Brothers

Goosebumps broke out all over Zhou Yang's skin! Meeting Huang Shaodiao's gaze, he wanted nothing more than to spring away from where he stood and flee! An indescribable sense of alarm pressed in on him, leaving behind a feeling of dread in his heart that was even greater than facing the opera ghost directly! Fortunately, he still had seven strands of Right Thought supporting him. Forcibly suppressing his instinct to leap back and run, he gave a dry laugh and said, "I was only curious what it's like outside. I don't really want to go out. "The village is wonderful, so why go out? I've never had any such thought..." "You crawled out of my belly, so don't treat your mother like a stranger—" Huang Shaodiao suddenly grabbed Zhou Yang's hand. She turned her head to dart a quick glance out the door, then looked back at Zhou Yang, her pale, bloated face etched with anxiety. This look of extreme urgency made her seem surprisingly human at this moment. She said hurriedly, "Mother isn't like those outside... or like your father and your brothers. "Mother knows you aren't like them either. "There's only the two of us left. Trust Mother—" At her words, it felt as though a stun grenade had detonated in Zhou Yang's mind. His brain went completely blank, his ears rang, and his pupils shrank abruptly! Only after several breaths did he come to his senses! *What does Huang Shaodiao mean by this?! *She isn't like those outside? There are only the two of us... Could she also be a living person? *Could she... actually be a living person?!* Thoughts detonated one after another in Zhou Yang's mind! Looking at Huang Shaodiao's eager face, for one brief moment, he genuinely wanted to respond to her. But he snapped back to his senses almost immediately. Suppressing the surging tide of thoughts one by one, he looked at Huang Shaodiao's face, his expression growing ever more earnest. "To me, you are naturally different from Father and my two brothers... "You gave birth to me and raised me, and I am your flesh and blood. No matter what, I trust and rely on you. "And the same goes for you, Mother. If you ever feel Father and my two brothers are unreliable, you can rely on me as well." "Good boy, good boy..." Huang Shaodiao gripped Zhou Yang's arm even tighter, seemingly deeply touched. "In the past, Mother gave you the cold shoulder because I thought you talked too little, quiet as a mute gourd every day. "From now on, Mother will be sure to dote on you." The hints in her words and expression from moments before seemed not to exist at all now. Zhou Yang's response was as if he had hit the bullseye of what she wanted to hear. Watching the smooth transition of her expressions, a chill crept into Zhou Yang's heart. He had not misunderstood her earlier either. Huang Shaodiao's words had indeed been a deliberate hint, nudging him to imagine that she was a living person in hiding. But he was no naive greenhorn; he would never expose his status as a living person over a few words—such an act in Guancun was equivalent to suicide. Thus, Zhou Yang seamlessly steered the conversation elsewhere. And Huang Shaodiao replied without missing a beat. Their exchange had been like two people matching answers to a test. Yet it was precisely Huang Shaodiao's fluent response that made Zhou Yang suddenly realize that his "birth mother" in Guancun could never be a living person! It was deliberately laying a verbal trap, luring him to jump into the pit! Its reactions were too seamless—like a wolf prowling around its prey, ready to pounce and tear into it at the opportune moment, and even if it failed to latch on, having a contingency plan prepared, retreating in an instant to conserve strength and await the next hunt! "Son, from now on, eat at the big table with everyone." Huang Shaodiao took Zhou Yang's hand, her gaze so loving that it gave Zhou Yang chills. "Look at you. You eat so little every day, it's not nearly enough. Mother even had to go to the butcher shop to beg for these things just to give you snacks. "From now on, eat at the big table. Whatever you eat, there will be plenty." Naturally, Zhou Yang had no desire to dine with his other "family members." Even though he could now digest ghost food thanks to Ghost Breath, the "family dinner table" was still an examination hall to him; a single slip-up could expose his identity, eliminating him on the spot. Yet looking at Huang Shaodiao's expression, he knew that even if he refused, Huang Shaodiao had further arguments waiting, and would corner him until he had no choice but to agree. He simply nodded. "All right. Starting this evening, I'll go eat at the big table. You won't need to prepare special food for me anymore, Mother." "Good!" Huang Shaodiao agreed with a beaming smile. She turned her head, swept her eyes over Zhou Yang's room, and added, "This room of yours looks far too shabby, and there's only such a thin quilt on the bed. It breaks my heart. "Son, go move into the west wing room and stay with your two brothers." Zhou Yang's heart tightened at her words! Night was the only time each day he had to himself. It was also the only time he could relax a little. Huang Shaodiao wanted to strip even this time away from him—if he shared a room with those two black and white dogs, wouldn't he be under their surveillance every night? How could he possibly read the Knife-Credit Ledger then? Yet if he refused outright, Huang Shaodiao would certainly have a comeback. Therefore, Zhou Yang lowered his eyes to look at Huang Shaodiao, a distinct look of displeasure appearing on his face. "Heigou and Baigou get along well, but Heigou doesn't see eye to eye with me, and Baigou listens to his second brother. Mother, by putting me in the same room with the two of them, are you trying to make the three of us fight every night? "With those two sons of yours teaming up, they naturally don't have to worry about getting hurt in a fight. "Can't you show a little pity for me? Let me take fewer fists and kicks at night and get a peaceful night's sleep, can't you? "Just a moment ago you said your heart ached for me, and now you're rushing to drag me off to take beatings from those two 'real sons' of yours!" As he spoke, he deliberately placed heavy emphasis on the phrase "real sons." Resentment filled his face, nearly brimming over. "How could that be? How could that be... You're all my real sons..." Huang Shaodiao mumbled, her gaze growing blank, once again at a loss for how to respond to Zhou Yang's words. In the end, it merely looked like a person, could speak human words, and understood many common conventions of being human. The moment Zhou Yang's words went beyond the conventions it understood, it went blank again, like a marionette. Looking at its expression, Zhou Yang felt a stir in his heart. He followed up, "Unless—" Light gradually returned to Huang Shaodiao's eyes. "Son, what are you thinking?" "Unless Eldest Brother protects me, listens to me, and stops listening to Heigou. I'll watch and see how he behaves over time. If he does well, I'll be willing to live with the two of them," Zhou Yang said. "Baigou'er likes playing with Heigou'er. How could a few scoldings from Mother change his nature so that he stops paying attention to Heigou'er, comes to play with you, and listens to you?" Huang Shaodiao shook her head repeatedly, murmuring in a low voice. Zhou Yang did not make a sound. Huang Shaodiao lowered her head in silence for a while, then suddenly said, "Mother can only speak to him and tell him to favor you more in the future. "We'll see if it does any good." "Thank you, Mother!" Zhou Yang broke into a heartfelt smile. "If Eldest Brother favors me, I'll favor him too. "Our family living in harmony—kind father, filial sons, elder brothers caring, younger brothers respectful—life will surely get better and better!" "That's right..." Huang Shaodiao also smiled warmly. "We're a loving, affectionate family..." Having said her piece, Huang Shaodiao's gaze fell upon the bucket of bloody pig entrails. It gave no clear indication, and Zhou Yang did not know what it was thinking. He spoke up, "Aren't you going to prepare breakfast, Mother? "In a little while, I'll have to head out to work." "I'll go prepare it right away, right away..." Huang Shaodiao replied repeatedly, her gaze still fixed on the bucket of pig entrails. Only after a good while did she say, "A bucket of this stuff costs quite a bit of paper copper cash, son..." Hearing this, Zhou Yang immediately understood what it meant. It was asking Zhou Yang for the money for this bucket of pig entrails! Charging meal money just to give the youngest child in the family an extra dish—and she still dared talk about a loving, affectionate family? "Sorry to have put you to expense, Mother. How many sheets of paper copper cash? I'll get them for you..." Zhou Yang grumbled inwardly, but his hands moved nimbly. Fetching some paper copper cash, he drew out several sheets according to Huang Shaodiao's quote and handed them over. Only then did it leave satisfied, even thoughtfully pulling Zhou Yang's room door shut behind it. *A ghost like Huang Shaodiao, draped in a sheet of human skin, possesses the common conventions of being human. *Yet the conventions it possesses cannot be flexibly shifted and combined like a real human's cognition. *Common convention taught it that a happy family meant living in harmony, with a stern father, a loving mother, and fraternal affection. But what should be done if brothers aren't affectionate? Its conventions don't cover that. *Doing something that breaches its conventions without crossing Guancun's taboo red lines leaves it at a total loss. *When it's at a loss, I can guide it, exerting a slight influence over it to advance things that benefit me...* Standing by the window, Zhou Yang's mind churned. For him, Guancun harbored far too many secrets. On the outside, Ding Ling and Chang Dafeng had both said that most ghosts possessed no emotional intellect. Yet the ghosts in Guancun displayed emotions very plainly. Such emotions were actually performed based on the various personas they maintained within Guancun. For instance, Huang Shaodiao showing motherly love toward Zhou Yang. For instance, Zhou Laogou frequently engaged in hoe-wedging in front of the house and went outside pretending to do farm work. In essence, they still had no emotions whatsoever; all the feelings they displayed to the outside were feigned. Even the human "common conventions" they possessed existed solely to sustain their respective personas. However, this feigned "emotional intellect" could hardly be a tree without roots—where did it come from? Who had taught the likes of Huang Shaodiao such "emotional intellect"? After a moment, Zhou Yang reined in his thoughts and, for what felt like the hundredth time, opened the Knife-Credit Ledger. He looked at the page for Ding Ling's personal profile. Following down the columns of Ding Ling's profile, his gaze suddenly froze, fixing upon the entry for Ding Ling's Right Thought: Right Thought: 5. ... Ding Ling's Right Thought had increased by another strand! Her Right Thought had not been completely wiped out under the assault of the opera ghost's ghost rhythm; instead, it had risen by a strand. This was a good omen! In all likelihood, it meant she had broken free from the opera ghost's assault! Otherwise, had she died in the opera ghost's assault, her Right Thought should have dropped to zero by now, or even fallen into negative numbers... Zhou Yang stared at the Right Thought column for a while longer. Confirming there were no further changes, he felt all the more reassured. Letting out a sigh of relief, he rolled up the old ledger and tucked it back behind his waistband.