Chapter 36

Elder?

Looking at his pure and youthful face, one could easily mistake him for a little brother. And yet he had the nerve to call himself an elder.

Huo Yin shoved his hands into his pockets and said casually, “The Huo Mansion is cleaned by servants every day. It’s spotless, you know.”

“That’s not what I meant at all!”

Luo Li tilted his head back, fumbling for words in his outrage. “Just a moment ago, he was right there on my bed. I came out of the bath, and there he was.”

Huo Yin replied coldly, “Nonsense.”

His gaze swept up and down Luo Li’s outfit.

How could he dress like that?

The peach-pink qipao was scandalously short and tight, leaving his thighs and arms bare. He stood shivering in the cold wind, droplets of water still clinging to the ends of his hair, his eyes fixed on the open door ahead.

Several of the qipao’s decorative buttons had been tugged loose, exposing a sliver of pale waist. The delicate dimples at his sides trembled with each shiver.

For some inexplicable reason, Huo Yin felt a sudden urge. His handsome face remained impassive as he let out a scoff.

“You took a bath and came out dressed like this?”

He paused, then added, “Figures. Old habits from a filthy place like East Alley.”

Luo Li’s lashes fluttered. He seemed to grasp the implication.

His background was the one thing he lacked confidence in. Remembering Chu Jing’s instructions, Luo Li steeled himself and shot back.

“You’re just a kid. What business is it of yours what an elder wears?”

He tugged at his collar. “Besides, you’re barely grown yourself. What do you even know?”

Huo Yin lowered his eyes. “I’m twenty.”

Luo Li froze.

Damn. A year older than him.

He had to shut this down fast. Luo Li resorted to stubborn bluster. “Anyway, there’s definitely a ghost. Are you going to do something about it or not?”

“I’d like to know what kind of ghost has the guts to cause trouble on Zhaohua Mansion grounds.”

Luo Li racked his brain. “He… he was tall… his body was scorching hot. There was… a scar on his nose. His eyes… his eyes seemed blind…”

Huo Yin hadn’t intended to listen, but once Luo Li finished, he dropped his gaze. A faint, enigmatic smile tugged at his thin lips.

“From your description, that sounds a lot like my second brother.”

“Are you saying my second brother is a ghost?”

Luo Li was speechless, struggling for a retort. “Then… then it’s the Second Young Master. Anyway, he… he was on my bed. He… he touched me.”

The young man’s ears and neck flushed crimson—it was too mortifying to say aloud. “If word of this gets out, your whole family will be humiliated!”

Huo Yin advanced toward him step by step. At his impressive height and broad-shouldered build, the young man loomed over Luo Li, his presence oppressively commanding.

“My second brother has been ill for years. His mind’s gone, and he can’t even get out of bed. Meals are brought to his room.”

“Are you saying a stranger’s male courtesan room was infiltrated by him? That a crippled simpleton crawled into your bed and groped you? Is that your story?”

Luo Li’s lovely almond-shaped eyes grew ever more glistening, as if struck at a sore spot. A humiliated flush slowly spread across his cheeks.

He didn’t know how to defend himself amid the barrage of questions. He was on the verge of tears.

Huo Yin eyed him up and down. “If you’re going to frame my second brother, at least come up with something clever. Dressed like that and spinning this tale—do you think I’ll buy it?”

Luo Li gritted his teeth. “Then come in and see for yourself!”

He flung the door open wider and stormed to the bed.

The lamp had somehow switched back on, but one glance left him dumbfounded.

The bed was empty. No ghost in sight.

Not even a shadow.

“Hmph.”

Huo Yin glanced inside the room, then turned on his heel. “Splashing dirty water on a sick man? Only a fool would believe that.”

This time, Luo Li really did burst into tears from sheer frustration.

How could anyone be so vicious? Always saying such cutting things, and refusing to believe him!

But… but he truly had no proof.

Watching the arrogant young master stride farther away, Luo Li returned to the bed, utterly baffled.

It couldn’t be wrong. Someone had definitely been here moments ago.

So why had they vanished into thin air?

~~~

The next day, ill news spread through the Huo Mansion.

The already deranged Second Young Master, Huo Lan, had suffered some unknown shock. His mental state deteriorated further; he couldn’t even recognize people anymore.

When Huo Yin went to visit, Huo Cheng was already there. Their aunt Huo Xing’er stood outside the door in an expensive purple cashmere dress, her fan held to her nose, looking pensive.

Huo Yin peeked through the door crack. Huo Lan sat on the edge of the bed, grinning foolishly as he clutched a snowy white tassel.

Huo Cheng sat beside his second brother, asking patiently, “A Lan, what do you want? Tell your big brother. …Are you hungry? Thirsty?”

Huo Xing’er snapped her fan open with a clack. “Forget it. Look at him—he’s clearly bumped into an evil spirit again.”

The string of beads on her wrist clicked as she murmured prayers. “Amitabha. Whatever sins haunt you, find the head of the grudge and the source of the debt. Don’t seek the wrong target…”

Huo Yin stared at the tassel in his second brother’s hand. It looked oddly familiar.

Huo Cheng noticed it too. “That tassel seems like it’s from clothing. What do you think, Aunt?”

Huo Xing’er examined it briefly. “Qipaos often have this kind of tassel trim. It must’ve been torn from one.”

But she was too old to wear qipaos anymore. And none of the mansion’s servants did.

So whose was it?

Huo Lan continued giggling at the tassel, his expression no different from a child who’d gotten candy.

This immersive instance really was something else, Huo Yin mused inwardly. His brother no longer resembled a normal player at all.

Huo Cheng said, “Let’s set aside the tassel for now. A Lan’s condition seems worse. I wonder what triggered it.”

Huo Xing’er replied, “What else? It must be another disaster brought by that old man Huo… His ghost lingers relentlessly, keeping the whole mansion in turmoil. I say we hire a high monk to exorcise him…”

“If it were that easy to exorcise, we could’ve buried him long ago.”

Huo Yin spoke coolly. “We don’t even know what unfinished business keeps him here. Yellow paper and cinnabar talismans reveal nothing.”

The stubborn spirit clung to the mortal world. Forcing a burial would only enrage it further. And despite their efforts, Huo Jieqi’s unresolved wish remained a mystery.

The coffin lingered at the foot of the mountain, while baleful yin energy shrouded the mansion atop it. No one slept soundly.

They all feared the curse that had struck Huo Jieqi would soon claim one after another in the mansion.

Suddenly, Huo Lan let out a raspy chuckle. “Fragrant… fragrant…”

He sniffed fervently at the tassel, nose twitching. “So fragrant… I like it…”

In his dazed and foolish state, the Second Young Master often babbled nonsense. No one paid it much mind.

But Huo Yin suddenly remembered something.

Tassel… qipao.

Last night, that young male courtesan had been wearing a qipao.

Could it be…

Huo Cheng rose. “Enough. At this point, we’ll have to call Zhang Banxian back to post more talismans and suppress the evil spirit.”

He and Huo Xing’er left together.

Huo Yin hesitated, then approached Huo Lan. After studying him for a moment, he summoned a servant.

“You. Go fetch Luo Li and bring him here.”

~~~

Today, Luo Li wore fresh clothes provided by a servant—a light, soft cream-colored wool sweater paired with dark blue trousers. His long hair draped over his shoulders, lending him an even more gentle, timid air.

He’d enjoyed a good breakfast that morning, a naive smile on his face. But the moment he stepped through the door and saw Huo Yin, it vanished without a trace.

His eyes narrowed in displeasure. “What do you want with me?”

Huo Yin calmly produced the tassel.

“This is yours, isn’t it?”

The young man’s face flashed with panic before he composed himself. “Never seen it before.”

“Oh? Then do you dare bring out last night’s qipao and check if anything’s missing from it?”

Anyone else might have held up under such questioning. But Luo Li’s defenses were as fragile as a brittle cookie, already crumbling to bits.

He stammered, “How should I know? Maybe… maybe it just fell off by accident…”

“By accident—right into my second brother’s hands?”

Huo Yin stepped closer. “Hmm, let me guess.”

“Last night, did you deliberately lure my second brother inside, dressed like that to seduce him? But since he’s blind and simple-minded, you lost interest and tried to shoo him out…”

“Then you ran into me outside. In a panic, you decided to frame him, claiming he climbed into your bed?”

Luo Li grew more bewildered with every word.

What kind of twisted logic was this?

“Nonsense!”

He balled his fists, glaring fiercely. “Who do you think you are? You think I’d be interested in brats like you? I didn’t do any of that. I’m leaving!”

“You can leave, but my simple-minded brother was traumatized because of you. Are you just going to walk away?”

Huo Yin’s smile grew icier as he lowered his voice to a menacing whisper. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell my big brother?”

Luo Li went rigid.

He hadn’t done anything wrong, but would Huo Cheng believe him?

If they threw him out of the mansion, what then…?

After a moment’s struggle, he relented. “What exactly do you want?”

Huo Yin was the one caught off guard this time.

He just had this inexplicable urge to bully someone. As for anything else… he actually hadn’t figured it out yet.

But the domineering Third Young Master couldn’t drop the ball at a time like this.

He flung open the door to Huo Lan’s room. “Since you scared my second brother, you’ll take care of him for a few days. You can manage that much, right?”

He shoved Luo Li inside, then added with a sinister edge, “My second brother is a pitiful guy. Whatever he wants you to do, don’t even think about refusing.”

That fool of a brother had the mind of a child. He only knew to ask for food when he was hungry or to drag someone along to listen to his silly giggles.

That alone ought to give Luo Li a real headache.

…

The young man sitting on the bed was tall and broad-shouldered, strikingly handsome with refined features and an upright posture. A pair of long legs dangled over the edge of the bed, and his jawline was sharp and defined.

If not for the shadow of gloom in his eyes and the foolish smile tugging at his lips, he would have been the picture of a dashing young talent.

Luo Li approached him uneasily, calling out softly, “Hey.”

Huo Lan heard him.

The young man stared blankly for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he only let out a few monotonous syllables.

Luo Li couldn’t make them out and had to lean in closer.

He didn’t want to get too near Huo Lan. Of course, he wasn’t discriminating against the mentally impaired—he just still felt lingering fear from what had happened last night.

Huo Yin urged him on. “Get closer. What, are you disgusted by my brother?”

Luo Li had no choice but to draw nearer.

But the moment he reached the bedside, Huo Lan suddenly lifted his arm and circled it around his waist.

The boy’s waist was slender, trapped in the crook of the young man’s arm, leaving a faint indentation in his creamy white wool sweater.

Huo Lan looked up, tightening his grip and pulling downward. Luo Li had no choice but to settle onto his lap.

The young man inched closer bit by bit, as if navigating by scent alone.

Finally, his nose tip hovered before Luo Li’s slightly parted pink lips. He craned his neck, his hot breath brushing the boy’s pointed chin.

“Kiss…”

He suddenly grew excited, babbling foolishly, “Kiss, kiss mouth.”

Luo Li was dumbfounded.

Did… did this mean he wanted to kiss him?

He whipped his head around in panic to glance at Huo Yin.

Even the arrogant expression on the Third Young Master’s face had frozen solid.

After all, he was the one who had just said…

No matter what Huo Lan wanted Luo Li to do, Luo Li wasn’t to refuse.