Avoiding Misfortune

Thud—

The figure, straight as a spear, hopped another step toward this side. Behind Ning Zhe, the ghost was drawing ever closer, while before him stood a hazy, scarlet figure like mist—it was none other than He Nianjun, who had appeared in the Main Hall of He Manor.

Ning Zhe subconsciously turned around, wanting to leave in another direction, but as his body rotated, the girl in the Wedding Dress with red cloth wrapped around her waist "teleported" to the corresponding angle, standing squarely in front of him, neither off to the left nor the right.

"What is going on..." Ning Zhe frowned slightly and turned again, but He Nianjun remained standing before him.

After a few attempts, Ning Zhe realized that no matter how his line of sight shifted, He Nianjun was always right in front of him, as if a smudge had stained the lens of a camera, causing a shadow to blur the image regardless of where the camera was pointed.

He Nianjun was that persistent, fiery-red shadow.

She does not exist in this world, but exists within my eyes? Ning Zhe quickly grasped the situation.

Thud—

The ghost behind him hopped another step closer. Understanding the reality of the situation, Ning Zhe did not hesitate; he held up his Parasol and ran forward. The Street Lamp in that direction had already been turned off by him when he arrived.

But before he had run more than a few steps, a terrifying scene unfolded.

Ning Zhe discovered that as he moved forward, the red-clothed shadow that existed only in his field of vision was actually growing larger, as if he were actively approaching her.

And this active approach seemed to trigger some kind of special mechanism; the red-clothed figure, who had been standing motionless, began to move, stepping toward him.

The young girl's posture was graceful and delicate, her robe with Gold-threaded Edging swaying gently. There was no wind in the enclosed Bishuiwan Manor, yet the strands of hair by her ears were fluttering. Ning Zhe dared not move forward recklessly. He stared intently at He Nianjun's figure as she drew closer, while the ghost behind him also closed the distance.

Suddenly, he noticed something.

With his back to the Street Lamp, Ning Zhe saw a massive shadow cast upon the lawn. It was himself holding the Parasol, looking like a black mushroom; the mushroom cap was the Parasol in his hand, and beneath it were Ning Zhe's own two legs.

"Could it be?"

A flash of inspiration crossed Ning Zhe's mind, and he understood. Without hesitation, Ning Zhe crouched down, staying there on the ground while holding the Parasol.

The light from the Street Lamp spilled down gently, casting a round, bulbous shadow onto the lawn. It seemed no different, but the difference was that the ghost's footsteps stopped.

Thud—

It was the sound of feet landing once more, but after this time, it never sounded again.

On the first floor of the Castle, in the Monitoring Room, Feng Yushu covered her mouth with both hands, staring in disbelief at the scene before her.

The surveillance camera captured a silent image. Under the Street Lamp outside the Castle, two silent figures were illuminated. Ning Zhe was crouched on the ground, his body completely hidden by the wide canopy of the Parasol. On the other side of the frame, a figure standing so straight it didn't seem human stood behind him, the remnants of a terrified scream still frozen on its face, its distorted features staring fixedly at the lace-trimmed Parasol canopy.

Time ticked by, second by second. The ghost just stood there, motionless.

"It has lost its target." Ning Zhe's voice came through the earpiece: "Tell me where the Circuit Breaker is, quickly."

Feng Yushu snapped out of her daze and hurriedly replied: "From your current position, keep walking along the wall. Stop after you pass the second or third Pixiu statue. Find the Triangular Area wedged between the two outer walls; the Circuit Breaker for the indoor power grid is inside."

"OK." Ning Zhe hissed. Maintaining his crouched posture, he carefully shuffled his feet while keeping his body completely shielded by the canopy, reaching the lamp post to turn off the Street Lamp.

In an instant, the surroundings plunged into darkness.

Safe. Ning Zhe slowly lowered the Parasol slightly and looked back to observe the ghost lingering not far away. He found that it remained standing straight in place, motionless, and had not followed him. A few minutes later, the corpse possessed by the ghost collapsed to the ground as if it had lost its support.

"The ghost is gone." Ning Zhe said softly: "Aunt, you should be careful too. It might be looking for you."

Upon hearing this, Feng Yushu immediately looked down at her feet, carefully adjusting her stance and the angle of her Parasol to hide her entire shadow beneath the canopy.

"This ghost doesn't have normal vision. It can't see living people; it can only see the shadows cast by people in the light. So, once we hide our bodies completely in the darkness, it's no different from being blind." As Ning Zhe spoke, he recalled the very first scene.

At the same time the ghost appeared in the manor, all the lighting facilities in the entire manor had turned on simultaneously.

This is no coincidence... Ning Zhe had the answer in his heart: Someone is deliberately creating a killing environment suitable for it. It is even possible that this ghost itself was brought in by someone.

Who brought a ghost into the manor? And why would they do such a thing?

Ning Zhe looked up at the graceful, scarlet shadow standing before him, and he had his answer.

He Nianjun, draped in her Wedding Dress, stood quietly before Ning Zhe. Without a word, she opened her chest, and her pale, slender fingers pulled an old, antique Almanac from within her robes—one that showed no signs of damage.

On the old Almanac, elegant handwriting appeared as if she had written it herself:

[Lunar Calendar: Fourth Month, 22nd Day]

[Suitable: Marriage, Travel, Relocation, Groundbreaking, Burial, Sacrifice]

[Avoid: Taking Office, Eliminate Insects, Seeing the Living]

Ning Zhe opened his phone and glanced at the time:

June 06, 2018, Lunar Calendar Fourth Month, 23rd Day, 00:09 AM.

A new day had arrived; it was time to turn the page of the Almanac.

Ning Zhe looked at He Nianjun's paper-white, petite face and her fragile, slender wrists, and finally remembered that one thing he had been selectively ignoring:

After the Wandering Ghost "Taiyi" was killed, he was the only person in the world who possessed the identity of "Taiyi".

By the same logic, after the Snake God "Zhaoyou" was killed, who was the only person in the world who possessed the identity of "Zhaoyou"?

The answer was still himself.

In the Monitoring Room, Feng Yushu looked suspiciously at the screen. In the darkness, she could barely distinguish a standing figure. Ning Zhe stood there quietly, reaching out his hand as if stroking something, but there was nothing in front of him.

"Ning Zhe, what are you doing?" Feng Yushu asked cautiously.

"Nothing." Ning Zhe said dismissively: "I'm going to turn off the Circuit Breaker now. You be careful too. Try not to use lighters or matches, and don't drink alcohol, or break any trees or flowers in the manor."

"Sigh... but why?" Feng Yushu asked, filled with both confusion and curiosity.

"Just do as I say." Ning Zhe's tone remained flat. "Trust me, can you?"

Feng Yushu fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, I trust you."

She decided to believe everything Ning Zhe said unconditionally, just as she had back in He Family Village.

After giving his instructions to Feng Yushu, Ning Zhe let out a sigh of relief. He gathered his focus slightly, his gaze falling once again upon He Nianjun.

Her delicate, fair hands, slender as spring onions, held the withered and aged almanac. A soft, supple index finger held down a page that had just been turned, and the page underneath displayed the fortune for the day:

[Lunar Calendar: 23rd day of the 4th month]

[Suitable for: Marriage, Groundbreaking, Planting, Tailoring, Accumulating Wealth]

[Avoid: Drinking, Lighting Fires, Felling Trees, Building Embankments, Constructing Houses]