Ye Han said seriously, "Young Master Meng, I must disagree. It might seem like I did all the work in this game, but from start to finish, how could we have made it this far without your protection, leadership, and ability to keep us united? The hobby horse reward should be yours. Don’t refuse it. If something were to happen to you, our team would fall apart."
Meng Huaichuan said, "But... out of all of us, you’re the only one who got a reward. If I take it..."
"It’s nothing. I grew up running wild outside the Marquis Mansion, so I’ve played all these games before. I’m not afraid of things like this."
As he spoke, Ye Han shoved the hobby horse into Meng Huaichuan’s hands.
Meng Huaichuan accepted it and nodded firmly. "Since you’re so insistent, I won’t refuse. After we get out of the Myriad Phenomena Map, if you need anything, come find me directly. If I so much as frown, may every Flower House Girl in the Divine Capital refuse me entry."
Shen Xiaoyi, standing to the side, rolled her eyes at Meng Huaichuan.
"What’s the time, Mr. Wolf?" all the children shouted loudly.
Everyone quickly fell silent and waited.
"It is noon," a deep voice announced.
"We’re home!" Fangfang pulled Li Qingxian’s hand, grinning as she walked toward the front door.
When they reached the door, Li Qingxian stopped and looked back at the twenty-three people behind him.
"Well? Do you dare to come in?"
"What’s there to be afraid of? If we have to, you know, *that*, then we’ll all do *that* together." Songg Baige put on a nonchalant expression, yet he couldn’t bring himself to say the word "die."
"It’s bound to be safer inside than out," Wang Buku said.
The others glanced at the corpse-like Guards, then at the silent courtyard. They looked out at the fog-shrouded streets and the lifeless city beyond.
"I’ll stick with Ye Han," Guanzhou said.
"Let’s go in."
Shaking their heads, the group followed Li Qingxian through the main gate.
Li Qingxian held Fangfang’s hand, his entire body tense, and slowly walked forward.
Beyond the gate was a wide courtyard. The path was flanked by flowerbeds with low trees, green grass, and yellow leaves—a world apart from the outside.
The White Tower that had been directly ahead was gone, replaced by a main hall with its doors shut tight.
Two New Year’s prints were pasted on the main doors. One depicted a bizarre red dragon covered in wings, while the other showed a four-faced child in red clothes playing in the water.
Suddenly, everyone froze.
The New Year’s prints began to squirm softly. The eyes of the bizarre dragon and the four-faced child swiveled in unison, staring at the crowd.
A cool breeze stirred, brushing against their hair and the hems of their clothes.
Cold sweat trickled down everyone’s backs. No one dared to move.
Fangfang waved at the prints. "Big Brother is back," she said. "They’re all his friends."
The eyes on the prints stopped moving, returning to normal.
Fangfang took Li Qingxian by the hand and led him toward the East Courtyard.
"Doesn’t Mother live in the West Courtyard?" Li Qingxian asked.
"No, Mother has always lived in the East Courtyard," Fangfang said.
Li Qingxian nodded without a word, but his mind flashed back to the layout of the Five Goddess Temple in Deceit Village. ’The East Courtyard was empty. The Deceitful Mother lived in the West Courtyard.’
The two of them stepped through the gate into the East Courtyard.
A familiar building greeted them. The walls, steps, and pillars were black as ink, while the roof tiles were a deep, dark red. A single glance was enough to make one’s heart sink.
’Scenes from Deceit Village flashed through his mind: watermelons, pig heads, paper cuttings, Fuchang, Wedding Eggs, the letter carrier, the Deceit-Name Tree...’
Li Qingxian took a deep breath and slowly walked forward.
The midday sun, veiled by the fog, was warm but faint, casting pale shadows from the building.
Li Qingxian walked up the wooden stairs, took off his shoes, and stopped before the threshold.
Fangfang let go of his hand and rushed inside, hopping and skipping on her short little legs.
Li Qingxian looked ahead.
Countless candlesticks floated in midair, their white candles burning with a CRACKLE and POP, bathing the room in brilliant light.
Beneath the red flames of the white candles, a pomegranate-red carpet stretched to the far end of the room, stopping before a black curtain embroidered with a purple grape pattern.
Looking at the familiar place, Li Qingxian’s heart beat faster. He gritted his teeth, stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.
"Mom, Big Brother is back!" Fangfang yelled.
"Ah? My dear Han’er is back?" A soft, gentle voice drifted from behind the black curtain, filled with anticipation, delight, and even a trace of anxiety.
The black curtain rippled like water. From the center of the ripples, two plump, soft white arms emerged, stretching longer and longer.
"My boy, let your mother give you a hug."
Li Qingxian stood rooted to the spot, helpless. Seeing this, the people outside the door felt their scalps crawl.
A few of them were already pale with fright. This was a real, live Deceit!
"Your son greets you, Mother!" Li Qingxian said, bowing deeply.
"My wonderful boy..."
The two large hands reached out and, without giving him a chance to protest, scooped Li Qingxian up.
The look on Li Qingxian’s face said he’d rather be dead.
The onlookers had been terrified, but seeing a grown man like Li Qingxian being held aloft by those giant hands filled them with an indescribably bizarre feeling.
’Don’t laugh. If we laugh, we’re dead.’
"Mother, your son is a grown man now," Li Qingxian said, desperately trying to catch Fangfang’s eye.
Fangfang giggled. "I want Mom to hug you more, too! She missed you so, so much. She was always whispering in my ear about you. If she hadn’t been worried, she would have gone looking for you ages ago."
Li Qingxian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’So this Deceitful Mother is actually quite considerate of me,’ he thought wryly.
"What have you been up to all this time? Tell your mother all about it," the gentle, faintly sweet voice said from behind the black curtain.
’If you only heard her voice,’ the others thought, ’you’d assume she was a gentle, dignified lady. It’s the kind of voice that draws you in.’
Li Qingxian cleared his throat and said, "My friends are all outside. Let’s talk while we eat."
"Let them wait. Your mother just wants to talk to you," the Deceitful Mother’s voice remained gentle.
Li Qingxian knew he couldn’t get out of it, so he began. "That day, after Hao Yunsheng brought harm to you and me, the Black Lamp Department escorted us back to the Divine Capital. After that..."
Li Qingxian recounted his experiences truthfully. He told her how he was framed by the joint efforts of Tang Enxuan, the Heir of Prince Yuann, and Hao Yunsheng. He described reinforcing Beichen City and then striking back at Tang Enxuan during his own birthday banquet. He went on to talk about participating in the Life Play, going to Beichang County to capture the Nether Mountain rebels, clashing with the Ministry of Justice, and finally, winning the title of Aoshou in the Eighth-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination.
"As expected of my wonderful boy! To think you became the Eighth-Grade Aoshou! Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!"
The Deceitful Mother’s giant hands rocked him gently. Li Qingxian’s face was a mask of indifference.
"Wow, Big Brother, you’re so cool!" Fangfang’s eyes sparkled with admiration.
The Deceitful Mother sighed. "Oh, my memory is so poor. I completely forgot your birthday. And you became the Aoshou, but I didn’t get you a gift."
Li Qingxian quickly replied, "Mother, please don’t trouble yourself. Just seeing you and Fangfang makes me content. Your well-being is the greatest gift I could ask for."
"My dear child, who taught you to be such a sweet-talker?" The Deceitful Mother’s voice drifted through the black curtain, and everyone could practically hear the smile in it.
"I’m only telling the truth," Li Qingxian said.
After a moment, the Deceitful Mother sighed. "With your birthday and your Aoshou title, I can’t just show up empty-handed. How about this: bring me that Rattle you used to play with as a child. I’ll fix it up for you. From now on, if you’re ever in trouble, just shake the Rattle, and I’ll know."
Resigned, Li Qingxian had no choice but to take out the Rattle he had picked up in Deceit Village from his Qiankun Bracelet.
The Rattle flew behind the black curtain, and a moment later, it flew back out.
Everyone looked and saw that this Rattle was no ordinary toy. The drum itself looked like a person’s round, white belly. The two pellets attached by red leather cords dangled on either side—they were two small, white skulls.
As for the handle, it was made of two human leg bones bound together.