Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The sky hung heavy with dark clouds, the moon concealed, plunging the world into profound gloom.

Inside the tightly sealed room, a putrid, fishy stench seeped from the walls. A closer look revealed sinister, flowing black liquid oozing from cracks in the corners and floorboards.

The entire room was enveloped in an eerie atmosphere, as if it had become the captive of some unknown predator.

The room was fully furnished, but the most striking feature was the large bed at its center.

This antique bed, crafted from high-quality pearwood, occupied a significant portion of the floor space. On it lay two men side by side, both clad in wedding attire. One was ashen and frail, his breath barely perceptible, while the other's face was obscured by a red veil, his features indistinguishable.

The room was eerily quiet, making the sound of the flowing liquid all the more distinct. Before long, the black liquid had spread across the entire floor.

*Gloop gloop.*

Bubbles rose from the liquid, which then surged like a beast scenting blood, forming waves that crashed toward the bed.

Within the black waves, barely visible, distorted shapes could be discerned.

*Splurch—*

The first monster burst from the black liquid, its spindly limbs landing on the floor as it charged toward the bed.

The putrid odor intensified.

More and more monsters broke through the surface of the liquid.

The first monster had already reached the two men on the bed. The pale man seemed to sense something, struggling to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt as heavy as lead. No matter how hard he tried, they wouldn’t open.

The monster halted its advance, its limbs melting into liquid, flowing toward the two men on the bed.

“What the hell? That reeks!”

Lin Juan awoke to an unbearable stench. His vision was blocked by a red veil. He reached up and pulled off the cloth covering his head. Not stopping to question why everything was red, he rolled aside just as the black liquid surged toward him.

Did he bump into something?

Lin Juan looked up and realized there was another person beside him.

He turned his head and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Holy shit!”

What lay before Lin Juan was like something from a nightmare.

The room was split in two: a small portion was decorated in festive red, while the larger part was flooded with black liquid. Strange, grotesque monsters were emerging from the liquid.

Several were already close by.

Lin Juan’s heart hammered.

Born with extraordinary strength, he had been sent to the mountains as a child to train with his master. His master often said he was exceptionally gifted and had great potential for cultivation. But after eighteen years, he had never encountered any supernatural events. He always thought his master was feeding him lines.

Seeing the eerie monsters approaching one after another, Lin Juan couldn’t help but curse, “Goddamn heavens.”

He had only complained a little while paying his respects at his master's shrine—was that enough to throw him into a nest of monsters?

And besides, wasn’t he just at the mountaintop paying respects? Where was this place?

As the monsters drew closer, Lin Juan was hit by a wave of stench. He quickly dismissed his questions, stood up, and grabbed the quilt, hurling it toward the creatures.

No time for hesitation—he had to deal with the immediate danger.

Lin Juan’s mind raced, searching for a way to handle these things. But after a rapid assessment, he found nothing that matched the creatures before him.

The monster was thrown back, landing in the black liquid and being swallowed by it.

Seemingly startled by the counterattack, the remaining monsters paused for a moment.

Lin Juan grabbed a corner of the quilt and noticed that the black liquid hadn’t soaked into it. He gave the quilt a sharp shake, flinging off the liquid.

A moment later, another monster seized the moment of distraction, reaching out with its claws.

Lin Juan dodged sideways, clenched his fist, and swung back.

*Crunch!* With a loud crash, the monster was slammed backward, hitting the wall and leaving a large hole.

It worked!

Lin Juan’s fear vanished.

He had always been unnaturally strong. As a child, he often struggled to control his strength, constantly breaking household items. At three, he was taken for training by his master, and the first lesson was learning to control his power.

Since it worked, Lin Juan decided to go on the offensive. Opportunities to use his strength freely were rare.

He made quick work of the nearby monsters, then turned to push the man on the bed further inward before stepping toward the remaining creatures.

The monsters were sickly blue-black, covered in bumpy growths of all sizes. They had large heads, bloated bellies, slender limbs, six claws, and webbed fingers.

They looked like mutated giant frogs.

They were impossible to communicate with.

Lin Juan spent some time pummeling the mutated frogs into stillness.

The cacophony of screeches died down, and the room fell silent again.

The last three monsters were clustered together. Lin Juan stomped down, and the giant frogs let out a piercing “shriek.”

Brushing off his hands, Lin Juan kicked the mutated frogs aside. “Is that the best you can do?”

After dealing with the creatures, Lin Juan turned his attention to the strange black liquid in the room.

He had noticed earlier that the more fiercely he pummeled the creatures, the slower new monsters emerged from the liquid. Now, no more were emerging.

What was this liquid?

Why were so many monsters emerging from it?

Lin Juan advanced a step, and the black liquid recoiled, as if afraid of him.

“It’s sentient?”

The black liquid recoiled swiftly. Lin Juan reached out to grab it but only managed to capture a handful.

The black liquid disappeared completely, and the room returned to its ordinary state.

Lin Juan frowned as he examined his hand. The substance felt utterly alien.

It felt like some living creature—warm and pulsating.

The liquid trickled through his fingers, dripped onto the floor, seeped into the boards, and vanished without a trace.

Lin Juan carefully searched the area where the black liquid had appeared but found no trace of its existence.

The giant frog he had beaten half to death, however, remained where it was.

With the crisis resolved, Lin Juan breathed a sigh of relief, only then realizing he was soaked with sweat. His hands were coated with slime from the giant frog, and so were his clothes—sticky and unpleasant.

He checked the man lying on the bed. The man had sharp, handsome features, though his complexion was pale and sickly, suggesting he wasn’t in good condition.

Lin Juan glanced down at his own attire—a bright red wedding robe, clearly matching the one the man was wearing. His lips twitched. Was he here as some kind of "lucky charm" for this man?

The bedroom had a private bathroom, so Lin Juan decided to clean himself up first.

Upon entering, he noticed the bathroom showed no signs of use, as if both the bedroom and bathroom had been prepared temporarily for this occasion.

After a quick look around, Lin Juan walked over to the vanity.

Above it hung a large mirror, reflecting a clear image of himself.

He studied his reflection carefully.

The young man in the mirror had delicate features, pitch-black eyes, and aside from slightly softer contours, everything—from his facial structure, the small mole behind his ear, to his long, raven-black hair—was identical to his own body.

The bright red wedding robe was embroidered with intricate phoenix patterns, well-tailored and crafted with fine workmanship. But it was, unmistakably, a wedding robe—and now dirty, stained with unknown fluids. Lin Juan frowned, finding it hard to accept.

He wasn’t a neat freak. Growing up in less-than-ideal conditions, he couldn’t afford to be overly fastidious, but within reasonable limits, he always tried to keep himself clean.

The priority now was to figure out what was going on and, if possible, find clean clothes. He couldn’t stay in this wedding robe forever.

Leaving the bathroom, Lin Juan searched the room but found nothing wearable.

Apart from the bed linens and curtains, the wardrobe was completely empty—not a single piece of clothing in sight.

He had already noticed something off about this room—it lacked any signs of personal use.

Finding no clothes, Lin Juan stood by the bed, his gaze falling on the unconscious man.

Maybe… he could take the man’s clothes for now?

He bent down and reached out.

His hand was grabbed.

He looked up. The man was still unconscious.

Well…

Never mind.

It wouldn’t be right to take clothes from a sick person.

Lin Juan tried to pry the man’s hand open, but it wouldn’t budge.

Not daring to use force as he had with the giant frog, Lin Juan spoke gently, “Sorry, I won’t take your clothes. Could you let go of me?”

Since he had been the one to overstep, Lin Juan kept his tone polite.

The man remained motionless.

Lin Juan tried every approach, persuasive and otherwise, but the man wouldn’t release his grip.

With no other choice, Lin Juan sat down at the edge of the bed.

“I’m covered in dirt. If I dirty your bed, don’t blame me.”

As if triggered by these words, the man’s grip loosened.

Lin Juan chuckled. “Didn’t expect you to be such a neat freak.”

Still, he couldn’t stay in dirty clothes. Lin Juan never liked to make do, so he opened the bedroom door, planning to search elsewhere for something to wear.

He turned the doorknob.

Huh?

It wouldn’t open.

He applied more force, but the door remained shut.

Seriously? If this was a "lucky marriage" ritual, why was the door locked?

Had he stumbled into some illegal organization?

Should he just sit around and do nothing?

“Sitting around and doing nothing” was not in Lin Juan’s vocabulary.

He assessed the door’s sturdiness, took a few steps back, and raised his leg.

“Boom—”

With a loud crash, the door collapsed.

Someone outside jumped in surprise.

“What happened? What was that?” Lu Mingxuan leaped up from his chair.

“Whoa! How did the door break?”

No sooner had he spoken than a figure in red emerged from behind the shattered door.

“A ghost!!!”

“Where’s the ghost?” Lin Juan stepped out, hearing the shout about a ghost, and his eyes lit up. Was he finally about to see a ghost?

“Lin Juan?” Lu Mingxuan, recognizing who it was, asked in disbelief.

“You know me?” Lin Juan raised an eyebrow.

“Of course I know you,” Lu Mingxuan patted his chest, calming his startled heart. “I was the one who picked you up. Don’t you remember?”

“I remember,” Lin Juan lied—he had no recollection at all. “Do you have any other clothes? Mine are dirty.”

Only then did Lu Mingxuan notice his messy clothes. “Weren’t you supposed to stay with my uncle in the wedding chamber tonight? Why are you out here? And how did you get so dirty?”

Afraid of ruining things, Lu Mingxuan said fiercely, "Go back quickly! The master said you must not leave the room tonight. What if you disrupt the fate-changing ritual?"

Seeing Lin Juan unmoved, Lu Mingxuan pushed him back inside.

Lin Juan walked back under his urging. The young man before him didn’t seem scheming—he wanted to see if the other knew what had happened in the wedding chamber.

If he was unaware, fine; but if he was involved, Lin Juan wouldn’t mind sending him to join the monster in the room.

As soon as they stepped inside, Lu Mingxuan’s eyes widened. "What... what happened here?"

He had only been away for a few hours. Everything was fine when he left after bringing him in. What was going on now?

The room looked as if it had been violently destroyed—pits and holes dotted the floor and walls. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Each pit, large or small, was embedded with an oddly-shaped creature.

Leaning against the doorframe, Lin Juan spoke calmly, "I was about to ask you the same thing. Wasn’t this supposed to be a fate-changing ritual? Letting out so many monsters—were you planning to offer both him and me as food?"

"Impossible!" Lu Mingxuan took two steps back, suppressing the urge to flee.

No, he couldn’t panic. His uncle was still here.

"I’ll call Grandfather and the rest."

After observing quietly for a moment, Lin Juan concluded that the young man likely had no knowledge of the monsters. Whether others were involved remained uncertain.

Lu Mingxuan took out his phone and dialed his grandfather.

"Grandfather, something’s happened at Uncle’s place."

Not fully understanding the situation, Lu Mingxuan briefly described what he saw before hanging up. His eyes then fell on the damaged door, and he shuddered.

Their family’s doors were specially fortified as per the master’s instructions. How could it be destroyed like this?

Glancing at the young man standing inside, Lu Mingxuan felt, for some reason, that he seemed different from before.

But with more pressing matters at hand, he had no time to dwell on it.

Noting the young man’s distracted state, Lin Juan decided to take the initiative and get to the bottom of things. "Why were you guarding outside?"

"The master said no outsiders should approach. Grandfather is old and doesn’t trust my uncles, so he asked me to stand guard here overnight."

Perhaps to ease his nerves, Lu Mingxuan went on at length.

From his words, Lin Juan picked out key details and was inwardly startled.

If he wasn’t mistaken, he had transmigrated into a novel.

Because of the shared name, Lin Juan had some recollection of this story.

*The Descent of the Anomalies* was a supernatural novel with Lovecraftian elements. In it, various anomalies existed that could taint ordinary humans, infecting them. Some of the infected were fortunate enough to gain supernatural abilities and become superpower holders, but most were transformed into new anomalies.

The ultimate villain who destroyed the world by the story’s end was one such infected human.

Lu Yanzhou, the head of China’s top wealthy family, the Lu family, should have been a favored son of heaven and lived a fortunate life. But he fell victim to schemes—those he cared about died tragically, everything he valued was destroyed, and he himself was embroiled in an evil conspiracy, infected and transformed. After death, he descended into becoming a supernatural monster and sought revenge.

And Lin Juan had transmigrated into a disposable character who was married to Lu Yanzhou for a fate-changing marriage in the early plot, appearing in less than three hundred words before being devoured by an anomaly on the wedding night.

He wondered about the antagonist’s condition now.

In the book, the fate-changing marriage night was a major turning point in Lu Yanzhou’s life.

After this day, he became infected, his health declined steadily, his grandfather died unexpectedly while negotiating with external forces to protect him, and his nephew was caught in a vortex of anomalies and unable to escape...

As everything he cared about was destroyed and hope faded, Lu Yanzhou, unsurprisingly, succumbed to darkness.

Thinking of the original ending—a world invaded by darkness and stripped of life—Lin Juan shuddered. Though he didn’t know how he came to this world, he didn’t want to see the story’s original outcome.

Until he found a way back, he had to live in this world. Compared to a future devoid of everything but anomalies, he preferred the present, full of life and human vitality.

According to the original plot’s timeline, this was the early stages of the supernatural outbreak. Few humans were aware of the anomalies’ existence, the world was not yet in ruins, and it resembled the world Lin Juan came from.

Lin Juan decided to see how the villain was faring.

He was now married to the antagonist, putting them in the same camp for the time being. If possible, it was best not to let the plot follow its original course.

Exactly how to proceed would depend on the Lu family’s attitude.

Lin Juan casually fished for information from Lu Mingxuan.

Unfortunately, though the young man seemed careless at first, he was actually quite cautious once he collected himself, revealing only unimportant details.

The room was in disarray, with nowhere to sit. When Old Mr. Lu arrived with others, he saw his grandson and his new son-in-law standing by the damaged door, talking.

"Grandfather." Seeing his grandfather, Lu Mingxuan quickly straightened up.

Old Mr. Lu walked to the door. Even though he was accustomed to major scenes, the sight inside still shocked him.

It was as if a battle had taken place—no, a battle had indeed occurred, complete with motionless, likely dead supernatural beings. Clutching his cane tightly, Old Mr. Lu looked at the two young men. "Xiao Lin, Mingxuan, are you both alright?"

"I’m fine, Grandfather. When I came in, the room was already like this." As he spoke, Lu Mingxuan realized something and slowly turned, pointing at a large pit. "Lin Juan, was this your doing?"

"And the door..."

His uncle was unconscious. Aside from the monsters, Lin Juan was the only living being in the room. Lu Mingxuan’s eyes widened in horror.

What sort of person had they married to his uncle?!

"Mind your manners," Old Mr. Lu said sternly, having quickly regained his composure. "Call him Uncle."

Lin Juan had often accompanied his master down the mountain to assist in spiritual practice and had met all sorts of people, giving him some skill in judging character.

Through brief interaction, Lin Juan determined that Old Mr. Lu was someone he could cooperate with. He admitted frankly, "I did it. Not just that, but also..."

Lin Juan briefly recounted everything that had happened since he woke up.

He spoke casually, unaware of the wave of shock and astonishment he stirred in Old Mr. Lu and Lu Mingxuan.

They never imagined such a harrowing event would occur on the night of their youngest son or younger uncle’s wedding.

The thought of what might have happened to their youngest son or younger uncle if Lin Juan hadn’t possessed such abilities made them both shudder.

Fortunately.

Old Mr. Lu glanced at his youngest son lying peacefully on the bed and felt somewhat at ease.

Lin Juan noticed their reactions but didn’t dwell on it, pausing only near the end with a serious expression. "It’s just..."

"What is it?" Old Mr. Lu’s heart sank, anticipating something worse.

Could it be something even more difficult to handle?

No matter what it is, they won’t let Lin Juan face it alone again.

They were unaware of tonight’s events; otherwise, they wouldn’t have left Lin Juan here by himself.

Thinking of this, Old Master Lu spoke up, "Little Lin, if you need anything from us, just say so. Although these things are entirely new to us, I believe the Lu family still has some capabilities. You..."

"No, no," Lin Juan interrupted him, "That's not what I meant."

"Then what is it?" Lu Mingxuan asked curiously.

"I’ve caused quite a mess in here, right? It’s going to cost a lot to fix, isn’t it?"

Looking at the surroundings and recalling the descriptions of the Lu family in the books, Lin Juan was certain that the repair costs for the damage he caused would be absolutely, absolutely substantial!

He hadn’t expected that coming to this new world, he wouldn’t just fail to make any money but would also start with a significant debt, causing his vision to darken.

In the past, he had often had to pay for damages due to his immense strength. Moreover, as a cultivator with five flaws and three deficiencies, he was particularly short on money. He had never managed to save any, and now, having just arrived in this world, saying he was penniless was no exaggeration.