Having the Same Name as the Demon Lord of the Abyss - Chapter 32

Chapter 32




[T/N: content warning: discussion of sexual assault on girls/women and victim-blaming in the section where the netizens are talking about a female film director]

Take a deep breath in and slowly breathe out.

Ye Zun cautiously walked towards the bedroom. His Adam’s apple rolled and swallowed once. His palms were wet.

The bedroom door was open, and only the computer monitor on the desk was visible.

In Nogawa Kaoru’s house in the past, such a thing as a computer did not exist.

Of course, Ye Zun now understood that Nogawa Kaoru’s home and the outside world were living in two different timelines. In reality, that place had long been in ruins.

——Can it be, that the ghost wasn’t completely killed? Has it come to take revenge on me?

If it was that thing, then there was nothing to fear.

As he walked farther in, he confirmed his guesses. This place was indeed no longer Lin’s house. It was an unfamiliar and dark space and even a self-defense weapon could not be found.

He took a deep breath and slowly approached the empty room step by step, maintaining extreme vigilance and alertness with every step he took.

The computer monitor on the table was lit up. There were countless messages on the display that seemed to be waiting for Ye Zun to see it.

He stood in the middle of the room. Even though it was obviously only a few steps away, he suddenly felt that the door was much farther away from him, like tens of meters away, or even farther.

The screen was lit up, but the rest of the house was very, very dark.

Behind Ye Zun, a hanging rope slowly descended from high in the darkness.

Suddenly, there was a burst of ice cold. The room was very cold, and his back was even colder. What was even colder than his back was his shoulders, as if they were right next to a block of ice.

Ye Zun froze. His throat stiffened and his breathing practically stopped.

The last time he had this experience was in the house in Paradise Apartments, when he was in the corridor from the nightmare. The ghost’s body hung behind him and his shoulders touched it.

Ye Zun turned forward abruptly to dodge and watched in horror as a corpse quietly hung there in the darkness behind him.

Unexpectedly, it was a middle-aged woman, and the body did not look as terrifying as he imagined.

The woman had ear-length short hair and looked to be in her forties. She was wearing gentle and elegant knitted clothing and a light tan half-length skirt.

If someone saw her in the real world, they would feel that she was a very temperamental and knowledgeable woman, perhaps working in the humanities and arts field.

She hung there quietly. Her face that was no longer young had fine wrinkles. Despite her death, her body wasn’t scary. There was even the beauty of silence in death, and the passing grief over the deceased made one feel more sad than fearful. 

——Why did she die? Who is she?

She was obviously someone he didn’t know, but Ye Zun felt that her face was inexplicably familiar.

——Have I seen her before somewhere? Did she commit suicide?

The only thing in front of him that could provide him an answer to everything seemed to be the computer that was facing the corpse.

Ye Zun walked over immediately.

Pictures and words on the computer scrolled across the screen, in all kinds of languages that he had never seen before.

But as the screen scrolled down, the information was simultaneously translated inside Ye Zun’s mind, making sure that he could fully understand what they were talking about.

——A famous female filmmaker shot a new drama, and was questioned by netizens for alluding to real world news: female junior high school students were suspected of being sexually assaulted by family members, and met up to commit mass suicide.

There was a tragic and shocking picture of the site of death from an article.

[T/N: apologies in advance for the following ‘internet lingo’ translations, I’ve left them as the literal meanings from Chinese to English as I do not know Chinese netizen slang]

……”This woman again, whenever someone has an accident, she’s like a fly attracted to that fishy smell, always so quick to make a movie to make money!”

……”The repeating offender who eats human blood soaked steamed buns*, does she have any representative works?”

[T/N: taking advantage of people’s misfortune to gain benefits]

……”She does ah, all kinds of pseudo-literary films about women being sexually assaulted, a bunch of pheasant awards that I haven’t heard of, and none of them have been released. Or maybe it’s because I don’t look for domestically produced films ba.”

……”Why attack her? Isn’t the creator speaking out about social events…”

……”Hahahaha come look, come look, the water army* has arrived, late but still arrived.”

[T/N: paid commenters/posters/etc to influence public opinion]

……”Hahahaha you don’t think your style in writing is different from everyone else? How are you so stupid…”

——Netizen: The vulture woman who lives off human blood soaked steamed buns, please accompany the deceased and die!

On countless social media platforms, there was abuse, cursing, and taunting in various languages and expressions.

……”This person is a female-targeting high end* filmmaker, be careful of getting punched [ladies toilet.jpg] [fist.jpg] Warning! [grin.jpg] [picking nose.jpg].”

[T/N: used in a slightly derogatory way]

……”What woman, what power? SJW* [ladies toilet.jpg] [dog.jpg] ba! [vomit.jpg] [vomit.jpg] [vomit.jpg]!”

[T/N: 田园 in internet slang are ‘feminists’ who hate men (misandrists, not actual feminists)]

……”The mouth is full of doctrine and the heart is all business. I dare to say that the status of women in this country is low. The victim did not want to call the police at the time, but committed suicide afterwards. 90% of the ones responsible in these scenarios are the women, feeling that they have been sexually assaulted and that their whole lives have been ruined [ladies toilet.jpg] [dog.jpg ] these SJW are at fault.”

……”It’s just that she keeps exaggerating how serious this thing is. Maybe it was just a brief touch, just an unpleasant sexual experience. Children are uneducated, they think too much and have weak psychological tolerance. Only when they’re being influenced by her like this do they get these painful thoughts of committing suicide, even if they were [strongly] [raped], it’s not like they killed anyone. WIth her doing stuff like this, she is the real murderer ba!“

……”[angry.jpg] I can say that it wasn’t anything good for the two female students to commit suicide ba, but still, it was the person who raised you, why didn’t you fight back when you were touched? They probably enjoyed it too at that time ba, and were only ashamed afterwards, otherwise why else would they want to die? [picking nose.jpg] Dying with no clear reason whatsoever, the relative will have to live under the tinted glasses of others, ruining the rest of the person’s life. [angry.jpg]” 

The unsightly and shocking language flowed down like a tide, never stopping.

——The black history of the trending female filmmaker has been dug up.

——A number of industry insiders broke the news that the female filmmaker’s private life was a mess, suggesting that she has an improper relationship with multiple people.

“If she wasn’t spouting her SJW nonsense while twirling her hair to others, would there be so many people who invest in her to make these movies even though they obviously make nothing from them? If you think even a little, you’ll know it’s impossible ba.” 

“It’s obvious that she sells her body in exchange for benefits, but afterwards she can bite back and say that the other party sexually harassed her. This is the style of a female working in the literature and arts field [shrug.jpg]”

……”Not even one movie has been allowed to be released, and she deserves to be called a filmmaker? She hasn’t made a cent, do you think that all the investors are doing charity work?”

……”Maybe it’s money laundering ba! Too scared, I dare not say. [eating melon.jpg]*”

[T/N: eating melon: just spectating, offering no opinions of their own]

——Industry support: A female filmmaker once claimed while drunk that the film was based on her own real life experience. After a long time preparing, she couldn’t draw in any investors. The movie was made a few years earlier than real life’s social news and it was not rubbing heat*.

[T/N: basing off popular topics at that time to gain more attraction]

——Netizens were outraged, calling into question that she had been eating human blood soaked steamed buns for many years, and how she actually lied after being caught.

……”Really vomiting, does it mean that she has become a victim herself? The victim’s archway is so easy to use, can’t afford to offend society, for money, she can even splash dirty water* her own relatives.”

[T/N: damaging other people’s reputation]

……”Her parents may have given birth to a piece of barbecued pork ba. I feel sorry for the men around her.”

“But, what if she wasn’t lying, then wouldn’t she be very pitiful…”

“If it’s true, why haven’t we seen these people in jail after all these years? She didn’t report it to the police then so why is she speaking up now? Maybe the price for the nurturing relationship was not discussed and later on, the other party didn’t want her anymore, so she took revenge afterwards, deliberately filming this kind of thing to threaten them ba. Maybe the ones she filmed in the past that were said to be speaking up for the victims were actually using the deceased to extort blackmail.”

Sporadic voices of defense were beaten by the water army online, drowned by the sounds of revelry.

An open siege massacre.

……”I’m a woman, and I’ve always felt that I am quite accepting of feminism, but am I the only one who is disgusted with her all the time? Under the label of being from a woman’s perspective, she always make movies that make people feel ashamed and embarrassed, forcibly associating sex with children. How can there be so many little girls who were sexually assaulted? Why haven’t I heard people say they were sexually assaulted in real life? Even implying that the criminal was a male relative around her, creating a divide in the ethical relationships in family. [embarrassment.jpg] [eating melon.jpg]”

……”In other words ah, it is so hard to live as a man in our country. I declare that I love my relatives and children and work hard every day, but before I knew it, I became a potential molester of young girls, and now they need to be warned about being around me. Ah, I feel that I’ve gotten severe depression because of this, really want to commit suicide. Are there any male perspective filmmakers who will also make a movie for me ah? [applause.jpg]”

——The female filmmaker’s background was dug up, and multiple media companies contacted relatives.

——The female filmmaker going by the pen name Sakura, originally named Nogawa Kaoru, once dropped out of high school and eloped with someone. Her family had called the police but she disappeared.

……”According to our real interview, Nogawa Kaoru’s mother disliked her ex-husband’s incompetence and took the young Nogawa Kaoru away from her poor hometown. Later, she married an informant and became a housewife. Although it is claimed that the film is adapted from personal experience, it is said that Nogawa Kaoru visited the hospital before her stepfather died of a serious illness, and she visited until the other party passed away. Whether it was for the sake of inheritance is unknown, but at the very least, a victim who had been molested and had psychological shadows should not care about the life or death of the perpetrator she despises. Unless she is a virgin. But if she really is a virgin, why would she have the perpetrator be in a movie to condemn him? So contradictory; then if the movie this person said before was adapted from her own real experience, there are more or less a few doubts.”

……”Yi, what a pitiful and inspirational woman ah. Molested by her own father when she was child, then molested by her stepfather, her classmate’s big brother, elder relatives, while walking on the road, while taking the bus, she can always meet shameless men who extend their claws at her. Have you ever seen a woman like her? [puzzled.jpg]”

……”Don’t slander others, I’ve really seen one. There are many such ‘victims’ in my collection of Tokyo specialty online movies. [dirty.jpg] [smiling but saying nothing.jpg]”

……”I’m a woman, and I’ve seen one before as well. In the old Mary Sue novels, beautiful as an angel, everyone loves her. [so pitiful.jpg]”

……”But what if it’s real? What if there is someone who is really so unfortunate, encountering all the bad things that could happen to girls all by herself, and she has been hurting like this all the time? Doesn’t she deserve to live? At that time, she didn’t dare to speak up. Doesn’t she deserve to speak up at some point in her life?”

……”That’s right ah, even if men stigmatize her, why are we women mocking her? Do you guys really think that this kind of thing only happens to good-looking girls? I’ve also experience such a thing ah, but when I think of being talked about by you guys in this way, I…” 

……”She can speak up ah, there are two levels above that are happy to hear about it, but it must be said that these real events are for her to eat human blood soaked steamed buns. Tsk tsk tsk, you can still live well after encountering such tragic misfortune; since your psychological endurance is so strong, you should still be able to live without pain if everyone says a few words of the actual truth ba? [snickering.jpg]”

……”Such a low probability thing can happen to her alone, I suggest she buy a lottery ticket oh.”

……”Good news, Nogawa Kaoru’s real father is still alive, we will soon be able to interview him in person and ask him if he molested the young Nogawa Kaoru back then.”

——The elderly father was sickly and lived by picking up trash.

——The people around them scolded: Ungrateful…unfilial…so kind to her when she was a child, doesn’t even know how to be grateful…slander…saying such a thing to her biological father, can you believe the words of a lunatic like her? A liar, abandoning an elderly…should sue her! Sue her to death and throw her in jail!

……”He’s an honest man, he wouldn’t do such a thing.”

A video filmed with a shaky camera played automatically.

“That child, I loved her the most since she was little, but like a mother who dislikes the poor and loves the rich, she has no conscience… I am truly heartbroken… I don’t plan to do anything for the time being… I just want to see my only daughter… I need someone to live with and take care of me… If she refuses my wish to meet and live together… I will not rule out going to court… But she is so successful and rich now… And I am only asking for this little thing… She will come and meet with me ba.“

There was a close-up of the wrinkled face of an old man. His eyelids were drooping with great effort, and two tears were finally squeezed out by blinking his eyes. He made a pitiful appearance, but the corners of his mouth were clearly smiling:【 Now people all over the world know where she is and will tell me so I can find her wherever she goes this time. Thank you all, you are all really good people. 】

——A radio station reported that there was a murder in Nogawa Kaoru’s former residence, and the elderly gentleman was brutally murdered.

——The police found the body of the suspect, Nogawa Kaoru, who hung herself in the old house.

——The contents of the suicide note was exposed on the Internet:

【 Some people’s lives, if they were written down under the sun, would be banned for being disharmonious. Happy people will also accuse them of making up stories that will garner people’s attention through popularity.

The only difference between me and that child is that, she died in the past, and I will die in the future.

I had thought that writing down this story would be a cry for help for the child and for people like me in the past, but as it turns out, it is my death knell*.

[T/N: a ringing of a bell to mark someone’s death]

But, this story, it is true.

Now, I beg you all to take a look at my film ba.

In the siege and massacre of ghosts and lies, I am guilty, but it* is truly innocent. 】

[T/N: the film, i’m assuming]

In the dark room, the computer screen stopped at the last paragraph of the suicide note.

【 How to kill a female, and make her guilty?

It’s very simple.

Just label her as a feministic social justice warrior, and a group of ghosts will come uninvited by the smell of blood and bite as much as they want.

If she has not died yet, stigmatize her.

Because she is a female, there is no need for any evidence, just speculate about her private life, spread rumors about her relationship with other men, and put some humiliating lies to use.

Don’t worry ba, no one will pay attention to the truth, and if there is, they will immediately cover their mouths.

If she has not yet gone to die, conspiracy theories about her ideals and career will completely destroy her beliefs and the meaning of living.

If she does not resist, let her die in silence.

If she dares to resist, let her commit suicide in madness.

Killing a woman is easier than killing an animal.

Because she is female. 】

“Wu…”

What is the sound when people cry?

Is it the anger of a wounded and persisting wolf, or is it the whimper of fear from a small animal that does not know how to make a sound?

Ye Zun’s fingers clenched into fists. The wound on his injured left hand split. Blood seeped out of the bandage, dripping onto the table and onto the floor.

But he couldn’t feel the pain in his hand. Compared to the pain of bleeding, the sharp pain of breathless rage pounded in his chest. He clearly saw the fear of the victim and their ending in death, but he could only watch her die with open eyes, completely helpless.

“Why? Why is it like this? I clearly saved you, didn’t I? You clearly escaped, didn’t you?” 

The teenage girl managed to escape before she was 21 years old, but in a more painful way, she died at the age of 49.

Seven years of living and seven years of cell replacement cycles did not give her a new life. The wounds inflicted after being devoured by ghosts followed her all this time, tormenting her like a gangrene of bones all her life, until it completely swallowed her.

Her mother really was not wrong in the beginning. Escape was not the end. There were more and more ghosts like this outside.

The young man knelt on the floor and stared absently at the forty-nine year old Nogawa Kaoru who quietly hung in the air, with tears falling down at corners of his eyes.

Such intense and sharp pain, like drowning and suffocation, slamming into the blood in the chest cavity, as if it was going to kill him. He almost couldn’t breathe.

“Just seeing it is already so painful. You were the one who had to experience all of this, how desperate and scared were you?”

In the darkness behind Nogawa Kaoru’s body, a teenage girl gradually came forward.

Wearing a white dress and a head of beautiful long hair, it was the best time in her memory, before blooming and withering.

Her eye healed, her right arm grew back, and then she died.

Completely eaten by ghosts.

The fifteen year old Nogawa Kaoru stood in front of Ye Zun and looked at him calmly and numbly as she did when she was a child.

“I’m sorry. You are the only one who has given me light and warmth. Even if I became a ghost after death, I can’t help but want to pull you back. Only when I look at you can I remember what I was like when I was human.”

“If I had you by my side at that time, I probably wouldn’t have gone and died.” 

“But this time, the angels are not by my side. There are only countless evil spirits, whispering, blocking the dim light, dragging me into hell.”

She lightly crouched down and wiped his tears with her cold, corpse-like hands.

“Don’t be scared. Although I couldn’t help but want to keep you when I became a ghost, when I saw you, I became human again. As the human Nogawa Kaoru, I hope you live where there is light.”

She smiled a little, but there was no light or warmth in the smile, only a hopeless death.

“You really are so bright ah. Gentle and brilliant without hurting the eyes. When I was seen, my body felt clean and warm.”

Nogawa Kaoru stood up and slowly backed away, returning to the darkness from where she came.

“Please run away quickly ba, before I am swallowed by resentment again.”

Ye Zun stood up and gritted his teeth.

“Even if you want to die, why do you want to die in a place that will hurt you so much? Do you want to stay in such a dark and dirty place, a place that will make you want to escape all your life? Do you want to let your soul fall forever, is that why you don’t want to resist?”

He rubbed at his hazy eyes with great strength, then walked into the darkness, pulling at Nogawa Kaoru’s hand and running out with her like last time.

“Let’s go together, let’s escape together this time as well! Even if we die, at least we didn’t die here.”

Blood red tears flowed down Nogawa Kaoru’s face, and her eyes began to become dark and cloudy. The chain that was wrapped around her ankle in the past was now shackled around her neck. She said in despair, “Because, I can’t break free.”

The corpse hanging from the rope opened its eyes, and the originally peaceful and sad beauty slowly became cold, terrifying, and resentful.

Nogawa Kaoru’s tears poured down, her eyes gradually losing consciousness, and her human reason was being swallowed up: “I’m sorry, for choosing to end things this way. But I, I have regrets——please help me!”

Her figure had already began to grow transparent.

The entire room started shaking and crumbling, and all logic and space were torn apart.

Ye Zun pulled her while making his way forward, but no matter how he walked, he would always return to the room where the body hung.

“I can’t control myself anymore, run away by yourself ba!“

But he had heard her cry, clearly begging for help, begging him to save her, to not leave her here by herself.

From the ceiling, the canopy bed, the closet, ghosts began to crawl out. The corpse on the rope stared at him with resentful and unnatural eyes.

The rope began to twist. The ghost wanted to break free and come down.

Ye Zun tensed his body, but did not let go of her hand.

But Nogawa Kaoru was growing more transparent, and before she disappeared completely, her eyes struggled to regain a momentary clarity.

During this brief moment of clarity, she reached her arms back and pulled Ye Zun, running towards the wall in the corner.

Pushing Ye Zun into the hole where the wall sank, Nogawa Kaoru looked at him seriously.

“Listen to me, there is a terrifying being at your side, I don’t know what he is, I can’t see his face, and I can’t say his name, but, my stepfather’s only son, his name is Nogawa Iwao.”

Ye Zun’s pupils dilated in horror.

“The most terrifying existence; behind him is a pure, endless darkness. He has forever and always been by your side.”

“He’s already here! Hurry and run!”

……

It was like falling into a bottomless abyss.

When he was pushed down, he was stuck in a state of weightless falling.

When he returned to his senses, Ye Zun was standing in an old maze-like house.

This house looked like the grave where Nogawa Kaoru was trapped. It looked like Lin’s house in reality. It looked like all the strange places Ye Zun had been to in the past, and yet it didn’t look like anywhere.

This was a tower, with countless stairs that looked like they could be used to escape, but would suddenly and maliciously be disconnected in a desperate situation, like a patchwork of many nightmares.

He stood in place. There were countless ghosts crawling towards him from all directions.

——Run! Hurry and run ah! Why can’t I move my body?

He put all his effort in getting his body to start running, subconsciously going up the stairs.

But where can he escape to?

It was impossible to tell which of these ghosts were real and which were the swallowed bodies of Nogawa Kaoru.

He could attack and kill those evil spirits, but how could he kill Nogawa Kaoru again?

He ran, mind numb, escaping.

Pushing open door after door, walking to the end of a dead end, then heading back to find a new path.

——Was it like this for Nogawa Kaoru? Was she as desperate as I am now before she died?

Even though he seldom wept and had always been thought to be indifferent by others, why couldn’t he stop the wetness forming at the corners of his eyes now?

After pushing open countless doors and walking down countless steps, behind a door, someone suddenly caught his neck.

“Hi, long time no see, my dearest little brother.”

A familiar and intimate action towards himself; in front of him, as unchanged as before, stood Shen Yuan.

The man who did whatever he wanted hugged his neck affectionately, smiling lazily and lightly with his ruffian-like handsome face that came straight out of a manhua.

“What game are you playing, let’s do it together ah.”

Ye Zun was dumb as a wooden chicken*, like an animal waiting to be slaughtered. He raised his chin. His neck was tightly wrapped in the arm, and he could only watch him, unable to move.

[T/N: transfixed]

Shen Yuan casually glanced at the direction where he came from, frowned, and wore a worried expression.

“Could it be that a ghost appeared? Then you have to quickly hide ah.”

Ye Zun’s fear was almost impossible to hide. Tears hung at the corners of his eyes as he looked at the evil ghost who was still role-playing in front of him as usual.

Shen Yuan’s brows drooped in boredom. Sighing softly, his fingers gently wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and his murmuring voice was low and cool.

“Why are you crying, are you that scared? I’m by your side, don’t be afraid ah.”

——Why didn’t I notice? This person’s eyes obviously didn’t hide the dark and dead energy from the very beginning. They should not be the eyes that people have.

Without his input, his throat made a small cracking sound on its own.

Shen Yuan lifted his eyelids as if he was pleased and the corners of his lips rose little by little, but in the end, he did his best to suppress his desire to smile. Blinking his eyes, he continued look down at him with a frown.

“Let’s go ba, we’ll run away together ah!“

Being grabbed by the wrist, the iron-like arm did not break free, as if he was to be dragged into hell.

There was a smile on that person’s face that was just a little short of reaching pure happiness. He was more or less no longer hiding it.

“Why?” This almost impossible, irresistible feeling of being played with.

——What did I do wrong? Why are you doing this to me?

“Don’t you think this kind of escape game is very interesting?” Shen Yuan smiled, just like in the past. “To be honest, I really wanted to experience the feeling of being chased and killed by a group of ghosts, it’s super exciting ah.”

When he turned to see Ye Zun’s face, he was slightly startled, his brows and eyes showed a careful softness as before, as if he was deliberately showing weakness to please. But he was still smiling. “En, do you not like it? Or are you still very cold? Shivering so much, even your eyes are red.”

Ye Zun’s body was cold and stiff, almost to the extreme. Unable to bear it any longer, he tried his best to break free and push him away.

Instead, he tripped and fell backwards first, but he stood up quickly, and looked back at the surprised Shen Yuan. “I don’t want, I don’t want to die yet. I don’t want to go to hell with you.”

With these words, he turned around and fled in the opposite direction desperately.

Shen Yuan stood where he was, raising the hand that was thrown off in an empty manner, and did not catch up to the other immediately.

He tilted his head, looking at Ye Zun’s escaping figure in a slight trance, and couldn’t help but reveal a smile.

The dark and bright eyes blinked, as if pampering, as if indulging. After a gentle sigh, an innocent and bored tone sounded sluggishly, “Have I been discovered ah? Although I do admit that it is quite abrupt for me to directly appear here like this.”

Without the frustration of being rejected, Shen Yuan suddenly let out a soft, happy laugh. The brighter his smile, the deeper the darkness in his eyes.

“Ah, how great, does that mean I no longer need to hide anymore?”

He walked at a leisurely pace in the direction which Ye Zun ran away, like a supermodel walking along a sci-fi themed stage.

“Don’t run so fast ah, there is no exit here anyway. It’s still a long time before the instance closes, there is no way for you to walk out. We can take our time to play ah.”

Ye Zun ran without stopping, unable to stop panting.

Even though he had already ran a long way, that demon’s voice seemed to be whispering next to his ears. He could hear it crystal-clear wherever he ran.

He will never, ever let himself be captured without putting up a fight, and the game will never give him a situation where death is his only outcome. There must be a way to survive, except he has not found it yet.

“You have forgotten, your game has ended. It is now my time to play, my dear.”

——He’s talking nonsense, do not be shaken, do not be afraid! Calm down! Calm down!

“Are you scared? So cute ah. You don’t know this ba, but when you’re scared, you emit a very nice aroma. I’ve always wanted to have a taste, but I held back.” Speaking in a covert* but innocent tone. He clearly said something terrifying, yet it was like he still wanted to be praised by the victim.

[T/N: 傲娇: also means tsundere; cold on the outside, passionate on the inside]

——I’m not scared! I am not scared!

“Even if you run away ba, it doesn’t matter, we can play this game of hide-and-seek for a long time… En, a long, long time. I can choose not to catch up to you immediately, so you don’t have to run so fast.”

——Do not listen to him! Cover your ears, think of something else!

A light, low sigh sounded. “Why do you feel the need to deny it? We were clearly very happy when we were together. Stay here with me, we can go back to how we were before.”

——I will not stay in this kind of place. Even if I die, I want to die where there is light!

“Why do you want to escape? Is there any difference between outside and in here? Is there any difference between humans and ghosts?”

Shen Yuan’s footsteps came to a stop. He raised his head slightly, and leaned lazily against the wall of the corridor. There was no smile on his face, just a dismal and never ending gentleness, like a cool, humid rain cloud in summer.

“Didn’t you already see Nogawa Kaoru’s fate? You rescued her and took her out, only for her to end up with an even uglier death.”

“Why are you afraid of me? Is it because I deceived you by pretending to be human? But, in the outside world, don’t those ghosts also pretend to be human, living in the same world as you?”

“Here, at least the ghosts don’t appear under the sunlight. You can distinguish the boundaries between humans and ghosts. In the outside world, they are just like humans, and are sometimes even more angelic than humans. Aren’t you the same? Always being hurt by intentional or unintentional malice?”

“Here, when a ghost hurts you, you can kill it. Outside, it can hurt you unscrupulously, but as long as the idea of resistance arises, the rules that only take effect on humans will appear first, imprisoning and punishing you.”

——But I am human ah, why do I need to hide and give up the world to ghosts? No matter how human-like, they are still ghosts. Why is it me who needs to live in hell, why do I need to give the world to them?

“Can that be considered living?” The demon’s elegant and beautiful voice hid a low and puzzling smile, innocent and romantic, without any guilt, using the most sweet and affectionate voice to say the most ruffian-like and demonic words. “Aren’t you the food for raising evil spirits? When she was young, she was bitten by a ghost and marked as prey. When the ghost wants her to die, she will die whenever it wants. She can escape one ghost, but there are many, many more. Can she run for a lifetime? Hiding and fleeing for the rest of your life, or to be numb like an animal waiting to be slaughtered, can that also be called living? Maybe someone did succeed in resisting for a while, just like Nogawa Kaoru in the past, but have you not seen her fate?”

——You’re wrong! Wrong!

“Have you taken a good look at the world? Looking up from beneath the abyss is far more interesting than looking down from above. Ghosts are also afraid of their own reflections, thinking they are human, and some even believe they have the pure wings of an angel. It really is, so interesting. Sometimes, even when it clearly has just finished eating someone, and the blood at the corners of the mouth have not been wiped dry, it shrinks in on itself in the corner, aggrieved like a victim. Feel indignant at the injustice? But what can we do with him? Prove that he is a ghost? How can we prove it?”

——Am I the same? Hiding fangs that I don’t know about, harming other people unknowingly?

“You are different. There is no unpleasant smell, but a very pure and sweet fragrance. The first time I caught a whiff, I felt so hungry ah. I have been hungry for a long time.”

——”……!”

“I’m sorry, I scared you.” The dismal and kind voice offered an innocent apology without sincerity. “If you are scared, I will try my best to endure it. If I really can’t bear it any longer, I will remember to be gentle, so that I will not hurt you.”

Ye Zun leaned against the wall with great force, hair standing on their ends in terror. He didn’t dare make a single sound, and even his breathing was carefully lifted. It was like his chest was cracked into shards by the extreme cold, the pain and fear carving lines like spider silk into skin.

——This terrifying lunatic! Just what kind of being is this person? How did I set him off? What did I do wrong?

“You didn’t do anything wrong, why are you thinking like that again? There is no need for you to find excuses like a ruffian. If there is anything you did wrong, it is just that you are too beautiful. Almost everything in this world tends* towards some kind of beauty.”

[T/N: or a less-accurate translation, ‘gravitates’]

“To tend to, or you could also say, to devour, to possess. It seems that the ghosts here tend to devour pure young girls, in the delusion that possessing them will take in the youth and vitality of the other party that it does not have in itself, in order to resist death and nature’s decay upon him. Most people’s minds are dominated by the desire for false pleasure, tending towards meaningless power and resources, wasting their time and their life criticising each other.”

Shen Yuan leaned against the wall, closing his eyes lightly. His white shirt and handsome face made him look like an innocent teenage boy, waiting for his date.

“Insects tend to light, humans tend to death, and I, tend to you.”

——You are mistaken, both me and Nogawa Kaoru, neither of us wants to die.

“I know, that the instinct to live may be tricking you into rejecting me, but we are actually very well aware; many people know this, the fact that human beings have a hidden tendency to destroy and self-destruct in their genes. That is why Nogawa Kaoru killed her father, and committed suicide. Think back on yourself, when you killed the ghost, although you sustained a serious injury, you were not afraid, because the desire to kill the ghost and the desire to self-destruct was stronger than the instinct to live.”

——That’s not true! If we could, if these ghosts didn’t exist, she and I, we both want to live well. The meaning behind us continuing to live is not because we want to kill anyone!

“Are you angry? Can you answer me, what are you afraid of? You are very scared of me, aren’t you? But, do you really know what you are afraid of?”

——Because you are terrifying!

“You are afraid that I am right. You too, tend to me, just as I tend to you.”

——I’m scared, but it’s me who tends toward you?!

“Baby*, time is up. The hide-and-seek time, has now ended.” 

[T/N: baobei]

The dark and cold eyes slowly opened, Death tinged with affectionate and timeless waves. The knot of his throat rolled and he let out a gloomy sigh.

“I am sorry ah, to have ended the game so soon. I really want to continue playing with you, but, you really smell so good. I have already restrained myself to my limit.” 

The corners of his lips rose little by little, and once forming a pleasant and bright curve, his fingers lightly pressed on his lips as he whispered gently, “Are you done hiding? I am coming to find you, my dear.”

……

Ye Zun, who was hiding in the room, had nowhere to go and nowhere to hide.

The sound of footsteps gradually approaching him from outside the door seemed to be stepping on every beat of his heart.

“Don’t be afraid, everyone will eventually end up in the Abyss of hell. I will be with you, so you will not be alone.” 

He has tried everything, but his fear cannot be eliminated. His heartbeats were out of control, and his reason collapsed to the point where tears could not be held back.

There was no way to resist. The footsteps destroyed all defenses and approached him step by step.

In the end, he could only shrink into the corner, just like when he was a child that was afraid of the dark. He covered his ears and shut his eyes, so that he couldn’t hear or see.

If you don’t hear it, it doesn’t exist, if you don’t see it, you won’t know of it, and if you don’t know of it, you won’t be afraid of it.

——Even though I faced the ghost, I was not scared. When I was about to be killed, I thought of resistance out of anger. Why can’t I do it now?

A broken sob escaped his throat.

——What the hell am I scared of? An uncontrollable, boundless, endless rising fear.

——Am I afraid of being killed by him? How will he kill me?

——Death is not that scary, isn’t that right? But why am I so scared like this, so scared that I have cried in shame?

Even after he exhausted all means, his body couldn’t raise any consciousness of resistance at all. It was like facing an existence far beyond one’s own power. An ant can not kill an elephant, and a drop of water can not resist the sea.

——Will I die here? Will I be left in the dark forever?

——Will I be made into a puppet, possessing self-consciousness, trapped in the applause of evil spirits, never to be reborn day after day?

——Or will I be made into a meal, eaten into nothing, bite by bite?

The thick and oppressive black nightmare was approaching little by little, and no one could save him.

Before a person dies, what can they do?

Look back on their life? But what can he recall from this short lonely life?

——If I die and disappear, what will happen to the world? Will it not matter? Will it be as if nothing happened at all?

There should be something ba, there must be!

——I’ve always thought I was downright pessimistic. In the face of helpless death, there is nothing for me to be but powerless, waiting to be slaughtered. There is no point in living or dying. But, didn’t that turn out to be wrong? It turns out I want to live.

……”I rarely like people, but I like you very much.”

……”You are the only one who has given me warmth and light… You really are so bright ah…”

……”Once the instance has ended, will you still come to find me first?”

……”If only we can always be together…I will see you again very soon.”

……”Don’t worry about those two people, grandma can support you…you have to be good in the future…”

——I’m not sure how reluctant I am to leave this world, but I don’t want it to end. There must be people in this world who are waiting for me, who love me, and who want me to live.

——Maybe not a lot, maybe just a little, maybe not in the way I think, but someone must love me ba. Even the indifferent and strict grandmother, silently loving me and supporting me as I grew up, was not just out of responsibility. Even the father and mother who did not want me, when I was small, they also used to silently look forward to my birth, and loved me. Time and life diluted this ‘love’, but they still existed. I also exist in this world because of them.

Desperately looking for the light of fire in the shadow of cold and death, looking for the light that can dispel his fear, looking for the meaning of living.

——Please, if this ‘love’ really exists in the corner of the world, the ones I know of and the ones I do not, if someone has loved me, please bring this ‘love’ together and help me resist my fears and the self-destruction that tends to death. I want to live.

——I want to keep living, I want to be with my important friend under the light of dawn, watching the beautiful scenery. The sunlight shining on the fountain and the cattails is really, so beautiful.

——If fear is the energy that the ghost intercepts from me to use as energy to kill me, if I have already fallen deep into the ghost’s energy circulation system, is there another system that I can use to help myself?

——I can do it, there must be a curse* that will make me no longer fearful, that can protect me from evil spirits.

[T/N: incantation/spell, reference to chapter 18, where Lin places a curse on Ye Zun]

He did not partake in any religious beliefs, but humans will always obtain the source of energy for their survival.

If there are no exorcism spells in this world, this sentence must be the one.

If there is a spell that can free ordinary people from their fear, it must be this phrase.

Dark footsteps arrived at the door. The demon kept his reserved and proud manners, knocking three times politely.

The owner obviously won’t open the door for him, but, it does not matter.

In the empty indoors, the demon has already appeared.

If that pitiful and cute victim who was hiding in the corner, silently reciting an exorcism spell, dared to open his eyes to have a look, to see the noble and perfect face that appeared in front of him, would he show a look of terror, or would he show a look of surprise?

The demon really wants to know as well.

But that poor little one was absolutely terrified, thinking that if he covered his ears and shut his eyes, he will not see anything, nor will he be found.

To this, Mr. Demon pleaded not guilty. He was obviously so polite, so gentle and considerate ya.

My dearest sacrifice, why are you struggling in vain?

Even reciting an exorcism spell ah.

But… The handsome demon couldn’t help the rising corners of his lips, the most powerful exorcist in the world is standing right here.

Let me hear you, what kind of incantation is it? My dear.

So naive and cute, thinking you can resist me.

The Devil bowed his head to hear the person’s trembling curse.

And heard——

“I love you.”

Boom. It was the demon’s heart that stopped by itself.

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

The Abyss’ playful, nihilistic smile died, and the ripples of death slept in the depths of the pond.

The lips on that handsome face parted slightly, losing all desires and emotion.

The dark and dismal eyes were clear and quiet. Starlight adorned in the spring water like rare and beautiful black crystals.

That person is saying, I love you.

I love you, I love you…

Spoken many times, one chasing another.

The demon naturally knew this was not said for him, but he saw the light emanating from that person.

He really likes it.

During this long time, he has heard and seen countless exorcism spells; sharp, fiery, evil, ugly, sacred.

Only this one is sweet.

Indeed, this is a really good, very effective spell.

The Abyss grew even hungrier, but he didn’t want to eat. He just held his breath and stayed beside that person in silence, gently and obediently* watching him, listening as the person repeated the spell to banish him.

[T/N: 温驯: docile]

Until the first light of day, when darkness disappears, and all evils retreat.

The author has something to say:

This is indeed a very effective spell. A little angel asked me, do I not get scared when writing horror stories?

I do get scared. There was once even a time when I had just shut my eyes, and met a ghost in a “dream” within ten seconds. I immediately opened my eyes and fled back to reality, but was strangled by the ghost who chased me from the nightmare into reality. The sleep paralysis was so lifelike, it was like I really was strangled.

Because I know this spell, I can sleep peacefully without fear.

There is also this spell in President Ji’s story*, President Ji taught it to Wen Shui.

[T/N: I think the author is referring to another one of her novels, “Pardon Me, I am Indifferent [Quick Transmigration]”]

Here, I’ll also let Ye Zun teach the little angels.

Silently say to yourself “I love you”. The love that exists in this world for you will converge upon you, forming an enchantment to protect you from your fears.

As long as you are not afraid, ghosts cannot harm you.

.

Also, Lin in this chapter is quite scary. When I was writing the second part, the music suddenly cut off, just when he said I was coming to find you, it scared me into a cold sweat.

In the next chapter, I will also try my best every day. If I am successful, I will continue to try next weekend. If I fail, you guys can pretend you saw nothing.

·

This is the desire to survive.

No allusions to anything in reality, no news.

Okay ba, I did see news of a Japanese female junior high school student committing suicide.

I’m very sorry that the story did not stop at the good young man saving the ghost.

Because if there is only one person, even if it’s the male protagonist’s halo, it cannot save Nogawa Kaoru.

It may be hard to accept, but I hope that those who read this chapter can at least stay to read the ending of this instance in the next chapter. After all, I am not here to be depressing. I also want to blow on the wounds, leave a little hope, leave a little light.

Trust me, Gu Gu has no intention of making any little angels feel mournful and depressed after reading.