Estrangement

The next day, around dawn.

Outside the paper window, the sky was still a mixture of dark blue and light, in a state of half-dawn.

Zhou Yang had already climbed out of bed early.

He went to bed very early last night so that he could get up before dawn today to plan some things.

Squatting in the corner of the room, Zhou Yang reached one hand towards the clay stove burning in the corner.

Inside the clay stove, about two ounces of paper money burned silently, wisps of smoke rising from the stove and being instantly absorbed clean by the Ghost Mouth opening in Zhou Yang's palm, not a single wisp was lost.

Although Zhou Yang has not yet opened all the Ghost Mouth on his body, he is absorbing the smoke from the paper money with the Ghost Mouth in his palms. The Ghost Mouth are faintly visible under the skin all over his body, and wisps of smoke are constantly flowing in these Ghost Mouth hidden under the skin.

From the soles of Zhou Yang's feet to the top of his head, and then flowing down between the nostrils.

The smoke that entered Zhou Yang's nostrils then turned into wisps of blood.

Most of the blood and energy were redirected back to Zhou Yang's body, replenishing the deficiencies in his physical constitution.

The remaining ten percent or so gathered around his navel, as if it were about to form a seed.

"A Fu said that after the Right Mindfulness Lock is perfected to the ninth level, it may evolve into Supernatural Ripple or conjure up a limb."

"Supernatural Ripple are easy to obtain; but Phantom-Grown Limb are hard to come by."

"I Imprinting Ding Ling's Right Mindfulness Lock and obtained Supernatural Ripple. Currently, my own Right Mindfulness Lock is still at the eighth level."

"Burning paper money for these Ghost Mouth daily helps break through the ninth level of the Right Mindfulness Lock, opening up the Ghost Mouth around the navel as well. Perhaps then, Phantom-Grown Limb?"

"It seems as if some strange thing is planted inside the navel, which is a sign of Phantom-Grown Limb."

"It's just that it's rather strange that a limb would grow in this location."

"Even if I only gained another kind of Supernatural Ripple, it would be a wonderful thing. It would be far superior to other practitioners of Breathing of the Ghost."

The Ghost Mouth in his palm absorbed all the two ounces of paper money, and Zhou Yang stood up.

In the past, whether the Ghost Mouth absorbed nutrients from the dead's food or from this paper money, Zhou Yang only felt a cool sensation coursing through his entire body.

Now he could sense the wisps of energy that had been absorbed by the Ghost Mouth.

Those wisps of breath, fed back to him, were the streams of blood and energy flowing into his nostrils.

He lay back down on the bed, listening to the sounds outside while turning to the second page of "The Knife Credit Ledger".

It was completely silent outside.

At dawn, the "family members" were still fast asleep.

They only "wake up" when it's just getting light.

Of course, if Zhou Yang went out at this time, his family members would wake up one by one.

As Zhou Yang looked at the second page of "The Debt of Love" in the "Knife Credit Ledger" section, his gaze fell on Ding Ling's personal resume in the "Abilities" column, specifically on the "Draft of Divine Makeup and Ghost Painting (Gate of Opening Averting God)" item.

As thoughts raced, ink characters surfaced on the blood-red paper. "Whether to Imprinting the ability of 'retribution for a Ding Ling Karmic Retribution Body ' or ' the Draft of Divine Makeup and Ghost Painting ' (Gate of Opening Averting God)?"

"Given the extremely poor quality of the swords sold on credit, a single Good Karma can only Imprinting one-tenth of the Karmic Retribution Body."

"Increasing your investment in Good Karma can further enhance your inherent capacity for Imprinting Karmic Retribution Body."

"You have now performed fifteen acts of Good Karma."

Zhou Yang originally had five Good Karma left, but after completing the matters in Daliang Village, he Good Karma ten more.

The "Knife Credit Ledger" makes no mention of the extent of the growth of Good Karma.

Perhaps, after completing the chapter "Performing for Ghosts and Gods," "The Knife Credit Ledger" should have made an overall assessment of this chapter, and Zhou Yang could have also glimpsed what the standard for calculating Good Karma is.

However, he later disturbed the peace, which resulted in the delayed appearance of the proper judgment.

He now carries the added burden of a romantic entanglement with the Opera Lady Ding Ling.

All of this can only be fully understood by Zhou Yang after the second story, "The A Woman Rides on a Golden Pagoda," has concluded.

Zhou Yang's thoughts quickly returned, and looking at the ink characters emerging from the blood-red paper, he responded in his heart, "Ten Good Karma, Imprinting Ding Ling's Draft of Divine Makeup and Ghost Painting ' (Gate of Opening Averting God)."

Karma arises from cause and effect.

"No regrets for the sins committed?"

Seeing the ten blood-red characters that floated back onto the paper, Zhou Yang felt a sudden pang of confusion.

He snapped out of his daze and smiled inwardly, "No regrets for the sins I've committed!"

The decision was made.

The page remained silent; nothing else happened.

Zhou Yang, however, seemed to hear a woman's giggling laughter.

With the laughter of the nimble woman, Gate of Opening suddenly appeared outside Zhou Yang!

The Ghost Head Averting God floated out from the Gate of Opening, its blank face emitting the sounds of a woman singing and performing. "Wait until you tell me about these eighteen years from the beginning." Zhou Yang suddenly turned his head and met the gaze of the faceless head.

He stared at the head for a long time, but couldn't sense any familiar aura from the Ghost Head Averting God.

Ding Ling's ability to Gate of Opening Averting God has now been completely Imprinting on his Ghost Head Averting God.

It is precisely because he now possesses this Averting God, and has a foundation, that he can further Imprinting Ding Ling's ability to Averting God.

He then turned his gaze to Ding Ling's other ability, "Breathing of the Ghost (Right Mindfulness Lock Level 4)".

"You have obtained the opportunity to Karmic Retribution Body." Continue to Imprinting the Breathing of the Ghost (the fourth layer of the Right Mindfulness Lock), which will change the evolutionary direction of your own Right Mindfulness Lock and eliminate the opportunity you already possess.

"The direction of your own Right Mindfulness Lock evolution will coincide with the inherent Supernatural Ripple."

"Should we Imprinting?"

This time, the hints given in "The Knife Credit Ledger" are different.

It looked complicated, but Zhou Yang understood it at a glance.

In reality, it means that if Zhou Yang were to Imprinting Ding Ling's Right Mindfulness Lock again, it would cause Zhou Yang's own Right Mindfulness Lock to reach perfection, and he would no longer comprehend new ripples or Phantom-Grown Limb. Instead, it would directly merge with the Handprint Ripple ripples that Zhou Yang already possesses.

This was not what Zhou Yang wanted.

He gave up on continuing to Imprinting.

Five Good Karma are left behind for future Imprinting.

Zhou Yang then tested the new ability that Ghost Head Averting God had just Imprinting.

Previously, although he could make the Ghost Head Averting God absorb the life force of living people and then impersonate them, he could not speak; if he did, he would be exposed.

Now that he has the ability Imprinting from Ding Ling Averting God, he is more confident in using Ghost Head Averting God to impersonate the corresponding living person, and there is less risk of being exposed.

After finishing all his tasks, Zhou Yang leaned against the headboard and rested for a while with his eyes half-closed.

The sky outside the window is gradually brightening.

Then, rustling sounds gradually began to come from the courtyard.

Before long, the sound of Huang Shaozi and Zhou Heigou talking could be heard.

Inside the house, Zhou Yang immediately sat up, propping himself up, upon hearing that Zhou Heigou was the first one to get up.

In the courtyard.

Zhou Heigou chuckled, and you could almost see his fawning face in his voice. "Mother, thank you for getting up early to cook for us!"

"I'll go to the fields first; the winter harvest is almost here, so I need to keep a close eye on things."

"Winter harvest?" Zhou Yang, who also came from a rural background, had never heard of such a niche term as "winter harvest" before.

However, while everything in Guan Village seems to follow the daily life of humans, it actually goes against the true way of life of ordinary people.

This place doesn't follow the natural cycle of autumn harvest, spring planting, summer growth, and winter storage, but upon reflection, that makes sense.

Huang Shaozi's response was gloomy; what happened yesterday had finally taken root in this ghost's heart—if it truly cared. "I'm not having a hard time, how can I compare to you and your father's hard work?"

"We all stay at home waiting for food, only you and your father—you two have fed our whole family!"

"Mother, that's not what I meant—" Zhou Heigou lowered his voice, but Zhou Yang could still hear him clearly, "I just feel that this third brother is a little different from before—"

He was also thinking of sowing discord.

Upon hearing the sound, Huang Shaozi shrieked, "He's your brother! He's your brother!"

"He's my own son, my dearest darling—if you keep talking badly about your brother, your father won't be able to protect you!"

The Heigou hadn't expected the Huang Shaozi to react so strongly.

He paused for a long while, seemingly frozen in place.

After a long silence, she chuckled sheepishly, "I was being unreasonable, Mother. I was wrong."

After offering a few insincere apologies, he hurriedly fled out the door.

Before long, Zhou Laogou also got up.

Huang Shaozi still didn't dare to act recklessly in front of him, and served him breakfast.

"The Heigou went to the fields; I'll go check on it too."

"Let the Baigou rest at home."

When Zhou Laogou speaks, his tone is dry and detached.

"Okay, go ahead. I'll talk to Baigou when he gets up later," Huang Shaozi replied with a smile.

After Zhou Laogou left, a loud chopping sound came from the direction of the woodshed, "Thump thump thump thump thump!"

The sound was so loud, it seemed as if the chopping board was about to be chopped into pieces.

Huang Shaozi's voice mingled with the noise. "He's going to the fields, so you go to the fields too!"

"You two don't care about anything, you might as well die together!"

You both deserve to die!

"Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!"

Zhou Yang hid inside the house, listening to Huang Shaozi's hateful howl, and was greatly surprised!

He never expected that after he had tried to improve his relationship with his family in recent days, Huang Shaozi would undergo such a huge change!

In this family, Zhou Laogou is the absolute ruler. Huang Shaozi may appear to be very assertive, but she can only submit to him and never openly or secretly criticizes or complains about her husband.

She still considers Zhou Laogou to be the head of the household, but behind his back, she has begun to curse him so viciously!

The current situation arose from yesterday's provocation by Zhou Heigou.

The Shaozi and the dog, from that moment on, began to drift apart!

Could he then make the Shaozi actually kill that Laogou?

In this household, how can one purge dissidents and seize power for oneself?

Zhou Yang closed his eyes, his mind churning.

A moment later, he got out of bed and went out the door.

The sounds of chopping on the chopping board in the woodshed stopped abruptly. Huang Shaozi, wearing a leather apron stained with bits of entrails, walked out of the woodshed with a smile. Looking at Zhou Yang, there was a clear and vivid tenderness in his eyes.

Looking at her expression, Zhou Yang was both amazed and wary.

The Huang Shaozi of today seems to have a real human touch!

What caused this change?

Is it an interaction between myself and it?!

The interaction was certainly useful, but the most useful thing was that when I left "The Knife Credit Ledger" yesterday, my emotions surged, and I momentarily poured those surging emotions onto "Ghost Huang Shaozi" who was wearing human skin!

Will you earn their genuine affection in return for your sincerity towards these Human-Skin Ghost?!

The thought flashed through Zhou Yang's mind like lightning.

Zhou Yang spoke first, before Huang Shaozi could even open his mouth.

With a sincere expression, he imagined the ghost as his real mother and whispered, "Mother, please don't have such big arguments with Father and Second Brother in the future."

I hope our family can live in harmony and I don't want to ruin our happy home because of me.

"Seeing Dad glaring at you, my heart aches too—"

My son----

Before he could finish speaking, Huang Shaozi had already pulled Zhou Yang into his arms.

Ignoring the strong smell of blood on the peeled apron, this embrace truly felt like a mother's hug.

"Mother—" Zhou Yang stammered, his voice trembling as he went through all the sorrows and grief he had experienced in his life. When he looked up at Huang Shaozi, his eyes were already red. "Mother, I don't want to go guard the fire tower. I'm afraid of dying—"

According to the deceased Guan Nu's account of his experience guarding the fire tower, Zhou Yang believed he could manage the first three hours of nighttime guard duty.

Only in the fourth hour before dawn did he lose confidence.

In the fourth hour, it suddenly became light.

All the ghosts guarding the fire tower hid, and the Guan Nu followed suit.

But at that moment, his soul left his body, and his physical form was discovered by a group of ghosts.

What exactly happened? Zhou Yang had no clue whatsoever, not even a direction to speculate.

To be in this state to guard the fire tower the following night would be extremely dangerous!

Therefore, seeing that Huang Shaozi was so concerned about him, Huang Shaozi Zhou Yang took the opportunity to ask her to help him cancel the task of guarding the fire tower.

Hearing this, Huang Shaozi wiped away her tears and whispered, "It's all arranged. You can't not go, my son—"

Seeing that although she hadn't agreed to his request, she hadn't scolded him harshly either, Zhou Yang wanted to say a few more words of advice.

At this moment, Huang Shaozi reached into his leather apron and rummaged around for a while before stuffing something wrapped in coarse cloth into Zhou Yang's arms.

She whispered, "Keep this with you, my darling, make sure you keep it safe!"

"You'll need it when the fire tower is up!"

"Your older brother and I have already discussed it; he'll definitely help you out!"

"Mother!"

Zhou Yang didn't know what to say, so he hugged the Huang Shaozi tightly again.

He still had doubts. Even though Huang Shaozi seemed to be treating him much better now, it was still a demon in human skin.

Can something given by a ghost truly help you while guarding the fire tower, or will it push you further into the fire?

Zhou Yang did not eat at home this morning either.

He told Huang Shaozi that since he hadn't worked yesterday, he was rushing to work to earn more money to buy cosmetics for the Revelation Ceremony, and therefore wouldn't be eating at home.

In the past, no matter how great the reason, Zhou Yang, a marginalized figure in Huang Shaozi's family, would never be spared two meals a day, unlike Zhou Heigou, who could freely decide his daily meals.

But Huang Shaozi actually agreed to let him go today, allowing Zhou Yang to leave home without having breakfast.

After leaving the house, Zhou Yang hurriedly greeted the villagers who appeared along the way and turned into a deserted alley.

When he came out again, he had transformed into the appearance of "Zhou Heigou".

Disguised as Heigou, Zhou Yang sniffed the thinning traces of life in the air, seeking out the barely perceptible presence of Zhou Heigou. He followed a sparsely populated path straight toward the farmland on the outskirts of Guan Village.