I heard you had a white moonlight who died young.

Fan Zhiyi nodded, then suddenly noticed a book hanging conspicuously by the open window, as if deliberately enticing him to look at it.

"Ayu, take a look at that book, what is it?"

Ayu floated over, leaned down and stared at the cover: "It was written by Xue Xiuniang."

Fan Zhiyi walked over and turned a page: "Can you read?"

"Of course." A-Yu understood what Fan Zhiyi meant and read the page to Fan Zhiyi.

Fan Zhiyi understood immediately after hearing just the beginning: this was Xue Xiuniang's diary. How could her diary be here?

No, what kind of kind person would leave a diary in a horror novel? It must be a crucial clue!

"My father criticized me severely today. It must be because I haven't worked hard enough. I will definitely do as my father wishes and become the most powerful person in the entire cultivation world, and the only master of the Ghost Gate."

“My father said that if I am not the most perfect one, then there is no meaning to living.”

Why can't I become a perfect person?

"I long for my father to praise me, I long to hear him admit that I am the most perfect candidate."

"Today, my father took me to Tianyun Sect and told me that Bing Nandong is now the most promising candidate among all the major immortal sects and clans. I am not reconciled! I will definitely surpass him. I should be the most perfect candidate. I am the pride of my father and the family!"

“My father beat and scolded me again. I’m a good-for-nothing. I might as well die.”

"Fuck, die, die, die, die!"

From here on, the handwriting became particularly messy, and even though Fan Zhiyi was illiterate, he knew that Xue Xiuniang's mindset had changed.

A-Yu glanced at Fan Zhiyi, clearly also feeling uneasy: "Still reading it?"

Fan Zhiyi replied, "Read it aloud."

"If only I could kill Bing Nandong, then my father would look at me more."

"Today my father said that if he had known, he would have strangled me back then. Why didn't I just die? If I died, would I become a ghost? Would I enter the gates of hell?"

"If I could kill my father, he would probably acknowledge me. I'm no worse than them. Even if I die, I want to be with everyone. A family should be together."

“死死死死死……”

After that, all the characters were blood-red characters for "death." Fan Zhiyi's vocabulary had increased by one, and he could now clearly recognize the character for "death."

Ayu poked her hand: "I feel a chill down my back."

Without even thinking, Fan Zhiyi replied, "How could a ghost like you feel cold?"

Ayu suppressed the urge to punch him and guessed, "So Xue Xiuniang killed the entire Xue family in the end because she wanted to be with her family? I really don't understand what she was thinking."

Fan Zhiyi, however, flipped through the notebook, asking A Yu to tell him which pages were about Bing Nandong, and then had her read them aloud.

What master of the Ghost Gate? What candidate? Couldn't Xue Xiuniang have written more details in her diary? Each entry is just a few words.

Fan Zhiyi was deep in thought and didn't notice Bing Nandong standing behind him. Just as he was about to close the notebook, a hand reached out from behind and pressed it down. It was Bing Nandong's slightly puzzled voice: "Does Xue Xiuniang know me?"

That's exactly what I meant. How could I write your name in my diary with such deep hatred if I didn't know you?

Fan Zhiyi looked at Bing Nandong and found his words strange: "You don't remember?"

"Ah."

Fan Zhiyi then kindly turned to the next page: "Look, she wants to kill you."

“There are plenty of people who want to kill me.” Bing Nandong said nonchalantly, and gave Fan Zhiyi a meaningful look.

Fan Zhiyi immediately realized, good heavens, the original owner of this body was also one of them.

Bing Nandong withdrew his hand: "I can't remember, let's go."

"Let's keep looking; maybe there are other clues."

Bing Nandong glanced at him: "What other clues do you need?"

Fan Zhiyi moved his not-so-settled head and then decided to throw the question to A Yu, so that the little girl could also feel involved: "Little Yu, what other clues do you want?"

"Little Fish?" A-Yu pointed to herself, not very satisfied with the nickname. "Why do you call me that?"

"Is this the main point? Can we shift the focus to the later part?" Fan Zhiyi simply thought it sounded better that way.

Ah Yu crossed her arms and pouted, "No, no."

Bing Nandong was too lazy to listen to Fan Zhiyi's nonsense, so he stood in front of him and bent down: "Come up."

Bing Nandong was, after all, also an injured person. Fan Zhiyi was now genuinely feeling much better, so how could he possibly be so shameless as to cling to someone else's back and add to their burden for no reason? "I really feel the effects of the medicine have kicked in this time. I'm much better now and can walk on my own."

Fan Zhiyi patted Bing Nandong naturally and emphasized again, "Really!" He then chuckled, earning Bing Nandong's reply, "You're so silly."

Fan Zhiyi: "..."

Bing Nandong then opened the door and went out first. The afterglow of the setting sun behind him became a backdrop, unable to conceal the brilliance of the young man.

Wait, the sunset!

Fan Zhiyi didn't realize how long they had been in the room. He had only been reading a diary; how could it be dusk already?

The distant clouds were a mix of black and orange, the dark clouds moving and engulfing, giving one an inexplicable sense of unease.

Seeing that Fan Zhiyi hadn't kept up, Bing Nandong turned around to look at him and said with a slight parting of his thin lips, "There's no concept of time here, and the space is very chaotic, so keep up."

"Okay." Fan Zhiyi was still not used to Bing Nandong speaking to him so softly. It seemed that he had become much gentler since meeting his junior brothers and sisters. Even when he scolded him, he spoke softly. Was this the occupational hazard of the senior brother?

Outside, fog had risen again without our noticing. The fog rose from the lake and spread outwards, stretching endlessly along the long corridor, just like the streets back then.

Fan Zhiyi counted his steps, and when he had walked twenty steps, there was only faint light around him. He looked up at the sky and found it dark and inky. Looking behind him, he saw that it was the same house as before.

Fan Zhiyi tugged at Bing Nandong's sleeve: "Just like last time, we can't get out by walking alone."

The lotus flowers withered at a visible rate, and the lake water became murky, bubbling and gurgling.

Bing Nandong gripped his sword tightly and made a decisive decision: "Let's go back inside first."

"Is that Xue Xiuniang up ahead?" A Yu exclaimed, covering her mouth. A shape that was neither human nor inhuman appeared vaguely in the mist, and she was holding the same kitchen knife that she had dealt with many times before.

Based on this striking feature alone, Fan Zhiyi judged: "I think so."

As soon as the words were spoken, the thing began to move with a limp, and then it rushed over with increasingly large movements. You could hear the urgent, life-threatening sound of its footsteps pounding on the corridor.