Chapter 156: Stop 24: The Seventh Day After Death

Chapter 156: Stop 24: The Seventh Day After Death

He opened his fan again, and with a clatter, the Japanese sliding doors that had been tightly shut swung wide open.

In place of where a wall should have been, there was now a stage for opera performances, lacquered in red and adorned with green embroidery, exquisitely crafted.

Everyone's eyes widened in astonishment.

Ming Yiyang instinctively covered his right eye. He then glanced briefly at Yan Qiling beside him, pressing his lips together slightly.

He didn't speak, only lowering his snow-white eyelashes slightly.

"Mr. Yan, this is...?"

Tojo Shuang was overwhelmed with shock, unknowingly distancing himself from Yan Qiling's direction.

The man let out another "shh."

"Quiet, the best part is about to begin."

With the sound of a gong, the melody of a two-stringed fiddle and a bamboo flute filled the air as a figure clad in a black robe, trailing white sleeves, emerged from the stage — a paper effigy.

This paper figure was adorned with the makeup of a scholarly role, its animated eyes and expressive features hinting at the allure of a female lead.

This was none other than the protagonist, Young Master Yan.

The Yan family had been merchants for generations, managing two silk factories and a dye workshop. In addition, they secretly preserved a precious treasure known as the "Lotus Scroll," capable of subduing all manner of ghosts and spirits, ensuring peace and prosperity in their domain.

Upon Young Master Yan's assumption of the family business, his uncles and elder cousins posed challenges, while a rival daily chemical silk factory was encroaching on the Yan family's market share, attempting to undermine local silk manufacturers with cheaper prices.

Young Master Yan embarked on a journey to England, bringing along his close friend and mechanical engineer, Zhan Deshi.

Zhan Deshi had an intimate understanding of machinery. Exploiting his British nationality, he posed as part of an inspection team to get close to the equipment at the Dayeh Textile Mill, unraveling its secrets. He then improved the machinery for the Yan family's mill, significantly enhancing its efficiency.

In this process, Dayeh Textile Mill suffered from the consequences of its own low-price strategy and soon found itself struggling financially.

The Yan family, on the other hand, seized a substantial market share during this price war, earning Young Master Yan widespread admiration. Although there were still those who remained unconvinced, they dared not voice their dissent openly.

The head of the Dayeh Textile Mill, through the local county magistrate, extended an invitation to Young Master Yan for a "feast with hidden intentions."

Director Yuan Gong, hoping for a truce between Young Master Yan's and the Dayue Silk Mill, requested leniency, but he was unwilling to pay any price, repeatedly turning down several proposals from Young Master Yan.

On stage, "Young Master Yan" bowed his way out, followed by "Zhan Deshi," who exchanged a significant glance with "Director Yuan Gong" before they departed.

Ming Yiyang's heart skipped a beat at the sight.

Upon returning, Young Master Yan agreed to Zhan Deshi's plan to sell the silk mill's machinery.

He believed that the Yan family's silk mill, as a test site for the new machines, had achieved success and could now serve as a model case to promote the technology, thereby boosting sales of the machinery itself.

There was one condition, however: the machines would not be sold to the Dayue Silk Mill.

Zhan Deshi consented to this stipulation.

Director Yuan Gong extended several invitations to dine with Young Master Yan, discussing plans for a peaceful coexistence.

During this time, Young Master Yan was targeted by assassins.

However, equipped with the "Lotus Scroll," Young Master Yan possessed extraordinary powers; not only were the assassins unable to approach him, they were captured, revealing their identities – they were hired by Director Yuan Gong.

From that day on, Young Master Yan feigned illness and secluded himself, awaiting the inevitable collapse of the Daye Silk Mill.

Young Master Yan had always enjoyed the theater. Among the local actors, there was a talented female impersonator named Yan Tan. They had known each other since both were twelve, and their friendship was strong due to their similar ages and interests. Their bond had endured for over a decade.

With Yan Tan's aspirations to become a famous actor in the bustling metropolis, Young Master Yan invested in the troupe, intending to support his friend's dreams.

Just as Yan Tan was about to embark on his journey, he invited Young Master Yan to watch his latest performance.

Listening to Yan Tan's newly revised "Nanke Record," Young Master Yan, under the melodious voices of the performers, sipped a cup of "Dream of Three Lives" offered by Yan Tan himself, and promptly fell into a deep slumber.

As the act concluded, the curtains abruptly closed.

Amidst the faint sounds of human breathing, there was an eerie vibration seemingly originating from deep within the earth. It was as if something was brewing beneath the soil.

The perceptive Ikeko Touzuki sensed this anomaly and stood up, trying to determine whether it was merely an illusion.

But at that very moment, a gong sounded on stage, signaling that the story continued.

Awakening, Young Master Yan found himself bound by iron chains, unable to move an inch.

He was confined within a place known as Lan Yun Lou, and the culprit behind it all was his cousin.

In pursuit of the family head position and the Lotus Scroll, his cousin had bribed Yan Tan to divulge his whereabouts and struck a deal with Mr. Yuan Gong.

Young Master Yan attempted to resist. He broke free from his shackles only to encounter Zhan Deshi, who had come looking for him.

To everyone's surprise, upon approaching, Zhan Deshi injected him with a massive dose of morphine.

His cousin brutally peeled off the "Lotus Scroll" from his back. Not only would this scroll become the symbol of his cousin's triumph, but also serve as evidence of his "death" to their clan.

Subsequently, he was devoured.

They were all humans, of the same kind.

Yet, at that moment, Young Master Yan seemed like a cooked animal on a plate, defenseless against their savagery.

Yuan Gong, the most avaricious of them all, carved off half of Young Master Yan's flesh as a "reward" for his victory in this unjust contest. Amidst incessant chatter, he indulged in a feast of chewing.

Zhan Deshi, on the other hand, continually fed Yan Qiling opium-laced wine to alleviate his pain, before meticulously extracting the young master's eyes.

After Yan Qiling was completely blinded, the final guest appeared.

This guest was a stranger to him, only present at Zhan Deshi's invitation.

But this person was no saint, slicing off a piece of Yan Qiling's cheek for sashimi to savor.

The scene of swallowing and chewing was depicted in excruciatingly vivid detail for the audience below the stage.

Even though Ikeko Touzuki knew the props were made of paper, she still felt an overwhelming urge to vomit.

Guan Zhiyi, sitting beside her, was already weeping uncontrollably, retching violently in a corner.

Only Tojo Shuang managed to maintain composure, but his trembling hands on his knees betrayed his inner turmoil.

As the curtains fell, Yan Qiling, the orchestrator of it all, watched with avid interest, his tone almost a sigh:

How pitiful... After experiencing such horrors, they couldn't even rest in peace after death.

Ming Yiyang covered his right eye once more and stealthily turned his head to glance at Yan Qiling beside him.

To his surprise, Yan Qiling had also just turned back to look at him, their eyes meeting.

In the dim candlelight, Yan Qiling smiled radiantly, a stark contrast to the grim atmosphere.

The sound of a copper gong echoed on the stage.

Young Master Yan had met his end.

Amidst the laughter and clinking of glasses from the various schemers, he died in a grotesque manner, drenched in blood, on their dining table.

No matter how noble and refined he had been in life, in death, he was left without even a garment to cover his body, his remains too disfigured to be properly identified.

He couldn't even find peace in the earth.

His fragmented corpse was taken back by his younger cousin as evidence of the "bandits'" brutality.

Naturally, the younger cousin inherited the Yan family's fortune.

However, perhaps he knew deep down that it wasn't an honest acquisition.

As such, Young Master Yan's funeral was hastily arranged.

When they lifted his body into the coffin and nailed it shut, his left hand fell to the ground, but no one noticed. A black cat by the roadside carried it away.

Young Master Yan was young and had never prepared for his own death.

Now that he was gone, like a lamp extinguished, not even a single garment could be found to cover him.

The undertakers could only temporarily drape him with a burlap cloth and hurriedly tailored an ill-fitting burial robe for him overnight before sealing the coffin lid as soon as possible, hoping to grant him a peaceful rest in the earth.

But whispers abounded, even among the undertakers, who were puzzled.

Would Young Master Yan truly find peace in his grave like this?

On the seventh day of Young Master Yan's funeral, three places were engulfed in flames.

The first to catch fire was the coffin shop, which was ablaze before dawn. Strangely, apart from the coffin holding Young Master Yan that turned to ashes, none of the numerous paper offerings were affected.

Next, it was the Blue Oriole Tower.

Despite its elegant-sounding name, 'Blue Oriole' was actually a phonetic translation of 'lanyard,' a term originating from an American businessman who owned the building.

The businessman compared himself to a sailing ship embarking on a voyage. He named his building Lanyard Tower, hoping that this rope anchoring the ship would symbolically anchor him in this place, enabling him to prosper and make money.

Just like his ancestors who swiftly amassed wealth upon arriving in America and became the true rulers of that land.

However, after this fire broke out, the Blue Oriole Tower and the "beautiful vision" behind it became an unattainable dream.

Coincidentally, this businessman had accepted Zhan Deshi's invitation and attended that cannibalistic feast.

The fire consumed the entire house, yet there were a few spots strangely untouched, not a single ember reaching them. As a result, the corpses left behind in those areas remained uncharred.

The merchant sat at the dining table, maintaining the posture of eating, but without a head, his entire skeleton shattered.

In his bowl, the remains of Zhan Deshi's headless body lay.

Mr. Yuangong fell from the second floor, yet somehow landed on the sharp blade of his own wakizashi, instantly bisecting him. His torso crawled about twenty meters towards the door before he finally expired.

Their common denominator was the absence of their heads.

The third fire engulfed the Yan family.

Here, the missing heads were discovered, along with that of the new Yan family patriarch.

Aside from the patriarch, the rest of the Yan family members remained unharmed.

However, the room where the patriarch resided held all the Yan family's property deeds and assets. Overnight, the family lost most of its wealth, the direct lineage perished, and with no one to support the collateral branches, the struggle for inheritance led to the complete dissipation of the Yan family's fortune, causing them to vanish from existence.

Only the eerie legends surrounding Young Master Yan continue to circulate locally.

The raucous sounds of gongs and suonas signaled the end of the tale, as it seemed, to be heard.

Yet, it felt as if everything was only just beginning.

The vibrations that only Kichiro had sensed before became evident at this moment.

Tojo Shuang and Kichiro were the first to notice the changes in their surroundings, but Guan Zhiyi looked at Yan Qiling with a mix of fear and disbelief.

He was well aware that in Chinese context, "Yan" and "Yan" sounded exactly alike.

If Young Master Yan's story were true, it would imply... that Yan Qiling was not human at all!!!

He intended to point at Yan Qiling and demand an explanation, but the silver-haired youth sat up, withdrew something from his neck, and suddenly held a remarkably sharp long blade in his hand.

The young man's gaze held a chilling intent to kill.

Guan Zhiyi immediately dared not say anything further.

But Ming Yiyang wasn't as intimidating as Guan Zhiyi had imagined.

He drew his sword because he saw those threads, unique to Yan Qiling, intertwine with the earth beneath the tatami mats like the intricate roots of a banyan tree.

During the storytelling, only a few threads connected to the stage puppets were taut.

But now, all of them were taut, as if they were pulling up something immensely heavy.

He was worried that they might haul up a monstrous creature; hence, he had every reason to be on guard.

...That's right, he could see.

Even without the Yin-Yang Pupils, he could still see.