Come, please come in.
The wedding’s pure white gate stood there, adorned with balloon ribbons and flowers. Intermittent music seeped out from the partially open door, and the scent of flowers—mostly roses—turned into a strong and intoxicating fragrance in the air, like an invisible invitation guiding guests in the right direction.
Zhong Hongzhuo stood before this gate, almost believing he was dressed in expensive and dignified attire, with everything around him bearing his name. He was the true protagonist of this wedding.
—He enjoyed this fantasy and decided to indulge in it.
The gods favored imaginative believers.
Perhaps the world itself was a grand delusion conducted by the noble, indescribable great deity, exquisitely crafted yet also poorly executed, bestowing rules and yet imbued with contradictions…
Perhaps his imagination was proof of divine favor.
His fantasy felt so real.
So—lifting his head high, he pushed open the door before him and walked in. Everything inside was prepared for him: flowers, music, attire, and even the ring. It was a luxurious wedding beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Along the red carpet, he would see Eve prepared for him by the gods.
Zhong Hongzhuo’s pupils dilated, his gaze trance-like as he stared ahead into the narrow space.
Although Xu Yintang had arranged the wedding venue here for the convenience of guests coming and going, no decorations were added for discretion, making it look like just an ordinary old house, perfectly suited for the discreet needs of individuals like the introverted social phobics.
A few individuals with oversized body shapes had to bend over and suck in their bellies to enter, their heads so small that even the most curious passersby wouldn’t spare them a second glance.
Zhong Hongzhuo’s fantasy became even more real, with the red carpet seemingly rolling out to greet him at his feet, and flashes of light illuminating around him like a snowflake waterfall. Some of his former supporters stood at the sides of the red carpet, excited and admiring, offering him blessings.
—Come, please come in.
Zhong Hongzhuo adjusted his bow tie as if straightening his collar, then ran his hand through his hair, extending his hand as if reaching for the immaculate, thick, and heavy door in his fantasy…
“Hello?” A voice sounded behind him, and suddenly, all his fantasies screamed and hid in his head. Zhong Hongzhuo felt dizzy as if struck heavily, the huge gap making it difficult for him to contain his anger.
Kill—
He turned around, the sharp edge of a dagger flashing between his fingers, a figure leaving an illusory image on his retina.
Shadows encroached from the depths of the consciousness, fear burned away reason, emptiness flooded up, and his memories, like old articles soaked in water, instantly blurred into smudges of dirty ink.
Deep in his eyes, a blood-red moon grotesquely distorted, a creature beyond all imagination in this world, like a monster of fear itself.
…
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.
“Uifjrf xcbmx.”
Lbk ab vfrmglyf remt j rbecv…
Rb bypfma mbeiv fwla j rbecv, jr lo lcrfmar kfgf mtfklcu bc tlr ygjlc, jcv j mbiv, wfmtjclmji jilfcjalbc rqgfjv ogbw atf vfqatr bo tlr mbcrmlbercfrr.
—Lf rabbv yfobgf jcbatfg vbbg.
Qlat atf cjwf “We Tlcajcu” qjrafv bc la, atfgf kjr cb cffv obg tlw ab fwyfiilrt la klat jvvlalbcji ojcajrlfr; la kjr jigfjvs j rbifwc jcv mijrrlmji vbbg.
Zhong Hongzhuo raised his hand and lightly knocked.
The sounds of laughter in the room suddenly quieted down. If it were any other time, Zhong Hongzhuo would have probably started imagining how he would enjoy the process to come, bringing fear, despair, and bloodshed.
But at this moment, he was like a hollow puppet, mechanically moving every muscle on his face, revealing a mad and dark smile.
“Not quite right…”
A sigh as light as moonlight skimming over a lake illuminated the fear in his eyes contrasting with the fervor.
A man’s clear response came from inside, “Please come in, it’s not locked.”
He seemed to be comforting something inside, as buzzing and sharp whistling noises emanated from the seams, along with the squelching, slippery, and viscous sounds akin to some kind of soft-bodied creature wriggling.
Connected by these sounds were fantasies about tentacles, nests, and monstrous grotesque things. In his mind, the sounds seemed to evoke an extreme pleasure, eliciting soft laughter.
Zhong Hongzhuo’s body spasmed involuntarily, his expression constantly shifting between panic, emptiness, and madness. The shadows on the wall responded to his trembling body, contorting into strange postures as if performing a terrifying dance.
His bones emitted a brittle crackling sound under movements beyond human limits, the fear and pain in his eyes intensifying, while the smile on his face became increasingly insane and obsessed.
Sensing that Zhong Hongzhuo was on the verge of breaking, the voices in his head suddenly stopped as if realizing, and then commanded, “Push open.”
Zhong Hongzhuo’s arm twisted at an extremely unnatural angle as he opened the door before him.
There were no pleasantries, no formalities, no unnecessary niceties. Thunderously, thick tentacles assaulted him, and a piercing whistling tore at his soul from the edge of the consciousness. In the depths of the shadows, fragile butterfly swarms launched attacks that even a slight grasp could not withstand, and the brilliant phosphorescence almost submerged the entire world.
Yet there was also a force, weak and tender compared to it, riding on some kind of attack express train, firmly landing on the vulnerable point of his soul.
Abusing his parents, looking down on his lover, despising his friends, his reality of inferiority and the arrogance in his fantasies collapsed into a game of uncontrollable anger, hatred, and murderous desires—
What a pitiful creature.
Fourth Joy evaluated as he consumed the first nutrient supply sent to him.
With congenital inheritance and environmental factors combined, the transformation into a psychotic murderer had a taste that couldn’t be described, but Third Flora, with her highest literary cultivation among the siblings, would say it tasted like fermented food—it might taste good at first, but if left to sour and rot, it would eventually become unpleasant and even nauseating, causing indigestion if consumed too much.
Naturally, Little Darling was the first to give up on this less-than-fresh food, nibbling on it until it lost its mobility, leaving enough space in the package for his brothers, then retracting his tentacles and proceeding to massage his mother’s shoulders and legs affectionately.
Second Treasure only symbolically tasted it. The taste actually suited it quite well, but after taking a bite, he was forced to endure the fantasies of the male mistress, the nauseating coquettishness, and the sickeningly sweet behavior of the male mistress until he couldn’t take it anymore!
Second Treasure flew back into his mother’s arms like a frightened bird, sobbing and complaining that he had eaten something dirty.
Spit, disgusting!
Third Flora didn’t want to eat anything associated with her stinky little brother!
—After all, influenced by the concept that the consciousness and dreams are connected to the soul in most cultures, Third Flora had to consume as much fox fairy literature as she saw nauseating male mistress behaviors.
Third Flora’s butterfly flew away faster than when it came.
Fortunately, this was Fourth Joy’s host body.
Xu Yintang chuckled and rubbed Second Treasure’s chubby little face with glee, making his chubby cheeks look like little dumplings that had been well-fed and nurtured. While he watched Fourth Joy successfully take root and absorb nutrients after landing, his gaze shifted to the empty space.
“Thank you for your help. Hmm… do I need to invite you in again?” He raised his eyebrows, his tone gentle.
The cubs looked at him with confusion. Whether seen from the perspective of reality, dreams, or shadows, there was nothing inside, not even a breeze or a hint of airflow, just the sunlight quietly falling on the floor.
However, with Xu Yintang’s words, the next moment, the cubs were surprised to find that a small space appeared with a strange sense of discord. There was clearly nothing inside, but there was also something definite, tangibly existing within.
Upon realizing this, the sense of presence became so strong and vivid that it left an impression in their consciousness before they “saw” it.
From deeper shadows, from deeper dreams, from the untouched places of the unknown chaos, His figure came like moonlight.
Compared to the grotesque monster-like blood moon, the blood moon in Xu Yintang’s consciousness grew even dimmer.
He transformed into a form closer to human in front of Xu Yintang, with countless tendrils wriggling and climbing at his feet to drape a robe over the master’s naked body.
Xu Yintang smiled and gestured for this guest, who was akin to his root source, to take a seat. His immense and eerie figure resembled a nest, and he could feel countless gazes inside, murmuring and submissive.
They were not as lively as his own cubs, who would exclaim “Mommy” in surprise and cuddle up beside him, curiously observing this guest. Even Fourth Joy’s consciousness stretched out like a tender shoot, eagerly absorbing nutrients to grow stronger.
It really resembled mother…
He sat before Xu Yintang, like Xu Yintang was looking in a mirror. Even the curvature of his smile was identical, except Xu Yintang wore a white wedding clothes while he wore a black robe that draped down to his feet, like a corner of the night torn away.
“You may describe it as such if you wish.” His form and voice didn’t match, merely simulating more human-like movements but adding to the sense of uncanny.
“Knife has devoured the children of the night.” With his introduction, tiny tendrils protruded from the black robe, and in an instant, the brightness and sounds of the world disappeared beneath the black robe, spreading emptiness, coldness, and silence.
Little Darling’s tendrils trembled, emitting sharp cries as if in response.
“Good, good, it’s okay.” Xu Yintang comforted the cubs while the other himself cast a somewhat disapproving glance.
Don’t think that just because they’re children, he couldn’t see through it. Knife had definitely been around for who knows how long, couldn’t disguise himself as Little Darling even if he dressed all in black, and yet here he was bullying his own cubs just a few months after they were born.
How did the other himself teach the children?
He caught Xu Yintang’s gaze and sighed softly. “I can’t help but feel that you spoil them too much. If my children can’t stand on their own after three days, they would be eaten directly.”
“Is it okay? I prefer to raise them slowly and cultivate their reliance on me; it’s quite an interesting process.” Xu Yintang didn’t argue with him about educational philosophy but instead asked, “His name is Knife, and the other children are called…”
“Fork, Spoon, Plate…” He counted in sequence slowly, stopping after the fourth and decisively stating, “There are too many after that, so I stopped giving names.”
Anyway, he didn’t need to know their names to find the one he wanted. A child would receive his command with just a thought.
Never failed.
Xu Yintang patted his own cubs and reminded them not to show too much affection for the neighboring children. “This is Little Darling, Second Treasure, Third Flora, and Fourth Joy is over there.”
Compared to the utensils named by the other him, it’s clear that his own cubs’ names sound much nicer.
He was silent for a moment about the names of Xu Yintang’s four cubs, and then said: “The names I chose are more pleasant.”
As soon as he heard them, it’s clear they’re all practical and convenient dining tools.
Author’s Note –
Quietly releasing an alternate universe version of Mother Xu Yingtang [doge].
Xu Yingtang: The other me might be suffering from postpartum depression, judging by the name they’ve chosen. [Doge’s eyes sharpen with suspicion]
Xu Yingtang: Well, their cubs seem happy enough. Respect. Blessings.
…I feel lost
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
That’s a bit… unexpected(?)
Thank you :3
Could the other entity’s first cub be named Knife instead of Naf?
Agreed. Naf doesn’t fit. Instead I thought Alternate Mother Xu was Naf and this another person entirely. Very confusing!
That’s probably it, the names don’t translate well and I managed to figure out the other names but not the name of knife lol. I’ll fix it.
hmm.. so the other xu yintang kind of possessed the psycho stalker’s body and sent it straight to this world’s xu yintang?? 🤔 at least the cubs got a meal out of it and fourth joy has finally found a host body! hoping for fourth joy’s safe delivery 😂
What a neato twist🧡 I can’t wait for the wedding (night🫣)
Thanks for the chapter!!!
Not for the first time in this novel, I haven’t got the faintest clue what’s going on.
Super! Curious!
Both who this person is and how Fourth Joy looks.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING AWESOME!!!