Very Noisy

Spring days, fragrance drifted across the distant mountains.

A wind blew through the distant mountains.

The wind chimes under the eaves were very noisy.

Ning Xuan was lying on a pair of long, snowy-white legs.

Sixteen years had passed since he crossed over. From babyhood to adolescence, everything from his previous life had long since faded like a dream from another lifetime.

Now, he yawned.

The owner of those snowy-white legs seized the chance to pop a peeled grape into his mouth. Her soft, sweet laughter rang out, even noisier than the wind chimes.

"Young master, they say three steeds had to be changed along the way to bring the Western Regions Spirit Pearl here so quickly. Once it reached our county, they sealed it in an ice cellar for the night. Then, before dawn this morning, the Wealthy Merchant Guild's young lady personally delivered it. Heehee."

"Ah-ba."

"Ah-ba-ba."

Ning Xuan swallowed the Western Regions Spirit Pearl in one bite. The grape burst in his mouth, its juice flooding his taste buds.

His vision blurred, and the distant mountains blurred with it.

He opened his mouth, waiting for another grape.

Who could blame him? He was Old Master Ning's only son.

In Star River County, who didn't know the saying, "County magistrates come and go like flowing water, but Old Master Ning stands firm as iron"?

Plenty of people knew Old Master Ning had connections reaching to the heavens. Perhaps he'd grown weary of the bustling world, or perhaps there was some other reason he'd chosen a place like Star River County to retire in. Then, in his old age, he'd had a son—and an only child at that. Naturally, he doted on the boy to the skies.

As it happened, Ning Xuan was that only son.

For sixteen years, he'd lived in fine clothes and fine food, with no shortage of beauties around him.

If he wanted to practice martial arts, the manor's instructor was the famous Zhang Erquan, the "Chasing Wind Swallow Blade." If he wanted to study, they'd open a private school for him, with the retired scholar and former official He Jinzhu as his teacher.

Every influential family in Star River County with any means was thinking of marrying a daughter to him.

The young lady of the Wealthy Merchant Guild was one such girl.

But Ning Xuan never chose among them, even when he took a liking to someone.

Over the past sixteen years, he'd confirmed that he had no golden finger. He'd also realized that he'd never get as far through studying as he would by simply lying low and waiting for his father to make arrangements for him.

The smartest thing he could do was not to go blundering around, thinking he knew better; not to assume he was all that capable; and not to harbor grand ambitions of achieving great things. All he had to do was follow his father's arrangements.

He wasn't rebellious.

He would just wait for his father to make the arrangements.

So even when it came to marriage, he'd wait for his father to decide.

As dusk fell, Ning Xuan turned and scooped up the owner of those snowy-white legs, the pretty maid he was most used to having around. "I'm tired."

The maid giggled, pushing and tugging at him, kicking her long legs and wriggling with delight as she laughed, "Don't!"

The first time Ning Xuan had heard such coy protests, he'd found them novel. Now, he was used to them. He lay down with this "body pillow" in his arms.

Ning Xuan didn't know how long he'd slept.

Half awake and half asleep, he came to.

His eyes were still shut, but he suddenly felt the emptiness along his left arm.

Normally, the pretty little maid would be resting her head there.

She loved to curl up against his left arm, clinging to his side like a little bird.

She was petite and light. Even with her weight on his arm, she never burdened him. That warm, fragrant closeness, her attentive care, and her sharp eye for people and things were what made her special.

Those talents had kept her by the side of the Ning family's young master for two whole years, with no one able to replace her.

So there was no way she'd let the young master wake in the middle of the night and find her gone.

The little maid was called Xiao Jie.

Seeing his left arm empty, Ning Xuan called out without thinking, "Xiao Jie!"

No answer.

He raised his voice and called again. "Xiao Jie!"

This time, something answered.

It was the wind.

The wind outside the door.

The wind pushed the door open, then abruptly lost strength. The door swung back with a "clack."

Clack, clack, clack.

The door kept banging, accompanied by the intermittent roar of the pine forest outside the window. A chilling air crept into the room.

Ning Xuan's eyes flew open.

To his surprise, the entire room was an indescribable shade of gray. Outside, there was an indescribable stillness—the sort where sounds were audible, yet somehow only made everything seem quieter.

This was the Ning family's private mountain manor. He'd come here to admire the flowers, arriving that afternoon. The manor had arranged for a group of dancers and musicians, but he'd felt tired and put them off until tomorrow.

It shouldn't have been this quiet.

Ning Xuan sat up and headed outside.

He crossed the inner courtyard. The manor guards, who should have been on duty, were nowhere to be seen.

He looked around again. The servants who should have been patrolling with lanterns were gone, too.

Ning Xuan might have been a layabout, but he wasn't stupid. He pinched himself hard, and felt the pain clearly.

This isn't a dream. Have bandits attacked us?

The Ning Family Manor was guarded by experts, and its guards were well trained. Ning Xuan could tell just by looking into their eyes that they'd killed before. His father could hire a group of men who'd killed people and leave them up in the mountains to guard an empty manor. Clearly, his background was no joke.

Given that, there was no way the bandits nearby could have killed everyone without a sound.

Besides, he couldn't smell blood.

It probably wasn't bandits, either. Then what's going on?

Ning Xuan was thinking, but he didn't hesitate. Although he was frightened, he still made a decision: he couldn't go back to his room. He had to find somewhere to hide and wait until daybreak.

Then he looked up at the sky again.

The moon.

Black.

He shuddered, drew in a quick breath, and hurried toward the side courtyard. He remembered there was an artificial hill there, built for viewing the scenery. It was deep inside, a good place to hide.

A short while later, Ning Xuan was hidden away.

He clenched his fists, steadied his racing heart and eased his breathing, then waited silently for daybreak.

He felt beads of sweat trickling down his back.

After so many years of being pampered, it had been a long time since he'd faced danger on his own.

Fortunately, he lived to see the sunlight.

But his heart lurched.

Something wasn't right!

The sunlight was white.

Pale white!

The ghastly sunlight shone over the artificial hill, making him feel as if he'd suddenly leapt into a black-and-white TV from his previous life.

And in that moment of bewilderment, he sensed something watching him.

He mechanically turned his head, ever so slowly. Time seemed to have switched to slow motion. He met a pair of blood-red eyes.

Then a fierce wind rushed at him.

A powerful impact slammed into his chest, followed by tearing pain.

The artificial hill shattered.

So did he.

He lay on the ground amid the shattered rocks.

Struggling, he turned his head, trying to see what had attacked him.

Then he saw a black bear—its fur like steel needles, its head as big as a bushel basket, and its ears like torn sails.

When the bear saw him looking, it grinned with a humanlike, mocking smile, revealing a dense row of sharp, seed-like teeth.

"I haven't eaten a person in ages."

The black bear actually spoke in a strange human voice. Then it grabbed him and began eating from his feet, one bite at a time, gnawing up to his calves, thighs, and waist. Whenever he passed out, the bear shook him awake.

"Aaaaaah!"

Ning Xuan let out a scream beyond anything he could have imagined.

He sat bolt upright, gasping for breath. His frightened eyes darted around, but all he saw was the gauze canopy hanging quietly and moonlight reflected on the walls.

This was his room.

"So...it was a nightmare. Thank goodness it was only a nightmare."

He raised a hand to wipe away his sweat, only to find himself drenched from head to toe. Without thinking, he said, "Xiao Jie, bring me a cup of honey water."

But there was no answer.

Ning Xuan whipped his head to the side.

The gray room, the black moon, the wind coming from the distant mountains, battering against the door and making it clatter deafeningly.