Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 51: The Thread of Karma

After returning to her “own home” yesterday, Cheng Songyun’s mood was indescribable.

Everything looked just as she remembered. The scenery outside the window was exactly the same as in her memories. She could even see cars coming and going downstairs.

The paper figure Dian Wu had claimed, “The room guarantees physical and mental well-being,” but Cheng Songyun found it absurd. The confusion between illusion and reality was spine-chilling. For a moment, she nearly doubted her own sanity, thinking the entire sacrificial ritual had been a delusion.

If not for the chunks of human flesh Fang Xiu had given her, now lying on the coffee table, she might really have lost her mind.

At midnight, a handsome and composed waiter knocked politely on her door and collected the human meat.

Afterward, Cheng Songyun sank once again into a fog of doubt, occasionally opening the door to confirm that she wasn’t truly at home.

After tossing and turning for half the night, she fell asleep sitting by the door.

Half-awake, she heard sounds in the living room. It was footsteps and someone sighing.

The sigh was terribly familiar… right, it was her husband Sun Jinfeng… Lao Sun…

…But Lao Sun was dead, indirectly killed by her.

Cheng Songyun abruptly snapped awake and looked toward the living room.

Her deceased husband stood in front of the sofa, black blood dripping from the back of his head.

“Where’s the money?” His tone was flat in the darkness. “The money I left here… Where is it?”

This must be a nightmare, Cheng Songyun thought. She swallowed hard and shut her eyes tightly.

The footsteps drew nearer. The air grew colder and colder. Finally, the chaotic noises stopped. Cheng Songyun exhaled in relief and opened her eyes…

Sun Jinfeng’s distorted face was inches from hers, his murky eyes locked onto her.

“Where’s the money?”

He asked, “Where’s the money? Where’s the money? Where—”

By the end, he sounded confused, as if he had forgotten what “money” even meant. He simply stared at Cheng Songyun, silently mouthing words, his teeth stained with dark blood.

Too terrified to even scream, Cheng Songyun flailed her arms in panic, trying to push away this horrifying hallucination, or nightmare, or whatever it was. But she couldn’t touch him at all.

“You’re already dead! You’re already dead…” she cried, clutching her head as blackness clouded her vision. She even forgot to use her ghost shield.

…Then Cheng Songyun woke up, not knowing if she’d come out of a dream or a fainting spell.

Dawn had broken outside the window. The clock in the house read past 4:30 AM.

There were no ghosts in front of her and none in the living room either.

Looking at the familiar decor, Cheng Songyun fell into momentary confusion. Was it all just a dream? Did the sacrificial ritual really exist? Was she not actually schizophrenic?

She propped herself up on the shoe cabinet near the door, swaying as she stood. A family photo of the three of them still sat there, their smiling faces now painfully jarring.

Cheng Songyun, trembling, instinctively picked up the photo.

In the reflection on the glass frame, she saw a face still resting on her left shoulder… her dead husband’s face.

His facial features twitched constantly, his mouth opening and closing erratically, teeth clicking with a sharp tap tap sound.

That sound stabbed into her left ear. Before her brain could even react, her body bolted from the room.

She’d rather stay in that endless hallway than step into that room again.

So, Cheng Songyun sat in front of Fang Xiu’s door until sunrise.

……

Guan He shivered slightly as he listened. “Auntie Cheng, after you hand over the meat tonight, come to my room, okay…”

His room had been perfectly peaceful. The only reason he couldn’t sleep was the sheer mental shock of the day. Compared to Cheng Songyun, his insomnia was downright mundane.

Fang Xiu, on the other hand, was intrigued after hearing her story. “Three rituals now, and I’ve yet to see such an old-school ghost story! I’ll go check it out later, maybe I can catch it.”

He sounded enthusiastic, like what haunted Cheng Songyun’s home wasn’t a ghost, but a cockroach.

Cheng Songyun felt conflicted. “……”

With just a few words, all her terror had become powerlessness.

But maybe he was right. Here, evil spirits could be caught. There was no need to be scared. Everyone just needed to work together and catch them…

Seeing Cheng Songyun’s mood improve, Guan He tried to lighten the atmosphere. “I couldn’t sleep either last night. I kept thinking about taboo violations. Fang Ge, I found a loophole!”

Fang Xiu: “Let’s hear it.”

Guan He wiped his face. “You produce enough food for ten to fifteen days, sell it on the Huanxi World platform to Song Zheng and the others for just 1 chip… The trade completes, so the transaction counts.”

“Then you have them find a criminal to kill, and they give the meat to you for free. Since the food transaction is over and can’t be counted again, I think it works.”

He’d thought so hard trying to find a loophole that his brain nearly short-circuited.

Fang Xiu couldn’t help patting his shoulder. “Nice. You’ve got potential.”

Cheng Songyun’s eyes lit up. “That could work?”

Fang Xiu gave a meaningful smile and continued, “If someone loses all hope and decides to storm the casino and go on a killing spree, that wouldn’t count as violating taboos either.”

Guan He’s expression slowly stiffened as realization dawned.

“…The taboos are fixed, but people are alive,” Song Zheng said, wiping his mouth after finishing his meal. “Fang Xiu really could sell us a ton of food for 1 chip and indirectly get us to kill. The taboo might be fooled, but you think people don’t understand what’s going on?”

Guan He’s face turned bitter. “So it’s still no use…”

Song Zheng sighed. “Since we’ve eaten, I’ll tell you about Uncle Hou.”

“If someone kills inside the casino, they’ll be killed on the spot by Uncle Hou’s people. Fang Xiu had a perfect excuse on his first day here, so they held back… But we’ve been here a month. If we suddenly start killing, we’ll be shot dead.”

Guan He clamped his lips and looked down.

“Think about it. If people just couldn’t win bets, they’d either sell their life or borrow chips from Uncle Hou… Trying to exploit loopholes for human flesh is way more complicated.”

“Only those who break taboos by not gambling would go that far. Not gambling means they’re trying to undo the E. That’s why Uncle Hou’s crew is so sensitive to ‘murder’.”

Song Zheng gave a faintly mocking smile. “Actually, most people here are sensitive to that.”

After listening, Guan He was stunned.

When he first spotted the theoretical loophole, he’d been ecstatic, but it was still useless.

Now that he thought about it, Fang Xiu probably guessed the situation early on. That’s why he killed someone immediately on day one. Now that Uncle Hou’s crew had their eye on them, the “revenge” excuse couldn’t be used again.

Fang Xiu choosing to act brazenly and even get hurt was likely to make Uncle Hou let his guard down, treating it as a naive “newbie trying to lift the E out of habit”.

…Only this way would Uncle Hou’s group stay out of it.

They’d be glad to let Fang Xiu suffer. Ideally, they’d scare off all the fools who dreamed of undoing the E.

The more Guan He thought about it, the lower his head sank.

Fang Xiu patted his back. “Relax. You’ve done way better than in the last two rituals. We adults aren’t all dead yet. What’s the rush?”

Watching this, Song Zheng’s expression softened. “I know more about Uncle Hou. Feel free to ask.”

Fang Xiu touched his wound. “No need.”

Song Zheng raised an eyebrow.

Fang Xiu: “I don’t want to play by his rules.”

Time was precious. Whether it was the casino’s rules or society’s, they were just pointless distractions.

He had only one goal: find and destroy the Huanxi E.

…Because every extra day he stayed here, he’d take another wound. And Bai Shuangying would go hungry another day.

Fang Xiu quietly stewed, then turned to Song Zheng. “If we’re going to cooperate, I need your side to fully comply. No objections?”

Xiao Tian and Xiao Li both turned to Song Zheng.

Song Zheng chugged a drink and exhaled loudly. “I already said, just keep feeding us.”

Then he smiled. “Oh right, my Underworld blessing is ‘enhanced intuition’.”

Xiao Li was shocked. “Bro, you just tell them outright?”

“Because this time my gut feeling’s great,” Song Zheng said. “You guys too. Spill it. Can’t freeload the food.”

Xiao Li wiped his mouth and nodded. “My ability’s ‘enhanced strength’… Oh, and A’Qing had ‘enhanced intellect’. The guy he took away had ‘enhanced negotiation’.”

He casually sold out his ex-teammates.

Xiao Tian put down her pastry. “Mine’s ‘enhanced luck.’”

Guan He couldn’t help blurting out, “Huh, enhanced luck…?”

With that kind of OP ability, Xiao Tian didn’t go gamble? Jia Xu had already strutted around just from using the Luck Borrowing Dice.

Xiao Tian looked at him, smiling with crescent eyes. “Kiddo, do you think ‘winning chips in this hellhole’ is lucky, or ‘surviving until now and finding a turning point’ is lucky?”

Guan He mulled it over.

Cheng Songyun was much more decisive. “So what’s the plan this morning. Do we keep exploring?”

Fang Xiu: “I was thinking…”

Bai Shuangying: “I want to inspect all your rooms first.”

He manifested and stood right beside Fang Xiu.

Fang Xiu’s eyes widened in shock. The others weren’t just shocked, they were stunned.

A man in white appeared out of nowhere. Song Zheng jumped back in terror and nearly knocked over Xiao Li. Xiao Tian stared at Bai Shuangying’s face, her half-eaten snack dropping from her mouth.

“Wow, I really am lucky,” after a while she said, genuinely touched.

Fang Xiu awkwardly stepped forward, trying to block the taller Bai Shuangying. “This is my ghost, Bai Shuangying.”

Bai Shuangying had zero interest in socializing. He coldly repeated, “I want to inspect your rooms.”

As if everyone in front of him were no more than insects in autumn.

Fang Xiu tugged on his sleeve and whispered, “Why’d you come out?”

Bai Shuangying glanced at him. “You expect me to act out a ritual with you helping from the side? You’re unwell. Save your energy.”

Fang Xiu paused, then smiled. “Alright.”

If he remembered correctly, this was the first time Bai Shuangying had actively volunteered to investigate.

Fang Xiu had planned to focus on exploration at night. He had plans for midday, but nothing for the morning. Now that his own ghost had spoken up, he was happy to go along.

Of the six present, only Cheng Songyun’s and Xiao Li’s rooms had karmic traces.

Cheng Songyun’s husband, Sun Jinfeng, was a gambler. Xiao Li’s cousin gambled online.

Xiao Li had lent his cousin a lot of money, and they always fought. One day while driving, they argued again and got into a struggle. They crashed and the cousin died on the spot.

There was no surveillance, and Xiao Li was badly injured. The incident was ruled an accident in the living world, but the Underworld still counted it as a blood debt.

Everyone in Song Zheng’s group had public blood debts, so they didn’t mind talking about it.

“…He threw the first punch, but I also didn’t hit the brakes. I let go of the wheel,” Xiao Li said. “Our whole group is like this.”

Xiao Tian sighed. “My blood debt happened when I was four. I cosplayed a magical girl with a friend. I pulled her to jump from the second floor. I landed in a bush, she broke her neck…”

Then she looked at Guan He. “You guys have a mix of old and young. Should be similar, right?”

Guan He glanced at Fang Xiu, his gaze shifty. “…Sort of.”

Fang Xiu was busy inspecting Xiao Li’s room.

It had belonged to his cousin, a filthy dump no one would buy. The room reeked, and the sheets were greasy enough to outline a faint yellowish human shape. Xiao Li had been sleeping on the floor in Song Zheng’s room to avoid this cesspit.

Since he didn’t live here, he couldn’t say whether anything paranormal had happened in it.

Bai Shuangying looked at him, then pointed to the trash-strewn bed. “Go sit there.”

Xiao Li hesitated. “Do I have to?”

Bai Shuangying stared at him silently. Xiao Li drew a sharp breath and reluctantly sat down.

As soon as he did, Bai Shuangying waved the Peach Bone Evil, and a blood-red thread of karma appeared.

It floated endlessly in the grimy rental room, one end attached to Xiao Li’s back, the other vanishing into the crack of the door.

Xiao Li jumped. “What is this?”

Bai Shuangying: “You’ve been entangled in your cousin’s karma. Try grabbing the thread.”

“Why is it red? Gross*.” Xiao Li grumbled and reached out.

*Clarity: He’s referring to the red thread of fate that is believed to link two people that are destined to be together. It’s gross because, well, that’s his cousin and two he didn’t even like him as family let alone as more.

As soon as his fingers pinched it, the red thread crumbled like a soaked tissue.

“Not solid enough,” Bai Shuangying said.

Xiao Li: “Yeah, we were like 10% family, 90% financial disputes.”

Bai Shuangying didn’t respond and just turned and left.

Rooms without karmic entanglement were like Fang Xiu’s, white karmic threads so faint they couldn’t be grasped. Still, Bai Shuangying inspected each one.

At last, they arrived at Cheng Songyun’s room.

It was warm and well-lit, without a trace of the horrors she described. Bai Shuangying gave it a quick once-over and told her to sit on the sofa.

Cheng Songyun paled. “That’s where he liked to sit…”

Bai Shuangying summoned the karmic thread and said simply, “Grab it.”

Cheng Songyun reached out and grasped the red thread connected to her chest. It squirmed like an earthworm, then slipped through her palm and vanished.

…But it didn’t break.

Bai Shuangying looked up. “You’re resisting it.”

Cheng Songyun was about to reply when Bai Shuangying vanished into the air.

She fell silent. This glamorous ghost could speak, but he either stayed invisible or monologued, so it was hard to communicate. She had no idea how Fang Xiu dealt with him day-to-day.

Thinking of her own vengeful ghost that only did psychic attacks, Cheng Songyun sighed.

I hope Xiao Fang isn’t under too much pressure, she thought.

……

After inspecting the rooms, the two groups parted ways. Since they’d just established cooperation, Song Zheng wanted to debrief his team privately. Fang Xiu understood.

He scheduled a midday meetup and returned to his mountain-view suite.

As soon as the door closed, he leaned happily against Bai Shuangying.

His wound was against his icy ghost while the sunlight streamed on his back. It was the most effective painkiller on earth. The floral scent of Bai Shuangying’s body even relaxed him for a few seconds.

Bai Shuangying, finding the posture uncomfortable, simply picked Fang Xiu up and placed him in the bathtub. Then, from the chest down, he returned to his true form and enveloped Fang Xiu.

The two sat facing each other at either end of the tub, shoulders and heads above water, like they were undergoing some strange medicinal bath.

Half-submerged in Bai Shuangying’s body, Fang Xiu’s ears flushed red. Under the sunlight, the tips glowed faintly, veins clearly visible.

“So, so—what did you find?”

After a few deep breaths, Fang Xiu managed to stay calm.

Bai Shuangying: “These rooms have housed many gamblers. They gambled day and night, forming deep karmic bonds.”

He continued, “Threads of karma can’t drift in from nowhere. They extend from the Huanxi E. The underworld assigned these karma-stained rooms not for ‘well-being’, but for another reason.”

Fang Xiu: “I figured. Cheng Jie was scared out of her mind.”

Not even a dog would live in Xiao Li’s cousin’s room. It was such a dump it felt like it could give you a disease just by looking.

Then he suddenly realized, “If the red thread leads to the Huanxi E, couldn’t Cheng Jie follow it to find Huanxi E?”

“Yes, if she can stabilize the thread,” Bai Shuangying said firmly. “As long as karma is solid, the two ends of the thread will naturally draw toward each other. The Underworld assigned ‘karmic rooms’ to push sacrifices to lift the curse sooner.”

The Underworld trying to mess with karma in front of him? Too naive.

If not for the chains restraining him, he could spot the Huanxi E in an instant. Sadly, he’d only broken nine of them, which was only enough to reveal only the simplest karma.

Fang Xiu fell into thought again, idly toying with Bai Shuangying’s body.

Bai Shuangying tilted his head slightly. “What did you figure out?”

Last night, when karma came up, Fang Xiu had gone quiet for a long time.

“Good news and bad news. Which do you want first?” Fang Xiu asked.

Bai Shuangying: “Bad.”

Let’s see how bad it really is.

Fang Xiu: “If even the Underworld has stepped in, then this E must be extremely well-hidden.”

“Typical. What’s the good news?”

Fang Xiu: “I think I’ve figured out what the Huanxi E really is.”

Bai Shuangying: “?”

Fang Xiu instinctively sank down, blowing two bubbles in the liquid. Then he saw Bai Shuangying’s unreadable expression and realized he wasn’t taking a bath.

“Sorry, sorry. It was accident.”

He touched his lips, which still felt cool.

After a long cough, he continued, “Whether it’s intelligence or complexity, the Huanxi E far surpasses the Weishan E or the Mid-Autumn E.”

“Huanxi World binds countless gamblers’ karma. It has an absurd number of projects. Every service worker has perfect looks and exaggerated bodies, plus customized sales pitches… Most importantly, you just confirmed, gamblers actually gamble in these rooms.”

“I think… the Huanxi E’s true form is a gambling app.”

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The author has something to say:

Fang Xiu: Not only am I not stressed, I actually find it incredibly relaxing. (sniff sniff own ghost)

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