Home [2]

The Hu Family resided in none other than the Pine-Listening Garden.

Backed by a lush forest of verdant pines, the architecture made extensive use of raw timber and bluestone, featuring observation decks and a constructed Rain-Listening Corridor.

Where the wind passed, the pines roared in waves, sounding like a distant tide.

This was also the origin of the Pine-Listening Garden's name.

The car pulled into the exclusive basement parking space of the Pine-Listening Garden.

The underground garage connected directly to a private elevator for each unit; the two swiped their cards and stepped inside, the cabin ascending in silence.

A few seconds later, the elevator doors opened, revealing a bright, clean, and tidy main hall.

"Eldest Miss, you have returned."

Outside the hall, a figure dressed in a dark butler's uniform had already come to greet them.

She was a middle-aged woman with deep-set eyes, a high nose, and slightly wavy blonde hair.

A pair of emerald eyes were hidden behind delicate, thin-rimmed silver glasses, carrying a professional, gentle smile.

Hu Zhao handed her coat to a servant nearby and introduced her to Hu Long: "Wendys, the new butler of the house."

Wendys turned to Hu Long, her hands naturally folded in front of her, and bowed slightly with impeccable posture.

"Second Young Master, it is a pleasure to meet you. If you have any needs in the future, please feel free to command me."

Hu Long only nodded faintly and replied with a single word:

"Good."

"I'm a bit tired now and need to rest for a while."

"Alright then, go get some rest first. I'll have someone call you when dinner is ready. Mom and Dad might be back later."

Hu Zhao replied.

She turned and walked toward her room, intending to take a shower first.

"Second Young Master, please follow me."

Wendys bowed slightly and led Hu Long out of the main hall.

The courtyard was vast, complete with rockeries, flowing water, pavilions, and terraces.

In the water, several red-tailed koi fish swayed their tails.

The two passed through a corridor with soft lighting, stepped onto a staircase covered in dark carpet, and finally stopped in front of a door on the east side of the second floor.

"The bathwater has already been prepared for you."

Wendys bowed slightly.

"Much obliged."

Hu Long thanked her and pushed the door open to enter.

However, as they brushed past each other, Hu Long's body swayed as if he were unsteady on his feet.

At that moment, a hand steadied Hu Long; it was Wendys at his side.

"Second Young Master, be careful."

Wendys smiled.

"Thank you!"

Hu Long nodded.

Subsequently, the door closed softly behind him.

Watching the closed door, Wendys did not linger, turned, and left.

Inside the room.

Hu Long stood still.

Before his eyes, lines of text emerged.

[Target: Wendys]

[Skill 1: Butler Knowledge (Proficient)]

[Size: 4m (Status: Downloadable)]

(Description: Includes fine wine appreciation and service, high-end garment care, etc., as well as various etiquette services.)

[Skill 2: Unarmed Combat (Master)]

[Size: 6m (Status: Not Downloadable)]

(Description: Efficiently transforms one's own fists, feet, elbows, knees, head, and even torso into means of attack and defense, including straight punches, hooks, swings, kicks, knee strikes, elbow strikes, and other combat force-generating methods.)

[Skill 3: Pistol Shooting (Proficiency)]

[Size: 4MB (Status: Downloadable)]

(Description: Master the grip, aiming, firing, and rapid reloading techniques for various common pistols. Capable of consistently hitting vital points on stationary targets within 15 meters and possesses basic predictive shooting ability for moving targets. Includes knowledge of single-shot rapid fire, malfunction clearing, and basic maintenance.)

"To have three skills, this person is clearly no simple character! It must have been an intentional arrangement by the original body's parents."

Hu Long's eyes flickered with surprise.

Through his exploration over these past few days, he had come to understand the difficulty of training a skill to the master level.

An ordinary person might need to spend over a decade or even several decades to reach such a stage.

Clearly, Wendys was definitely not just a simple housekeeper.

However, considering the background of this body, he felt relieved; for a billionaire, it was normal for a housekeeper to have some skills under their belt.

The room was clean and tidy, with the bed neatly made.

On one side of the wall was a massive anime poster that took up almost the entire surface.

On the other side was a bookshelf embedded into the wall, with books arranged neatly upon it.

Everything was no different from what he remembered.

Hu Long merely glanced at it before walking straight into the bathroom to the side.

In the white porcelain bathtub, the water was filled to seven-tenths capacity, and the temperature, conveyed through the swirling steam, was just right.

On a low table beside the tub, a plate of washed grapes and sliced orange segments had been thoughtfully placed.

Beyond that, a set of clean clothes was folded neatly to the side.

Seeing this, he didn't delay, stripping off his clothes and sinking his body into the water, leaving only his head resting on the edge of the tub.

The warm water instantly enveloped every inch of his skin, and the nerves that had been taut for days seemed to unfurl bit by bit in the warmth.

Hu Long closed his eyes and let out a slow breath.

During his time at Morning Light Psychiatric Hospital, although he could wash up, he never had a moment of such relaxation.

Lying there, soaking in the bath, a wave of drowsiness suddenly rose up.

Suddenly, he felt a trace of icy coldness.

This sensation was very abrupt within the bathtub.

Hu Long opened his eyes immediately.

The next second, he looked toward his shoulder where the cold sensation had originated.

It was a clump of black hair.

That couldn't possibly be his hair; although he had stayed at Morning Light Psychiatric Hospital for three years, the facilities there were complete, and regular haircuts for patients were naturally included.

Therefore, his hair was nowhere near that long.

Moreover, this hair seemed to be coming from within the water.

These thoughts flashed through his mind, and a sense of hair-raising dread arose.

Before he could think further, Hu Long immediately tried to stand up and leave the bathtub.

However, it was already too late.

The strand of black hair that had been hanging down suddenly came to life, surging forth to bind him tightly before dragging him fiercely into the depths of the tub.

At this moment, the bathtub seemed to transform into a deep pool.

Hu Long felt his body sinking continuously, as if falling into a bottomless abyss.

The next instant!

He saw a pale, bloated, and enormous woman's face slowly emerging from the depths of the water below.

Its size was like that of a house.

She opened her mouth, the interior as black as ink, resembling a bottomless cavern.

A terrifying suction force suddenly erupted, dragging Hu Long straight toward it, rendering all his struggles futile.

--Splash!

The sound of water echoed.

Hu Long's eyes snapped open as he bolted upright in the bathtub.

Before him, the ceiling lights remained bright, and the bathroom was still warm.

There was no trace of black hair on his body.

The bathtub looked exactly as it had before, as if everything that just happened were merely a hallucination.

Yet, Hu Long's expression turned grim.

Because he possessed the original owner's memories, he understood that this was a sign of the entity's intensifying erosion.

It was a consequence of these relentless, interfering hallucinations.

This had inevitably led to the original owner's mental decline.

But the problem was this.

The original owner had only begun experiencing these hallucinations a year after the entity first appeared.

Yet now, it had started far earlier than that.

This meant the situation was far worse than he had imagined.

With that thought, he no longer had the heart to continue his bath.

He stood up immediately.

After drying off, he changed into a fresh set of clothes.

He walked into the main room, scanned his surroundings, and sat down by the window to one side.