Chapter 2: The Invitation

The address was unfamiliar to Yang Xiao, and he hadn't even heard of the place before. Filled with curiosity, he opened the box and found two leather pouches, one large and one small, lying quietly inside.

Upon opening the slightly larger pouch, a small booklet resembling a memorial to the throne spilled out, immediately capturing Yang Xiao's attention.

The cover of the booklet featured an old mansion door painted in dark red. On each side of the door hung a White Lantern, the dimly glowing characters on the lanterns emanated an indescribable sense of peculiarity, as if opening this door would lead to another world.

When he opened the booklet, a few paragraphs written with a fine brush in classical Chinese were revealed. Yang Xiao had a decent foundation in Chinese literature, and he managed to understand the gist through a combination of reading and guessing—it was actually an invitation.

The head of the household issuing the invitation bore the surname Feng. The family was preparing to conduct a blessing ceremony, inviting the recipient of the invitation to attend. The specifics were not disclosed, but it promised a generous reward should the event be successful.

Flipping to another page, a bookmark-sized card fell out. It was crudely drawn with the silhouette of a person on it.

Yang Xiao knew this was supposed to represent the identity card for players in the game. However, this card was just a rudimentary version and would definitely undergo redrawing and refinement before official distribution.

The texture of the card felt unusual, not like the common hard paper, but rather resembling some kind of treated leather, exhibiting a certain toughness. On the back of the card, in the upper right corner, there was an odd triangle-shaped pattern.

On the final page of the invitation, six human figures were abruptly drawn in the blank space. The figures were as rough as those on the identity card, genders indiscernible. Yang Xiao could guess that this suggested, besides the recipient of the invitation, there were six other players involved, making this a seven-person scenario.

"Hmm?"

Reaching with anticipation into the larger pouch, Yang Xiao was surprised to find it empty.

What's this? Had the sender only mailed these few items?

Yang Xiao was a bit displeased. Apart from an approximate identity card and an enigmatic invitation, there was neither the basic plot outline nor the character illustration booklet in the box. Moreover, the sender hadn't given any prior notice, which seemed rather disrespectful.

Judging from the intricate design of the box and the craftsmanship of the invitation, the sender did not seem to be a small workshop. This could be a promising collaboration opportunity. However, Yang Xiao preferred to work with sincere people; this wasn't just about the money.

The only item left in the box was a small envelope, barely larger than half a palm. Yang Xiao pondered for a moment before picking it up. The next second after he opened the envelope, he was completely invigorated.

Inside was a stack of folded money.

Red!

Trembling, he pulled out the money and took a sharp breath. After carefully counting, there were exactly three thousand yuan.

Taking a deep breath and calming down for a moment, Yang Xiao counted again and took another sharp breath. No mistake, it was indeed three thousand yuan.

Three thousand yuan, oh three thousand yuan!

Clutching the money, Yang Xiao's eyes softened as he looked back at the script box. What kind of divine drama society was this? Their sincerity was overwhelming, sending money without a word; who could resist that?

In that moment, his thoughts unfurled, and countless novel and interesting ideas rushed into his mind like a torrent, opening up the governor and conception vessels. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that within seconds, he had already come up with at least three scenes and seven storylines for the script.

What was there to fear without a plot outline or basic character settings? He could write one himself. If the boss didn't like the box, he could even redraw it. In this regard, Yang Xiao had always been known as a conscientious craftsman in the industry, with unanimous praise.

The money had lifted his pressing financial concerns; his rent and living expenses for the next month were now secured.

Last but not least, aside from the boss's sincerity and respect, the envelope contained several cards. These were different from the previous identity card, meticulously crafted and tied together with a fine hemp cord, only the top card visible with a bell tied to the hemp cord.

Yang Xiao noticed the knots on the fine hemp rope, stained with red. Touching them, he found they were actually cinnabar powder, and that the bell was sealed with wax.

"There's quite a trick to this script," he mused. The detailed design had taken him somewhat by surprise. Cinnabar repels evil, and wax-sealed bells are said to subdue ghosts. The most brilliant part was the way the knots were tied—it looked to him like the pallbearer's knot, used for securing coffins.

The clever design was meant to help players quickly step into their roles and merge with the storyline—on that point, this script wasn't half bad.

Untying the rope, he found the first card depicted an ancient street from a bygone era, shrouded in dim light and deserted. Not far off, there stood a large estate, its gates eerily familiar, identical to those on the cover of the invitation—it must be the Feng Family's home mentioned in the invite.

The second card showed a few scattered houses, set against an even darker background. In the pitch-black courtyards in front of the houses hung a full moon.

The moon couldn't possibly fall into a courtyard. Yang Xiao guessed that if this didn't represent some sort of symbol, then there must be water there, a pond or a small lake, with the round moon being the reflection of the real one in the sky.

More curious to him than the full moon were the houses themselves. Designed in an ancient style and under such a backdrop, they took on an eerie grayish-white appearance. What was more chilling were the two large red lanterns hanging outside each door. The glow of the red lanterns contrasted sharply with the silent, gloomy atmosphere, like two blood-red eyes staring at him from another world through the card.

Caught off guard by his own rich imagination, with a sense of anticipation, he flipped to the last card.

Darkness, pure darkness. This was a card covered almost entirely in black. Yang Xiao was taken aback; even with his imagination, he couldn't fathom what the scriptwriter was trying to convey.

Was it meant to be a blank space or just a poor gimmick? Yang Xiao felt it was neither. This black card surely signified something special.

Gazing at the card, Yang Xiao slowly calmed his mind. Gradually, it seemed as though he could discern something peculiar. The blackness on this card was layered—a murky kind of black, with something hidden in the shadows behind it.

"Bang!"

Yang Xiao shivered, the sudden noise interrupting his thoughts. He followed the sound to the bathroom, opened the door, and wondered why the shampoo, which had been properly placed on the shelf, was now on the floor.

Having come to his senses, Yang Xiao felt hungry—it was time for dinner. Putting on his coat and taking his umbrella, he stepped out. He had been eating instant noodles for several days in a row; tonight he decided to treat himself.

He left the light on—turning it off would signal to his landlord that he was home, and he'd been avoiding her by not answering the door earlier.

Arriving at a small eatery by the road, Yang Xiao ordered a chicken leg rice bowl. Watching the owner pick up a large chicken leg and then ladle a spoonful of savory sauce over the white rice, Yang Xiao suddenly felt his days looking up. "Boss, can I have an extra chicken leg, please?"

Umbrella in hand and now full, Yang Xiao strolled leisurely back home. His rented room, even in this old neighborhood, was relatively remote. The facilities were severely worn, and there weren't many residents; the streetlights emitted a feeble glow.

He wasn't far now. He stopped and looked through the rain at the old residential building a few dozen meters away. After a long sigh, at the window on the second floor to the right, which was lit, he'd endured the most difficult period of his life.

Before he could get sentimental, gradually, the light behind that window dimmed visibly until it went out completely.

What was going on?

It couldn't be a power outage since the lights on the 5th floor were still on. Maybe it was aging wiring with a bad connection?

Yang Xiao wasn't sure about these technicalities, but he had to work late into the night on the script, and he needed light. Rushing back, he had just reached the corner stairs of the second floor when he heard the sound of rushing water.

The sound was coming from his room, as if the showerhead in the bathroom had been turned on. What made Yang Xiao more vigilant was that his door wasn't locked; it was ajar, leaving a slim gap.

Peering through the gap, the room was shrouded in dimness. Suddenly, the noise from the bathroom stopped abruptly, and before Yang Xiao could react, following the sound of footsteps in water, a vague black figure burst out of the bathroom.