[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world":3,"chapter-survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-chapter-45":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Survival Guide in a Mysterious World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2299014,4497,"Chapter 45: Avoiding Misfortune","survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-chapter-45",45,"\u003Cp>Thump—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The figure, straight as a spear, took another step toward him; behind Ning Zhe, the ghost drew ever closer, while before him stood a hazy crimson silhouette—the very He Nianjun who had appeared in the He family’s main hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ning Zhe instinctively turned around, trying to escape from another direction, but as his body rotated, the girl in her bridal gown, red sash wrapped around her waist, also “slid” seamlessly to match his new position, standing precisely before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s going on…” Ning Zhe frowned slightly, turned again—but He Nianjun still stood right before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After several attempts, Ning Zhe realized: no matter how he turned his gaze, He Nianjun remained directly in front of him, like a smudge on a camera lens—no matter what the camera filmed, a dark blur always clung to the image.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Nianjun was that persistent, fiery shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She doesn’t exist in this world—only in my eyes?” Ning Zhe quickly understood the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thump—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ghost behind him took another step forward. Now that he understood, Ning Zhe no longer hesitated—he opened his umbrella and ran forward, having turned off the streetlamp on his way in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before he’d taken more than a few steps, a terrifying sight occurred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ning Zhe realized that as he moved forward, the red-clad shadow in his vision was growing larger—as if he were actively approaching her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this active approach seemed to trigger some special mechanism: the red-clad figure, once motionless, now began to move, stepping toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl’s figure was slender and graceful, her silk-edged robe swaying, yet there was no wind inside the sealed Bishui Bay estate—yet her hair fluttered as if stirred by a breeze. Ning Zhe dared not advance further, his eyes fixed on He Nianjun’s approaching figure, while the ghost behind him drew ever closer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, he noticed something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Backlit by the streetlamp, Ning Zhe saw a massive shadow cast onto the lawn: himself, holding the umbrella, like a black mushroom—the canopy was his sunshade, its stem his two legs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could it be…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A flash of insight struck Ning Zhe—he understood. Without hesitation, he crouched down, still holding the umbrella, and knelt on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The streetlamp’s glow softly illuminated a round, plump shadow on the lawn—seemingly unchanged—but now, the ghost’s footsteps had stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thump—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another sound of feet landing—but this time, it never came again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the first floor of the castle, in the surveillance room, Feng Yu shu clapped both hands over her mouth, staring in disbelief at the screen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surveillance camera captured a silent scene: beneath the streetlamp stood two motionless figures—Ning Zhe crouched, his large umbrella completely shielding his body; on the other side of the frame stood a figure as rigid as a corpse, its face still frozen in the terror of death, its twisted features fixed on the lace-trimmed sunshade above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seconds ticked by. The ghost stood there, utterly still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It lost its target,” Ning Zhe’s voice came through the earpiece: “Tell me where the circuit breaker is. Quick.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Yu shu snapped out of her daze and replied: “From your position, follow the wall straight ahead. Stop when you reach the second or third bixie statue. Find the triangular space between the two outer walls—the indoor power grid’s circuit breaker is inside.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“OK.” Ning Zhe exhaled sharply, still crouching, his body fully hidden beneath the umbrella, he carefully shifted his steps to the lamp post and turned off the light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, darkness swallowed everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Safe. Ning Zhe slowly lowered the umbrella, glancing back at the ghost standing nearby—it remained rigidly in place, unmoving. Minutes passed, then the possessed corpse collapsed heavily to the ground, its support gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The ghost is gone,” Ning Zhe whispered. “Auntie, be careful—it might be heading for you.” Feng Yu shu immediately looked down at her feet, adjusting her stance and umbrella angle with caution, ensuring her entire shadow was fully concealed beneath the canopy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This ghost has no normal vision—it can’t see living people, only their shadows in the light. So once we hide ourselves completely in darkness, it’s as blind as a bat,” Ning Zhe said, recalling the very first scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment the ghost appeared in the estate, every lighting fixture within the grounds turned on simultaneously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not a coincidence…” Ning Zhe now had his answer: “Someone deliberately created the perfect killing environment for it. Perhaps the ghost itself was placed here on purpose.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who had placed a ghost inside the estate? And why? Ning Zhe raised his head, gazing at the slender crimson silhouette standing before him—and he knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dressed in bridal robes, He Nianjun stood silently before Ning Zhe. Without a word, she opened her chest, and with her pale, slender fingers, pulled out an ancient, weathered, yet perfectly preserved yellow almanac.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the aged pages, elegant handwriting—clearly her own—read: [Lunar April 22]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Auspicious: Marriage, Travel, Relocation, Breaking Ground, Burial, Sacrifice]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Inauspicious: Assuming Office, Pest Control, Meeting Strangers]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ning Zhe checked his phone: June 6, 2018, Lunar April 23, 00:09.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A new day had arrived. Time to turn the page.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ning Zhe stared at He Nianjun’s paper-white, delicate face and frail, slender wrists—and finally remembered the one thing he had deliberately ignored:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the wandering ghost “Tai Yi” was killed, he became the only person in the world who possessed the identity of “Tai Yi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Likewise, after the serpent god “Zhao You” was killed, who was the only person in the world who possessed the identity of “Zhao You”? The answer was still himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the surveillance room, Feng Yu shu stared at the screen—only a faint silhouette was visible in the darkness. Ning Zhe stood still, reaching out as if caressing something—but there was nothing before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ning Zhe, what are you doing?” Feng Yu shu asked cautiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nothing,” Ning Zhe replied casually. “I’m going to turn off the circuit breaker now. Be careful—don’t use lighters or matches, don’t drink alcohol, and don’t break any trees or flowers in the estate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But… why?” Feng Yu shu asked, puzzled and curious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just do it,” Ning Zhe said, his tone unchanged. “Can you trust me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Yu shu fell silent for a moment, then nodded. “Alright. I trust you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She decided to believe everything Ning Zhe said—just as she had in He Family Village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After warning Feng Yu shu, Ning Zhe exhaled. He shook off his daze, his gaze returning to He Nianjun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her tender, ivory fingers held the withered yellow almanac, one slender index finger pinning the newly turned page. The page beneath bore today’s fortune:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Lunar April 23]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Auspicious: Marriage, Breaking Ground, Planting, Acquiring Clothing, Gathering Wealth]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Inauspicious: Drinking Alcohol, Lighting Fire, Cutting Trees, Building Dams, Constructing Houses]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1118,"2026-06-20T06:29:21.893Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","fd190260349c06b7406f08903909ce5a51133edcbdc8cc5cf701113dfbaf9466","survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-chapter-46","survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-chapter-44",353,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsurvival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-cover.jpg"]