Chapter 1: Bloody Dreams
The abacus beads made a crisp "click" sound, and Chu Yun stopped fiddling with his fingers. Across the accounting desk, Shopkeeper Qian’s fat hand pressed down on the account book, with a smile on his face: "Mr. Chu, let’s stop here today. It’s getting late. If we don’t go back, my wife’s nagging will reach my ears from two blocks away." Chu Yun’s eyes moved away from the abacus, and his tone was flat as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him: "Shopkeeper Qian, the rice money of Wang the Butcher on West Street was recorded as settled yesterday, but he didn’t come yesterday." The smile on Shopkeeper Qian’s face froze for a moment. He came over to take a look, and then slapped his forehead: "Oh! Look at my memory! It was the day before yesterday, the day before yesterday! I got it wrong." "Also," Chu Yun pointed to another line of words with his pen, "Li Laosan has been on credit for more than seven days. According to the rules of the shop, we can’t give him rice on credit tomorrow." "Yes, yes, there is this rule." Shopkeeper Qian nodded repeatedly, his smile more sincere, "Just do as you say, sir." Chu Yun stopped talking, set the abacus beads back into place, and picked up an iron paperweight to hold down the account book. His movements were slow, but each step exuded precision and composure. Just then, the light at the door dimmed, and a man in a long gown and a goatee walked in. It was Mr. Sun, the town council's lawyer. "Shopkeeper Qian, business is booming." Lawyer Sun greeted with a forced smile, but his eyes were fixed on Chu Yun, "Mr. Chu, the mayor is looking for you." Shopkeeper Qian's face changed slightly, and he hurried forward to greet him, "Lawyer, what's the urgent matter that bothered you to come here in person?" Lawyer Sun ignored him at all, still staring at Chu Yun, "The town's land tax accounts are a bit messy, and the mayor would like to ask Mr. Chu to help check them." Chu Yun raised his head, his eyes as calm as a pool of deep water, "I haven't finished the work in my hands yet." "Your work?" Lawyer Sun's tone rose eight degrees, "Is the town office's business more important than the bad debts of your rice shop?" "To me, it's equally important." Chu Yun stood up and slowly packed up his writing brush, "I have received Shopkeeper Qian's wages, so I have to finish today's work. The mayor wants to reconcile the accounts, so ask him to send someone to make an appointment tomorrow." Mr. Sun's face instantly turned the color of liver. He pointed at Chu Yun, his fingers trembling with anger. "You... what's with that attitude! You're just an outsider accountant..." "I'm leaving." Chu Yun picked up the old wooden box of pens and ink, and without even glancing at Mr. Sun, he simply nodded to Shopkeeper Qian and turned to leave. "Sir, sir!" Shopkeeper Qian wanted to stop him but didn't dare...
The abacus beads made a crisp "click" sound, and Chu Yun stopped fiddling with his fingers.
Across the desk, Shopkeeper Qian's fat hand pressed down on the account book, a smile plastered on his face. "Mr. Xiao Chu, let's stop here for today. It's getting late. If I don't go back, my wife's nagging will reach my ears from two blocks away."
Chu Yun's eyes moved away from the abacus, and he spoke calmly as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him: "Manager Qian, the rice money for Wang the butcher on West Street was recorded in the account as being settled yesterday, but he didn't come yesterday."
The smile on Shopkeeper Qian's face froze for a moment. He leaned over to take a look, then slapped his forehead and said, "Oh! Look at my memory! It was the day before yesterday, the day before yesterday! I'm so confused."
"Also," Chu Yun pointed at another line of words with his pen, "Li Laosan has been on credit for more than seven days. According to the shop's rules, I can't give him rice on credit tomorrow."
"Yes, yes, there is such a rule." Shopkeeper Qian nodded repeatedly, his smile becoming more sincere. "Just do as you say, sir."
Chu Yun stopped talking, put the abacus beads back into place, and picked up an iron paperweight to hold down the account book. His movements were not fast, but each step revealed a sense of precision and composure.
Just then, the light at the door dimmed, and a man in a long gown and a goatee walked in. It was Mr. Sun, the town council's lawyer.
"Shopkeeper Qian, business is booming." Mr. Sun greeted him with a forced smile, but his eyes were fixed on Chu Yun. "Mr. Chu, the mayor wants to see you."
Shopkeeper Qian's expression changed slightly, and he quickly stepped forward to greet him, "Master, what's so important that you'd bother coming here in person?"
Mr. Sun ignored him and continued to stare at Chu Yun: "The town's land tax accounts are a bit messy, and the mayor would like to ask Mr. Chu to come over and help check them."
Chu Yun raised his head, his eyes as calm as a pool of deep water: "I haven't finished the work in my hands yet."
"Your job?" Mr. Sun's tone rose eight degrees. "Is the town hall's business more important than the bad debts of your rice shop?"
"To me, it's equally important." Chu Yun stood up and slowly put away his writing brush. "I've collected the money from the shopkeeper, so I have to finish today's work. The mayor wants to reconcile the accounts, so ask him to send someone to arrange a time tomorrow."
Master Sun's face instantly turned the color of liver. He pointed at Chu Yun, his fingers shaking with anger: "You...what's your attitude! You're just an outsider accountant..."
"I'm leaving." Chu Yun picked up the old wooden box containing pens and ink, without even looking at Master Sun. He just nodded to Manager Qian and turned to leave.
"Sir, sir!" Shopkeeper Qian wanted to stop him but didn't dare. Mr. Sun stamped his feet in anger, but he had no way to deal with this stubborn young man and could only throw his sleeves in anger.
Chu Yun didn't take the main street, but turned into a narrow alley. At the alley entrance, a little girl of seven or eight was kicking stones. When she saw him, her eyes lit up and she ran over.
"Brother Chu Yun!"
Chu Yun paused, but didn't stop. The little girl caught up with him, looking up at him and asking, "Brother Chu Yun, my mother said you know everything. Let me ask you, why don't the stars in the sky fall down?"
Chu Yun continued walking forward without answering.
"My dad said that it was a fairy pulling it with a string. Is that true?" the little girl asked relentlessly.
Chu Yun finally stopped and looked down at her. The child's eyes were bright, like two clean black beans. He was silent for a moment, and then said in a dry voice, "There are no immortals."
"Ah?" The little girl was stunned.
"There's no wire either." Chu Yun said, no longer looking at her, and walked into a creaking wooden door in front of him. The little girl stood there in a daze, staring blankly at the closed door.
The room was pitch black, and Chu Yun hadn't turned on a light. He groped his way to the table, setting down the wooden box and a string of copper coins. The coins clashed against the tabletop, making a series of crisp "ding-dong" sounds that seemed especially loud in the dead silence. He sat down, his back straight, and blended into the darkness without moving.
…
The flame is a red flame that devours everything.
The wood broke in the fire, making a "crackling" sound, and the thick smoke made it difficult for him to breathe. "Dad!" He wanted to shout, but the sound was stuck in his throat. He saw a tall figure standing in the sea of fire, and the black uniform of the Evil Suppression Division was burned to tatters. The figure turned around suddenly, his face was blackened by smoke, and only a pair of eyes were frighteningly bright. He opened his mouth, as if roaring something at him, but Chu Yun could not hear anything. The only sound in his ears was the loud noise of the broken beams and the screams that he would never forget.
Then, the tall figure, the man who had taught him to write his first character and draw his first talisman, fell straight back. The flames "whoosh" and completely engulfed him.
"No--!"
Chu Yun suddenly opened his eyes, gasping for air. His forehead was covered in sweat, and he could clearly hear his own pounding heartbeat, like the sound of a drum. The dark room was still the same, but the burnt smell, seared into his memory, once again pierced his nose.
At this moment, an indescribable pain exploded from the center of his chest! Without any warning, it was like a red-hot steel needle piercing into him fiercely, and then stirring wildly.
"Ugh..." He groaned, sliding off the chair and curling up on the cold ground. He gritted his teeth, the roots of his teeth making a grinding sound, trying not to cry out in pain. The pain was too much, a piercing pain. His vision went black, and countless twisted golden runes swirled and screamed in the darkness. The power called "Taiyi Yuanqi" was like a beast that had been imprisoned for too long, madly ramming into his body, threatening to tear his soul to shreds.
"...Suppress it... Chu Yun, if you can't control it, it will devour you... Remember, before you find the truth, you are not a descendant of the Evil Suppression Division, you are just an accountant..."
Every word of his master's dying warning resonated like a hammer in his brain. He didn't want to be a descendant of the Evil Suppression Division, nor did he want to bear some utterly despairing fate! He simply wanted to live in peace, find the murderers, and then... kill them! But this power wouldn't allow him to be ordinary. Whenever evil arose between heaven and earth, disrupting order, it would become restless, using this torture to remind him and torment him.
Gathering all his strength, he reached under the table, his fingertips groping frantically in the darkness. He found it: the wooden box. He pulled it out and opened it with trembling hands. There was no writing brush or ink inside, only a neatly cut stack of yellow talisman paper and a dry inkstone.
He grabbed a piece of talisman paper and bit down hard with his fingers. The smell of blood instantly filled his mouth. He had to draw a talisman, the most basic "calming talisman" to calm his mind.
He spread the talisman paper on the ground and, using his bleeding finger as a pen, began to draw on it. His first stroke went crooked. The sharp pain in his fingertips and the pain in his chest combined, causing his vision to go black. The bloodstain twisted into an ugly symbol on the yellow paper.
With a puff, the talisman paper spontaneously combusted into a small pile of ash. Failure.
He grabbed the second one. This time, he concentrated his mind desperately, concentrating on the simplest rune structure. One horizontal stroke, one vertical stroke. His hands trembled like leaves in the autumn wind, and blood stains appeared intermittently on the paper.
"Buzz—" A sharp buzzing sound echoed in his ears. The golden rune before him spun faster, and the pain in his chest suddenly intensified. "Puff!" He spat another mouthful of blood onto the talisman paper. The talisman paper once again turned to ash.
He couldn't stop. He knew if he gave up, this force would completely overwhelm his sanity. He picked up a third piece of talisman paper, but this time he didn't rush to write. He closed his eyes, letting the force surge through him, his mind frantically recalling every word his father had said when he'd taught him to draw the talisman.
"Yun'er, talismans are the words of heaven and earth. If your mind is not calm, the writing cannot be completed. The brush moves as your heart moves, and the energy flows freely. What you draw is not a talisman, but your own heart."
Father……
Chu Yun suddenly opened his eyes, a glint of resolute anger flashing across them. "Fuck your heart! Fuck your fate!" He no longer tried to suppress or guide it, instead pouring all his rage and will to survive into the drop of blood on his fingertips.
He began to draw. His hand was still shaking, but this time, the strokes remained unbroken. The bloodstain slithered across the yellow paper, a relentless and violent aura swiftly outlining a complete rune.
As the final stroke was completed, a soft glow emanated from the talisman. The light faded, and the talisman silently crumbled to ash. But the piercing pain in my chest finally receded like a tide. The shrieking runes before my eyes vanished without a trace.
Chu Yun collapsed on the ground, his whole body soaked in cold sweat, like a fish just pulled out of the water. Apart from gasping for breath, he couldn't even move a finger.
He succeeded. He survived another night.
Just when he thought everything was over, leaving only endless exhaustion, a faint voice drifted in from the window. It was so thin and soft, like a little girl dancing and singing at the other end of the alley. The tune of the nursery rhyme was strange and monotonous, and in the silent night, every word carried a chilling chill.
"The moonlight illuminates the underworld..."
"Red clothes, hide and seek..."
Chu Yun's eyelids twitched. His body was still unable to move, but his hearing had become unusually sharp. The singing continued with a strange and innocent rhythm:
"The cattle and sheep ran away and disappeared..."
"Little brother, I can't find it..."
At this point, the singing suddenly stopped. Chu Yun thought that the child had returned home and was about to breathe a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, a faint, tiny figure appeared on the wooden lattice of his window. The figure was dressed in red and resembled a little girl. She stood there quietly, motionless.
Chu Yun's heart tightened instantly. He held his breath, and all the muscles in his body tensed up.
The figure in red slowly turned his head.
It had no face. Where a face should have been, there was a dark, empty space.
Then, the interrupted nursery rhyme began to play again. This time, the singing was no longer coming from the alley entrance. It was very close, right outside his window.
"High stone platform, stand in a row..."
"Close your eyes, tears well up..."
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