The hotel where Bai Fugui, Feng Yushu, and their daughter stayed was located outside Gubei Town—a leisure manor built in the winding waters downstream from Suspended Kettle Waterfall. It occupied about one hectare, roughly the size of a proper elementary school.
Jade Water Bay Manor's design concept was quite novel, with layouts and décor following the European style popular in recent years—completely out of place with the classical Jiangnan water town charm of Gubei, as if Photoshopped in from somewhere else.
In fact, that was precisely the case. Jade Water Bay Manor wasn't some historic old building but a new establishment completed just months ago. Rumor had it the manor's investors had obtained inside information through certain channels about Gubei Town's upcoming major development, prompting them to splurge on this land downstream from the waterfall.
The Bai family were the manor's first guests. Zhang Yangxu's decision not to book a room here was purely to avoid bad luck.
Under bright moonlight, a magpie spread its wings and rode the cool evening breeze, landing atop a human sculpture in the manor's side courtyard. The statue depicted a pure white maiden holding a ceramic jar from which clear water poured—an artificial fountain.
Beneath the murmuring fountain sat an elegantly dressed young woman in a purple gown on a rattan chair, her gaze repeatedly drawn to a winding path leading from the manor. Between glances, she seemed to anxiously await something.
Seeing no one around, the magpie perched on the statue lightly descended beside her, transforming into a handsome, upright youth. His slender, pale hand gently patted Feng Yushu's shoulder.
"Who—?!"
Feng Yushu cried out instinctively until Ning Zhe's hand covered her mouth again. Her tense body relaxed: "Ning Zhe?! When did you get here?"
"I flew here." Ning Zhe spoke half-jokingly, transforming back into a black-and-white magpie perched on Feng Yushu's shoulder. "Though He Village shattered, the ghost's rule didn't disappear—it transferred to me."
In other words, Ning Zhe now possessed the ability to "steal others' identities using false perceptions as a conduit."
"Incredible…" Feng Yushu turned her head, staring in wonder at the small bird on her shoulder. "I thought only people's identities could be stolen."
"I once thought so too." Ning Zhe transformed back into human form, standing before Feng Yushu and gesturing. "Let's find somewhere private to talk."
"Alright."
Feng Yushu led Ning Zhe to a small pavilion surrounded by flower beds and ornamental trees—secluded enough and hidden away. Until the Gubei scenic area was truly completed and Jade Water Bay Manor officially opened for business, this spot would remain neglected except for daytime visits by gardeners and maintenance staff.
They sat facing each other in the pavilion. Feng Yushu immediately asked her most pressing question: "What exactly happened in He Village? In the final seconds before returning to reality, I heard two different screams and cries, then everything ended. How… did you do it?"
"As I told you—I killed both the Snake God and the ghost." Ning Zhe spread his hands. "As for how, don't worry about it. Just know I fulfilled my promise."
He didn't want to reveal too many details about matters concerning himself, so he countered: "What about you? During the time we were separated, what did you experience in He Village?"
Feng Yushu nodded and truthfully recounted her experience.
After "Zhang Yangxu" was unluckily killed by falling roof tiles, the ghost didn't vanish but reappeared before her as Ye Miaozhu, attempting to persuade Feng Yushu to hear its explanation.
But by then, Feng Yushu's mental state had nearly collapsed. In her madness, she first gouged out her own eyes, then pierced her eardrums with two chopsticks. Completely blind and deaf, she utterly lost the ability to receive external information—the ghost was finally powerless.
"I told you your mental state wasn't good," Ning Zhe said with some surprise. "But without timely professional treatment after severe ear canal damage, you wouldn't live long. That was suicide."
"I… I didn't know." Feng Yushu shook her head in a daze. "I truly had no choice. After Zhang Yangxu died, it was Ye Miaozhu; after Ye Miaozhu died, it was Xie Sining… The ghost kept transforming into different people to deceive me. I… I really had no choice…"
"It's over now. You're okay, Auntie." Seeing her on the verge of another breakdown, Ning Zhe quickly stopped her and pulled a tissue from his pocket. "Your makeup's running. Your husband will notice if you go back like this."
"Mm…" Feng Yushu accepted the tissue, dabbing her tears. "He won't notice. We've slept in separate rooms for years."
"I'm not interested in your marital life; telling me is pointless." Ning Zhe shook his head. "What about your daughter Bai Zhi? I want to know about her."
It would be even better if he could access her computer to read the diary entries directly.
"Ah! Right, right… A Zhi." At the mention of her daughter, Feng Yushu's motivation immediately surged. She retrieved an iPad Mini from her purse, unlocked it, and handed it to Ning Zhe. "I couldn't bring her computer, but I backed up her diary. Please look… I really want to know what's happening to A Zhi."
Why had Bai Zhi repeatedly dreamed of scenes from He Village?
She'd never even been to Gubei Town…
"Alright, let me see… a troubled girl's private diary. Sounds like a visual novel."
Ning Zhe opened the text. The first line read: "This world is beyond saving." He rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes. "Jesus, so chuunibyou."
Bai Zhi's diary delivered quite a shock. The first entry was written five years ago when she was fourteen, in her first year of middle school. She attended a famous private school in Yong Prefecture where relationships among new classmates could be described as friendly yet distant.
Boys approached her kindly because of her beauty; girls clung to her because of her affluent background—but Bai Zhi kept everyone at arm's length, refusing even the most basic interaction.
Her assessment of her classmates in her diary: "Childish."
"Good lord…" Ning Zhe speed-read through Bai Zhi's three years of middle school diary entries, feeling like he'd watched "Bai Zhi (Corrupted Version)." "Auntie, do you know your daughter has severe chuunibyou?"
"What illness is chuunibyou?" Feng Yushu's expression turned anxious.
"Right, your generation isn't familiar with anime culture." Ning Zhe wasn't surprised by her reaction.
He scrolled the tablet screen, preparing to speed-read Bai Zhi's high school diary, when suddenly the sky overhead darkened.
"What's happening?" Ning Zhe looked up. The bright moon hanging in the sky had somehow vanished, like a light bulb suddenly switched off. The entire world plunged into pitch darkness—not a single star visible.
In the inky blackness where you couldn't see your hand before your face, only the iPad in Ning Zhe's hands emitted pale white light. The distant manor remained dark and silent, the sound of flowing water still audible.
But in the next second, the pitch-black manor suddenly blazed with light. Every lamp in every room ignited simultaneously. Brilliant light pierced through the castle-like peaked architecture, like an enormous light bulb illuminating the night—dazzlingly bright.
Then a piercing scream erupted from the manor.
"Someone's dead!"
Ning Zhe looked down. The first line of Bai Zhi's high school diary read: "Ghosts are everywhere."
Chapters in advance there: patreon.com/Thaniel_a_goodchild
Reference Glossary
Chuunibyou – Japanese term literally meaning "eighth-grader syndrome"; refers to adolescent delusions of grandeur, believing oneself special or possessing hidden powers.