"That's how it is. I'm going out to play, sir."
Poison Dreadstar grinned and stretched out her hand. Wraithshade fished out some money from his robe and handed it to her.
"I practice what you taught me every day, don't worry."
Poison Dreadstar said this and floated away, soon vanishing from the courtyard. Wraithshade sat cross-legged at the entrance to the boudoir.
I quietly watched Wraithshade at this moment. He looked incredibly calm, nothing like the sinister and cunning Wraithshade I met later—they seemed like two different people.
There was a commotion inside the house, and Wraithshade's eyes immediately grew tense.
"I told you, three days and three nights. You're not allowed out."
Irene Yi was just about to get up. She'd been soaking for hours, and the water remained surprisingly comfortable, never changing temperature. But there was a strange smell coming from the water that she couldn't stand anymore. She wanted to lie down on the bed for a while.
With a whoosh, the door to the room opened. Wraithshade was already standing in front of the large wooden tub. Irene Yi screamed and shrank back into the water, her face flushing red as she pointed at Wraithshade.
"You, you..."
Wraithshade slowly bent down. There was a sharp smack, but his eyes showed no emotion, remaining cold as ice. Irene Yi, about to explode in anger, was completely subdued by that frosty gaze.
"If you want to die, suit yourself. Three days—remember—no food, no water, and you are not allowed out."
Wraithshade turned to leave, but Irene Yi reached out her slender arm and grabbed his sleeve.
"Can you stay and talk with me for a while? If you leave me alone like this for three days, I'll go crazy."
Eventually, Wraithshade sat cross-legged beside the large wooden tub, silently closing his eyes and saying nothing.
"Why are you so dull?"
Irene Yi glared angrily at Wraithshade, but didn't know where to vent her frustration. No matter what she said, Wraithshade remained completely motionless.
"You've been to a lot of places, right? Have you ever seen the sea? I've always heard about it and wanted to go, but I've never traveled far. Can you tell me, what's the sea like?"
Still silent, Irene Yi leaned back helplessly and gradually fell asleep in the large wooden tub.
When she woke up, daylight was streaming in. Irene Yi rubbed her dry eyes, feeling a bit puzzled. Holding her stomach, she realized she should be hungry and thirsty by now, but she felt nothing. Gradually, she noticed her skin had lost all sensation—no matter where she touched, she couldn't feel a thing, except for her chest, where she could still sense her heart beating.
"Hey, hey, are you dead or just made of wood?"
By noon, Irene Yi finally exploded. She kept shouting until Wraithshade opened his eyes and turned to look at her coldly.
"Why are you so boring? Can you talk to me?"
The whole day passed, and Irene Yi just felt exhausted. She hadn't exchanged a single word with Wraithshade. It really was like talking to a piece of wood or a dead person. She finally gave up trying to talk to him.
The next day was the same. Irene Yi felt a warmth gradually spreading through her body—a strange, comforting sensation she'd never felt before. Wraithshade still didn't say a word.
"By the way, what about the girl who was with you? Where did she go? Can you bring her back?"
Irene Yi asked, and Wraithshade stood up and walked out slowly.
"What kind of person is that? Isn't he walking just fine?"
About half an hour later, Wraithshade returned to the room, holding a random tree branch. He plucked the leaves and scattered them into the large wooden tub.
"What are you doing? What is this?"
"You're too noisy, so your body has absorbed too much death energy. These leaves will help draw it out of you."
Irene Yi blinked in disbelief at Wraithshade, but he just sat back down and went silent again.
By the third day, Irene Yi was nearly at her limit. Midnight would bring her release, but the waiting was even harder to endure.
"Mr. Wood, what are you going to do next?"
"Next, you just need to sit quietly in the courtyard, in the spot with the most sunlight, for three days. On the seventh day, you'll be done."
Irene Yi's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Wraithshade.
"Are you trying to kill me?"
Wraithshade went silent again.
When the moon rose, Poison Dreadstar came back, stumbling in drunk and flopping straight onto the bed.
"You're finally back. I've been stuck with this block of wood and I'm about to suffocate."
Finally, at midnight, Wraithshade stepped out, and Irene Yi was freed. The first thing she did was rush to the bed, stretching out comfortably. Poison Dreadstar had sobered up by then.
"You really had it tough. The festivals in your area are pretty nice—lots of fun things to do."
"Of course, I've tried them all. By the way, what's up with that block of wood?"
Poison Dreadstar glanced at the doorway and shook her head with a helpless smile.
"How should I put it? Ever since I met him, he's always been like this. I've followed him for over ten years, and I could count the number of words he's said to me on my fingers."
The night passed. On the morning of the fourth day, before sunrise, Wraithshade had Irene Yi sit in an open spot in the courtyard. Soon, sunlight flooded in. Irene Yi noticed the courtyard had changed—one large tree had been uprooted and was gone.
"Mr. Wraithshade has rearranged the courtyard a bit. It's all for your benefit."
At the end of the day, when Irene Yi heard Wraithshade say she could return indoors after sunset, she was overjoyed and rushed back inside. Still, she wasn't allowed to eat.
"Still no luck, Mr. Wraithshade?"
Poison Dreadstar looked at the Spirit Crystal in Wraithshade's hand. Wraithshade nodded.
"It's a bizarre sealing array, using both Buddhist and Daoist powers. It's tricky to break. Looks like we'll have to stay here for a while. Tomorrow, you should go out and investigate—dig deep, and find out everything about the Zou family."
Poison Dreadstar pouted, looking extremely dissatisfied.
"Why don't you go? Now I have to question those wandering ghosts—such a hassle. I'm not exactly afraid of them, but some of those who died horribly are disgusting. I can't even eat when I see them. How can you make a twenty-something girl deal with those things every day? Don't you have a conscience?"
"Go."
Wraithshade uttered the word simply, and Poison Dreadstar slowly floated up.
"While I'm gone these two days, can you talk with that girl? Just a small favor."
Poison Dreadstar pressed her palms together, looking as if she was begging. Wraithshade glanced at her.
"What's the point?"
"If you don't do it, even if I find something out, I won't tell you."
As she spoke, Poison Dreadstar immediately made a funny face. Wraithshade turned and nodded.
On the morning of the fifth day, Irene Yi brought out a comfortable lounge chair and sat in the courtyard.
"Put the chair back."
Wraithshade said, and Irene Yi was furious.
"Furniture is called furniture because it creates a layout. If you move it, you'll disrupt the layout, which isn't good for you."
"Got it, Mr. Wood."
Irene Yi put the chair back and sat in the courtyard, arms crossed in frustration.
The sunlight slowly rose, and Irene Yi looked at Wraithshade in confusion.
"Mr. Wood, aren't you coming over? Morning sunlight is really warm."
Wraithshade stood in a cold, shadowy corner, completely untouched by sunlight, leaning quietly against the wall, saying nothing.
"The sea is blue and endless. When the sea breeze blows, it smells salty."
Wraithshade suddenly spoke. Irene Yi turned in surprise, then burst out laughing with joy.
"You finally talked to me, Mr. Wood! But that's not very specific. Can you tell me more?"
Wraithshade looked at Irene Yi.
"What I said is specific."
Irene Yi stared speechlessly at Wraithshade.
"What about the desert? I heard it's all yellow sand."
"If you already know, why ask me?"
Irene Yi stretched her neck a little.
"I've never seen it. What's it like?"
"An endless sea of yellow sand, scorching hot. Occasionally, the wind blows, stirring up the sand. When a sandstorm hits, the desert blocks out the sky and sun."
Irene Yi blinked.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Until sunset, Irene Yi asked many questions. Wraithshade always gave brief answers, and Irene Yi realized that Wraithshade was not only taciturn but also quite dull.
Back in her room, Irene Yi lay on the bed, quietly pondering. Wraithshade outside may be dull, but his words were always simple and straightforward.
"That wooden guy, hmph."
On the sixth day, Irene Yi quietly stared at Wraithshade, resting her chin on one hand.
"Mr. Wood, why do you always wear a veil?"
"No reason."
Irene Yi glared angrily, staring hard at Wraithshade. But suddenly, everything around her froze. I looked on in surprise as Wraithshade slowly turned to face me.
"You're a Remnant!"
I said gravely, and Wraithshade nodded.
"Ethan Zhang, did you discover something? What do you want to ask me?"
I let out a sound of surprise.
"Why did you become like this, Wraithshade? What changed you—or maybe, you never changed at all, and the you in this memory is just a fleeting moment, a glimpse of emotion that surfaced in thousands of years."
Wraithshade burst out laughing.
"You really are interesting, Ethan Zhang."