Trapped in Longevity Village, Hu Jiu had not cared at first. He had plenty of strength and means, and was more interested in taking the opportunity to fleece whatever he could.
Headquarters was going to enormous trouble over a supernatural item, and he had only one thing to say: This item is fated to be mine!
But as Yue Renchun gradually revealed his considerable strength, Hu Jiu could not help feeling a little pressed for time. He could tell that Yue Renchun had been fairly calm at first, but now was willing to reveal his trump cards to join forces with Hu Jiu and survive. He had probably sensed a grave danger.
On the surface, Hu Jiu had only tamed one ghost, so he had reason to suspect that Yue Renchun possessed an ability to tell fortunes or seek good fortune and avoid disaster.
All sorts of thoughts flashed through Hu Jiu's mind as he picked up a peanut and made kissing noises at the puppy by the guesthouse entrance.
The puppy wagged its tail and came scampering over. Hu Jiu put the peanut back, refusing to give it to the puppy.
"Would there be a normal dog in a ghost village like this?"
Yue Renchun did not answer. He only said, "We have to attend tonight's birthday banquet."
Hu Jiu nodded. He never lifted a finger without a reward, and was happy to wade into troubled waters when there was profit to be made. Of course, if Yue Renchun wanted to use him to pull chestnuts from the fire, he did not mind killing him and taking his treasures first.
They took advantage of the daylight to rest and build up their strength. Zou Cong and Cui Xueyan were nowhere to be seen, presumably because they had attended last night's birthday banquet.
When night fell, hardly any of the houses had their lights on, and even the moonlight was blocked by dark clouds. Yue Renchun and Hu Jiu walked along the pitch-black, silent street toward the largest mansion in the center of the village.
A faint squeaking came from an alley, perhaps from rats. Hu Jiu suddenly stopped.
Yue Renchun stopped with him. "What's wrong?"
"Listen." Hu Jiu cupped a hand to his ear.
Yue Renchun also quieted his mind and listened carefully. Sure enough, he heard a faint, strange whisper repeating itself, like the lament of someone on the verge of death, full of resentment and longing, weeping and pleading.
"Who's talking?" The hairs on Yue Renchun's body stood on end, like a cat with its fur bristling.
He looked around. In the deep darkness, there were only two points of red light: red lanterns hanging at the entrance to a dilapidated mansion, flickering and casting a scarlet glow over the ground.
The sound came from inside the mansion, fading in and out, enough to make their skin crawl.
The two men came to the front of the mansion. The residence was large, with withered yellow weeds growing all around it and scratches covering the gate. The character "Peng" on the plaque was mottled and peeling. One look was enough to tell it was an abandoned mansion that no one maintained.
"Are you guests here for the birthday banquet?" A hoarse voice, accompanied by a sinister chill, made Yue Renchun whip around.
A hunched old man stood right beside him. His aged face was covered in wrinkles, but his skin was whiter than snow and his lips redder than blood. He looked just like a paper effigy from a funeral.
The sight was worthy of a horror-movie jump scare and, unsurprisingly, gave Yue Renchun a fright. His body went on the defensive at once; the man before him gave him a very bad feeling.
"Guests attending the birthday banquet, please follow me." The old man's voice was as still as an ancient well, without the slightest inflection.
Yue Renchun and Hu Jiu exchanged a glance and followed him.
"He's alive?" Hu Jiu lowered his voice.
Yue Renchun leaned close to Hu Jiu and whispered, "He's much like that old man at the guesthouse. Though he's alive, he's in a peculiar state."
"If they're much alike, can you question him again like you did this morning?" Hu Jiu suggested.
Yue Renchun shook his head. "No. There's a supernatural force on them that prevents them from revealing secrets. I can't fight it, so I can only get unimportant information out of them. It isn't worth it."
Hu Jiu pressed his thin lips together. "Don't worry, I'll help you this time. I have a way to temporarily block that supernatural force!"
"Really?" Yue Renchun looked surprised. "All right, then."
Hu Jiu quickened his pace and put some distance between himself and Yue Renchun. Countless White Sashes then appeared out of thin air. Some bound the old man's limbs, holding him in place, while the rest concealed Hu Jiu from view.
Yue Renchun did not know what Hu Jiu was doing. He only caught a vague glimpse of him taking something from inside his clothes. A moment later, Hu Jiu said, "All right, go ahead!"
A look of unmistakable reproach appeared on Yue Renchun's handsome face. Unfortunately for him, Hu Jiu ignored his performance and merely urged him to hurry.
He dropped the false expression and activated the gemstone necklace again.
The bound old man suddenly raised his head, seemingly having regained his original consciousness. His body involuntarily tried to move away from the Peng Family Mansion, but the White Sash held him fast, leaving him unable to move.
Before Yue Renchun could speak, the old man spoke first. "Save me!"
Yue Renchun ignored his plea and went straight to the point. "Why did Longevity Village become so strange?"
"It was... Mr. Peng. No, that's not right... Mr. Peng and I are very close. We all respect Mr. Peng, but... but that's not right. We were all bewitched, bewitched by him!" The old man's voice suddenly grew hesitant, and a trace of fear entered its trembling.
"You mean Mr. Peng used some strange method to bewitch the villagers, and he isn't actually a good man?" Yue Renchun asked.
"No... I don't know, but... we all like Mr. Peng very much. He's our village's great benefactor! No, that's not right. Help me, quickly! I don't want to stay with the Peng family!" The old man spoke so vaguely that it was hard to understand what he meant.
Yue Renchun followed up on what the old man had said. "Since Mr. Peng is the village's great benefactor, you should be very happy staying with the Peng family."
"No, there's no happiness. The Peng family is strange, and Mr. Peng is even stranger!" The old man seemed to recall a terrible memory. "A long time ago, Mr. Peng stopped communicating with the villagers. He just kept celebrating his birthday. At first it was once or twice a year, but afterward it became more and more frequent."
Hearing this, Yue Renchun frowned. "If Mr. Peng didn't communicate with outsiders, how did he celebrate his birthday?"
"Other people arranged it all for him. They were like... they'd become Mr. Peng's slaves!" Half of the old man's face was lit by the red lantern, while the other half was hidden in darkness. His eyeballs were slowly bulging as he murmured, as if to himself, "There's something in the Peng Family Mansion. It's terrifying. Stay with the Peng family, and you'll become just like those people, growing old overnight and losing yourself..."
Yue Renchun suppressed his unease and continued, "Have you seen that thing? Is it some kind of monster?"
"No, it's not a monster. It's a candle. We're all blowing out the candle..." The old man's mouth suddenly stretched into a hideous grin.
"What kind of candle? Where is it kept?" Yue Renchun asked urgently.
"It's... it's in Mr. Peng's hands. He never lets it out of his sight..." The old man's cheeks twitched into a strange expression, as if he had suffered a stroke. His voice trembled. "No, don't! I'm only thirty. I don't want to blow out the candle..."
Sensing something was wrong, Yue Renchun quickly backed away.
The old man's gaze stayed fixed on him. Nothing but darkness remained in his wide-open eyes.
Yue Renchun pulled out a gold pistol, his whole body taut.
The old man's pitch-black eyes seemed to contain the entire universe. Yue Renchun needed only one glance to be inexplicably drawn in, his movements gradually slowing.
Veins bulged on his forehead and bloodshot streaks spread through his eyes. Countless jumbled images flashed through his mind, all of them his memories: the favoritism and misfortune brought by his extraordinary looks, living like a rat after his family was destroyed and his loved ones died, and treating human lives like grass after taming a Fierce Ghost...
Without realizing it, he raised the gun, but instead of aiming at the old man, he pointed it at his own jaw.
His index finger trembled on the trigger. A terrifying, indescribable force was distorting his perception, and death seemed to become a luxurious pleasure.
Yue Renchun wanted to experience that pleasure.
His finger tightened, about to pull the trigger.
Just then, a radiating agony suddenly struck, as if someone were repeatedly driving an awl through his temples. It instantly overwhelmed his miserable memories and distorted perception.
It hurt too much to do anything!
Yue Renchun fell to his knees, nearly going into shock.
Hu Jiu also saw the old man's dark eyes and felt a little dizzy. It seemed that some unknown force was trying to interfere with his mind, but it lasted only an instant before vanishing.
"That was close..." Yue Renchun trembled as he climbed to his feet. Fortunately, he had taken precautions against attacks on his consciousness beforehand, allowing him to come to his senses in time, though the aftereffects were somewhat severe.
Catching sight of Hu Jiu's indifferent face out of the corner of his eye, he clenched his back teeth.
"Bang!"
The gun went off, blowing the old man's head apart.
"What happened to you just now?" Hu Jiu asked.
"Nothing. I was affected a little by the supernatural power lingering on that old man." Yue Renchun did his utmost to remain calm, afraid to show weakness. "He seemed to be a special kind of Ghost Slave, neither fully alive nor dead, neither human nor ghost. The source ghost behind him is probably very troublesome."
"I see~" Hu Jiu remarked indifferently.
Yue Renchun put away his gun. "We've gathered enough clues now. I have a theory: Mr. Peng might have been a Ghost Tamer! He died a few years ago, and the Fierce Ghost's resurgence turned Longevity Village into this hellhole!"
"A Ghost Tamer who lived over a hundred years?" Hu Jiu chuckled. "If your theory is right, that news would shake the entire supernatural community!"
"Perhaps that's why headquarters insisted on withholding information." Yue Renchun's expression darkened. "A secret that can extend a Ghost Tamer's lifespan is something headquarters would keep firmly in its grasp, even monopolize. That's the only way it could effectively keep independent Ghost Tamers in check."
He recalled Cui Xueyan guzzling the Longevity Potion earlier and sneered. "A supernatural product like the Longevity Potion might already be ready for mass production. It's just that lowly commoners like us aren't worthy of using it."
Hu Jiu glanced at him in surprise. Had he actually stumbled onto the truth? In his previous life, Hu Jiu had indeed heard some rumors that there were large reserves of the Longevity Potion. It was just that its creation involved certain state secrets, and it also had some hard-to-explain side effects. At the very beginning, its intended users had not actually been Ghost Tamers.
"We haven't even encountered the source ghost, and I nearly got hurt. What a disastrous start!" Yue Renchun was rather annoyed. Perhaps because he had nearly blown his own head off, he was a little shaken and could only keep running his mouth to vent his fear.
"A senior I met before told me that no matter how powerful Ghost Tamers become, they can't escape death. Even if their strength keeps growing and they manage to live a long time, their consciousness will be eroded by their Fierce Ghosts. The stronger they become, the worse the erosion gets, and the less human they become. In the end, no matter what, they are no longer their original selves."
Hearing Yue Renchun's words, Hu Jiu nodded. "If Mr. Peng was once a Ghost Tamer, after a hundred years, it's hard to say whether the man was taming the ghost or the ghost was controlling the Ghost-Controlled Human."
Yue Renchun drew a heavy breath. "What do we do next? I'm in terrible shape. I need to rest before I can continue."
"There's no time!"
Hu Jiu turned around. The gate of the Peng Family Mansion had silently been pushed open, and another old man with a deathly pale face and bright red lips walked out. A numb smile hung on his face.
"We welcome our honored guests. Old Master Peng invites you both inside for a conversation."
A moment later, Hu Jiu had already walked over, while Yue Renchun still hesitated. Only after thinking it over did he follow behind Hu Jiu.
The two red lanterns hanging by the entrance gave off a faint glow, lending a little color to the old man's deathly pale face. His footsteps were light, and the light cast only a faint shadow from his body, like the trace left when light passed through a translucent sheet of paper.
It was hard to imagine how Mr. Peng had built such a large mansion in this remote backwater. As soon as Hu Jiu stepped inside, he felt the hairs on his body stand up. At the edge of the screen wall, in the shadows at the base of the walls, and in every dark corner, pairs of eyes seemed to be watching him!
Though the surroundings were empty and silent, it felt as though they were bustling with activity!
Clearly, Yue Renchun felt the same strange sensation. His body involuntarily tensed, and a chill crept up from his tailbone.
"Something's wrong!" he warned instinctively.
Hu Jiu's expression did not change. He gave him a reassuring look.
"Today is Old Master Peng's birthday banquet. Have you two guests prepared birthday gifts?" The old man's voice was indistinct, as though it came from a great distance across countless mountains and rivers.
Neither Hu Jiu nor Yue Renchun responded.
A few ornamental trees had been planted in the mansion grounds. They stood crooked and twisted, their branches broken and leaves gone. The bark of one crooked tree seemed to have been chafed by a rope, as if someone had hanged themselves there.
The flagstone path was somewhat damp and sticky underfoot. Hu Jiu casually asked, "How long has it been since anyone cleaned this place?"
"Everyone is busy with the old master's birthday." That was all the old man said.
Unfortunately, the reality was quite different from his claim. Hu Jiu and Yue Renchun saw no sign of "everyone." In the darkness, only a few scattered lanterns lit the empty mansion. It did not look at all like a place where living people resided.
An elevated platform had been built in a pond in the distance. Its style was strange, and it was black all over, with chains wrapped around it and attached to the trees by the pond. It looked extremely ominous.
"What's that?" Hu Jiu asked again.
"It's dark and windy tonight. Beware of fire." The old man avoided the question.
As Hu Jiu looked away, he suddenly glimpsed what seemed to be a figure standing on the platform in the center of the pond. He could not make out its appearance, and it vanished in the blink of an eye.
By the time they reached the main courtyard, it was finally a little brighter. Several candles burned inside the house, and a man and a woman sat in the main hall. A huge painting hung on the wall behind them, but instead of a traditional landscape or flowers and birds, it depicted a tiger devouring people.
In a dense mountain forest, a huge tiger lay on the ground with its paws tucked beneath it. Several gaunt, numb-looking people stood in front of it, shoving another person toward its jaws. There was something indescribably sinister about the scene.
The phrase "serving as a tiger's accomplice" flashed through Hu Jiu's mind.
Looking again at the two people seated in the chairs, he saw that the one on the left was a middle-aged man, and the one on the right was an elderly woman. Both were dressed in black. They had a little more of the air of living people than the old man who had led them here, but an incongruous sickness pervaded them, as if inhuman creatures had forced themselves to masquerade as humans. A single glance was enough to make one's skin crawl.
"Guests from afar, welcome to my father's birthday banquet." The man's voice was feeble as he briefly introduced them. "I am Peng Yan, and this is my wife."
Hu Jiu said, "Master Peng, where's the banquet? Let's not waste time. We want to offer the old master our birthday wishes!"
"There's no hurry. The birthday banquet won't formally begin until midnight." Peng Yan paused. "Please, both of you, have a seat. Someone, bring tea."
Soon, a person dressed as a servant entered carrying a teapot. The exquisite teacups contained an unknown liquid. Hu Jiu did not recognize it and did not dare drink it.
Yue Renchun likewise made no move to drink.
An eerie atmosphere spread as Peng Yan and Madam Peng stared fixedly at them. "Two outsiders also came as guests yesterday. Do you know each other?"
"No!" Hu Jiu and Yue Renchun lied in unison.
"The villagers here rarely see outsiders and don't have much contact with the outside world, so they may seem a little strange. Please don't take offense." Peng Yan's words were polite, but utterly devoid of feeling, like a robot reciting lines.
"We understand." Hu Jiu lowered his eyes. "There's still some time before the birthday banquet. I wonder if we might look around the mansion? I've never seen such an impressive place before."
Peng Yan and his wife fell silent for a moment. "You may. The birthday banquet will begin at midnight."
Hu Jiu immediately rose. "Thank you, Master Peng."
Beside him, Yue Renchun watched the harmonious conversation with a pale face, a drop of cold sweat running down his temple. He could not follow Hu Jiu's train of thought, and his head hurt terribly, but in the current situation, his only option was to follow Hu Jiu all the way.
For him, this was the best solution!
A servant took the two men on a tour of the mansion. As they passed a corner, a White Sash suddenly tightened around the servant and killed him outright.
"What are you doing?" Yue Renchun rubbed his temples.
Hu Jiu tossed the thoroughly dead body aside. "I don't want him getting in my way."
"...Whatever makes you happy." Yue Renchun lowered his head and checked the time by a nearby lantern, then asked, "Is Peng Yan Mr. Peng's descendant? He seems rather different from the other people in the village..."
As his words trailed off, he looked up again and found that Hu Jiu was gone.
Everything around him was silent. His breathing and heartbeat were clearly audible, and the dim light passing through the dead trees by the path made the place look gloomy. Yue Renchun instantly went on alert.
"Hu Jiu?" he called.
There was no answer.
He moved forward cautiously. As he passed a glass window, Yue Renchun noticed that his reflection had a strange, discordant quality. It did not look quite like his usual self.
He tiptoed closer, hoping to get a clearer look.
As he drew nearer, Yue Renchun finally saw that his reflection had a deathly pale face and vivid red lips, just like the servants in the Peng Family Mansion!
The moment he noticed, the reflection suddenly raised its head and broke into a wide grin.
Startled, Yue Renchun hurriedly backed away. Then, in the window, he saw that someone was standing behind him!
An old man with a hunched figure, leaning on a cane and holding a red candle, dressed in a long robe and a traditional jacket!
His skin was deeply wrinkled, his damp hair hung in clumps, and his eyes had no whites. He was numb and deathly still.
A meaningless whisper sounded beside Yue Renchun's ear. He spun around, only to find nothing there.
There was nothing behind him.
Cold sweat soaked his back, and his breathing grew increasingly rapid. Without his noticing, the space seemed to close in, swallowing and compressing even the lantern light. The hazy shadows of the trees looked like twisted people, pinned in place by nails, struggling and crying for help.
"Whoosh—"
A chill touched the back of Yue Renchun's head. A cold, foul-smelling breath brushed lightly past him, raising goosebumps all over his body. He immediately turned and drew his gun, but his finger joints felt as if they had rusted, unable to move in the slightest!
Looking closely, he saw that the hand holding the gun was covered in age spots. Its flesh had withered, and its loose skin clung tightly to the bones. It was unmistakably an old person's hand!
What was going on!
Smack—!
His face hurt a little.
The sound of repeated slaps reached his ears, accompanied by intense pain, and Yue Renchun abruptly came to his senses.
Only then did he realize that he had been standing in the same place the whole time, staring blankly up at a red lantern. Hu Jiu had been slapping him furiously across the face and stopped only when he saw him come around.
"What happened to you this time?" Hu Jiu asked calmly, rubbing his tingling palm.
"I may have seen Mr. Peng." Yue Renchun's voice was weak. Although he had only seen him in a hallucination, it still counted as a kind of supernatural contact.
"Just now, we were walking along when your footsteps suddenly stopped. I turned around and saw you standing under the lantern, panting at it." Hu Jiu truthfully described what he had seen.
"There's something very wrong with the Peng Family Mansion. I suspect there's more than one ghost. At least one can affect people's consciousness, and another should have something to do with 'lifespan.'" Yue Renchun patted his chest, still shaken. Ever since they had entered the village, the word "longevity" had appeared so frequently that it was impossible to ignore.
"But there's one thing I don't understand. Ghosts have no intelligence, and they don't deliberately leave someone barely alive when they kill. What exactly is going on with those 'people' in the Peng family who can communicate? And what does the birthday banquet represent?" Yue Renchun felt their situation was extremely dangerous. "As for a ghost that can affect consciousness, even if it doesn't actively harm us, I'm afraid the supernatural power it gives off will turn us into deranged lunatics."
Hu Jiu opened his mouth, then hesitated. In the end, he did not tell Yue Renchun the cruel truth.
He had aged.
The fresh young hunk had become cured meat, looking over thirty.
The change had happened just now.
Standing beneath the lantern, he had grown a little more weathered with every breath he exhaled.
In his great mercy, Hu Jiu had slapped him awake after noticing the pattern. After all, he was a rare piece of pathfinding cannon fodder and had already probed out part of the ghosts' killing mechanisms...