9: Shouzhuang

Lin Luo stood where he was, not rashly stepping forward. His intuition told him that this apartment building named "Longevity Manor" was far more than just peculiar in appearance. The secrets hidden within its interior were likely much more complex than the cicada song collection he had just suppressed.

A night breeze brushed past, making the vine leaves rustle as if the building itself was silently sizing up its uninvited guest.

Lin Luo did not enter easily. He always felt that behind the stained glass of that old apartment, countless pairs of eyes were silently staring at him. It wasn't a physical gaze, but a collective consciousness mixed with curiosity, scrutiny, vigilance, and even a faint, imperceptible trace of fear. This feeling of being "watched" by many unknown existences made him frown slightly, feeling quite uncomfortable in his heart.

In fact, Lin Luo's perception was not wrong in the slightest.

At this moment, inside Longevity Manor, behind those seemingly calm windows, figures of various forms were indeed crowded. There were monsters retaining bestial characteristics, ghosts with flickering translucent bodies, beautiful women with gorgeous faces, elegant handsome men, and even some indescribable things that were difficult to describe with specific forms, appearing like distorted light and shadows. They had suppressed most of their auras and were hiding under the protection of the barrier, whispering in low voices.

"Who is this guy? His aura is so strange..." A ghost woman dressed very provocatively floated in mid-air, curiously sizing up Lin Luo.

"The quality of his spiritual power is very high and pure; he's not simple." A tall man in a black coat, wearing a large eyepatch over his left eye, said while sipping wine.

"It's not just spiritual power—can't you feel it? There's a very obscure but extremely terrifying malice entwined around him... cold and twisted."

The speaker was a man with shoulder-length brown hair wearing round-framed glasses. He wore a worn and wrinkled denim outfit, a brown leather belt with a silver buckle, and a necklace and bracelet with blue stones. Even from a distance, he clearly perceived this power.

"It shouldn't be his own power; it's more like... the residual aura of some extremely powerful evil object that has stained his body," the man in black added. "But regardless, this one is an uninvited guest, and very dangerous."

Compared to the cautious assessment of these "old residents," some Little Monsters wandering in the corridors with simple minds (or rather, simple heads) seemed fearless. They waved their small claws and shouted noisily:

"Who cares who he is! Mr. Long has already returned, we don't need to be afraid of this guy!"

"Exactly! Mr. Long will definitely deal with him easily!"

"That's right! Mr. Long is here!"

And the "Mr. Long" who was so highly esteemed and relied upon by these Little Monsters was currently standing quietly behind the "people." He was tall, with ink-like long hair flowing down to his waist, and his face was handsome to the point of being eerie. As always, a gentle and reassuring smile hung on his face, as if all the disturbances from the outside world could not shake him in the slightest.

He did not participate in the discussion. His deep blue eyes looked through the gap in the window and landed precisely on the frowning youth standing outside. His gaze paused for a brief moment on the seemingly ordinary pendant on Lin Luo's chest.

Then, he gently pushed aside the tenants who were still muttering in front of him, his tone gentle but carrying an unquestionable steadiness:

"Alright, everyone, calm down."

The voice was not loud, but it strangely caused all the whispering and shouting to fall silent.

Under the expectant, curious, or worried gazes of the "people," Mr. Long walked calmly through the apartment's entrance hall. The two double doors inlaid with stained glass opened silently inward.

He walked out to face the uninvited guest who had made the entire Longevity Manor nervous.

The moment those two heavy wooden doors opened silently inward to reveal the handsome figure behind them, his ink-black long hair was loosely tied behind his head, with a few strands falling over his shoulders, making his complexion appear even colder.

"Mr. Lin Luo, I really didn't expect to see you here."

The refined voice was wrapped in a faint smile, yet it made the corner of Lin Luo's eye twitch imperceptibly. The other party not only knew his name but also spoke with a hint of familiarity. He instinctively cupped his hands in a polite greeting: "And you are?"

"My surname is Long, and the people here all call me Mr. Long. Back when you were a child in Kyoto, you probably don't remember it." The man's smile deepened, but a profound meaning that Lin Luo couldn't read was hidden in his eyes. "Back then you were only this tall," he gestured to his waist, "following behind the Old Man, clutching half a piece of osmanthus cake in your hand, dropping crumbs as you walked."

Lin Luo's pupils constricted slightly.

The Old Man—only those within the Lin family and a very few close associates would call that founding father and the stabilizing pillar of the Dragon Country's cultivation world by that title. And the matter of the "osmanthus cake" was an old story that even the branch families of the Lin family couldn't possibly know.

He stepped aside to clear the path and made a "please" gesture. "Talking at the door is unseemly. Come in; I've just brewed some new tea, you should try it."

Lin Luo followed Mr. Long into the interior of Longevity Manor. The various "tenants" who had been crowded in the hallways and by the windows whispering immediately receded like a tide after Mr. Long swept them with a glance, instantly disappearing into various corners of the corridor, leaving only a faint, mixed scent of Demonic Qi and spiritual atmosphere in the air.

Mr. Long led Lin Luo through the simple and elegant corridor to a spacious washitsu. It was about the size of ten tatami mats, simply decorated with a low table in the middle, appearing somewhat empty. The two sat opposite each other by the low table.

Before Lin Luo could speak, Mr. Long took the lead in breaking the silence. His voice was gentle, carrying the composure of a senior introducing their local customs to a Junior:

"This place is called 'Longevity Manor.' As you can see, it is no ordinary apartment." His gaze calmly swept across the surroundings, as if he could see through the walls to the hidden residents.

"It is also known by those in the know as the 'Monster Apartment.' This place is a special node on the edge of the Manifest World and the Hidden World. Its duty is to guard the area, harmonize, and protect—it can be considered a... different kind of order maintenance."

He paused and continued: "Living here are humans, monsters, ghosts, and some existences that are difficult to categorize. This place is both a temporary stop for those traveling far and wide, and a lodging for many outcasts with weak powers who have nowhere else to go."

His introduction was concise, but it sketched out an unimaginable, bizarre, yet self-contained Small World for Lin Luo. This also explained why the exterior was equipped with a powerful exorcism barrier while the interior had mixed auras—the barrier was to isolate external malice and prying eyes to protect the "residents" inside, while the internal mixture was an expression of its inclusiveness.

"Furthermore, Longevity Manor has a characteristic that isn't much of a secret—it naturally 'draws' people or things that carry strange burdens or bizarre fates to this place."

His gaze fell on Lin Luo with a peacefulness that seemed to see through everything.

"So, Mr. Lin Luo, for you to stroll here today, pass through the alley, and stand outside the gates of Longevity Manor—to call it a coincidence would be less accurate than calling it... a kind of inevitability."

"This force of attraction has nothing to do with good or evil and is hard to explain with common logic. It is a kind of instinct of Longevity Manor itself, or rather... a means by which it maintains its own existence and duty." Mr. Long's tone carried a hint of the profound. "Because one of the reasons Longevity Manor exists is to contain, soothe, or rather... temporarily 'safekeep' those unstable, uncontrollable existences that might cause waves in the outside world."

Mr. Long's gaze shifted lightly over him, as if able to pierce through flesh to see his essence. "The malice entwined around you is suppressed, yet it remains horrifying." His fingertip tapped on the tea table. "Last night, Longevity Manor appeared and suppressed all the restless demons and evils in this district—the malice they stirred up was exactly the same as what you carry."

Lin Luo remained silent. His fingertip lightly touched the pendant on his chest, and the cicada song collection, which had been sealed by golden talismans, appeared in his hand. Faint dark light flowed over its ancient cover.

A flash of surprise crossed Mr. Long's eyes: "Such high-level sealing methods. This way of circulating spiritual power... it really doesn't look like the Lin family's methods." He gave the youth opposite him a meaningful look.

Lin Luo remained silent. His knowledge of sealing arts was limited, and his experience was not as vast as Mr. Long's. At this moment, silence was the best policy—fortunately, the other party never forced him to explain anything.

Mr. Long didn't ask further, and his gaze didn't even linger for another second. He just lowered his eyes slightly, and his slender fingertips glowed with a gentle jade-like white light, like dew condensed from moonlight, as they lightly touched the golden talisman on the cover of the ancient book.

The talisman, which had been completely motionless, now began to melt silently under Mr. Long's touch, like thin ice on a river in early spring. The golden patterns lost their luster inch by inch, and the runes rose and dissipated like smoke and mist, as if they had never existed.

Unexpectedly, the anticipated riot did not occur. The unsealed cicada song collection was exceptionally docile in Mr. Long's palm. Although it emitted a dense malice, it retracted its claws like a tamed beast.

Seeing this, Lin Luo couldn't help but curl his lip: "It certainly knows how to pick its targets."

Lin Luo gently pushed aside the teacup in front of him and said seriously: "I found this book in the school library." He recalled the scene at the time. "It was placed in the classical literature section. Its appearance looked like an ordinary haiku collection. The malice back then was nowhere near as strong as it is now."

Mr. Long held the pot, and a gentle stream of emerald tea poured from the spout of the celadon teapot, steadily filling the white porcelain cup in front of Lin Luo. The tea rippled slightly, reflecting the light from the window and creating tiny ripples.

He set down the pot, and his fingertip paused lightly on the rim of the cup—those fingers were long and clean, so white they were almost translucent, as if they were not made of flesh and blood but were some jade carving nurtured for a thousand years.

"The academy... is indeed a wonderful place." His tone was flat, like casual small talk, yet every word was clear. "It can suppress spiritual sense detection, quietly absorb the delusions of the human heart, and use the situation to stir up evil thoughts and parasitize hosts... killing three birds with one stone. A meticulous layout."

Amidst the curling aroma of the tea, he paused slightly, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his lips: "Not a bad method, to actually manage to hide it from those old foxes in the Bureau."

The words were as light as falling flowers, but Lin Luo's heart tightened.

"Is there anything I need to look out for?" Lin Luo asked cautiously, his tone carrying just the right amount of respect while hiding a trace of imperceptible probing.

Mr. Long shook his head slightly, his movement as composed as brushing falling flowers from his clothes. He carefully placed the cicada song collection into a dark red wooden box with dragon patterns. With a stroke of his fingertip on the surface, the lid closed silently—in an instant, golden light flowed, and fine runes moved over it like living things before finally sinking into the depths of the wood grain, as if they had never existed.

"You have only recently broken your limits," he said in a peaceful tone, yet it carried an insight that saw through everything. "Your spiritual power is deep, and your Foundation is stable, but..." He paused and didn't continue, only pushing the wooden box to the corner of the table. "Besides, these troubles weren't meant for you to bear in the first place."

These words were exactly what Lin Luo wanted to hear.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As an "ordinary student," he really didn't want to get involved in this kind of trouble. He just wanted to finish school peacefully and occasionally be a confidant; a quiet and simple life would be just fine.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Mr. Long." He followed the lead, his tone instantly becoming much lighter, and even his shoulders relaxed as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

Mr. Long looked up at him, a half-smile flashing in his eyes as if he had seen through Lin Luo's little thought of "passing the buck," but he didn't point it out. He tapped the wooden box lightly with his fingertip and said in a low voice: "Just enjoy your school life. It's just that... no matter, these things naturally have people who should worry about them to do the worrying."

Lin Luo didn't respond, but he knew clearly in his heart—that "person who should worry" was obviously not him.

He stood up and nodded slightly toward Mr. Long: "Then I shall take my leave."