Chapter 7

“My own brother! Blood really is thicker than water!”

Before leaving, overcome with gratitude, I clutched Su Zhaomei’s arm and shook it for ages, inviting him to get together again when he had time.

On the way back, Pei Yu looked mildly surprised by the red umbrella in my hand. “He gave you that?”

I nodded.

As I had suspected, although this game put men in women’s roles and turned yin and yang upside down, some order and logic seemed to exist amid the chaos and horror.

Strength and weakness, legitimacy and illegitimacy, rank and inferiority, for instance.

By following its rules, I had earned my first reward.

Item: [Su Zhaomei’s Forgiveness]

[In hazy moonlight and the cool night breeze, you seem to become invisible beneath this umbrella.]

It appeared to be a support item. When I opened it, another jigsaw piece fell out, depicting a man drenched in blood standing in bamboo.

After parting with Pei Yu, I returned to the lady’s chamber. I had turned the place inside out and completely transformed it into a safe room.

Tonight, at last, I could get some proper sleep.

But shortly after I lay down, another knock came, along with two shrill voices:

“Miss, Xiaokou and Xiaomu reporting for duty.

“Which consort will you summon to your bed tonight?”

“.”

This damned murderous game.

Naturally, I gave them Pei Yu’s name.

They left obediently. In the central courtyard, they glanced back. “Huh? Where are those footsteps coming from?”

“You’re hearing things.”

They shoved each other a little, decided it was their imagination, and slowly walked on.

The brief day was over. Katydids called outside, and ashen moonlight fell over the dark plants. Behind the servants, I held my umbrella, took out the sweat cloth, and quietly tied it over my eyes.

An utterly horrifying scene appeared in the moonlight.

The walking servants vanished. Instead, two long, thick, silvery slime trails led to moving clumps of flesh. One had eyes packed into every crevice; the other was split all over with mouths.

Xiaozhuzi was dead. Now we had Xiaokou—Little Mouth—and Xiaomu—Little Eye.

That seemed to hint at something.

The two monsters passed through a carved archway into an exceedingly elegant courtyard. Bamboo grew everywhere, with faint qin music drifting through it. They lingered at the entrance for a long time, afraid to enter.

At last, one opened every mouth on its body, its strange cry tinged with fear.

“Master Pei, the young lady summons you.”

The music didn’t stop. It grew louder. Even several meters away, I felt dizzy and light-headed. I hastily retreated to the archway.

About an incense stick’s time later, a veiled figure finally approached.

The night wind lifted his wide sleeves, exposing translucent wrists. His slender figure drifted gracefully through the moonlight, as though he might ride the wind away at any moment.

This ethereal beauty gazed into the apparently empty air before him and spoke gently:

“My lady, why are you here?”

I closed the red umbrella and pretended I was just passing. “Waiting for you, of course.”

“Oh?” Pei Yu came to my side, sounding wistful. “I never imagined a day would come when I, too, might win your favor.”

I removed the cloth from my face and gave an awkward laugh. “Don’t say that.”

As I spoke, I stuffed the items into my sleeve.

Test complete.

Neither umbrella nor cloth had any effect on high-level monsters.

Behind him, only Xiaomu remained.

Obviously, Xiaokou was stone-dead.

We returned arm in arm to the lady’s chamber, affectionate as husband and wife, as if nothing had happened.

With Pei Yu there, I boldly opened the window.

It was late summer. Outside stood a low tree with sprawling shadows, its branches winding and unnaturally long like human arms, dotted with small gray-white flowers.

I turned to Pei Yu, moved. “Look, the osmanthus blossoms are falling.”

“Hm?”

When he didn’t react, I pitched my voice sweetly and tried another cheesy line. “Are the blossoms stirring? No, it’s my heart stirring when I look at you…”

He sounded puzzled. “But… osmanthus?”

“But what?”

I turned and took his icy hands warmly. “On such a lovely night, with osmanthus scent in the air, haven’t you anything else to say to me?”

“Oh?”

His frost-pale features showed indistinctly through his veil. With those trailing gauze robes and that stately air, he had a strange, indescribable beauty. “Zidu thinks such a fine night should not be wasted on words.”

With gentle pressure, he pushed me onto the bed behind me. Cold fingers brushed the corner of my mouth; his manner and voice were utterly seductive. “Tonight, provided you do not lift my veil, Zidu will let my lady enjoy herself to her heart’s content.”

He was too close. A jumble of discomfort overwhelmed me. “Wh-why can’t I lift the veil?”

Instead of answering, he laughed softly on an exhale and delicately untied my sash—

Shame, a sense of transgression, and terror struck all at once. I trembled and abandoned my experiment. “M-my back’s been bothering me. Let’s get an early night.”

I’d miscalculated.

When it came to acting, he had far fewer inhibitions than I did!

I didn’t know whether a man or a giant squid lurked beneath that veil. Even with the lights off, this was too much for me. Unable to cope, I rolled to the inside of the bed and entered standby—otherwise known as avoidance.

Fortunately, seeing me play dead, he didn’t insist.

As the night deepened, the moon grew larger. Ashen mist seemed to hang between heaven and earth. Branches crept in through the window, but the moment they touched the bed curtains, they recoiled like lightning.

The man beside the bed suddenly sat up. Looking at those branches, he murmured, “But that isn’t an osmanthus. It’s a pagoda tree.”

Then he looked down at the sleeping person beside him and smiled gently. “Still, so adorable.

“So adorable. So pitiful…”