The Silent Mystic

Chapter 4

The bright sun graced the sky for only a single morning before heavy snow returned in the afternoon.

Those swirling snowflakes buried the entire Imperial Capital in a vast expanse of white, burying the corpses of those who had frozen or starved to death in the ditches. But they could not bury the joyful laughter echoing from within the opulent pavilions and mansions.

The winter sun was lazy, setting early behind the western mountains.

Chu Yun stood by the window with his hands clasped behind his back, watching the sunset. Then, he turned around, walked over to his bed, took off his outer coat, and lay down.

He waited quietly for a while until the last rays of the setting sun faded completely.

Chu Yun summoned the system.

He activated Spirit Projection!

...

Buzzz!!!

In a split second, Chu Yun heard a loud ringing in his ears. It quickly resounded through his entire mind, striking his consciousness so hard it nearly shattered.

It felt as if a massive, invisible hand violently dragged him out of bed, hurled him roughly toward the floor, and yanked him through space in a single direction.

It sounds like a long process, but it took only an instant.

When Chu Yun's consciousness returned, the world before his eyes had completely changed. He was no longer in his bedroom, nor was he in the sprawling Duke Sovereign's Estate. Instead, he found himself in a dark, magnificent, and boundless world!

Pitch-black mist filled the sky, blotting out the sun. Just looking up gave him fierce heart palpitations, as if something incredibly terrifying was hiding up there, peering down at the earth below.

Underfoot.

The ground was nothing but mounds of grave dirt, soaked in dark brown bloodstains!

The bloody earth stretched as far as the eye could see, extending into the depths of the darkness, leading to who knows where.

Oppressive and horrifying auras pressed in from all directions. He could even physically feel waves of pure resentment permeating the air.

It was as if this place was the convergence point of all things ominous and terrifying!

"The Nether Realm..."

Chu Yun's throat felt dry.

He looked down at himself and discovered that his body was completely ethereal, lacking any physical form. A faint layer of white light covered him.

Chu Yun could sense that this dim white light was blocking the waves of resentment and oppression pressing in from the outside, shielding him from the horror.

Otherwise.

He had no doubt that his spirit would have collapsed in a single instant!

Was this place... truly the Nether Realm?

With some difficulty, Chu Yun tilted his head up at the pitch-black heavens. He immediately felt horrifying, eerie gazes falling upon him, as if something was scrutinizing him.

Any one of those gazes was enough to shatter him countless times over.

Yet, that indescribable terror simply could not penetrate the thin, fragile-looking layer of white light coating his spirit.

Chu Yun waited for a moment. Sensing no further changes, he breathed a small sigh of relief. He was finally certain that under the system's protection, he was safe.

Still.

Was this place really meant for the living?

Forcing down his rising dread, Chu Yun attempted to observe his surroundings. But as he turned his head, it felt as though someone had viciously stabbed him in the heart.

Just three feet behind him hovered a phantom!

She wore the clothes of a maid and looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old. Dark blood oozed from her seven facial orifices, and her eyes were a ghastly, milky white. She just floated there in dead silence.

A ghost!

Chu Yun's pupils shrank violently.

Although he now possessed the abilities of a Mystic Master, this was still the very first time he had seen a real ghost. Coupled with the horrifying environment, he simply couldn't control the sudden spike in his emotions.

But.

Chu Yun quickly calmed himself down.

Because when he looked closer, he noticed familiar text floating above the ghost's head.

[Little Jade]

[Origin: Duke Sovereign's Estate]

[Resentment: Accidentally witnessed the Third Young Master violating his uncle's concubine, and was strangled to death to ensure her silence.]

[Obsession: Cannot let go of her severely ill mother and sickly younger sister.]

The moment the system's interface popped up, the terrifying atmosphere was completely washed away. It even gave Chu Yun the distinct feeling of playing a horror video game, making him feel like he was right back on his home turf.

Looking at the description of her death, Chu Yun furrowed his brows slightly.

He remembered this Third Young Master. He was one of the legitimate sons of Duke Sovereign's Estate, holding an incredibly high status.

Among the three legitimate sons of this generation, the eldest was diligent and scholarly, having already been appointed as an official outside the Imperial Capital. The second son was exceptionally talented with supreme martial arts, and was rumored to hold the post of Commandant in the Imperial Capital's military camp. Only the third son was a debauched lecher, sowing his wild oats everywhere without restraint. Even the Venerable Matriarch indulged him in the name of expanding the family line.

Chu Yun's inherited memories confirmed all of this.

Looking at the gruesomely dead Little Jade before him, Chu Yun no longer felt any fear, only a trace of pity. He sighed and said, "I will hire a doctor to treat your mother, and I will take care of your younger sister."

Little Jade didn't respond.

She simply continued to float there in silence.

It seemed she possessed no self-awareness at all; it was only that lingering obsession keeping her spirit from dispersing.

Right at that moment.

Chu Yun felt the white light shrouding his body growing dimmer and dimmer, like a candle flickering in the wind. The oppressive weight of the surrounding darkness simultaneously grew heavier and heavier.

Just as he was on the verge of suffocating, his vision suddenly went black. He was enveloped by that unseen force once more and yanked away, traversing an impossibly vast distance in an instant.

Inside the bedroom.

Chu Yun jolted awake, shooting up from his bed.

He looked down at his hands, a thin layer of cold sweat still clinging to his forehead.

"The Nether Realm..."

"Little Jade..."

As he slowly regained his bearings, Chu Yun lowered his hands and murmured softly.

Next, he summoned the system interface.

Everything on the screen remained the same. He hadn't gained any new Spirit Points. Perhaps a simple verbal promise wasn't enough to directly erase Little Jade's final obsession.

"Don't worry."

"I will do as I promised."

Chu Yun murmured to the empty air ahead.

Then, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. He lay back down and fell into a deep sleep.

...

The next day.

Chu Yun woke up.

The mental energy he had expended last night was fully restored, leaving him feeling refreshed and invigorated.

Just as he got out of bed and was stretching his limbs, the bedroom door opened. The maid, Little Yan, dressed in light green, walked in.

She carried a tray holding a modest but decent breakfast.

"Second Master, it is time for breakfast."

Setting the tray on the table, Little Yan spoke with a cool, detached tone.

Then.

She turned and walked right back out.

Chu Yun watched her retreating back, paused for a moment, and suddenly chuckled softly.

Little Yan hadn't served by his side much in recent years. She had likely spent most of her energy practicing martial arts, though she still reliably delivered his three daily meals on time.

And if he gave the occasional order, she would still obey it.

In contrast, his other maid, Little Lan, had been completely missing in action for days ever since he collapsed from his ghostly encounter.

Based on his predecessor's memories, he guessed she was probably off trying to curry favor with some other young master or young miss, hoping to get reassigned to a better master.

Which was quite foolish, really.

He wasn't even dead yet, and she was already running off to fawn over others. She probably didn't realize that in everyone else's eyes, she had already stamped herself as a treacherous opportunist. What master would want a servant like that?

He didn't even need to bother with Little Lan. As for Little Yan... secretly learning martial arts? With just that one fact, Chu Yun held her life in his hands.

However.

The current Chu Yun couldn't be bothered to resort to such petty leverage.

A First Tier Martial Saint was someone even the reigning Emperor of the Grand Origin Dynasty had to treat with utmost respect. The same went for a Second Tier Mystic Master; as long as they were willing to join the imperial court, they would hold enough power to shake the realm, deciding the life and death of thousands with a single word!

And a First Tier Mystic Master—a being that hadn't even existed in legend—was the ultimate goal he was pursuing now. Everyone else, be they maids or servants, were no more than dust by the roadside to him. He simply had no mind to care about them.