Lord of the Mysteries: The Path of Fire and the Fool

I awakened from a shell of death and opened my eyes to this world under a crimson moon.An illusory cube unfolded in my hand, and a silver key unlocked the door to the cosmic abyss.

Gods, fate, origin, the starry sky—these burdens are far too heavy for a single soul to bear.

Potions, homeland, steam, flame… the mysterious mist coils above the Spirit World, and it is fire that lights the lamps of home in His name.

"Struggle is the root of all motion and existence. The one who can ignite the fire of struggle—must be that Priest!"

"Fate has not been fair to you or me, but it hasn't yet driven us into a corner!"

"There are infinite black holes in the universe, infinite universes within those black holes, and beyond infinity lies infinity itself… There must be a way. We will return, no matter what!"

Was all this truly a divine chess match—or something orchestrated from an even higher level?

As the doomsday bell tolls, I journey forward with my companions, walking together to the end of this Fool's Path.Chapter 1: The Old DaysTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 11208 words Update time: 2025-05-01 12:34:18

Even many years later, when time becomes dust in the starry sky and history turns completely into an indestructible mist, he will never forget that it was their first meeting.

The summer sun is not as strong as it used to be, but the sky and the earth are still exceptionally bright from the sun that seems to never set. The heat waves steaming on the road still retain the memory of noon, but the noisy cicadas are crushed by the chaotic footsteps of the hurried pedestrians on the street.

The salty and sour smell mixed with dust and sweat in the daytime air is gradually disappearing, replaced by the unique smell of summer nights, carrying the rich fragrance of grass and trees and the chirping of crickets, quietly approaching.

A busy day is about to end, and this is when leisure stories happen.

"Boss, how much is this thing?"

Wearing a simple short-sleeved shirt and a beach straw hat covering his head so that the shadow obscured half of his face, Gu Yu stood with his legs apart and squatted in front of a small roadside stall which used discarded cloth spread on the ground. He carefully examined the strange little toys placed on the faded cloth.

Even if you don't look at the small sign on the side that says "Antique Collection", just a quick look at the things on display on the stall will give you an idea of ​​what is being sold at this stall.

From coins and porcelain to books and ancient volumes, and then to woodworking ritual objects, most of the items on the stalls are antiques that seem to have a great deal of history.

After scanning all the items on the stall with a sharp and shrewd eye, Gu Yi finally decided to put aside all the distracting treasure appraisal knowledge in his mind, return to basics, and select the one that he liked the most.

"Oh, you mean the craft key."

The owner of the stall came over and looked at the location where Gu Yi was pointing.

He rolled his eyes, pulled the small stool behind him, and while sitting down, he casually stretched out four fingers and said:

"Forty dollars, very cheap."

"forty?"

Gu Yi looked up at the stall owner's expression, then lowered his head, reached out to pick up the key that suited his taste, and held it in front of him.

Although most of the items on this stall are inferior products that are not worth looking at, and most of them are even by-products of the glory of modern industry, the appearance and craftsmanship of this key exceeded Gu Yi's highest expectations of the rare items that could be found in such a small stall.

Holding it in his hand, it was much heavier than Gu Yu had imagined, as if it was really cast from pure silver. The sunlight near dusk shone on the surface of the key, abruptly reflecting the cold silver light, but the touch of his fingers did not give him any feedback of the coldness.

Gu Yi's fingertips stroked the pattern on the surface of the key. The technique, which was more precise than any micro-engraving process, left circle after circle of Arabic vine patterns on the key. The patterns were as complex as a code, covering almost the entire surface of the key from top to bottom.

Ingenious, exquisite, and picturesque, these were the only emotions that Gu Yi could feel when he saw the key. But if that was all, he would still have to think twice about whether he really needed to spend a lot of money on a key that looked like it was made of silver, but it was still unclear what it actually contained.

After all, it was near the end of the month, and his life was not rich. This was the case during the college internship period. He couldn't just think of going to his parents when he encountered difficulties. He had already grown up.

The reason why Gu Yi was so fond of this key and was unable to make an effective choice was not only because it was very exquisite, but also because:

That is, Gu Yi is a die-hard Cthulhu fan.

The moment he saw the key being sold on the street stall, he decided that he must take it home and put it on his bedside table as a prop to play the "Silver Key", hoping that the great Bubble would bless him to pass his graduation defense successfully.

Gu Yu admitted that his mentality was somewhat ignorant and superstitious in today's society, but that was how people were. When faced with something that they didn't have enough self-confidence in, they would look for ways to increase their self-confidence, and praying to gods and Buddhas was a common method. But once they achieved their goals, they would immediately sneer at their previous actions, believing that these were all their own efforts rather than the blessings of some illusory existence.

This cannot be said to be a double standard of human nature. In fact, Gu Yi believes that this can reflect the complex and colorful side of being human, because this is the best portrayal of vivid emotions in stereotyped physiology.

Therefore, Gu Yi made up his mind to buy the key and take it home to hang it on the wall.

However, forty yuan...Gu Yi felt that there was still room for negotiation.

"Forty, I don't think that's good enough."

Gu Yi put the silver key back in its place, touched his chin, put his hands on his knees, maintained the Asian squat posture, and spoke to the stall owner with an unusually confident smile.

Judging from the weight of the key, if it was really made of silver of equal weight, then the stall owner would not have said "forty" as the price. However, in such a small roadside stall, this assumption itself was impossible.

In other words, the stall owner himself actually knows that the actual value of the key is not high.

It doesn't matter, he just needs to bet on the customer's vision. Anyway, the price he quoted was not even three figures, and he didn't make any promises such as "10 times compensation if the product is fake". Even if the customer regretted the purchase, he still had enough legal rights.

It's a pity that the person who came to buy this key today is not just a "customer", he is also "Gu Yi".

"I think the things you have here are all very interesting, and I really want to do this business with you."

Play the emotional card first! Use the recognition and praise of the stall owner's products to improve your position in the stall owner's heart. Moral bargaining chips are also a kind of bargaining chips. As long as he praises well and hard enough, the stall owner will not bite the price too hard. This is one of the basic routines of bargaining.

"Why don't I name a price and we can just be friends. I'll come to your stall more often in the future to support your business. And you have so many interesting things here, I can also bring my friends here, maybe they will also like some good things."

Then, use a long-term perspective to paint a rosy picture for the stall owner. The most important thing in doing business is long-term customer base. I believe that a qualified businessman cannot fail to consider the value of a potential long-term customer. Even if he knows that this is just a rhetoric, he has to enter this conspiracy.

As expected, Gu Wei's words piqued the interest of the stall owner.

"Dear brother, what's your estimate?"

The stall owner smiled slowly, with a very frank attitude, one hand on his leg and the other hand hanging by his side, giving the initiative to Gu Yi.

"I think..."

Gu Yi thought about it quickly and decided to use the method his mother taught him, bargaining for half the price first and then gradually changing it.

So he held up two fingers and said casually:

"twenty."

"twenty?"

Upon hearing the price offered by Gu Yu, the stall owner's expression immediately changed. He drooped his face and shook his head repeatedly, saying:

"Twenty is not worth it. What kind of business is this? I bought all these goods from other people with money. I have to make a profit no matter what!"

Is that really the case... Very good, everything is under control.

Gu Yu frowned on the surface, but in fact, he had already revealed a "planned" smile in his heart. He had long expected the stall owner to say such a thing, and he did not expect to really cut the price in half directly. It was just to create a false bottom line for himself.

The stall owner did not insist on the original price, which meant that the price was negotiable. This depended on Gu's own experience and judgment.

He learned his bargaining skills from his mother, but his mother usually only bargained when buying clothes and shoes. Because she had worked in the clothing industry, she had a certain understanding of the internal pricing standards of different fabric materials, so she could accurately negotiate the price to the bottom line that the other party could accept.

However, Gu Yi had no basic judgment on the price of this kind of handicraft. After all, he didn't even know how much real silver was in this thing, or whether it was not silver at all.

Therefore, he had to be careful about the price he called out...

Gu Yu licked his dry lips, stood up from the ground to show his momentum, and then said:

"Boss, we are all honest people, just give us a cheap price. I negotiated with you because I like it."

The stall owner's eyes followed him up, and he looked at Gu Yu with an expression that said, "Let's see what you can do."

"Then what's your price?"

Gu Yu half-raised his head, trying to appear experienced, and said:

"Twenty-five, I suppose?"

"Well, it's twenty-five."

"Oh, I knew it... ah? What did you say, boss?"

Gu Yi had just prepared his next speech, but was suddenly interrupted by the stall owner's words.

He blinked and looked at the stall owner, speaking subconsciously, while the latter, with a shrewd look, fanned himself with a newspaper fan in his hand and replied:

"Twenty-five. You decide the price."

"This, I…"

After a moment, ending with a clear word of payment, the stall owner happily handed the key to Gu Yi.

"Thanks, I'll come again next time!"

"Um..."

Gu Yi looked at the key in his hand, feeling its cold heaviness. Although he still felt as if he had been cheated, he still comforted himself with the reason that "this key is indeed very delicate. At most I can get it back by drinking two less cups of milk tea."

Alas... I am still too young. Next time I must learn more bargaining skills from my mother.

Gu Yi thought about it, put the key safely into his trouser pocket, and prepared to get up and leave.

"Boss, how much is this?"

Suddenly, Gu Yi heard another inquiring voice coming from behind him. He subconsciously turned his head and saw a young man wearing a classic plaid shirt and a pair of glasses, who looked like a hardworking office worker. He was bending over his previous position and pointing to an old, yellowed, thread-bound book on the stall and speaking to the stall owner.

The stall owner, who had just made a fortune, naturally would not miss this opportunity. He fanned himself with the newspaper fan as he had done before, and answered very naturally:

"Forty, you look like you found it!"

"Forty?"

The young man was visibly troubled. Gu Yi, who was standing nearby, did not leave and happened to see the whole process.

He glanced at the stall and saw the book the young man wanted to buy.

It was an ancient book that looked quite old. The color of the cover had almost faded, with only yellow lines crawling on it like worms. It was unknown whether they were real signs of time or a fake product that had been soaked in tea and dried.

On the right side of the book, the only place with a little color, the vertical title is written in vigorous ink.

"Records of Secret Alchemy Techniques of the Qin and Han Dynasties"

Gu Yu remembered this book, and he had noticed it when he was selecting items just now. If he remembered correctly, the content of the book was a bit mysterious, which was somewhat in line with his Cthulhu lover, but he was really not used to books that were printed vertically and from right to left, so he lost interest after flipping through it a few times and did not choose it for shopping.

It seems that this young man should also be someone who is interested in folklore, or metaphysics and mysticism...

Yeah, but it is more likely that the young man was just in a whim, just like the vast majority of people on the Internet, who wanted to expand their image of "knowing a little bit about everything", so they bought this unpopular stuff.

Gu Yi thought so, but he had no ill intentions. Thinking about various possibilities was also a way to help him exercise his active thinking.

After hearing the stall owner's price, the young man did not leave. He still stood there, frowning, his eyes fixed on the book, and rubbing his fingers. It was obvious that he really wanted to buy the book, but like Gu Yi before, he was also stuck in the decision of the price.

Looking at the young man's difficult expression and thinking about the five dollars or even more that was probably swindled away by the stall owner, an inexplicable sense of responsibility rose in Gu Yi's heart.

So Gu Yi turned around, walked a few steps to the young man's side, raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder twice, then said:

"Friend, do you think this price is a little hard to accept?"

The young man turned around and looked at Gu Yi in a daze. It was obvious that he was not used to this kind of familiar and approachable behavior.

But out of politeness, he still answered Gu Yi's question:

"Uh, well... a little bit."

Gu Yu smiled complacently, moved a little closer to the young man to show his closeness, and lowered his voice, speaking into the young man's ear in a voice that only the two of them could hear:

"If you don't mind, let me help you bargain. I just bought something here, and I can guarantee that the price quoted by this unscrupulous stall owner is definitely more than double the price!"

"One, one times... This is too exaggerated..."

"Who said it wasn't? The original price was forty dollars, and I just offered twenty-five dollars, and he readily agreed to the price. This time, I think twenty dollars should be close to his bottom line."

"Well... I think it's possible, so please help me bargain for a lower price."

The two quickly reached a consensus. Gu Yi, with a very confident smile, turned to look at the stall owner sitting on the stool and raised two fingers proudly.

It was just like the previous time, except that this time Gu Yi's tone was absolutely unquestionable.

"Boss, can I take the twenty dollars?"

...

A moment later, in a roadside noodle shop, the young man looked at Gu Yu with a wry smile, looking dejected.

"Damn it...I miscalculated!"

Gu Yi was secretly competing with the stall owner over a freshly opened bottle of black tea. He really didn't expect that even though he had already bargained the price in half, the stall owner still agreed to the price very readily.

"What kind of shady stall is this? The profit is more than double, right? Could he really have made twice the profit?! It's very likely that he wasn't lying. Maybe he just picked up this book. There's no cost price at all...!"

Gu Yu kept cricketing at the stall owner, and his resentment was so obvious that it was about to overflow.

"Okay, okay, stop thinking so much."

The young man tried to comfort Gu Yi helplessly.

"I'm sorry... I really wanted to help you bargain, but I didn't expect... I still suffered from my experience."

Gu Yi looked at the young man sitting opposite him with some guilt. The latter was the first to let it go and spoke to Gu Yi indifferently.

"I'm very surprised that you were able to bargain it down to half the original price. To be honest, I was going to bite the bullet and buy it at the original price of 40 yuan, but luckily you came forward to bargain for me. 20 yuan, well, it's totally within my budget."

Active consolation from the parties involved always makes people feel better. Listening to the young man's words, Gu Yi gradually let go of the two failed bargaining experiences.

He scratched his hair which was tied into a bun and said to the young man in a shy manner:

"Let me practice some more. Next time, I will definitely help you bargain for a good price."

"Haha, let's talk about it when we have a chance."

Gu Yi and the young man looked at each other and laughed. Gu Yi truly felt the other party's politeness and friendliness, and the latter also truly felt his enthusiasm and sincerity.

So Gu Yi felt that he should make friends with this person.

"By the way, we've been chatting for so long, but I still don't know your name."

The young man took a sip of water, and after hearing Gu Yi's question, he answered frankly after swallowing the water:

"My name is Zhou Mingrui, Ming means wise and Rui means auspicious."

"Zhou Mingrui... well, what a good name."

Gu Yu chewed on the name for a while, and after making sure he had truly memorized it, he did not forget to "return the favor" to Zhou Mingrui:

"My name is Gu Yu, which is composed of the character for king with a forward-looking character on the side."

"Gu Yu... the character at the end is not common."

"Hey, there's a meaning behind the name my parents gave me."

Gu Yu smiled proudly, raised a finger and kept shaking it, saying:

"珦 is the name of a kind of jade. In other words, 珦 means precious jade... In other words, my name can actually be expanded to Gu Baoyu."

"I've never heard of a name that can be expanded like this..."

Zhou Mingrui complained weakly, but in fact he looked at Gu Yi's face carefully.

The black, shoulder-length hair was tied back, revealing the entire face without any obstruction. Capable and refreshing, these were the first words Zhou Mingrui could think of to describe Gu Yu's appearance.

There is no extra fat on his face, and the shape of the bones under the skin is very stylish. However, because he is young, his facial features are still a little immature. The corners of his mouth that are always raised and his slightly narrowed eyes always give people a sense of being not too serious. But when you see the stern sword-like eyebrows, the shape that matches the whole face can't help but make people feel a temperament that is easy to yearn for. However, Gu Yu's face is not as round and smooth as a gem, but more like a prismatic crystal. It is not so graceful, but still shows its value.

It's good to be young...

Zhou Mingrui thought for no reason. Although he had only been in society for a short time, life had already smoothed his edges and corners, causing him to grow fat early and even a little double chin. If it were before, when he was in college, he would at least be considered an above-average sunny young man.

"From your appearance, you probably haven't entered society yet, right?"

Zhou Mingrui, who was deeply moved, suddenly asked, and Gu Yu did not hesitate and answered immediately:

"Yeah, I'm only in my senior year in the second half of the year, and I'm currently looking for a summer internship while trying to find inspiration for my graduation project."

"Oh? Are you attending university in Sichuan and Chongqing? You're not a local?"

"Yes, my hometown is Jiangnan. I got into a top university here in the college entrance examination. I majored in computer science and technology."

"It should be easy to find a suitable job then. Do you plan to stay here or go back to your hometown after graduation?"

"It's hard to say either way. The competition is too great. There are so many undergraduates now, and the job market is saturated. It's not as easy to find a good job as before, and..."

Gu Yi was talking when he suddenly stopped and gave Zhou Mingrui a strange look.

"Why are you suddenly asking me about my career plan like my parents did? It makes me feel uncomfortable..."

"Haha, I am also concerned about my juniors."

Zhou Mingrui smiled and raised his hand to express his apology.

Gu Yu curled his lips and shook his head, muttering to himself:

"If I really had a clear plan for the future, I wouldn't be begging Yog Bubble to show me the way all day long."

"Yug Bubble is...?"

Zhou Mingrui asked doubtfully. Hearing the key words, Gu Yi's distressed attitude changed and a smile immediately appeared on his face. He showed the handicraft key that he had bought for a "high price".

"This is what I just bought from that black-hearted stall owner. This appearance and shape are quite consistent with a symbolic item in mythology, and what it represents is what I called Yog Bubble, a great god who is omniscient and omnipotent!"

Zhou Mingrui's expression became confused. He seemed to be trying to confirm something and asked tentatively:

"You still believe in this kind of thing? Why does it sound so much like..."

"What are you thinking... It's not a cult or anything like that! It's a compiled science fiction mythology system that is somewhat well-known both at home and abroad."

Gu Yi immediately realized that Zhou Mingrui had misunderstood, so he quickly cleared his name before the other party mistakenly thought he was a member of a cult.

After saying that, he looked at the "Records of Qin and Han Secret Alchemy" that Zhou Mingrui placed on his right hand side, raised his eyebrows with some amusement, and said to the latter:

"Then again, don't you also like this kind of mysterious things?"

Zhou Mingrui followed Gu Yi's line of sight and saw the ancient book he had placed aside. He took it with a smile and flipped through it while saying:

"I'm just interested in this weird knowledge. Knowing more about it will help me... well, you know, gain a higher level of knowledge when I'm confronting people online."

"I see, keyboard warrior!"

"Hey! I'm not the kind of person who likes to make trouble..."

Seeing Zhou Mingrui flipping through the cover of "Records of Alchemy", Gu Yu did become interested. He was always happy to take a look at the secrets of ancient Chinese inheritance.

"Hey, Lao Zhou, what's recorded here?"

"Lao Zhou...why do you sound so old when you call me..."

Zhou Mingrui complained casually, his eyes still focused on the page of "Records of Alchemy", and then said:

"What is recorded here are some ancient rituals. The methods are not complicated, but the principles are dizzying. Well, there are many types, such as blessing rituals, divination rituals, and luck-changing rituals..."

"A luck-changing ritual? Is there such a ritual?"

Gu Yi's eyes lit up, and he immediately rubbed his hands and leaned forward.

"It just so happens that my luck has been a bit bad recently. I have been defeated by that unscrupulous stall owner twice, which is even more unpleasant. Lao Zhou, can you lend it to me so that I can learn from it and go back to practice and see if it can really change my luck."

Zhou Mingrui handed the book over without hesitation. Gu Yu had saved him twenty yuan. Besides, it was just a book. Even if he and Gu Yu didn't have a newly established friendship, he wouldn't mind lending it to him.

Gu Yi happily took the book. Zhou Mingrui looked at him with great interest. He looked so happy, just like a little kid.

"Let me see, let me see... Well, for the luck-changing ritual, you need to divide the staple food of the area into four portions, and then place them in the four corners of the room. Then, walk to the center of the room and walk out of a square counterclockwise in four steps. Each time you walk out a step, you recite the following order..."

Gu Yi's tone became a little more serious, and he slowly recited the name written on the page.

"Fusheng Xuanhuang Immortal Lord..."

"Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianjun..."

"The God of Fusheng Xuanhuang..."

"Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun..."

Gu Yu's chanting sounded somewhat hollow and gloomy, and Zhou Mingrui inexplicably got goose bumps when he heard it. He couldn't help but say:

"Why does it feel like this is more like a cult..."

Gu Yu held the book with one hand and his chin with the other as he said thoughtfully:

"It's really strange. I don't think there's any great god called 'Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun' in my impression, unless the person who wrote the book remembered the name... But, Chinese culture is broad and profound, maybe there really is such a great god."

"Besides, it doesn't hurt to try. It won't cost you anything. What if it really works?"

As he spoke, Gu Yi silently memorized this luck-changing ritual and returned the book to Zhou Mingrui.

"What you said is in line with the spirit of Chinese folklore. It is trustworthy if it is practical."

"That is, this is the wisdom of the people."

Gu Yi said with a smile, and finally at this time, the noodles they ordered finally arrived.

Zhou Mingrui put the book beside the bench, Gu Yi moved his straw hat away to make room for the noodles, and after saying thank you to the waiter who brought the noodles, the two stopped talking and concentrated on enjoying the food.

Steaming hot noodles always bring a sense of satisfaction, especially the unique spicy flavor of Sichuan and Chongqing noodles. The red and shiny soup makes it hard to control the crazy secretion of saliva. Take a big mouthful of noodles, add meat and vegetable leaves, and then use black tea to neutralize the greasiness in your mouth. Repeat this process, and you will have a simple and ultimate gourmet enjoyment.

Soon, the two finished their bowls of noodles. After exchanging contact information, Gu Yi stood up and said goodbye to Zhou Mingrui, humming a satisfied tune as he walked towards his rented apartment.

After this little episode in life, it was already dusk. The sun was setting and the streets were gradually filled with the coolness of the night. The crowds on the streets also changed from the previous trend of people getting off work to going out shopping after dinner, or going out in groups of three or five to look for something to eat.

The sky gradually grew darker, but the street lights lit up in time, dispelling the darkness that had not yet descended on the world. The noise of the night market streets engulfed the city's night with noisy voices and traffic horns.

The light seems to never leave, and the prosperity of mankind seems to be able to stay on the earth of this planet forever.

Gu Yu walked through the crowd, and those who passed by him were either affectionate couples, or parents and children laughing and playing, or a few friends walking together, teasing each other. The hustle and bustle surrounded Gu Yu's ears, but made him seem so unsociable, as if he was isolated from the world.

"I should have stayed with Lao Zhou for a while longer...I feel like I'm entering a mid-life crisis."

Gu Yi smacked his lips and took out his phone from his trouser pocket. He didn't mind being alone too much, but he really didn't like being too lonely.

Gu Yi was holding his phone, looking at the friend request from Zhou Mingrui that was approved on Juxin, and changed the note for him to "Lao Zhou".

Then, he flipped over the long pinned bar, came to a group, and started his daily chat with his friends.

With a tool to pass the time, even the journey home seemed to become a little shorter. Before long, Gu Yi arrived downstairs of the apartment building.

He lives on a low floor, so he can just walk up the stairs after dinner to help digest his food.

So while Gu Yi and his friends were planning to go out for a trip during the long vacation, he slowly walked up the stairs, stepped on the sensor lights that lit up one after another, and went up to the eighth floor, then passed through the fire escape, and then arrived in front of his apartment.

"Going to Yili? I was originally planning to visit the Inner Mongolia grasslands..."

Gu Yi pressed the voice button with one hand and took out the room key with the other hand. He inserted it into the keyhole, turned it clockwise twice, and then opened the door with the key.

"But Yili is also good. Hey, I mean, you have to drive there, right? It's definitely not realistic to use your own car, as it's almost an entire country away. Why don't you rent a car there after landing?"

Gu Yi said as he walked into the door and leaned his shoulder against the wall, then turned on all the lights in the living room and at the door. Then he turned around and took off each other's shoes with his heels, put on slippers and closed the door at the same time.

"Of course! Grasslands, forests, snow-capped mountains and deserts, it would be a shame if we didn't drive to see such scenery! What's more, the whole area outside the Great Wall is so big, we can drive to other places, such as Bayinguoleng and WLMQ!"

Gu Yi came to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water from the water dispenser that had been installed in the morning.

"Well, let's talk about it later. Anyway, I have to do an internship during this holiday."

"Okay, okay, I know you have a rich family, can you give me some gold coins first?"

"Oh my god, gold coins really popped up, you really have the power!"

Gu Yi smiled and clicked on the red envelope sent by a wealthy guy in the group, but the amount of money popped up behind the rolling gold coins was very small. Looking at the double-digit red envelopes received by other friends, he almost froze in his action of drinking water.

"Is my luck really that bad? I don't think I really need to change my luck..."

Gu Yu sent a speechless emoticon in the group in annoyance. At the same time, he walked to the refrigerator, opened it and took a look.

Well...well, almost penniless.

However, I still have some rice at home. I can use the rice cooker to speed up the cooking process and it won't take long to cook a portion of staple food.

Rice should also be considered a staple food.

"Why don't you give it a try? You won't lose anything anyway, so just think of it as preparing a midnight snack in advance."

When Gu Yi had this idea, it actually meant that he already wanted to do it.

So quickly, he put his cell phone aside, scooped a cup of rice from the rice jar into the pot. After washing the rice twice, he wiped the water stains on the bottom of the pot, filled it with an appropriate amount of water, and then put the pot into the rice cooker.

After choosing the style and pressing the switch, the rice cooker dimly lit up the light representing its working state. Gu Yi then took his cell phone and returned to the living room to wait.

As soon as he arrived at the dining table, Gu Yi thought of the handicraft key in his pocket.

After reaching out and taking it out, Gu Yi looked at the key again in the brighter light at home.

Now it seems that the key seems to be much more exquisite than when Gu Yi first saw it, and the Arabian vine attached to the key seems to have become more complicated.

Moreover, the wonderful light reflected from the key and the weight that represents its value seem to indicate that the material used to make this key is not ordinary.

"This can't really be made of silver... Could it be that I got a bargain?"

Gu Yi turned the key around and suddenly remembered that he bought it to serve as a prop for playing the "Silver Spoon". Now it seemed a bit nitpicking to worry too much about its true value.

So, he held the key tightly with both hands, stood in front of the bookcase, and faced the thick "Complete Works of Luo's Novels" that he "exhibited" in the middle of the bookcase. He imagined the endless abyss of the universe in his mind and recited exaggeratedly but piously.

"Listen to me! The great omniscient and omnipotent God, the Lord of the Endless Void, the One to whom all things are one, Yog-Sothoth!"

"Please guide me in the direction of my future, and wish me to successfully complete my internship and graduation defense, and reach the pinnacle of my life!"

After pretending to pray to Yog-Sothoth, Gu Yu finally couldn't help laughing and said to himself:

"Old Zhou is right. If someone saw me like this, they might think I was a member of a cult..."

Gu Yi put the "Silver Key" back into his pocket, planning to find time to tie a rope around it and use it as a pendant.

He pulled out a chair from the dining table and prepared to browse his phone while waiting for the rice to be cooked in the rice cooker.

Suddenly, Gu Yi heard an inexplicable noise coming from next door, accompanied by the ping-pong sound of something being thrown to the ground.

Gu Yi frowned and looked over. He remembered clearly that there lived a young couple next door. They were not much older than him, but they were always flirting with each other all day long. Sometimes he could hear some even stranger noises at night, and Gu Yi almost lost a good night's sleep many times because of this.

"Why did you change your style today? Is this some new fashion taste?"

Gu Yi sneered mercilessly.

"Young people are still young. They don't know the value of living in harmony. Relationships are so precious. Don't always quarrel over trivial matters."

Having said that, it is very regrettable that Gu Yi has never had a romantic relationship until now.

Gu Yu is a very determined pure love warrior, to the point of paranoia, he firmly believes that people can only have one true love in their lifetime. And because of this, and also because the person who can make Gu Yu's heart beat has not appeared yet, Gu Yu is still single.

Thinking of this, Gu Yi couldn't help but recall that his grandmother had been urging him to deal with his personal love life recently.

He looked at his phone again and saw several new messages in the chat box belonging to his grandmother at the bottom of the pile.

Gu Yi opened the chat box, and immediately the message came with his grandmother's voice full of strong rural accent, slow, gentle and slightly tired.

The greetings from grandma were nothing more than some words of concern about Gu Yi's recent appetite and physical condition, accompanied by classic inquiries about his relationship.

Gu Yu listened to all the conversations patiently, then simply answered his grandmother's questions in his hometown dialect, and evaded the topic with a few words.

After sending the voice message, Gu Yu felt from his grandmother's voice that she was not feeling well. He did not ask her rashly, but instead sent a message to his parents to ask about her.

"Well, your grandma has been feeling unwell lately."

The person who answered was Gu Rong's mother.

"It's not very serious. The doctor said it might be because I caught a cold from the wind at night. I took some medicine and it's getting better. I just don't have much strength on weekdays."

After confirming that there was nothing serious wrong with his grandmother's health, Gu Yi chatted casually with his mother about family matters while his mind was free.

Unconsciously, even Gu Yi himself didn't notice that his vision suddenly became more and more blurred, and the movements of typing on the mobile phone keyboard became more and more stereotyped, like a machine, giving rigid answers without any thought. His whole consciousness seemed to be sleepwalking in the void, and he almost had no self-awareness.

"bite--!"

Suddenly, the prompt sound of the rice cooker indicating that the rice was done cooking woke up the dazed Gu Yi, and his empty eyes regained focus.

"I am…"

Gu Yi looked towards the kitchen in confusion. He felt his back inexplicably start to feel hot and cold, and his neck and face were filled with a sticky and uncomfortable feeling of sweat. His brain felt like it was filled with paste, and he almost couldn't remember what he was doing.

He looked down at the time shown on the cheap clock on the wall and found that more than thirty minutes had passed since he replied to his grandmother's message.

"Time flies so fast..."

Gu Yi was mumbling, and was about to go to the kitchen to get the cooked rice. He glanced down habitually and saw that his phone was stuck on the chat interface with his mother.

A minute ago, his mother sent him a message asking about his situation.

"When can you come home? Mommy misses you."

Gu Yu licked his dry lips, chuckled, and typed a reply:

"I will definitely come back once during this holiday, just wait for my news."

Then, Gu Yi put his cell phone on the dining table, got up and walked to the kitchen, took four plates, turned on the rice cooker, and served out four servings of rice while it was still hot.

"I remember that luck-changing ritual said that four portions of staple food should be placed in the four corners of the room, right..."

While Gu Yi was replaying his memory, he carefully brought four plates to the living room and placed them in the corner of the sofa, the corner of the TV on the balcony side, the corner where the kitchen sliding door connected to the dining room wall, and the top of the bookcase on the inner side.

After doing all this, Gu Yi slowly walked to the center of the living room and repeated the four names in his mind.

Somehow, Gu Yi felt an inexplicable sense of nervousness at this moment, as if he was in the waiting hall for the subject three examination, as if he was about to be called. The sound of his heartbeat went straight from his chest to his brain and seemed to echo in his ears.

After taking a few deep breaths, Gu Yu stood firm and slowly took the first step along the counterclockwise square trajectory. At the same time, he sincerely recited to himself:

"Fusheng Xuanhuang Immortal Lord..."

Gu Yi could feel that his lips seemed to be trembling. Was it really necessary for him to be so nervous?

Then, he took the second step and whispered with bated breath:

"Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianjun..."

After taking the first two steps, the third step did not seem so difficult. Gu Yi's mood seemed to calm down a little. A cool night breeze blew in from the open window, making Gu Yi's heart no longer so impetuous.

Then, he took the third step and silently said:

"The God of Fusheng Xuanhuang..."

Suddenly, just when Gu Yi was about to take the fourth step, he felt a sense of panic without any warning. His heartbeat, which had originally calmed down, suddenly accelerated, and a sense of crisis as if he was standing on the edge of a cliff pierced Gu Yi's head like a sharp thorn.

It was as if something in the dark was reminding me not to continue doing this.

The next second, the cell phone on the dining table suddenly lit up. Gu Yi's gaze moved over there. He could vaguely see that it should be his mother who had sent him a message. He should quickly reply to his mother.

But before that, perhaps because he felt lucky that he had reached the last step of the luck-changing ritual, or because the previous three steps had formed a subconscious habit, Gu Yi looked at his mobile phone and took the last step directly.

An extremely pious voice, so pious that even Gu Yi felt it didn't sound like his own, tremblingly came out of his lips:

"Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun..."Chapter 2: AdventTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3225 words Update time: 2025-05-01 14:09:53

The crimson moonlight broke up the deep darkness. The cold night wind, stained with smoke and stench, blew through the dark alleys formed by several rows of low and crooked houses.

The kerosene lamps on the street flickered, gasping for breath in the humid fog, casting sickly yellow shadows that barely penetrated into the dark alley and dragged the pile of dirty garbage piled up like a mountain in the corner from the darkness into the light.

Also coming into the light was the blood flowing like a stream on the garbage dump, and a corpse with severely twisted limbs, exposed bones, and the chest and abdomen violently torn apart.

Following the smell of blood and decay, the city's decomposer flapped its lazy wings and came into the darkness.

It was not the first to arrive. In fact, there were flies that were more diligent than it that had already arrived at the scene, but it didn't care. There was never a shortage of food in this city.

The fly swayed and landed on the pair of hands that were broken so badly that it could no longer be seen in their original state. It rubbed its front paws instinctively and then prepared to start enjoying its dinner.

Suddenly, a layer of extremely fine red fluorescence appeared for no reason at a certain part of the corpse, as if some tiny crystals were slowly precipitating out of it and gathering together.

The flies were not disturbed by this strange phenomenon. The fly that rested on the hand was about to find a suitable entrance from so many wounds. However, the next second, another brighter and more condensed light emerged from the corpse without warning, and then exploded like silent fireworks.

In an instant, all the flies were startled by this strange phenomenon. After hovering over the corpse for a while, a brave fly landed on the corpse's hand first, wanting to test the situation.

Unexpectedly, the corpse, which should have lost all life, suddenly twitched its twisted fingers.

"Ah——!"

Then, a terrible noise like pulling a broken blower came from the mouth of the corpse, and along with it, the lungs and heart under the corpse's open chest began to beat again.

The whole body twitched suddenly, making a sharp sizzling sound, which scared all the flies away.

"It hurts... Why does it hurt so much..."

A leaky and out-of-tune voice came out from the cut neck. It was hoarse at first, but gradually became clearer. The broken throat actually began to heal slowly. The cut and separated flesh actually reconnected like a spider web, and connective tissue and skin quickly grew.

At the same time, other wounds on the body were also recovering rapidly.

All the broken bones healed immediately, the ruptured internal organs seemed to be attracted back to the abdominal cavity and became intact again, and the cut flesh was sutured instantly as if it was the most exquisite surgery, without even leaving any scars.

All this happened in just a few seconds. In the blink of an eye, the corpse that was so broken that it could be regarded as the most brutal crime scene had turned back into a healthy body.

The terrible breathing gradually became smooth, the healed chest rose and fell comfortably, as if emerging from a nightmare, and the tightly closed eyes slowly opened.

...

The experience of suffering pain in sleep was not uncommon for Gu E. It was not the first time that he had suffered sudden calf cramps in the second half of the night. However, Gu E had never thought that such severe and unbearable pain would happen to him.

Suddenly awakened from a deep sleep, his consciousness was still in chaos, and pain came without warning, causing Gu Yi to almost faint.

What happened? Why did it hurt so much all of a sudden?

It felt like the skin and bones were cut by a knife, and it was as if countless ants covered the wound, gnawing at one's flesh and blood, causing wave after wave of never-ending pain. Even every breath felt like a blade was cutting through the throat.

This was a far more terrible and excruciating pain than the failed root canal treatment. Gu Yi had been pricked by the poisonous stings of a cleaver before, and he now felt that there must be a large number of cleavers crawling on the invisible wounds on his body.

Am I going to die... Why is this happening all of a sudden...

Surrounded by such pain, the confused Gu Yi inevitably became pessimistic.

Is he infected with some disease? What disease would cause such symptoms? Ebola? How could there be Ebola in China...

After a confused and chaotic thought, Gu Yi, who regained some consciousness, instinctively wanted to call for help, but now he seemed unable to control his vocal cords and mouth. What's more, he could only feel pain but could not perceive his own body.

In fact, it is not so much that he cannot sense any part of the body, but rather that he seems unsure of which part of the body the feeling in his brain corresponds to.

Is the pain so severe that my brain is in a mess? Is there something wrong with my cerebral cortex?

This shows how terrible it is to live alone... Damn, I should have hired a roommate earlier... Now if I die in the house, no one will know.

Cell phone, my cell phone... See if I can reach the cell phone on the bedside table. I have to call 120 quickly!

My hand...where is my hand? Why can't I even feel my own hand?

Gu Yi was somewhat suspicious that he might not have suddenly developed some terminal illness, but rather that his whole body was paralyzed due to his poor sleeping posture.

But this doesn't make sense, does it? No matter how numb you are, you shouldn't experience this level of pain.

Hiss... Why is it still hurting? I can't stand it anymore, I really can't stand it...

Gu Yi's patience has reached its limit. His increasingly clear consciousness means his increasingly clear pain.

Finally, he couldn't bear it any longer, and without any thought, he called for help completely out of instinct:

"It hurts... Why does it hurt so much..."

Even Gu Yi was a little surprised. He didn't expect that he could still speak. This might mean that he was not on the verge of death yet.

But when he heard the words he spoke, he heard them as a hoarse and strange sound, like a broken voice. Along with it, there was a pain in his throat as if it had been rubbed by sandpaper.

Can talk! But the voice is not right...

My mind is still functioning, so it's not a big problem.

So what was going on now? Could it be that he was being oppressed by a ghost?

Fortunately, I didn't have any plans for the next day. Why not try to sleep in again? Maybe all my problems will be gone when I wake up?

Gu Yu tried to hypnotize himself and let himself fall asleep again. However, the pain that always lingered in his brain made it impossible for him to fall asleep peacefully. Gu Yu felt that it would be better to fall into a coma from the beginning.

No, this won't work at all!

Gu Yi tried hard to mobilize his consciousness, and desperately imagined the position and appearance of his body and limbs in his mind, hoping to regain perception and control of his body through willpower.

I don't know if this accidental operation really awakened certain mechanisms in the brain. After a wave of pain, Gu Yi suddenly felt that the pain all over his body seemed to become a little weaker.

This is a very good phenomenon, Gu Yi thought, and then tried harder to sense his body.

The pain gradually subsided, replaced by a tingling and itchy feeling with a hint of warmth that spread throughout every corner of the body.

After the itchiness gradually subsided, Gu Yu no longer felt the pain. Although there was still a sense of soreness from excessive muscle exercise, it was at least a hundred times better than that terrible pain.

Alright? Hey, am I alright now? I'm like Superman!

Gu E suddenly felt extremely proud of his recovery ability, but now was not the time to be complacent. Gu E was afraid that the current "recovery" was only a temporary relief, and the pain might come again at some point in time, so he'd better get out of bed now and make a phone call to take himself to the hospital.

He tried hard to concentrate his thoughts, following the strange crimson light in the darkness before him, and mustered all his strength to open his eyes.

First, there were flickering snowflake-like patterns in front of Gu Yi's eyes. Then, the crimson light he saw gradually became clearer from blurry. The halo around it also slowly dimmed and blended into the surrounding darkness, gradually condensing into shape.

The haziness dissipated, and Gu Yi opened his eyes blankly. What appeared before his eyes was not the gray roof of the apartment, but a vast and deep night sky, and a red moon hanging high in the "black velvet curtain".

The crimson fluorescence shone high above the earth, casting a strange veil over the surrounding low black buildings, making them barely visible.

In Gu Yi's vision, the surrounding area was filled with the roofs of these dilapidated buildings, which were pressing directly against the sky, occupying the limited space in the dark night, making the night sky around the red moon seem so cramped.

The outer walls of these houses are mostly made of bricks and wood, and the cracks in the walls are filled with low-quality mud and sand, as if you can dig out a large piece of the wall with your hands. The humid water vapor forms water droplets on the stones of the wall, corroding the rotten wood, slowly sliding down, nourishing the growth of a large amount of moss near the ground of the wall.

Gu Yi was in such an environment; the cleanliness and warmth in the bedroom of the apartment seemed to have become a dream.

"Where is this..."

He muttered to himself uneasily. Although his throat and throat no longer felt uncomfortable, Gu Yi found that there was still something wrong with his voice.

He tried to stand up and supported himself with his hands behind his back. He felt a wet and sticky touch, as well as a shaking sensation mixed with many tiny particles and unknown sharp objects.

Gu Yi straightened his body and looked down at himself.

I saw a bunch of coarse cloth bags, probably garbage, lying under me. However, the surface of the garbage was stained with large patches of blood that had not yet completely dried, forming a depression in the concave area.

With Gu Yi's action, the blood immediately flowed down from the garbage pile, fell to the ground, and formed several "streams" that meandered towards the distance.

At this time, Gu Yi also saw that a horrifying pool of blood had formed on the ground in front of him, almost filling the entire ground.

The blood flowed slowly into the blood pool, causing circle after circle of ripples, calm yet strange.Chapter 3 Silver SpoonTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 2797 words Update time: 2025-05-01 14:10:14

Gu Yi was shocked by this horrifying scene. The most blood he had ever seen in his life was the blood that flowed when his grandmother slaughtered chickens in their yard when he was a child.

An adult domestic chicken has about 100 to 200 milliliters of blood, which is roughly the amount in a mineral water bottle. The visual impact it can bring is just splashing on the ground and then pulling out a shallow narrow stream towards the low terrain.

But the horrifying pool of blood in front of Gu Yi was no longer comparable to the scene of killing a chicken.

Gu Yi's heart was beating violently, and the connection between the back of his head and his neck suddenly tightened, producing a chill. His brain was dazed for a moment, but when he came to his senses, he forcibly controlled his trembling lips, tried to calm himself down, and analyzed his current situation.

Judging from the color of the blood and the amount of bleeding, it is obvious that the source of this blood should be a large mammal... huh, to be precise, it is most likely a human.

Has anyone been killed here? And why am I here?

Did I stumble into the crime scene by mistake? Oh no, I'm not going to be considered the murderer, am I?

Gu Yi's current posture made him feel very uncomfortable, and his body kept sliding down because of the garbage pile that had become slippery after being soaked with blood. He had to straighten his body again to sit up a little higher.

With this movement, Gu Yi saw the current condition of his body.

Large patches of blood were left on his body. There were traces of blood on his wrists, arms, waist, abdomen, etc. Moreover, his clothes were cut by a sharp weapon, and fragments of clothes could be seen all over his body, coagulated on the skin by blood.

Although there were no wounds on his body, combining his physical condition with the scene in front of him, it was not difficult for Gu Yi to come up with a shocking possibility.

Could it be that all this blood came from me?

But with this amount of bleeding, a normal person would have died from hemorrhagic shock long ago!

No, no, compared to these things, the most important thing should be...

Various thoughts surged in Gu Yi's mind. He could only temporarily put aside all other questions and ask himself the most critical question first:

"Why am I here?"

Gu Yu clearly remembered that he should be lying on the bed in the bedroom of the apartment, with a quilt covering his stomach and sleeping soundly in his thin pajamas, but now...

He looked at his body. The clothes that were torn to the point of falling off were obviously not his pajamas. Although there was a slight color difference due to the blood, Gu Yi could still tell that the clothes were originally black and looked very similar to a hunter's suit that he had seen in an atlas before.

"Typical European style…"

Gu Yi murmured, then he looked at the walls on both sides.

He had roughly recognized it just now, and he should be in a dead end of an alley.

The low houses formed a circle around Gu Yi and closed behind him, forming a typical dead end on three sides.

He slowly stretched out his hand and tentatively touched the wall of one side of the house. A wet and cold touch immediately came from his palm, and the rest was the hard and uneven texture of the wall.

Gu Yi gently rubbed the wall with his fingers, smearing a layer of black mud that looked like it was mixed with coal ash, and rubbed it on his hands.

It's so dirty and old that it's unbearable. Is this really a place that can exist in modern civilized society?

Gu Yi was thinking, when suddenly he noticed a detail.

"Are my hands…that small?"

Even though it was stained with blood and mud, he could still see that his hands had inexplicably become much smaller and had a completely different appearance from before.

The moment Gu Yi noticed this problem, his brain seemed to have triggered a switch, and like a slide show, a series of memory fragments that did not belong to him suddenly appeared.

Caroline Williams, a native of Backlund, the capital of the Kingdom of Loen in the northern continent, was one of the last remaining descendants of the declining noble Williams family. She was studying political economics at Backlund University...

His father, Carl Foster, was a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Navy. He married into the Williams family as a son-in-law and stabilized the Williams family's declining trend to a certain extent by joining the army...

My mother, Catherine Williams, was the youngest daughter of the previous head of the Williams family. She had an adopted brother who was serving in the Royal Army as a major general...

About half a year ago, the day before my father inherited the earldom of the Williams family, my parents were attacked by assassins on their way home from the House of Lords, and both were killed...

Caroline then began to investigate the truth behind her parents' death on her own, and recently found a reliable clue, but while tracking down the suspect behind the scenes... she was brutally murdered!

"So this is really my blood? I have so much blood..."

Gu Yi looked down blankly. He received too much information at once. He was unable to react for a moment and actually had such a strange thought.

But soon, Gu Yi digested this information immediately, and his mind started to work quickly, weaving out the current situation he was facing.

"Wait, so I traveled through time?"

"And not only did he travel through time, but he also traveled through time into the body of a girl?"

No wonder Gu Yi felt something was wrong with his body from the beginning. He thought it was a normal phenomenon after the pain eased, but who could have expected that it was actually an abnormal feedback caused by him entering the body of a person of the opposite sex.

This is not a popular animation plot. Although Gu Yi used to like reading comics about unexpected gender changes in another world, when such a thing happened to him, he just didn't think it was funny at all.

Gu Yu rubbed his face and whispered, finding it hard to accept the reality:

"I am a normal human being with both physical and psychological gender being male. Even if I want to travel through time, I can't do this! Are you kidding me..."

The shock of the sudden change in identity was hard to get over for a long time, but Gu Yi also knew that now was not the time to lose his temper.

He had just traveled through time, and the memories he received from his original body Caroline were incomplete, but the memory before death was deeply entangled in the depths of Gu Yi's consciousness like thorns.

In Caroline's last memory, Gu Yu saw her walk into the alley, seemingly looking for something. But when she turned around, she saw a strange being almost completely covered in shadows blocking the alley.

The memory that followed became somewhat fragmented, perhaps because the extreme despair and pain paralyzed Caroline's consciousness, making it impossible for her to remember the exact scene before her death.

All Gu Yi knew was that a force that Caroline was completely unable to resist destroyed her body again and again. The other party didn't even use any weapons, but killed her in the alley in an execution-style manner.

It was a method that seemed like the person was enjoying killing, and the other party's irrepressible happiness could be seen from the terrible brutality.

After Caroline was killed, the body was not removed, and the scene was not even cleaned up. The blood all over the ground was like the work of a murderer...

Gu Yi couldn't be sure of the murderer's intention, but he was sure that the other party must be a complete pervert and was extremely well versed in the structure of the human body.

Look, almost all the blood in Caroline's body gushed out, forming a large pool of blood. You know, even when slaughtering livestock and poultry, it is impossible to drain all the blood because of the heart arrest after death.

But the murderer succeeded in doing it, because he cut all the major blood vessels in Caroline's body, from the neck to the chest, from the arms to the thighs, all the important blood vessels were left untouched.

If this dangerous guy still stays nearby without cleaning up the crime scene, and comes back later...

Traveling through time is already the worst case scenario. If he has to face a perverted murderer right after landing, there will be no way for Gu Yi to survive!

It's too dangerous! It's too dangerous to stay here!

Gu Yi still couldn't fully understand the current situation, but he knew that staying at the scene would be the worst option.

"We have to get out of here quickly!"

After making this decision, Gu Yi no longer hesitated. He struggled with his still sore body and climbed down from the garbage pile nimbly.

Just as Gu E stood up straight, he first saw some red glass-like fragments falling to the ground from somewhere on his body, and then suddenly, a crisp sound, accompanied by something falling to the ground, came from between Gu E's feet.

"This is...?!"

With the help of the strange crimson moonlight in the night sky, Gu Yi saw clearly the thing that fell from his body, and his eyes widened in surprise.

Lying quietly on the stone floor covered with mud and blood was a "silver spoon" without any stains, exquisite and shiny, with complex Arabic vine patterns on its surface.Chapter 4 The Mystery of Time TravelTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 4300 words Update time: 2025-05-01 14:10:40

"Silver Spoon"?!

Was it the craft key he bought at that street stall to pretend to be the "Silver Key"? !

Gu Yi looked in amazement at the "Silver Key" that had fallen to the ground but was still emitting a cold and dim light. The horror in his heart was even stronger than when he saw the bloody crime scene.

Was it coincidence, or was it because Caroline was carrying a silver key?

But, is it a coincidence that even the pattern and shape are the same...how does that sentence come about?

If there is something evil in your house, there must be a ghost!

The urgency of the moment did not allow Gu Yi to think deeply. He quickly picked up the "Silver Key" on the ground and walked quickly around the deeper blood pools to prevent the blood inside from being splashed by his step and making some unnecessary noise.

The alley was not very deep, but due to the dense density of the surrounding houses, it was difficult for light to enter, and it only relied on a trace of moonlight to illuminate it, which made it look deep. Gu Yu did not walk too many steps before he arrived at the entrance of the alley, just one step away from the dim light outside.

He pressed his body against the wall cautiously. Although the sticky plaster on the wall caused severe discomfort on his exposed shoulders and back skin, now was not the time to be considerate of his own feelings.

Caroline's figure was small, just enough to hide in the shadows. Gu Yu listened quietly to the noise outside the alley, and when he was sure there were no voices or footsteps nearby, he quietly stuck his head out and looked at the street.

The alley was very narrow, only big enough to accommodate a carriage. The road was also very simple, with uneven stone bricks on the ground, no shoulders on either side of the road, and even the street lights were only on one side.

Obviously, this was not an important part of the city called "Backlund". In Caroline's memory, this was the East District known as the "land of sin and filth", where the poor and needy gathered in the entire city.

In the East District, even nighttime light has become a luxury. The street lamps are not fully illuminated, and wet mist fills the air. The orange-yellow kerosene lamps form a halo, illuminating very clear areas one after another. Between the light is the boundary between moonlight and darkness.

The red moon tonight is very full, but it cannot shine in every corner.

Gu Yi peered in patiently. The surroundings were as quiet as the night. No one was around, not even stray animals. The most he could hear was a faint sound, resembling the barking of a dog coming from a distance.

Everything seems to be working fine, no problems?

After waiting for a while, Gu Yi decided not to wait any longer.

Based on the information we have so far, everything is normal near the scene where Caroline died.

Of course, it was also possible that the murderer was hiding nearby, watching Gu Yi's every move. The silence he felt now was just a bait set by the other party.

If this was really the case, then Gu Yi had no choice but to accept his fate, because this was simply a trick played by fate on him, leaving him no hope of survival.

"I'm so unlucky that I've traveled through time. I hope I won't continue to be unlucky..."

Gu Yi said softly to himself, then he took one breath and walked out of the shadow of the alley.

...

While Gu Yi was undergoing the thrilling test of "time travel", in this country, in Ahowa County, northwest of the Kingdom of Loen, in a city called Tingen, Zhou Mingrui, who had also just traveled through time, was looking at the revolver in his hand in shock.

Have I traveled through time?

Panic and confusion continued to interweave in Zhou Mingrui's heart. He glanced at the notebook spread out on the table in front of him. On the blood-stained page, a very special key-like text was written:

"Everyone will die, including me."

Zhou Mingrui was startled by the strange message. He stood up suddenly, his headache not yet relieved. In his blurred vision, he saw his current reflection in the floor-length mirror beside him.

On the right temple of his head, there was a hideous bloody hole.

It goes from the skin to the inside and goes straight through the skull.

Zhou Mingrui took a breath and subconsciously covered his mouth.

How could a person still be alive with such serious injuries?

But the fact is that Zhou Mingrui is still alive, and under his watch, the horrible wound on the right temple of his head is healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Is this all due to the effects of time travel?

In addition to being surprised, Zhou Mingrui forced himself to calm down and began to think about the reasons that led to his time travel.

What did he do before crossing over?

...

Gu Yi, who had bad luck, made the right bet this time.

There was no perverted murderer lurking outside the alley. After he walked out of the dark alley, the street remained quiet.

So without thinking, he rushed into the night fog.

Facing the small drops of water that kept gathering on his face and walking on the slippery and uneven road surface, after nearly falling several times, it took him about ten minutes to leave the East District and enter the Cherwood District in the west.

Then, it took another twenty minutes of journey, which also included the long route that Gu Yi took to avoid the night patrol in order to avoid trouble.

After going around in circles for a long time, Gu Yi finally arrived at Caroline's townhouse in the Cherwood district.

Taking out the door key hidden in the flowerpot hanging at the gate, Gu Yi directly used the key to open the door, and sneaked into the door as if escaping, then quickly closed the door, blocking all the coldness and moisture outside behind the door.

Only then did Gu Yi finally breathe a sigh of relief. He leaned against the wooden door, the room in front of him was pitch black, and he could only see some things clearly with the help of the street lamps from the windows on both sides of the door.

So Gu Yi supported himself for the time being, and while gasping for breath, he reached out and turned on the valve of the gas lamp installed next to the door, and then skillfully pulled the rope switch according to the steps he remembered.

"clatter!"

With a faint sound, the lights in the living room on the first floor were turned on, and Gu Yi was suddenly bathed in light.

The gas lamp hung on the wall and wrapped in a white gauze emitted a bright, warm white light, dispelling the darkness behind Gu Yi and warmly embracing his body that was wet and dirty from the mist.

"After running all the way back, it's still a bit cold..."

Gu Yu muttered to himself and looked up into the house.

The house where Caroline lived was the most common real estate owned by the middle class in the Kingdom of Loen. It was usually three stories high with a small basement. Families usually lived together, but Caroline lived alone now.

The first thing you see when you enter the house is a staircase leading to the second floor on the left. A little before the staircase, on Gu Yi's left hand side, is the door to the front hall, which is the main activity place for the owner of the house and serves the basic function of a living room. For example, the house that Caroline bought also comes with a fireplace for heating.

When he thought of the warm fireplace, Gu Yi could no longer hold back. He rubbed his arms, which were gradually getting colder, and ran into the front hall in small steps, not caring about how much dirt would be soiled by the dirty water on his body when it fell to the ground.

The fireplace that Gu Yi had been dreaming about was on the wall opposite the front hall door. It was not large and was built with maroon bricks. It did have a farmhouse flavor, but the unused coal blocks in the cast iron grate were enough to demonstrate the reliable function of the fireplace.

Before leaving, Caroline left some new, dry firewood by the fireplace. Gu Yi, as the receiver, stuffed the firewood into the fireplace one by one, then took a match from the fireplace and struck it lightly.

Gu Yu had helped his grandmother light the stove in the old house in his hometown before, and the method of starting the fire was basically the same, so it didn't take much effort. Soon, the flames in the fireplace slowly burned from the bottom up, igniting the firewood and then the coal.

"Ah... I finally feel a little alive."

Gu Yi sat in front of the fireplace with his legs bent, looking at the flames burning in the fireplace. He finally felt a sense of peace from the bottom of his heart.

As the mind gradually calms down, the physical discomfort becomes more intense.

Although there was a warm fireplace in front of him, Gu Yi's body was still wet, and his clothes were torn, covered with mud and blood, sticky and extremely uncomfortable.

"We have to face it, don't we?"

Gu Yi pursed his lips and spoke to himself with some self-mockery, not knowing whether he was comforting himself or the original owner of this body.

After warming up in front of the fireplace for a long enough time, the first thing Gu Yi did when he stood up was to quickly take off the clothes on his body that had lost their basic functions.

He first made sure that all the windows on the first floor were covered with curtains. Then, he found a cloth bag and put it aside. He took out all the things he was carrying and placed them on the coffee table in the front hall.

Then, Gu Yi raised his head and took off his clothes one by one with an expressionless face as if doing a routine. He then put them all into the cloth bag, tied the bag tightly, and temporarily placed it next to the gate together with his boots.

Next, Gu Yi had to face the problem of how to clean his body.

If it were in modern society, this would basically not be a problem. Even the washbasins in public toilets in many places would have hot water supply...but it is different in this world.

From Caroline's memory and his observations while running back to the house, Gu Yi confirmed that this world should still be in the steam age, and this so-called "Kingdom of Loen" was probably England in the Victorian era.

Just like in Britain at that time, hot baths were also a kind of "luxury ritual" for the people of the Kingdom of Loen.

Not to mention the problem of water supply, in this era, if you want to use hot water to take a bath, you must first find a way to boil enough hot water.

Without the help of modern technology and solar water heaters, boiling water, an ability that humans have possessed since the discovery of fire, becomes a hassle.

If it is for daily drinking, it is not a problem, but the amount of hot water required for a bath is extremely large.

For low-income or even poor families, taking a hot bath at home is basically just a dream. They can spend some money and go to a public bath to enjoy the hot water heated by the steam boiler there, which is usually charged by barrel.

For middle-class families, although they could afford the water consumption and the cost of boiling water, they still needed servants or housewives to use the fireplace or kitchen stove to slowly boil the hot water one to two hours in advance.

Gu Yi obviously didn't have time to boil water, and he didn't have any servants at home, so he didn't care and went straight to the bathroom on the second floor, turned on the faucet on the sink, took a towel, wet it with water, and then stood in the bathroom to wipe his body.

This was not because the bathroom was simply decorated. In fact, as soon as Gu Yi came in, he saw a white ceramic bathtub quietly placed at the back of the bathroom. However, he had never used a bathtub before and felt that it was too troublesome, so he used the simplest way to clean his body.

The process of wiping his body took about ten minutes. Gu Yu wiped himself almost by feeling the entire time, and he didn't dare to lower his head. It was not until he couldn't confirm whether his back was clean that he sighed with difficulty, prepared himself mentally, turned around, and looked at the dressing mirror in the bathroom.

Hiss...Gu Yi took a breath.

"Miss Caroline has a really nice figure..."

"Just a little thinner... well, thinner everywhere."

After all, Gu Yi is still a young student who has just left adolescence, and appreciation of beauty is the most inevitable thing for people of his age.

However, compared to the bright shoulder line and the smooth and elegant back like blue and white porcelain in the mirror, what attracted Gu Yi's attention more was his current face.

Under the bright light of the bathroom, a pretty girl with long light golden hair, deep blue eyes, and a pretty and well-proportioned figure, yet with a sharp edge, appeared clearly in Gu Yi's eyes.

How should I put it, should I be thankful or should I be more respectful?

Gu Yi was really at a loss whether to laugh or cry. On the one hand, after actually seeing himself transformed into a girl, a certain persistence and stubbornness in his heart completely collapsed.

But on the other hand, he felt that it was a good thing that Miss Caroline looked good, at least this could help him better accept the current situation.

After seeing himself now, Gu Yi's resistance to washing his body was not so strong anymore.

Soon, he completely washed off all the blood stains on his body, washed his hair at the same time, and while drying his hair, he also mopped the bathroom floor with a mop, flushing the blood stains and dirty water into the drain.

After doing all these things, Gu Yi, feeling refreshed from the inside out, wrapped himself in a large woolen bath towel, stepped on a pair of silk indoor shoes placed at the entrance of the stairs to the second floor, and then returned to the first floor.

Gu Yi did not go directly back to the front hall. Instead, after walking down the stairs, he turned to the inside of the corridor, where the kitchen was located.

After going to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water, Gu Yi walked back to the front hall with the water, adjusted the tightness of the bath towel, and sat on the single sofa facing the fireplace.

After moistening his mouth with a sip of water, Gu Yi leaned back comfortably, feeling the warmth created by the fireplace and his body and mind beginning to calm down.

"Although it's unfortunate to travel through time, fortunately my living environment is not bad. Is this the last care that fate has given me?"

Gu Yu emptied his mind, looked at the teacup in his hand, and muttered softly:

"The clothes have been disposed of, and the body has been washed, so what's next..."

"I need to think carefully about why I traveled through time."