As the oil lamp's wick slowly sank lower, time passed quietly.
Xu Xi had no idea how long he'd been waiting.
Just as his eyes were about to close, he suddenly heard a flurry of small sounds outside the door, like people whispering.
At first the voices were low and indistinct, but they quickly became clearer.
"...How did the master just leave?"
"Shh! Keep your voice down!"
"Are the incense, candles, and paper money all prepared?"
"How are the kitchen dishes coming along? The time is almost here!"
The voices were noisy and real, mixed with disordered, hurried footsteps.
Xu Xi's eyes lit up.
Finally, they had come.
He immediately stood and moved to the door, listening for a moment, then quietly pushed open a narrow crack.
But through the crack he saw only endless night outside, no figures in sight, yet the voices remained unmistakably real.
He didn't hesitate further and opened the door all the way.
The moment he stepped across the threshold, the scene before him wavered like a pond struck by a stone, violently distorting, and then shifted entirely into a different view.
No longer a dim, silent corridor, it had become a brightly lit front courtyard buzzing with activity.
White paper lanterns hung from the eaves and pillars, footmen and maidservants in plain mourning clothes hurried back and forth, as if preparing a huge funeral.
Xu Xi looked around and realized he stood on the steps of a covered walkway; the passing servants seemed not to notice him, busy in their own motions.
After a moment's thought, he headed toward the ancestral temple.
[As expected, Xu Xi the master is not the kind of honest person who follows the rules]
[Xing Ge is still keeping vigil, Yu Hao and the others weren't ready to risk the first night]
[...Damn, Hang Ze that unlucky guy got chased out]
[? What do you mean 'got chased out'??]
[That footman who wanted to avenge his younger brother sneaked into Hang Ze's room at midnight to try to cut him]
[Then Hang Ze tripped over his own left foot and tumbled out of the room]
[...]
[Brothers and sisters, I suddenly have a bad feeling]
[Bad feeling +1]
[Bad feeling +n]
——
Xu Xi walked along the covered walkway toward the ancestral temple; the servants he passed paid him no heed.
The passage was clear, and he reached the temple entrance without difficulty this time.
Unlike the previous eerie silence, the temple inside and out blazed with light, full of people; many well-dressed guests gathered outside, some with mournful faces, others whispering.
He stood outside the crowd, peering into the temple.
On the altar the incense and candles burned high, offerings piled like a mountain, and most notably the lacquer-black coffin remained centered, but now its lid was open and countless people were queuing to step forward, bow, and offer incense to the coffin.
Chanting, the sound of wooden fish, and stifled sobs blended together in a haze of smoke.
Xu Xi's vantage point was a bit far and blocked by moving figures, so he couldn't clearly see into the coffin.
He pushed through the people and entered the temple, only to find a corpse laid out inside — Master Shen's remains.
The old man wore deep purple burial robes, his skin an unnatural ashen blue-gray; his hands were crossed over his chest and his face wore a strange, peaceful calm.
Xu Xi's gaze fell almost instantly on the left palm.
There lay a broken writing brush, its tip stained with dark red ink.
"...Master, how could you leave like this, leaving me and this whole family, what are we to do!"
A young woman's voice, thick with sobbing, suddenly rang not far from Xu Xi and interrupted his observation.
He turned his head and saw a slender woman in plain white mourning garments kneeling at a modest corner to the right of the coffin, her back to him.
Her head was bowed, shoulders trembling slightly as if she was silently sniffling.
This was... the Seventh Concubine?
Before he could step closer, an unexpected turn occurred.
"Whoa, holy shit!"
A disheveled figure in mourning clothes stumbled in through the door.
Hang Ze barely regained his balance and, looking up, met Xu Xi's eyes and immediately brightened.
He waved a hand: "Hey, buddy, you're here too!"
Xu Xi: "..."
He'd thought no players would be out snooping tonight, yet here he was.
[I knew it! I knew it!! (Gritting teeth)]
[Shut your mouth, you brat!!!]
[Xu Xi the master, run, run!]
The live comments erupted in fearful screams.
But it was already too late.
The instant Hang Ze called out so brazenly, a mutation suddenly occurred—
The candles that had been burning steadily in the temple all plunged down at once, the light dimming sharply; the incense burner on the altar shattered with a loud "bang," scattering ash.
Then countless clear, malicious gazes snapped to focus on the two of them.
Those figures who had been offering incense or chatting stopped in mid-motion and turned to stare at them.
All sound vanished in that moment; the temple fell into terrifying silence.
Hang Ze's usual casual demeanor instantly shut off; he slid quietly over to Xu Xi's side, keeping a distance that allowed them to watch each other's backs without hindering one another.
He tilted his body slightly forward, his arm hanging as if casually at his side.
"Seems like this is getting a bit bad..."
Xu Xi: "..."
He thought silently: a bit?
For some reason, up to now everything felt off.
Hang Ze scanned the surrounding crowd of figures that were drawing closer; though his tone was easygoing, his eyes showed no relaxation: "Buddy, too many people. Let's get ready, we should run."
Run? Run where?
Outside might not be any safer.
Xu Xi had no intention of running. He took out the Fruit Knife, planning to give himself a quick cut first.
As he made the motion, the coffin gave a strange sound.
"Wo—ca—!"
The exclamation cut off abruptly.
Xu Xi whipped his head around and saw the earringed young man being dragged with irresistible force into the coffin.
The next instant, the heavy lid slammed down with a deafening crash, sealing perfectly tight.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
He stared at the closed coffin in a daze, then glanced at the human wall that had formed, blocking his path.
"..." Xu Xi looked down at the Fruit Knife in his hand.
——
The wick popped and sent a little flare of light; the dim glow flickered violently for an instant.
"...How did the master just leave?"
"Shh! Keep it down!"
"Are the incense, candles, and paper money all prepared?"
"How are the kitchen dishes coming along? The time is almost here!"
Familiar noisy voices came from outside the door.
"..." Xu Xi pressed his hand to his forehead and fell into silence.
