I picked up my copy of JXYT the other day and there was a layer of dust on the cover… Sorry guys.

Originally posted on RBKTR Translations.

Author: Four Feet (四隻腳).

Translated by: Yujuan.

That afternoon, I brought Xiao Xue over to the villa.

Unfortunately, Jiuye wasn't there. He had been going out often recently, just who knew what he was busy with.

Ah Bao was sitting on the handrail of the stairs, hugging the yingyao, and after excitedly sliding down from the second floor, he gazed curiously at Xiao Xue. Looking and looking, he actually pulled out a long feather and brandished it forward to sway it back and forth. 

"Tsk, you brat, I don't like feathers!"

Xiao Xue glared at him.

I couldn't help but laugh. Looks like Ah Bao had recognized Xiao Xue as that white cat.

The way Xiao Xue walked was very light and graceful, not a sound made with her footsteps. In a blink of an eye, she had already made a circle around the living room, and asked, "Your friend doesn't seem to be here?"

"Mm, he's out right now, let's wait for him."

I went to the kitchen to pour two gla.s.ses of juice, one for Xiao Xue, the other for Ah Bao.

Ah Bao cupped the gla.s.s of juice in his hands, drinking it in bliss, sitting on the carpet before the television to watch his cartoon show.

The yingyao jumped here and there about Xiao Xue, even narrowing its eyes to attempt squeezing under Xiao Xue's skirt. Only after getting glared at by me did it roll over to the corner dejectedly.

Xiao Xue and I sat opposite to each other.

After a long while, I said, "Who knows when Ah Ye might be coming back, do you want to tell me about it first? I might be able to help."

Xiao Xue did not reply immediately, and extended her tongue to lick at the juice instead. After finis.h.i.+ng the juice, she finally opened her mouth, "Actually, I wanted to ask you guys to help me save someone."

"Save someone? Who?"

"Someone I owe."

Xiao Xue said, "Just a month ago, I was chased by a powerful exorcist, almost losing my life in the process. In the end, I had no other choice but to change into a cat form, escaping into a household's courtyard with my injuries. A girl of that household kept me, even healing my injuries. I am indebted to her."

"Uh, cats really are animals who know how to repay a kindness…"

I lamented, then asked, "Has the person you owe encountered anything troublesome?"

Xiao Xue said, "I suspect that she has been cursed by someone."

"Cursed? Why?"

"She's been reliving the same day, day after day."

"The same day? What do you mean?"

I couldn't understand at all, looking at Xiao Xue perplexedly.

Xiao Xue pointed to the clock on the wall, saying, "Twenty-four hours, her time cannot escape those twenty-four hours, she's been repeating the same actions every day. The moment it turns twelve in the morning, her memories will be wiped clean, forgetting what happened the day before, then continuing the repeat on the second day."

These words were a little abstract, and I tried my best to a.n.a.lyze it, asking, "You mean, her activities have been repeating on the same day, and she doesn't know it herself?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Did anything particular happen on this day?"

Xiao Xue was silent for a moment, then said, "She committed suicide."

"Committed suicide?" I felt that this was a little inconceivable, asking, "You're saying that this girl is committing suicide every day?"

Xiao Xue nodded her head, saying, "She will commit suicide every night, but is always resurrected after twelve, as if she doesn't remember she has already died, returning to her bed to sleep. When it comes to the evening of the second day, she will kill herself again, then resurrect at twelve, just repeating continuously like that. I have already witnessed her death seven times, and her coming back to life seven times."

Finished saying this, she couldn't help but sigh.

I was stunned, "This girl, could she be immortal?"

Xiao Xue shook her head with a bitter laugh, "I don't know either. I feel that it's a curse, but I haven't been able to achieve enlightenment yet, so I don't have the ability to help her. I can only ask for help from you guys."

A doubt suddenly arose in my heart, and I said, "How did you find us? Are you sure Ah Ye will be able to help?"

Xiao Xue smiled, her smile a little secretive, she said, "It's because I know who your friend is."

I wanted to ask more, but she used a finger to press against my lips.

"Don't ask, I won't tell, because even he hasn't told you yet."

With that, Xiao Xue blinked her eyes prettily.

"Uh…"

I glared at her helplessly, "Even if you guys don't tell me, I have some kind of idea about it. Ah Ye's ident.i.ty… is probably something like capturing yao or exorcizing demons, right? There's always someone turning up to ask him to solve some strange matters. Although this profession is really enigmatic, I can understand…"

Xiao smiled, not saying anything. After a while, she suddenly leaned over, asking a really odd question.

She said, "Have you ever wondered, just why your friend keeps you by his side?"

I froze, replying falteringly, "That's because… Because Ah Ye invited me to become his a.s.sistant…"

"His a.s.sistant? Why would he invite you, and not someone else?"

Xiao Xue fixed her gaze at my eyes intently.

I couldn't help but s.h.i.+ft back with her look, saying, "Because we're friends…"

"Oh? Friends?"

Xiao Xue's smile became even more cryptic and unfathomable, saying, "Have you never thought of this problem?"

"What problem?" I looked at her blankly.

She blinked, glancing to the side, deliberately lowering her voice to ask, "Have you never wondered, why can you see the yingyao?"

Xiao Xue smiled, "Normal people cannot see the yingyao, but, you've had the ability to see it from the start, isn't that right?"

I stared blankly.

That's right, from the very beginning, I had been able to see the yingyao.

The first time I saw the yingyao, it was during my interview, and at that time, other than me, there were six more interviewers in the room, yet I was the only one who could see the black shadow on the wall.

After that, I was chased by the yingyao on the streets, but no one else seemed to be able to see it. From the start to end, the one who could see the yingyao, other that Jiuye, was me…

Why? Why was this?

I tried my best to reflect on this question. It was fine when I wasn't thinking about it, once I started pondering, my head immediately felt like it was about to split apart, there wasn't a way to continue delving into it.

Xiao Xue looked at me thoughtfully, opening and closing her mouth, but in the end, she said nothing.

Six in the evening.

Jiuye still hadn't come back, and wouldn't even pick up his phone when I called.

Looking at the sky gradually darken, Xiao Xue said, "How about you accompany me to have  look at the house?"

I touched the shadow crystal in my pocket, thinking that this was also possible, I could probably use the shadow crystal to take a look at the house first to see if there was anything weird with it.

I went out with Xiao Xue, and before leaving, I sent a long message to Jiuye telling with of the overall situation.

And then I told him not to worry, that I would return as soon as possible.

That house was located in a very remote area in the countryside, and along the journey, we pa.s.sed through several brooks and a forest that no modern transportation could get us through. We could only go by foot.

Xiao Xue brought me along for an entire three hours, and we walked until my feet almost snapped. By the time we arrived the moon had already been hung up on the sky.

The first look at the house astonished me, and also shocked me.

Under the cool and bright splendor of the moon, a vintage courtyard house towered across a desolate and uninhabited wilderness, blue bricks and black tiles, a compound of connecting courtyards, giving out a dense mysterious air.

I immediately felt that something wasn't right with this place.

This place seemed to be cut off from the rest of the world, and perhaps there wasn't even electricity or gas available here, there were actually people living here?

I was really curious, just what sort of family would live in this huge compound?

Xiao Xue seemed to be really familiar with this residence, pulling me around the walls to the back of the house, saying that there was a backdoor from the kitchen that was interlinked to the outside.

I followed her, pus.h.i.+ng that motley and ancient wooden door, the two of us tiptoeing into the compound.

I took out the shadow crystal from my pocket, and using the wobbling moonlight, prepared to s.h.i.+ne it through my surroundings. But who knew that before I could raise my hand, a heart-wrenching cry sounded beside my ear—

"Jiaming! Please wake up! Jiaming! Jiaming!"

I jumped, turning towards the direction of the voice.

Xiao Xue pulled on my hand, indicating for me to follow her.

Pa.s.sing through a dark corridor, we reached the center of the courtyard house, hiding behind a pillar.

There were quite a few people standing in the center, male and female, old and young, everyone gathered in a circle, a young girl about eighteen or nineteen within the circle. She sat paralyzed on the ground, a blue-faced man with white froth spitting out from his mouth in her arms.

The man's eyes were closed, four limbs looking incredibly stiff, looking like he had been dead for a long time.

"You were the ones who killed Jiaming! You must have killed Jiaming!"

The girl hugged the man's corpse, crying, heart seemingly about to break, eyes filled with grief and wrath.

"Qiuyin, don't make any slanderous accusations. Jiaming mistakenly ate rat poison himself, his death has nothing to do with us, we can't possibly a.s.sume responsibility for the accusation of murder."

A woman wearing a green cheongsam, with a silk fan in her hands, spat out these words as lightly as a feather.

"That's right, we've already explained to you so many times, are you deaf?"

A scholar-like man with gla.s.ses stood beside the woman with the green cheongsam, seemingly her son, also criticizing that girl with a sharp tone.

Tears rolled unceasingly down the girl's face, inconsolably grieved.

At this while, another middle-aged woman walked forward, urging, "Qiuyin, don't cry anymore, you're going to be married tomorrow, how will you marry with those swollen eyes? Jiaming is dead, we feel very regretful too, knowing that the both of you grew up together and were as close as siblings. Crying is of human nature, but tomorrow is your big day, don't feel sad anymore—"

"Give it up! I won't marry that old man, absolutely not!"

The girl stood up from the ground, replying with hatred.

"Ah? What nonsense are you spewing, what's the problem with Commander Feng? You'll be living a luxurious life married to him, you won't have to worry about food and clothes for the rest of your life. You've picked up such a good bargain, you should be laughing up your sleeve!"

Another woman stood up to reprimand loudly, and the surrounding people parroted her, twittering nonstop.

The girl was forced back step by step, backing against the wall with her face full of tears.

At last that woman with the green cheongsam pointed at her nose, coldly scolding, "Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit, even if I have to break your legs, I'll have you tied onto the marriage sedan!"

"Lunatics! All of you are crazy lunatics! I won't let you get away with this even if I turn into a ghost!"

The girl stormed away crying hysterically, and with the sound of a thud, she actually slammed her head on a stone pillar by the side, the force so large that even her neck had gone askew, blood splas.h.i.+ng on the scene.

The people in the surroundings cried out in alarm, backing away, but not a single one of them came up to hold her, they watched with widened eyes as the girl slowly collapsed just like that, falling beside the man's corpse, both eyes staring, blood oozing from her mouth, nose, and ears.

I frantically took out my phone to call the police, but realized that battery was dead and the phone had been automatically turned off. Xiao Xue pulled on my clothes, shaking her head, indicating for me not to do anything, and continue watching.

Not long after, the girl completely stopped breathing, no longer moving after collapsing to the ground.

The moment that girl breathed her last, the surrounding people all froze abruptly, as if this was stop motion of a television show, the expressions on their faces keeping their astonishment or dread, as if each one of them was like a vivid and lifelike waxwork.

Huh, what was going on? What happened to those people?

I hid behind the pillar, not daring to utter a word, and could only glace at Xiao Xue for her opinion.

She walked forward without any apprehension, up till the center of the courtyard, then turned to look at me, "It's fine, you can come out, these people won't move anymore, they won't know what's happening around them either."

With that, Xiao Xue came next to the girl's corpse to take a look, sighing in sorrow.

"What happened? Why aren't these people moving anymore?"

I walked over in half-disbelief, waving my hand before those 'wax figures''s eyes, they blinked not even once. I gathered my courage, using my finger to poke at one of their faces. His skin was icy cold, not an ounce of warmth.

I took out the shadow crystal, sweeping through the courtyard, but discovered nothing.

"What's with this?" I looked at Xiao Xue in confusion.

Xiao Xue shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head, "I don't know either, the people in this house become like this every day."

She looked at the sky, then said, "In another hour, after twelve in the morning, these people will recover, returning to their respective rooms. Just wait and see."

I frowned with a stomach full of doubts. With my phone out of battery, I couldn't contact Jiuye, and with no strategy left to try, I could only wait at my original position.

That courtyard filled up with male, female, old and young in the gloomy night seemed like there were statues placed there one after another, which reminded me of that movie 'House of Wax', the more I looked at them the more I became horrified.

The time moved on minute after minute, and very quickly, it became twelve in the morning.

The people in the courtyard started moving once again.

First was the poisoned youth, next was the girl who had killed herself by striking her head against a pillar. They climbed up from the floor, as if nothing had happened, returning to their own respective rooms.

And this also happened to the others, silently leaving in succession, like the end of a play.

In just a short few minutes, the courtyard became completely empty, not a single person left behind, just the dark and gloomy moonlight s.h.i.+ning its light on the green-gray pillars.

A cold wind blew past. I felt a chill travel throughout my entire body, and couldn't help but quiver.

"Could those people be zombies?"

Xiao Xue shook her head, "I don't think they are, they become normal during the day."

She asked again, "What do you think, do we wait until daybreak?"

"Wait until daybreak?"

"That's right, I see you've become curious about it, even if you go back right now, you'll definitely come back again, am I wrong?" Xiao Xue grinned, craftily narrowing her eyes.

"Uh…" I scratched my head.

She was right, I was really curious about what was up with this household. Even if I left right now, I would definitely come back later on, and we had used up six hours on the trip here…

"Alright, we'll wait until the sun comes up then."

I decided firmly.

Although I said to wait till morning, in the end, I still hid in a concealed corner, leaning against the wall to blearily fall asleep.

When I woke up, the sky was suffused with white, Xiao Xue had gone off somewhere. I walked all over the place, then saw the girl who had committed suicide holding a white cat in her arms walk out of her room.

I hurriedly hid behind a door, peeking out.

The girl seemed to have completely forgotten that she had died once before, her speech and actions being no different from other people.

Late in the morning, the people in the compound started bustling about.

An ancient-style house with a courtyard, women who wore cheongsams with fans in their hands, youths who their hair in long braids, all these made me feel as if we had traveled back a hundred years in time.

For an entire day, everyone busied about setting up things, the whole place decorated with lanterns and colored banners, red silk, and red lanterns.

Because that girl named Qiuyin was to be married off tomorrow.

The girl didn't look happy, shutting herself in her lady's chamber.

As time gradually pa.s.sed, the sun set over the western hills, and Xiao Xue secretly brought over two steamed buns for me to eat.

I bit into the steamed bun, hearing her sigh, "Another day has repeated."

When it came to around nine o'clock, I saw that girl collect her things, sneaking off by herself to the side door of the courtyard, as if waiting for someone, looking up at the sky at times, anxiety written all over her face.

Xiao Xue and I hid by the side to observe her.

Not long after, many people came into the courtyard in succession.

The corpse of that poisoned youth was dragged out, and the events that happened yesterday night was once again played out in the same way.

The same lines, the same people, at the same time.

When the girl prepared to kill herself again, I couldn't help try to rush out to stop her, but before I could take a step forward, I was pulled by someone.

Turning back, I actually saw a familiar face.

"Ah Ye?"

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