Chapter 29: 2.13

"No! I want to stay here too!"

Jia Hyson sighs, this was the first time Li Guiren had given him such a tantrum and it was in front of his future minions too. Really giving this old ghost no face ah. "Xiao Ren please, I need to find the last ghost to confirm something with her. Plus I can teach the others how to show themselves, don't you want to see the other ghosts?"

"I don't want to!" Li Guiren shouts with a red face, "They're probably ugly and lame anyway! You've only been a ghost for a year and you figured out how to do so many things, they've been ghosts for ages and they can't even talk to me! Who wants to meet such stupid ghosts?! They're probably all brain dead! They died because they were too dumb!"

Jia Hyson: '...' Bro, they're literally right here.

The ugly, lame, stupid, brain dead and dumb ghosts: '...' Kids are so mean these days QAQ

"Darlin-" Jia Hyson begins before stopping awkwardly, his expression twisting a little as his endearment for Drake accidentally slips out. However, somehow, that seems to oddly calm Li Guiren as he pauses and blinks before flushing a little, and not from rage.

"Wei? What did you call me?" Li Guiren asks, biting his lip and looking around a bit bashfully. He's Wei's darling? But, but they were two boys right? Can boys be each other's darling? Nervously he giggles and shyly looks up to where he thinks Wei is.

Jia Hyson: '...' Why does he feel like he's done something that can't be undone?

Bebe: 'You fucking pedo.'

The three ghosts: 'Oh damn, such a beauty is actually such a creep.'

Finally, at the cost of everyone's respect for him, Jia Hyson got his way and Li Guiren left.

While they all waited for the sun to set, Jia Hyson gave Xia Cuifen, Bai Honghui and Zhou He the rundown on basic ghost survival knowledge. Zhou He, who had been originally the most resistant and reluctant to learn was actually the fastest much to Jia Hyson's irritation. This sort of 'even if I don't like it and slack off I can still get top marks as long as I cram a little' attitude really makes one want to punch him. Xia Cuifen and Bai Honghui also seemed to agree, so when Zhou He managed to pick up solidifying himself in a few hours they too showed off their new control over their abilities by throwing small broken trinkets and trash at him. Jia Hyson gave the pair a thumbs up.

The basement was rich with yin energy, between the doll room and the basement it was like a puddle and an Olympic swimming pool. Jia Hyson didn't feel so strained using his powers in the room since he can easily just absorbed the surrounding energy with no worries. Before it was like trying to desperately such the last drops of juice from the glass to replenish his thirst but now that he was given a galleon of milk he no longer had to worry about dehydrating.

The three ghosts who had been subconsciously absorbing the rich energy these past few decades were actually very powerful, they just needed to learn how to refine the power in their bodies to their best abilities. While Jia Hyson was a little gratified that he won't have to spend too long in cultivating these cabbages, he still felt a little jealous at how quickly and easily they picked it up.

Haha you think solidifying a corporeal form is easy? Can do it in less than one day? If Jia Hyson had as good an environment as yours he could have done it in an hour!

Jia Hyson: 'Aiyah, it turns out not even ghosts are born equal.'

Bebe: 'Heaven is fair, no one will live perfectly, and Hell is unfair, all people must live imperfectly.'

Jia Hyson: '..Did you just quote one of my lines at me?' If he remembers correctly that was an iconic line from Stumble. The main antagonist had first appeared and said this line as he comments from his throne, watching through a mirror the protagonist's struggle with amusement while perversely stroking a weeping human skull like a white cat. It was a very striking image, and the antagonist was very handsome, even with his face obscured by shadows his body was very sexy and stroked the flames of everyone's interest.

Bebe: ...oops

Jia Hyson: 'Bebe... I didn't know you were a fan~ ♡ Aiyah I suddenly feel so shy~ ~ ♡ (／≧ω＼)'

Bebe: 'Roll!'

Jia Hyson: 'Haha now, now don't be shy~ ♡ if you're good maybe this male god will give you his autograph~' ♡～('▽^人)

Bebe: (╬ಠ益ಠ) this is why Bebe didn't want to tell you!

Even though the three ghosts quickly learnt how to solidify themselves and move objects, like Jia Hyson at the beginning they also had their limits. Unlike Jia Hyson who practiced the moment he became spiritual, the trio had wasted their metaphorical golden years and their senses, like muscles they've unknowingly left to decay, were much poorer and had lower stamina as well. It would take them a long time to wield their powers comfortably even with their 'good' environment.

The difference between Jia Hyson and the others was like the difference between a poor man who slowly worked their way up to the top and rich second generations who had never passed calculus, they both had the same amount of wealth now but one would inevitably wield their riches better than the other.

"Let's stop for now," Jia Hyson says as he sees the tired but exhilarated faces of the three ghosts. "As ghosts, we feel lighter when exhausted, not heavier since we're using up our energy which is part of our bodies, so if you start getting lightheaded or dizzy stop immediately."

"What happens if we don't?" Bai Honghui asks, a little unwilling to stop. He had just learnt to condense his hand and finally could feel textures again. That sort of hard-earned feeling of victory... it had been a long time since he felt that.

Jia Hyson gave them all a serious look, "You'll exhaust yourself and fade away for a while. It's like when you black out after death, who knows when you'll wake up again. Not to mention you'll feel weaker for a while. The last time I overdid it I was out for over a month." It had deeply scared him, usually he would only black out for a week at most, since then he became more wary.

Bai Honghui nods, reluctantly accepting the explanation, "I understand Teacher Bai." Xia Cuifen and Zhou He also makes noises of agreement. In the past few hours they've made leaps and bounds of progress compared to the past few years, how could they not feel grateful in their hearts?

Zhou He especially felt ashamed at his earlier attitude, he had felt unwilling to learn from such a young ghost, both in delicate appearance and actual age. But when he turned fully corporeal and felt things he hadn't felt for ages, tears couldn't help but prick his eyes as he bowed respectfully and thanked Bai Li Wei. Without his teachings they would have been stuck floating uselessly in the basement for who knows how long. Not to mention, Bai Li Wei was a very good teacher, patient, easy to understand and willing to answer any questions he can answer.

Giving the younger ghost a quick glance, Zhou He blushed a little. Intelligent, a calming temperament and ethereally beautiful like moonlight, Bai Li Wei was very different from Bai Honghui who was a little dull-witted, fiery tempered and gorgeous in arrogance but.. that wasn't too bad either. His love for Bai Honghui was the reason for his death, maybe now that he's dead he can try for something else.

And even though Bai Li Wei was a little strict... that also wasn't too bad either. (/ω＼)

Jia Hyson who noticed Zhou He's increasingly furtive glances laughs inwardly. Prideful scholarly individuals like Zhou He are the type to like either the rebellious hot-tempered ones or the mature teacher types. And like most men like that, once you gain their hard-earned respect it can become much easier to get their affection. Especially when one is armed with such a weapon like Bai Li Wei's face.

Jia Hyson: 'Hahaha once you become my faithful M slave I'll forgive your previous impudence!'ψ(｀∇´)ψ

Bebe: *lighting a candle for Zhou He*

Even though there were no windows, as ghosts they can tell when night was approaching. Night and darkness promote yin energy so when the sun sets the atmosphere immediately becomes more lively and energizing for those in the afterlife. The already abundant energy in the basement became even denser and richer, Jia Hyson shuddered at the delightful feeling of being surrounded by such nourishment.

Fuck, it felt his skin just had an orgasm.

Bebe: '...Bebe fucking hates you.'

"She should be coming now," Xia Cuifen says nervously, subconsciously the three had already drifted to the corner of the room furthest from the old mirror. Jia Hyson glanced around them before moving his doll beside the mirror and hiding inside it. As the yin energy thickens, the mirror's surface seems to distort for a moment.

Jia Hyson couldn't see much from his angle but after a moment he witnessed a pale, beautiful hand stretching out from the mirror, then another. The hands move to grip the sides of the mirror, using the edges to help drag her body out in an unnervingly slow, janky manner. It seems she was struggling to get out, her black nails elongating and sharpening as she grips the edges tighter. On further inspection, the mirror's frame and the floor in front of it was full of faint scratch marks.

How creepy.

Great! She must be recruited!( •̀.̫•́)b✧

After a few minutes the woman finally managed to get half-way out, her torso falls to the floor where she claws her way out of the mirror. Throughout the whole thing she's staring obsessively at the quivering three ghosts. "Cuifen, Honghui, He~" She calls out with a childishly sweet voice that was ruined by the sound of gargling as her ruined throat spat out blood and mangled flesh. "Why are you so far away? Aren't we friends~?"

The three stayed silent. It was clear they've been asked this question many times and there has been no correct answer. Of course for a question with no correct answer, having no answer was also wrong.

"Hah ha ha," The woman's soft bitter laughter gurgled out of her throat, "Of course, no friends would treat other friends the way you did to me."

"We've already regretted!" Bai Honghui shouts fearfully, "You've punished and even killed us! Haven't we suffered enough?!"

Jia Hyson couldn't see her expression but he's sure it wasn't great. "Suffered?" She asks, "Is that what you call this? Eternal life with your friends, how can that be suffering? Surely this is paradise!" Xu Xia laughs madly.

"Paradise huh?" Jia Hyson comments, finally revealing himself as he steps out of the doll. Because Xu Xia was so focused on her past friends, she didn't notice the ghostly presence hiding right next to the mirror. At his soft misty voice, she immediately turned around revealing her pretty pale face, her bloodshot mad eyes and slim bloody neck. "It's a bit of strong word to describe this place miss."

Unlike Xia Cuifen who was dressed in an elegant cheongsam, Xu Xia was wearing a more traditional ancient hanfu dress of pure white. If you ignored her deranged state and her neck she really did fit into the description of the Mirror Fairy.

"Who are you?!" She screeches.

Jia Hyson gave her his most gentle and innocent smile, "My name is Bai Li Wei, I am also a ghost and I'm here to see you."

Xu Xia felt blindsided by the dazzling smile. When she turned around she had been blinded by the rage and shock of someone coming into her territory but now that she looked at the newcomer she realized the young man was simply extraordinary in appearance. His voice held a slight rasp but was quiet and soothing, his face was like it had been carved from moonlight by the most skilled artisans, his features were delicate but still held a hint of masculinity and the softness of youth making hard to discern his gender at first glance.

She blushed a little.

Zhou He in the corner felt his eye spasm. Why was it that this damn woman is always around the men he likes? Married the first one and now also interested in the second? Aiyah, how can his luck be so bad?!

Jia Hyson was also trying to fight an eye twitch. Now that he thought about it, that woman was supposedly quite straight but she got easily bent by Xia Cuifen who could be described as a rather handsome woman, could it be... she likes the androgynous type?

This was not the secret he was hoping to uncover okay?!

However initial attraction or not, this was a stranger intruding on her property, and it just happened to be the basement too. Madness slowly came back into her eyes but for the sake of having such a good looking visitor in so long Xu Xia graciously decides to let him say his piece.

The power of a good looking person was truly life-saving.

"See me? Why would you want to see me?" She demands.

Jia Hyson decides to give her the straight truth. "This morning me and my companion hid here to avoid getting exorcised by monks. I'm still a new ghost so when I realized there were others in here we went to explore and found this basement. Your three friends appeared and told me their story. I want to hear yours now."

Xu Xia's face breaks into wide manic smile, blood pouring furiously out of her throat as if all the emotion she was choking down had burst out of her neck in the most gory way, "They told you ah? Did they tell you everything then? How they betrayed me? How the rumors that got spread caused my family great shame and disowned me? How almost all my and my family's assets were being slowly chipped away into their pockets while I was played as a fool? Oh, oh did they mention how when I was at my lowest the Bai family insisted on divorcing me because of my promiscuity and attacking the Xu family for trickery, finally causing them to go into ruin? Did they tell you that?!"

Jia Hyson: '...Well, no.'

Putting on an emotionless facade that was much easier to do nowadays, Jia Hyson continues to listen to her rant and rave with no trace of pity, disgust or judgment. After a while Xu Xia finally ran out of steam, panting and gurgling but looking a little refreshed at being able to completely unload her grievances to this attractive stranger. Usually one of the three ghosts would have interjected with feeble apologies or self-righteous indignation by now so it was the first time she managed to say everything at once.

Once he saw she was finished, Jia Hyson thought for a bit before speaking, "There's one thing I don't understand,"

Having a good impression of Jia Hyson who listened to her without judgement, Xu Xia nods, letting him continue. After a moment's hesitation she dragged her body a little closer to him. Giving him a quick once over before blushing again. Jia Hyson decides to ignore for everyone's sakes.

"The ritual, did your servant betray you? Is that why you're also haunting this place?" He asks with concern and confusion, even though his acting wasn't top notch and his ability to convey emotion had stagnated in this world, his innocent and beautiful face more than made up for it. Given that this sort of appearance was Xu Xia's type, this sort of caring look was super effective, a critical hit.

Xu Xia felt very shy suddenly, how long has it been since someone was concerned for her? "N-no," she gurgles abashed, "it went just as planned,"

Jia Hyson furrowed his brows, even if he had doubts about the ritual itself he could hardly believe this sort of result was exactly what Xu Xia planned, "How can that be? Isn't it a demon summoning ritual with four sacrifices? I thought..."

Xu Xia laughs, but not as maniacally as before, more like an 'oh you, aren't you just adorable' sort of laugh. "Young man," she chuckles wetly, "Demons aren't real."

Jia Hyson stares at her. Even the three ghosts in the corner looked shocked, they were under the impression that the ritual to summon a demon had failed causing her death to be like this. That sort of idea gave them a nice feeling of schadenfreude and they had no intention of establishing a communication with Xu Xia so they never got a chance to pry further- not that they would necessarily get the truth from her either.

Enjoying the looks of surprise, her smile widens. "I made the ritual up, well, more like I found a ritual I wanted to use and re-named it." She reveals, "Hao Fan wouldn't have helped me otherwise," at the mention of Hao Fan her expression turns somewhat melancholic and regretful. Jia Hyson realises that must be the name of her servant.

"I told him that to save the family I would resort to a demonic summoning from the Book of Curses, Hao Fan has always been loyal to me since young, he immediately volunteered to be the fourth sacrifice."

"But you had no intention of making him one," Jia Hyson says.

Her smile was filled with complex emotions, quickly she moved the topic along, "The true name of the ritual I used is the Soul Confinement and Area Refinement ritual. The end goal is to bind four people's spirits into a place which will convert the space into an environment perfect for ghosts. Their deaths after being subjected to agonizing despair will provide a huge influx of negative energy to fill the house, anchoring them there and enriching the area until it became a place with nourishing yin energy. Because the area will be refined in such a way, the four spirits will be constantly revitalized," Xu Xia's smile widens further, the insanity and happiness shining through, "that way not even death can separate us, we'll become friends again, best friends, the ones that stay together forever~"

Jia Hyson raises his eyebrows in surprise. It seems what we have on our hands is a rare species of yandere- the platonic yandere! This sort of person doesn't obsess over a man or woman but in friendship. They don't make friends easily and haven't fallen in love yet. Or maybe they feel love itself is fickle while friends should be a stable rock, so they value their friendship over everything. They want to bind their friends closer to them through any means possible, sex and marriage are just two options. Even though they aren't that sexually or romantically attracted to them if it makes sure they won't drift apart they'll do it.

Platonic yanderes are not only incredible uncommon but also difficult to spot from a regular yandere. To find one in the wild at full maturity was very exciting!

Of course Xia Cuifen, Bai Honghui and Zhou He did not share his sentiments.

"You madwoman!" "Insane bitch!" "You're fucking psychotic!"

Hearing the insults she threw her head back and laughed with blood spewing out of her throat. Since he was close to her Jia Hyson notes shards of a reflective glass imbedded in her bloody skin. A mirror's surface.

Quickly he cobbled up a possible explanation in his mind. It seems, before the servant, Hao Fan, could kill himself after the deaths of the other three, Xu Xia must have smashed a handheld mirror and jammed it into her throat with a ferocity and desperateness of not wanting to part with her friends for a moment further. She probably feared being left out once more. However mirrors have always been the sort of object that is prone to trapping evil spirits in stories so using one to commit suicide with had unknowingly damned her. Finding out she had been trapped in the mirrors instead of the basement with her friends would have maddened her even more, and so no matter how much energy and pain she goes through, every night like clockwork she'll come visit them once the sun sets...

Jia Hyson cannot completely understand the mindset of this sort of person, even with Heart's Sway. He can't comprehend why the notion of friendship was so strong for Xu Xia, to still want to stay with these people forever after being so brutally betrayed like she had been, but the horror genre is full of people filled with hard to explain thoughts. To say she was a victim can no longer be so simply put and it would be hard to say that she was the only villain in this tragedy.

On one side the three ghosts were really terrible friends that slowly pushed Xu Xia's 'delicate' mindset to this sort of deranged point. On the other side, it seems Xu Xia wasn't that great herself. Pushing for a marriage neither of them truly wanted. Cheating. Masterminding non-consensual soul binding rituals. None of the four were blameless but at the same time did any of the four really deserve this sort of horrific end?

Well. A little bit.

It made for a great story anyhow.

Jia Hyson: 'Bebe...'

Bebe: 'We really can't ask to change the plot so drastically,' but it also thought this sort of story was superior to the original Demon House plot. '...maybe we can request a suggestion for a prequel.'

Jia Hyson: '...Fuck, this may be the only story I've ever had a hand in where the prequel would be better than the original!'

Bebe: '..at least try to have some faith in the potential of the original story. 눈_눈'

"Do you," a clear voice sliced past Xu Xia's bitter laughter, like moonlight cutting through the darkness, "do you want to be my friend then?"

Xu Xia was stunned into silence, her head twisted upward in disbelief. She thought she misheard. "What?"

Jia Hyson lazily blinks and looks down into her wide, red eyes, "Why don't we be friends?" He repeats before kneeling down and clasping her clawed hands with his own, "I have also experienced betrayal, yearned for companionship, and wished for revenge to those I once trusted. Xia Cuifen, Bai Honghui and Zhou He... their grievances are very deep, you know this," Xu Xia looked down, hiding her expression with her black hair, Jia Hyson tightens his grip on her hands forcing her to look up again into his slanted pheonix eyes. "We have a long time to make amends and curry forgiveness, but I believe that we can use this time to nurture something new as well. Even though we're dead in some ways we have more potential than the living, don't confine yourself to the past."

Xu Xia felt moved by these words, even if a small part of her felt this was very abrupt and she was a little confused by what he said, the young ghost said it all so calmly and confidently making it easy to feel what he was saying was very good and could be trusted. Most of all her heart desired these words of friendship, of the promise of support and camaraderie, to have it all laid out for her like a feast she could not help but hungrily eat it even if she knew it might be poisonous. "You, you mean it?" She asks weakly, her suspicions putting up one last fight, "You'll be my friend?"

Jia Hyson smiles and nods.

The light in her eyes brightens with a mixture of hope and lunacy. Joy, inexplicable joy burst into Xu Xia's heart even stronger than when she made friends with the other three when she was a small child. This young ghost, Bai Li Wei, has seen her at her worst, knows what she has done, and still wants to be her friend!

Her smile is pulled across her face like a curved razor as she laughs in childish delight. A friend! She has a new friend! How delightful! How joyous! Throwing off his grip to throw her arms around his neck in a hug her laughter gurgles out louder and louder. This feeling of bubbling in her chest, like boiling blood was so addicting!

"Bai Li Wei are you serious?!" Zhou He shouts aghast, unable to help himself.

Xu Xia's laughter stops abruptly, her arms tightening in fear and rage. If Jia Hyson was a living person his neck would have snapped. How dare Zhou He doubt her friend! Wasn't it enough that he had been such a bad friend to her despite everything she has done for them? If he wasn't still her friend... what if he scares off Bai Li Wei and makes him take back his words? No, no! That can't happen!

She will break him! Them! Everyone! Break them down and chain them down so they're always together with her! Forever! And! Ever!

"Of course I'm serious," Jia Hyson says smoothly, sounding assured and unwavering despite the very strong hold a certain female ghost had on his neck. He may be dead but it's still very uncomfortable okay?! "Xu Xia is a good girl, I know you all have grudges but everyone's cursed to live in this place together. It's better to bury these sort of things as soon as possible. I will mediate as much as I can and I don't expect you all to share the same relationship as before however it would be best that all of us can live without fear or torment."

This sort of white lotus type speech brought three different reactions:

Xia Cuifen, Bai Honghui, Zhou He: 'Teacher Bai is doing his best so we don't suffer under the wrath of that bitch Xu Xia anymore! He really plans for the long term as expected of Teacher!' (ノ^о^)ノ(ノ^о^)ノ(ﾉ> 3

Xu Xia: 'My friend already cares so much for me! Trying to help me build back my friendships so we can all live happily together! So sweet!' (∩˃o˂∩)♡

Bebe: 'This Host is so amazing! Can pull out so much shit from a bull's ass! Wow!' ﾟ+.(ﾉ*･ω･)ﾉ*.☆ﾟ･:*☆ 'Too talented, cannot watch anymore.'