Don't provoke mentally ill people in the infinite flow genre!

Wu Ying was assigned to the eldest young master's room tonight. As soon as she entered, she checked the whole room, making sure she saw the three lit candles whose purpose was unknown, as well as the sickly man lying on the carved bed.

She lifted the curtain and saw that the peony-patterned quilt was covering the man tightly, with the corner tucked under his chin, revealing only a haggard, pale face with gray lips and no color in his skin.

He lay there with his eyes closed, it was hard to tell whether he was asleep or dying.

Wu Ying believed it was the latter, after all, judging from the other person's appearance, he wouldn't live much longer, and...

She could vaguely smell a fishy odor, but she couldn't tell if it was blood or fish.

She thought for a moment, then, with her specially trimmed, sharp fingernails, meant to dart into people's eyes at any moment, she pinched a corner of the blanket and lifted it up.

"..."

She stared at the scene before her, her face silently darkening.

The young master's skin below the neck, exposed outside his clothes, was completely covered with a thin, translucent layer of blue scales; even his feet were not spared.

The scales were very small, spreading out neatly one after another, as if forcibly embedded in them. The flesh was red, swollen and ulcerated as a result, and blood mixed with pale yellow pus continued to seep out from the gaps.

Wu Ying felt a chill run down her spine. She expressionlessly rubbed the goosebumps on her arms and then looked down at her green robe.

She seemed to understand something.

...The young master's body is covered in snake scales.

The clothes she was wearing were also the color of a snake.

Are these really clothes that the young master likes? I'm afraid someone else does.

She guessed that the so-called "unclean things" that the Zhu family had summoned were very likely the five great immortals of folk legend: Hu, Huang, Bai, Liu, and Hui.

Legend has it that these five immortals are household deities worshipped by the people. As long as they are carefully worshipped, their homes will be protected and safe.

As a result, the Zhu family is now facing a great calamity. It's hard to say whether they did something wrong and offended the immortals, which led to this unexpected disaster.

"Cold...so cold..."

The young master, lying on the bed, suddenly let out a weak groan.

Wu Ying looked down and saw that his eyes were closed, his lips were gradually turning purple, and his whole body was trembling uncontrollably.

The person was already on their last breath; they shouldn't actually freeze to death and trigger some special mechanism.

This was her major qualifying round, so she was bound to be sensitive in every aspect. After thinking for a moment, she turned around and walked towards the wardrobe—surely there must be extra blankets inside?

But Wu Ying stopped as soon as her fingers touched the cabinet door handle.

She stared at the gap in the cabinet door that wasn't fully closed, remaining silent for a long while before a chill suddenly ran through her.

It seemed as if a pair of eyes were secretly watching her from inside the closet.

The pupils, narrowed to thin lines, and the golden irises glowed faintly in the darkness.

Wu Ying's blood ran cold. She instinctively wanted to back away, but soon her vision went dark, and her throat felt as if something was tightly wrapped around it, causing her to suffocate.

...Stay calm, stay calm, don't be afraid, stay composed.

She told herself this, bit her tongue hard to stay awake with the pain, and then touched her throat, trying to regulate her breathing.

That invisible force was slowly tightening, as if it were examining her weaknesses and testing the limits of her patience.

The two sides remained deadlocked for a long time until Wu Ying was almost out of breath. She tried to straighten her back and was just one step away from falling.

The pair of eyes in the cabinet finally disappeared, and at the same time, the grip around her neck loosened.

"call--"

Wu Ying took a deep breath and bent over, coughing incessantly. She frowned and looked around, but fortunately found nothing else unusual.

Except that the candle by the window went out.

There's an old saying among the people: a living person has three lamps on their body, which means three yang fires. Once all the yang fires are extinguished, the person dies.

It appears that the three candles lit in the room correspond to the three yang flames.

Who knew that on the very first night, one of them had already inexplicably gone out.

"Depend on."

She couldn't help but curse, but she still had to do what she had to do, so she took another quilt from the cabinet and covered the young master with it.

The young master was trembling violently, but after the extra blanket was put on him, he calmed down a bit and became quiet.

Wu Ying moved a chair and sat down in the corner, keeping a watchful eye on any movement inside the room, preparing to endure until dawn.

She thought she must have a good talk with Yi Zanglan about this tomorrow.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

At the same moment, Yi Zanglan moved a chair to sit on the edge of the bed, resting her chin on her hand as she observed the second young master.

The quilt covered the second young master from head to toe, and at first glance, he looked like a corpse in the morgue, ready to be taken out for cremation.

Is it something so shameful to be seen in public?

After watching for a while, she asked a question out of humanitarian spirit.

"Is the second young master feeling bored? Would he like some fresh air?"

"..."

The second young master, completely wrapped under the blanket, moved very slightly. Although he didn't answer, it at least proved that he was still alive.

Yi Zanglan got up, found a calligraphy brush on the desk, returned to the bedside, and used the brush handle to lift the corner of the blanket slowly.

...until a face appeared from under the blanket, she paused for a moment in silence and stopped moving.

The second young master was wearing a black undergarment with the collar half open, revealing his thin, bony chest.

His neck and chest were covered with bloody, thin claw marks, crisscrossing as if they had been frantically scratched by some small animal.

Of course, that's not the point. The point is that he's awake now and is smiling as he looks at Yi Zanglan.

...Yes, he was smiling.

He looked at her, his eyes curved into two crescent moons, his cheekbones raised, and the corners of his mouth stretched exaggeratedly, almost reaching his ears.

It was a mask-like, standard, and stiff smile.

Because it looked too creepy, Yi Zanglan put away the brush, let the blanket fall down, and covered the other person's face again.

But the second young master quickly sat up straight on his own. He faced Yi Zanglan, still smiling, with the curve of his lips even deeper.

"You," he suddenly spoke, his voice slightly high-pitched and monotone like chanting, "what do I look like to you?"

"..."

Yi Zanglan paused for a moment, then remained silent.

"Like a human?" The second young master slowly tilted his head to the left, then to the right. "Or like a god?"

He waited for her answer with a smile that was both eerie and crescent-shaped, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

After a few seconds of silence, Yi Zanglan leaned back in his chair, raising an eyebrow slightly.

She understood somewhat, and the situation did indeed match her guess.

In folk legends, the Five Immortals refer to the fox, weasel, python, hedgehog, and rat.

Looking at the clothes I'm wearing today, and at the way the second young master is begging for a title, I'm afraid I've definitely offended a weasel spirit.

This is most likely a test given by the Weasel spirit, and there are clearly specific rules for how to answer it.

...However, Yi Zanglan has never been particular about such things.

She smiled, slowed her speech, and answered politely.

"Good, that's a good question, very insightful, even more insightful than the most insightful questions. You asked me what I think you look like, but I believe that appearance reflects the heart. People have different appearances, but the spirit has no appearance. Whether you look like someone or not, in the end, you will inevitably be able to see the true form."

"We've lived this life, and what we're all about is having a knife in our hearts even when we don't have one in our hands. We can lay down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot. Bodhi has no tree, and the bright mirror is not a stand. One thought can make you a god, and another can make you a demon. We can find joy in the mortal world. So, the question you asked me is simple in some ways, but profound in others. It also carries a touch of philosophical thought. I think everyone should think about it carefully."

"..."

silence.

Silence reigns at the Zhu Family Mansion tonight.

The second young master's expression finally changed slightly. He stared at her for a long time until he could no longer maintain that smile.

Perhaps he was trying to put pressure on her by making her see or hear something.

Unfortunately, Yi Zanglan sat calmly and even intended to discuss things with him a few more times.

"Second Young Master, I have a new perspective on this matter that is neither human nor god, nor god nor human..."

boom!

The second young master's body suddenly fell backward, and he lay back down on the pillow.

His smile vanished completely, and his face reverted to the haggard appearance befitting a seriously ill person.

puff.

With a very slight sound, the flame of the candle by the window went out abruptly, as if in a fit of pique.