On the way home, the train speeds forward, the scenery outside the window swiftly passing by.
Tang Yuxin looked at the man sitting opposite with a calm demeanor, hesitating before speaking, “Gu… Xuan?”
Zhi Xian responded, “What is it?”
Tang Yuxin’s expression was complex, surprised that he actually responded.
The real Gu Xuan had already been left behind in another world forever; the Gu Xuan in front of her was probably someone unrecognizable.
But regardless of who the person in front of her was, they were capable of helping her send off the Immortal Hall.
She hesitated for a moment, “…It’s nothing, just a little worried about how to send off to the immortal hall. Will anything go wrong?”
The man in front of her remained silent for a moment before saying, “There might be trouble.”
Tang Yuxin’s heart instantly rose to her throat.
He continued, “But since I promised to help you, I won’t break my word. Whatever happens, I’ll do my best to ensure your safety.”
Upon hearing this, Tang Yuxin slowly relaxed again.
***
As Tang Yuxin just stepped into the house with Gu Xuan, she saw her grandmother emerging from the shadows.
She knew her grandmother was definitely not there for her, so she quickly stepped aside to let Gu Xuan pass.
Tang’s grandmother walked straight to a position about a meter away from Gu Xuan, respectfully asking, “May I ask if there’s any specific reason for this esteemed guest’s visit?”
Zhi Xian replied indifferently, “To send off to the immortal hall.”
These simple words brought a flash of shock and confusion to Tang’s grandmother’s face.
It was the first time Tang Yuxin had seen her grandmother react so strongly, leaving her slightly stunned.
Then, she heard her grandmother slowly say, “There’s no need to trouble yourself with this…”
Tang Yuxin was shocked and hastily said, “Why would it be no trouble, Grandma? I specifically asked Gu Xuan for help. If we don’t send off to the immortal hall, what will happen to me and my boyfriend? What will become of my life? I don’t want…”
“Nonsense!”
A loud slap echoed.
Tang Yuxin turned her head to the side, the atmosphere quiet for a few seconds, as she couldn’t believe she slowly covered her cheek with her hand.
Her grandmother had actually slapped her; it was the first time she had been hit.
No matter what, she couldn’t have imagined that one day, her grandmother, who seemed to care about nothing, would actually hit her.
Tang Yuxin murmured in disbelief, “…Grandma?”
A cold laughter rang out.
Tang Yuxin and her grandmother both looked towards the source of the mocking laughter.
Zhi Xian’s expression turned cold and stern, his eyes filled with mockery. “You’re already on the verge of a miserable end, yet you’re still dragging your own granddaughter down with you. What a caring grandmother you are.”
Tang Yuxin trembled, feeling a deep bitterness in her heart.
Tang’s grandmother was somewhat agitated, but dared not contradict Zhi Xian. Her lips trembled as she slowly knelt before Zhi Xian.
Zhi Xian remained unmoved, lowering his gaze to the elderly woman before him.
Tang Yuxin widened her eyes, unable to believe it. “Grandma…”
Tang’s grandmother bowed her head, prostrating herself before Zhi Xian. “The immortal hall is a great grace bestowed upon our family by the heavens. It must not be offended. You’ve been inconvenienced by coming here, and I must trouble you to return…”
“A great grace?” Zhi Xian found it the most ridiculous joke he had ever heard. He laughed in anger, “You call the immortal hall a great grace?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Tang’s grandmother replied, “Of course it’s a great grace, just like the gift you bestowed upon that child. Your kind of existence, the things you bestow upon us mortals, how can we resist…”
“Jjc sbeg ojwlis’r oliats atlcur mbwqjgf ab wf?” Itl Wljc lcafggeqafv, rcffglcu. “Lbk wjcs nfcufoei rqlglar vbfr sbeg ojwlis reqqgfrr, ecjyif ab olcv ilyfgjalbc, fcveglcu vjlis bqqgfrrlbc jcv qeclrtwfca? Lbk wemt gfrfcawfca tjnf atfs jmmeweijafv? Lbk wjcs ecmbcagbiijyif fcalalfr tjnf atflg kjlir jaagjmafv? Pr atf fjrs ujlc byajlcfv atgbeut rdejcvfglcu iemx rb erfoei? Gb sbe ralii kjca la ab yf qjrrfv vbkc ab oeaegf ufcfgjalbcr? Ofa wf wjxf la mifjg, Kjcu Tezlc mjc’a reqqgfrr sbeg ojwlis’r lwwbgaji tjii. Qtfc rtf lr abgaegfv ab vfjat, jcv atf rqlglar gfajiljaf, vb sbe atlcx sbe mjc frmjqf? Ca atja alwf, jcsbcf jrrbmljafv klat atf lwwbgaji tjii, bcf ys bcf, klii ojmf atf kgjat bo atf fcgjufv rqlglar. Ca atja alwf…”
Zhi Xian let out a cold laugh, his expression darkening.
Tang’s grandmother trembled, her prostrated posture becoming even more humble.
“Grandma, can you please save me?” Tang Yuxin’s eyes filled with tears. “I don’t want to carry this burden for the rest of my life. I’ve seen them, every night I have nightmares, and they’re always in my dreams. I want them to leave me alone…”
With a bang, Tang Yuxin exclaimed, startled, and looked around in panic.
Although there was not even a breeze inside the hall, the door was shut.
Tang’s grandmother remained prostrated on the ground, silent.
Tang Yuxin said, “Oh no! They heard us!”
A blood-red ghostly figure flashed inside the room. Tang Yuxin hurriedly rushed to the door, trying to pull it open, but it remained as immovable as a wall.
Zhi Xian remained indifferent, his gaze falling upon Tang’s grandmother’s bowed back. “Will you continue to be obstinate? For such harmful things, everything you gain will have to be repaid.”
A sinister wind swept through the room, and Tang Yuxin, fearful, stood beside Zhi Xian, worrying, “What should we do…”
Zhi Xian remained motionless, and Tang’s grandmother also remained silent in resistance.
Tang Yuxin was on the verge of tears. “Grandma, please save me, Grandma…”
Tang’s grandmother trembled, finally lifting her head slowly, her voice filled with endless exhaustion. “This is a blessing…”
Zhi Xian responded indifferently, “I am the true blessing. My blessing is only given once, and time waits for no one.” Pausing for a moment, he looked at Tang Yuxin and said, “If your grandmother doesn’t agree, I can still help you send off the immortal hall. But your grandmother will be retaliated against by the spirits and meet a miserable end. The decision is up to you.”
“What…” Tang Yuxin’s face turned pale. She looked dazedly at her grandmother still kneeling on the ground. “Grand… Grandma? Can you… can you just agree?”
Tang’s grandmother took a deep breath, knelt on the ground, straightened her body, tilted her head back, and closed her eyes.
It was a posture as if she was ready to send off the immortal hall, even if it meant accompanying it herself.
Tang Yuxin stood alone, trembling in the sinister wind, on the verge of collapse. Seeing this, tears streamed down her face.
After a long silence, Tang Yuxin finally gave up. With empty eyes, she murmured, “Then… I won’t send it off…”
Tang’s grandmother trembled, opening her eyes to look at her granddaughter, with whom she didn’t share a deep emotional bond.
Tang Yuxin slowly crouched down, hugging herself, her voice heavy with resignation. “You raised me, and if this is what you want, then… I accept it.”
The sinister wind in the room came to a halt.
Zhi Xian said, “Actually, I’m not very keen on helping you. I’m inclined to see you foolish and greedy people reap what you sow. The reason I’m here is because Tang Yuxin helped me. So, I’ll ask one last time, are you sure you want me to leave?”
Tang Yuxin sniffled, “I… can’t ignore my grandmother’s life. I’m sorry, please go back, I’ll buy you a train ticket…”
A very low sigh sounded, and Tang’s grandmother closed her eyes. “Forget it, send it off…”
Tang Yuxin was taken aback, looking up at her grandmother.
Tang’s grandmother repeated, “Send it off…”
The sinister wind inside the room began to blow again, much more violently than before, as if all the evil entities in the house knew they couldn’t seek revenge anymore.
A red ghostly figure flashed and gradually approached Tang Yuxin.
Zhi Xian raised his hand slightly, and blue flames ignited. With a sharp howl, the red ghostly figure disappeared in an instant.
“Prepare candles, paper money, offerings, effigies…”
As he spoke, he tossed two blue flames onto the candles on the altar.
When the candles lit up with blue flames, the door in the hall creaked open…
***
Zhi Xian formed his fingers into blades and sliced across Tang Yuxin’s wrist. “Sprinkle the blood around the courtyard, don’t stop the bleeding, or else we’ll have to cut it open again later.”
Tang Yuxin trembled with pain. “Alright…”
Tang’s grandmother went in and out, busy with preparations. Her usually lifeless eyes were now filled with determination, as if she had already resigned herself to the inevitable.
Zhi Xian passed by her, saying lightly, “I will keep you safe, but your time is running out. In the few days you have left, be good to your granddaughter.”
Tang’s grandmother paused, deeply bowing to Zhi Xian. “Thank you…”
***
After everything was prepared, night fell.
Just like the last time they summoned the immortal hall, the hall doors were tightly closed, the immortal hall was invited out, and effigies representing immortals were placed all around, accompanied by incense, candles, and paper money, just like before.
The difference this time was that instead of chicken blood, it was human blood that was used, and every candle burned with a faint blue flame.
Tang Yuxin once again wore the same plain white attire, covered with a red veil, and was supported by Tang’s grandmother as she walked out.
Tang’s grandmother squatted beside a large copper basin, burning paper offerings until the smoke filled the air, and the flames seemed eager to reach the ceiling.
As the smoke filled the room, carrying a chilling coldness, it seemed to indicate that the spirits of the immortal hall were now angered to the extreme.
Standing amidst the thick smoke, Tang Yuxin shivered from the cold, feeling a bone-chilling chill as if countless blades were piercing through her.
The wound on her wrist had not yet healed; fresh blood dripped down her fingers, forming a small puddle on the ground.
Tang’s grandmother recited the summoning chant loudly.
The surrounding darkness crept closer, but was blocked by the flickering blue flames inside the hall.
Thud, thud, thud
Three heavy knocks echoed, ominous in nature.
Tang Yuxin trembled, unlike the last time when she felt faint; this time she was very much alert, so when faced with the anomaly, she felt fear.
As she hesitated about whether to approach the door to open it like last time, a voice sounded, “Don’t move, remove the red veil.”
Tang Yuxin took a deep breath and firmly removed the red veil.
She saw her grandmother had retreated to her side, as if resolutely standing on the same front as her.
A moment of silence.
Suddenly, the frantic knocking erupted, sounding less like the work of one person and more like the desperate clamor of countless lost souls and wandering ghosts outside the door.
The blue flames inside the hall flickered and danced, staunchly resisting the sinister forces outside.
Zhi Xian raised his voice, “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, let the departed return, and do not linger.”
Outside the door, numerous howls filled the air, while inside the house, a fierce wind blew, swirling the blue flames.
The red veil covering the immortal hall was lifted by the wind, revealing glimpses of the unsettling images of the restless deceased inside.
Suddenly, a hand, purplish-red with hints of blue, reached out from the narrow immortal hall, grabbing onto the edge.
“Ah!” Tang Yuxin exclaimed in shock. How could a hand emerge from such a small space? And the color of that hand… it looked ominous no matter how she looked at it.
Unconsciously, she took a step back, then noticed her grandmother beside her.
Straightening her back, she gritted her teeth and stood in front of her grandmother.
Zhi Xian raised his finger, igniting the paper effigies placed on the chairs around them.
As the paper effigies ignited, the entities inside the immortal hall grew even angrier.
The immortal hall trembled, countless hands pushing out from within, seemingly intent on dragging those who had angered them into hell.
Tang Yuxin felt panicked and disoriented. Outside the door, it seemed like countless people were pounding on it, while inside the hall, it seemed like numerous monsters were about to emerge from the immortal hall.
Her eyes widened in fear and panic.
Zhi Xian said, “Continue reciting the summoning chant.”
Tang’s grandmother trembled and began reciting loudly once more.
Zhi Xian stared at the immortal hall as more and more entities pushed out from within.
Finally, with a loud bang, the immortal hall exploded.
Tang Yuxin shuddered, her eyes wide open, staring at the grotesque and inhuman ghosts ahead.
Between her and the ghosts was a large copper basin burning with blue flames.
Through the flames, she looked at these ghosts.
Tang’s grandmother looked shocked, seeing the true face of the immortal hall for the first time.
Those entities roared loudly as they rushed towards Tang Yuxin and her grandmother.
Zhi Xian raised his hand, throwing out blue flames to surround Tang Yuxin and her grandmother, blocking the furious ghosts outside.
The angry spirits raged on, and the sinister wind grew even fiercer.
Tang Yuxin cried out in pain, witnessing her wrist wound reopen. This time, the wind truly felt like blades, leaving invisible marks on her body.
“Ah!” Tang Yuxin suddenly hugged herself, wailing in agony, “It hurts so much, blech—”
A mouthful of black blood sprayed from her mouth, carrying a strange stench, splattering into the copper basin in front of her. The blue flames gradually turned into black-red…
She felt her strength draining away, her vision becoming blurry.
Faint chanting could be heard in her ears, and she saw the furious ghosts rushing towards the other end.
Turning her head, Tang Yuxin felt she might be hallucinating due to excessive blood loss.
She saw a blazing blue flame, and as the ghosts attacked, Zhi Xian emerged from the flames.
With a cold expression, he reached out and grabbed a ghost.
Tang Yuxin stared wide-eyed. Was this thing, replacing Gu Xuan, so fierce?
Although she had seen the opponent’s bravery in the mirror world, facing such terrifying ghosts, was this casual gesture too indifferent?
The next moment, her perspective suddenly flipped, and she realized she had collapsed to the ground, then lost consciousness.
***
When Tang Yuxin woke up again, she found herself in bed, with her grandmother sitting by her side, looking somewhat tired.
Seeing her awake, her grandmother whispered, “Don’t worry, they’re all gone. Your days from now on will be peaceful.”
Tang Yuxin opened her mouth and asked, “Where’s Gu Xuan?”
Her grandmother sighed, “He’s gone. It was my fault this time. Your grandfather was confused, and so was I… my dear granddaughter, next time you have a break, bring your boyfriend back with you. I don’t have much time left. Let me see him, and then I can rest assured.”
Tears streamed down Tang Yuxin’s face as she choked out, “Okay…”
The midday sunlight streamed in, and finally, this house was no longer dark, with no more strange noises, restoring its vitality.
——End
MiniPickleTL:
This is the final extra of IMAAG! Thanks to everyone for their support! It was a nice journey and it’s sad that it has come to an end. I’ll hopfeully be translating more from this author soon! Please continue supporting me when I do. ˁ•ᴗ•ˀつ～ 💞 Leave a review on NU if you can!
Thank you for your hard work!❤
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Oh this is end I want more 😢
Congratulations on making it to the end. A very interesting, sometimes terrifying, gruesome and loving story. There is so much love in this story.
I’m glad we got the immortal hall sorted out. Because it never sat well with me that was how her family had power. But sad it doesn’t end with a scene of our two boys together.
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What a wild ride!! Thank you for giving us this wonderful translation
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Thank you for translating!
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Thank you so much for your translation I read it all in one go I loved it! 😍
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Thank you for your hard work!! 🫶 Congratulations on finishing it! Btw is the immortal hall really practiced in Chinese culture? I’m trying to search for it but can’t find anything, I’m really interested on reading about this. I
Immortal hall = 仙堂. It is related to Taoist beliefs and Chinese mythology. It is normally seen as a place for people who have achieved enlightenment but in this novel the author changes it up and makes it creepy. People do practice it but not in the way the novel depicts it. If you’re interested you should research about Taoism. ˁ•ᴗ•ˀつ～ 💞
literally binged everything in a day, i love this friend group so much!! thank you for translating!! 💕
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Thank you . Love the extras. They explained alot of things.
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This is the end 😢 really really gonna miss them, n thank you so so much translator-nim for this novel. Keep it up❤️❤️
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Thank you so much for your hard work ! This is my first time commenting despite having been here for some times. Great job! ❤️❤️
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