Ewige Nacht

Kapitel 10

The further he went, the deeper the water became, eventually reaching his chest. Just then, Xu Xian suddenly felt a pair of cold hands grab his foot, which he was about to step out of, and pull it down. Then another hand touched his waist. He felt more and more hands around him. He struggled desperately to raise his flashlight. A chill ran through his body like an electric shock.

Hands! Just as Xiaodi and the others described, there were hands everywhere! And each hand was making strange movements.

Gestures? Why do all the hands make different gestures?

While Xu Xian was busy shaking off those hands, a question suddenly occurred to him. Generally speaking, if they were vengeful spirits, they should be reflecting the memories of the instant after their death. If it was man-made… no! It couldn't be man-made. It must be trying to reflect something. But those five hand gestures must also be some idea that the mastermind behind the scenes wanted to reflect.

So, to whom are these ideas intended? And what are they meant to convey?

At this moment, the soul-exorcising talisman on Xu Xian began to work. All the hands that touched him were exorcised by the soothing incantation on the talisman. However, unlike other vengeful spirits, these exorcised spirits did not resist the incantation; instead, even more hands clasped and pulled at Xu Xian. Xu Xian suddenly understood. These hands in the water were merely low-level spirits unable to reincarnate due to the powerful force that had bound them. Their repeated actions were simply manifestations of their desperate struggle to escape. To escape, they would use any means necessary, including finding substitutes. However, no low-level spirit could escape the control of that powerful force, so the number of vengeful spirits here increased. The water was likely groundwater, but it had been contaminated by the corpses. When this groundwater seeped to the surface, the putrefied spirits created the water in the stairwell and everything Professor Chen had encountered. But was Xiao Xiao's death merely a coincidence of stumbling upon the gates of death that occur only once every twenty years, or was there another hidden story?

"Forget it, this is another unsolvable mystery. It's better to take this great opportunity to send these poor souls to the afterlife from this hellish place." Xu Xian ignored the struggling and pulling hands, and focused on calmly chanting the incantation for soothing the souls. Instantly, the spiritual light generated by the purified souls reflected in the waterway. The waist-high sewage gradually cleared and receded due to the purifying effect of the incantation.

After these souls were successfully exorcised, Xu Xian quickly moved forward, aided by the illumination of the spiritual light.

After walking through the dark waterway, a pale purple mist gradually appeared ahead, becoming denser the further we went.

In the misty haze, Xu Xian seemed to see a small hillside covered with willow trees, kites flying above it, and laughter echoing in the distance. A boy and a little girl were running, and when they got tired, the boy sat down to rest. The girl tugged at his clothes and gestured with her hands. The boy repeated the little girl's gesture, patted her head, and then sat down. The girl also sat down with her back to him, and the two leaned against each other. Fine willow catkins drifted in the air, and happy smiles radiated from their faces.

Just then, a thick fog drifted by, and the willow catkins continued to flutter, but the beautiful scenery was shrouded in a dark red, blood-red light. The boy and girl had vanished, and the sounds of women's sobs, children's cries, and men's shouts mingled around them. Then, in another fog, everything returned to calm.

The willow catkins still danced in the air, and the scenery remained unchanged. But the only difference was that where the boy and girl used to sit side by side, there was now a desolate grave, and the dancing willow catkins carried a sense of desolation and melancholy.

Xu Xian slowly blended into the misty atmosphere, as if he were that boy, infatuated and madly in love with his beloved girl. He seemed to hear the girl saying to him, "Come here, I'm waiting for you." His feet moved involuntarily, following that voice...

Oh no…

Xu Xian was suddenly awakened by a sharp pain all over his body, and looking at where he was, he broke out in a cold sweat again.

He almost suffered the same fate as Yang Tao, his soul almost leaving his body. If it weren't for the soul-driving talisman protecting him, he would probably be a wandering ghost by now.

Isn't this the dream Wu Xi had? Did the girl's gesture mean "good friends, back to back"?

The secret behind "good friends, back to back" is revealed to be something quite touching. Now, it's stained with blood. Xu Xian finds himself getting closer and closer to the answer, yet he understands the person who set the mystery less and less.

Sigh, it seems it will take some effort to get through this misty maze.

Xu Xian pondered for a moment, then took out a spare knife and made a cut on his arm without hesitation.

Unexpectedly, the tricks he learned from TV to stay awake came in handy at this moment. Xu Xian quickly bandaged his wound and couldn't help but recall the time he secretly sneaked down the mountain to watch TV. Sigh, it turns out that you can only remember how happy it is to be alive when you are close to death.

Xu Xian relied on the pain from his wounds to stay conscious in the fog. Although he got lost a couple of times along the way, he managed to escape by sheer luck.

The fog was gradually thinning. It seemed they were almost out of the fog. Xu Xian felt a little relieved.

When the fog completely dissipated, the scene before Xu Xian left him somewhat dumbfounded.

Before my eyes, there are still willow catkins fluttering in the air, still green hillsides, and still desolate graves.

I should have escaped the maze by now, right? Why do I feel like I'm still trapped in this dream? Have I been affected by a soul-separation spell?

But the pain in his arm told Xu Xian that he wasn't dreaming. He pinched the wound hard.

"Ouch, that hurts." Xu Xian realized that he hadn't left his physical body.

"Hahaha~~~, little friend, welcome. I never imagined you could single-handedly navigate through my Netherworld Waterway and Misty Maze, and even release all the vengeful spirits I controlled. You're truly remarkable."

The voice of "it" sounded behind Xu Xian. Xu Xian quickly turned his head.

It was still using Wu Xi's body, with Liu Bin beside it. And lying at its feet was a person—Liu Quan.

"Liu Quan?! What did you do to Liu Quan?" Xu Xian looked at Liu Quan, worried about his safety.

"He's alright, he just fainted from fright. I can't believe someone like you has such a useless friend," it said mockingly.

"You're not allowed to say that!" Xu Xian said angrily. But then he thought that perhaps "it" wanted to provoke him, so he needed to stay calm. So he suppressed his emotions and looked "it" directly in the eye, asking:

"Weren't you going to tell me all the answers I wanted to know?"

"Hehe~~~, since you've come all this way, I'll tell you. What do you want to know? Ask away."

"I asked? You'll answer if I ask? What are the conditions?"

"A condition? Of course, you have to solve a riddle for me."

"What riddle?"

You'll find out then.

“Okay, then I’ll ask.” Xu Xian looked at the face in front of him, which seemed familiar yet unfamiliar, pondering the mystery that had been repeatedly troubling his mind.

After a moment of contemplation, Xu Xian and "it" began a somewhat strange and dramatic question-and-answer session.

"Why didn't you kill me immediately?" Xu Xian asked. Actually, he really wanted to ask who it was. But he found it somewhat ridiculous that it hadn't killed him immediately and was even willing to answer his questions. He had imagined it would be a fierce battle to the death, but now everything had changed. Why didn't "it" kill him? With "its" power, killing him would have been a very easy thing to do. Before asking any other questions, this was the question he most wanted to understand.

"Heh, you didn't even ask who I am first? It seems you are indeed somewhat different. Alright, I'll tell you, because those who were meant to go have already gone, but those who were meant to come haven't arrived yet. I've been waiting for a hundred years for someone who can stand alive before me and answer my questions." It said in a voice that was both excited and heavy.

"Should I go? Should I come?" Xu Xian was a little confused.

"Do you know why I kill some people every twenty years?"

"Why?"

"Because they are that person's reincarnation. They deserve to die."

"That person? You mean the eldest young master of the Peng family?"

"Who else could it be?"

"But didn't you already take your revenge a hundred years ago? Why bring your hatred into his reincarnation? You've gone too far."

"Really? After all that, you don't even want to ask who I am?"

"You said you weren't Miss Peng, but only Miss Peng would hate the person who killed her so deeply. Could it be that you are... ah, you are actually..." Xu Xian then realized that the person they had ruled out from the beginning was actually the most likely one.

"Yes, I am Lu Shaohuai. Surprised?" "It"—now Lu Shaohuai should be wearing a very regretful expression.

"How do you know these long-lost black magic spells?" Xu Xian's thoughts became sharper and more refined during the back-and-forth conversation. He suddenly remembered that the Soul Separation Technique, Soul Capture Technique, and the Soul Control Technique in the waterway were all types of black magic spells, but they had been lost for a long time. How did Lu Shaohuai learn them?

"Do you know why Madam Peng is so good to Xinrui, who isn't her biological daughter and is mute—oh, you mean Miss Peng, as you all call her?" Lu Shaohuai replied, seemingly unrelated to the question.

"Could it be that they were controlled by a soul-capturing technique? That's impossible. Did the Peng family have anyone who knew how to use soul-capturing techniques back then?" Xu Xian found it hard to believe.

"Can't you guess it yet? Then it seems you're not the best person to answer my question. If that's the case, you and your friend probably won't make it back up here alive." Lu Shaohuai's tone suddenly turned ferocious.

Xu Xian knew that if they couldn't figure out the answer to this question, they probably wouldn't be able to go back alive. Suddenly, he thought that the only person who would protect Miss Peng like this should be her biological mother. Could it be her?

"Of course I guessed it. The one who could do that must be Miss Peng's birth mother. She probably knew she was going to die soon, so in her last moments before she died, she used all her strength to unleash the Soul-Capturing Technique, just so that her daughter wouldn't be mistreated," Xu Xian guessed.

"You are very clever. Her mother was a holy maiden from a Miao village in Yunnan. Due to war, everyone in the village either died or fled. She also left her home and wandered to this place. Later, she was rescued by Master Peng. To repay his kindness, she married Master Peng as a concubine. However, as a holy maiden, she could not marry, otherwise she would be punished. So she knew she wouldn't live much longer. Therefore, she transferred all her spiritual power to the fetus through her mother's body, and then used a soul-capturing technique to control Master Peng's wife when she was dying. However, because the mother's spiritual power was too strong, the fetus could not withstand such a great spiritual impact. Therefore, Xinrui lost the right to speak from the moment she was born."

"So how did you learn it?"

“Do you know? The holy maidens of that clan all possess powerful spiritual energy, but their only flaw is that while they can use their spiritual energy to save everyone else, they cannot save themselves. I am her husband. The day before her accident, she said she had a bad feeling and insisted on passing on the spiritual energy her mother passed down to her to me. She told me that only in this way could I save her and our daughter. So I accepted.”

"So that means she didn't die?"

"No, that's why I've hunted those people down for countless lifetimes."

"ah?"

"After they threw her into the river, a Taoist priest appeared out of nowhere, saying that her demonic aura was too strong and that if she were left to die in the river, she would bring misfortune to the whole village. So they retrieved her body and buried her, placing a heavy talisman on her body to prevent her from being reincarnated. Later, I investigated and found that this Taoist priest was actually surnamed Peng. He was guilty and deliberately hired a swindler. However, these talismans were actually secret incantations that Young Master Peng and another person learned from a master to suppress this kind of black magic. And the most vicious thing is that as long as the person who cast the spell can be reincarnated, there is no way to break it within ten lifetimes. But after ten lifetimes, the spell will be lifted on its own. If the sealed soul is sealed for more than a hundred years..." "Then my soul would be scattered. So I used all the power I had to build this mansion and basement. It was all so that Xinrui's grave wouldn't be destroyed. Then I used the blood of that bitch and bastard to perform a ritual for the Black Witch God, so that he would protect Xinrui's soul from harm for a hundred years. To save Xinrui, I would kill that person's reincarnation every ten years. This year has been a hundred years. I have killed those people's reincarnations. Now, I only need to do one last thing, and I can see my Xinrui again. Haha~~~" Lu Shaohuai's expression became increasingly sinister as he spoke, his eyes filled with the bloodlust of slaughter, but when he mentioned his beloved woman, his bloodshot eyes softened.

Xu Xian looked at Lu Shaohuai and suddenly realized what that ambiguous feeling on Wu Xi's face was. It was that Wu Xi had a face that looked a lot like Peng Xinrui, but also had Lu Shaohuai's fortitude.

"Wu Xi is your descendant, isn't he? They look so alike." Xu Xian's words interrupted Lu Shaohuai's maniacal laughter.

"You're very smart. So now you have the answers to everything you want to know? Then you need to answer my questions," Lu Shaohuai said somewhat impatiently.

"Wait, there's one last question. What did those last gestures of the dead mean? Why did you target Zhang Xiaodi and Liu Bin that time, but then let them go?" Xu Xian poured out all the remaining questions in his mind.

"If I'm going to die, I want to die knowing why," Xu Xian thought.

"You've asked two questions. But I can only tell you that I can't answer either of them." Lu Shaohuai's face darkened.

"Why? Then I won't answer your question either." Xu Xian was surprised and puzzled.

“Let me answer the second question first. The answer is that I did not attack those two little guys. As for the first one…” Lu Shaohuai paused for a moment.

"What?! What do you want?"

"The first question, which is also the question I wanted to ask you, seems you haven't guessed it either. Then there's no point in you living." After saying that, Lu Shaohuai closed his eyes and began to mutter to himself.

Suddenly, the once sunny hillside was swept by a fierce wind. The surroundings were shrouded in darkness, and gusts of eerie wind carried mournful ghostly howls, as if one had fallen from a bright paradise into a sinister ghost realm.

Xu Xian hadn't expected Lu Shaohuai to suddenly become so agitated. Caught off guard, he was tossed into the air by the raging hurricane before landing on the ground.

"Pfft!" Xu Xian spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground, barely able to stand.

No, Liu Bin and Liu Quan are still here. If I die, they won't survive either. So we must find a way to keep him calm first, and then think of a way to save them.

"I never imagined that you, Lu Shaohuai, were such an untrustworthy person," Xu Xian said deliberately.

"What? Why? Back then, I risked my life, and I always upheld the principle of keeping my word." Lu Shaohuai was momentarily distracted by Xu Xian's provocation. The surrounding gale also subsided considerably.

"You asked a question but didn't give me a chance to answer. Aren't you breaking your promise?" Xu Xian retorted, glancing at Liu Quan lying on the ground and Liu Bin standing to the side like a wax figure.

"It's because you can't answer it. I've said it before, if you can't answer my questions, then there's no point in you living."

"Did I say I didn't know?" Xu Xian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, trying to stand up straight and meet Lu Shaohuai's gaze without fear. "You care so much about the answer to this question, it must be because it's the last and most crucial step to undo Miss Peng's curse, right?"

"So you know?" Lu Shaohuai withdrew his spell. Although the sky was still covered with dark clouds, it was no longer as bad as before.

"I guess I know, but..." Xu Xian left everyone in suspense.

"But what?" Lu Shaohuai asked anxiously.

If it weren't for all the twists and turns in life, Lu Shaohuai would definitely be an exceptionally good man. Xu Xian sighed helplessly to himself.

“But you must first break their curse and let them go.” Xu Xian pointed to Liu Quan and Liu Bin. He didn’t mention Wu Xi. Because Wu Xi was his and Miss Peng’s descendant, if he hurt Wu Xi, Miss Peng would be very heartbroken after the curse was broken, and a man like Lu Shaohuai would not do anything to hurt the woman he loved. So now the only ones to worry about were Liu Bin and Liu Quan.

"Ha, you actually thought of playing these tricks on me. If I release them, do you think you'll obediently answer my questions?" Lu Shaohuai sneered at Xu Xian's overestimation of his abilities.

"Of course I know I can't fool you, I just feel there's no need to drag too many innocent people into this. Do you think Miss Peng would be happy to see this outcome?" Xu Xian tried to find Lu Shaohuai's weakness.

"Xinrui..." At this moment, Lu Shaohuai's thoughts returned to that happy time...

"Shao Huai... what are you doing?" Xin Rui was ten years old that year. She always liked to follow him, watching him do everything, and then happily asking him questions using sign language.

"Look, I caught a little rabbit. We can have rabbit meat tonight." He was twelve years old that year. He liked her following him. He liked looking at her smile.

"No!" she gestured rapidly. "The little rabbit is so pitiful. Why do you always bully those weaker than you? It didn't do anything wrong. Why do you always hurt innocent people for your own reasons? I thought you were different from them, but... I hate you."

After she finished gesturing, she ran away crying...

"Xinrui..."

Xu Xian noticed that Lu Shaohuai's resolve was wavering. Taking advantage of the moment when Lu Shaohuai was lost in his memories, he pondered the secret of those gestures.