Gan Tang ignored Cen Zibai, who was in the room.
A few minutes later, the boy’s voice grew faint.
Then, once again, the other side of the room fell into silence.
“…That thing about Uncle Zhang was fake, but that doesn’t mean the ‘borrowed flesh well’ is fake too. The resurrection from death was clearly written on the stone slab.”
When Yu Huai heard Gan Tang cautiously voice his pale-faced speculation, his brows furrowed slightly.
Even so, he still comforted Gan Tang a few times.
“That friend of yours, he’s just an idiot now. He probably doesn’t have much killing power, right? Compared to him, Uncle Zhang and the others are way scarier… Just give me a few days; I’ll go ask around…”
“Ask who?”
Gan Tang asked instinctively.
Yu Huai paused, scratched his head uncomfortably, and then, in a very soft and weak voice, answered, “My dad.”
Right after he spoke, he saw Gan Tang’s eyes suddenly widen. Hastily, he added, “…Don’t look at how crazy he is now. He used to be pretty amazing. I heard that when he first brought people to the village, he carried a bunch of equipment that others couldn’t even understand. There were also people from outside, dressed all weird, who would come looking for him from time to time. Back then, transportation wasn’t convenient, so if they went out of their way to find him, it had to be for something really important. Oh, right, those people all called him ‘Professor.'”
As he spoke, Yu Huai’s mood seemed to drop.
“Anyway, if you have any questions, just ask him. He knows everything, but sometimes he just can’t say it. He also has a ton of notes—things only a knowledgeable person could write. They’re all about the strange, bizarre, and supernatural events in our village…”
“Your dad left behind a lot of notes? Then—”
Gan Tang’s heart stirred.
Just as he was about to ask if he could borrow them for a look, the sound of a lock shaking loudly came from the courtyard.
“Shit, my grandma’s back!”
In an instant, Gan Tang completely forgot about Yu Huai’s “Professor Dad” and his notes. Panic overtook him.
…This morning, when his grandma left the house, she had warned him repeatedly not to go outside. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have locked the door.
Unfortunately, Gan Tang hadn’t listened to her at all.
He looked up and exchanged a glance with Yu Huai. Then, like their pants were on fire, the two of them frantically gathered the scattered tools and materials on the ground—along with that severed leg, which had already been tightly wrapped—and bolted back to the room.
But the moment they entered, Gan Tang was startled.
Logically speaking, Cen Zibai—who should have been lying motionless on the bed—was now sitting by the door, hugging his knees.
As Gan Tang rushed into the room, he nearly tripped over him.
Yet, Gan Tang clearly remembered that he had handcuffed him earlier…
“You, wait a second—”
Gan Tang hadn’t even organized his words to question Cen Zibai about what was going on when Yu Huai had already leaped onto the windowsill by Gan Tang’s bed, flipped over, and rolled outside the room.
Throughout the entire process, Yu Huai’s movements were incredibly agile, without the slightest hesitation… and he never once interacted with Cen Zibai, who was still inside the room—looking foolish and dazed, forming a stark contrast to him.
For some reason, Gan Tang instinctively felt that this deliberate disregard in that moment was intentional on Yu Huai’s part.
As soon as Yu Huai disappeared, only Gan Tang and Cen Zibai remained in the room.
Gan Tang watched, heart pounding, as Yu Huai flipped over the courtyard wall and vanished on the other side. Then, hesitantly, he rechecked the handcuffs. They were still firmly secured to the railing, unchanged.
Gan Tang pulled on them himself, making sure—there was no way anyone could break free just by using some trick or clever force. Even though the original purpose of these handcuffs was for… recreational use, they were still supposed to be quite sturdy.
So then, how had Cen Zibai ended up by the door?
Gan Tang deliberately glanced at Cen Zibai’s wrists. There wasn’t even a trace of redness left behind.
…This whole thing was getting stranger and stranger.
Gan Tang thought.
But Cen Zibai didn’t seem to realize there was anything wrong. When he saw Gan Tang looking at him, he raised his face as well, gazing back at him innocently.
“Tang Tang.”
The boy’s eyes were dewy and filled with a visible, affectionate adoration.
Gan Tang shuddered in pure disgust at that gaze.
Yet, the unease in his heart followed him like a shadow. His instincts urged him to ask more questions, but before he could, his grandmother’s approaching footsteps, now stepping into the main hall, forced him to shove all his doubts deep inside.
“Tang Tang, Tang Tang, are you still in your room?”
The elderly woman called out to Gan Tang several times.
There was a faint, barely perceptible urgency in her voice.
Gan Tang snapped back to his senses, swallowed hard, and pinched his nose, deliberately making his voice sound thick and groggy—like he had just woken up.
“I’m here, Grandma. Uh, I accidentally fell asleep…”
As he spoke, he swiftly stripped off his dust-covered jacket and, along with that severed leg, bundled them up tightly and kicked them under the bed.
Beneath the jacket, he had been wearing a T-shirt and hiking pants for easier movement.
He took those off too.
…His soft, fair-skinned body, still damp with sweat, was now completely exposed before Cen Zibai’s eyes.
“Gulp—”
Gan Tang had just reached for the pajamas draped over the chair when he heard a very distinct swallowing sound. His hand froze mid-air.
In disbelief, he turned his head—just in time to meet Cen Zibai’s ravenous gaze.
The boy still maintained his previous pitiful, dejected posture, but as he stared at Gan Tang, there was now an unmistakable hunger in his eyes.
Gan Tang: “…”
“If you don’t want me to chop off that thing between your legs, then shut your damn eyes!”
Gan Tang’s expression darkened. Gritting his teeth, he hissed out the threat in a low, deadly voice.
“My grandma is still outside!”
With that, he put on his pajamas at lightning speed, face still stony.
Just as he was about to shove his discarded T-shirt and hiking pants under the bed as well, a hand suddenly reached out from beside him.
Cen Zibai, eyes still shut, had silently moved closer.
Even though he hadn’t opened his eyes at all, he reached out with uncanny accuracy, gathering the dirty clothes into his arms. Then, carefully, he placed them inside a suitcase.
…That suitcase belonged to Cen Zibai.
“I closed my eyes.”
As if sensing the daggers Gan Tang was glaring at him, Cen Zibai shrank back slightly after finishing his task and meekly responded.
Gan Tang stared at the seemingly innocent boy, but his mind was flooded once more with memories of all the outrageous things Cen Zibai had done before.
The anger he had been forcing down inside surged up again.
“Cen. Zi. Bai—”
But Cen Zibai clearly didn’t pick up on the warning in his tone.
In fact, the moment Gan Tang called his name, the boy—still half-kneeling on the ground, head tilted up and eyes shut—suddenly flushed red.
“Mm, I’m here.”
Cen Zibai replied softly.
