Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 29: The Mid-Autumn Festival

Before setting out this time, Fang Xiu had thought about Bai Shuangying.

He admitted that he had misread things before. His ghost was certainly not the weak, helpless type. Back at the Weishan Shrine, Bai Shuangying’s sense of oppression was astonishing.

Bai Shuangying could contaminate karma, achieve flawless concealment, and even rescue fragmented souls. Most importantly, his ghost was extremely knowledgeable, apparently well-versed in all sorts of magical weapons.

It was obvious: Bai Shuangying was a rather capable support-type fierce ghost.

Previously, Bai Shuangying had said that his strength was merely average, likely in comparison to combat-type fierce ghosts. After all, being a support class, having lower offensive power was nothing to be ashamed of.

But in that case, Fang Xiu felt even more compelled to protect him well.

What Fang Xiu hadn’t expected was that this moment would come so soon.

They had just stepped through the doorway when bright lights flared and the ground shook like an earthquake. The group felt as if they had been tossed into a tumble dryer.

As the world spun, Fang Xiu lunged toward the figure beside him. He wrapped his arms tightly around Bai Shuangying’s waist, pinning his ghost beneath him.

When the dizziness stopped, his hands felt coarse stone bricks. Fang Xiu recognized them. They were often used for outdoor roads.

…He’d guessed wrong. This wasn’t an apartment building.

Fang Xiu blinked hard. Golden-red lights danced on Bai Shuangying’s eyelashes, and raucous music filled the air all around. For a second, Fang Xiu almost thought he had returned to the Weishan Village temple fair.

But it wasn’t a temple fair. It was a bustling, modern pedestrian street.

Night had fully descended, and the entire street was aglow. Numerous small shops looped music and ads, food stalls crowded both sides of the street, and at the far end stood a faux-ancient archway.

That archway was draped in strands of glittering lights, and rows of small lanterns hung overhead. The surrounding atmosphere felt incredibly warm; nothing like the eerie, oppressive mood of Weishan Village.

Bai Shuangying shifted slightly. “……”

Only then did Fang Xiu realize that he was still dutifully shielding his ghost beneath him. Bai Shuangying’s white robe fanned out on the ground, and there was an almost imperceptible hint of resignation in his eyes and brows.

Their faces were very close, Fang Xiu’s breath brushing over Bai Shuangying’s face in waves. Under the warm light, the blood-colored mole on Bai Shuangying’s left cheek stood out vividly.

Fang Xiu found his heartbeat turning unsteady.

He wanted to open his mouth to explain, to scramble up off him, but as soon as he moved, he sensed something amiss.

…He couldn’t move.

Bai Shuangying watched him for a moment, then sighed quietly. “Stay calm. It’ll be over soon.”

Fang Xiu was calm enough. The only issue was how awkward their position was. Right now, the two of them were pressed face-to-face, and Fang Xiu’s hands were still around Bai Shuangying’s waist.

At this moment, Fang Xiu was forced to acknowledge that Bai Shuangying did indeed possess everything he himself did. Even if Bai Shuangying’s clothing was part of his body, there hadn’t been any shortcuts taken beneath those robes.

…No. Stop thinking about that. There’s no need to dwell on such things.

Fang Xiu adjusted his breathing, trying to survey the area with his peripheral vision. A cursory glance revealed a lively street scene, but looking more carefully made his hair stand on end.

The road was full of people, yet all of them stood frozen, like a giant crowd playing “Red Light, Green Light”.

Among these closely packed figures, fully seventy percent were evil spirits.

They varied in height, twisted in shape, and stood rooted to the spot with only their eyes rolling about. Unlike the evil spirits in Weishan Village, the ones here on the street had distorted features and vicious expressions, making no attempt to hide their hostility.

Strangely enough, compared to the remaining “people”, even these evil spirits almost seemed normal.

The other thirty percent of the “pedestrians” were also immobile, but they had no faces.

They didn’t have blank, featureless faces; rather, every single one of them simply had the back of a head where their face should be.

No matter if viewed from the front, side, or rear, all that rested atop each neck was a back-of-the-head, as though their necks could rotate 360 degrees.

Looking closer, one could see the exact same thing for the shop owners, the customers shopping inside the stores, and the diners at the open-air stalls. Not a single intact human face existed in this whole sprawling street.

Meanwhile, Fang Xiu’s companions lay scattered nearby, also unable to move. All they could do was stare, wide-eyed, at the bizarre sight.

What the hell is this place?

Fang Xiu mulled it over but couldn’t figure out a clue. Pedestrian streets like this existed all over the country, and there was no obvious landmark building in sight. None of the store signs conveniently showed a location name.

All he could be certain of was that time here appeared to match the outside world, just like in Weishan Village. Countless shops were displaying “Celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival” advertisements, and the bubble tea stands were promoting osmanthus-flavored drinks.

By the calendar, it did indeed seem to be the Mid-Autumn Festival. But for him, that holiday had lost its meaning years ago.

Fang Xiu withdrew his gaze and looked at Bai Shuangying once more.

Bai Shuangying didn’t seem to be under any movement restrictions. It appeared he was simply lying there so as not to fling the immobilized Fang Xiu aside.

It was fortunate Bai Shuangying hadn’t been wearing the paper flower, or it’d have been crushed for sure. Fang Xiu looked at Bai Shuangying apologetically, and Bai Shuangying looked as though he wanted to sigh again.

Suddenly, a piercing whistle cut through the air.

Following the whistle came bursts of crackling explosions: fireworks blossomed in the sky, the bright flares lighting up the night.

The fireworks bursting overhead were like a starting gun. In that instant, Fang Xiu felt his entire body relax, and he could move again.

At the same moment, Bai Shuangying rose lightly. With a sweep of his sleeve, he drew Fang Xiu to his side. The air rippled, and they vanished in concealment.

Fang Xiu more or less understood why.

There were simply too many evil spirits on this street. This wasn’t Weishan Village. If the evil spirits here didn’t have to imitate humans…

Before Fang Xiu could complete that thought, the evil spirits twitched back to life. The moment they regained freedom, they pounced on one another without the slightest hesitation, plunging into a vicious free-for-all.

Above them, dazzling fireworks and a full moon lit the sky. On the ground below, vendors’ stalls crashed over, and grotesque innards flew everywhere.

In the midst of the cheerful music, anguished screams abounded. The sweet singing, mingled with ghostly wails, made one’s ears ring.

At least his companions weren’t wasting time shrieking.

While they had been immobilized, everyone had prepared themselves.

Cheng Songyun hauled Guan He over and opened a “Resentful Ghost Shield”. Blondie shot up onto a rooftop. Jia Xu disguised himself as an inconspicuous evil spirit. Mei Lan grabbed a cup of beer, plopped down, and hid in the liquid.

They had barely hidden themselves when a wave of foul-smelling dao-lao ghosts* charged over, flailing their sharp forelimbs and spewing poison gas at the spot where everyone had disappeared.

*Monster from Volume 12 of Gan Bao’s “Soushen Ji” records. They often come with heavy wind and rain that sound like a whistle and can shoot people with darts. Those who are shot by them swell up and die from their poison.

Bai Shuangying frowned, flicking his sleeve to isolate the yellow-green toxic fumes outside.

True to his classification as a support-type fierce ghost, Fang Xiu thought.

Failing to find the group, the ghost horde departed without hesitation, continuing to rip into their own kind.

Fang Xiu wanted to explore further, but everyone was hidden in the vicinity, and splitting up didn’t seem wise. The evil spirits kept on slaughtering each other, showing no signs of stopping anytime soon, so all he could do was watch from where he stood.

Somewhere off to one side, the faceless people at a snack stall were chomping on skewers out of thin air. On the other side, evil spirits disemboweled each other, gnawing on one another’s organs. Both sides simply ate as they pleased. This vibrant pedestrian street had abruptly turned into one big food market.

Fang Xiu got tired of the spectacle pretty quickly. He’d never had any particular fondness for gore.

So he looked up at the bright moon.

The sky was clear, with fireworks glimmering and fading beside the full moon. Their kaleidoscopic brilliance had a surreal beauty. For a couple of seconds, Fang Xiu nearly forgot all the bloodshed.

…Now that he thought about it, how many years had it been since he last celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival?

His last memory of a family Mid-Autumn Festival was complaining to his parents that mooncakes were too sweet and not tasty.

After losing his mother and father, he gained a new family. But his new relatives were always busy and didn’t pay attention to such things… In recent years, he had always spent the day alone, treating the holiday as if it didn’t exist.

Fang Xiu had never imagined the Mid-Autumn Festival would return to his life like this. This year, unbelievably, an evil spirit was celebrating it with him. Fate really worked in strange ways.

He relaxed his back slightly, leaning against Bai Shuangying behind him. Bai Shuangying turned his head to look at him, his long hair brushing Fang Xiu’s T-shirt.

“Happy Mid-Autumn Festival,” Fang Xiu said softly to Bai Shuangying.

Bai Shuangying sounded puzzled. “Why must the Mid-Autumn Festival be happy?”

“When you were alive, didn’t your family have any Mid-Autumn traditions?” Fang Xiu asked casually, still gazing at the full moon.

Bai Shuangying pondered for a while, then spoke. “I had no family, and I’ve never died.”

Fang Xiu jerked his head around. “?”

Wait, you’re telling me you’re still alive?

This no-heartbeat, no-breath, body-cold-as-frozen-meat state counts as living? Even plants have warmth. Could he possibly be living stone?

…Well, if Bai Shuangying is white jade given sentience, that might actually make sense.

Fang Xiu almost asked him directly but then thought better of it. Bai Shuangying had refused to reveal his race from the start, so pressing him further felt somewhat rude. Naturally born evil spirits weren’t all that rare anyway. Regardless, Bai Shuangying was simply Bai Shuangying.

“Humans like celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival with their families. When you’re with family, you feel happy,” Fang Xiu explained quietly, sidestepping the question of species.

Bai Shuangying said, “But you don’t have a family.”

Fang Xiu: “……”

Fang Xiu said, “Friends can count as half a family.”

Bai Shuangying was silent in thought.

After a few seconds, he spoke tentatively, “Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, Fang Xiu.”

Fang Xiu didn’t answer or turn around. He simply began breathing slower and deeper.

When he next spoke, his tone sounded casual. “It’s a pity none of the Weishan God’s offerings included mooncakes. Otherwise, we could’ve split one between us.”

Bai Shuangying: “I don’t like mooncakes…”

Before the words were out, an evil spirit’s leg landed with a slap at his feet. Bai Shuangying glanced at it and disdainfully nudged it aside. He’d gotten used to consuming living souls lately and saw little appeal in these dried-up low-level spirits.

Noticing that little gesture, Fang Xiu let out another laugh.

“I’ll prepare some living souls for you,” he said. “You can flatten them and eat them. Let’s just call them mooncakes.”

……

The killing lasted over an hour. More than half of the evil spirits on the street were gone. The rest departed after satiating themselves, leaving the road littered with carnage.

Those people with only the backs of their heads for faces continued to roam around, seemingly unscathed by the melee. They showed no injuries on their bodies as they strolled leisurely atop the corpses, giving the rest of the chaos no heed.

Finally, everyone emerged from their hiding spots one after another.

Having finished using her Resentful Ghost Shield, Cheng Songyun looked dazed, and her cheeks were crossed with fresh claw marks. It was evidence the shield had come at a steep price.

Mei Lan hurried to find an evil spirit that was still breathing, crushed it under her heel, and fed it to her water ghost as payment.

“Fuck! Why don’t these people have faces?” Blondie asked, rubbing the goose bumps on his arms. “Seriously, Weishan Village was a weird backwater, but is this place even in the living world?”

Jia Xu’s expression darkened. “Underworld sacrifices defy prediction. What’s important is locating this ‘E’ as soon as possible…”

This pedestrian street was very long, crammed with endless wares, thousands of potential distractions. The worst part was how confined it felt here, and the evil spirits were much more aggressive than those of Weishan Village, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

They had far too little information right now. They couldn’t even identify half of a taboo. They didn’t know whether there were other groups around. It was only after being forced into a deadly game of hide-and-seek that they had come to grasp how dire the situation was.

No matter how one looked at it, this “E” wasn’t going to be easy to resolve.

“Let’s find a place to stay for the night first,” Jia Xu said, automatically taking charge. “Then we’ll look around after daybreak.”

“Mm, yes… First we find a base, then we can go out and wander around.”

Fang Xiu tugged Bai Shuangying’s sleeve and added in a quiet voice, “Last time we went to the temple fair together, and now we’re spending Mid-Autumn together. Places like this have a lot of little trinkets. Let’s pick out a nice vase.”

A trace of brightness returned to Bai Shuangying’s face. “All right.”

……

At the top of the Disaster Relief Tower.

The paper figure bowed its head, respectfully presenting the sacrificial report from Weishan Village.

Seated before it was a tall woman.

She was dressed in a lavish red wedding gown, as ornate as a phoenix coronet and ceremonial robes. Her figure was strong, and her face was hidden beneath a bloodstained red bridal veil. Resting before her was a soft sword, brimming with eerie energy and stained with blood.

This was Ghost Immortal A’Shou, one of the underworld’s strongest ghost immortals.

For the past century, it had been her turn to govern this Disaster Relief Tower. The paper figure was keenly aware that she was a formidable figure whom it couldn’t afford to offend.

“The Weishan God ascended to immortality? Strange… Her fate doesn’t add up. She was obviously still a bit short.”

Flipping through the report beneath her veil, A’Shou’s tone held a hint of perplexity. “So someone from your level solved the E?”

“Yes.” The paper figure bowed its head.

A’Shou kept reading. “Let’s see… Well, that Old Man Fu was useless. It’s plausible he got knocked out by newbies… Interesting. The support from your layer turned out to be ‘Summoning Ghost’.”

“Indeed. I drew according to protocol from the Causality Furnace. The last time we got ‘Summoning Ghost’ as a support ability was a hundred years ago.”

The paper figure replied anxiously, “That was before your time managing the Tower, so it makes sense you aren’t familiar with it.”

A’Shou snorted softly, not responding. She kept flipping through the report. Upon reaching the last page, she let out a sudden “Huh?” and said, “You sent your people to tackle the ‘Mid-Autumn E’?”

“Y-yes. It happened to be time. I was simply following the rules.” The paper figure bowed ever lower.

A’Shou fell silent for a long moment.

After half a minute, she set down the report. The pages rustled as they scattered beside the bloodstained soft sword.

“Well, in any case, that Weishan God isn’t an evil god, and I have no desire to nitpick her ascension. Since you’ve already sent them off to deal with the ‘Mid-Autumn E’, there’s no point in debating. Dian’er, prepare to receive the next batch of sacrifices.”

“No one can solve the ‘Mid-Autumn E’. That batch of sacrifices…won’t be coming back.”

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The author has something to say:

The young couple is about to celebrate yet another holiday together!

This chapter is all about cuddles (physical ones). In the previous chapter, Xiao Fang was still wondering whether his ghost’s body was really what it seemed. Now we have confirmation. Isn’t that great?

And after Chapter 29, the paper figure finally has a name. The paper figure’s life goes unnoticed by everyone…ed by everyone…

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