Chapter 96: Butterfly Pupa
Yu Shi carried his luggage as he stepped down from the old, mud-covered bus and looked at the simple signpost by the roadside.
The poster, filled with a rustic atmosphere, was half-torn and covered in a thick layer of dust.
Following a cement road near the signpost, Yu Shi walked toward the small village situated at the foot of the mountain.
The cement road underfoot appeared to have been built many years ago. The surface had turned gray-black, and over the years, it had accumulated many cracks and potholes that no one had bothered to fill.
The road was also narrow, only wide enough for one vehicle to pass.
On both sides of the road were uneven fields.
After walking for a long time along this winding cement road, the village at the end of it, once blurry, gradually revealed its true form.
It looked like an elderly person in their twilight years.
This was Qinglu Village, the place where Zhou Shi grew up.
Zhou Shi had lived here for more than ten years until his grandparents, who had raised him, passed away one after the other. Only then was he taken to the city by his parents because he was chosen by the Feng family due to his special fate.
Yu Shi, who possessed Zhou Shi’s memories, could also feel Zhou Shi’s faint attachment to this place.
His decision to come here was spontaneous, and upon seeing the village, which was even more dilapidated and old than he remembered, he felt no regret. Instead, he decided to stay here for a while.
Qinglu Village was a remote place, and most of the younger people had left for the city, leaving only about a dozen elderly folks and a few middle-aged farmers still living there.
Unlike Yu Shi’s world, where even remote villages were well-developed with paved roads and new houses, this world was plagued by ghosts and demons, making people more inclined to live in cities where exorcists were stationed.
In remote villages like this one, it was difficult to find an exorcist to deal with any issues, so development was slow, and there weren’t even two new houses in the entire village.
As Yu Shi walked into the village, two elderly people sitting at the entrance of a house looked at him with some caution.
They rarely had strangers visit, and if someone did come, it was usually by car to buy some daily necessities.
“Who are you? Are you here looking for someone?” one of the elders asked, squinting his eyes, trying to get a better look at Yu Shi as his eyesight wasn’t very good.
The other elder suddenly recognized him and exclaimed, “Ah!”
She grabbed her husband’s arm and said, “Isn’t this Xiao Shi from Uncle Zhou’s family? How can you not recognize him!”
She warmly stood up, fetched a chair for Yu Shi, and invited him to sit, saying, “Come, come, have a seat!”
“Weren’t your parents supposed to take you to live in the city? Why have you come back alone?”
“Oh dear, it really is Zhou Shi. My eyesight has really gone bad,” the old man finally recognized him and also greeted Yu Shi with a smile, inviting him to sit down.
“Living in the city has changed you a lot. I almost didn’t recognize you.”
The original Zhou Shi had been introverted and gloomy, not liking to go out. Even when he saw other villagers, he would keep his head down.
When he returned from school, he would just stay at home, not going out, with his long hair covering his eyes.
Now, he seemed much more open.
Yu Shi sat down and chatted with the two elders, even having a cup of hot tea.
There wasn’t much new happening in the village, so soon, a few more elders joined them to chat.
When Yu Shi mentioned that he was there to pay his respects to his grandparents and planned to burn some paper offerings, they all praised him for being so filial.
Upon hearing that he intended to repair the old house and stay there for a while, they began to talk about how the house hadn’t been lived in for a while, how the roof tiles had been blown off, causing leaks, and how part of the wall had collapsed.
“You should come to my place for dinner and stay with us tonight,” one of the elders said.
In the village, everyone was somewhat related, and the person who spoke was someone Yu Shi should call his granduncle.
In Qinglu Village, the news that a young man had returned from the city to repair his old family house was a frequent topic among the elderly.
Every day, they saw Yu Shi following a truck that delivered loads of bricks and cement, and the elders would gather to watch the activity.
They speculated that Zhou Shi must have made a lot of money in the city; otherwise, why would he return to fix up the old house?
Yu Shi didn’t pay much attention to what the village elders were saying. He demolished most of the dilapidated old house and hired a few people to help with the rebuilding.
He wore old clothes and worked alongside the master craftsmen, laying bricks. Surprisingly, he wasn’t any slower than them.
By the end of each day, his clothes and hair were covered in dust and mud. Despite the cold winter weather, he was so warm that he had to take off his jacket.
Two middle-aged men from the village, both in their forties and whom Yu Shi should call uncle, also volunteered to help.
“Be careful, be careful! Step back a bit!” the excavator operator shouted.
A large tree came crashing down.
There were large trees both in front of and behind the old house, planted long ago by Grandfather Zhou.
The two trees in front of the house almost completely blocked out the light, making the old Zhou family house perpetually gloomy.
When the villagers heard that Yu Shi was planning to remove the two trees, an elderly woman specifically came to find him and said, “You can’t remove these trees. Your grandfather planted them for you.”
“You were born on an unlucky day, attracting ghosts, and you were frail as a child. They feared you wouldn’t survive, so your grandfather sought advice and learned that planting these two trees to shield the house would keep you hidden and allow you to grow up safely.”
Yu Shi knew that the old woman wasn’t lying. The original Zhou Shi was born under the Five Yin Fate, which meant he could only grow up safely if he lived in a place with strong yin energy.
The old Zhou family house had gradually become a place of yin energy because of all the trees planted around it.
Zhou Shi was unaffected by ghosts in this environment, but his grandparents had shortened their own lives by living here for so long.
Although Zhou Shi wasn’t cherished by his parents, he was still deeply loved.
After returning to Qinglu Village, Yu Shi repaired the graves of Zhou Shi’s grandparents and even built a small new grave beside them for the original Zhou Shi.
“Grandma, I understand. An exorcist helped me, so I don’t have to fear this anymore.”
Yu Shi reassured the worried old woman and saw her off before raising his hand to touch his chest.
It was inconvenient to wear the bracelet while working, so he kept them close to his chest.
These beads were obtained for him by Xuexiang from the Ming family, and he had worn them ever since. Since then, nothing unusual had ever happened to him.
Like Zhou Shi, Yu Shi was also carefully loved by others.
Xuexiang had gone to great lengths to get those beads for him, just as Zhou Shi’s grandparents had planted the yin trees for Zhou Shi out of love.
After a moment of silence, Yu Shi lowered his hand and resumed his work.
Once the two trees in front of the house were removed, the place became much more spacious and bright.
Yu Shi’s new house wasn’t very large, with only two floors and simple decorations, most of which he did himself. By the time the New Year approached, the house was nearly finished.
Only a few final touches remained, keeping Yu Shi busy every day. From morning until night, he was either working or driving to the nearby county town to purchase supplies and bring them back. He barely had any free time.
Each time he went to the county, he would bring back items for the villagers.
It was difficult for the elderly to go out, so they often made do with whatever they had at home, waiting for someone to pass by with goods to sell.
With Yu Shi, a young man now living in the village, it became much easier for them. Since he frequently went out to buy things, the elders would ask him to bring back anything they needed.
In just a short time, Yu Shi became the most popular person in the village.
His new house had a yard that was still bare, with nothing much planted in it. The elderly woman who came to visit took it upon herself to sweep his yard clean, despite Yu Shi’s attempts to stop her.
She even complained that the broom he bought wasn’t good enough and promised to make him a couple of better ones next year.
The elderly woman also mentioned that his yard looked too empty and suggested planting a few fruit trees.
“My jujube tree is very sweet, and every year people come to pick the fruits. A few saplings have sprouted nearby—why don’t you dig up a couple and plant them in your yard?”
So, after the house was finished, Yu Shi planted several fruit trees in the yard.
With the simple furniture moved in, only a few more items needed to be gradually added.
With everything nearly complete, Yu Shi found himself with less to do and started paving the paths in his yard.
Before the New Year, Jiang Mang called him:
“Is your house finally done? Are you spending the New Year alone there? Why not come to the Xue family’s place for the celebration?”
Yu Shi declined. “I’m not alone here. The village gets pretty lively during the New Year.”
…
One of the aunts was making homemade candies for the New Year, and Yu Shi went over to help. The pot bubbled with syrup, and several elderly people sat by the stove, chatting and tending the fire. The air was warm and sweet.
Some younger villagers came back for the New Year to visit their elders and made it a point to check out Yu Shi’s new house.
After praising the spacious and bright home, which was comfortable to live in, they started offering suggestions.
One suggested digging a small fish pond in the yard; another recommended planting flowers.
The elders, of course, advised him to cover the yard with cement, making it easier to dry grains.
Children were jumping around on the paths he had paved… His house had become the liveliest place in the village.
Though Yu Shi had turned down Jiang Mang’s invitation, a few days later, he received a New Year’s package from her, filled with all sorts of food and supplies.
In return, Yu Shi sent her some handmade snacks he’d made and a set of calligraphy he’d written, including a blessing character and a pair of couplets.
This year, he was responsible for writing all the couplets for the village.
Even though his calligraphy wasn’t particularly great, the elders were more than satisfied. They praised him endlessly, believing that his time in the city had led to significant improvement.
When Jiang Mang received the package, she was delighted. During a phone call, she hesitantly brought up, “We’re planning to visit the Feng family for the New Year. Should I check in on my uncle to see how he’s doing?”
“No need,” Yu Shi advised. “Jiang Mang, it’s best if you don’t go to the Feng family. If you must go, keep your distance from Feng Zaiyin and Feng Zaixing, and also avoid visiting Xuexiang.”
Since Chi Heng’s Tomb… since even earlier, Yu Shi had been changing Jiang Mang’s fate. However, from Chi Heng’s Tomb onwards, he took the initiative to change things.
Afterwards, he had subtly influenced Jiang Mang, ensuring that she no longer intersected with Feng Zaiyin.
When Jiang Mang ended the call and recalled Yu Shi’s calm tone, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.
He was truly angry. After all this time, he hadn’t even thought of her uncle, not even inquiring once.
Jiang Mang took a certain pleasure in the thought that her uncle was still asleep, unaware that his boyfriend had run away.
If he knew, he might wake up early out of anxiety.
She was a bit eager to see how he would react.
*
The Feng family was always the liveliest during the holidays, being an exorcist family.
Visitors came and went in a steady stream, and the entire estate was newly decorated, with social obligations lasting through the winter.
This year, the power struggle between the Feng family’s main house and the second house made the atmosphere even more intense.
Previously, with Feng Xuexiang’s support, the Feng Second Line had flaunted their power and suppressed the Feng First Line.
Now that Feng Xuexiang was in a deep slumber, the Feng First Line, particularly Feng Zaiyin, was negotiating marriage with a direct descendant of the Ming family.
With the Ming family’s influence, there was a subtle trend of reversing the Feng Second Line’s pressure.
Amid all this, there was one place in the Feng family that remained eerily silent, with no one daring to approach.
That place was the glass villa where Feng Xuexiang resided.
Three hundred meters outside the villa, there were guards stationed around the clock to prevent anyone from approaching.
However, during the holidays, the guards here were not very alert and would chat and slack off with their companions.
“What’s the point of guarding this place? Once you’re inside, you can’t get out, who would be foolish enough to come close?”
“Not really. If someone really has the guts to break in, it would be a disaster. If it’s someone of high status, we’d have to risk our lives to retrieve the body.”
Someone asked out of curiosity, “I wonder what’s inside. Wasn’t the spirit demon previously at the lake house? Why is it here this year?”
“We can’t know these things. Don’t be too curious; it’s not something we should meddle in.”
As they chatted idly, they remained unaware of a shadow slipping past them and into the glass villa’s courtyard.
Xin Liu, concealing his presence, entered the glass villa’s courtyard and felt the swirling aura of a demon from inside the house.
He took out a jade scroll to hide his own aura as much as possible and proceeded inward.
During this time, he had repeatedly tried to locate the remaining two disciple tombs without success. He had also attempted to use the two jade scrolls in his possession to sense their location but only got a few vague indications.
After some thought, he decided to first obtain the four jade scrolls held by Feng Xuexiang and then make another attempt.
Thus, he found himself here today.
As Xin Liu stepped into the glass villa, the scene before him instantly changed.
The expensive furnishings and decorations visible through the villa’s floor-to-ceiling glass windows had vanished, replaced by an endless, gloomy expanse.
He found himself walking on dried mud, with wilted lotus flowers and leaves embedded in the mud, resembling ghostly hands emerging from the ground.
After the power of the illusion fell into slumber, it became uncontrollable. Once manifested, it could affect reality and even alter the illusion itself.
The mud was not entirely fake but a blend of reality and illusion.
From these observations, Xin Liu realized that Feng Xuexiang’s power was even stronger than he had anticipated.
Using the power of the jade scroll to shield himself, Xin Liu slowly advanced towards the center of this anomalous energy field.
After navigating through the chaos for a while, he saw a massive round mirror at the center of the mud.
The mirror’s surface was hazy and covered with numerous root-like white tendrils.
Among these undulating tendrils, there was a gigantic butterfly pupa.
The pupa was a light purple color and emitted a pearlescent glow. In the light cast by the mirror, it revealed a vague shadow inside, which appeared to be a humanoid shape but more bloated and distorted than a regular human form.
