mei Lan forward. “Your turn.”

Mei Lan, injured and tortured along the way, screamed immediately.

“Why me! Why me!” Mei Lan cried, her face covered in tears, her eyes darting around helplessly. “Isn’t there a madman you can use?!”

“It’s better to use someone with a functioning brain for more reliable results.” Fourth Master bared his teeth. “He’s useless, and so are you. You can’t even walk straight, so I’m just making use of trash.”

“I’ll go in her place.” The gloomy boy suddenly spoke up.

He was trembling, his face streaked with tears, and his voice sounded stiff.

Fourth Master sneered. “Oh, the little loser found his voice.”

“Fang Ge reacts quickly, and Auntie Cheng… Auntie Cheng is also capable. Everyone is more useful than I am.”

The boy barely held back from saying Cheng Songyun’s protective skills. “Fang Ge said as long as we deal with the ‘E’, the people who were captured might still be saved… Isn’t that right, Fang Ge?”

Fang Xiu, always honest, said, “That’s assuming they’re only captured. This could easily kill you outright.”

The boy shuddered but didn’t back down. “…I don’t really care if I live anymore anyway.”

Mei Lan hugged herself tightly, burying her head, not stopping him.

“My name is Guan He, from Fengzhou in the Gui Province. My mom’s name is He Yumei. Fang Ge, Auntie Cheng, if I die here, can you apologize to my mom for me?”

The boy rarely spoke, and after several days together, this was his first time introducing himself.

Fang Xiu: “I understand.”

Cheng Songyun couldn’t bear it anymore. “You’re still young. I’ll go.”

“Let him go. Are we going to debate this all day?”

Fourth Master swung a fist at Cheng Songyun. She instinctively shielded her head with her arms and curled her body into a defensive position.

Taking advantage of the moment, Guan He stepped forward. Trembling, he took a deep breath and touched the giant hands.

In the next instant, the hands closed around him, grabbing him tightly. They coiled back into the shrine like a snake, and the shrine doors slammed shut.

The shrine fell into a deathly silence. The closed doors cut off all sight, and the shadows of the giant hands swayed eerily on the doors, filling everyone with dread.

A few minutes later, Guan He’s voice finally came from inside. It was faint, unclear whether it was a groan or a cry of pain. The sound lasted for several seconds, then faded. After a few more bouts of noise, the shrine went completely silent.

About an hour passed, and the suona band assembled in front of the shrine again.

“The wicked guest, idle in their duties, shall be detained—expelled from the village when the temple fair ends—”

They opened the shrine doors and dragged Guan He out.

Standing just over 1.7 meters tall, Guan He looked even smaller as the tall spirits pulled him along. His face was pale, his eyes shut, and his wounds were still bleeding.

…But oddly, his expression was peaceful, which made Fang Xiu raise an eyebrow.

The giant hands stretched out again, palms up, stained with blood.

“See anything?” Fourth Master, unable to figure it out, turned to Fang Xiu.

Fang Xiu carefully observed the hands. “Not yet.”

Fourth Master smirked maliciously and gestured toward Mei Lan. “Your turn. Be grateful the boy saved you an hour.”

This time, Mei Lan didn’t cry.

Whether it was because she had given up hope or because she saw that Guan He wasn’t dead, she resigned herself to her fate. She limped forward and threw herself into the ghostly hands.

The doors closed, followed by the same pattern of silence, groans, and finally stillness… The exact same sequence played out, only this time the protagonist was Mei Lan instead of Guan He.

“The wicked guest, idle in their duties, shall be detained—expelled from the village when the temple fair ends—”

Mei Lan, unconscious, had the same peaceful expression.

Fourth Master asked, “What about now? See anything?”

Fang Xiu replied calmly, “I’ve figured it out. I’ll go next.”

“Aren’t you the one who already figured it out?”

“I still need to confirm the couplets inside.” Fang Xiu added, “If you don’t trust me, you can go yourself.”

Fourth Master clicked his tongue and said nothing. Seeing how confident Fang Xiu was, Cheng Songyun also stayed silent.

Only Bai Shuangying’s expression slowly darkened, but Fang Xiu patted his arm first.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. You can go in and play too, if you want.”

With that, Fang Xiu swiftly leaped into the ghostly hands.

The hands closed around him, plunging Fang Xiu into darkness.

Oddly, all his wounds stopped hurting, and his body felt light as a feather. It was as if he had slipped into the safety of a clam shell, wrapped in an indescribable sense of security, and his mind grew fuzzy.

A few minutes later, the hands suddenly opened.

Panic, intense pain, and exhaustion flooded back to Fang Xiu all at once. After experiencing the lightness, reality became especially unbearable. The searing pain wracked his nerves, and he felt as though he might die at any moment.

Fang Xiu almost groaned in pain, but he held it in.

He climbed out of the ghostly hands and looked around the shrine. The red candles were sparser than in the real shrine, but their light was enough for him to read the couplets.

[The village’s boys and girls are its guests.]

[Honored ones inside and outside the shrine.]

Bai Shuangying stood beneath the “honored guests” couplet, his pale eyes gazing over, like two bright moons. It was beautiful, yet completely devoid of emotion.

Fang Xiu was just about to smile at him when the ghostly hands pulled him back into their grip. The eerie comfort returned, like a mother’s embrace. The hands stroked him with a warmth that felt almost alive.

Despite the overwhelming peace, Fang Xiu’s thoughts remained… No, they didn’t blur this time.

He scratched the giant palm. “Alright, alright, stop rubbing me like a walnut.”

The hands ignored him.

Fang Xiu sighed. “Politeness doesn’t work, huh? Then I’ll be blunt.”

“You’ve been tormenting everyone, pushing them to the brink of collapse, and now you’re pulling this… If I let myself be lulled into your trap and escape reality, I’d end up just like the other two.”

The spirits had accused them of being idle and neglecting their duties.

Whatever those duties were, they clearly didn’t involve lazing around here.

The giant hands loosened slightly, revealing a small gap. The cold air outside rushed in, and the pain sank deep into Fang Xiu’s bones, as if warning him.

Fang Xiu glanced at the sliver of white through the gap and smiled.

“Did you know? Hospitals give morphine to late-stage cancer patients. When the painkillers stop working, their groans are worse than what we heard earlier.”

“And yet, morphine is strictly controlled because it’s not exactly a good thing… Just like you.”

“I still have things to do.” Fang Xiu’s tone grew firmer with each word. “I said, let go.”

He dug his fingers into the palm, pressing so hard his fingernails began to lift.

The giant hands released him, their fingers twitching uncontrollably like an angry spider. Fang Xiu lightly jumped down, splashing into a small pool of blood.

“You’re clingy,” Fang Xiu muttered, licking his wounded fingers as he walked toward Bai Shuangying. “See, I told you I’d be fine.”

Bai Shuangying looked at the battered, bloodied man before him. Fang Xiu’s definition of “fine” was disturbingly broad.

The ghostly hands’ spell was called “Euphoria and Misery”—bliss inside the palms, doubled suffering outside. It worked even on ordinary people, let alone a bunch of beaten, exhausted souls.

Yet Fang Xiu, despite his flippant nature, had easily broken the spell.

“How did you resist the spell? Are you a Daoist?” Bai Shuangying asked cautiously.

Fang Xiu stifled a laugh. “Yes, I go by the Daoist name Night Owl.”

Bai Shuangying: “…I think it should be Lecher.”

“That works too.”

Bai Shuangying didn’t get sidetracked. “Enough games. How did you really do it?”

“I’m used to it.” Fang Xiu shrugged casually, walking toward the door.

“Used to spells?”

“Used to pain.”

Bai Shuangying understood. “No wonder you knew so much… You’re the one with ‘late-stage cancer’…”

Fang Xiu came to a screeching halt. “What the hell, don’t curse me! I just work in a hospital!”

“Then why are you used to pain?”

“I had bad luck as a kid… Anyway, this thing wasn’t that tough. Its technique isn’t as good as yours. I prefer your treatments.” Fang Xiu’s tone was startlingly sincere.

“…Mm.”

Bai Shuangying lowered his head, adjusting the paper flower on his chest.

……

When they returned to the opera stage, only four people were left, and dawn was just an hour or two away.

Old Man Fu was still sitting in his spot, and the music continued its endless loop.

Guan He and Mei Lan had been added to the stage, and two more body parts had been placed on Brother Scar’s chair. The wide stage now held nine chairs, making it feel a bit crowded.

Confirming that Guan He and Mei Lan were still breathing, Cheng Songyun let out a sigh of relief.

After all the ordeals, even Fourth Master was struggling to keep going. He yawned and generously said, “Go sleep in the shrine for a while.”

When they left, the offering table had been half-empty. Now, returning, they found it piled high again.

Fang Xiu grabbed a bottle of Wangzai milk and noticed the production date had changed from one year ago to two years ago, though the food still looked fresh.

Cheng Songyun sipped the syrup from a can of peaches, while Fourth Master stripped off his shirt to bandage his wounds. With the fabric removed, his bulging muscles looked even more intimidating.

The madman faced the wall, gently tapping his forehead against it as he mumbled to himself.

“You still haven’t shared your discovery.” Fourth Master glanced at Fang Xiu. “You mentioned the couplets, but you didn’t really explain anything. Come here and speak in plain terms.”

Fang Xiu took a sip of his drink. “You’re so disrespectful. How about a little equality?”

“Ah? Don’t push your luck.”

Fourth Master could sense Fang Xiu changing. The fewer companions he had, the less he hid his true nature.

He acknowledged that Fang Xiu had some skills, but he wasn’t worried. He had plenty of magic weapons, and there were just two weaklings left on the other side, including an old woman barely 1.6 meters tall.

Once the old woman was dead, it’d be one-on-one. He didn’t believe Fang Xiu would dare push him too far.

Sure enough, Fang Xiu hesitated for a moment before saying, “Alright, I’ll talk.”

Fourth Master sneered and spat.

He watched as Fang Xiu stood up, walked toward him… and then walked right past him.

Fang Xiu stopped next to the madman who was tapping his head against the wall.

“Sir, given the situation, it’s time to drop the act.” Fang Xiu said, “I know you’re not really crazy… And I know you’re far stronger than Fourth Master.”

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The author has something to say:

What Fang Xiu wanted to say: Let’s change the subject, brother.

What Fang Xiu actually said: This guy’s not that good. His technique is worse than yours. Your treatments are much better.

What Bai Shuangying heard: …Worse than you… You’re… better (sentence inversion).

Bai Shuangying: Mm.

Bad men have their own sweet words√

Bad ghosts have their own selective hearing√

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