Cataclysm Chapter 132: Extras·Fated Marriage 03

Chapter 132: Extras·Fated Marriage 03

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

Kou Xuanling had two things he deeply revered in life: one was the portrait of his ancestor he carried with him at all times, and the other was the director of the central office, Du Shuo. However, recently, director Du’s attitude had clearly shifted toward the branch office, and it seemed like the branch office was the illegitimate child born out of true love. As the father, director Du secretly supported this ‘bastard child’ and was even planning to secretly transfer assets.

This made Kou Xuanling develop a sense of hostility toward the branch office. So, when everyone else at the central office was unwilling to take on a task involving the branch office, he decided to accept it. When he met Chen Yang and Mao Xiaoli, he discovered that not all the members of the branch office were weaklings. At least Chen Yang, who hadn’t been granted a talisman, was stronger than him.

Later, while passing on a message at the branch office and accidentally managing to score a free meal, Kou Xuanling began to waver. After two free meals and some of Ma Shanfeng’s brewed wine, Kou Xuanling was completely swayed. Before anyone could react, he quickly submitted a request to transfer to the branch office.

The branch office, while lacking the complete facilities and supporting infrastructure of the central office—no cars, and receiving no more than two or three tasks a month, with only one of them being a large task—was still appealing to him. The pay here didn’t compare to the central office’s, but with fewer people and less competition, the work felt easier.

Kou Xuanling was sometimes amazed at how the people in the central office would fight over tasks, while those in the branch office were so lazy that they would take a month-long break after completing a single task. Even if a task came in, they would dodge it. The top priority for them was play and food, mainly for enjoyment.

It wasn’t long before he learned that these people were all descendants of the third generation of Xian Masters, and with family businesses waiting for them to inherit, they could live comfortably even if they only worked in the tourism industry. No wonder they had no ambition!

At that point, Kou Xuanling never imagined that he would eventually be corrupted, and the speed of his fall was so quick that he didn’t even have time to react. Looking back, all he could do was sigh, “Oh.” Still, when it came to earning money, he worked diligently, remembering that he had to make a lot of money to marry a wife.

There were many rituals and rules for honoring the gods. The basics included three ceremonies and nine bows, with offerings and incense required. However, the elaborate and grand honoring rituals only happened once a year. Kou Xuanling’s offering to ancestor Lu Jing mainly consisted of incense and sword dancing. The sword dance was done every morning. It wasn’t grand or extravagant like the sword dances in TV dramas, but simply a dance with swordsteps pleasing the gods.

The Tao follows the heart, and the heart is nourished by incense. After silently chanting, Kou Xuanling lit three incense sticks of equal length, held them up in his hands, bowed in reverence, and placed them into the incense burner. He checked the offerings, replaced the fruit from yesterday, and poured out the old water, filling the cup with fresh water. While cleaning the altar, he muttered to ancestor Lu Jing , “Ancestor, please bless me with Fated Marriage. The people at the branch office are laughing at me for being single. Even that fifty-kilogram fat cat is surrounded by countless pretty cats. Though Mao Xiaoli and Zhang Qiudao are also single, they’re still young. I’m the oldest and at a suitable marrying age, yet I’ve never been in a relationship.”

After discarding the dirty water into the toilet, Kou Xuanling returned to complain to ancestor Lu Jing . “I think my conditions are fine, but no one cares for me. I’m 24, and I’ve been solo for 24 years—do you know what that means, Ancestor? Forget it, it’s not that important. Ancestor, do you think I could get a Fated Marriage this year? Otherwise, I’ll be nagged by my family again during New Year’s. A temporary companion would do.”

As he spoke, he noticed two of the incense sticks in the burner had broken in the middle, making them uneven, with two short and one long. Kou Xuanling rubbed his chin, staring at the incense. “People fear three long and two short; incense shouldn’t have two short and one long.” After a moment of contemplation, he shrugged, saying, “One shouldn’t be superstitious. This saying doesn’t have any Taoist basis.”

Shaking his head, he turned and went downstairs, completely unaware that as he turned his back, the three incense sticks suddenly burned much faster, turning to ash in a matter of seconds. When the door closed behind him, the room was empty, and after a while, an annoyed hum seemed to materialize out of nowhere.

Kou Xuanling went downstairs and was called to by Ma Shanfeng. “You’re just in time. There’s a new task, want to take it?”

Kou Xuanling asked about the price, and after calculating, he agreed to take the job. As he spoke, he noticed that Zhang Qiudao and Mao Xiaoli were missing, so he asked where they had gone.

Ma Shanfeng replied, “Xiaoli went to some night market streets to sell talismans. Qiudao went to visit the Xian Master’s house in the abandoned village where he died. Chen Yang went there a while ago; Qiudao wanted to follow but couldn’t due to his lack of cultivation. I guess he’s feeling pretty down now.”

Kou Xuanling glanced at the time and said, “Isn’t it morning? What night market?”

“To reserve a spot,” Ma Shanfeng said, handing over the printed details of the new task. “You should take a look. You’ll have to stay in this villa for a few nights. The people who lived there were being haunted by an evil ghost. Even when they moved to a hotel, nothing worked. In fact, staying at a hotel only angered the ghost more. You should be careful on your own.”

Kou Xuanling took the information and began reviewing it. “Got it.”

The new job details described a series of supernatural incidents that had occurred at a villa in a residential area. The family had moved in less than two months ago, and problems started to arise. At first, it was the children who noticed the strange happenings, but the adults didn’t believe them. Eventually, the eldest son was pushed down the stairs by an evil spirit, breaking his leg, and the youngest daughter was lifted into the air, spinning around before hanging from a chandelier. Thankfully, the mother caught her as she fell and she was unharmed.

Only after this did the family believe there were ghosts in the house, but by then, they were already haunted and unable to leave. Desperate, they had contacted familiar people to help and eventually placed an order on the Daofu app.

“I’ll go check it out around noon,” Kou Xuanling said, putting the documents away. He went out for a walk and had breakfast before returning to update the ancestor. “I might have to stay in that villa for two days. I’ll come back and switch out the flowers and fruit afterward. Can I trouble you with that?”

He quickly packed up and left, and once again, the room was left empty. The atmosphere suddenly turned heavy and oppressive. Clothes carelessly thrown onto the sofa were inexplicably pulled into the wardrobe with a forceful swirl. The room shook violently for a brief moment, the intensity of it almost as if someone was in a fit of rage. After about ten seconds, the formerly chaotic room became much tidier.

A soft, cold hum echoed in the empty room. The next moment, the door opened from the outside, and Kou Xuanling rushed in, clasping his hands together in front of the image of his ancestor. “Ancestor Lu Jing, I think I’ll just keep you in my pocket for these two days. I miss you already.”

The oppressive atmosphere in the room dissipated instantly, like spring had arrived, bringing warmth and bloom. Unfortunately, Kou Xuanling didn’t notice the subtle shift in the room’s energy as he hastily rolled up the image of the ancestor and stuffed it into his pocket, rushing downstairs to his car. He had to arrive at the employer’s house before dark.

The employer, Mr. Chang, was hiding behind the door, anxiously watching security footage. In a highly tense state, even when he saw Kou Xuanling, he was still wary. “Who are you?”

Kou Xuanling looked at the intercom by the door. “Hello, Mr. Chang. I’m Kou Xuanling, a member of the Daofu Branch. I’ve come to handle the supernatural case you reported. Please, open the door.”

After a long pause, the door opened from the inside. Kou Xuanling saw Mr. Chang, a middle-aged man with a haggard expression, filled with nervousness and fear. Mr. Chang opened the door just enough to speak, his anxious gaze lingering on the large ginkgo tree in the yard. “Hurry, come inside.”

As Kou Xuanling walked in, he turned to look at the ginkgo tree in the yard. “Mr. Chang, what are you looking at?”

Mr. Chang didn’t answer, instead hurriedly ushering him inside. He quickly slammed the door shut behind them.

Once inside, Kou Xuanling noticed that every room and the living room had the curtains drawn, and the lights were off, making the place pitch dark and nearly impossible to navigate. Mr. Chang turned on a small desk lamp and gave a short, strained smile. “Sorry, we’re too afraid of the evil spirits in the house, so we don’t dare turn on the lights.”

“Turning the lights on or off won’t help with the ghosts,” Kou Xuanling said calmly.

“Yes, it does,” Mr. Chang insisted urgently. “If we turn on the lights, there will be countless evil spirits outside. All the windows are covered in black handprints, and there’s this banging noise, boom, boom, boom. If we keep the lights off, the spirits circle around outside but can’t find us, and they won’t bother us.”

Kou Xuanling observed Mr. Chang’s pale and weary face, clearly showing signs of severe stress from the haunting. He could tell Mr. Chang was too terrified, his nerves frayed from the trauma. He didn’t want to tell Mr. Chang outright that only sunlight can harm ghosts, and that switching the lights off or on wouldn’t change the situation. The evil spirits were simply playing with Mr. Chang’s family, making them live in constant fear.

Following Mr. Chang’s lead, Kou Xuanling was introduced to Mrs. Chang, the eldest son, and the youngest daughter, who were hiding in the study. The family looked utterly exhausted, having been tormented by the evil spirits for so long that they couldn’t even sleep properly. As soon as Mrs. Chang saw Kou Xuanling, she pleaded, “Master Kou, please save my two children.”

“Sit down and tell me everything in detail,” Kou Xuanling instructed, sitting across from the family. He looked at them all and said, “Turn on the lights.”

Mr. Chang vehemently refused. “No, those evil spirits will definitely find us. They’ll break into the house tonight for sure.” Mrs. Chang and the eldest son nodded in agreement, also refusing the suggestion.

Seeing their fear, Kou Xuanling sighed. “If that’s the case, I’ll do what I can to reassure you. Don’t worry, I’ve brought a talisman. As long as it’s here, no evil spirit will dare approach.” With that, he reached into his bag, and the Chang family expected him to pull out some Taoist artifact or divine item. However, he instead pulled out a scroll.

“Mr. Chang, where can I hang a picture in the study?”

Mr. Chang looked confused but pointed to a pricey landscape painting on the wall. “Would that work?”

“That’s fine,” Kou Xuanling replied. He unfurled the scroll and hung the image of Lu Jing Ancestor on the wall. From his bag, he took out three incense sticks, an eternal light, a small bottle of incense oil, and a small incense burner. Turning to Mrs. Chang, he asked, “Do you have any rice?”

“Yes…” Mrs. Chang handed him a bowl of rice. Kou Xuanling poured the rice into the incense burner, lit the incense sticks, and bowed three times respectfully. After the incense was placed in the burner, he sighed in relief. “Now, turn on the lights.”

The Chang family stared at him in silence.

Mr. Chang hesitantly asked, “Will this really work?”

Kou Xuanling asked with a smile, “If the ancestor is here, do you think it will work?”

Mr. Chang, startled by the mention of the ancestor, quickly turned on the lights, his expression a mix of confusion and disbelief. He hadn’t expected Kou Xuanling to be this professional. Not only had he brought the image of the ancestor, but he had also come equipped with incense and a burner. He wondered how a burner like that could even pass through security at the airport.

Kou Xuanling shook his head. “I drove here, I didn’t take the subway.”

“Who is this ancestor?” Mr. Chang asked, still trying to process everything.

“My family’s ancestor,” Kou Xuanling answered solemnly. Then, with a change of tone, he added, “Alright, now tell me about the ghosts you’ve encountered.”

Author’s note: Kou Xuanling never leaves home without his essentials: incense, eternal light, incense oil, incense burner… and of course, the ancestor!

 

 

 

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