Chapter 85: The Eve

Tan Xueci looked at the black goatskin. He placed his palm on the cool fur, then took out the big diamond ring He Xunye had given him earlier and put it on his finger.

Then he raised his hand and admired it under the moonlight.

The boy’s fingers were pale and slender, and even that exaggerated, blindingly flashy diamond looked good on them.

Tan Xueci looked at the goatskin, then at his own hand. No matter how he looked at it, human fingers were better.

A little goat’s hoof couldn’t wear a ring.

Tan Xueci sat on the doorstep, propping his chin in his hands and daydreaming for a while. He vaguely heard footsteps behind him. He hurriedly hid the goatskin, turned around, and found it was He Xunye.

That dead ghost was always appearing out of nowhere, but tonight he didn’t suddenly pop up in front of his face.

He Xunye sat down next to him. The step wasn’t high; Tan Xueci’s legs could barely reach the ground, and he had to bend them a bit. The evil ghost’s long legs looked cramped.

His complexion was also very pale. His long, thick eyelashes cast heavy shadows under his eyes, almost blending into the night, with a hint of weariness. Only his lips were still that intense, ghostly red.

He Xunye suddenly imitated his usual behavior, grabbing his arm and leaning his head on his shoulder.

Tan Xueci’s eyes went wide. He felt like his shoulders had broadened. It was like the Little Goat King and his ghostly husband.

He suspected He Xunye had seen his goatskin, but He Xunye didn’t ask anything. He just rubbed the big diamond ring on his hand and couldn’t help but laugh. Then he turned, wrapped his arms around his waist, and buried his face in his neck this time.

“Little Mie,” He Xunye’s deep, dark peach blossom eyes lifted, his voice low and hoarse as he looked at him and called softly, “Baby.”

Tan Xueci tossed the goatskin aside and hugged He Xunye back, patting his head.

Logically, it should be January, the time for snow in Jing City. But chaotically, it had been raining nonstop.

The entire pitch-black night was shrouded in misty rain, and the moon gradually disappeared.

He Xunye took out his black umbrella, held it over their heads, and continued to lie in Tan Xueci’s arms.

Tan Xueci had never seen a ghost that could act so spoiled. He lowered his head to talk to He Xunye, but He Xunye looked at his lips and suddenly kissed him. A sticky, warm heat spread in his mouth.

Yu He, tired from flipping through books, pushed open the window to get some air. His face immediately fell. He had never seen a gay couple kiss so much either.

And every time Tan Xueci and He Xunye were together, he felt like he was cosplaying as Fahai. Now they even had an umbrella open. That black umbrella in the rain and fog looked like a rickety black awning boat.

“A hundred years of cultivation brings us to share a boat crossing,” Yu He teased, adding commentary for them. “A thousand years of cultivation brings us to share a pillow…” He paused, then said, “Hey, no, that seems a bit unlucky.”

Tan Xueci didn’t understand anyway, so whatever he said made no difference. Tan Xueci rolled his eyes at him.

After making out with the dead ghost outside for a while, Tan Xueci went back to sleep. Lu Qi was already curled up in a corner sleeping. He Pinglan and Yu He each had their own worries and didn’t sleep all night.

Tan Xueci woke up the next day thinking he hadn’t slept long. But when he looked at his phone, it was almost noon. Outside was still pitch black. The sky had never brightened; it was still like night.

There was still internet, though. Tan Xueci scrolled through Weibo. No one was talking about anything else; it was all about encounters with ghosts and various serial murder cases.

He Wuling, along with the other branches of the He family and other metaphysical families, was out catching ghosts, but with little success. The speed of capture couldn’t keep up with the speed of ghosts appearing.

And now, ghostly energy was surging and expanding. Red-clad or yellow-clad vengeful spirits were everywhere. Many ghosts hadn’t even passed the seventh day after death before they turned into monsters. It was no different from a hell on earth.

[As friends who often kill people know.]

[So dark. Who knows, maybe someone scrolling through their phone right now is a friend who often kills people.]

[Holy crap, I learned about so many metaphysical families for the first time. I just saw a Taoist exorcising a ghost right in front of me.]

[Head of the He family said everyone should go to the Qilian Temple. Even if the temple can’t hold everyone, at least stay nearby. I thought with so many people, even the vicinity would be packed. But on the way to Qilian Temple, a lot of people died, and it turned out there was still room. Now there are probably more ghosts than people outside.]

[My condolences. My parents were killed by a hanged ghost on the way to Qilian Temple. They were dragged out of the car by force. I wanted to become a vengeful spirit and take revenge, but a little black dog bit my pant leg and wouldn’t let go. At first I didn’t recognize it; it barked at me a few times, and then I realized it was a dog my family raised when I was little. It died a few years ago. I never thought it was still here. Now I drove to Qilian Temple with my little dog.]

[My condolences. My parents died when I was very young. I never knew how they died. Lately, I keep having dreams about seeing ghosts many years ago. There weren’t as many as now, but the sky was still dark with clouds. Then my parents brought me to Qilian Temple. One day they went out to buy food and never came back.]

[I dreamt about it too. But now Qilian Temple is so dark, no, ]

[It’s been raining heavily for days, the Yan River’s water level has risen sharply, there might even be flooding.]

[I know some folklore. Isn’t there a General’s Temple in Yanxia Village that can suppress floods?]

[If this were before, I’d say you were superstitious. But now I’m not so sure. My family is from a village too, very close to Yanxia Village. I’ve been meaning to say this: didn’t the statue of the god in Yanxia Village disappear many years ago? No one in the village worships that General Yan anymore. The temple is just a rundown shack. I went there with my mom; there was no statue inside. I was puzzled when I saw that variety show.]

[…]

[I really want to go home.]

…

Tan Xueci lay on the kang scrolling through his phone. He saw a story about a “mantis woman” who killed her husband. A woman chopped her husband into dozens of pieces and stored them in the refrigerator, planning to eat them in portions.

But the fridge lost power, the meat rotted, and the neighbor smelled a stench. When they went to check, the woman’s eyes bulged out of their sockets, and she had turned into something like a mantis.

There was also a case of a child killing his parents. A little boy died. His parents were divorced. The funeral home told them to come pick up the ashes. They started arguing; neither wanted to go.

They had divorced because they fought every day, and now they were still arguing about who had contributed more to the family and why one should go and not the other. The little boy’s spirit stood nearby, head bowed. Finally, his anger surged, and he bit his parents to death.

His parents turned into ghosts too, wandering around and killing several more people.

Tan Xueci stared blankly for a while. Lunch was ready, and he went out to eat with He Xunye.

Zhang Chengye and his father had also come to Qilian Temple. His home wasn’t far from the temple, so they arrived early and got a meditation room.

When Zhang Chengye met He Xunye’s pitch-black, eerie eyes, he cowered and shrank his neck.

He had thought He Xunye seemed dead; now it was confirmed. He had filmed a variety show with a dead ghost.

He Xunye had been poking his wife’s puffed-out cheek while he ate. Sensing someone staring at him, he lifted his gloomy black eyes. Zhang Chengye immediately shivered.

“Mr… Mr. He,” Zhang Chengye bowed and scraped, forcing a smile. “Long time no see. Where have you been making a fortune lately?”

He Xunye coldly looked away and ignored him. Zhang Chengye breathed a sigh of relief and quickly scurried away.

The monks at Qilian Temple were also rushing around. The night never ended, so the temple was always lit with candles. Although there were still over half a month until the New Year, many tacitly started celebrating early. No one knew if this would be the last year with their families.

He Pinglan even chopped some meat filling and brought it to the temple, planning to make dumplings later. Other people might be superstitious and think it inappropriate to do that in a temple, but she didn’t give a damn.

She was already unhappy with everyone. Maybe if she got annoyed enough, she’d push over those Buddha statues and sit up there herself.

Tan Xueci clung to He Xunye, staying in his husband’s arms. He only showed his eyes, watching the others in the meditation room.

He Pinglan was organizing her children’s old clothes. She also wiped the Blue Lotus Buddha Lamp her husband had left her.

The sick ghost stayed far away in a corner, afraid his illness threads would entangle them. He was listening to Master Yu’s lecture.

The little cat ghost dug a nest in his white fur, then curled up its tail and lay down. The little girl ghost lay on the sick ghost’s stomach, refusing to get off, as if hugging a big comfort toy.

Her original name was Xu Jianan, meaning Xu family’s baby, but now only she, a little ghost, remained of the Xu family.

Jiang Caiwei and her family had also come to Qilian Temple. She hesitated, but then followed Yu He to learn how to draw talismans. Yu He said she had some talent, so she keenly realized her home had been targeted.

He Pinglan bought the meat and then left it, leaving Lu Qi and Jin Chen resigned to chopping the filling.

Jin Chen was with his parents. Jin Chen’s mother and father pulled Tan Xueci aside, looked him up and down, then patted his hand and said with a smile, “You’re Xiao Chen’s friend, right? He had some conflicts with his teammates before, and he hasn’t had many friends in the industry these past few years. But he’s close to you. He even said he wanted to buy you a dress.”

Jin Chen felt embarrassed and coldly told them to stop, but his mother still patted Tan Xueci’s head, her eyes curving with a smile as she praised, “A good kid, obviously.”

Tan Xueci blushed, felt awkward, and ran away, diving back into He Xunye’s arms, hugging him and swaying.

“Good baby,” He Xunye raised his hand and patted his head. The dead ghost’s voice carried a lazy, smug smile that made Tan Xueci feel his praise was insincere.

He glared at He Xunye, then banged his forehead hard against He Xunye’s chest, before turning and running off.

Today he was wearing a white down jacket with a circle of caramel-colored fur on the hood. When he put the hood on, he looked like a little white dog with caramel ears.

With others, he was docile and obedient, as if his muzzle was pinched shut. But with He Xunye, he started barking and acting tough.

He Xunye followed him outside. It wasn’t raining at the moment. Tan Xueci pounced on He Xunye, bouncing around with bright eyes for a while, then left his husband behind and ran back inside.

Yu He was wiping his sword. Yu He’s master, Yu Qingxu, had gone with He Wuling’s group to catch ghosts but got injured, so he was temporarily sent to Qilian Temple to recuperate.

Tan Xueci still remembered that old bastard had captured his husband before. Although he was the one who asked him to do it, he was unreasonable. He chased after Yu He’s master, barking and biting.

Yu Qingxu had to dodge around pillars several times before he could avoid him. He stroked his beard and shook his head with a smile.

When Tan Xueci had brought that piece of paper, saying it was touched by the dead ghost, and asked him to capture him, Yu Qingxu realized it was impossible. There were marriage ties on that paper, red threads covering everything.

Tan Xueci didn’t know what Yu Qingxu was thinking. He still had the paper with the little snowman He Xunye had drawn for him, the one with the snow baby. It was already torn into several pieces from him picking at it, and it looked kind of ugly because he had to give one piece to Yu Qingxu.

He lowered his head and rubbed his little face against it. The rag doll on his shoulder also rubbed along with him.

In the middle of rubbing, Tan Xueci turned and saw He Xunye watching him through the window. It had started raining again, and the windows were covered in wet mist, making the evil ghost’s face look even paler.

Tan Xueci was startled and wanted to run, but the evil ghost’s hand reached through the glass and grabbed his waist.

He was pulled back, his cheek pressed against the cold glass. Then He Xunye lowered his head, his cold, corpse-like lips pressed against his cheek, and bit him lightly.

Zhang Chengye was talking to He Pinglan’s group. He turned and saw that the perfectly fine boy was now red-faced like he’d been bitten by a mosquito, with tears in his eyes and biting his lip.

Zhang Chengye: ?

Zhang Chengye didn’t understand. He saw He Xunye outside, probably couldn’t hear them, so he hunched his shoulders and whispered to Tan Xueci, “He’s pretty human-like, huh.”

Unlike other dead ghosts that couldn’t understand human speech, He Xunye seemed to understand a bit.

Tan Xueci was too busy crying to answer. His face was bitten red by the dead ghost, and it hurt.

Soon it was evening. They started preparing dumplings. Lu Qi even got some hot pot base and told Tan Xueci, “We’re just taking it one day at a time. Let me make you some spicy hot pot.”

With He Xunye around, he thought Tan Xueci wouldn’t die. But he himself was different.

Lu Qi’s eyes were a bit melancholic, but as he looked at the blurry moon outside Qilian Temple on the night sky, even though he was scared, he wasn’t unhappy. In fact, he was even a little happy.

After his parents divorced, neither side wanted him. He hadn’t celebrated the New Year with others like this for many years.

Tan Xueci happily ran over when he heard spicy hot pot. Afraid Lu Qi wouldn’t put enough chili oil, he stood guard, hands on his hips, urging him to add more.

But he ran off again after a while. He kept running back and forth, full of energy. Then he ran behind He Xunye, stood on his tiptoes, and tried to climb onto his back.

He failed a few times, so he popped his head out from the side and asked with wide eyes, “Husband, what are you doing?”

“Making dumplings for Little Xue to eat.” The evil ghost’s crimson lips curved. He pinched off a small piece of dough and handed it to his wife to play with. Then he looked in Lu Qi’s direction and pretended to casually smile. “Your Brother Lu is waiting for you. Aren’t you going to check on him, Little Xue?”

Tan Xueci caught his sarcasm and pouted at him. The rag doll on his shoulder also opened its mouth wide, as if it wanted one too.

Tan Xueci banged the rag doll’s head and asked He Xunye hopefully, “Husband, can it eat?”

“If you eat,” He Xunye said, “it will feel it too.”

Tan Xueci then remembered that this rag doll was meant to substitute his fate, essentially his copy.

At around eight in the evening, dinner was finally ready. Tan Xueci slurped down a bowl of spicy hot pot, ate a dozen dumplings, and a lot of cold dishes like pig ear. Then, with wide eyes, he reached out his chopsticks for more, but the dead ghost blocked them with his own chopsticks.

“I’m not eating alone now,” Tan Xueci stammered, staring at the food on the table, drooling. He held the rag doll’s head and argued, “I’m two people now.”

Jin Chen: “…”

Jin Chen nearly spat out his water, looking at Tan Xueci in terror again.

He still didn’t understand why Tan Xueci always said things like he was pregnant. Clearly, he still couldn’t accept gay couples.

He Xunye: “…”

He Xunye couldn’t resist his wife’s red-rimmed eyes and scrunched-up face, so he gave him one last dumpling.

After dinner, the others went to attend to their own matters. He Xunye grabbed Tan Xueci’s waist, not letting him leave, intending to help him do some exercise to digest.

“What kind of exercise?” Tan Xueci blinked. He was very full tonight, his white, soft belly round, looking like a little mom. He was a bit dizzy.

He Xunye smiled at him. The room was only lit by one or two candles, the light dim, shrouding the evil ghost’s dark peach blossom eyes. His shirt buttons were almost completely undone, revealing large expanses of pale, muscular chest that almost touched Tan Xueci’s sweaty nose. His breathing was low and hoarse, deliberately seductive, making Tan Xueci’s hair stand on end.

It wasn’t until He Xunye grabbed his legs and pressed them against his chest that he finally understood.

But it was too late; there was no escape.

Tan Xueci’s face flushed red. This meditation room had an inner and outer chamber. They were in the small inner room, separated from the outside by just a door. Everyone else was outside talking.

The dead ghost obviously didn’t care about that.

The evil ghost cupped his flushed cheeks, gazing at him with infatuated, dark eyes. His voice grew even hoarser as he kissed his lips and murmured, “The baby is so beautiful.”

Tan Xueci’s eyelashes fluttered violently. Hearing He Xunye’s words, his wet red lips uncontrollably parted, and he gasped. His misty eyes lifted, and he pursed his lips, asking in a very small voice, “If I weren’t beautiful, would you not like me?”

“I’d like you,” the evil ghost laughed lowly, leaning down towards him, his gaze dark. He asked in a hoarse voice, “Baby, can you feel it?”

Tan Xueci was confused, not knowing what He Xunye wanted him to feel. Before he could react, he felt another pair of hands emerge behind him, the black mist that had been clinging to him before.

Tan Xueci’s pupils, already wet, dilated instantly. He was completely trapped on that bed, unable to move forward or backward.

It was so cold outside, with rain and snow even mixing. Icicles hung from the eaves of Qilian Temple. He had only wanted an ice pop, but the evil ghost’s scarlet eyes stared at him, feeling it wasn’t enough.

“Can you feel it?” The evil ghost’s peach blossom eyes seemed to smile. He leaned close to his face, breathing low in his ear, his cold, dark eyes heavy with desire yet still flippant. He said, “It’s double love.”

Pervert.

Tan Xueci was drenched in sweat. His soft black hair stuck to his face, looking like the tips of a little black goat’s ears. But even though he said pervert, he didn’t actually avoid it.

Qilian Temple’s night was especially heavy. He lay on the bed, faintly illuminated by a few candles, and looked at He Xunye.

Then he reached out and hooked his arms around the evil ghost’s neck, trapping himself in his embrace.

…

Outside, wandering ghosts were everywhere. There were few people left, all being led by various metaphysical experts to Qilian Temple.

The Tan family home was unusually quiet. Tan Yanning was in the hospital, no one cared about him, and no one knew if he was alive or dead. Tan Shangli was dead. Almost all the servants had run away. Now only Tan’s parents and Nanny Zhang were left in the Tan house.

No ghosts had ever broken into the Tan house.

Gao Ying bit her lip, feeling uneasy. She thought it must be because of the family’s enshrined statue.

But Tan Chongchuan didn’t trust that evil door’s statue at all. If it were really useful, A Yan wouldn’t have died. With a dark face, he finally decided, “Let’s go. To Qilian Temple.”

They hadn’t gone earlier because they knew Tan Xueci and He Xunye were definitely there. That son-in-law of theirs was probably also an evil ghost.

He feared that going to Qilian Temple would result in He Xunye killing them. But things were getting worse, and the house had become very dangerous. There was no other choice but to go.

Gao Ying had never been very assertive. The biggest decision in her life was to swap her biological child’s fate, and that hadn’t succeeded.

Since her husband said so, she and Nanny Zhang went to pack. Before leaving, she went to the shrine to offer a few sticks of incense to the statue one last time.

In the heavy rain, the statue wore armor, holding a half-person-tall long blade. Its hair touched the ground, lean but not weak. Its eyes were downcast, seemingly compassionate, but its lips carried a smile.

Gao Ying kowtowed respectfully, then went back to find her husband. Just as they were about to leave, someone knocked on the door.

Tan’s parents and Nanny Zhang were all startled.

The main gate of the Tan family mansion was firmly shut. Logically, no one could have gotten in. Who would knock on their door at a time like this?

They exchanged uncertain glances, but the person didn’t leave, and they couldn’t just not go out. Tan Chongchuan had to lower his voice and coldly ask, “Who is it?!”

“It’s me,” the other replied.

The other didn’t give a name, but Tan Chongchuan felt the voice was familiar. He should know this person.

Gritting his teeth, Tan Chongchuan gestured for Gao Ying and the others to hide. Then he held a few expensive talisman papers in his hand and cautiously walked to the door, opening it.

Xie Yun stood outside, smiling.