My stomach churned violently, so I could only get a bowl of porridge from the cafeteria. I forced it down. Despite feeling awful, I still planned to visit Mason Yu after eating. I heard Old Eccentric and Ken Wang were watching over him together.
Rachel Lan had already gone to help Howard Lee organize things in the underground archives. She asked Fang Datong to tell me to go ahead first.
After eating, I went with Mao Xiaoyu and Fang Datong to Li Guohao's dorm. His room was on the first floor, and repairs had already started on the men's dorm that the Ghost Burial Squad damaged last night.
When we arrived, the door was open. Old Eccentric was sitting on a chair right by the entrance.
"How is he?"
Old Eccentric sighed and shook his head. Just then, Ken Wang hurried out of the room, looking helpless, covering his mouth—and then started vomiting loudly.
"What happened?"
I asked. Ken Wang pointed inside.
"The kid's gone mad."
The three of us rushed in. By the window, next to a wardrobe, there was a constant sizzling sound. I saw Mason Yu covered in snake scales, holding an iron in his hand, pressing it against his own skin again and again. The stench of burning flesh filled the air.
"You're insane."
Mao Xiaoyu shouted immediately. Fang Datong and I rushed over, trying to stop him.
"Let you... you all..."
Mason Yu roared, but I noticed that even when the snake scales on his skin were scorched, they reappeared within seconds. Mason bared his teeth, gritting them, clearly enduring intense pain.
With a bang, Mason Yu hurled the iron straight out the window, shattering the glass. He whimpered, clawing and tearing at his own skin until it was bloody and raw, yet he didn't stop. The three of us just watched in silence—he wouldn't tell us what had happened.
"Mason Yu, what the hell is wrong with you? Did you take the wrong meds or something?"
Suddenly, Mao Xiaoyu stepped forward, grabbed Mason Yu by the collar, and lifted him up, glaring fiercely at him.
"Don't need you..."
With a thud, Mao Xiaoyu punched Mason Yu square in the face.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing, Mao Xiaoyu, why—" Fang Datong started to say something, but stopped. I saw Mao Xiaoyu's face full of sorrow as he looked at Mason Yu.
"Is there anything that can't be solved? Huh? Mason Yu, we've been brothers for so many years—damn it, just say it! What happened? We're all worried about you, don't you know that? Say something, for fuck's sake!"
Mao Xiaoyu kept cursing, his emotions running high.
"Everyone, stop fighting."
At the door, Rachel Lan's voice sounded. I turned and saw Ouyang Wei was there too. The four members of Ghost Burial Squad Team 17 had apparently worked together for over seven years.
"Mason Yu, talk to us. Whatever it is, we're all listening. All this time, even though the job's dangerous, we've always been friends, right? Don't you remember everything we've been through? Are you even a man?"
Ouyang Wei walked over and shoved Mao Xiaoyu aside, glaring angrily at Mason Yu.
Mason Yu hung his head. Rachel Lan walked over to him.
"Mason Yu, we've known each other a long time, haven't we? Whatever it is, just say it. No matter what, we'll help you—even if it costs us our lives."
Rachel Lan looked at Mason Yu seriously. I walked over too.
"Miss Lan, I..." Mason Yu lifted his head, his eyes sad as he glanced at Rachel Lan, then lowered them again. After a long moment, he finally stammered.
"I might not have much time left."
We were all shocked. Just then, a voice came from behind us.
"So it's true, then?" It was Old Eccentric. He seemed to know something, and then he stepped inside, looking at Mason Yu and began to speak.
"The Twelve Earthly Branches have always been used to record the passage of time, divided into yin and yang, day and night—that's twenty-four hours. Eventually, they came to represent the twelve zodiac animals, and gradually, these zodiac spirits gained power. That's what we call the Twelve Earthly Branch Spirits."
Old Eccentric spoke as Mason Yu watched him silently.
"Last night, I sensed anger—the anger of the snake spirit—focused on this young man."
Old Eccentric continued, "Last night, after I was bitten, I couldn't move at all. Even when I tried using Ghost Threads to pierce the snake's skin, they bounced right off."
"Qingyuan, these Twelve Earthly Branches were originally sacred spirits protecting humanity. They're not like the Four Sacred Beasts, which are born from human faith—they've existed since ancient times. Their nature is similar to my Word Spirit techniques."
"Thank you, everyone. Don't worry about me—it's useless. The snake spirit is already furious, and my time is up. The agreement I made with it has expired."
"What exactly did you do, young man?"
Old Eccentric kept pressing, but Mason Yu still wouldn't speak.
"Is there any way to communicate with the snake spirit?" I asked. Old Eccentric shook his head, then suddenly looked at me.
"Qingyuan, maybe if you rely on your instincts, there might be a way."
I nodded immediately.
"It's useless, Ethan Zhang. It won't listen to you."
"Whether it's useless or not, let's try first."
I looked at Mason Yu and spoke. Then we found a slightly larger training room used for sparring. Old Stone and Howard Lee arrived after hearing the news, and quite a few members of the Ghost Burial Squad came too.
"Qingyuan, this layer of snake skin is a spell constructed by the snake spirit to repel evil. That's why your Ghost Threads can't pierce it."
"So what should we do?"
Old Eccentric pondered for a long while.
"Let's try first."
I calmed myself and sat in front of Mason Yu, slowly releasing Ghost Threads, trying to pierce his scale-covered body. But as soon as the threads touched the scales, they bounced right back. No matter how many times I tried, it was impossible.
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Just then, Howard Lee's phone rang. He listened for a while, then hung up helplessly and looked at Rachel Lan.
"Rachel Lan, your ancestor is at the police station right now—he got arrested for publicly harassing women and acting like a hooligan. Go bail him out."
I turned to Rachel Lan and smiled helplessly. Then she spoke up.
"Not going."
But suddenly, I remembered that Lan Yin might be useful. I quickly said some nice things to Rachel Lan, and we drove to a police station in the south of the city to pick up Lan Yin.
Around 2 a.m., we bailed Lan Yin out of the station. He looked exhausted, wearing a sly grin. Rachel Lan shot him a look of annoyance.
"What the hell did you get yourself into this time?"
"Just playing around with life," Lan Yin said shamelessly.
"Sigh, Zhang Hao's money is all gone. By the way, have him come find me—I think we get along well, same appetite too."
"Get lost."
The car headed for the Ghost Burial Squad. Lan Yin kept talking; he’d only tried to chat up two pretty girls, but they called him a creep.
"These cops nowadays—I just wanted to ask those beauties out, maybe book a room and have some fun, and they arrested me."
With a screech, Rachel Lan stopped the car, glaring at Lan Yin with growing anger.
"Get out. Right now. Go wherever you want from now on."
"Come on, granddaughter, don't be mad. I won't joke with you anymore, okay? Heh."
Then we drove straight to the Ghost Burial Squad. I briefly explained things to Lan Yin, and he gave me a mysterious smile.
"You should be able to handle this, Ethan Zhang. When we get there, I'll teach you. Honestly, how can you be so clueless?"
After we got back to the Ghost Burial Squad around 6 p.m., Lan Yin started showing off again, trying to cozy up to every woman he saw. I grabbed him and pulled him back.
"Can you behave yourself for once?"
Soon, a lot of people gathered around. We assembled in the training room, where Mason Yu now lay on the floor, barely alive.
"It's bad. That kid's about to be devoured by the snake spirit."
Lan Yin said this, and I looked at him.
"Everyone else out. Ethan Zhang stays."
With no choice, everyone else left. Once the room was empty, Lan Yin immediately released a huge swath of red silk, sealing the entire training room tight.
"So what exactly should I do?"
I asked. Lan Yin looked at me, glanced around, and leaned close to my ear.
"That guy is still a sacred spirit, after all. Didn't you secretly use the power of the Vermilion Bird to create a ghost soul?"
I gasped and stared at Lan Yin. How did he know?
Lan Yin gave me a mysterious smile.
"The Vermilion Bird definitely doesn't want anyone else to know about this, so tell him I'm good at keeping secrets. Have him lend a hand. As long as you use those fiery red Ghost Threads, you can trick that guy and drag him into your instinct space. Then beat him up—once he submits, it'll be easy."
"Can I actually win?"
Lan Yin looked at me with a big grin.
"It's your own turf—what are you afraid of? Hit him with everything you've got. Never show weakness to these spirits, or they'll walk all over you, and you won't be able to control your ghost soul either."
I sighed, starting to realize why my ghost soul kept acting on its own and rarely listened to me.
I sat quietly on the floor, trying to use my will to summon the Vermilion Bird's power and create a ghost soul, but it felt like a lock had been put on my body—I couldn't release it at all.
"Go find him in your instinct space."