Bishuiwan Manor

The hotel where Bai Fugui and Feng Yushu's family of three were staying was located outside Ancient Tablet Town. It was a leisure manor built in the Bishuiwan meander downstream from Xuanhu Waterfall, covering an area of about one hectare—roughly the size of a standard elementary school.

The design concept of Bishuiwan Manor was quite novel, with a layout and decor following the European style that had become popular in recent years. Its aesthetic was completely out of place with the antique, Jiangnan water-town vibe of Ancient Tablet Town, as if it had been photoshopped in from somewhere else.

In fact, that was exactly the case. Bishuiwan Manor was not a historic building; it was a new property that had only been completed a few months ago. It was rumored that the manor's investors had received inside information through certain channels that Ancient Tablet Town was about to undergo major construction, which was why they had spent a fortune to secure this plot of land in advance.

The Bai Fugui family were among the first guests to stay at this manor. Zhang Yangxu had not booked a room here simply because he did not want to invite bad luck.

Under the bright moonlight, a magpie spread its wings and, riding the cool evening breeze, landed on the hair of a human statue in the manor's side courtyard. The statue was modeled after a fair-skinned young girl holding a ceramic jar in both hands, with clear water pouring out of it—it was an artificial fountain.

Beneath the murmuring fountain, a young woman in a gorgeous purple dress sat on a rattan chair, her gaze frequently darting toward a winding path leading out of the manor. Her eyes darted back and forth, appearing to be waiting anxiously for something.

Seeing that no one was around, the magpie standing on the statue landed lightly beside her, transforming into a tall, handsome youngster. His fair, slender hand, like that of a woman, gently patted Feng Yushu on the shoulder.

"Who is it!—"

Feng Yushu cried out instinctively. It wasn't until Ning Zhe's palm covered her mouth again that her tense body finally relaxed. "Ning Zhe?!... When did you get here?"

"I flew here," Ning Zhe said half-jokingly, transforming back into a black-and-white magpie and perching on Feng Yushu's shoulder. "Although He Family Village has been shattered, the Ghost's Rule seems not to have vanished, but rather transferred to me."

In other words, Ning Zhe now possessed the ability to "steal another person's identity using false cognition as a medium."

"Actually..." Feng Yushu turned her head, looking in amazement at the small bird standing on her shoulder. "I thought the target for identity theft could only be a human."

"I used to think so, too." Ning Zhe transformed back into human form, stood before Feng Yushu, and gestured. "Let's find a secluded place to talk."

"Okay."

Feng Yushu led Ning Zhe to a small pavilion surrounded by flower beds and ornamental trees. It was remote and hidden enough; until the Ancient Tablet Town scenic area was fully completed and Bishuiwan Manor officially opened to the public, this place would remain ignored, visited only by gardeners and maintenance staff during the day.

The two sat facing each other in the pavilion. Feng Yushu was the first to ask her most pressing question: "What exactly happened in He Family Village? In the last few seconds before returning to the real world, I heard two different screams and cries, and then everything ended. How... how did you do it?"

"Like I told you, I killed both the Snake God and the ghost." Ning Zhe spread his hands. "As for how I killed them, don't worry about it. You only need to know that I have fulfilled my promise."

When it came to matters concerning himself, he did not want to reveal too many details to Feng Yushu, so he asked in return: "What about you? During the time we were separated, what did you experience in He Family Village?"

Feng Yushu nodded and told him her experiences one by one, truthfully.

After "Zhang Yangxu" was unlucky enough to be crushed to death by a roof tile, the ghost did not disappear. Instead, it appeared before her again in the image of Ye Miaozhu and tried to persuade Feng Yushu to listen to its explanation.

But by then, Feng Yushu's mental state was on the verge of collapse. In her madness, she first blinded herself, then used two chopsticks to pierce her own eardrums. After becoming completely blind and deaf, Feng Yushu lost the ability to receive information from the outside world, and the ghost was finally left with no tricks to play.

"I did say your mental state wasn't looking good." Ning Zhe said, somewhat surprised. "But if you don't get professional treatment after severe ear canal damage, you won't live long. You were committing suicide."

"I... I don't know." Feng Yushu shook her head, her expression dazed. "I really had no other choice back then. After Zhang Yangxu died, it was Ye Miaozhu; after Ye Miaozhu died, it was Xie Sining... The ghost kept turning into different people to lure me. I... I really had no choice..."

"It's over now, it's okay, Aunt." Seeing that she was on the verge of another breakdown as she spoke, Ning Zhe had to call a stop to it, pulling a tissue from his pocket to hand to her so she could wipe her tears. "Your makeup is ruined. If you go back like this, your husband will notice."

"Hmm..." Feng Yushu took the tissue and said while wiping her tears, "He won't notice. We've been sleeping in separate rooms for many years."

"I'm not interested in your married life; telling me that is meaningless." Ning Zhe shook his head. "What about your daughter, Baizhi? I want to understand a few things about her."

It would be even better if he could get her computer and read the original diary entries directly.

"Ah! Yes, yes... Azhi." Mentioning her daughter, Feng Yushu's motivation immediately surged. She took an iPad Mini from her handbag, unlocked it, and handed it to Ning Zhe. "I couldn't bring her computer, but I have a backup of her diary. Please, take a look... I really want to know, what exactly happened to Azhi?"

Why did Baizhi dream of the scenes in He Family Village time and time again?

She clearly had never been to Ancient Tablet Town...

"Alright, let me see. A troubled girl's private diary... why does this feel like a gal game?"

Ning Zhe opened the text. The first sentence that caught his eye was, "This world is beyond saving." Ning Zhe couldn't help but rub his forehead and close his eyes. "Damn, so chuunibyou."

Baizhi's diary was quite shocking. The first entry was written five years ago, when she was just 14, in her first year of middle school. The school Baizhi attended was a famous aristocratic school in Yongzhou, where relationships between new classmates could be described as either friendly or distant.

There were boys who showed kindness because of her beautiful appearance, and girls who tried to get close because of her wealthy family background, but Baizhi shut everyone out, never forming even the most basic interactions with anyone.

In her diary, her evaluation of her classmates was: childish.

"My god..." Ning Zhe quickly finished reading the diary of Baizhi's three years of middle school, having a sense of déjà vu as if he were watching "Baizhi (Darkened Version)." "Aunt, do you know your daughter has a severe case of chuunibyou?"

"What kind of illness is chuunibyou?" Feng Yushu's expression was anxious.

"Well, people of your generation really don't know much about ACG culture." Ning Zhe wasn't surprised by her reaction.

He swiped the tablet screen, preparing to speed-read the diary from Baizhi's high school years, when suddenly, the sky above darkened.

"What's going on?" Ning Zhe looked to the side and saw that the bright moon that had been hanging in the sky had disappeared, as if a lightbulb had suddenly burned out. The entire world plunged into pitch-black darkness; not even a single star could be seen.

In the pitch-black darkness where one couldn't even see their own fingers, only the iPad in Ning Zhe's hand emitted a creamy white light. The manor in the distance remained dark and silent, with only the sound of flowing water splashing.

But the next second, the pitch-black manor suddenly lit up. Every light in every room was turned on at that exact moment. The bright light pierced through the spire-topped castle-style building, as if a giant lightbulb had been switched on in the night, glaringly bright.

Then, piercing screams erupted from the manor.

"People are dying!"

Ning Zhe looked down, and the first sentence of Baizhi's high school diary read: "There are ghosts everywhere."