[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-there-is-a-malevolent-spirit":3,"chapter-there-is-a-malevolent-spirit-there-is-a-malevolent-spirit-chapter-12":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","There Is a Malevolent Spirit",{"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},2263118,4416,"Chapter 12: 11. Shared Birth Chart","there-is-a-malevolent-spirit-chapter-12",12,"\u003Cp>11. Shared Birth Chart\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the dim main hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Sanji set the kerosene lamp he held onto the altar table, broke off three incense sticks, and lit one for the spirit tablet of 'Zhou Chang'.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood with his back to Zhou Chang, leaving Zhou Chang no way to know his emotions at that moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the old man’s voice came, faint as the tiny flame on the lamp: “Come to think of it, your birth chart is identical to Ah Chang’s… In my whole life, I’ve had no luck with descendants—I never had my own children. Only when I was over thirty did I adopt Ah Chang’s father, raise him, and arrange his marriage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After his parents married, they, like me, had no luck with descendants—seven or eight years passed without a child…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until one day, when the couple were doing divinations for others outside town, the people they helped thanked them and told them about a burial mound in their hometown, long abandoned, its tombstones vanished; locals simply called it ‘Li Shan Niangniang,’ saying Li Shan Niangniang was extremely efficacious in granting children, and urged them to pay respects when they had time…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shan Niangniang truly was efficacious—soon after Ah Chang’s parents paid their respects, they conceived Ah Chang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Ah Chang turned one, his parents were both taken by the ‘River Drifters’…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing the flickering flame on the altar, Zhou Chang’s eyes were utterly dark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He clenched his lips, his chest surging with tumultuous waves!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—The life story of ‘Zhou Chang’ mentioned by Zhou Sanji, if one ignores the difference between ‘Li Shan Niangniang’ and ‘Yinsheng Laomu,’ is utterly identical!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Chang’s father, too, was raised by his grandfather after being adopted;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Chang’s parents, too, had no children for seven or eight years after marriage, until they took ‘Yinsheng Laomu’ as their adoptive mother and conceived Zhou Chang;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Zhou Chang turned one, his parents also died together in an accident…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could two people’s life paths be so eerily similar? Almost identical?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could the current Zhou Chang be another ‘me’ in this world?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could ‘Li Shan Niangniang,’ that ancient, nameless burial mound, actually be ‘Yinsheng Laomu’?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A strange, uncanny feeling clung to Zhou Chang’s heart. He lifted his dark eyes toward Zhou Sanji, who had come over after offering incense: “Where is Li Shan Niangniang’s burial mound?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That was long ago—I never went there myself. How could I remember?” Zhou Sanji shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Chang fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tombstones and coffins that had surrounded Yinsheng Laomu’s burial mound in his dreams bore names similar to his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they had truly existed, had they also lived lives exactly like his?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And how had they died in the end?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like Zhou Chang?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like… Zhou Chang?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An endless net spread through Zhou Chang’s mind, with ‘Yinsheng Laomu’ standing at its center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Chang’s heart turned icy, as if standing on the edge of a bottomless abyss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside, the gong sounded irregularly, mixed with shouts: “Fifth watch!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Rise for the fifth watch!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After sitting in silence with Zhou Chang, Zhou Sanji rose, helped Zhou Chang up from the chair, and guided him out through the main hall door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the opposite courtyard wall, two or three people had their hands on the wall’s edge, staring intently into the Zhou family courtyard—when they saw Zhou Sanji helping Zhou Chang step out, they immediately pulled their heads back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the wall, the shouts faded: “Rise for the fifth watch!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“See that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because we didn’t ‘rise for the fifth watch’ yesterday, today people are already watching us!” Zhou Sanji glanced at the wall and sneered at Zhou Chang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Chang lowered his eyes, feeling more acutely the absurdity and strangeness of this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The absurdity wasn’t just in the world itself—it was in the minds of the living too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Zhou Sanji helped him cross half the courtyard, a shadow slipped silently behind them as they passed the side room’s entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The figure wore coarse cloth garments; the oversized tunic and trousers made her appear slender and frail. She lifted a delicate, beautiful face and bowed timidly to Zhou Chang, who turned to look: “Zhou… Zhou young master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Chang nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside him, Zhou Sanji also nodded to the woman, his face expressionless: “Miss Bai has no place to stay in Qingyi. I’ve temporarily lodged her here. When I have time, I’ll send her home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, it was thanks to her cooperation in that performance that we could safely pass through the graveyard.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xiu’e, do you know Qingyi’s custom of rising for the fifth watch and chanting sutras?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Xiue hesitated, then nodded, then quickly shook her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Sanji frowned: “What does that mean?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She’s never been to Qingyi Town. She doesn’t know the rules here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Grandpa, you should recite the ‘Pure Quiet Sutra’ for her,” Zhou Chang said, watching the anxious Bai Xiue. “The sutra isn’t long. Easy to remember.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Zhou Chang call him ‘Grandpa,’ Zhou Sanji forgot everything else, his stern face softening into a smile: “Alright, girl, this rhyme is easy. Listen, memorize it… One person doesn’t enter a temple, two don’t stare into a well…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Xiue listened quietly, occasionally glancing up to sneak a look at Zhou Chang beside her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Chang’s expression was blank, his eyes empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This woman, whose origins were unknown, wore her thoughts plainly on her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Chang had only glanced at her once—he was certain she had been to Qingyi Town, knew its customs, yet for some reason, she was trying to conceal those experiences.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had helped him once at a critical moment; he had no objection to helping her pass this test.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Zhou Chang suddenly felt a slight tremor in his third eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A new thread of ‘thought-thread’ suddenly appeared in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, all his attempts had failed to increase even a fraction of a thought-thread—but now, without doing anything, merely encountering Bai Xiue, a new thread had spontaneously formed—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Chang turned his gaze toward Bai Xiue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman bowed her head, silently reciting the Pure Quiet Sutra, no longer glancing at him at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sky at fifth watch was still dim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The buildings of Qingyi Town were only vague silhouettes in the darkness; a cold wind swept through alleys, carrying away the last echo of the gong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People stood like walking corpses at their doorsteps, chanting the sutra over and over, its meaning long lost: “One person doesn’t enter a temple, two don’t stare into a well, three don’t embrace a tree, alone don’t lean on the railing…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The low chanting sounded like murmurs in sleep, merging into a tide that drowned out the wind, swirling around Zhou Chang’s ears, making his spine prickle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He repeated the Pure Quiet Sutra again and again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that instant, he had the instinct that many people had turned to stare fixedly at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when he raised his head, he saw only neighbors bowing their heads, chanting—earlier feelings of being watched seemed merely an illusion.\u003C\u002Fp>",1178,"2026-06-19T18:47:42.084Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","2e8418d72e7920fc1b7d1db5493c5213898b0b44e1aa3cb105fee117e749f374","there-is-a-malevolent-spirit-chapter-13","there-is-a-malevolent-spirit-chapter-11",209,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthere-is-a-malevolent-spirit-cover.jpg"]