Lin Shijin was still touching the base of his spine. He had turned back into a human and had not quite processed it yet. Being held like this by Sheng Rufei made him extremely uncomfortable.
He barely managed to steady himself. Glancing at Sheng Rufei, he grabbed his collar. “Why were you touching my tail?” He looked down at himself again. He really had changed back. It had happened in a moment of urgency, and he had no idea how exactly it occurred.
“Touching your tail makes you change back?” Sheng Rufei asked, still holding him.
Lin Shijin replied, “Of course not. I don’t know either.”
He leaned closer and tugged at Sheng Rufei’s ear. “But the rats in this city are quite clever. Maybe they can all turn into humans.”
After tugging, he got no reaction from the wooden-faced man. Bracing himself against Sheng Rufei’s shoulder, he stood up and took a couple of steps aside, but did not change back again.
He glanced at the nuts and dried fruit nearby and still felt tempted. Moving back to Sheng Rufei’s side, he clung to him and said, “Shixiong, I might turn back into a rat again. When I see these, I still want to hold them and gnaw on them.”
Clearly, his rodent instincts were still there.
Sheng Rufei glanced at him, fell silent for a moment, then said, “Even before you turned into a rat, you liked these.”
Lin Shijin, whose fingers had just touched a nut, went quiet.
“That’s different,” he said, somewhat annoyed, tugging Sheng Rufei’s ear again. “You always think you know everything.”
Sheng Rufei obediently said nothing further, lightly rubbing his fingertips. Lin Shijin found it awkward. Sheng Rufei had been rather clingy lately, so he withdrew his hand.
Sheng Rufei continued flipping through the texts on the table and spoke of the important matter. “We likely do not have much time.”
“The city lord is already critically ill. The city has suffered prolonged drought and is depleted. The curse may erupt within the next couple of days.”
“On the way here, I observed the rats in the city. Most are normal. Only a small portion became infected after consuming cursed corpses. Generally, rats instinctively avoid others that have been infected.”
“That’s right,” Lin Shijin agreed. “Old Six said the same. When I turned into a rat, I really wanted to eat the corpses in the rice fields. He told me all that.”
He was pleased that Sheng Rufei was sharing everything with him. Meeting his gaze, he added, “Old Six is the one who followed me. He’s very clever. Don’t underestimate him just because he’s a rat.”
Sheng Rufei said nothing.
“So we need to hurry,” Lin Shijin continued, beginning to analyse on his own. He placed a nut on the table with his fingertip.
“Our goal is to leave this place. This city is one of the twelve main cities that appear to be ruined by a rat plague and are on the brink of destruction. First, we need to find the connection between the rats and the city.”
“At the moment, there doesn’t seem to be one. Second, we’ve had similar experiences. These cities were all destroyed by an evil curse, much like what happened a thousand years ago. There might be a connection.”
He placed another nut on the table. “Maybe it’s replaying the history of the immortal sects from a thousand years ago. But what is it trying to tell us?”
“That’s unclear. The previous two times may have been deliberate, but now we are inside the Blood Tower, undergoing its trial. There shouldn’t be anyone behind it…” He paused. “…or perhaps there is.”
A figure flickered through his mind. Perhaps whoever was behind this possessed immense power, enough to control even the Blood Tower.
“I don’t understand,” Lin Shijin admitted. He did not know what the destruction of these cities had to do with him, yet he felt there must be a connection. After all, things rarely happen a third time without reason.
“Anyway,” he said simply, picking up the nuts and feeding one to Sheng Rufei. Sheng Rufei’s lips tightened slightly in displeasure, but he still opened his mouth and ate it.
Satisfied, Lin Shijin hugged him and gave him a quick kiss. “If they’re targeting me, I’ll find a way to drive them back. If they’re targeting Shixiong, I’ll smash them to pieces.”
Sheng Rufei was silent.
Lin Fuheng, who had been asleep, twitched his eyelids slightly upon hearing this boast. The little fool had changed. He used to be a harmless little rabbit, but now he was only soft in front of his shixiong. The moment anything threatened him, he would bare sharp claws capable of devouring others.
Sheng Rufei met the youth’s clear gaze. Even when he spoke threatening words, they lacked force, yet were strangely endearing.
He moved his fingers slightly, gave a quiet “Mm”, and silently moved the nuts farther away before continuing to read.
Lin Shijin had expected some bigger reaction. He rolled his eyes inwardly. He really should not have expected anything. Sheng Rufei had always been like this.
He grabbed another handful of nuts and crunched them loudly. “So when are we leaving?”
“In a moment.”
Sheng Rufei finished the remaining texts. The youth before him might be foolish, but he was very compliant. Sensing that Sheng Rufei did not want him reading the texts, he stopped looking and instead chattered beside him.
“Shixiong, what fruit is this? Why is it both bitter and sweet? It tastes awful.”
Lin Shijin picked up a fruit and fed it to him. He had no idea what Sheng Rufei was imagining. In truth, he had simply been distracted and had not even realised Sheng Rufei did not want him to read.
“Shixiong, try it.”
He pushed it straight between Sheng Rufei’s lips. Sheng Rufei ate it expressionlessly and said, “It’s called bitter-sweet fruit.”
Lin Shijin let out an “Oh.” “It tastes awful and looks strange too.”
“Then what’s this one? This one is very sweet.”
“Why are you always a scourge-slayer?”
“What if I turn into a rat again on the way out?”
“If I turn into a rat, I can swing from your hair.”
He kept chattering cheerfully. Sheng Rufei responded occasionally, his gaze lowered to the texts, a faint shadow in his eyes as he drifted into thought.
Those afflicted by the evil curse initially appear normal. The first symptom is abnormal wounds that struggle to heal. The wounds then turn thick and inky; medicine restores their red colour, often causing misdiagnosis as demonic poison.
After that, hallucinations appear. They see countless faces like resentful spirits. Their five senses gradually fade.
In the end, spiritual power dissipates, vitality drains away, and the soul scatters.
Sheng Rufei’s gaze fell upon his own fingertips. He could see faces emerging there, twisted and struggling, as though trying to break free.
“Shixiong, are you even listening?”
Lin Shijin was still holding him, speaking close to his ear. Sheng Rufei seemed lost in thought. Only after being called twice did he respond.
“Mm,” he said, glancing at the fruit in Lin Shijin’s hand. “That one is called red spring fruit.”
“That’s not what I asked,” Lin Shijin said, setting the fruit down. “You definitely weren’t listening. Shouldn’t we go out? Someone just passed by outside, probably looking for you.”
Sheng Rufei looked towards the door. There was indeed a figure.
A scourge-slayer entered. “My lord, the bodies have been brought back. The source has been identified… it is the rat den.”
The two of them went out together. Lin Shijin followed behind. As they passed, the scourge-slayer glanced at him, then at Sheng Rufei’s chest, before lowering his head.
Walking behind them, he reported, “Many bodies were found in the rat den. Since the plague spread, the surrounding area has been deserted.”
“We traced the bodies there. There were many piled together. Numerous rats have mutated. In addition… there are many evil creatures.”
“There were too many. We could not approach and only retrieved bodies from the outskirts.”
“There is one more matter,” he added. “Those bodies were not originally in the rat den. Some were from a mass grave about ten miles away, yet overnight, many corpses appeared in the rat den.”
Lin Shijin listened, recalling how in Yixiu City, humans had turned into monsters almost instantly.
Could the creatures here also be transformed humans?
He followed Sheng Rufei through long corridors to a heavily guarded side hall.
Because the curse was contagious, even the scourge-slayers could not avoid it. The bodies were sealed within a formation, observed from outside.
Lin Shijin remembered that the curse had first spread among scourge-slayers. They were always the first to respond to abnormalities and rarely interacted with common folk.
Perhaps that was the reason.
Two bodies lay within the formation, one male and one female. They had died recently and were not yet fully decomposed. Their veins were filled with dense black runes covering half their bodies. Though dead, the runes still writhed like black worms.
The veins bulged as if something pulsed beneath them, forming shapes like twisted human faces.
Sheng Rufei asked, “They were originally in the mass grave?”
“Yes,” the scourge-slayer replied. “They appeared in the rat den overnight. We do not know why.”
Sheng Rufei lowered his gaze in thought.
Lin Shijin’s eyelids twitched. He recalled the curses in earlier illusions. In Yixiu City, infection caused immediate transformation. In the temple illusion, victims dissolved within days. Here, the process was slower.
Looking at it in reverse, two conclusions emerged.
First, the curse acts faster as time progresses.
Second, infection leads either to death or transformation. Neither outcome is good.
“No need to guard this place tonight,” Sheng Rufei said. “Place a heavenly stone here and set formations throughout the residence.”
“Yes.”
Lin Shijin followed him out. “Shixiong, are we going to the rat den tonight?”
“Mm.”
They did not linger long.
“Alright,” Lin Shijin said cheerfully. “I like being with you. Wait for me.”
He tugged at Sheng Rufei’s sleeve. It was already autumn. Pear blossoms had long since fallen.
Sheng Rufei stopped and looked at the drifting petals. “If I were to be infected here and unable to leave… do you know what to do?”
Lin Shijin turned to him. “Why would you say that?”
“Who says things like that about themselves? You’ll live a long life.” He squeezed Sheng Rufei’s fingers. “This is just an illusion in the Blood Tower. It isn’t real.”
“The curse was sealed a thousand years ago by Fuheng. It can’t spread like that now. It’s all fake. Don’t overthink it.”
“If that day really came…” He stopped. Just imagining it made his chest ache, as though he had faced such a choice before.
“Anyway, nothing can happen to you,” he said stubbornly. “If something happens to you, I won’t go on living either.”
Lin Fuheng: “?”
Sheng Rufei: “…”
*
Author’s note:
Sheng Rufei, who had originally intended to make arrangements for the worst: in order to stop his beloved from despairing, he decides to fight the curse and find a way to survive.
