Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Xu Wangchuan and Xu Qingming were face to face. Xu Qingming froze up in terror, yet he still pretended not to see him, walking right past him and forcing a stiff smile to exchange pleasantries with the others.

Xu Wangchuan was left in his wake, glaring at him from behind the red veil.

Voices seemed to surround him, each one going on and on: "Look, this is your father, he doesn't care whether you live or die," "Hasn't he always been like this?" "What use is such an irresponsible parent?" "If it weren't for him, you wouldn't have become like this," "Why not just kill him?"...

"Kill him..."

Xu Wangchuan's expression grew more and more vicious with each word, and his body, which had looked normal before, began to twist and warp... Just as his neck stretched and his sharp, malformed hand was about to close around Xu Qingming's throat, he suddenly sensed a menacing presence approaching the living room...

Xu Wangchuan shot a hateful glare at Xu Qingming's turned back, then finally turned and fled.

Feeling the cold, sinister presence vanish behind him, Xu Qingming, who had been on edge the whole time, finally let out a sigh of relief.

That thing claimed to be Xu Wangchuan, but for all he knew, it was some trick by ghosts and spirits. And even if it truly was Xu Wangchuan, after turning into something like that, he could hardly be considered human anymore...

Xu Qingming rationalized this to himself, then furtively glanced back—the figure in the red veil was really gone.

However, two people were coming down the stairs.

Xu Qingming blurted out in surprise, "Muchan?"

Xu Muchan and Wei Xilou descended from the second floor. They quickly scanned the people in the living room. Not seeing Cui Tong or Xu Wangchuan, Xu Muchan frowned and asked, "Where are the others?"

Yan He said, "We still haven't found them. A gap suddenly appeared in the ghost domain, so I brought Xu Qingming and the others out first. I was about to go back in to find you when the ghost domain just up and vanished."

As he spoke, the sound of doors opening drifted from several rooms upstairs and downstairs one after another. Clearly, those who had been hiding came out one by one once they realized the villa had returned to normal.

After they emerged, Yan He and Pei Rong took a headcount and found two still missing: "Cui Tong and Xu Wangchuan are missing."

Hearing Xu Wangchuan's name, Xu Qingming's hands clenched nervously: "This... please, masters, please find that child and Master Cui..."

The others, frightened by the Xu family's creepy situation, didn't dare to respond.

Yan He and Pei Rong exchanged a glance, both frowning deeply, neither of them saying anything right away.

Based on their past experience, given Xu Wangchuan's condition, he was most likely already done for. But clearly, his parents wouldn't easily accept that. Yan He could only sigh and say, "The ghost domain has vanished. Let's search the villa—maybe he fainted somewhere."

With that, he got everyone to search the villa.

The Xu villa was pretty big, with numerous rooms. The group split up to search.

Xu Muchan and Wei Xilou took the first floor. He quietly asked Wei Xilou, "Bro, do you know where Xu Wangchuan went?"

Wei Xilou glanced toward a corner of the second floor and shook his head, saying, "Maybe he felt he'd done something wrong and couldn't face his family, so he went into hiding."

Xu Muchan wasn't so sure about that. Cui Tong had probably used the chaos to slip away after being injured, but Xu Wangchuan wasn't the type to hide because he felt guilty.

Besides, he felt his brother was hinting at something.

The group turned the Xu villa upside down but still found no trace of Xu Wangchuan or Cui Tong.

Cui Tong was never a good guy, so Yan He didn't care whether he lived or died, but Xu Wangchuan was nowhere to be found either... Yan He looked at the frail Xu Zhifei, then set up an altar to try to summon Xu Wangchuan's soul.

But no soul responded.

Under normal circumstances, whether alive or dead, as long as the soul remained, there would be some kind of response.

But now... Yan He stared at the unresponsive soul-summoning array, feeling that Xu Wangchuan had probably come to a bad end.

Ordinary people who died in a ghost domain usually didn't even have their souls survive.

Yan He hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to just say it: "Both of you... I'm so sorry for your loss."

Xu Zhifei's body swayed, nearly collapsing, but Xu Qingming caught her.

She covered her mouth in disbelief: "Is it... is it possible there's been a mistake?"

Yan He looked at a loss, unsure how to comfort this mother who had just lost her child.

Finally, it was Pei Rong who said, "You all saw Xu Wangchuan's condition earlier... There's only so much we can do. We're sorry."

Xu Zhifei sank onto the sofa, covering her face and sobbing quietly.

In the end, it was Xu Qingming who walked the group of masters out.

The vast majority of them were fakes who hadn't helped at all, and only Yan He, Pei Rong, and Cui Tong had real skill. But Cui Tong was nowhere to be found... Xu Qingming, still unnerved by the thing that had claimed to be Xu Wangchuan, wanted to ask the two of them to spend the night.

For some reason, Yan He wasn't too fond of Xu Qingming, and since the ghost domain was gone, he shook his head and declined: "No need to put us up. If you're worried, Mr. Xu, we'll come back tomorrow to make sure everything's fine."

Hearing this, Xu Qingming didn't push it.

Yan He and the others filed out. Xu Muchan checked the time, figured it was time for him to head out too, and told Xu Zhifei.

Xu Zhifei hastily wiped away her tears, trying to force a smile but failing, so she could only stand up with a pale face: "I'll walk you out."

Xu Muchan, seeing her fragile look, didn't refuse.

She walked them out. In the courtyard, Xu Qingming turned and saw Xu Muchan. Thinking that with Xu Wangchuan gone, this was now his only son, he forced a smile and tried to say something to patch things up. But Xu Muchan didn't even look at him. His face stiffened, and with a loud snort, he went back inside.

Xu Zhifei walked the two all the way to the front gate, looking at Xu Muchan as if she wanted to say something but held back.

Xu Muchan disliked this kind of messy, unresolved situation and asked directly, "Is there something else?"

Xu Zhifei's fingers tightened on her stomach, but she still asked softly, "Muchan, do you know what really happened to your brother... Wangchuan? Is he really..."

She couldn't bring herself to say the word "dead," so she just looked at Xu Muchan with sorrowful eyes, waiting for an answer she barely dared to hope for.

This child had been not like other kids since he was young, and he'd even brought up the God of Joy earlier. Perhaps it was a mother's intuition, but Xu Zhifei felt this child might know something.

Xu Muchan avoided her pleading gaze and said bluntly, "I don't know where Xu Wangchuan went either. He must have made a deal with the God of Joy earlier, which is why he was later absorbed by it. But when I saw him, he had already broken free from the God of Joy and probably gone into hiding. As for why he hasn't come out, I have no idea."

This answer put a little color back in Xu Zhifei's pale cheeks. She smiled through her tears and thanked Xu Muchan repeatedly.

Xu Muchan was about to leave when he noticed Xu Zhifei still standing there, looking at him, not making any move to leave.

Xu Muchan was a bit puzzled, but out of politeness, he paused and waited for her to say what she still had to say.

Xu Zhifei suddenly started talking about the past: "Actually, when your father and I agreed to let Cui Tong take you away, it wasn't just because of the family business..."

She reached up to tuck a few stray strands of hair behind her ear, her eyes lowered, avoiding Xu Muchan's eyes: "Your father was like you—he could see those spirits from a young age... until he grew older and gradually lost that ability. But it also made him really superstitious about such things, and at the same time, deeply afraid."

"So later, shortly after you were born, when he noticed you babbling at nothing, he realized you'd inherited that trait. Especially when you learned to speak early and would wander around the house talking to things that weren't there, he was terrified, and I... was terrified too."

"So when the family business hit trouble and Cui Tong came to us offering to solve our problems, plus an extra fifty thousand yuan, on the condition that he take you away, I didn't fight it."

As if ashamed, Xu Zhifei lowered her head and covered her face, sobbing softly as she apologized: "I'm sorry, Muchan. I wasn't a good mother. I didn't protect you before, and now I haven't protected Wangchuan either. I'm sorry..."

These words had been weighing on her heart for a long time, and it wasn't until her adopted son also got into trouble that Xu Zhifei realized she could no longer deceive herself and keep up appearances.

She cried very sorrowfully, very bitterly, but to Xu Muchan, it didn't really get to him.

When he was young, he'd wanted a lot of things, even fantasizing that one day his parents might come to take him home. But as time passed, the harsh reality slowly taught him to give up these unrealistic desires.

He also gradually learned not to yearn for too much, just clinging for dear life to the one thing he could hold.

It was like someone who'd been starving for a long time—after going hungry for so long, your stomach shrinks, appetite diminishes, and even if you put a feast in front of him, he couldn't eat it; it'd just feel like too much to handle.

So Xu Muchan just stood there watching her, and only after the sobbing gradually subsided and Xu Zhifei finally calmed down a bit did he say, "I don't care about what happened when I was a kid anymore, so you don't have to either."

After saying that, he pulled a tissue out of his pocket and handed it to Xu Zhifei, nodded at her, and then headed back with Wei Xilou.

This time, he didn't look back.

Xu Zhifei clutched the tissues, still warm from his body heat, standing there in a daze, watching him walk away until he disappeared into the villa across the street, but she still stood there, frozen.

Xu Qingming walked out and saw how wrecked his wife looked, saying, "What are you crying about? If he won't acknowledge us, then we'll just act like we never had a son!"

Still dazed, Xu Zhifei turned to look at him, her expression no longer the gentle, meek one it used to be. She gazed at Xu Qingming for a long time, as if she were seeing her husband for the first time.

Xu Qingming shifted uncomfortably under her gaze and said, "What are you looking at?"

Xu Zhifei said calmly, "I'm just wondering how many sons you've got. You don't want this one, you don't want that one—anyone would think you've got sons to spare."

Xu Qingming never expected his wife to say such a thing, and for a moment he was left speechless, his mouth opening and closing, but no words coming out.

Xu Zhifei brushed past him and went back to the room to wash up and sleep.

Xu Qingming stood in the courtyard for a while, thinking about how the house was a mess and the company was an even bigger disaster, without a hint of sleepiness. He just called his assistant to ask about the company's situation.

The assistant said they were still hammering out a compensation plan with the other company, and the shareholders were pissed at Xu Qingming, the chairman, over it. The only reason they hadn't pushed harder was that Xu Qingming had just been rushed to the hospital, and they were still mindful of past favors.

After hearing the report, Xu Qingming sighed heavily, smoked in the living room for half the night, and only then returned to the bedroom.

His wife was already asleep, lying way over on the other side, her back to him. Xu Qingming lay down on the empty side but tossed and turned, but couldn't fall asleep.

When sleepiness finally crept in, he found himself dreaming about that old rented two-story house they'd built themselves from long ago.

Ever since his business had gotten bigger and bigger, Xu Qingming had buried this old house deep in his memories.

Not just because he'd nearly gone bankrupt in that house and ended up drowning in debt, and had been forced to sell his three-year-old son, but also because he hated that feeling of being backed into a corner—broke, helpless, and terrified.

But now he was back in that house again. Xu Qingming knew very well he was dreaming, but no matter what he did, he couldn't wake up.

He paced back and forth in the run-down living room, almost driven crazy by the anxiety and fear that wouldn't leave him alone. Just as he was about to snap, a soft voice came from outside the door: "Xu Qingming..."

He recognized the voice. Xu Qingming spun around abruptly and stared at the doorway, his expression unreadable—couldn't tell if it was fear or joy.

He took a cautious step forward and answered hesitantly, "Is that you, God of Joy?"

A figure in a red bridal veil came out from behind the door and stood at the entrance, asking him, "May I come in?"

That reminded Xu Qingming of the first time he'd seen the God of Joy, when It had asked him the same thing.

Xu Qingming, as if possessed, said "Yes," and so It moved into the Xu house.

Xu Qingming had been able to see things like that since he was a kid. When his grandfather found out, he warned him over and over that even if he saw them, he should pretend not to, never talk to them, and never try to get them to grant your wishes.

Xu Qingming had followed this advice throughout his childhood, but later, perhaps as he grew older, he gradually realized that many things were beyond human power, and he could only hope to seek help from ghosts and gods.

Just like now—the Xu Corporation was in turmoil, shareholders were pressing in relentlessly, and he was helpless.

Xu Qingming's heart pounded wildly, a strong fear crawling up from the base of his spine, yet it was overwhelmed by desire. Suppressing his terror, he said in a hoarse voice, "Of course you may."

The God of Joy, wearing the red veil, stepped over the threshold and walked in step by step.

The scene before Xu Qingming suddenly twisted, and when he came to his senses, he was in the basement of the house.

The shrine stood before him, red cloth covering the deity from head to toe. He knelt on the cushion in front of the shrine, hands pressed together.

A faint voice whispered in his ear, "What is your wish?"

Xu Qingming's lips trembled, but he still spoke slowly, "I hope the company can get through this crisis smoothly."

The voice seemed to let out a chuckle, then continued, "Your wish can be granted, but what can you offer in exchange?"

Xu Qingming's heart tightened, his throat dry. He hesitated for a long time before gritting his teeth and saying, "Anything, as long as I have it."

"Your son, and your wife too?"

Xu Qingming's face twisted grotesquely, as if facing an immense dilemma.

The deity stood silently, patiently waiting for his answer.

"...Yes, I can." As if with great difficulty, Xu Qingming spoke slowly, word by word.

The deity covered in red cloth let out a strange laugh, stepped down from the shrine, and crouched in front of him, saying, "Dad, you really never disappoint me."

"But that's not enough yet."

Xu Wangchuan's deformed, sharp hand pressed down on his shoulder, cackling as he said, "How about using your own life to pay for it..."

A scream of utter terror jolted Xu Zhifei awake. She snapped her eyes open and saw her husband beside her with both hands clamped around his own neck, his face blue, already breathing in less than he was breathing out.

"Qingming! Qingming! What's wrong?"

Terrified, Xu Zhifei tried to pry his hands away, scratching the skin on his hands until she finally managed to break his iron grip.

Xu Qingming had a ring of bruises around his neck from his own strangling, and he collapsed limply onto the bed, his chest heaving rapidly and violently, while his eyes stared wide with terror, as if he had seen something utterly horrifying.

Seeing her husband's condition worsening, Xu Zhifei quickly called 120.

The sharp wail of the ambulance woke the sleeping, and Xu Muchan groggily opened his eyes: "What's going on?"

A dark figure beside him raised a hand to cover his ears and pulled him closer into an embrace: "Nothing's wrong, go back to sleep."

Xu Muchan didn't learn of Xu Qingming's death until he came home from school the next day.

It was already late at night. Xu Zhifei looked haggard, still wearing the same clothes as before, and knocked on the door of the villa. To Xu Muchan, who opened the door, she said, "Muchan, your father has passed away—a sudden heart attack. They took him to the hospital but couldn't save him. The funeral is in three days. Will you come?"

Xu Zhifei's tone carried a heavy note of uncertainty.

Regardless of what Xu Qingming had done in life, the dead are honored. Xu Muchan nodded and said, "Where will the funeral be held? I'll be there on time."

Xu Zhifei gave him the address and added, "With one thing after another happening at home, the funeral will be kept simple."

Xu Muchan said, "My condolences."

The funeral was held at Songshan Cemetery on the outskirts of the city.

Over the past three days, Xu Muchan had also skimmed through some news. Xu's Group was already mired in public opinion over its collapsed credibility, facing massive order cancellations and hefty compensation claims. Now, with Chairman Xu Qingming's sudden death, the situation had only worsened.

For three days, the trending topics had been dominated by the Xu family—from financial news about Xu's Group's plummeting stock prices to gossip about how Xu Qingming had hired a large number of Taoist priests and Buddhist monks before his death, with rumors that the Xu family might have been haunted by ghosts and spirits.

Xu Muchan merely glanced at it and paid no further attention.

He changed into a black suit and attended Xu Qingming's funeral alongside Wei Xilou.

Only the closest relatives of the Xu and Xu families—two different clans sharing the same romanization—along with a few major shareholders with close ties, were invited to the funeral.

Xu Zhifei, wearing a black skirt suit, stood at the front, her face haggard and weary. Seeing Xu Muchan and Wei Xilou approach, she handed each of them three sticks of incense and said softly, "Offer some incense to your father."

Xu Muchan took the incense, but his gaze passed over her shoulder, landing just behind her.

Xu Wangchuan, wearing a red bridal veil, stood behind Xu Zhifei, the bright red veil clashing starkly with the somber black attire. He seemed to realize Xu Muchan could see him, and the red veil shifted slightly. His deformed, snow-white fingers pressed against Xu Zhifei's neck as he looked toward Xu Muchan.

Xu Zhifei was completely unaware of this.

Xu Muchan stepped forward without glancing aside, offered the incense, and stood in silent mourning.

After the ceremony, Xu Muchan stepped aside and quietly asked Wei Xilou, "What's going on with Xu Wangchuan? Wasn't the God of Joy already dead?"

Wei Xilou said, "Xu Wangchuan had already been absorbed by the God of Joy. Although you forcibly stripped him from within the God of Joy, he had also taken on part of it. Later, when the God of Joy's main body was killed by you, he, as the remaining part of the God of Joy, naturally stepped into its role."

"So is he now Xu Wangchuan, or the God of Joy?" Xu Muchan asked, puzzled.

Wei Xilou thought for a moment and said, "To be precise, he's somewhere in between right now—transitioning from human into the new God of Joy. The God of Joy you killed before came to be in the same way. The original God of Joy was not powerful, nor was it truly a deity. Because it granted the wishes of those who made wishes, it came to be regarded as a bringer of good fortune, and thus gradually came to be called the God of Joy, becoming something akin to a deity. But these people didn't know that the more wishes they made, the heavier the price they'd have to pay. It was these people's desires that fueled the God of Joy, and once it grew powerful enough, it was no longer satisfied with the small sacrifices humans paid. It would then find ways to lift its veil and personally collect the price it was owed."

Xu Muchan understood and murmured, "That sounds almost like an evil god."

Wei Xilou didn't say either way.

When the funeral ended, Xu Zhifei saw off the mourners. As their son, Xu Muchan, despite any past entanglements, cooperated and stood by her side, offering thanks to the guests.

Once most of the mourners had left, only a few relatives who were helping out remained, along with Xu Muchan and Xu Zhifei.

Xu Muchan hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Are you still planning to look for Xu Wangchuan?"

Xu Zhifei nodded. "Didn't you say he escaped? Maybe he's just resentful of us as bad parents and doesn't want to come home. He's still school-age and has no other relatives. If I don't take care of him, who will?"

Xu Muchan glanced at the thing trailing behind her and, after a slight hesitation, warned, "I just found out... Xu Wangchuan has become the new God of Joy. If you don't want to suffer the same fate, it's best not to look for him anymore. And if you do see him, never make a wish in front of him."

Xu Zhifei was taken aback, and her already weary face grew even more sorrowful. "...Is it because Wangchuan made a wish that he ended up like this?"

Xu Muchan replied with a soft "Mm."

"I see." Perhaps because she had suffered too many blows, her face was too numb to show much emotion anymore. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and quietly told Xu Muchan her plan: "After the funeral, I plan to sell my shares to a few major shareholders and then go back to my hometown."

Business matters had always been handled by Xu Qingming. She didn't understand the complicated stuff and no longer wanted to deal with it, so she simply transferred her shares to shareholders willing to take them off her hands. Whatever happened to Xu's Group afterward, she'd let it go.

Xu Zhifei recalled the early days when she and her husband worked in a small town back in their hometown. They were poor back then, but they were happy.

Later, as times changed, the young people in the town went out to find work and do business. Her husband got the same idea, so they quit their jobs and moved to Jiangcheng.

At first, they thought earning a little money would be enough, but once they earned a little, they wanted more, and then more still.

Gradually, her husband's business grew larger and larger, and she became what others called a rich man's wife. In the end, even she forgot that when they first left their hometown, they had only wanted to find stable jobs, save some money, have a child, and live a peaceful life as a family of three.

Xu Zhifei wiped away her tears and looked at her son, who'd grown taller than her. She said softly, "It's getting late. You should head back and rest. I'll take your father's ashes home too. There are still some things to pack up at the house."

Xu Muchan glanced at her, wanting to say a few more words of comfort, but couldn't think of anything other than "My condolences." After a moment of silence, he simply said, "Take care."

Xu Zhifei responded with a soft "Mm-hmm." She carried Xu Qingming's urn into the car and waved him goodbye.

Mother and son got into different cars, drove down the same road, but ended up at different destinations.