Number Seven Mansion

Now available in a paid chapter! Here's a 10,000-character bonus chapter~~ Previews for the upcoming works "Yellow Springs Inn" and "The Cannon Fodder Second Male Lead's Promotion Story" are below~

When Ye Zang turned twenty-three, he took over one of the Ye family's museums according to family custom: Mansion No. 7. It was usually quiet and deserted, and rumors that it was haunted made it even less popular. All the relatives from the collateral branches thought Ye Zang was the least favored member of the main family, and that was why they had dumped such a mess on him. But only Ye Zang knew the truth: Mansion No. 7 was a place the Ye family had been guarding since the time of their ancestors. The antiques inside were all uncanny. In other words, they were alive. As they aged, the objects developed consciousness and spirits, and those spirits could be good or evil. Ye Zang's job was to keep an eye on them, or retrieve any objects that had developed awareness out in the world, to keep them from wreaking havoc on ordinary people.

He would sometimes chat with the bronze ding, or listen to the sad story of the kingfisher-feather hairpin, and hear the antiques recount events from ages past. It was all rather interesting. But the Jiazi Storehouse in Mansion No. 7 was a place the previous curator had repeatedly warned him never to set foot in. They said the object sealed inside was a violent, sinister spirit.

Then one day, through a twist of fate, Ye Zang released a being so dangerous that anyone who went near him would have nightmares for days. And then, one day...

Ye Zang looked coldly at the man kneeling before him on one knee. He wore a jade crown and a black robe. He was handsome, but apart from that...

"A Zang, you smell so good."

"A Zang, let me borrow a little of your soul to prolong my thousand-year existence. Just one bite, okay?"

"A Zang~"

What an insufferable pest!

Ye Zang fought down the urge to kick him to death and started searching online: What modern tools could smash an ancient imperial jade seal into tiny fragments?

Beautiful, tragic, cold-tempered, and irritable curator, the pursued one × irreverent spirit of an imperial jade seal, the pursuer

Reader's guide: 1. Daily updates, between 9 and 10 p.m.

2. The historical details in this story are all from my imagination. My writing and logic are amateurish. Enjoy the story, and don't get caught up in nitpicking the logic~

Preview for "The Cannon Fodder Second Male Lead's Rise to the Top":

The entrance of the Municipal Public Security Bureau was always a sight to behold at the end of the workday. There would be either a row of gorgeous, stylish women with a distinctly Beijing flair, or handsome young male models. Everyone knew that Captain Yu, the bureau's resident heartthrob, was slick when it came to romance. But changing partners every single day was a bit much, wasn't it?

Then one day, the parade of beauties stopped showing up. Yu, who usually loved to flirt and joke around, either sat in his office chewing on a pen and staring blankly at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, or was on his way to do just that.

The junior officers whispered among themselves. "What's wrong with Captain Yu?"

"Could his kidneys have given out?"

"Are you kidding? He just set a personal record in that long-distance run with a weighted pack."

"He met his true love!"

"Holy crap, that could be it!"

"..."

That's right, Yu Yang had met his true love. But in the middle of this goddamn melodrama playing out in real time, his true love was his unlucky nephew's boyfriend of seven years. Going after his nephew's partner was... a little beastly, wasn't it?

Yu Yang lay dejectedly in his chair, the refined, aloof face flashing through his mind again and again. His heart felt like a kitten was scratching at it, both painful and ticklish.

That day, Yu Yang's mother ordered him to come home for dinner. As luck would have it, a torrential downpour began just as he arrived. The first person he saw when he entered was his unlucky nephew. They were actually about the same age, but Yu Yang had seniority in the family.

Yu Yang gave his unlucky nephew a resentful once-over.

There wasn't a single thing about this guy that could compare to him!

Then his unlucky nephew hurriedly took a phone call and rushed out, looking tense.

Curious, Yu Yang took an umbrella and ambled after him.

As soon as he stepped outside, Yu Yang saw a man standing in the rain. He wore a pilot's uniform and had long legs, a slim waist, and a pale, exquisite face streaked with water. Yu Yang's hand shook around the umbrella.

"Xiao Gu, go back first, okay? I'll explain everything." His unlucky nephew reached for the man's hand. Years of working as a criminal investigator had honed Yu Yang's hearing, and he caught every word.

The man smiled and took several intimate photos from his pocket. "How many times has this happened? Forget it."

"Xiao Gu..."

The man tossed the photos onto his unlucky nephew and turned to leave, his eyes reddening.

Yu Yang froze for a moment, then suppressed his excitement and splashed through the puddles toward him.

I don't give a damn, I want to be a beast!

Here I come, gorgeous!

His unlucky nephew stood there in sorrow, watching his excited uncle charge off with an umbrella like a duck in the rain, barely sparing him a glance as he headed straight for his boyfriend.

Unlucky nephew: "..." Something felt off.

One day later, the man came to the house. His unlucky nephew seemed to have expected him and tried to embrace him. "Xiao Gu, forgive me one more time. Just one last time."

Right after that, Yu Yang came swaggering out from behind the man, his peacock feathers fanned out. He smacked his unlucky nephew on the back of the head and raised an eyebrow. "Show some respect. That's your aunt-in-law."

Unlucky nephew: "..." Something else felt off.

A short scene:

Yu Yang, who had narrowly escaped death, lay in his hospital bed staring at the ceiling. The door was thrown open, and he turned to see the handsome man rushing in, his face full of worry.

His expression turned cold. "Wen Rugu, if I really died today, would you regret going to him?"

Wen Rugu remained silent.

Yu Yang clenched his fists. "Damn you! I've cherished you for the past six months, treated you like the apple of my eye, and wanted to pluck the moon from the sky and put it in your hands. I practically cut my heart open and gave it to you. Isn't that enough?!"

"Forget it. I'm done putting up with you. Get out!" Yu Yang stubbornly held back the tears welling in his eyes.

Just then, two policewomen entered from outside.

"Captain Yu's really lucky. The bullet missed his heart by just an inch. If he'd been brought in five minutes later, I can't even imagine..."

"But it was strange. After Captain Yu was shot, his phone still had a little battery left, but he didn't call an ambulance."

"Maybe he was delirious."

Wen Rugu heard every word. He looked at the missed call on his phone, a call that had lasted fifty-six seconds, and his hand trembled around the phone.

"I thought I should at least hear your voice once more before I died," Yu Yang said calmly.

"A Yu..."

"Enough. Don't let me see you again," Yu Yang said.

Wen Rugu: My wife doesn't want me anymore. What do I do? Help me out, I'm looking for ways to win him back. It's urgent.

Cold, abstinent, beautiful, and unhinged pilot, the pursuer (a scumbag at first, then devoted to his wife) × flamboyant peacock who thinks he's the pursuer

Reader's guide: 1. The leads are not each other's first. Don't read if you can't handle that!!!!!!

2. You could call it a sweet romance~

3. The pursuer has to win back his love.

Preview for "Yellow Springs Inn":

A cowardly beauty Taoist priest who is scared of ghosts × the aloof owner of the Yellow Springs Inn in the ghost realm

Ye Chang'an was an orphan who had barely attended school for more than a few days. He had also been taken in by a mad old Taoist who was always making things up. When Ye Chang'an turned eighteen, his unreliable master abandoned him under the excuse that he needed to travel the world without attachments.

So Ye Chang'an, a half-trained little Taoist priest, could only scrape by with the gift for swindling that he had inherited from his master.

Then one day, Wang the Medium, an old acquaintance, found him a job. It would pay handsomely: he just had to help arrange a ghost marriage. At the mention of it, his knees went weak. He might make his living hunting ghosts, but he had never let his master open his third eye. The reason was simple: he was terrified of ghosts. He even slept with the lights on.

So after Wang the Medium finished explaining, he turned her down without hesitation. Then, after going hungry for three days, he found himself holding a portrait of the "bride."

Bright red wedding candles, a black-and-white portrait, and a sinister wind blowing through the room. The scene could not have been more eerie. Ye Chang'an kept his eyes nearly shut, silently chanting "Namo Amitabha" to keep himself going. Wang the Medium had said this was a "blind date," and the two "newlyweds" would first have to see if they liked the look of each other.

After it was finally over, Ye Chang'an had nearly wet himself. Then Wang the Medium said something that scared him unconscious.

The "groom" on the other side had taken a liking to him!

Damn it! This ghostly big brother had been gay when he was alive, too!

At midnight on the wedding day, skeleton underworld enforcers dressed in ragged red robes paraded down ten miles of streets, playing chilling funeral music as they approached Ye Chang'an's shabby rental. But Ye Chang'an didn't see any of it. The instant he heard the music, he fainted.

When he woke up, he was in an antique-style room, with the heavy smell of burning yellow paper in the air. Ye Chang'an sat up, trembling. "Where is this?"

"The Yellow Springs." A voice cold as ice.

Ye Chang'an rolled his eyes back and nearly stopped breathing.

"If you dare faint, I'll throw you out to feed the evil spirits in the River of Oblivion." The chilling voice spoke again.

Ye Chang'an's eyes immediately rolled back into place. He only dared to open them a sliver and look toward the voice. A man in black sat upright in a chair, his picturesque features so cold they seemed dusted with frost.

My ghostly husband is pretty damn hot.

No, no, no! He could be as hot as he wanted, but he was still a ghost, not a living person!

Ye Chang'an rolled onto the floor, then dropped to his knees in front of his "husband." "You're so handsome. You could have anyone you wanted. Don't be fooled by my decent looks. I'm contagious! Hepatitis B, AIDS, tuberculosis, whatever you can think of, I've got it!"

"What if I'm not afraid?"

Ye Chang'an was dumbfounded. Holy crap! This is true love!

Just as he was thinking that, the door was kicked open. A fierce-looking man in a bright red wedding robe strode inside. He was clearly an evil spirit.

"Give him to me!"

Ye Chang'an immediately clung to his "husband's" leg with both arms and legs.

"He's mine." The man calmly took a sip of tea.

"Bullshit! I married him!" the evil spirit shouted.

Ye Chang'an was bewildered. Had he mistaken who his "husband" was?

He looked back and forth between the two ghosts, then came to a conclusion.

He hadn't mistaken him!

"Believe me, I'll tear this lousy inn apart!" the evil spirit said, and a Green Dragon Crescent Blade, much like Guan Yu's, appeared in his hand.

The man set down his teacup. The next moment, the evil spirit was torn apart and devoured by the vengeful spirits in the River of Oblivion. The next day, the Ten Yama Kings and the Five Ghost Emperors all respectfully apologized to the owner of the Yellow Springs Inn.

Before he fainted, Ye Chang'an clung even tighter to the man's leg.

One day later, Xuan Qi looked at Ye Chang'an hesitantly and said, "Back then, when the ghostly wedding procession came to fetch the groom, with its ten miles of red finery, it was actually me who came to get you."

Ye Chang'an asked, "What wedding procession?"

Xuan Qi: "The day you first arrived in the Yellow Springs."

Ye Chang'an: "I... fainted from fright. I didn't see a thing."

Xuan Qi: "..."

Ye Chang'an: "Qi Qi, how about you do the wedding procession again?"

Xuan Qi: "Get lost."

The Yellow Springs Inn, where souls are ferried to the afterlife...

Theme: Dreams are worth chasing precisely because they are beyond our reach.