Lin Xian blinked, and then did so again, this time with more clarity in his eyes. Almost immediately, his eyes widened in shock.
What had he done? Was he still dreaming?
He slowly sat up, his mind clearing bit by bit, struggling to piece together the mess he had created.
What had he said to an NPC? Was he insane? What if they blamed him for attempting to steal some treasure or family legacy of the clan?! Or worse! What if the young master decided to dispose of him and accuse him of being a spy?!
His mind raced at full speed to come up with an excuse, silently blaming himself for everything he had said. His heart pounded in nervousness.
"No, no, that wasn't it!" Lin Xian murmured quietly, forcing himself to speak. "I... I was just dreaming! Yes, I was still half-asleep! Sorry, Young Master Feng!"
A purple cloud escaped from Lin Xian's lips, barely perceptible.
Before he could clarify further, the door suddenly swung open, and the butler entered with several guards. In a tone of authority, filled with the solemnity typical of high-ranking servants, he exclaimed:
"Lin Xian! It's good that you're awake. Now, tell us what happened in the ancestral hall! A crime like this... not even a thousand lifetimes will be enough to pay for it!"
Lin Xian, feeling the weight of the situation, began to stammer:
"It wasn't me…" More purple clouds escaped, and Feng Rui frowned. He hadn't anticipated the side effects of the elixir. It would be a problem if others realized…
"I... I saw an intruder in the hall... I only entered to stop the enemy who tried to damage the ancestral relics." The violet cloud grew darker, now as dense as the breath on a winter night.
"What? Just you?!"
Lin Xian jumped to the floor, kneeling in front of the butler, and Feng Rui nodded internally. It was better if they didn't see his face.
"It was presumptuous of me! I'm young and strong, so I thought I could stop him! But they almost took my life, if not for the doctor's skill!"
"Stop beating around the bush and explain clearly what you saw!"
Feng Rui wanted to interrupt, but Lin Xian spoke faster, not pausing.
"It was a middle-aged man, well-trained, his movements were elegant and fluid. I've never seen such a solid and clear internal force. Every attack was lethal and precise. Thanks to my parents, I inherited strong vitality and agility, but I couldn't even dodge properly, and the objects in the room were damaged. I had never witnessed anything so mysterious and powerful as each of his attacks and…"
Lin Xian kept inventing and exaggerating non-stop. In less than a minute, the purple cloud had tripled in size, expanding like a malicious aura.
"He's possessed! This servant has been cursed!"
"Hurry! Call the guards and the exorcists!"
"What??" Lin Xian tried to move, but Feng Rui stopped him and whispered:
"I'll try to save your life, so please cooperate."
"What???"
Feng Rui concluded that he would definitely use Lin Xian as a scapegoat.
An intruder had made it into the ancestral hall of the renowned Han family? All the guards could die first before admitting it!
So, the servant was doomed.
But if it was proven that he was being controlled by ghostly and malignant energies, the situation would change.
It was a blessing in disguise.
Panic and terror filled the room and hallways due to the strange phenomenon.
The guards entered and dragged the servant out to the courtyard. Unlike the others, they wore robes adorned with auspicious patterns and sacred runes to ward off impurities and evil. They carried a ghost-banishing fan and long jade bracelets to capture wandering souls.
They drew a strange pattern in the center of the courtyard with duck blood, starting incense and chanting.
Meanwhile, Feng Rui had been observing the scene with a mixture of surprise, confusion, and resignation. He couldn't help but remember that, in the game, exorcisms were a taboo, until the zombies advanced, ghouls appeared due to the bloody experiments of demonic cultivators, and ghosts turned into demons after cultivating. From human obsessions and negative emotions, more malignant energy was created, giving birth to inhuman specters and bloodthirsty shadows.
At that time, large unaligned sects had formed specialized units for combat, neutralization, and exorcism. Families and clans, involved in territorial politics, had created their own guards and hired mercenaries skilled in secret arts. Some specialized in exorcisms, others in alchemy, medicine, seals, formations, runes, writing, weapons, and even beast taming and, rarely, spirit taming. And well, at that time, only one in a billion was born with the ability to control plants...
Now, according to the few reliable memories from the original, training was more generalized and accessible. Exorcists weren't the most attractive profession, but when they did get work, they could earn a small fortune.
But Feng Rui found it strange—the ghosts shouldn't be so common... Even if there were exorcists, was it normal to have so many in one family? Was it because of the Han Clan's "special circumstances"?
There was still much he didn't know, but if he survived and didn't get reliable information inside the clan, there was a special academy for training young talented masters, where they were granted resources and access to legacies, inheritances, and unique opportunities to level the playing field between influential families and the less privileged.
Supposedly, Feng Rui was supposed to enter next year, on his seventeenth birthday, with the intention of making connections with other important families. Also, the basic training lasted three years. Afterward, students could choose to specialize or affiliate with a clan, family, or sect to continue learning. So, maybe at the academy, he could find more clues about the past.
A loud noise and Lin Xian's screams caught Feng Rui's attention.
Those brutes were beating Lin Xian, trying to expel the evil from his body.
'Tsk, so uncivilized and primitive.'
The method was even more rudimentary and rough compared to the refined techniques Feng Rui remembered from the game, but it was surprisingly effective, as the courtyard seemed freer of malignant energy than ever before, and even he felt weak and dizzy.
Lin Xian... well, he didn't think he'd die from this. As long as he stopped talking, he would be fine.
After what seemed like an eternity, the exorcists concluded their work and took Lin Xian to rest in an adjoining room. The guards dispersed, searching for the supposed intruder who had disturbed the calm, and Feng Rui took advantage of the chaos to head to the Ancestral Sanctuary to investigate.
Strangely, upon arriving, he realized everything was fixed and like new.
He thought it would take longer, but...
No.
Now that he was closer to inspecting more carefully, everything seemed the same?
They weren't new items... they were the same...
When the conjecture formed, Feng Rui checked every tablet, which appeared old and not new. The ink was worn, and the color faded. The cushions, though well-kept, had an ancient look. And don't even get him started on the unique decorations that had once been shattered...
'Is this an illusion? And if the whole Han Clan is a gigantic illusion and we're all dead? Something like a vision of the past? No, no... what if the "real members of the Han Clan" are outside the illusion, and they're just using us as a spectacle or experiment?'
A chill ran down Feng Rui's spine. There were too many possibilities, and each one was worse than the last.
With few options, he ventured further, approaching the place where he had found Lin Xian unconscious.
As soon as he crossed the threshold, the system issued a notification in his mind:
Ding!
[You have activated access to the Han Clan Legacy.]
[Warning: NPCs will not be able to claim the full rewards.]
[Do you wish to enter the Legacy?]
[Yes] [No]
Feng Rui accepted. As expected, there was indeed a mission here.
The air inside the ancestral hall grew even denser, shadows began to form, gradually filling the entire place. His vision darkened, and he felt as though he were in the eye of a storm.
When he finally opened his eyes, he was in a completely different place.
He sighed, disappointed.
An abandoned and eerie cemetery.
Would there be zombies again?
Ding!
[You have successfully entered the Legacy.]
[Description: This realm was created by the outstanding masters of the Han Clan to train their potential successors.
To activate the legacy, the following requirements must be met: Complete the tests of the clan masters (0/100)]
Ding!
[Unique ability detected and compatibility with ghosts 100% match]
[Analyzing possibilities...]
[Changing test mission...]
Ding!
[New mission: "Purification Ritual."]
[Objective: Purify the corrupted souls of the Han Clan's ancestors. Limited functions due to your NPC status. Some compatibility skills are locked.]
[Countdown to start begins]
[10... 9... 8…]
'Is this good or bad?'