"Follow ."
Yang Xiao, holding the Ghost’s eyeball, walked ahead of Xiang Fengchen. He didn’t need to see Xiang Fengchen; as long as the latter could see him and follow, that was enough.
Under Yang Xiao’s lead, the two avoided the other Ghost Substitutes and returned to the second floor, locating the bedroom and study.
Through the door, the room was quiet, and Yang Xiao couldn’t help but feel, perhaps psychologically, a dangerous aura seeping through the cracks of the door.
After putting down the Ghost’s eyeball, Yang Xiao noticed that Nalan Shuo’s body was being eroded even more severely; over two-thirds had been completely replaced. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before it completely transford into the ghost maid.
Once it reached that point, Nalan Shuo would no longer stand a chance; his infection was a ticking ti bomb towards death.
Unless they could break the curse.
"Little Yang, don’t hesitate, do what you need to do." Nalan Shuo’s sharp voice did not match his composed deanor, as if he was experiencing a split personality or as if there was a foreign soul residing within him not belonging to him.
The rate at which Nalan Shuo’s body was being replaced noticeably accelerated, almost visible to the naked eye, which made Yang Xiao realize their guess was correct. Within these two rooms closely associated with the Ancestor, a terrifying source was hidden. The closer they got to the source, the quicker the erosion.
"Director, don’t go inside. Wait for by the stairs," Yang Xiao resolved, "You keep an eye on those Ghost Substitutes downstairs and make sure they don’t disturb ."
"Alright." Nalan Shuo was not one to dawdle. With his current state, he couldn’t be of much help and would only hinder progress, "Little Yang, rember, if Xiang Fengchen is still alive, try to save him, but don’t risk your life. Your bottom line is to preserve yourself, and don’t fully trust his words. To save himself, he would do anything."
"Understood." Nodding, Yang Xiao watched as the Director walked away before he picked up the Ghost’s eyeball again, gripping it tightly. After hesitating for a mont, he took out a new stick of Life Burning Incense, touching it slightly with a Fire Starter, and easily igniting it.
Each stick of incense costs three years of life; the second one doubles it, burning away six years. Yang Xiao didn’t know how this was calculated—whether it doubled continuously if burned consecutively or if just using a second stick in this lifeti doubled it. Yet, at this mont, none of that mattered.
Either way, he had to burn the incense stick – after all, this ti it wasn’t just for him but also for Director Nalan, and Xiang Fengchen had to be saved.
As long as he was still alive.
Holding his breath, he pushed the door, which was closed but not locked. With a gentle friction sound, the door to the bedroom opened, the room also filled with mist, and the air carried an unsettling scent.
Yang Xiao frowned slightly; this pungent sll was all too familiar—it was the rancid stench emitted from the rotting body of the Ancestor.
Indeed, the Ancestor had truly co.
After searching the room, neither the Ancestor nor Xiang Fengchen were found, but on the floor were so sticky mucus and several chunks of dark-gold scales. Additionally, there were so scattered Paper Money with a piece of fabric lying in the center of it.
The fabric had rough edges, clearly torn off, and there were bloodstains on it; there seed to be sothing pressed beneath the protruding middle part.
Lifting the fabric, Yang Xiao’s pupils trembled; beneath it was an eyeball, still fresh. Also, underneath was a crudely constructed small paper figure folded up from Paper Money.
This scene instantly reminded Yang Xiao of the ghost that had impersonated Xiang Fengchen and deceived him. From analyzing the scene, Yang Xiao deduced that Xiang Fengchen was the first to be attacked and that the whole incident stemd from him.
However, Xiang Fengchen wasn’t easy to kill; he managed to escape the ambush using so Evil Technique, not only from these Ghost Substitutes but from the Ancestor at the source.
Leaving the bedroom, he headed straight for the study, and as the door swung open, Yang Xiao found the mist and stench in the study to be more than twice as thick as in the adjacent bedroom. The Life Burning Incense burned more rapidly here, the emitted mist seeming almost intentionally guiding him deeper into the increasingly dense fog inside the room.
But the incense fog severely obstructed his vision, and holding incense was inconvenient, so Yang Xiao simply inserted the incense behind his back, clutched the Ghost’s eyeball in one hand, and pulled out a handful of Paper Money with the other, cautiously stepping towards the deeper part of the fog.
One step, two steps... Before long, he abruptly stopped; his path had co to an end. Behind the folding screen, a new space appeared with two figures, one standing and the other kneeling, facing each other. The person standing was dressed in a bright yellow Dragon Robe—it was the Ancestor of Earl Mansion!
At this mont, Xiang Fengchen knelt before the Ancestor, his body unnaturally twisted and slightly trembling, as if bearing an extre pressure.
Additionally, between him and the Ancestor, many Paper Money and incense candles were placed, encircling Xiang Fengchen within their circle.
The candles had all burned out, only a single stick of incense faintly burning brightly, the fla fierce.
It was the Life Incense, and it was this very stick that was thwarting the Ancestor from claiming a life. Yang Xiao quickly assessed the situation.
Even soone as powerful as Xiang Fengchen was driven to a dead end by the Ancestor, forced to use the crude thod of burning Life Incense in a desperate struggle.
As he moved closer, he realized near the burning Life Incense were two other heaps of incense ash, indicating that before his arrival, Xiang Fengchen had already burned through two sticks of Life Incense, and now it was the third.
Each person was allocated four sticks of incense; this was the limit. Tonight, during their mission, he had seen Xiang Fengchen burn one stick. Now, at most, Xiang Fengchen could have only two left.
And this, was his last stick.
Upon drawing closer, Yang Xiao saw that half of Xiang Fengchen’s face was covered in blood, and a horrific blood cavity marked his slightly turned face. His left eye had been gouged out, leaving only the tightly shut right eye. His entire face was twisted in pain and fear, and his body couldn’t stop trembling.
Xiang Fengchen was at his limit, Yang Xiao was sure that if he hadn’t arrived, in no more than 5 minutes, he would have died.
And the Ancestor opposite him was hunched over, slightly bowing his head, his vertically slit pupils fixated on Xiang Fengchen, unresponsive to Yang Xiao’s approach.
But it was alive, as the smoke from the burning Life Incense had been sucked into the Ancestor’s body, which was precisely why the incense was burning so quickly.
"Mr. Xiang?" Acting as if saving a life from fire, Yang Xiao took another step forward, courageously calling out in a low voice.
After calling three tis, Xiang Fengchen finally reacted; that tightly shut right eyelid struggled and finally opened. However, his state was worse than Yang Xiao had anticipated, his right eyeball was darkened and yellow, the pupil sowhat dissipating.
Yet upon seeing clearly that it was Yang Xiao who had co, Xiang Fengchen’s response was exceptionally violent, his mouth opened, issuing a hurried but weak voice: "Save... save , I... I still have use."
To make the proud Xiang Fengchen plead so humbly clearly showed the urgency of the situation. "How should I save you?" Yang Xiao pressed on.
Xiang Fengchen’s mouth opened and shut, his voice growing fainter. Yang Xiao couldn’t hear clearly; he could only try to move closer, which also ant increased risk.
"What are you saying, speak up," Yang Xiao urged, moving closer despite the risks, knowing saving Xiang Fengchen ant saving themselves too.
Large beads of sweat dripped from Xiang Fengchen’s forehead, the situation growing increasingly dire. But the more anxious Xiang Fengchen beca, the quieter his voice got, as if so mysterious force was blocking it, producing a buzzing sound like that of a mosquito.
It wasn’t until Yang Xiao risked bending down to within less than a ter’s distance that he still couldn’t hear clearly. At that mont, Yang Xiao also faintly sensed sothing was wrong; Xiang Fengchen’s lip movents were too fast, and though he understood so lip-reading, he couldn’t comprehend it.
There wasn’t ti to react. The mont his body entered the ring of Paper Money, the situation abruptly changed. Xiang Fengchen’s dying, pitiful appearance instantly transford, his expression ferocious. His whole body sprang up like a spring, lunging diagonally at Yang Xiao, forcefully pushing him towards the Ancestor.
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