Having the Same Name as the Demon Lord of the Abyss
Who is lying
The boy let Ye Zun pull his wrist, and he didn’t have much of a reaction when the scars on his arm were seen.
Ye Zun’s finger touched the wound lightly. Some of these scars were so deep that the bone was visible, overlapping each other. It seemed that new cuts had been added to the old cuts before they healed. For such a young child, it must have been very painful.
“Fortunately, it doesn’t hurt much,” the little boy said offhandedly.
Ye Zun raised his eyes up to him. He opened his mouth, wanting to ask why it didn’t hurt, but he forgot that he couldn’t speak. But such a young child probably couldn’t read.
The little boy gave him a small smile and looked into his eyes. “I really don’t remember.”
He raised his hand, lightly placing his fingers on Ye Zun’s neck, touching where the vocal cords were. His movements were very light and careful. “Little mute, does it hurt a lot?”
Ye Zun shook his head. He didn’t avoid the boy and obediently let him touch himself.
If someone else did this, he might be on guard and refuse, but this was just a child who had sympathy for someone he thought met the same fate.
“Look, wasn’t it the same for you too? At that time, the fear in the heart was greater than the pain in my body ba, and it was the same afterwards. Compared with the pain, the only thing stored in the memory was the fear at that time.” The boy spoke softly, with a profoundedness that a child of this age should not have.
Ye Zun was stunned. Indeed, this was true. Thinking about it now, at that time, in order to survive, he didn’t remember the feeling of swallowing the boiling milk at all, but the feeling of being smothered was always hanging in his heart.
But, who did this to this child?
“Ah, it’s Mama,” the little boy said, with a faint smile on his face. The eyes looking at Ye Zun were clear and peaceful. “I am the same as you. I was abused by Baba and Mama, so I was adopted by this family.”
Ye Zun was confused. He realised after, that even though he didn’t make a sound, the other party seemed to know what he was thinking and answered him.
The little boy said lightly, “I have a special ability. When I look into people’s eyes, I can see their thoughts. I can also make people speak the truth to me, but you can’t talk, so I can’t use that one on you. What a pity.”
Ye Zun didn’t really believe him. This should just be a child’s ability to observe the expressions of adults in an extreme environment. In order to survive, he had to be sensitive.
After all, he was wrong. Ye Zun was not abused by his dad and mum, they did something even more terrible: murdering his grandpa and grandma.
“Aren’t you scared of me?” The little boy seemed a little surprised. “I thought you would run away immediately when you heard that.”
Ye Zun shook his head. Initially, seeing the domineering and indifferent attitude of the little boy, he thought he was the spoiled young master of this family and kept a distance from him because he didn’t want to cause trouble. But now, knowing the reason why he was like this, he only felt pity.
What’s more, reading the thoughts of other people, even if it was a real superpower, was not something to be afraid of.
Besides, they can communicate with this.
Ye Zun smiled at him, with friendliness and courtesy.
The little boy pursed his lips slightly, looking at Ye Zun who was smiling at him. He was quiet and did not speak, but his expression was gentle.
His fingers were still on Ye Zun’s neck, and Ye Zun was also pulling at his scarred wrist.
——Why don’t you go to school?
“Ah, it’s because I have severe autism.”
Autism?
In addition to his usual dislike of talking to people, this child was a little indifferent to others, but he seemed to be able to communicate just fine as long as he wanted to.
Ye Zun didn’t know much about autism, nor has he ever had contact with an autistic person. Is this how someone with autism acts?
“This is what the doctor diagnosed me with, an authoritative doctor that Gufu found,” the little boy said.
He picked up the picture book in Ye Zun’s hand, looking like a mature big brother. “Can you read? I can read it to you if you want.”
Ye Zun nodded.
The two sat snuggled together, looking at the picture book together.
“Once upon a time, there was a little fox…”
The story went like this: Little Fox wanted to eat grapes, and Mama Fox went to pick them alone, but the hunter and hounds came after her. Mama Fox threw down a bunch of grapes, shouted for Little Fox to quickly run away, then led the hounds away by herself.
As spring went and autumn came, Little Fox who ran away grew up and returned to its original cave. Mama never returned, but the purple grapes Mama left behind grew into vines, and bunches of purple grapes grew all over.
“…the purple grapes were very sweet, like Mama Fox’s love.” After the little boy finished reading the last sentence, he tilted his head and asked him, “Do you like to eat purple grapes?”
Ye Zun shook his head.
Ye Zun had also read the story of Mama Fox and the grapes when he was a child. Back then, he was also moved and yearned for his Mama. But after experiencing this world, while he still felt moved when he heard this story again, he didn’t want his mother at all.
Not all mothers love Little Fox as much as Mama Fox does.
Like a big brother, the little boy touched his head and said softly, “It’s okay, there is no Mama Fox, but Fox-gege* will protect you.”
[T/N: 狐狸哥哥/huli-gege: (Big) Brother Fox. Please comment which one you’d like me to use, I just used Fox-gege since I like the MC calling ML ‘Gege’, but I get that Brother Fox is easier to understand]
After all, he was an adult in a child’s body. Hearing a child promise to protect him like this, it gave him a rather strange feeling.
Ye Zun nodded with a smile, his crystal clear eyes full of trust.
The two children who originally didn’t talk to each other and didn’t care for each other, after one whole morning, held hands and loved each other like real brothers. Gu-laolao’s smiling face was very happy.
When it was mealtime at noon, Ye Zun and the little boy’s chairs were placed together. Gu-laolao lifted them one by one to sit on top.
There was pan-fried steak for lunch, and the little boy asked for an extra serving.
“Ya, is our Gege hungry?” Gu-laolao asked with an exaggerated expression. Her smile was a little fake, and her expression seemed to be restrained, wanting to ask for responsibility.
“I want to grow up quickly, I will hug* Didi in the future.” The little boy spoke lightly.
[T/N: same as ‘lift up (on to the chair)’]
With an exaggerated expression, Gu-laolao repeatedly praised him, how ‘our Gege is so cute and sensible’.
Everyone sitting around the table was eating. Er-gugu agreed with her with a smile. She was kind and easy-going. Although she was a working woman, she could always chat with the old lady.
Er-gufu had a smile on his face, not very good at words.
Only San-gugu frowned, as always, as if she didn’t find anyone pleasing to the eye.
“They’re so big, don’t let them stay at home all the time. It’s about time to send them to school ba.” The third aunt frowned and spoke stiffly.
Gu-laolao was not in a hurry, topping up on food for the two children. “They’re still young, what is the rush? How many bad people are in the kindergartens outside? With these two children being in the state that they are, they won’t know how to talk even if they’re being bullied.”
“You also know that ah, then bring someone home to teach them how to read and write. Can you take this seriously? They’re so big and they don’t even know manners. If they are bullied, forget tittle-tattling, he won’t even understand that people are bullying him, he’ll just stand in front of you, acting like a young master.”
As more words were spoken, the anger rose.
The atmosphere was a bit tense, and the second aunt tried to smooth things over with a smile. “Did they disturb San-mei’s* painting? You two should be a little quieter in the future, your San-gugu is an artist. When creative inspiration is affected, it is inevitable to be in a bad mood. Not only you, but the whole family is on edge.”
[T/N: third little sister]
The third aunt immediately frowned and looked at her in disgust. “Did I say that? Who are you calling eccentric?”
Having been fought back against, the smile on Er-gugu’s face disappeared, and she looked at her in surprise. “I was just making a joke, your reaction is too big.”
She said in a small voice, “Wasn’t it always like this? Going crazy at every turn, am I wrong?”
San-gugu threw down her chopsticks and stood up, glaring at her slightly, as if she was about to explode. Then she looked around at everyone, as if she was afraid.
Gu-laolao frowned in annoyance, and stopped Er-gugu who had a sullen face. “Forget it, forget it, her temper’s always been like this. It’s not like you don’t know it. Maybe she is stressed because she couldn’t draw what she wanted.”
“Dog temper, we’re used to that defective temper,” Er-gugu said coldly, but she didn’t get angry.
Er-gufu also comforted her, “We are family, and you are you. Let your little sister talk properly.”
“My attitude is not good enough, what else can I do?” Er-gugu was not very happy, but there was no obvious anger.
San-gugu stood and looked at everyone, laughing coldly a few times, and walked upstairs. “They don’t understand who the psychopath is. We grew up together, so who wouldn’t know who is what.”
After San-gugu went upstairs, Ye Zun glanced around, and suddenly saw the twin ghosts wearing dresses appear in the room for a moment out of the corners of his eyes.
“Ha, she is seriously sick ba.” Er-gugu complained about her younger sister, but she obviously didn’t take it to heart.
“All right, forget it, she always acts like this.”
After the third aunt left, the atmosphere soon became better after everyone made peace.
Even when the third aunt was around, unless she lost her temper and spoke, she would be like an outsider, out of tune with everyone who was enjoying themselves.
After lunch, the two children were taken for their afternoon nap.
Others went out if they had something to do and went to take a nap if they did not. The house became quiet.
Ye Zun didn’t sleep. He went downstairs with the auntie in charge of taking care of him.
The hired auntie told him to go back to sleep at first, but he shook his head, expressing that he couldn’t fall asleep.
Auntie was helpless. “I have to go hang the clothes. Then, you will be good, okay?”
Ye Zun smiled, nodding obediently.
Generally, normal people who meet well-behaved and beautiful children will like and want to pamper them.
The auntie patted his head and didn’t say anything.
Ye Zun sat on a small bench beside her and watched her work, observing her working pattern, and after a while helped her put small clothes on the hanger, aiding her in some work that was within his ability.
Afterwards, Ye Zun followed her like a little tail, and she was basically used to it. At first, others would ask a question when they saw this scene, and later some thought he was a relative of a hired helper new to the family.
Even if they knew that Ye Zun was the newly adopted child, those people didn’t worry about it too much either.
In the afternoon, everyone relax and came together to chat. As they talked more and more, the conversation topic would eventually come to the employer’s family.
“…this family’s relationship is getting complicated. The son-in-law is young and promising, but he married into the family*. They don’t have any children, but how many years have the couple been married? However, the old lady went to adopt a child into the house, but under the name of her deceased eldest son.”
[T/N: 上门女婿: the man’s family background is weaker than the the woman’s, so their child will take the mother’s surname]
“Why is that ah?“
“I heard that infertile people adopt children. Children will bring children, and it won’t be long before they conceive one themselves.”
“Ai, you guys don’t know that, the relationships behind rich people’s backs are complicated.”
“You were the one talking about it.”
“I only said things that everyone already knows. So out and ask anyone, any locals getting up there in their ages will understand. It’s not that I’m just making up gossip about my employer ah.”
Everyone expressed that they were just talking randomly, who would take it seriously ah, a person said in a leisurely manner.
“This family’s old lady and the deceased old gentleman both came back from abroad to settle down. The old man used to do business outside, but the old lady didn’t. Her family had always been in Southeast Asia and she married several times, before finally marrying the old man and returning to the country together. The old man was the same, before marrying her, he was married twice.
“The first one was a pitiful woman who gave birth to twins for him. Her husband was always at work and never came home, and her thoughts always ran wild while she was at home, and she beat the children when she was in a bad mood. One day, she accidentally hit too hard, and there was an accident. One of the children fell from upstairs and could not be saved. For a mother to hit her child, isn’t it quite normal? At most, it is neither light nor heavy, so how could she have possibly killed for real? The child died and she couldn’t think clearly for a while, so she also followed.”
Everyone sighed in tandem, wanting to scold her for being cruel. However, the person was already dead, and suddenly people didn’t know what to say.
“There was still a little daughter left behind, who is the second young lady in the family now. At that time, when the old man came back, he thought that his child was so young and couldn’t live without a mother, so he got married again soon after. The second woman he married also gave birth to a child for him, who is now the third young lady in the family. Who knows if people who died in this house turned into evil spirits, but the second wife also beat the children, even more violently than the first. Don’t think it’s the cruelty of a stepmother, because she even beat her own child, giving her an even fiercer abuse. Everyone felt like a ghost possessed her body, that the first partner was the one causing trouble.”
“And then? Did the second wife also die? “
“No, the second one didn’t. The relationship between husband and wife was always bad and they divorced within a few years. The old man did not marry during this period and went abroad with his two daughters. Later, he met the old lady that we know now, and the two got married abroad. The old lady had also been married several times; she was a few years older than the old man and had a son and a daughter. It is said that when she married a foreigner when she was young, she actually acted as a mistress for him, and when she gave birth to a child, the other party did not recognise them. All of her children are surnamed Ye, after her.
“Originally, the husband and wife were doing business abroad, but unexpectedly, the old lady’s eldest son passed away unexpectedly at a young age from natural and man-made disasters*. The old lady couldn’t stand the blow to her spirit, so the old man took her to finish all business there and return to this country. Within a few years, the old man also passed away, and left the house to the old lady to take care of.”
[T/N: 天灾人祸: several disasters, of all kinds]
Everyone exhaled a few times, and suddenly remembered something. “So that means, the current children in this family, they all have no blood relationship with the old lady?”
The family business was big, and inheritance was involved. This was a delicate situation.
“That is what is said, but you all, look. Does that little boy with wavy hair and fair skin look very similar to the portrait of the eldest young master?”
“Now that you said that, he really does ah. Is this the eldest young master’s lineage?”
“It’s hard to say, what I know about everything that happened after is just stuff I overheard. Some people say that the young master had an affair with a woman on occasion before he died, and the woman came to the door with blackmail. As a result, the old lady returned to the country, and the woman and her lover abused the child when they didn’t get any benefits. Later, the old lady found out and spent a lot of money to bring the child back.
“Some also say that this isn’t the case. The old lady was originally born in Southeast Asia, and there’s some kind of superstition going on there, which she believes in. She got some person with great power to reincarnate the young master, and she regarded that child as her own dead son.
“There are too many rumours; there’s also a saying that the old lady deliberately adopted a child under her son’s name to prevent the few members in the family from fighting for the property.
“There’s even a saying that takes an abnormal turn, that the child with wavy hair and white skin was not a human, that he is actually some kind of holy child. Raising him is like enshrining a little ghost or whatever. It can bless the family, attract wealth and treasures, and prosperous offspring.”
This series of statements made everyone click their tongues.
“Anyway, this house is full of abnormal happenings. Be careful, everyone. When I’m working, I always feel that someone is watching me from behind. My back gets cold, but I don’t look back.”
“Me too, me too, there are often times where the things I place down are moved, but there was never anyone around.”
“Not letting anyone come out to walk around after eight o’clock at night, if anyone says there are no ghosts, I won’t believe you.”
“I heard that the old lady was a famous sorceress in Southeast Asia when she was young. Maybe that kind of rumour is true.”
Everyone noticed Ye Zun, who was sitting quietly beside him as if he didn’t exist. It seemed that this little mute adopted into the family was the most innocent.
The auntie patted his head. “We know whatever goes on in the families of rich people’s. Being adopted may seem like a blessing, but keep the eye in your heart open*. I can see that everyone in this family is not right, and something will happen sooner or later.”
[T/N: don’t fall for any tricks]
Ye Zun listened to an afternoon’s worth of gossip, and more or less understood the identities and relationships among the family members.
The little boy is suspected to be the grandson of the great aunt and has a past of being abused. This could also explain the old lady’s exaggerated doting on the little boy, which may be overcompensation born from the guilt in her heart.
Both the second aunt and the third aunt had no blood relationship with Gu-laolao and were half-siblings. Although they grew up together since they were young, it was justifiable for them to have a bad relationship.
The second uncle was the son-in-law who married in.
Er-gugu and Gu-laolao had a very good relationship, as close as a mother and daughter.
However, the second aunt once had a twin sister, who died in an accident when she was a child. Did it really have nothing to do with the twin ghosts in the house?
Nothing special happened in the afternoon. The second uncle came to the toy room to teach them pinyin and writing.
“Your aunties and uncle are already looking for a teacher. Before we find a suitable teacher, Gufu will hold a class for you two first, okay?”
Ye Zun deliberately hid behind his clumsiness, not wanting to show that he knew a lot of words.
The little boy was always doing things his own way, doing whatever he wanted. When the man was putting on a class, he just drew underneath, completely uncooperative.
Facing a mute child and an autistic child, it was difficult to hold a class where there was no interaction. But the second uncle had a good temper and always appeared very patient.
Ye Zun also needed to learn things that he already knew well, and he also needed to control himself doing things that he learned earlier and remembered, before forgetting how to do it at a later time. This was a normal child’s learning process.
When it was over, everyone felt extremely tired, and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Alright, that’s all for today.” Gufu had a good temper and asked the hired aunt to bring them afternoon tea.
Time passed quickly.
After dinner in the evening, it wasn’t long before it was time to wash up and go to bed.
After eight o’clock, everyone in the house was not allowed to move around and needed to go back to their room to sleep. It turned out that not only children, but adults also must abide by the rule. And, Gu-laolao was once a sorcerer.
With these thoughts popping up in his mind, Ye Zun was a little distracted.
He came out of the bathroom and came across someone in a blink of an eye.
The third aunt, who was wearing a white dress and had long hair loose, had a gloomy face. She was very good-looking, and should have a sweet, round and pleasing face, but the expression she showed made people feel repulsed.
San-gugu stood outside Ye Zun’s bedroom door, not moving, as if in a daze.
When Ye Zun turned a corner and saw her, he was given a scare.
The third aunt immediately noticed him and looked sideways at him, frowning with her eyes staring straight at him.
Quickly returning to the present, she pursed her lips, as if she wanted to make a friendly expression. However, she failed, and thus gave up immediately.
She walked towards Ye Zun, put her fingers on his shoulders, and looked down into his eyes, her brows and eyes forming a gloomy frown. “Listen to me, stay away from your Er-gugu, don’t come into contact with her. Whatever she asks you to do, it’s best not to do them. Are you clear?”
Ye Zun was puzzled and did not understand, but still nodded.
San-gugu pursed her lips and patted his head. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, you are still too young, but, when I was as young as you…and also, stay a little farther away from Gege, don’t play with him.”
Not long after she finished speaking, there was the sound of someone coming upstairs from the stairwell.
She straightened up immediately, with a haughty, hateful and a gloomy expression on her face. She directly ignored the second aunt and her husband who were walking up, passing them by and going downstairs.
Er-gugu also ignored her. Only Er-gufu glanced at her, but he didn’t greet her either.
The second aunt was chatting to her husband with a smile, talking about when she lived here in the past. She saw Ye Zun. “I also used to live in this room with my big sister.”
Her expression dimmed slightly.
“Your big sister, is it Da-jie*? I don’t think we’ve have met,” Er-gufu said.
[T/N: eldest sister]
Er-gugu shook her head with a smile, and said in a small voice, “Jiejie is no longer here. Back then, Dad cheated with his mistress, and the other person came to the door with the child in her arms. That was my San-mei. Mum suffered from severe depression and was over stimulated. She would beat us as soon as she lost control. Jiejie was so scared that she would run upstairs to hide. They all say that Mum pushed her down. But I know, that Jiejie might have committed suicide. Because back then, I was so scared that I wanted to kill myself. If it wasn’t my sister who had an accident first, the one who died could have been me.”
Gufu immediately comforted her with a few words, saying that people can’t control themselves when they are sick in the head. This was a tragedy, and everyone was innocent.
Er-gugu proceeded to hug him and acted like a baby*.
[T/N: 撒娇/sajiao: behave in a spoiled manner]
Gufu was a little stiff, glancing at Ye Zun and smiling when he said, “The child is still here.”
The second aunt smiled with embarrassment.
Ye Zun was a little puzzled. What Er-gugu said was not quite in line with what the employees said. The employees said that San-gugu was born after the old man remarried after the death of his original partner. But according to Er-gugu, she said San-gugu was born out of wedlock, and it was because of her that caused the death of her twin sister.
“This little sister of mine has a poisonous mouth and her heart is weighed down by her thoughts, but she is really not a bad person. Besides, her mother has been divorced for so many years, and I don’t blame her for what happened to Jiejie. If I wanted to blame someone, I would blame my father, but my father has also left. I have long since let go.”
Er-gugu spoke to her husband, and the two of them looked at Ye Zun. “Little kid, quickly go back to your room and sleep. Your Nainai will check on you very carefully, with your grandma, if she finds that you’re not sleeping, she’ll smack your bum.”
Ye Zun wanted to ask them, the kind-of scary person checking his bedroom at night, was it really Gu-laolao?
But these people didn’t have the little boy’s ability and couldn’t understand what he wanted to say.
It was almost eight o’clock. Ye Zun went back to his room to lay down.
As expected, Gu-laolao soon appeared outside the door. She checked the room, tucked the blanket in for him, and sternly told him to quickly fall asleep.
The second aunt’s voice was outside the door, saying with a smile, “I said it was fine if we just came by ourselves, but you still worry. There are so many people in the house, but you still have to come and see for yourself.”
“If I don’t have a look, I can’t sleep at night, your Da-ge…you all, I always looked after you when you were still children.”
Voices gradually faded away. They went downstairs.
Ye Zun waited, and very quickly heard the airy and eerie laughter of a child, humming a song and jumping up and down.
Like in an empty hallway, like on the ceiling.
After a while, there was a knock on his door.
“Gege, Gege, let’s play a game.”
The ghost’s divination at night begins again.
Five cards, draw one.
Ye Zun drew the second card.
There were two simple pen strokes on the card drawing two heads connected to a body. One on the left and one on the right, like two balloons floating in the air. The human head on the left held a flower in its mouth, and the mouth on the right hid the tip of a knife. On the ground underneath the human head, there was a small child, shrouded in obscurity.
The little girl spoke with a voice that sounded both afraid and like a shrill snicker. “Ya, the bad guy has appeared. One is lying. Who is lying? So dangerous, so scary ah!“
She seemed to really be scared, and also seemed to be pretending she was scared. With bouncing jumps, she ran away.
Ye Zun put away the card and laid down on the bed.
The person who was lying, should be referring to Er-gugu and San-gugu. Was one of them lying?
If San-gugu is a good person, telling the truth and warning him to be careful, then are the little boy and Er-gugu both bad people?
If Er-gugu is a good person and she is telling the truth, that means San-gugu is the mistress’ child, and that her mother forced Er-gugu’s mother and sister to death. Then, is San-gugu who has always looked at the little boy with hateful eyes a bad person?
The clock kept ticking, and the door frame suddenly made a weird creaking sound. It was opened once again.
Ye Zun held his breath.
——How about it, do I want to take a look at who this person is? If I see the other person’s appearance, will I be able to know who the bad guy* is?
Having the Same Name as the Demon Lord of the Abyss
Who is lying
The boy let Ye Zun pull his wrist, and he didn’t have much of a reaction when the scars on his arm were seen.
Ye Zun’s finger touched the wound lightly. Some of these scars were so deep that the bone was visible, overlapping each other. It seemed that new cuts had been added to the old cuts before they healed. For such a young child, it must have been very painful.
“Fortunately, it doesn’t hurt much,” the little boy said offhandedly.
Ye Zun raised his eyes up to him. He opened his mouth, wanting to ask why it didn’t hurt, but he forgot that he couldn’t speak. But such a young child probably couldn’t read.
The little boy gave him a small smile and looked into his eyes. “I really don’t remember.”
He raised his hand, lightly placing his fingers on Ye Zun’s neck, touching where the vocal cords were. His movements were very light and careful. “Little mute, does it hurt a lot?”
Ye Zun shook his head. He didn’t avoid the boy and obediently let him touch himself.
If someone else did this, he might be on guard and refuse, but this was just a child who had sympathy for someone he thought met the same fate.
“Look, wasn’t it the same for you too? At that time, the fear in the heart was greater than the pain in my body ba, and it was the same afterwards. Compared with the pain, the only thing stored in the memory was the fear at that time.” The boy spoke softly, with a profoundedness that a child of this age should not have.
Ye Zun was stunned. Indeed, this was true. Thinking about it now, at that time, in order to survive, he didn’t remember the feeling of swallowing the boiling milk at all, but the feeling of being smothered was always hanging in his heart.
But, who did this to this child?
“Ah, it’s Mama,” the little boy said, with a faint smile on his face. The eyes looking at Ye Zun were clear and peaceful. “I am the same as you. I was abused by Baba and Mama, so I was adopted by this family.”
Ye Zun was confused. He realised after, that even though he didn’t make a sound, the other party seemed to know what he was thinking and answered him.
The little boy said lightly, “I have a special ability. When I look into people’s eyes, I can see their thoughts. I can also make people speak the truth to me, but you can’t talk, so I can’t use that one on you. What a pity.”
Ye Zun didn’t really believe him. This should just be a child’s ability to observe the expressions of adults in an extreme environment. In order to survive, he had to be sensitive.
After all, he was wrong. Ye Zun was not abused by his dad and mum, they did something even more terrible: murdering his grandpa and grandma.
“Aren’t you scared of me?” The little boy seemed a little surprised. “I thought you would run away immediately when you heard that.”
Ye Zun shook his head. Initially, seeing the domineering and indifferent attitude of the little boy, he thought he was the spoiled young master of this family and kept a distance from him because he didn’t want to cause trouble. But now, knowing the reason why he was like this, he only felt pity.
What’s more, reading the thoughts of other people, even if it was a real superpower, was not something to be afraid of.
Besides, they can communicate with this.
Ye Zun smiled at him, with friendliness and courtesy.
The little boy pursed his lips slightly, looking at Ye Zun who was smiling at him. He was quiet and did not speak, but his expression was gentle.
His fingers were still on Ye Zun’s neck, and Ye Zun was also pulling at his scarred wrist.
——Why don’t you go to school?
“Ah, it’s because I have severe autism.”
Autism?
In addition to his usual dislike of talking to people, this child was a little indifferent to others, but he seemed to be able to communicate just fine as long as he wanted to.
Ye Zun didn’t know much about autism, nor has he ever had contact with an autistic person. Is this how someone with autism acts?
“This is what the doctor diagnosed me with, an authoritative doctor that Gufu found,” the little boy said.
He picked up the picture book in Ye Zun’s hand, looking like a mature big brother. “Can you read? I can read it to you if you want.”
Ye Zun nodded.
The two sat snuggled together, looking at the picture book together.
“Once upon a time, there was a little fox…”
The story went like this: Little Fox wanted to eat grapes, and Mama Fox went to pick them alone, but the hunter and hounds came after her. Mama Fox threw down a bunch of grapes, shouted for Little Fox to quickly run away, then led the hounds away by herself.
As spring went and autumn came, Little Fox who ran away grew up and returned to its original cave. Mama never returned, but the purple grapes Mama left behind grew into vines, and bunches of purple grapes grew all over.
“…the purple grapes were very sweet, like Mama Fox’s love.” After the little boy finished reading the last sentence, he tilted his head and asked him, “Do you like to eat purple grapes?”
Ye Zun shook his head.
Ye Zun had also read the story of Mama Fox and the grapes when he was a child. Back then, he was also moved and yearned for his Mama. But after experiencing this world, while he still felt moved when he heard this story again, he didn’t want his mother at all.
Not all mothers love Little Fox as much as Mama Fox does.
Like a big brother, the little boy touched his head and said softly, “It’s okay, there is no Mama Fox, but Fox-gege* will protect you.”
[T/N: 狐狸哥哥/huli-gege: (Big) Brother Fox. Please comment which one you’d like me to use, I just used Fox-gege since I like the MC calling ML ‘Gege’, but I get that Brother Fox is easier to understand]
After all, he was an adult in a child’s body. Hearing a child promise to protect him like this, it gave him a rather strange feeling.
Ye Zun nodded with a smile, his crystal clear eyes full of trust.
The two children who originally didn’t talk to each other and didn’t care for each other, after one whole morning, held hands and loved each other like real brothers. Gu-laolao’s smiling face was very happy.
When it was mealtime at noon, Ye Zun and the little boy’s chairs were placed together. Gu-laolao lifted them one by one to sit on top.
There was pan-fried steak for lunch, and the little boy asked for an extra serving.
“Ya, is our Gege hungry?” Gu-laolao asked with an exaggerated expression. Her smile was a little fake, and her expression seemed to be restrained, wanting to ask for responsibility.
“I want to grow up quickly, I will hug* Didi in the future.” The little boy spoke lightly.
[T/N: same as ‘lift up (on to the chair)’]
With an exaggerated expression, Gu-laolao repeatedly praised him, how ‘our Gege is so cute and sensible’.
Everyone sitting around the table was eating. Er-gugu agreed with her with a smile. She was kind and easy-going. Although she was a working woman, she could always chat with the old lady.
Er-gufu had a smile on his face, not very good at words.
Only San-gugu frowned, as always, as if she didn’t find anyone pleasing to the eye.
“They’re so big, don’t let them stay at home all the time. It’s about time to send them to school ba.” The third aunt frowned and spoke stiffly.
Gu-laolao was not in a hurry, topping up on food for the two children. “They’re still young, what is the rush? How many bad people are in the kindergartens outside? With these two children being in the state that they are, they won’t know how to talk even if they’re being bullied.”
“You also know that ah, then bring someone home to teach them how to read and write. Can you take this seriously? They’re so big and they don’t even know manners. If they are bullied, forget tittle-tattling, he won’t even understand that people are bullying him, he’ll just stand in front of you, acting like a young master.”
As more words were spoken, the anger rose.
The atmosphere was a bit tense, and the second aunt tried to smooth things over with a smile. “Did they disturb San-mei’s* painting? You two should be a little quieter in the future, your San-gugu is an artist. When creative inspiration is affected, it is inevitable to be in a bad mood. Not only you, but the whole family is on edge.”
[T/N: third little sister]
The third aunt immediately frowned and looked at her in disgust. “Did I say that? Who are you calling eccentric?”
Having been fought back against, the smile on Er-gugu’s face disappeared, and she looked at her in surprise. “I was just making a joke, your reaction is too big.”
She said in a small voice, “Wasn’t it always like this? Going crazy at every turn, am I wrong?”
San-gugu threw down her chopsticks and stood up, glaring at her slightly, as if she was about to explode. Then she looked around at everyone, as if she was afraid.
Gu-laolao frowned in annoyance, and stopped Er-gugu who had a sullen face. “Forget it, forget it, her temper’s always been like this. It’s not like you don’t know it. Maybe she is stressed because she couldn’t draw what she wanted.”
“Dog temper, we’re used to that defective temper,” Er-gugu said coldly, but she didn’t get angry.
Er-gufu also comforted her, “We are family, and you are you. Let your little sister talk properly.”
“My attitude is not good enough, what else can I do?” Er-gugu was not very happy, but there was no obvious anger.
San-gugu stood and looked at everyone, laughing coldly a few times, and walked upstairs. “They don’t understand who the psychopath is. We grew up together, so who wouldn’t know who is what.”
After San-gugu went upstairs, Ye Zun glanced around, and suddenly saw the twin ghosts wearing dresses appear in the room for a moment out of the corners of his eyes.
“Ha, she is seriously sick ba.” Er-gugu complained about her younger sister, but she obviously didn’t take it to heart.
“All right, forget it, she always acts like this.”
After the third aunt left, the atmosphere soon became better after everyone made peace.
Even when the third aunt was around, unless she lost her temper and spoke, she would be like an outsider, out of tune with everyone who was enjoying themselves.
After lunch, the two children were taken for their afternoon nap.
Others went out if they had something to do and went to take a nap if they did not. The house became quiet.
Ye Zun didn’t sleep. He went downstairs with the auntie in charge of taking care of him.
The hired auntie told him to go back to sleep at first, but he shook his head, expressing that he couldn’t fall asleep.
Auntie was helpless. “I have to go hang the clothes. Then, you will be good, okay?”
Ye Zun smiled, nodding obediently.
Generally, normal people who meet well-behaved and beautiful children will like and want to pamper them.
The auntie patted his head and didn’t say anything.
Ye Zun sat on a small bench beside her and watched her work, observing her working pattern, and after a while helped her put small clothes on the hanger, aiding her in some work that was within his ability.
Afterwards, Ye Zun followed her like a little tail, and she was basically used to it. At first, others would ask a question when they saw this scene, and later some thought he was a relative of a hired helper new to the family.
Even if they knew that Ye Zun was the newly adopted child, those people didn’t worry about it too much either.
In the afternoon, everyone relax and came together to chat. As they talked more and more, the conversation topic would eventually come to the employer’s family.
“…this family’s relationship is getting complicated. The son-in-law is young and promising, but he married into the family*. They don’t have any children, but how many years have the couple been married? However, the old lady went to adopt a child into the house, but under the name of her deceased eldest son.”
[T/N: 上门女婿: the man’s family background is weaker than the the woman’s, so their child will take the mother’s surname]
“Why is that ah?“
“I heard that infertile people adopt children. Children will bring children, and it won’t be long before they conceive one themselves.”
“Ai, you guys don’t know that, the relationships behind rich people’s backs are complicated.”
“You were the one talking about it.”
“I only said things that everyone already knows. So out and ask anyone, any locals getting up there in their ages will understand. It’s not that I’m just making up gossip about my employer ah.”
Everyone expressed that they were just talking randomly, who would take it seriously ah, a person said in a leisurely manner.
“This family’s old lady and the deceased old gentleman both came back from abroad to settle down. The old man used to do business outside, but the old lady didn’t. Her family had always been in Southeast Asia and she married several times, before finally marrying the old man and returning to the country together. The old man was the same, before marrying her, he was married twice.
“The first one was a pitiful woman who gave birth to twins for him. Her husband was always at work and never came home, and her thoughts always ran wild while she was at home, and she beat the children when she was in a bad mood. One day, she accidentally hit too hard, and there was an accident. One of the children fell from upstairs and could not be saved. For a mother to hit her child, isn’t it quite normal? At most, it is neither light nor heavy, so how could she have possibly killed for real? The child died and she couldn’t think clearly for a while, so she also followed.”
Everyone sighed in tandem, wanting to scold her for being cruel. However, the person was already dead, and suddenly people didn’t know what to say.
“There was still a little daughter left behind, who is the second young lady in the family now. At that time, when the old man came back, he thought that his child was so young and couldn’t live without a mother, so he got married again soon after. The second woman he married also gave birth to a child for him, who is now the third young lady in the family. Who knows if people who died in this house turned into evil spirits, but the second wife also beat the children, even more violently than the first. Don’t think it’s the cruelty of a stepmother, because she even beat her own child, giving her an even fiercer abuse. Everyone felt like a ghost possessed her body, that the first partner was the one causing trouble.”
“And then? Did the second wife also die? “
“No, the second one didn’t. The relationship between husband and wife was always bad and they divorced within a few years. The old man did not marry during this period and went abroad with his two daughters. Later, he met the old lady that we know now, and the two got married abroad. The old lady had also been married several times; she was a few years older than the old man and had a son and a daughter. It is said that when she married a foreigner when she was young, she actually acted as a mistress for him, and when she gave birth to a child, the other party did not recognise them. All of her children are surnamed Ye, after her.
“Originally, the husband and wife were doing business abroad, but unexpectedly, the old lady’s eldest son passed away unexpectedly at a young age from natural and man-made disasters*. The old lady couldn’t stand the blow to her spirit, so the old man took her to finish all business there and return to this country. Within a few years, the old man also passed away, and left the house to the old lady to take care of.”
[T/N: 天灾人祸: several disasters, of all kinds]
Everyone exhaled a few times, and suddenly remembered something. “So that means, the current children in this family, they all have no blood relationship with the old lady?”
The family business was big, and inheritance was involved. This was a delicate situation.
“That is what is said, but you all, look. Does that little boy with wavy hair and fair skin look very similar to the portrait of the eldest young master?”
“Now that you said that, he really does ah. Is this the eldest young master’s lineage?”
“It’s hard to say, what I know about everything that happened after is just stuff I overheard. Some people say that the young master had an affair with a woman on occasion before he died, and the woman came to the door with blackmail. As a result, the old lady returned to the country, and the woman and her lover abused the child when they didn’t get any benefits. Later, the old lady found out and spent a lot of money to bring the child back.
“Some also say that this isn’t the case. The old lady was originally born in Southeast Asia, and there’s some kind of superstition going on there, which she believes in. She got some person with great power to reincarnate the young master, and she regarded that child as her own dead son.
“There are too many rumours; there’s also a saying that the old lady deliberately adopted a child under her son’s name to prevent the few members in the family from fighting for the property.
“There’s even a saying that takes an abnormal turn, that the child with wavy hair and white skin was not a human, that he is actually some kind of holy child. Raising him is like enshrining a little ghost or whatever. It can bless the family, attract wealth and treasures, and prosperous offspring.”
This series of statements made everyone click their tongues.
“Anyway, this house is full of abnormal happenings. Be careful, everyone. When I’m working, I always feel that someone is watching me from behind. My back gets cold, but I don’t look back.”
“Me too, me too, there are often times where the things I place down are moved, but there was never anyone around.”
“Not letting anyone come out to walk around after eight o’clock at night, if anyone says there are no ghosts, I won’t believe you.”
“I heard that the old lady was a famous sorceress in Southeast Asia when she was young. Maybe that kind of rumour is true.”
Everyone noticed Ye Zun, who was sitting quietly beside him as if he didn’t exist. It seemed that this little mute adopted into the family was the most innocent.
The auntie patted his head. “We know whatever goes on in the families of rich people’s. Being adopted may seem like a blessing, but keep the eye in your heart open*. I can see that everyone in this family is not right, and something will happen sooner or later.”
[T/N: don’t fall for any tricks]
Ye Zun listened to an afternoon’s worth of gossip, and more or less understood the identities and relationships among the family members.
The little boy is suspected to be the grandson of the great aunt and has a past of being abused. This could also explain the old lady’s exaggerated doting on the little boy, which may be overcompensation born from the guilt in her heart.
Both the second aunt and the third aunt had no blood relationship with Gu-laolao and were half-siblings. Although they grew up together since they were young, it was justifiable for them to have a bad relationship.
The second uncle was the son-in-law who married in.
Er-gugu and Gu-laolao had a very good relationship, as close as a mother and daughter.
However, the second aunt once had a twin sister, who died in an accident when she was a child. Did it really have nothing to do with the twin ghosts in the house?
Nothing special happened in the afternoon. The second uncle came to the toy room to teach them pinyin and writing.
“Your aunties and uncle are already looking for a teacher. Before we find a suitable teacher, Gufu will hold a class for you two first, okay?”
Ye Zun deliberately hid behind his clumsiness, not wanting to show that he knew a lot of words.
The little boy was always doing things his own way, doing whatever he wanted. When the man was putting on a class, he just drew underneath, completely uncooperative.
Facing a mute child and an autistic child, it was difficult to hold a class where there was no interaction. But the second uncle had a good temper and always appeared very patient.
Ye Zun also needed to learn things that he already knew well, and he also needed to control himself doing things that he learned earlier and remembered, before forgetting how to do it at a later time. This was a normal child’s learning process.
When it was over, everyone felt extremely tired, and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Alright, that’s all for today.” Gufu had a good temper and asked the hired aunt to bring them afternoon tea.
Time passed quickly.
After dinner in the evening, it wasn’t long before it was time to wash up and go to bed.
After eight o’clock, everyone in the house was not allowed to move around and needed to go back to their room to sleep. It turned out that not only children, but adults also must abide by the rule. And, Gu-laolao was once a sorcerer.
With these thoughts popping up in his mind, Ye Zun was a little distracted.
He came out of the bathroom and came across someone in a blink of an eye.
The third aunt, who was wearing a white dress and had long hair loose, had a gloomy face. She was very good-looking, and should have a sweet, round and pleasing face, but the expression she showed made people feel repulsed.
San-gugu stood outside Ye Zun’s bedroom door, not moving, as if in a daze.
When Ye Zun turned a corner and saw her, he was given a scare.
The third aunt immediately noticed him and looked sideways at him, frowning with her eyes staring straight at him.
Quickly returning to the present, she pursed her lips, as if she wanted to make a friendly expression. However, she failed, and thus gave up immediately.
She walked towards Ye Zun, put her fingers on his shoulders, and looked down into his eyes, her brows and eyes forming a gloomy frown. “Listen to me, stay away from your Er-gugu, don’t come into contact with her. Whatever she asks you to do, it’s best not to do them. Are you clear?”
Ye Zun was puzzled and did not understand, but still nodded.
San-gugu pursed her lips and patted his head. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, you are still too young, but, when I was as young as you…and also, stay a little farther away from Gege, don’t play with him.”
Not long after she finished speaking, there was the sound of someone coming upstairs from the stairwell.
She straightened up immediately, with a haughty, hateful and a gloomy expression on her face. She directly ignored the second aunt and her husband who were walking up, passing them by and going downstairs.
Er-gugu also ignored her. Only Er-gufu glanced at her, but he didn’t greet her either.
The second aunt was chatting to her husband with a smile, talking about when she lived here in the past. She saw Ye Zun. “I also used to live in this room with my big sister.”
Her expression dimmed slightly.
“Your big sister, is it Da-jie*? I don’t think we’ve have met,” Er-gufu said.
[T/N: eldest sister]
Er-gugu shook her head with a smile, and said in a small voice, “Jiejie is no longer here. Back then, Dad cheated with his mistress, and the other person came to the door with the child in her arms. That was my San-mei. Mum suffered from severe depression and was over stimulated. She would beat us as soon as she lost control. Jiejie was so scared that she would run upstairs to hide. They all say that Mum pushed her down. But I know, that Jiejie might have committed suicide. Because back then, I was so scared that I wanted to kill myself. If it wasn’t my sister who had an accident first, the one who died could have been me.”
Gufu immediately comforted her with a few words, saying that people can’t control themselves when they are sick in the head. This was a tragedy, and everyone was innocent.
Er-gugu proceeded to hug him and acted like a baby*.
[T/N: 撒娇/sajiao: behave in a spoiled manner]
Gufu was a little stiff, glancing at Ye Zun and smiling when he said, “The child is still here.”
The second aunt smiled with embarrassment.
Ye Zun was a little puzzled. What Er-gugu said was not quite in line with what the employees said. The employees said that San-gugu was born after the old man remarried after the death of his original partner. But according to Er-gugu, she said San-gugu was born out of wedlock, and it was because of her that caused the death of her twin sister.
“This little sister of mine has a poisonous mouth and her heart is weighed down by her thoughts, but she is really not a bad person. Besides, her mother has been divorced for so many years, and I don’t blame her for what happened to Jiejie. If I wanted to blame someone, I would blame my father, but my father has also left. I have long since let go.”
Er-gugu spoke to her husband, and the two of them looked at Ye Zun. “Little kid, quickly go back to your room and sleep. Your Nainai will check on you very carefully, with your grandma, if she finds that you’re not sleeping, she’ll smack your bum.”
Ye Zun wanted to ask them, the kind-of scary person checking his bedroom at night, was it really Gu-laolao?
But these people didn’t have the little boy’s ability and couldn’t understand what he wanted to say.
It was almost eight o’clock. Ye Zun went back to his room to lay down.
As expected, Gu-laolao soon appeared outside the door. She checked the room, tucked the blanket in for him, and sternly told him to quickly fall asleep.
The second aunt’s voice was outside the door, saying with a smile, “I said it was fine if we just came by ourselves, but you still worry. There are so many people in the house, but you still have to come and see for yourself.”
“If I don’t have a look, I can’t sleep at night, your Da-ge…you all, I always looked after you when you were still children.”
Voices gradually faded away. They went downstairs.
Ye Zun waited, and very quickly heard the airy and eerie laughter of a child, humming a song and jumping up and down.
Like in an empty hallway, like on the ceiling.
After a while, there was a knock on his door.
“Gege, Gege, let’s play a game.”
The ghost’s divination at night begins again.
Five cards, draw one.
Ye Zun drew the second card.
There were two simple pen strokes on the card drawing two heads connected to a body. One on the left and one on the right, like two balloons floating in the air. The human head on the left held a flower in its mouth, and the mouth on the right hid the tip of a knife. On the ground underneath the human head, there was a small child, shrouded in obscurity.
The little girl spoke with a voice that sounded both afraid and like a shrill snicker. “Ya, the bad guy has appeared. One is lying. Who is lying? So dangerous, so scary ah!“
She seemed to really be scared, and also seemed to be pretending she was scared. With bouncing jumps, she ran away.
Ye Zun put away the card and laid down on the bed.
The person who was lying, should be referring to Er-gugu and San-gugu. Was one of them lying?
If San-gugu is a good person, telling the truth and warning him to be careful, then are the little boy and Er-gugu both bad people?
If Er-gugu is a good person and she is telling the truth, that means San-gugu is the mistress’ child, and that her mother forced Er-gugu’s mother and sister to death. Then, is San-gugu who has always looked at the little boy with hateful eyes a bad person?
The clock kept ticking, and the door frame suddenly made a weird creaking sound. It was opened once again.
Ye Zun held his breath.
——How about it, do I want to take a look at who this person is? If I see the other person’s appearance, will I be able to know who the bad guy* is?
