Pale mist slowly churned. A faint outline appeared beneath its contours—a blurred human face.
Its eyes were filled with fear.
As he stared at that pale human face, the vividness in its gaze gave him an increasingly real feeling.
His scalp went numb. It was as though a chill surged up from the soles of his feet, making his whole body tremble.
Fear welled up in his heart, and Su Yu sat there without moving.
At a time like this, he absolutely could not lose his composure.
He could be afraid, but he could not panic and flee.
Su Yu kept that firmly in mind.
“By day they are human; by night, wandering spirits!”
“Do not pull open the curtains at night. Even if you do, do not leave the protection of the house, and never open the doors or windows yourself!”
Last time, when the native host first encountered it, he had panicked so badly that he fainted. And fainting, in truth, meant that part of him had left the protection. As a result, he later fell gravely ill… and lost more than half his talent.
Why only more than half? Because the person had still been inside the house.
“And besides, although the Courtyard has not officially activated yet, it still has LV0 protection. That’s much better than what the native host had.”
No sooner had he thought this than the misty face on the glass suddenly changed.
“Ah!”
Su Yu cried out in alarm, and instantly knew something was wrong. His vision went black, but before he could react, he heard a crisp crack. It was as if a streak of white light flashed, and everything before his eyes turned snowy white.
That light illuminated the mirror.
“So it was you, host!”
Unlike in his previous life, the evil spirit he had encountered back then had been a hideous, unfamiliar one. This time, the misty face on the glass was very familiar—it was the native himself.
Only, it was the native as a young man. Though the face was exactly the same as his current one, its expression was ferocious. It was precisely this that startled him despite his mental preparation.
“Thief! Give me back my body!” Sure enough, a shriek rang out.
“Vitality -1.”
A line of words surfaced before his eyes, then slowly dispersed into the air. Su Yu stole a glance at his character panel—Vitality: 4/9.
Frowning slightly, Su Yu stared at it fixedly. He saw it grow clearer and clearer, while at the same time he felt the back of his hand gradually heat up.
Thin white light emerged all around, gradually wrapping around and covering it.
Like glue, it coiled around and solidified over that human face—that was the Courtyard’s protective power.
“You’re dead, whether you’re the host or some other evil spirit.”
Su Yu did not retreat. Instead, he smiled. “In occult terms alone, if you’ve locked onto me, then I’ve locked onto you too.”
“Besides, I have something you don’t—the Courtyard game!”
“You can’t activate it, because you’re not me at all. You’re just a native of this world. You have no authority whatsoever!”
“National borders, county borders, household boundaries—they’re all protections. As long as I don’t panic, you can’t just come straight in!”
“You locked onto me, and I locked onto you.”
“Do you know why I stared blankly at the window for so long even though I knew something was wrong? It shouldn’t be long until sunrise now, right?”
“Haha. When that happens, what will you do?”
Su Yu gave a cold laugh.
That was why this initial mission was so difficult on one hand. A fourteen-year-old boy had no way to kill it no matter what.
But if one made use of occultism properly, as long as one was not too frightened, one could use the principle of mutual locking to firmly trap the evil spirit outside, leaving it unable to depart.
Once the sun rose, it would naturally help resolve the problem.
“No!” The human face seemed to possess a faint consciousness. It began struggling desperately and muttering under its breath.
Strangely enough, however, once he calmed down, the murmuring by his ear became indistinct, like the buzzing of mosquitoes.
Something stirred in Su Yu’s heart.
Countries, counties and cities, residential compounds, and houses all had protections. It was not impossible for such a thing to slip through the cracks and arrive here… but the probability was very low.
Then where had it come from?
In his memory, the same had happened to the native last time. As soon as this hour arrived, it had appeared.
That made no sense.
Unless…
Silently watching as the face continued threatening and muttering, Su Yu began sorting through the native host’s memories.
“An ordinary nobody!”
“But even if he only absorbed things by osmosis, he actually possesses quite a bit of precious information.”
“After all, many world-changing events are announced after the fact.”
“Not only that, the native host had even entered the occult field, so there is plenty of direct occult knowledge to dig out!”
“Thief! Give me back my body! Give me back my knowledge!”
Who knew what this line of thought triggered, but the entire room instantly turned cold, and mist seemed to seep in from the window.
“Whether you’re the native or merely an illusion of an evil spirit.” Su Yu was not startled in the slightest. He shook his head. “Stop struggling. Dawn has come!”
As if in that very instant, following his words, a ray of dawn broke across the horizon. Su Yu remained still and silent as he watched the morning glow gradually spread, brightening the entire sky.
Looking out the window, he saw that although it had rained in the middle of the night, the sky was now clean. A pale blue stretched outward, spreading across half the heavens. Sunlight was filtered through layer upon layer of curtains, leaking onto his body as faint, round halos that swayed gently.
Immersed in it, he did not know how much time passed before fatigue gradually rose within him.
Leaning against the bookshelf, he actually fell asleep.
When he woke again, sunlight was shining into the room.
To his left was the wardrobe; to his right, the window covered by curtains. The homework he had finished last night was still spread out on the desk, and he had even forgotten to put away his fountain pen.
Every tiny object was a long-lost old friend, bearing a fragment of memory.
Unfortunately, later on, they had all gradually been lost and scattered… and he had no attention to spare for them at all.
At this point in time, they were all still here, just as they had always been.
Greedily taking in the familiar scene, Su Yu’s lips curved into a nostalgic smile. His eyes gradually grew moist, and he said to himself, “I’m back. I really am back!”
A wave of emotion pierced through his heart and blurred his vision.
“Xiao Yu, get up!”
A familiar female voice sounded from downstairs.
“I’m coming!” He suppressed a sob, wiped away his tears, and answered instinctively.
Only then did he immediately realize that it was his mother’s voice.
Although her illness had already begun, it was not yet severe at this time.
Su Yu instinctively looked again at the back of his hand. The golden hourglass pattern was faintly discernible.
“This isn’t good. It could easily be discovered.”
As if responding to his thought, the pattern swiftly vanished.
Wearing slippers, he pulled the curtains open with a swish, and golden light instantly poured in completely.
He deliberately looked at his shadow. Sunlight cast it onto the ground, and at its edge was a faintly visible human face.
It struggled slowly within, like a fish out of water, gradually suffocating.
“Hmph. Sure enough, I’ve tethered it, so it can’t leave. It had no choice but to hide in my shadow.”
“It still isn’t dead?”
“That’s right. Evil spirits don’t die that easily!”
Sunlight seemed to have some effect, but it was not immediately fatal.
He had once learned a little occultism. Evil spirits were indeed weak against sunlight, but relying on sunbathing alone would require several days of exposure to completely wear them away.
“I can’t wait that long. I have to complete the initial mission as soon as possible and fully activate the Courtyard, instead of only being able to display the character card like now.”
“But it doesn’t matter. I’ll be going to school soon. Perfect—I’ve also started to miss campus life.”
Su Yu thought.
“Open character panel.”
A speck of golden light swiftly expanded, becoming a faint white glow that floated in his field of vision.
Name: Su Yu
Age: 14
Mundane Profession: Third-year student at Qingteng Middle School
Occult Profession: None
Bloodline: None
Title: None
Vitality: 7/9
Attributes: Strength 9, Agility 10, Constitution 10, Intelligence 15 (Experience +2), Perception 13, Charisma 11
Skills: Yingguo Language LV2, Faguo Language LV0, Yingguo Systematic Education LV2
Special Skills: Calisthenics (32%), Basic Meditation (55%)
Currently Active Passive Skill: Courtyard Protection LV0
Funds: 12 silver sirens, 10 copper sirens
“It changed. Although it hasn’t been completed, the skills have changed. There are additional occult skills now.” Su Yu’s gaze fell on the skills, and he pondered for a long time.
He felt somewhat wistful, yet also somewhat delighted. In the end, he had still brought about a change.
Elementary schools prohibited any form of occultism, even for nobles and royalty.
Because children simply could not bear the occult.
Starting in middle school, there were actually methods for fitness and introductory occultism, but they were extremely shallow. Only those with talent could perceive them.
This was a plan to discover rough gems. Most people did not know about it, but the authorities and the occult side did.
Su Yu was precisely such a talented person.
Now, Calisthenics (32%) and Basic Meditation (55%) had both been obtained.