Chapter Thirty-Five: Business

As the icy sensation seeped into my body, I could distinctly feel a tremor emanating from the depths of my soul. In that instant, the image of that room flashed in my mind once more; only this time, I was not using my own body, but that of Xiyue.

I abruptly opened my eyes to see a man's hand gripping Xiyue's head, siphoning streams of vital energy directly into himself.

As I looked up at him, I was utterly stunned.

When I raised my gaze, the man seemed to have anticipated my return in this manner, his expression playful as he whispered, "Well, does this look familiar?"

Familiar? It was as if I had encountered a ghost, for the man before me was none other than myself!

It might sound unbelievable, but this man was me—albeit with a touch of sinister charm and unfathomable depth.

"Who... who are you?" I blurted out, unable to restrain myself.

The "me" smiled slowly, withdrew his hand, and said with a grin, "My name is Yang Dong. I am the master of the Brow Village."

What?

I shuddered as though struck by lightning.

I had to leave at once. When I entered earlier, I sensed that I could freely enter Brow Village, so naturally, I dared not linger. I thought of the "eye" in the restroom, of this moment—of the man identical to myself, who claimed to be Yang Dong!

This place was dangerous; I needed to escape!

As soon as the "me" released me, I darted away. Somehow, a mysterious force surged within me, and I leapt out the window, soaring toward the skies above Brow Village.

"You will return. I’ll be waiting for you here!"

Surprisingly, this "self" made no move to stop me, simply letting me go, though his voice echoed endlessly in my ears.

Suddenly, a massive black hole swallowed both Xiyue and me whole. I snapped my eyes open to find Xiyue staring back at me, her lips locked beneath mine.

Embarrassed, I quickly released her, but Xiyue recoiled with a sudden jerk, as if she feared me.

She looked at me, confusion written all over her face.

"Xiyue..."

I was about to explain that I, too, had seen that other self in my dream, but Xiyue spoke first.

"Who are you?"

She gazed at me, her expression filled with unprecedented fear. Seeing her reaction, I immediately understood: in the dream, Xiyue had witnessed the "me" devouring her vital energy and attempting to control her. Naturally, seeing me again now would evoke such dread.

Before I could explain, Xiyue's face gradually returned to calm.

"Did you dream just now? Did you enter Brow Village?"

I thought it best not to reveal my prior entry into the village, so I simply shook my head and softly replied, "I woke up early and saw you still asleep. No matter how I called, you wouldn’t wake, so I thought I’d pass you some yang energy."

Xiyue nodded gently. "I see. That explains everything."

"What happened, Xiyue, just now—"

Xiyue forced a slight smile and answered, "For this month, focus on practicing yin-yang arts. In a month, we’ll head for Brow Village."

I nodded, watching Xiyue walk to another room and close the door tightly behind her.

Xiyue, as long as she absorbed the essence of moonlight each night, needed no food, but I was different. I went out and ate a basket of steamed buns. My mind was filled with last night’s dream; I knew that perhaps there were many things about myself I had yet to discover. Yet at this moment, I had no clue—what exactly was the place beside Brow Village? And who was that man, identical to myself, named Yang Dong? Was he really me? Could I truly be the one who sealed Brow Village from behind the scenes? But how could I know nothing about it?

After breakfast, I wandered toward the agency.

The agency was a street away from where I ate, situated on a road that was usually deserted.

I decided to set aside thoughts of Brow Village. For now, everything seemed to be linked to my former girlfriend, Su Ying, in some mysterious way, though I had no way to begin unraveling it. Brow Village was a breakthrough, the Beauty’s Coffin another, but neither was within my reach at present. It was best to focus on practicing yin-yang arts.

As I reached Water Cabinet Street, I spotted a middle-aged man lingering at the agency’s entrance.

At a glance, I saw a cloud of black aura rising from his head—even in daylight, it was clearly visible, ominous and unnatural. There was no doubt the man was in trouble.

He saw me approaching and quickly crossed to the opposite side. After I entered, he looked around furtively before slipping into the building. Once inside, he poked his head in and whispered, "Excuse me, is Master Yang Dong here?"

Master Yang Dong?

For a moment, I didn’t react—he was referring to me.

"I am. What brings you here?"

Having just sat down, I stood up and walked out.

"You... you’re Master Yang Dong?"

Clearly, the middle-aged man found it hard to believe that someone so young could be a master of yin-yang arts.

Now, I took a closer look at him: he had a square face, but his brow was entirely darkened; in his eyes, I even saw traces of bloody tears.

"You’ve been entangled by a fierce ghost. It seems you’ve done quite a few bad things!"

At my words, the man’s face changed abruptly, anger flickering across it.

"Uncle, don’t blame me for being blunt. If you don’t tell me exactly what wrongs you’ve committed, even a deity couldn’t save you. This ghost is already poised to claim your life!"

He hesitated, but truth be told, I was thrilled—for although I was inept compared to Xiyue and Zhao Fifteen, I felt quite superior to ordinary folk or those with only a superficial grasp of yin-yang arts.

"Well, you seem to have secrets you can’t share. Let me write down a few words; you tell me if I’m right."

Most of it was bluff—fortunately, I’d read enough to be convincing. Chen Chuyi had taught me: the art is in balancing falsehood and truth, always probing at first.

Without waiting for his reply, I picked up a brush and wrote several words on a sheet of paper.

"Uncle, take a look—am I right?"

I unfolded the paper.

"Fate, lust, wealth, power."