Yue Shan looked at the newcomer, his expression changing, "You’re not dead... You indeed left on your own... Do you have the stuff from the courier?"
"Heh heh... Yue Shan, you should thank me. Otherwise, how would you know your own background?"
Su Nuan walked out from the master bedroom, "What’s the matter? You thought you were the Deceit, or perhaps your sister was? Rest assured, both of you are human..."
The smile at the corner of her mouth expanded, "Just... some special kind of ’human’, that’s all!"
"What do you mean by that?"
Yue Shan drew out his dagger, feeling he had a considerable advantage facing this woman, Su Nuan.
Thus, he was not eager to make a move but sought to extract more information, "Where are the items from the courier?"
"The notes from the courier are indeed important, but the real courier this time was actually the two of you – you and your sister! You are the key to unlocking the terror of the old mansion!"
Su Nuan smiled, "Once the two of you returned here, the mansion’s special abilities were activated. You are the real ’keys’... Do you understand? Why Gouzi didn’t come to deliver the meal? Because we have been in another dimension all along, a paranormal place parallel to reality! As soon as you brought us into this old mansion, we were isolated in a separate ’Deceit Mansion’."
"This ’Deceit Mansion’ is a ’bridge’, or rather, a first-level alternative dimension. It’s responsible for connecting reality to deeper alternative dimensions and for escorting the ’Deceit’ into the real world!"
"Back in ancient times, there were wise individuals. Your ancestor was initially just a charlatan, but he later discovered this place and determined the patterns of the Deceit through various tests, and even constructed the Deceit Mansion in reality..."
"He made a pact with the ’Deceit,’ and the content of that pact was..."
"He continuously offered sacrifices, allowing him to borrow the power of ’Deceit’ to some extent, and with it, he became the widely known Divine Man, amassing a great fortune... Well, the so-called sacrifices were living people!"
"By the time of your father’s generation, due to the issue of infertility, he had to pursue supernatural powers even more crazily and conducted experiments that can only be described as taboo... which led to your birth."
"Yue Shan, Yue Qin... Although you are human, you were born into this world only with the aid of Deceit’s power!"
Su Nuan uttered sentences like venomous snake venom, unsurprisingly seeing the expressions on Yue Shan and Yue Qin as if they had been struck by lightning.
"We were born because of the Deceit?"
Yue Shan wanted not to believe, but his past experiences forced him to accept the truth.
"No... Even so, I am still human, I still have a family!"
He shook his head in denial, desperately seeking an excuse to provide himself with some consolation.
"Heh heh... Do your parents really love you?"
Su Nuan’s mouth curled into a mocking smile, "They only covet your and your sister’s bodies, seeing you as their life’s masterpiece, and even... hoping to take over your bodies to obtain this accomplishment!"
Yue Shan’s expression became vacant.
He suddenly remembered how his parents had been extremely concerned about any little injury he suffered as a child.
And the occasional uncomfortable, scrutinizing gaze.
That was covetousness! And the desire for his body!
"No, you’re lying... How could taking over someone’s body even be possible?"
Yue Qin cried out, sobbing.
She was overwhelmed with too much information, already on the verge of collapse...
"Of course humans can’t do it, but what if... it’s a Gui Yi?" Su Nuan said with a smile, "Ordinary people can’t become Gui Yi after death; that’s just a misconception among the staff. The real explanation should be that under the influence of Gui Yi’s power, it is possible for someone to turn into a Gui Yi after death, but the likelihood isn’t something they would want, that’s for sure..."
"Did your parents really get murdered? Rather than calling it murder, it would be more accurate to say it was a self-sacrifice... They committed suicide within the ancient house, hoping to get help from the Gui Yi bound by the family’s generational pact, to transform into real ’Gui Yi’... And then, to take over the bodies they had long coveted, resurrecting as ’people’ with special powers!"
"Unfortunately... their plan went awry; Gui Yi is not something they could control. They became mere slaves to the true ’Gui Yi,’ losing all feelings and thoughts, dragged into a deeper dimension..."
"But they succeeded. The curse was successfully planted, and they have been here all along, waiting for you to grow up and return, to open the gateway to Hell, and to bring them back into this world!"
"Why did Wu Qi die earlier? Because he triggered the Gui Yi’s deadly rule—while inside the ancient house, anyone caught by your gaze is equivalent to being seen by Gui Yi, and they will inevitably be attacked... Your eyes serve as the window for them to return from Hell!"
"Why do I know so much? Because I’ve been watching you all along..."
Su Nuan smiled and bit open her own wrist.
Drip-drop! Drip-drop!
Her blood fell to the ground, drop by drop, forming a pool that quickly slithered and spread...
The blood rapidly covered the courtyard, causing Yue Qin to scream.
At this moment, Su Nuan looked less like a person and more like... a Gui Yi!
"Is this... Deceit Blood?"
Even though Yue Shan was almost numb with shock, he instinctively shivered, "You sought out Gui Yi and were subjected to Deceit Skill?"
"How else would I dare to wander alone? To face you siblings alone?"
Su Nuan’s expression turned even more maniacal, "Now... the delayed ritual will commence once more... Let your parents kill you!"
Yue Shan tried to rush over, but to his horror, found himself unable to move.
The Deceit Blood had already spread under his feet, soaking into his shoes, and sending a chill throughout his body.
He struggled to move his fingers, trying to smash the small bottle in his pocket and release the Deceit Blood, but discovered that he couldn’t do it at all.
Only Gui Yi can combat Gui Yi!
Yue Qin, standing beside him, was frozen just the same, as if turned into a statue.
Though dangerous, Deceit Skill, once successful, provided the subject, before completely losing their sanity, the ability to barely manipulate a fraction of Gui Yi’s power!
This was a force completely invincible to ordinary people!
Yue Shan realized in terror that he couldn’t even blink anymore.
Even after being partly corrupted by the Deceit Blood, he had become like a marionette with its strings pulled, mechanically moving his feet.
He took hold of his sister beside him, her face filled with panic yet moving stiffly, and together they walked into their parents’ bedroom, the very place where the nightmare had begun!
In the dust-filled room, he and Yue Qin locked eyes deeply, each seeing their reflection mirrored in the other’s pupils.
’No... that’s not my reflection!’
Watching the silhouette in Yue Qin’s beautiful eyes, Yue Shan’s mind exploded like it had been struck by lightning.
’Why did I feel panicked looking at Yue Qin before? Because in her eyes, I saw not myself... but Yue Xue transformed into... a Gui Yi! The dark shadow from my nightmares!’