Chapter 83: Burning the Rhinoceros Horn to Light the Night

Tan Xueci’s vision went black, and he completely lost consciousness. When he woke up again, he smelled a faint scent of disinfectant. He opened his eyes and found himself lying in what looked like a hospital.

Tan Xueci sat up dazedly. He remembered falling down the stairs, but his body didn’t seem to hurt.

Had Lu Qi sent him to the hospital?

Tan Xueci looked around. He didn’t see anyone he knew, so he stopped the nurse who came in to check the IV bottle. He pursed his lips and asked, “Excuse me, do you know who brought me to the hospital?”

The nurse didn’t answer. She gave him a strange look and hurried out to call a doctor.

Then Xie Yun walked in.

Tan Xueci was even more stunned. Even if he had fallen, he couldn’t have ended up in a psychiatric ward.

“Doctor Xie,” Tan Xueci asked in confusion, “have you seen Lu Qi? Did he bring me to the hospital?”

“Lu Qi?” Xie Yun seemed to hear the name for the first time. He reached out and felt Tan Xueci’s forehead. Seeing that he didn’t have a fever, he asked gently, “Is he your friend?”

Tan Xueci froze. Lu Qi often accompanied him to the hospital. Xie Yun knew Lu Qi. Why didn’t he recognize him now?

“I…” Tan Xueci said blankly, “What illness do I have that made me hospitalized?”

“Have you forgotten?” Xie Yun’s eyes were worried and a little surprised. “When you were a child, you accidentally fell into the water and suffered a mental shock. Since then, you’ve been hospitalized every so often.”

Then Xie Yun comforted him, “But it’s okay. Your condition is stable now. You can be discharged today. Your parents will come to pick you up in a bit.”

Parents?

Tan Xueci was completely confused. He felt like he didn’t understand a word Xie Yun said. He bit his lower lip and muttered, “I have a husband. I don’t need them to take care of me.”

Xie Yun’s expression grew more worried. He whispered something to the nurse, who nodded and quickly ran out.

“Xiao Ci,” Xie Yun sat by the bed. The eyes behind his silver-rimmed glasses were gentle. He took Tan Xueci’s hand and said, “Did you have a fight with your parents? Don’t they come to see you every day?”

Tan Xueci really didn’t know what he was talking about.

For the first half of his life, he had spent half his time in the hospital. No one from the Tan family had ever come to see him. How could it be that his parents came to the hospital every day?

Tan Xueci’s heart started to panic for some reason. He didn’t want to stay here. He pushed Xie Yun away, hurriedly put on his shoes, and wanted to discharge himself.

But before he could leave the ward, hurried footsteps sounded outside. Then Gao Ying and Tan Chongchuan pushed the door open.

Gao Ying was startled to see him standing on the floor. She quickly helped him sit down, touched his head, and said, “What’s wrong, Xiao Ci?” She looked well-maintained, her age impossible to tell, and her eyes were gentle. She asked, “Do you want to wait for Mom and Dad outside?”

If this had been a year ago, and Gao Ying had suddenly spoken to him like this, Tan Xueci felt he would have burst into tears. But now he only felt confusion, and even some caution.

“It’s okay,” Tan Chongchuan also came over. The man exuded mature composure. He patted Tan Xueci’s shoulder and said with a hearty laugh, “Our Xiao Ci is the bravest, aren’t you? Doctor Xie said the treatment went smoothly. We’ll be going home soon.”

Tan Shangli and Tan Yanning also arrived, following their parents and chatting happily as they walked in.

When Tan Yanning saw him, his eyes lit up. He sat down beside Tan Xueci’s bed, leaned against him, and tattled, “Big brother, you’re finally discharged. It’s been so boring without you at home. Eldest brother is way too dull. I don’t want to talk to him.”

Tan Shangli gave them a helpless look, but there was no blame in his eyes, only amusement.

Tan Xueci’s fingers gripped the edge of the bed tightly, his nails turning white. His head was buzzing, and his eyes were red.

It felt like a dream.

This was everything he had always wanted. Now it was suddenly right in front of him, and it only made him afraid.

“Eldest brother…” Tan Xueci’s throat tightened. He looked at Tan Shangli and asked hoarsely, “Aren’t you dead?”

Tan Shangli was taken aback. The others were also stunned, all eyes on Tan Xueci.

Tan Xueci thought they would be angry. In the past, if Gao Ying had heard something like that, she would have beaten him to death.

But Gao Ying only secretly wiped away a tear.

Tan Shangli didn’t even put on a cold face. Instead, he touched Tan Xueci’s head, his gaze gentle, and leaned down to ask, “Did Xiao Ci have a nightmare? Don’t be scared. Big brother is still here. We’ve come to take you home.”

Before Tan Xueci could process what was happening, they had taken him out of the hospital. Xie Yun even prescribed some medicine for him.

Once in the car, Tan Xueci’s hand unconsciously rested on his lower belly. Then his whole body tensed. He frantically felt around.

Nothing.

There was nothing there.

The heart in his belly was gone.

“What are you looking for?” Tan Yanning asked, puzzled, sitting next to him.

Tan Xueci looked up sharply. “Where is He Xunye?”

Tan Yanning was startled, then laughed. “Big brother, you’re asking about our school’s Professor He? He passed away from an illness a few days ago. I told you on the phone. He wasn’t even thirty yet. Such a pity.”

Tan Xueci breathed a slight sigh of relief. At least He Xunye still existed.

But wait… this was just an illusion, wasn’t it?

But it was too real. Even more real than He Wuling’s heart demon illusion. In He Wuling’s illusion, he hadn’t been afraid because he was sure he could leave. But this place made his heart race uncontrollably.

He Xunye was still here. Maybe he would come looking for him tonight.

“Professor He’s funeral… I don’t know exactly when,” Tan Yanning said, tearing open a bag of cookies. He handed one to Tan Xueci and took one for himself. “Probably within a few days.”

Tan Xueci held the cookie in his hand and looked out the car window. It was raining outside, like late August. That should be around the time he and He Xunye got married.

Had he gone back to that time?

“He Xunye’s funeral…” Tan Xueci’s throat tightened involuntarily. “Aren’t you going?”

Tan Shangli was driving. Tan Chongchuan, in the passenger seat, had been listening to him and Tan Yanning talk, looking immersed in family joy. At Tan Xueci’s question, he turned back with a smile. “Why would the He family invite us? We’re not close to them.”

Tan Xueci’s heart, which had just settled, leaped again. If they didn’t attend the funeral, what about his marriage to He Xunye?

The more Tan Xueci thought about it, the more restless he became. He reached for the car door. Gao Ying was sitting next to him. She quickly grabbed his hand and said worriedly, “What’s wrong, Xiao Ci?”

“I want to go to the He family,” Tan Xueci said, his eyelashes trembling. “I want to attend He Xunye’s funeral.”

Tan’s parents didn’t understand why he was suddenly interested in He Xunye, but seeing Tan Xueci on the verge of tears, they immediately felt sorry for him. If he wanted to go to the He family, they would give him the moon if he asked.

“Shangli,” Tan’s mother patted the back of the eldest son’s seat. “Quick, quick, let’s go to the He family.”

“Mom,” Tan Shangli said, bewildered and helpless. “I don’t even know where the He family lives.”

It was said that the He family dealt with feng shui and the occult, pretty mysterious. How would they know the He family’s location?

Tan Xueci quickly said, “I know.”

Tan’s parents didn’t have time to ask how Tan Xueci knew. They took him to the He family.

White lanterns hung outside the He family’s gate. Tan Xueci got out of the car and ran to the door, pounding on it.

The butler opened the door and looked at him questioningly. “Who are you?”

“I…” Tan Xueci wanted to go in, but the butler blocked him. He had to say, “I want to see He Xunye.”

The butler understood, a mourner. He said politely, “The body will lie in state for seven days before burial. There are still a few days left. Please come back for the funeral then.”

Tan Xueci didn’t listen. He wanted to go in anyway. He looked up and saw He Pinglan in the distance. His eyes reddened as he called out, “Third sister!”

He Pinglan was startled. She turned around. She wasn’t wearing her ghostly nightgown; dressed normally, she seemed to have just come from the wake, her face showing traces of tears.

She came over, her gaze gentle and sorrowful as she looked at Tan Xueci. “You’re here to see Xunye? Are you Xunye’s friend? I understand how you feel, but you’ll have to wait a few more days.”

No.

I’m his wife.

Tan Xueci grabbed He Pinglan’s clothes, not wanting her to leave. But He Pinglan seemed physically drained and couldn’t attend to him. The butler quickly called for people to throw Tan Xueci out.

Tan Chongchuan saw this and hurried over to stop them. He stood in front of Tan Xueci like a real father, politely blocking the butler and ensuring Tan Xueci wasn’t hurt.

Tan Xueci didn’t have time to be touched. He was enveloped by a huge sense of confusion. He stepped back and returned to the car.

He went home with his father and mother.

Everyone was kind to him.

Tan Shangli gave him a brand-new phone and asked, “Do you like it, Xiao Ci? You can play whack-a-mole on it.”

“Big brother, big brother,” Tan Yanning also called him. “After dinner, I’ll teach you to write, okay?”

Aunt Zhang even made him spicy hotpot, with lots of fish balls in it. The red oil and bone broth had milk added, bubbling in the clay pot, spicy without being harsh, rich and mellow.

Despite his confusion, Tan Xueci still ate a few bites.

Aunt Zhang sat next to him, watching him eat. She couldn’t help nagging, “This isn’t healthy. You should eat less.”

Then she scolded Tan Yanning, “If only Young Master Yan could eat as heartily as Young Master Xue.”

Tan Xueci forced back the soreness in his eyes.

Aunt Zhang always used to tell him to be more like Tan Yanning. He used to secretly curse them in his heart, wishing that one day Aunt Zhang would tell Tan Yanning to be more like him.

Tan Yanning shrugged. Being scolded by Aunt Zhang didn’t bother him. He even came over to Tan Xueci and said smugly, “Big brother, you want to act, right? I found you an agent.”

“…Is it Lu Qi?” Tan Xueci asked quietly.

“Lu Qi?” Tan Yanning seemed not to recognize the name. He pulled out his phone to show Tan Xueci. “It’s this one. A top agent. Big brother, you’re so handsome, you’ll get famous just by acting casually.”

After dinner, Tan Xueci slept for a while. In the afternoon, he went with Tan Yanning to meet the agent.

The agent looked shrewd but composed, calm and talkative. He shook hands with Tan Xueci and began discussing future plans.

Tan Xueci was distracted. As they left the company, he accidentally bumped into someone who seemed to be a movie investor.

Instinctively, he wanted to shrink his shoulders and apologize. In the past, Lu Qi would have been terrified, immediately bowing and scraping, pressing him to bow too. But this agent just pulled him back and said politely, “Sorry, Mr. Zhang.”

Then he continued to see them out of the building.

Not pathetic at all.

Tan Xueci sniffled. His eyes reddened. His eyes were like the world’s smallest man-made lakes, able to keep flowing and flowing.

The agent said he’d treat them to dinner and asked what they wanted to eat. Tan Xueci wiped his tears and whispered hoarsely, “…Can you treat me to spicy hotpot?”

The agent was momentarily surprised, then laughed. He didn’t seem mocking, probably just thinking Tan Xueci was being shy. “Let’s go eat hotpot near the company. There’s a sukiyaki place.”

Tan Xueci thought he’d rather have the ten-yuan spicy hotpot, sitting in a shabby little shop with yellow lights, and someone would break chopsticks for him.

And that person would whisper slyly about how to curry favor with big shots, bragging about having made a big star famous before.

In reality, that big star dumped him before getting famous, and he was just blowing smoke.

Tan Xueci didn’t eat much that evening. When he got home, Gao Ying pulled him and Tan Yanning to watch TV with her. Finally, Tan Xueci couldn’t hold back and asked, “Do you still remember Ayuan’s brother?”

Gao Ying was taken aback. A flicker of pain crossed her face, but she quickly patted his and Tan Yanning’s backs and said, “Of course Mom remembers. Why did you suddenly think to ask, sweetie?”

“Do you know him too?” Tan Xueci looked at Tan Yanning.

“Yeah,” Tan Yanning said. There was no jealousy on his face, no dark and bitter hatred in his eyes. Instead, he said calmly, “But after Mom and Dad adopted me, they’ve always taken good care of me. Whether it’s eldest brother or second brother, they’ve been good to me. What’s in a name? He is him, I am me.”

Gao Ying’s eyes showed some guilt. At first, she had thought of having another child as comfort, but over the years, she had come to see Tan Yanning as her own.

Tan Yanning understood that and didn’t resent them.

“Big brother,” Tan Yanning said teasingly, with a smile, “Your boyfriend is probably coming to see you tomorrow, right?”

“…My boyfriend?”

“He Sui. Haven’t you been together for a long time? You’ve liked him since you were kids. He said he wants to marry you.”

Tan Xueci covered his forehead. Everything was perfect, the life he had always dreamed of, but he felt like he couldn’t breathe.

He didn’t know when he stood up. He ran out of the Tan family home.

Outside, it was already night.

His parents and everyone were startled and chased after him. Tan Xueci even heard Gao Ying’s voice.

Gao Ying was crying, calling out, “Xiao Ci, Xiao Ci! Isn’t this what you wanted most, to come home?”

Tan Xueci’s eyes were red, but he didn’t look back. He ran forward under the moonlight, a night breeze blowing in his face.

It was already night, but there wasn’t a single ghost outside. As he ran, he looked back, then walked backward a few steps. Not even the little cat ghost that used to rub against him at night was there.

He used to hate ghosts. For the first time in his life, he felt that a world without ghosts was so… so lonely.

They were all good to him. But that wasn’t what he wanted.

He ran toward the He family without looking back.

The butler hadn’t expected him to come again and was about to refuse him entry. But He Wuling heard the commotion and came to the door, giving the butler a questioning look.

“I want to marry He Xunye,” Tan Xueci said, his black hair disheveled. The handsome boy’s eyes burned like torches in the night as he stared at He Wuling. “I want to have a ghost marriage with him. Marry me to him!”

Not just He Wuling, but even the other He family members thought he had lost his mind. He Wuling’s face darkened. “What nonsense?! Is a ghost marriage something to joke about?”

He Wuling was about to have him thrown out, but He Pinglan took pity on him. She stopped the butler and let Tan Xueci stay for the night, promising to have his family pick him up tomorrow.

Tan Xueci slept in the room next to He Xunye’s. He lay in bed, unable to sleep, so he got up and went to the wake.

The wake was just like their wedding day. A black coffin stood in the middle. Tan Xueci pushed the lid open with effort. A pale-faced man lay inside, dressed in a black burial suit, his long lashes resting quietly.

Tan Xueci’s nose stung. He climbed into the coffin and hugged He Xunye’s body.

Dead people are heavy, and He Xunye was much heavier than him. Struggling, Tan Xueci lifted He Xunye’s arm, draped it over his own shoulder so it looked like He Xunye was embracing him, then nestled his head against He Xunye’s chest, curling up beside him.

He clutched the fabric at He Xunye’s chest and pressed his ear to it. There was no heartbeat, no lazy, intimate tone from He Xunye speaking to him.

He touched his own belly. It was empty. He picked up He Xunye’s other hand, brought it to his mouth, and sucked on He Xunye’s cold finger, the same one he had bitten off at the beginning. Tears instantly blurred his vision. He whispered, “Husband…”

He had also brought the spirit tablet. He could now read the characters on it: [Spirit of Deceased Husband He Xunye].

He Xunye was dead.

Death is like a lamp going out. There are no ghosts. After death, people simply vanish from the world.

Tan Xueci bit his lip to keep from making a sound, but tears still streamed down fiercely.

In his life, he had experienced death twice. The first time was when his brother died, but he found out long after, and he was young then, so he felt more confusion. This was the second time.

He felt like he finally understood what death meant.

Tan Xueci lay on He Xunye’s chest, crying. After a while, he suddenly realized something, stunned.

No.

If he hadn’t married He Xunye, why would the spirit tablet say “deceased husband”?

Tan Xueci sat up abruptly. No. He climbed out of the coffin, holding the tablet, and went to find He Wuling.

Under the heavy night sky, a low, gentle voice seemed to sound in his ear. ‘Isn’t this good?’

‘You don’t really like ghosts, do you? Spending a lifetime with an evil spirit that doesn’t understand human nature, wouldn’t that be painful?’

‘Everything you’ve ever wanted is here: family, fame, even love.’

‘He Sui will be good to you. Or you can break up with him and be with anyone else. They’ll all be good to you.’

‘Stay.’

Tan Xueci’s head was foggy. He heard the voice and knew something was wrong, but he couldn’t react.

He carried the spirit tablet and barged into He Wuling and Xu Yuzhu’s room at three-thirty in the morning.

The old couple was terrified.

He Wuling’s white hair stood on end. He snapped in shock, “What are you doing?!”

“I want to find my husband,” Tan Xueci said, clutching the tablet. He jumped onto their carved wooden canopy bed without taking off his shoes. He was going to make a scene. He grabbed He Wuling, clawing at his wrinkled face and pulling his hair. “Don’t you have ghost-summoning talismans? I want ghost-summoning talismans!”

“Nonsense!” He Wuling roared, feeling like he was being attacked by some weird creature. “Get off me!”

Xu Yuzhu clutched her chest. “Oh my heavens.”

Tan Xueci cried and wailed, all while crawling around the bed, chasing He Wuling and Xu Yuzhu with the spirit tablet. When he caught up, he slapped them. He Wuling and Xu Yuzhu were so scared they huddled together, each holding one side of their face, looking miserable and disheveled. They had to get off the bed and surrender it to him.

He Wuling was truly frightened. He shielded his wife and said darkly, “Fine, fine, I’ll give them to you, okay?!”

Tan Xueci’s face fell, and he followed He Wuling to the study.

“Oh my heavens!” Xu Yuzhu clutched her chest and muttered again.

“There’s no such thing as ghost-summoning talismans,” He Wuling grumbled, reluctantly handing over a few. His old face was also drooping. “They’re all fake. There are no ghosts! What use would a hundred of them be?”

He figured it out. This little crazy kid must have a crush on his son. He’d seen that term online.

Love-struck.

Yeah, love-struck.

As He Wuling said this, he noticed Tan Xueci had gone silent. He turned around cautiously.

Tan Xueci had somehow crept up behind him like a little ghost. His eyes were dark and gloomy, staring fixedly. He stretched out his hand, his face expressionless. “Then give me a hundred.”

He Wuling: “…”

Stupid mouth.

Had to say it.

Helpless, He Wuling was chased by Tan Xueci’s wailing and had to go draw talismans for him.

Tan Xueci finally got a hundred talisman papers. He also looted a bunch of things from He Wuling’s study: a bronze candlestick, a demon-revealing mirror, and a rhinoceros horn.

He carried all these to the courtyard and started pasting the talismans everywhere. In no time, the entire He family was awakened, with shouts and screams filling the air.

Tan Xueci didn’t care about them. After pasting the talismans, he made a hand seal. In a flash, eerie flames ignited all the talismans with a bang. The boy’s black hair fluttered in the wind.

Tan Xueci then lit the rhinoceros horn in his hand. He had heard that a rhinoceros horn can shine like a torch in the dark.

Burn the rhinoceros horn to light the night, connect to the underworld, communicate with ghosts and gods.

He Wuling and the butler were both frightened. Their two old faces peered from the corridor, watching him, wondering what trick he had used to actually light the talismans.

“Master,” the butler stammered, whispering strangely to He Wuling, “Is he summoning a god?”

“I’m not summoning a god. I don’t believe in gods,” Tan Xueci heard them. The boy’s eyes blazed fiercely. In their terrified gazes, he raised the rhinoceros horn, tear stains still on his face, and said in a trembling voice, “I want the most powerful evil spirit in this world to come to me.”

He Wuling and the butler looked at him as if he were mad.

…

‘You really fell in love with him,’ the voice sighed again. ‘Very well, then.’

Tan Xueci didn’t know what that meant. He only felt a warmth return to his belly.

That heart began to beat. Blood surged, filling his mouth with a coppery taste.

He had… tasted this before, somewhere.

Before he could think, the rhinoceros horn in his hand began to glow like a real torch in the night.

Suddenly, wind and thunder roared. Heavy black clouds covered the entire sky. Amid the panicked footsteps and screams of people fleeing, thick black water and mist surged violently into the He family home.

Tan Xueci bit his lip, tears blurring his vision, and was pulled into a cold, broad embrace.

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