Completed
[Dark, gloomy male ghost gong VS indifferent beauty shou]
Blurb:
A cloud of black mist was always in He Shengli's field of vision. His grandmother had once warned him, "Don't go near it. It'll bring bad luck."
But while fleeing an assassination attempt, He Shengli accidentally ran into the black mist. Beyond the ordinary-looking mist lay a city, where he met a witch doctor named Jiyuan, who saved his life.
The people here were simple and kind, and everyone was eager to help, especially the exceptionally kindhearted witch doctor. He Shengli considered him a friend.
Jiyuan accepted his "gift" and welcomed him as an outsider and a friend. He even took him to see the sacred pool ceremony, which only members of the clan were allowed to attend.
-
While He Shengli was recovering, accidents kept happening. First, one of his companions died of illness; then another fell off a cliff. They were placed in body bags, and no one dared look at their horrifically disfigured faces.
At the sight of the villagers' pitying eyes, He Shengli suddenly felt a chill of dread.
"Don't be afraid. I'll help you."
Jiyuan told him this, and so He Shengli chose to trust his friend this time.
-
Until one day, a centenarian in the city was murdered, and his friend was accused of the crime and locked away in the prison of Echeng.
Jiyuan sat leisurely in a wooden chair, thinking, He'll come begging me. He has to.
But in reality, He Shengli made no move. When his friend was finally cleared of suspicion, Jiyuan forced a smile and congratulated him:
"Congratulations. You're reunited again."
"Thank you."
He Shengli grew distant, and Jiyuan knew the other man had begun to suspect him. But so what?
-
He Shengli sensed that something was wrong with Echeng. He also knew that Jiyuan had simply been playing him. So he went alone to the sacred pool, where he discovered a secret no one else knew.
He followed the current downstream and found a secret room containing a still-beating heart.
Not only that, He Shengli found the container that held his own heart, but it was marked "Already taken."
"You found it. So what?" A figure emerged from the darkness, as if they had been waiting for a long time.
He Shengli knew he truly couldn't escape.
-
Jiyuan dropped his usual gentle facade and confessed his love to He Shengli, who rejected him without hesitation.
But it didn't matter. As long as He Shengli stayed here, his feelings could be cultivated.
He had no idea just how extreme his love was. He even threatened He Shengli: "You don't want me? Then what will happen to your good friend?"
He had finally managed to beg Jiyuan to spare his friend, but Jiyuan was like a vengeful ghost that never left, spying on everyone else in He Shengli's life through him.
"I hear you have a family member, your only one, right?"
-
Unable to bear it, He Shengli pointed a blade at his own chest. Bright flowers bloomed across his plain clothes. But the hoped-for other shore never came. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the home he had not visited in ages.
His life began again, and the black mist in his vision had disappeared completely. But before long, his old friend came down with an incurable disease.
In his despair, he found himself thinking of Jiyuan, who had once helped him and then plunged him into despair.
Guided by his memories, he returned to Echeng, only to find it desolate.
Echeng had disappeared
[Reader's Guide]
1. Contains coercive elements and melodramatic tropes such as the gong pursuing the shou after a breakup. The story has questionable values, so don't read if that's not for you.
2. There are many author-created details. No need to scrutinize them, and please don't compare them to reality.
3. People aren't killed at random in this story. Everything happens for a reason and has consequences (except for the gong coercing the shou, haha). Of course, everyone interprets things differently. If you dislike it, don't understand it, or disagree, run away now.
4. 1v1, happy ending
Theme: Cherish life
