Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 32: A Calamity of Blood

After hearing Fang Xiu’s explanation of “drug dealers”, Bai Shuangying felt rather pleased.

According to Fang Xiu, a murderer at most destroyed a few families; a drug lord, however, would foster countless criminals and traffickers, harming thousands upon thousands of families. People like that obviously amassed heavy karmic debt. Once they died, evil spirits within a hundred-mile radius would all fight to devour their souls.

And now there were four of them available to eat. Indeed, this Mid-Autumn Festival felt delightful.

Still, Bai Shuangying grew more suspicious. “What about you, then? Are you an emperor who ruled a nation, or a general who slaughtered thousands?” How else could Fang Xiu be so sure he was more delicious than those four?

“I’m not some big shot,” Fang Xiu said, glancing casually at both sides of the street. “Think about it: I killed Shan Hunzi, so I got caught up in all his karmic entanglements. People like him pass their accumulated karma on to me, which makes me especially tasty.”

Bai Shuangying found that reasonable. “I see. So you recognized their faces because you specifically hunt people like them.”

Fang Xiu thought for a moment. “Pretty much.”

Bai Shuangying: “So you’re a vigilante, taking vengeance for others.”

Fang Xiu laughed. “I’m not that righteous.”

Bai Shuangying pondered. “Then perhaps you’re an assassin. Someone who takes payment to settle scores.”

This time, Fang Xiu actually burst out laughing. He leaned against Bai Shuangying’s arm, gasping for a moment before replying, “Not exactly. But the way you put it does sound pretty cool.”

Seizing the moment, Bai Shuangying pushed Fang Xiu’s bangs up to his hairline. His gaze swept across Fang Xiu’s features, and he remarked rather impartially, “You are pretty handsome.” …by human standards, at least.

Fang Xiu froze in place, ears turning red around the edges. Then he hastily yanked his bangs back down, as though wanting to hide under those few strands of hair. He mumbled for a while… Yet all that came out of his usually quick tongue was, “It’s…okay.”

Although the seal showed no reaction, Bai Shuangying’s mood improved anyway. Fang Xiu was an assassin with a clear goal, meaning the humans he went after for Bai Shuangying were all carefully selected, premium souls. 

…Also, seeing Fang Xiu at a loss for words was quite entertaining.

Bai Shuangying patted down his own long hair, a hint of laughter curving his lips.

Fang Xiu touched his ears, which were burning. He took several deep breaths to settle his pulse. He couldn’t let himself become a King Zhou*. There was still much to do.

*The last king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China. He is usually used as a cautionary tale on what could befall a kingdom if its ruler gave into corruption and moral depravity.

All along the way, he kept an eye on the evil spirits.

When they first went out, the street had been nearly empty, with only a few small evil spirits around. Upon seeing a large group, those evil spirits had kept their distance. 

But after five hours, even though it was nearly dawn, the number of evil spirits kept increasing. Tall ones emerged one after another, and countless eyes lit up in the dark alleys at the roadside.

Fang Xiu grabbed Bai Shuangying’s wrist and broke into a quicker pace toward their base. “How come there are more evil spirits? It’s almost daylight. Shouldn’t the yin energy be decreasing?” 

Back in Weishan Village, evil spirits generally disliked going out in daylight, except for the weaker ones. Here, though, it was the opposite.

Did city dwellers like to stay up late so much that the city’s evil spirits also reversed their schedule?

“No, the yin energy is growing stronger. Night is falling.” Bai Shuangying let Fang Xiu pull him along. He briefly closed his eyes as though sensing the air.

Fang Xiu halted abruptly. “What?”

Bai Shuangying tilted his head slightly. “That taboo’s time limit isn’t the third quarter of the hour of midnight; it’s the third quarter of the hour of noon.” When they had left earlier, it had actually been midday in the real world, the time when yang energy was at its peak.

…The hour of noon?

…So the clock’s 11:45 was actually 11:45 in the morning, not at night?

Fang Xiu glanced at the full moon in the night sky, feeling a surge of foreboding. It was daytime outside, yet nighttime here. What would happen once it became night in the outside world?

He stopped hanging back, gripped Bai Shuangying more tightly, and sped to catch up with the main group.

The street wasn’t long, so within a few minutes they reached the clothing store again. They had captured twelve small evil spirits this time. Blondie and Mazi tied them up with plastic packaging tape, covered them with boxes, and put them in the back stockroom.

Ten would be stored for later use, with two reserved for testing the taboo.

Fang Xiu glanced at the large glass display window. “There’s an anti-theft shutter over there. Should we pull it down?” He had no idea what the outside would become soon. It was better to be safe.

Jia Xu: “Leave it. We need to see what’s going on out there.”

Fang Xiu raised his voice on purpose. “But it’s scary to look at.”

Lao Jin gave Fang Xiu a quick look, then smiled in agreement. “Let’s pull it down. It’s safer.”

Jia Xu: “……”

He sighed and told Blondie to lower the shutter. With the outside lights cut off, the interior grew darker. Yan Jing brought over two camping lanterns for some illumination.

Fang Xiu acted relieved. Right in front of Lao Jin, he activated his power, producing four roast chickens, two plates of pastries, and a box of almond milk. 

Lao Jin’s expression momentarily flickered before he settled on apparent “delight”.

“Incredible. How did you do that?” Lao Jin asked.

“In our first ritual, the ‘E’ happened to be a piece of candy. In my panic, I ate it, and it counted as ‘destroying it.’”

Fang Xiu seemed a little proud as if boasting. “Being the first one to destroy the E earned me a reward. I was worried about going hungry, so I picked this ability.”

Jia Xu looked like he was about to faint. Even Blondie hissed in disbelief. “Bro, why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Fang Xiu gave a naive smile. “Huh? We’re all in this together, no worries, right?”

“Anyway, we’d have found out sooner or later. Better to let them see now so nobody worries about running out of supplies,” Cheng Songyun interjected, smoothing things over.

She had a good idea of Fang Xiu’s motives: if people knew about his ability, Lao Jin’s group would be wary of killing him unless absolutely forced.

Guan He remained silent, looking as though he trusted Fang Xiu’s plan. He was scrawny, still just a kid, so Lao Jin’s men didn’t pay much attention to him. Yan Jing and Dashun, however, kept eyeing Mei Lan.

Mei Lan was already timid, and with four additional men in the room, she wanted nothing more than to disappear. Unfortunately, she couldn’t vanish. Yan Jing gaze was like a slimy tongue that kept trailing over her calves, forcing her to change her sitting position repeatedly.

“Sister, don’t worry.”

Fang Xiu sidled over to Mei Lan, offering her a can. “There are more of us now. We’ll figure something out. Here, you’ve always liked canned foods.”

He spoke like he was talking to a real sister.

Lao Jin shot Yan Jing a warning look, who immediately lowered his eyes.

Under the lantern light, everyone ate their fill. Proteins and sugars revived spirits, and even Lao Jin’s grin gained sincerity. 

He asked Jia Xu plainly, “How do you plan to proceed?”

Jia Xu: “It’s better to keep investigating while it’s ‘daytime’. We can send some people out while others watch over these evil spirits. Now that there are more of us, we can take shifts.”

He then gave a sketchy account of his own group’s abilities, repeating the lie Fang Xiu had used at the previous ritual; that they could borrow the powers of fierce ghosts at some cost. He never mentioned that the ghosts could act independently or spell out each person’s exact ability.

Still, Jia Xu was visibly nervous, making it obvious he was hiding things. Lao Jin didn’t call him on it. He just touched the Five-Emperor coins on his belt and said, “Our magic weapon can confuse evil spirits so they follow our orders.”

“The longer the control or the stronger the evil spirit, the weaker the effect. But for simply hiding on the streets, it should be enough.”

Fang Xiu: “Oh wow, that’s such a coincidence! My ability is about hiding too! Look, I can even hide my second shadow.”

Jia Xu: “…”

If Fang Xiu hadn’t delivered that last sentence so smoothly, Jia Xu would have suspected he had been cursed into stupidity.

Lao Jin coaxed him like a child. “Aren’t we lucky? It really is a coincidence.”

Then he half-joked to Jia Xu, “Your team is so versatile. All we have are these Five-Emperor Coins. They’ve recognized their master, so please don’t try to take them.”

Jia Xu responded, “No worries.” They were still far from the point of murder and robbery.

Lao Jin moved the topic along: “As for investigating, we’ll send him.” He pointed to Yan Jing.

Yan Jing lived up to his nickname: he wore gold-rimmed spectacles and had a rather sleazy-looking face*.

*Clarity: His name (眼镜) literally means glasses. 

His build was slight, though not lean like Fang Xiu looking more unfit than strong, with a bit of flab around his waist. He hardly seemed ideal for scouting.

Jia Xu subconsciously glanced at the big, burly Mazi. “Huh…?”

Lao Jin: “We only have a few people. Some must stay here to watch the store. It’s not that we don’t trust you, but we have to look out for our own safety.”

“I’ll go investigate!” Fang Xiu volunteered.

His ability was indeed good for that, but going alone would be risky. Jia Xu scanned the team. Blondie needed to remain to keep Mazi in check. Cheng Songyun’s ghost shield was too valuable. Mei Lan’s water ghost demanded sacrifices, which would be a waste of evil spirits… That left only Guan He.

“Fang Xiu, Guan He, you two go with Yan Jing,” Jia Xu said.

Cheng Songyun frowned. “Why make Xiao Guan go? He’s just a kid.”

Jia Xu: “His power is good for reconnaissance.”

“You’re good at recon too, aren’t you? The child isn’t even of age!” Cheng Songyun protested.

Jia Xu’s expression did not change. “We still aren’t sure we’ve got the first taboo figured out. I need to stay here and keep order.”

He excluded himself from the start. If he left, there would be only women and children at the base, except for the brainless Blondie. What kind of situation would that be?

Cheng Songyun: “Then I’ll take his place.”

Jia Xu shook his head. “No. Xiao Guan is young and quick. You’d best stay behind.”

He didn’t mention the ghost shield, but the warning look he gave her made his point.

“Everyone, stop arguing. There’s no need for this, really no need.”

Fang Xiu quickly stepped between the two of them. “Cheng Jie really isn’t at the right age. She should take a good rest. Don’t worry, Cheng Jie, I’ll take good care of Xiao Guan.”

“…Honestly.”

Seeing Fang Xiu step in, Cheng Songyun sulkily returned to her original seat, still fuming with leftover anger.

After watching the quarrel with great interest, Lao Jin finally said slowly, “Letting Brother* Fang go might not be a good idea. We still need him to handle the cooking, you know.”

*Little Brother [Xiao Xiongdi] It’s an informal way to address a younger man by someone who is older.

“That’s okay. My life is incredibly tough. You see, even our boss trusts me.” Fang Xiu grinned and gave a thumbs-up.

Seeing Fang Xiu’s face looking so naïve, Bai Shuangying’s features slowly tensed. 

It felt very unnatural, especially since Fang Xiu was putting on quite a convincing act. Bai Shuangying found it more and more uncomfortable. He couldn’t help stepping behind Fang Xiu, letting his fingertips glide across Fang Xiu’s neck.

Mm, his heartbeat really did speed up a bit. It seemed Fang Xiu’s trickery wasn’t convincing enough to fool his own heart. 

With a slight movement of Bai Shuangying’s fingertips, Fang Xiu’s heart gave another extra beat. 

Finding it interesting, Bai Shuangying kept rubbing his fingertips over the artery in Fang Xiu’s neck.

Finally, Fang Xiu quietly brought his hand behind his back and gave Bai Shuangying’s hair a light but firm tug. Only then did Bai Shuangying stop.

Lao Jin couldn’t see Bai Shuangying. Noticing a bit more flush on Fang Xiu’s face, he simply took it as a young person easily excited.

His attitude toward Fang Xiu was especially friendly. “Be careful out there. Everyone’s counting on you.”

“You got it!” Fang Xiu said cheerfully.

Guan He hadn’t said anything the entire time. He just silently walked up to Fang Xiu, ready to head out. Yan Jing looked a bit bitter, but didn’t dare show any reluctance.

After deciding on the exploration team members, Fang Xiu hurried to Mei Lan’s side, whispering all kinds of instructions for quite some time. Mei Lan seemed to understand his intentions and also acted as though she was on very good terms with him…

Lao Jin’s group placed great value on Fang Xiu’s abilities, so they wouldn’t turn on him too soon. Naturally, they wouldn’t easily touch her, either.

However, plans often fail to keep pace with sudden changes.

Before Fang Xiu could finish chatting, the sky outside turned ominously dark.

The display window had been covered by a roll-down security shutter, and the only view to the outside was through the door. The door was an antique-style thick wooden door with glass taking up only half of it. Before, it had let in some warm, orange-red light.

Now, everything outside was bathed in a blood-red glow.

All color had vanished. Everything was covered with a layer of dark red, as though in a photo darkroom. Through that small window in the door, the street was empty. There were no sign of any evil spirits. All the faceless passersby stood frozen in place, and it seemed the entire scene had been paused.

The temperature plummeted, and the white-noise-like crackling of fireworks abruptly stopped. Outside, everything fell silent except for the sticky drip of some liquid.

Gradually, a deep, heavy breathing echoed from outside, shifting slowly along the street, moving from far to near.

Fang Xiu grabbed some ragged clothes nearby and rushed to cover the window. Catching Lao Jin’s glance, Mazi also grabbed a pile of clothes to help block the glass.

Jia Xu: “W-what… what are you all doing?”

Lao Jin shot him a glance. “Doesn’t matter what’s outside… I’d rather it not see us.”

Over by the window, they blocked it so tightly that not a sliver of light got through. Meanwhile, Yan Jing and Dashun quickly turned off the camping lantern, plunging the interior into darkness. 

Soon, heavy breathing was right outside the door, like someone breathing forcefully against one’s neck.

Everyone silently held their breath and dared not move an inch.

No one had expected they’d end up hiding like that for a whole half-day.

The breathing roamed back and forth along the street. Each time it seemed to recede, Lao Jin had Mazi lift a corner of the covering to check if that red glow was still filtering in. 

A full twelve hours passed before that bloody hue finally disappeared. Lao Jin had a gold Rolex Daytona. He’d synced it with the clock here, keeping track of the precise time.

That half-day ordeal left everyone mentally exhausted. Aside from Fang Xiu, who snuck in a short nap leaning against Bai Shuangying, no one got any decent rest.

Out on the street, the lively scene had resumed, beautiful fireworks blossomed once again in the night sky, and the moon overhead was still full, in exactly the same position as before.

“That thing isn’t an evil spirit. It’s a taboo.” Bai Shuangying took the initiative to speak.

Fang Xiu scratched Bai Shuangying’s palm, indicating he got the message.

The second taboo had shown its tip of the iceberg. Judging by the display, Fang Xiu was more inclined to think this was a “death taboo”. He wasn’t sure if that was fortunate or unfortunate. Everyone hid so quickly that he hadn’t gotten the chance to learn more details. He’d have to find a chance to toss one of the drug dealers out there to test the waters, Fang Xiu thought.

“The Five-Emperor Coins didn’t react, so that thing’s a taboo.” Unexpectedly, Lao Jin took the initiative to speak about it.

Fang Xiu immediately feigned shock. “Oh my god, I thought it was some especially powerful evil spirit. How could a taboo be so over the top?!”

Lao Jin chuckled. “It’s exactly six o’clock right now, which leaves less than six hours until 11:45. You’ll have to push yourselves a bit and head out again to investigate. Everyone else will catch their breath, then tomorrow you can swap shifts.”

His words sounded warm and considerate, but the gist was that they were to work through their fatigue, in a tone that left no room for objection.

Yan Jing: “Got it, Boss.”

Fang Xiu glanced over at Jia Xu, puffing out his chest. “I think I can still manage. How about you, Xiao Guan?”

Sixteen-year-old Guan He had no problem pulling an all-nighter.

Only then did Jia Xu snap out of it. His lips were pale. What they’d just witnessed was more horrifying than the bizarre temple fair in Weishan Village, and it was a straightforward, brutal kind of terror.

“Fang Xiu, just make sure to leave enough food for everyone. You all be careful out there,” he said, face still ashen.

Fang Xiu obliged. Before heading out, he discreetly took the chance while handing out food to whisper a few words to Cheng Songyun.

“Cheng Jie, the day and night here are off-kilter. That first taboo is linked to midday at 11:45, not midnight. You just say that yesterday’s number of evil spirits was off. It’s best if you guide Jia Xu to that conclusion.”

Cheng Songyun nodded. She grabbed Fang Xiu’s wrist, lowered her voice, and asked, “Kid, are you going to be okay? Don’t push yourself too hard if you’re exhausted.”

Fang Xiu looked at the wrinkles on the back of her hand and lowered his gaze. “I’ll be alright, Cheng Jie. This is really important.”

……

By normal time, it was about six in the morning now, yet the street was still crawling with evil spirits. Even the remains of evil spirits had been devoured. Bloodstains on the ground had been licked clean, so ironically the streets looked tidier than the day before.

They’d already checked the shops on both sides yesterday. Today’s mission was to explore alleys and the rear areas of shops. Those spots were darker, narrower, and might also mean digging around in dumpsters.

Once they’d gone far enough, Yan Jing spat out some nasty curse words under his breath.

Guan He followed closely behind Fang Xiu, instinctively steering clear of Yan Jing. Fang Xiu spotted a small evil spirit on its last breath and immediately signaled Guan He to finish it off.

Guan He whispered, “Fang Ge, you found it first. You go on and finish it…”

Fang Xiu just shook his head with a smile, pressing his index finger to his lips to tell Guan He not to mention it further.

Back on the street, Bai Shuangying perked up considerably.

Earlier, there had been too many people around, so neither he nor Fang Xiu could enjoy strolling about. This time, even though they were still dragging along two third wheels… two was manageable enough for him to ignore.

He was about to pull Fang Xiu away when Yan Jing spoke up. “Hey, Fang, or whatever your name is… You’re supposed to be good at hiding, right? Then you go first.”

His tone was even more condescending than Jia Xu’s, treating Fang Xiu like a lackey.

But Fang Xiu didn’t get angry. He tugged at Bai Shuangying, who looked rather displeased. “It’s fine. I was going to lead anyway. Yan Jing Ge, watch my back for me, okay?”

Bai Shuangying still looked annoyed. “You’re heading to the back of the store?”

Behind the store were a swarm of evil spirits. It was just like going back home for him, and with zero shopping value.

“Bai Shuangying, can you sense where the most dangerous evil spirit around here is?” Fang Xiu quietly asked him.

Bai Shuangying gave him a definite “Mm” in a falling tone. But after a few seconds, that “Mm” changed in pitch, as though in surprise.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s a bit odd… Well, never mind.” Bai Shuangying casually pointed to a certain back alley. “The most dangerous one is in that alley. It’s very slow-moving, so as long as you don’t get close…”

Fang Xiu strode off, heading straight toward it.

Bai Shuangying: “……”

Bai Shuangying frowned slightly. “…What are you doing?”

“Making the most of our time. Once we handle it, we can go for a stroll.” Fang Xiu spoke while walking.

Bai Shuangying: “All right, it’s over there. Hurry up.”

“When we get into the alley, use your concealment on that evil spirit,” Fang Xiu said.

“Why?” Bai Shuangying asked, since he was clueless.

“You’ll know in a moment.”

As Fang Xiu predicted, Yan Jing had absolutely no intention of going into that pitch-black back alley first. Fang Xiu naturally had Guan He “guard the rear” while he went in alone.

A few minutes later, Fang Xiu emerged from the alley looking terrified. “Oh my God, you guys have to come see this! There’s a human head in the trash can!”

Seeing Fang Xiu unharmed, Yan Jing finally moved forward. Sure enough, the dim alley was just a row of garbage cans. 

Yan Jing relaxed at last. “Where’s the head? Let me—ah?!”

Fang Xiu kicked Yan Jing square in the back. Then he snatched Guan He by the collar and backed away several meters. Yan Jing stumbled forward five or six steps before barely managing to steady himself.

He spun around in rage. “What the f—”

Before he could finish cursing, his expression froze.

Blood splattered, and a purple-black tongue pierced through his chest, lifting him high in the air. Black smoke seeped into the wound as his face took on a gruesome bluish-purple hue.

Bai Shuangying withdrew his concealment. The formerly empty alley was now filled by an enormous evil spirit that resembled a toad. Its entire head was basically a gigantic mouth lined with dense, razor-sharp teeth.

Yan Jing was impaled on that tongue, blood flowing along the length of it and into the creature’s mouth, which appeared to savor the taste.

“You… piece of sh—” Yan Jing’s body convulsed wildly from the pain.

“Yan Hao, thirty-four years old, from Province Zi. You’ve worked under that drug lord ‘Boss Jin’ for ten years now, and you like using narcotics while hiring prostitutes. In your hallucinations, you beat four prostitutes to death, and it was Boss Jin’s people who cleaned up after you.”

“Later you went even further, doing drugs at home and brutally murdering your girlfriend of eight years, Zhou Ruirui. She didn’t know a thing, and you literally beat her to death with your fists. Boss Jin’s people took care of covering that up for you, too.”

Eyes wide, blood pouring from his mouth, Yan Jing wanted to say it was impossible. Boss Jin’s people had been so thorough that even Zhou Ruirui’s parents believed she was still working out of town. How could this man possibly…

Fang Xiu just smiled.

“I’m saying hello on behalf of Ms. Zhou Ruirui.”

He nodded at the dying Yan Jing. “She also asked me to pass along a message… ‘Yan Hao, you scum-sucking bastard. Go fuck yourself.’”

“She… She’s already… dead…”

“I know.” Fang Xiu said, “I’m just delivering words on behalf of the dead.”

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The author has something to say:

Fang Xiu: “Everyone’s just had lunch, so I need to get some lunch for my ghost, too.”

Bai Shuangying got some delicious street snacks to enjoy while shopping √

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