The sound of heavy footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Turning around, he faced the imposing figure of General Han, his supposed father. The pressure emanating from the man was overwhelming, cold, and heavy. Feng Rui felt his sharp eyes piercing through him, analyzing every detail.
'Will he realize I'm not his son…?'
'Nah, impossible. He practically abandoned him here to fend for himself.'
"What happened here?" the general asked, his voice low but laced with authority. "What do you remember?"
Feng Rui swallowed hard, trying to stay composed. He knew that any wrong word could be used against him.
"The doctor and the servants were talking about how to poison me... I heard I was going to die in three days…" he began hesitantly, "so I ran to try to save myself. But after that…" Feng Rui paused, feigning confusion. "After that… I forgot everything."
The general's eyes gleamed with suspicion.
"If you don't remember… then it didn't happen," he declared coldly. His tone left no room for argument.
Feng Rui nodded slowly, keeping his gaze fixed on the ground. He didn't need to be a genius to know that any additional detail could put him in danger. The general shifted his gaze toward the servants standing at a distance, far enough not to overhear but close enough to act if needed.
Although the general said nothing, Feng Rui noticed a slight furrow in his brow, as if the man also sensed that something wasn't adding up.
"Bring Feng Rui's servants!" the general roared. His voice thundered across the courtyard, and within seconds, several servants arrived in a rush, bowing nervously and kneeling on the ground.
"What happened while I was away? And why didn't I know my son was going to die in three days?"
The servants exchanged glances, cold sweat forming on their brows. One of them, the bravest, spoke up.
"General, we don't know what you're talking about. Please forgive our lives. This must be a conspiracy. The other servants are jealous of our position serving the young master and want us dead. Surely, they're the ones who… who orchestrated this. They're trying to discredit us!"
"Lies!" another servant on the periphery interjected, clearly trembling. "We would never do something like that!"
Confusion and panic seized the group, each one throwing accusations in a desperate attempt to save their own life. Feng Rui watched in silence, recognizing the all-too-familiar scene he had seen countless times in the game.
For better or worse, he knew exactly how this would end.
The general raised a hand, and silence fell, heavy and absolute.
"Do you think I'm so easy to deceive?" he said icily. "If no one confesses, everyone will be punished."
Without further explanation, he ordered them to be taken to the central courtyard. The servants begged, cried, and screamed, but the general showed no hint of mercy. One by one, they were flogged until their bodies collapsed lifelessly. Blood stained the ground as Feng Rui watched from a distance, a knot tightening in his stomach.
He had no excuse to avoid witnessing this brutality, as his condition was perfectly fine.
He would never grow accustomed to the idea that a human life could depend entirely on another's will. But here, in this world, brutality was the norm, and the general had made it clear that no one disobeyed his orders.
Moreover, Feng Rui knew this was the best way to ensure others respected him and thought twice before poisoning him again.
They weren't real people, but neither was he anymore. He was on the same level as them, and the painful death he had experienced just hours ago was something he didn't want to endure again.
What if this time he didn't revive?
Or worse, what if he could never truly die?
He was also concerned about his interference in the mission. Would he be penalized for sealing the demon?
Guards and other servants cleaned up the scene as the general declared a policy of zero tolerance toward any disrespect directed at Young Master Feng Rui.
The poisoning incident was completely omitted.
Feng Rui lowered his gaze. This was the world he had come to, one where life was cheap and power meant everything. If he wanted to survive, he would need more than just luck and knowledge; he would need strength—and soon.
Night fell over the Han mansion, but Feng Rui couldn't sleep. The image of the servants being flogged to death remained seared into his mind.
The system refused to answer any of his questions, and no new missions appeared.
Most unsettling of all, it seemed as though the Phantom Gu ritual mission was still ongoing. And the crystal they had placed in his heart… was of a different kind.
Had he made a mistake? Or was his family cultivating these crystals, which explained the ghost matrix?
Feng Rui was still plagued by a sense of foreboding. It was as if something dark and ancient was lurking, growing stronger, and watching them all from the shadows.
He decided he couldn't stay idle. Every minute could mean the difference between life and death.
Throwing on a dark cloak to blend into the shadows, he stepped out of his room on light feet. As he moved through the corridors, the ghostly energy around him felt stronger than ever. It was suffocating, almost tangible.
As he approached the courtyard, he noticed that the ghost NPCs, which had been destroyed earlier, had regenerated. They wandered aimlessly, as if they had never been eliminated. A chill ran down Feng Rui's spine.
'This isn't normal—not even with a soul seal would this be possible', he thought.
There were also more guards than he remembered. Some patrolled openly, while others remained hidden in the shadows. Yet none of them seemed to notice the ghosts.
Feng Rui debated whether to risk exploring further or return to his room. But then, a familiar murmur caught his attention.
He turned toward the source of the sound and froze.
In front of him were the very same servants who had been executed earlier that day. They walked and talked among themselves as if nothing had happened. All of them were gathered in the servants' kitchen, eating alongside the other "living" staff.
Feng Rui felt his chest tighten.
"This can't be… I saw them die," he murmured to himself.
One of the servants noticed him and approached with a smile.
"Young master! Are you feeling well? You look pale… Do you need anything?" the servant asked in an unnervingly calm voice.
Feng Rui instinctively stepped back but forced himself to maintain composure, relying on his acting skills to improvise.
"I'm… fine. I just found it strange… to see you here," he replied, trying to sound neutral even though his mind was spinning.
The servants exchanged glances and then laughed softly.
"Of course, we're here! We're always here to serve you, young master," said another, bowing respectfully.
Feng Rui studied their faces intently. There were no signs of wounds or any evidence of what had happened earlier. It was as if they had never died. Intrigued, he focused on their bodies, but there was no familiar ghostly aura surrounding them. They were simply alive. Perfectly intact, without a single stain of blood or scar.
Fear crept through his body, squeezing his fragile heart.
He had an advantage because he knew the game's mechanics beforehand—even though this world wasn't identical—and because he had already died and been reborn. But with his trash cultivation and a body only slightly stronger than average, he was just another prey.
Without saying anything more, Feng Rui made an excuse to return to his room. As he walked away, he felt the servants' gazes on his back, a sensation that made him feel like he was trapped in an invisible web.
He recalled the missions he had read earlier about conspiracies and dark secrets within the Han family. Now, he was beginning to believe that those warnings were far worse than he had imagined.
'Is it possible that the general and a small group are the only ones truly alive?' he wondered, though a part of him was starting to doubt his father…
What if he was the one who wanted to raise an army of the undead?
That was how the apocalypse had started in the game.
Foolish people do foolish things out of ambition, dying too quickly and without experiencing even a fraction of the pain they caused.
But he still lacked too much information to piece the puzzle together. Every time he thought he was close to an answer, new questions emerged.
Feng Rui needed a plan, and he needed one fast. Something was terribly wrong in the Han mansion.