Chapter 145, Chapter Forty-Six: The Lost Manor
"Cheng Yuzhou!"
The sudden turn of events left Li Yufei's mind blank.
No…that’s not it…she wanted to leave on her own, to make Cheng Yuzhou give up on her and on keeping her, so that he would abandon the supernatural tales and let the others leave!
She just wanted to set things right, to put the misplaced people and things back in their proper places... Why was Cheng Yuzhou the one pushed out of the barrier, out of the barrier... He'll die!
"Let go! Let go!" The man behind her was still holding her captive. Li Yufei was frantic and struggled violently.
"Grab her!" Song Xiaona shouted, keeping a close watch on Cheng Yuzhou who had been tackled to the ground. "Control her, don't let her do anything stupid!"
"Get out of my way! I told you to let go!" Li Yufei delivered an elbow strike, and the man behind her opened his mouth, crying out in pain, before collapsing completely.
Seeing Li Yufei rushing towards Cheng Yuzhou without regard for anything else, Song Xiaona couldn't help but curse angrily, "Damn it!"
"Cheng Yuzhou!" Li Yufei rushed to his feet, which were still inside the barrier, and reached out with her icy hands and feet, trying to pull him back.
"Li Yufei!" Song Xiaona roared, "Do you want hundreds of us to be buried with you?!"
Li Yufei's hand, which was gripping Cheng Yuzhou's pants, froze instantly.
Seeing that her words had an effect, Song Xiaona shouted repeatedly, "We've been imprisoned for three years already! If we fail this time, do you think we'll have another chance? Li Yufei, do you think Cheng Yuzhou will let me go?!"
Li Yufei was completely stunned.
Song Xiaona immediately gave the four people on her left and right a look, and while continuing to shout, she told them to quietly approach and pull Li Yufei away.
"Three years! How have you treated me in these three years? I've never pushed you out of the barrier, met with you alone so many times, and never laid a hand on you. Now you're bringing him back, how can you face me, Li Yufei!"
“I…” Li Yufei hesitated and turned around.
The moment she turned to look at Song Xiaona, two team members who had quietly approached immediately grabbed her and dragged her away from Cheng Yuzhou.
She was being dragged along the ground, away from Cheng Yuzhou. She could break free, but should she?
She promised Song Xiaona that she wouldn't betray her.
Although Song Xiaona deceived her, not a single word she uttered was unreasonable.
With so many people still trapped in the ghost stories, rescuing Cheng Yuzhou now would truly mean all our efforts were in vain, and there would be no chance of success again.
But Cheng Yuzhou, Cheng Yuzhou...
Torn between reason and emotion, Li Yufei no longer cared about being dragged along like cargo. She stared blankly at Cheng Yuzhou, who lay outside the barrier, and the surveillance footage of the gas station explosion flashed before her eyes.
Cheng Yuzhou...
Cheng Yuzhou... he didn't do anything particularly heinous or immoral during his lifetime...
Tears blurred Li Yufei's vision, and she suddenly found it hard to breathe.
In a daze, she seemed to be hallucinating.
The illusion that Cheng Yuzhou outside the barrier stood up again.
"Let her go."
Stray hairs fluttered around her face as two gusts of black wind swept past Li Yufei, propelling her backward.
Before her flowing hair could fall back down, the four hands gripping her arm suddenly released their hold.
With two loud thuds and a cry of pain, Li Yufei suddenly turned her head.
Through her blurred vision, she saw the two team members controlling her being struck by a strange black mist and sent flying, rolling more than three meters away.
She turned back again, her eyelashes fluttered, tears welled up, and the world became clear again.
It wasn't an illusion. Cheng Yuzhou, who had already fallen out of the barrier, stood up again and walked in front of her.
"Feifei..." he hurriedly helped her up, "Are you alright?"
Li Yufei looked bewildered as he pulled her up.
"How could this be... how could this be!" Song Xiaona involuntarily stepped back, her eyes filled with rage. "Cheng Yuzhou... how dare you lie to us!"
"You went so far as to force me to swear on Yufei's oath, how could I dare to lie?" Cheng Yuzhou's gaze shifted, turning to her with a sinister look.
"Then how could you...?"
"Who told you that was the barrier?"
Song Xiaona was taken aback.
She looked incredulously at the spot where Cheng Yuzhou had fallen.
Impossible! How could that not be a barrier?
That place was not only where demons usually attacked, but also where Song Xiaona had personally witnessed people die.
Just today, after devising this plan, she even conducted experiments on animals—how could she possibly make such a basic mistake!
Cheng Yuzhou looked away, ignoring Song Xiaona's shock.
He just stared at Li Yufei happily and with a smile, "Feifei, are you hurt? Let me treat you."
Li Yufei pushed him away, just as surprised and puzzled as Song Xiaona, "What exactly happened to you?!"
"You want to know?" Cheng Yuzhou smiled. "I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything."
He was strangely happy.
“This line is the barrier of the main body of the ghost story.” Cheng Yuzhou turned to the side and drew a line with his index finger. “It is the edge of the barrier that you are seeing right now.”
“But not long ago, I added an ‘entrance hall’ outside the main building.”
"What is that?"
"The entrance hall before entering the house. Even when you first entered the ghost story, you went through a period of chaotic and unknown exploration. Now, newcomers are introduced to the rules and explained the ghost story – this is too unfair. What right do they have to bypass you and live so comfortably?"
Cheng Yuzhou said, "So, I added a 'Mysterious Gate Mystery' to our existing ghost stories, so that newcomers can experience everything we went through back then. After they have experienced the fear we felt back then, we will let them in to meet the people in the main body."
He patiently and in detail explained to Li Yufei, "You can think of it as the entrance hall before entering the house, or you can think of it as two separate ghost stories."
“To humans, they are isolated from each other, so Feifei, you must never cross this barrier; but to me, they are all my ghost stories, all within the scope of ghost stories.”
Li Yufei was dumbfounded. "What fairness? You're just trying to drain everyone of their negative emotions!"
Cheng Yuzhou frankly admitted, "Yes, I need to extract as much negative emotion as possible. They are very important to us. I never expected that this entryway would save my life."
He tilted his head, smiling as he looked at Li Yufei, "Is this your protection?"
He tried his best to protect her, and his devotion moved the gods, who then brought him back to life—how miraculous, it's like a love myth that has been passed down through the ages!
He set up this strange entrance to protect her, and within days of its completion, it saved his life.
His physical body died, and she guided his soul, saving him once again.
In that case, he cannot die!
He cannot disobey her guidance, nor can he fail to redeem her; he must serve her and protect her!
"You can still laugh?" Li Yufei asked incredulously. "Cheng Yuzhou, don't you feel any guilt or unease towards those people?"
"Of course, I am sorry. But Feifei, it's not necessarily a bad thing for people to stay here."
"Good news?"
“What’s the difference between here and outside?” Cheng Yuzhou raised his arms. “It’s still the same: you exchange bad moods and labor for money. The work here is simpler, and the society here is more flat.”
“I gave them a more comfortable world, a world without illness, a world where every effort will be rewarded.”
“Besides, this world is so beautiful.” He looked at her, his dark eyes flashing with a strange light. “Here, everyone has the opportunity to admire the magnificent scenery that is rarely seen elsewhere.”
“Even if it wasn’t very pleasant at first, in the end they should be grateful to me. It was me… no, it was the goddess who gave them a happier life.”
He was talking about goddesses, but his eyes were fixed on Li Yufei.
This unusual smile reminded Li Yufei of the smiles of the staff on the street during her first execution.
It was terrifying.
"Are you crazy?" She grabbed Cheng Yuzhou's collar. "Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to decide other people's lives? If you went around asking people, 'Are you happy? Do you want to come here and change your life?'—if they agreed to come here, then you would be doing charity. But did you even ask them? Did they agree? Who do you think you are to forcibly sever their lives? Cheng Yuzhou, are you even human?!"
“I’m sorry, I have no way to contact the outside world, nor can I screen people who enter the ghost stories. Besides…” Cheng Yuzhou’s gaze shifted slightly, this was the expression he always wore when he disapproved of Li Yufei, “and I don’t want the manor to be full of negative and pessimistic losers.”
An overly gloomy and depressed mood will spoil their scenery.
"Am I giving you suggestions for improving the ghost stories?" Li Yufei was almost driven mad by his way of understanding the point. "I'm not asking you to add an interview process! I'm asking you to remove this ghost story altogether! Remove it completely! Put everyone back!"
Cheng Yuzhou frowned: "No, Feifei, I can't do this."
"You think I'm negotiating with you?" Li Yufei's eyes widened like a fox's. "Cheng Yuzhou, you either agree now, or I'll cross the barrier and get out by myself!"
"Why?"
"Why what?"
Cheng Yuzhou looked at Li Yufei with confusion and bewilderment, "Feifei, you love me."
A nonsensical sentence suddenly came out, leaving Li Yufei speechless.
More than refuting, she felt utterly bewildered: "What are you talking about!"
Cheng Yuzhou smiled and said, "You came to save me right away, you love me."
"..." His love-struck mind was still at work. He completely ignored all the wits and back-and-forth exchanges from three minutes ago, focusing only on the small segment he wanted.
"Yes, I love you, so what!" Li Yufei choked back tears and hatred. "Even if you were a ghost, I could still be with you. But I've tasted the pain of being separated from loved ones forever. The most important person in my life was suddenly gone. Do you know how much pain and regret I felt? I wanted to kill those two kids playing with firecrackers, but they were already dead!"
“You kidnapped them like this, and their families and friends felt exactly how I did back then. I absolutely cannot tolerate what you did, not to mention you lied to me!”
She brushed his hand away and backed away step by step. "I don't want to waste any more time, Cheng Yuzhou. Go cross your own bridge of no return. If you have anything to say, say it in your next life!"
With that, she ran towards the barrier.
"Feifei!" Cheng Yuzhou reached out to pull her, but she spun around to avoid him and kicked him as she turned around.
What a joke! Cheng Yuzhou, a mere nobody, thinks he can subdue her?
I already said that when he was being beaten to the ground by Song Xiaona, he made Song Xiaona cry loudly.
Li Yufei rushed towards the barrier, shouting, "Let's go, Song Xiaona!"
Song Xiaona had been observing Cheng Yuzhou's every move for some time.
Originally, the intention was to kill Cheng Yuzhou to resolve the entire strange tale, but now it seems that he can no longer care about anyone else.
Well, now that Li Yufei has left, Cheng Yuzhou will lose his reason for continuing the ghost story, and the others will naturally be saved.
This was what she told Li Yufei, and Li Yufei believed her without a doubt.
But will the future really turn out this way?
Negative emotions are Cheng Yuzhou's power, and this power is incredibly magical. Is it possible that when his power becomes strong enough, he will be able to break through the supernatural tales and walk freely outside?
As long as there is even the slightest possibility on this path, Cheng Yuzhou will never give up on the supernatural tales; he will intensify his efforts to recruit newcomers and extract negative emotions.
Li Yufei's departure will not only fail to save the people in the manor, but will also plunge them into dire straits.
But what does this have to do with her?
Cheng Yuzhou is right; people in the outside world don't have an easy life either.
There are countless companies that exploit people's lives, and countless toxic and harmful black-hearted factories. Just consider it bad luck for the people here to have joined a harsh company.
People won't die or get sick here, and everyone has access to food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. It's a much happier place than many countries and many people.
They had done everything they could. Everyone has their own destiny. If they wanted to blame someone, they should blame Cheng Yuzhou. It was Cheng Yuzhou who prevented them from leaving.
Seeing Li Yufei run towards the barrier, Song Xiaona immediately followed.
The two of them took the lead, and the action team that had been observing the whole process hesitated for a moment before also running out of the barrier.
Li Yufei rushed towards the barrier and lunged forward.
Bang--
She crashed into a soft wall and was suddenly bounced back.
The impact nearly sent her flying, but she quickly tightened her core and took a few quick steps back to regain her balance.
The others were not so lucky; all five members of the action team fell to the ground.
"What is that?!"
Wisps of black smoke covered the area in front of the barrier. When someone reached out, the black smoke seemed to solidify and block their hand, preventing them from moving forward.
Faced with the black smoke in front of her, Song Xiaona reacted quickly and immediately took out her Zeus card.
A golden-red divine light shone forth, but the blue-purple lightning did not fall.
Black smoke is outside the attack judgment of the God Card and does not belong to the Demon.
“What are you thinking?” Cheng Yuzhou strode toward them. “How could my power possibly be a demon that harms the goddess?”
Li Yufei pulled Song Xiaona to her feet, and Song Xiaona stared at him darkly, "You're the one who's not right in the head! Anyone who saw this scene would know what kind of demon is hurting Li Yufei!"
Cheng Yuzhou didn't care about Song Xiaona's opinion. He said, "None of the various versions mention what happened to the sister who instigated Psyche, because she was just a mortal and not worth Psyche's attention as a god."
"Goddesses are forgiving and kind, but that doesn't mean evil people can escape punishment."
"Are you talking about yourself?" Song Xiaona laughed angrily. "Why were Eros's knees repeatedly smashed and wings broken in the square and in the 'Covenant'? Cheng Yuzhou, you know you're no good and need to be punished. Why did the Li family's business plummet? Isn't that all your doing?"
Cheng Yuzhou's expression changed, "Shut up!"
Li Yufei was taken aback.
She turned to look at Song Xiaona beside her, then at Cheng Yuzhou, "What...?"
"You really didn't know," Song Xiaona sneered. "Back then, your father's company rapidly declined due to failed investments, so I did some research on it."
"Shut up!" Cheng Yuzhou's face turned pale, and his eyes were fixed on Song Xiaona.
Li Yufei vaguely understood what he was planning to do, and immediately covered Song Xiaona's eyes, shouting angrily, "Shut up! Let her talk!"
“That was clearly a long-term project, but your father put most of his working capital into it, and after only six months he started urging the other party to pay the returns.”
"Your father was certainly foolish to invest so much money without even understanding the nature of the project, but why didn't the project manager explain the situation to him clearly, instead using ambiguous language to delay and appease him?"
Song Xiaona smiled and said, "Now you understand why your parents made you ask Cheng Yuzhou for money every now and then. Once a long-term project starts, you have to keep following it. If it's interrupted, all your previous efforts will be wasted, and the project will die in the womb, becoming a stillborn baby."
"As for why this project was sent to your father, you should know the answer in your heart."
Cheng Yuzhou began to speak tremulously, "Feifei, I..."
"What? I thought you were going to reveal something." Li Yufei lowered her hand from Song Xiaona's eyes.
Song Xiaona and Cheng Yuzhou were both taken aback: "Huh?"
“Then isn’t my dad still a complete idiot?” Li Yufei was extremely disappointed. She had long known that he was just someone who benefited from the times and happened to be in the right place at the right time. He didn’t have any real talent or skills. “It’s purely because he overestimated himself and tried to do things he didn’t understand. He was greedy, lazy, and didn’t study. One thing at a time, this can’t be blamed on Cheng Yuzhou.”
Song Xiaona was shocked: "You're so rational?"
"Yeah, because he's an idiot, I'd love to see him go bankrupt and suffer."
She then asked Cheng Yuzhou, "Since you orchestrated this whole thing, then you should get back all the money you helped my dad invest back then, right?"
Cheng Yuzhou was still a little confused. His mood had been fluctuating wildly. Like Song Xiaona, he hadn't expected Li Yufei to react this way. When suddenly asked, he truthfully replied, "I don't think so. When we were about to get married, I paused and abandoned it. I haven't pursued it since."
"You son of a bitch, Cheng Yuzhou!" Li Yufei roared in fury. "So much money! All gone! Are you out of your mind?!"
Enraged, she picked up a rock from the ground and threw it at him. Her heart ached with anger, and tears streamed down her face. "I was still keeping accounts, calculating how much I owed you! I couldn't sleep at night, worrying about that money, afraid you'd take out a loan for me. So this project was just to force me to see you?"
She cursed and then burst into tears, "After you left, I was still thinking that one day when I made money, I would set up a charitable foundation named after you, since I couldn't repay the money I owed you. And this is how you treat me? I hate you! Cheng Yuzhou, I will never forgive you, even if I die!"
"I'm sorry, Feifei," Cheng Yuzhou said without flinching, taking the hit from the stone. "I just... I just missed you so much."
"Then throw money at me! Why are you throwing it at my dad? Are you my dad's closeted buddy, you idiot!"
“You were reluctant to accept my money back then… I’m sorry, I will never make that mistake again, I will give you all my assets.”
"There's no future, Cheng Yuzhou!" Li Yufei threw another stone at him in anger, crying out in despair, "We're finished, completely finished! You liar! You and my dad can go to hell and be gay together!"
"..." Song Xiaona suddenly felt tired.
While Cheng Yuzhou's meddling certainly contributed to the discord between her and Li Yufei, their thoughts and priorities often simply didn't align.
“I know, I know I’m unforgivable, Feifei, you can’t just leave like this.” Cheng Yuzhou walked towards her pleadingly. “If you leave, what will happen to the mistakes I’ve made? Who can punish me besides you? Are these things just going to be turned over so easily?”
Li Yufei paused in her throwing motion.
That makes so much sense!
She looked at Song Xiaona uncertainly. Was this brainwashing?
She really had a hard time distinguishing between Cheng Yuzhou's brainwashing and persuasion. Every time he spoke, she found it both pleasant to hear and very reasonable.
“Feifei, Feifei…” Cheng Yuzhou forced a hopeful smile, “Let’s go back first, okay? Even if we’re leaving, you have to punish me properly before you go. I’ve lied to you for so long, you can’t just let me off like this.”
He approached step by step, and Song Xiaona immediately became alert.
She pulled Li Yufei back.
The barrier within their sight was completely blocked by black smoke, preventing them from leaving by stepping over it.
Killing Cheng Yuzhou is also impractical.
Song Xiaona gritted her teeth and suddenly pulled out a dagger from behind her waist.
She grabbed Li Yufei's shoulder, turned around, and stabbed at Li Yufei's heart.
The blade flashed, and Li Yufei's pupils contracted sharply. Realizing her intention, she didn't resist, closing her eyes and trembling as she whispered, "Th-thank you...be gentle..."
Lighten your head, you idiot!
I don't know what I'm thinking about all day long!
Song Xiaona slashed down, bracing herself for Cheng Yuzhou to throw her off from behind, but unexpectedly, a wisp of black smoke suddenly shot up from Li Yufei's ring finger.
The black smoke came straight at her, sending her and her knife flying!
"Song Xiaona?" Li Yufei was taken aback.
She raised her left hand, and her hand, which had been free of her wedding ring, was empty. What was that wisp of black smoke?
Before the two could understand what had happened, Li Yufei was suddenly confronted with Cheng Yuzhou.
The sky was completely dark, and the garden, without power, was dim and gloomy.
He stood in the dark darkness, reaching out to her with a pleading, bitter smile, begging, "Let's go back, let's go back, Feifei. You should punish me. I will reflect on my mistakes and never lie to you again."
"I will definitely treat you better and better."
Li Yufei stared at him intently, their breaths mingling only between them.
Even in such darkness, Cheng Yuzhou's eyes still shone with a faint light as he looked at her.
Whenever he saw her, he was like a child seeing the stars for the first time, unable to hide his amazement and longing.
Li Yufei was certain that no one would love her more than Cheng Yuzhou.
"Cheng Yuzhou," she called softly.
“I’m here, Feifei,” he replied immediately. “I’m here!”
"Keep dreaming!" She suddenly threw a punch, landing a straight punch on his nose. "I already told you to reincarnate! Don't make me waste my breath!"
This was Li Yufei's most ruthless and powerful punch in thirty years, and Cheng Yuzhou immediately hunched over and bent over.
Li Yufei immediately ran towards Song Xiaona.
Song Xiaona fell hard, was hit in the abdomen by black smoke, and was covered in cold sweat, making it difficult for her to stand.
She couldn't walk anymore, so Li Yufei simply picked her up, carried her on her shoulder, and ran forward headlong.
Where did they run off to?
I don't know, let's run first and see!
“Li, Li Yufei, I…” Song Xiaona leaned on Li Yufei’s shoulder and called out to her in a weak voice.
Li Yufei ran forward frantically, managing to reply in a moment, "Don't panic, don't panic, I'm escaping with you now!"
This hasty and anxious sentence silenced Song Xiaona.
Her fingers tightened slowly around the dagger, and finally, she gave up on stabbing herself in the heart.
Leaning on Li Yufei's shoulder, Song Xiaona looked at the bewildered Li Yufei with a gloomy gaze. She had no idea where to go next or what to do. She was clueless and had no plan.
When her husband, whom she had loved her whole life, suddenly turned on her, she was the one who panicked the most.
The first, last, and only step of Li Yufei's crude plan was to carry her and run.
Song Xiaona sighed deeply: "Li Yufei, I really owe you..."
"What? What did you say?"
"I told you to run!" Song Xiaona shielded her chest, which was constantly bumping into Li Yufei's shoulder. "Get into the Second Church!"
If she leaves first, what will happen to this idiot left here all alone?
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The author's note: The three of them are in complete chaos.
Since Cheng Yuzhou didn't die after falling out of the barrier, why didn't he get up immediately?
There's someone lying there, shedding little pearls.
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