Chapter 109, Chapter Ten: The Lost Manor
Li Yufei was awakened by the pain.
It felt as if boiling oil had been poured onto her face. She suddenly opened her eyes, only to find her upper face covered by a hand.
"Zheng Jianbin? Why are you covering my eyes!"
“Wait, Feifei.” She struggled, and Zheng Jianbin had to use his other hand to control her head. “Don’t move.”
"What are you doing?!" He was holding her head in the middle of the night, engrossed in his video game. Was he trying to strangle her?
"Wait a little longer, it'll be ready soon, almost there."
These words sounded more like strangulation. Li Yufei struggled with all her might, but Zheng Jianbin's strength had inexplicably become so great that she couldn't do anything to him no matter how hard she twisted.
After all, he was a man, and they were in the suburbs, so Li Yufei couldn't help but panic.
Unable to pry his hands off, she suddenly kicked off the bed, sprang to her feet, and slammed her head hard into Zheng Jianbin's chin.
"Hiss..." A pained gasp came from above. Taking advantage of the moment, Li Yufei twisted her waist and slipped out from his arms.
Before she could question him about his intentions, the pungent scent of roses wafted from behind. She turned around and was met with a tall, slender, dark figure.
"Ah!!!" A shrill soprano voice pierced the night. Li Yufei turned pale and scrambled out of bed, fleeing the shadows.
"Feifei!"
Her headbutt nearly fractured Zheng Jianbin's jaw. In the midst of the excruciating pain and dizziness, Zheng Jianbin failed to grab her in time.
She was terrified. In the bright moonlight, her beautiful face turned ashen white, and her fox-like eyes were filled with fear as she kept retreating towards the terrace.
He couldn't let her leave the room—Zheng Jianbin suddenly turned his head and looked at the dark figure on the other side of the bed.
A few wisps of black smoke curled around his fingertips. Li Yufei screamed in despair, "Zheng Jianbin, what is that thing! Zheng Jianbin! What are you standing there for! Run, Zheng Jianbin!"
This man must have been scared out of his wits, because he was sitting on the bed with his back to her, completely still!
Li Yufei was frantic. Seeing the dark figure getting closer and closer to Zheng Jianbin, she didn't care about anything else and quickly grabbed the floor lamp from the corner and threw it at the dark figure with all her might!
Bang!
The floor lamp struck the dark shadow, passed through it, and shattered on the ground.
The dark figure flashed twice and disappeared into the room.
Zheng Jianbin was stunned for a moment, and the black smoke swirling around his fingertips quietly dissipated.
On the first day of the ghost story, he hadn't gathered much power, nor had he yet figured out the rules of the ghost story.
Not wanting to waste resources on this matter, they did not act immediately.
Unexpectedly, the lamp that Li Yufei threw with her bare hands dispersed the shadows.
“Feifei…” Zheng Jianbin murmured, “You are so powerful.”
"Are you trying to kill me, Zheng Jianbin!" Li Yufei rushed over with tears in her eyes, knocking him off the bed. "Where's your dynamic vision! Where's your reaction time! Where's your maximum speed! There was a ghost on the bed and you didn't even run away, and you even blindfolded me! What are you arguing with me for? Just because we can't see it doesn't mean it can't see us! You big idiot, we almost died here!"
She kept hitting him with every word she said, and Zheng Jianbin coughed and choked from the blows. He raised his hands in surrender, saying, "Calm down, calm down, Feifei."
Li Yufei was still in shock. She wiped away her tears and scrambled off the bed, shouting, "Quick, quick, let's get to a place where there are people!"
Zheng Jianbin breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't rush, put your shoes on." He took her shoes, grabbed a coat, and followed behind her.
Li Yufei was terrified, but thankfully the corridor lights were on, bright and clear, which gave her some comfort and courage.
The two ran into the elevator. Li Yufei was panting, her big, foxy eyes darting around, looking up, down, left, and right, as if afraid a ghost might pop out from some corner.
Zheng Jianbin knelt down to put her shoes on, and she frantically patted his back, telling him that it was more important to pay attention to his surroundings.
Ding-dong—
"Ahhh—!"
The elevator rang, and Li Yufei rang even louder. She jumped and shouted twice, but when the door opened, there was nothing outside.
She breathed a slight sigh of relief, hugged Zheng Jianbin's arm tightly, nestled in his arms, and nudge him towards the direction she wanted to go.
Zheng Jianbin frowned, draped his coat over her shoulders, and gently comforted her, "Don't be afraid."
He needs to build up his strength as soon as possible.
The lord is also bound by rules; he must at least accumulate enough power to shield her from fear.
This night's harvest was plentiful; with just a little more, they could create a barrier around their room, keeping the [divine messenger] out.
The two went to the front desk on the second floor, where a group of people had already gathered.
Everyone was distracted.
Another driver from Thunder, supporting his navigator, saw Zheng Jianbin and Li Yufei and immediately went over to ask, "Are you alright? Did you see a ghost?"
"Ah!" Li Yufei exclaimed softly when she saw the navigator's condition, "What... what happened to him!"
The man's left knee was a bloody mess, and large patches of blood were smeared on his back.
He was unable to stand and needed his companions' help to get out.
"A ghost! A ghost!" he exclaimed, his words jumbled and disjointed. "There's a ghost in my room! I ran out, and it rushed at me and hit my knee, and... and it slashed my back!"
“The injury on his back isn’t deep, but his knee…” His companion also looked horrified. “I was in the next room, probably sleeping soundly. I think I felt something hot and burning on my face while I was sleeping, but I didn’t wake up to check.”
"He crawled over and banged on the door, calling for help. That's when I saw blood on the floor outside. He was lying alone in the small living room."
Besides them, there were five other guests at the front desk, two of whom had the same injuries as the navigator: a broken left knee and a cut on their back.
When the accident happened, people immediately wanted to seek help, but unfortunately, no one was on duty at the front desk. Everyone gathered together, and the atmosphere was extremely chaotic.
"Alright, alright, stop talking, let's get to the hospital!" Li Yufei said, pulling out her phone. Her mind went blank with panic. After dialing 110, she realized something was wrong and turned to Zheng Jianbin beside her, asking, "What's a hospital again? 112?"
"120!" Zheng Jianbin didn't answer, but the driver who was supporting the navigator interrupted, "I've tried calling, but I can't get through! I can't even get through to 110! There's no signal in this godforsaken place!"
Li Yufei's eyes widened suddenly.
She didn't believe it, so she tried dialing it herself. The nail polish was shaking, making soft beeping sounds on the screen.
Zheng Jianbin held her close, his brow furrowed ever since he woke up.
She was shivering, like a hypothermic little bird, constantly trembling.
"What should we do, Zheng Jianbin!" Li Yufei tried several times, tears welling up in her eyes, "I really can't get through! Emergency numbers are usually easy to get through, right?"
Her reaction was even more intense than he had expected, and Zheng Jianbin's eyes darkened.
We can't continue like this; we need to comfort her immediately.
He said, "Feifei, let's talk somewhere else."
"What? Why do we need to change places to talk?" Li Yufei asked anxiously. "We have to stay with everyone!"
In the current situation, whoever is left alone will definitely be eliminated.
Alone… She suddenly looked up and glanced around, “Where’s Song Xiaona?”
The other two Thunder players shook their heads. "No, Dean didn't see it either."
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and find someone!" Li Yufei turned around and ran towards the elevator.
She wished Song Xiaona would die, but she hoped she wouldn't actually die, especially not in her former marital home.
That's so unlucky!
Zheng Jianbin glanced at the landline phone at the front desk.
Internal communication can be used to contact each other.
But he didn't say anything and followed them.
After walking through several interconnected gates and separating himself from the crowd, he grabbed Li Yufei's arm. "Feifei, where are you going to find Song Xiaona?"
"Of course I went to her room."
"If something happens to Song Xiaona, then the ghost might be in her room."
Li Yufei paused, then shrank her neck.
Yes, I'm afraid.
"But we can't not go! It's so hot, what if the corpses start to rot?" The whole manor would be filled with roses and the stench of corpses, that would be terrible.
Her face was pale, and the corners of her eyes were flushed. Zheng Jianbin took her hand. "Come with me."
He pulled Li Yufei to the depths of the corridor, where lights were on everywhere, but being far away from the crowd made her feel a little uneasy.
Where to?
"Come here first." Zheng Jianbin pushed open the small door at the corner. This used to be a storage room on the second floor, but it was now empty.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
As soon as Li Yufei entered the room, her shoulders were put on her shoulders.
"Feifei, look into my eyes." Zheng Jianbin held her shoulders and gazed at her intently. "You're too nervous. Relax a little and look at me, okay? I'm here for you."
“What use are you? That’s…” Li Yufei’s words stopped abruptly. The moment she looked into Zheng Jianbin’s eyes, her tense nerves suddenly relaxed.
A tingling, numb sensation flowed through the cerebral cortex.
The world's accumulated dust seemed to be gently brushed away by an angel's feather, the air became fresh, and the view became clear.
Her body went limp, her mind relaxed, her muscles loosened, and all she could see were Zheng Jianbin's dark, lustrous eyes.
Hmm...
Li Yufei wondered in bewilderment, "Are Zheng Jianbin's eyes really that beautiful...?"
"Are you feeling better?" he asked softly, looking her over.
Li Yufei touched her forehead and nodded.
It's strange, after something like this happened, she wasn't scared at all.
Zheng Jianbin smiled and said, "You can rely on my Feifei a little more."
Whether it's money or anything else, he's happy to serve her as long as she comes to see him.
He tentatively took her hand, his ears turning slightly red. "Let's go, let's go find Song Xiaona."
He led Li Yufei out of the small room.
Should we rely on him more?
Come on, if she hadn't reacted quickly, this idiot would still be staring blankly at the ghost in the room.
But seeing the smile on Zheng Jianbin's lips, Li Yufei hesitated to speak.
Okay, let's give him some face as a man at times like this.
Li Yufei, feeling grateful for her own gentleness, thoughtfulness, and understanding, came to her senses and stopped in front of a door on the fourth floor.
"Where is this?" she asked.
"Dean's room." Zheng Jianbin knocked on the door, and a shrill, hoarse voice immediately rang out from behind it: "Who is it!"
"It's me, Zheng Jianbin."
A slight scraping or dragging sound approached the door, then Song Xiaona's voice suddenly broke in: "Zheng Jianbin?"
“Wait a minute,” she asked from behind the door, “Jianbin, do you remember what color plane Dean used in this tournament?”
Zheng Jianbin's gaze sharpened slightly.
He didn't know much about racing, only that the navigator used a light sport aircraft, which was usually white.
But Song Xiaona's question is unlikely to be a conventional answer.
As he was pondering how to answer, Li Yufei behind him spoke first, "Song Xiaona, are you senile? This isn't a rally or endurance race. F1 tracks are closed, so where would you find a plane?"
Zheng Jianbin narrowed his eyes and withdrew his hand from the door.
"Li Yufei, you're here too?"
The door opened a crack quickly, revealing Song Xiaona's apprehensive face, still secured by the safety chain inside.
She held onto the door, cautiously looking Li Yufei and Zheng Jianbin up and down. After seeing nothing else, she breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door completely. "Come in."
Zheng Jianbin gently supported Li Yufei's waist, letting her go in first, and then closed the door behind him.
"Holy crap!" Li Yufei saw the blood in the living room as soon as she entered the door.
Dean leaned back on the sofa, one knee a bloody mess, and several pieces of medical gauze crookedly stuck to his back.
"If you, you guys also encountered one..." then it means there was a ghost in this room too!
Li Yufei looked around immediately. She should have been terrified, but after being comforted by Zheng Jianbin, she was no longer nervous. Now, seeing Dean's appearance, she only felt a little wary.
After Dean was attacked, Song Xiaona heard Li Yufei scream. Li Yufei's voice was naturally bright, and that scream pierced the sky.
She stopped wasting time asking them if they had encountered anything and went straight to the point: "You're from out of town, where have you been? How's it going?"
"This is not good." Zheng Jianbin relayed the situation outside to them and pondered, "Everyone says it's a ghost, but do ghosts really exist in this world? It's possible that someone is just playing tricks."
"No, no—it's definitely a ghost!" Dean retorted excitedly. "I threw a pillow and an ashtray at it, and they both went right through! It couldn't be a human! How could a human punch my knee like that with their bare hands? And how could the cut on my back have two wounds at the same time?"
Song Xiaona brushed aside her disheveled hair, looking exhausted and haggard. "I did consider the possibility of it being done by someone, but Dean's injury is truly unusual. Multiple injuries and deaths occurred at the same time. If it was done by a person, how large of a group would it have to be?"
"They are all agile and elusive. It doesn't make sense that such a large elite criminal gang would bother such a remote tourist spot instead of robbing people, killing for pleasure, or attacking important figures to make a name for themselves."
"Never mind whether it's a human or a ghost, why are you studying this?!" Seeing them actually sitting down and analyzing, Li Yufei was furious. "Who cares what it is, let's get out of here!" Do they think they're Conan?!
After she finished speaking, she noticed that Song Xiaona's face looked extremely pale.
She looked up at her: "I can't get a car."
With the internet completely down and no emergency calls going through, it was impossible to hail a car or call for help.
Zheng Jianbin pondered, "Since we can't find the front desk or staff, we can ask if anyone has a car, or we can ask the vendors in the town tomorrow morning. They will always have a way to contact the outside world."
Song Xiaona nodded; that was her opinion too.
"Are you kidding me? We have to stay in this godforsaken place all night!" Li Yufei exclaimed.
"Then what good ideas do you have?" Song Xiaona was already annoyed, and this woman was making a scene at an inopportune time. "Why don't you go out now and call a few cars back for us?"
“Song Xiaona, you…” “Can you not be so impulsive?”
Before Li Yufei could retort, Zheng Jianbin's face suddenly darkened, and he said coldly to Song Xiaona, "Feifei rushed to find you as soon as she discovered you weren't there. Out of so many people, only she came to see you. I know you're upset, but can you please not take your anger out on the only person who cares about you?"
All three of them were taken aback.
“Zheng Jianbin…” Li Yufei was stunned, then smiled with relief.
He finally said something sensible.
But she didn't care about Song Xiaona; she was concerned about the stench of the corpse!
"Ha." Song Xiaona laughed in exasperation.
On the way to Psyche Manor, this guy was holding a cup and grinning foolishly in front of her, helping her educate Li Yufei. Now he's pretending to be the perfect boyfriend.
She chuckled and said, "I'm sorry, Jianbin, Feifei and I have known each other for over twenty years, so I might be a bit casual in my speech. I didn't expect you to be so particular about these things."
“I used to think the same way, so I didn’t interfere,” Zheng Jianbin said. “I only recently realized that I misunderstood. Even with old friends, we should still be careful with our words.”
Did I hear that right? What's his stance? How dare he tell her to watch her words?
Song Xiaona wanted to curse, but she really didn't have the energy. "I'll talk about Yufei and me later. Let's figure out how to get through this first. My idea is for everyone to stay together and gather as many people as possible together."
She glanced at Zheng Jianbin on the sofa and said, "Ask if there are any doctors or nurses here, so we can get emergency treatment."
Despite disliking Song Xiaona, Li Yufei had no objection to what she said.
She was in a good mood and winked at Zheng Jianbin.
Great, he's finally starting to look like her boyfriend.
Zheng Jianbin responded with a shy smile.
The smile didn't reach his eyes and quickly faded.
The people inside the castle immediately sprang into action. Unable to find any staff or guides, they used the attraction's control center to summon all the tourists still in the manor via loudspeaker.
Preliminary statistics indicate that there are still over eighty tourists in the manor, but only sixty-two people gathered at the chapel on the first floor of the castle according to the broadcast.
Not all tourists stay at the castle; the castle rooms are quite expensive, and only nineteen tourists stay there. The rest stay in hotels in the town.
But whether it was the castle or the hotel, people reported seeing so-called "ghosts," and there were also injuries.
Everyone was filled with anxiety and chaos on the first floor of the castle.
With no signal and no internet, some tourists who had driven themselves had already left overnight, promising to help call for rescue.
The remaining 62 people huddled together, waiting for rescue or until dawn.
Fortunately, there were several tourists in the crowd who worked in the nursing industry and helped the injured person with basic first aid.
Li Yufei sat in the corner wrapped in a blanket. After Zheng Jianbin brought her here, he volunteered to help.
Li Yufei found Zheng Jianbin's behavior a bit strange these past two days, but at this moment, watching him settle the crowd, organize order, and keep busy non-stop, she felt a little more at ease.
Zheng Jianbin is a bit of a scheming person, occasionally a bit dim-witted and stupid, and somewhat chauvinistic, but overall he is a responsible and good person.
Given his personality, he certainly wouldn't sit idly by in the face of something like this.
Song Xiaona took a glass of water and sat down next to Li Yufei.
She sipped water, solemnly refreshing her phone repeatedly, and had also brought the copy of "The Covenant" with her.
Li Yufei glanced at the temporarily designated patient area, where Dean lay there, his face ashen.
He received a simple bandage, but the pain was so intense that he couldn't bear it and kept turning over in agony.
"Aren't you going to keep him company?" Li Yufei felt a pang of pity.
"What?" Song Xiaona looked up from her phone and followed Li Yufei's gaze to Dean in the distance. "I'm not a doctor, what's the use of me staying here? I'm just crowding around and getting in other people's way."
"He's your boyfriend, don't you feel sorry for him?"
"Why does feeling sorry for someone have to be so distant?" Song Xiaona withdrew her gaze and continued trying to contact the outside world. "Sitting here won't stop me from feeling sorry for them."
"You're so heartless! He's injured, his knee is like that, it's uncertain whether he'll be able to be a navigator in the future."
“How am I heartless?” Song Xiaona tilted her head. “Did I cause his injury? Or did he get injured while protecting me? He’s stupid; he doesn’t use his brain when things happen. Who can he blame?”
"There's no point in talking to each other," Li Yufei said with disgust, "Song Xiaona, you're the one who's my parents' real daughter, aren't you? You're just like them, you don't treat people like human beings at all."
"Really? I look exactly like your parents?" Song Xiaona smiled elegantly. "Since you're homeless now, I don't mind if you call me Mom and Dad. How much do they give you a month, 100,000? 150,000? Just call me Mom and I'll give you that too."
Li Yufei suddenly became furious and warned her in a sinister tone, "Don't force me to beat you up here."
There are so many seats available, and she was sitting perfectly fine. Is Song Xiaona crazy for insisting on sitting here?
Li Yufei stood up, took off the blanket, and went to find Zheng Jianbin.
Zheng Jianbin was helping two nurses organize the medical supplies in the hotel when he saw Li Yufei approaching. "What's wrong?"
"I can't sleep, and I'm just killing time anyway." Li Yufei squatted down next to him, pointing her chin at the medicine box. "This, how do I do this?"
Zheng Jianbin chuckled, a smile tinged with nostalgia.
“Each room is equipped with a first-aid kit, and I’m currently organizing and categorizing the medical supplies.” He opened a kit to demonstrate to Li Yufei, “Gauze goes here, iodine goes here…”
Li Yufei watched for a while, then waved him away, "Alright, I got it, you can go do other things."
"Then I'll go outside with them to see if there's anyone else who needs help."
Li Yufei quickly grabbed him, "It's late at night, don't go out wandering around."
"The fact that they can get into the castle means it's no safer here than outside," Zheng Jianbin said. "It's the same inside and outside."
He makes a good point; the castle isn't safe either.
Li Yufei looked around nervously, feeling like a ghost might come out from behind her.
“Then you absolutely mustn’t be alone, you have to go in groups of three or more. Oh well—” She was still worried, and stood up, “I’ll go do the search and rescue, you stay here, at least there are more people here.”
“It’s alright, Feifei,” Zheng Jianbin promised. “We’ll take a quick look around and come right back.”
"Really?" The fox's eyes widened, filled with worry.
"Really, I promise I'll be back within an hour."
"An hour..." Without signal, Zheng Jianbin couldn't report to her.
Li Yufei hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay, you have to be back within an hour, or I'll come looking for you right away."
Zheng Jianbin nodded and said softly, "Okay."
He took two steps, turned around, and saw Li Yufei still looking at him.
Her gaze was fixed on him, she hesitated, but in the end she did not stop him.
He knew her sense of justice and kindness, and he also knew that she did not love him.
She naturally wouldn't stop him at this moment.
Zheng Jianbin lowered his eyes and smiled.
It doesn't matter. He is lucky enough to be able to see her again and be by her side.
Stepping out of the castle, the May night breeze was refreshing and gently wiped away the faint smile on Zheng Jianbin's face.
Before him lay the same scenery he had seen for six years.
As night fell, a black-backed, white-bellied swallow appeared, perched on a branch, and looked down at Zheng Jianbin below.
Zheng Jianbin glanced at it out of the corner of his eye, and their eyes met. He quickly took a step forward and walked away without saying a word.
Feifei is back. The manor has finally found its master, and he has so much to do.
Right now, he needs to settle her in and tidy up the house. As for everything else... he has plenty of time to wait.
The man walked through the town, passing under the statue in the square.
He looked up at Eros beside Psyche, his gaze lingering on the beautiful boy's broken knee.
Zheng Jianbin lowered his eyes, half-concealing the loneliness and envy in them.
Eros...
He was incredibly happy to have his loved one steadfastly stay by his side.
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Author's note: I didn't find it particularly morbid; rather, it felt strangely innocent (?).
The young CEO watched "The Caged Bird" and projected his image onto the bird.
The "cage" and the "sparrow" are in a relationship of unity of opposites, so he sometimes makes a "cage" for love.
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