Parents' Shrine (1)

Tan Yangzi didn't know what was wrong with Yan Fei; he really understood less and less of a teenager's heart. He shook his head, dried his body, and changed into a loose white unlined robe. Without tying up his hair, he pushed open the window and smelled the warm, fragrant breath of the mild spring day. Such a scent was impossible to smell in Hell; there was only the pungent stench of sulfur and acid, and smelling it for too long made one feel as if they were rotting from the inside out.

After a while, Yan Fei finally returned. His cheeks were still very red, and he was panting, looking as if he had been running outside for a long time. He still tightly clutched that peach blossom branch in his hand, though a few buds had clearly already fallen off.

Tan Yangzi raised an eyebrow. "What did you go do?"

Yan Fei seemed a bit afraid to look at him with his eyes. He walked to the table with his head lowered, inserted the peach blossoms into an empty porcelain vase, and stammered, "I... I went out for a walk..."

"How did a walk make you sweat so much... I'll have the waiter change the tub of water so you can wash up too." Tan Yangzi said, about to go out to call someone, but he was stopped by Yan Fei. "No need, I'll just wash up a bit using your water."

Tan Yangzi frowned. "How can you do that? The water is already dirty."

"It doesn't matter." Yan Fei's face somehow turned even redder.

Seeing him act so strangely, Tan Yangzi couldn't be bothered to argue and just let him be. By now, the night was getting dark. Tan Yangzi got into bed first and lay down. Listening to the occasional sound of water coming from behind the folding screen, he drifted groggily between dream and wakefulness for a while. He vaguely felt someone climb into the bed, and the familiar scent of Yan Fei, which carried a hint of mugwort, filled the air. He knew Yan Fei had come to sleep, so he deliberately shifted inwards to make room for him.

Unexpectedly, that warm body snuggled up to him like a shadow, resting its forehead against his shoulder and hugging his arm. A faint smile still tugged at the corners of the groggy Tan Yangzi's mouth. Even though he was so grown up, he still liked to hug his arm while sleeping, just like when he was little.

In his hazy state, it felt like something light pecked him on the cheek, soft and gentle.

The journey over the next few days was similar to the first day: traveling during the day and resting at post stations or inns in towns at night. After traveling like this for half a month, they could finally see from afar the vast city spread out against Mount Xian, divided in the middle by the Xiang River, which looked like a jade belt. The evening glow reflecting on the clear waves added a myriad of tender feelings to its grandeur.

As soon as they entered the city, they noticed a strange atmosphere.

There were very few pedestrians on the streets, and every household's doors were tightly shut. The previously bustling shops were also deserted. People wore expressions of numb indifference, and no sounds of laughter or joy could be heard.

Yan Fei was somewhat surprised. Although he had never been to Xiangyang, he had long heard that it was a prosperous city no less than Bianliang. But looking at it now, why was it such a desolate scene?

Tan Yangzi also found it strange. "Didn't you say there were eight murder cases in a month? Although that's a lot, it shouldn't be enough to throw the whole city into such a state, right?"

"Eight cases of parricide and matricide, resulting in a total of eleven deaths. It's been a month since I left and came back; I'm afraid there are more than eight cases now. This series of cases was already known to everyone before. Rumors are flying all over the city. Some say a strange disease is raging, some say it's demonic possession, and some say an expert cast a curse, but they all predict this isn't over yet." Dasamara's expression was grave as he looked at an eatery by the roadside closing its door boards. "People believe this curse will spread throughout the city, and all parents might be killed by their suddenly crazed children. Some parents are also someone else's children. While guarding against their own children, they also have to be guarded against by their own parents. Even the closest of kin have lost trust in each other. As far as I know, many panicked people have even locked their children in cellars, guarding against them like thieves. Some parents have even banded together to spread these rumors everywhere, urging everyone to lock up their children until the curse passes. The court can't even manage it all."

The parent-child relationship, which was originally supposed to be the most indestructible bond in the world, was violently shaken amidst a series of murders and rumors.

"Probably because we humans have a strong attachment to home? The home is the foundation of establishing a city or a nation. If family members are mutually suspicious and guarded against each other, they will definitely be even more hostile to outsiders. Eight murder cases are enough to disrupt an entire city." Yan Fei said in an indifferent, even somewhat sarcastic tone. "Those who are parents say how much they love their children, but now that something has happened, isn't self-preservation their top priority?"

Tan Yangzi glanced at Yan Fei. He knew Yan Fei always harbored resentment towards his biological parents for selling him off. It was normal for him to mock them a bit now. Thinking of this, a bit more pity for Yan Fei rose in his heart.

As ghosts, they didn't understand what a home was or what parental affection was. Over the years of reincarnating in the Mortal Realm, he had had quite a few parents. However, because he was an unwanted infant, he was mostly abandoned. Even if he was lucky enough not to be given up by his family, when his memories awakened at the age of eighteen, his feelings for familial love would fade. Yet, deep in his heart, in some corner buried by layers of karmic memories, he still had a sliver of yearning for an intimate bond similar to that of family.

And over these ten years, although Yan Fei was only his disciple, he was the first to give him this feeling akin to family. He thought that even if Yan Fei might suddenly go mad and kill him, he still wouldn't have the heart to lock that smiling, affectionate youth in a dark, sunless cellar. Therefore, he found it increasingly difficult to understand why parents would abandon their children based solely on speculation, or how parents could sell their children as goods just because their family was poor.

Dasamara was considered a somewhat famous fortune-teller locally. He had a modest house in the east of the city, which served as the foothold for him and the Red Impermanence in the Mortal Realm. This time, Tan Yangzi and Yan Fei didn't need to stay at an inn or seek temporary lodging at a Taoist temple; they went directly to stay in the western wing of his house.

Dasamara's Red Impermanence, Kumamara, was a beautiful and mature woman of about thirty, who went by the identity of Sir Tao Min's wife in the human world. As soon as she opened the door and saw Dasamara, she revealed a bright and dazzling smile. Seeing Tan Yangzi behind him, that smile faded slightly, but upon noticing the adorably smiling Yan Fei beside Tan Yangzi, her smile suddenly bloomed more gorgeously than ever before.

"Oh my! Where did this little brother come from? So cute!"

Yan Fei obediently called out, "Hello, Big Sister."

This "Big Sister," spoken from those rosy, pretty lips, was enough to melt the heart of any woman in the world. The maternal glow in Kumamara's eyes instantly intensified so much it almost overflowed. She reached out, wanting to pinch Yan Fei's tender, fair cheek, but before her hand was halfway there, it was seamlessly blocked by Tan Yangzi.

Tan Yangzi's gaze was as sharp as a knife. He sneered, "Didn't they say you were seriously injured? How come your lecherous heart is still unchanged?"

Kumamara's temperament had always clashed with Tan Yangzi's. They would bicker whenever they met, often leaving Dasamara, who played the peacemaker, caught in the middle. Seeing this, she had no choice but to withdraw her hand, letting out a soft snort and clicking her tongue. "Where did a stiff block of wood like you abduct such a good child? It's really a pity for him to follow you."

Yan Fei's eyes widened. This was his first time hearing someone dare to speak to Tan Yangzi like this.

Tan Yangzi curled his lips in contempt. "You can ask him yourself whether he'd prefer to follow me or follow you."

"Alright, alright." Dasamara quickly stepped between the two, wrapping an arm around Kumamara's waist and turning her toward the main hall. "We haven't seen each other in so long. What does it look like to start bickering as soon as you meet? You're unwell; don't catch a cold."

Tan Yangzi followed behind them, observing Kumamara carefully. He could indeed see that her rouged cheeks were actually very pale, and there was little color in her lips. Her footsteps were unsteady as she walked, and her breathing was unstable.

This was Yan Fei's first time seeing a real Red Impermanence. Looking curiously at the two ahead, he asked in a low voice, "Master, are they husband and wife?"

"In the Mortal Realm, yes," Tan Yangzi said. "In Hell, there is no such thing as husband and wife."

"Then... are all Green Impermanences and Red Impermanences husbands and wives in the Mortal Realm?"

"Of course not." Tan Yangzi chuckled, seemingly finding the question amusing. "Sometimes they act as siblings, sometimes as master and disciple, and there are even those who act as master and servant. As long as it's a convenient identity, anything goes."

However, Yan Fei still looked at him with that focused and quiet gaze, as if he hadn't listened to his words at all.

Tan Yangzi and Yan Fei settled in and had a meal with Dasamara and his wife. During this time, Tan Yangzi asked more about Kumamara's injury but couldn't get any more information. Kuma said she didn't even have time to see clearly what she had crashed into; she only felt her entire body suddenly burst into flames. To save herself, she hastily withdrew from that middle-aged man's consciousness.

Throughout the meal, she coughed incessantly and looked exhausted. Seeing this, Tan Yangzi knew her injuries were too severe for her to remain in the Mortal Realm. Dasamara seemed to think so as well; thus, as soon as the meal ended, he helped Kumamara into bed, held her hand, and told her to rest assured that Tan Yangzi would help him handle the matters here.

Kumamara nodded weakly, then closed her eyes. A red runic seal faintly appeared between her brows. When the rune dissipated, her breathing and heartbeat abruptly stopped, turning her suddenly into a corpse.

However, Yan Fei knew she wasn't dead; her true body had merely returned to Hell, leaving only this human skin in the Mortal Realm. When Tan Yangzi returned to Hell, he would also always hide his human body in a safe place. Later, after having a home with Yan Fei, he would leave his body at home for Yan Fei to look after. Their bodies still maintained a thread of connection with their true forms, so they wouldn't decay, but they still had to be careful not to sustain any major damage, or their true forms in Hell would also be injured.

Yan Fei looked at Tan Yangzi, who was standing silently to the side, and the familiar curiosity rose in his heart again. He still didn't know what Tan Yangzi's true form in Hell looked like.

Judging by the reactions of some of the ghosts Tan Yangzi had caught in the past, it seemed to be something very terrifying?