487 Look at the Mess You've Left Behind

Looking at the herbal gift pack Nangong Sanba had taken out, Nangong Wuyue felt an itch in her spine. She smacked her brother on the shoulders and said, "Brother, would you believe it if I told you that I would've whipped you with my tail if this was a different occasion?"

Nangong Sanba did not get what she meant. "What's wrong? Do you know how important this thing is to people with anal fissures?"

Hao Ren quietly put his hand on Nangong Sanba's shoulders. Just as he was about to say something, he saw a classic car in his periphery, hustling towards them—Ogyust was back, coincidentally.

"Tuck your Chinese herbal gift pack away. The old man could get irritated and kill himself along with you." Hao Ren grinned. "Let's just play it by ear, and see if Ogyust knows about the legend of the witch. If the Rakikh Family's lost it, we'll use solving the curse of the evil spirit as an excuse."

The old car jolted along the trail into the garden, which was surrounded by thorns and bushes. The man inside the car had obviously noticed the strangers in front of his house. He honked twice. Hao Ren could almost imagine a pair of cautious and neurotic eyes behind the tinted car windows, observing him. As the car came to a stop in the garden, the door was pushed open and an old man in a woolly coat alighted from the car. He had gray hair and looked to be about 50. He stared at the strangers at his doorpstep, his face cautious with a sense of despise. "Who are you people?"

"Mr. Ogyust," said Nangong Sanba as he stepped forward and greeted the old man enthusiastically, "it's me—these are my colleagues. They're experts in occultism and witchcraft. We've come to you to discuss about incantations and mysterious knowledge."

"I have nothing to say," Ogyust scoffed. He had a deadpanned face and he never bothered to hide his despise as he raised his voice, "God, why can't you let an old man live a normal life?"

Meanwhile, Vivian studied the air-dried wild herbs and animal skins hanging on the outer walls of the house with much interest. When she heard their conversation, she felt a bit dissatisfied. She turned her head around and said, "Aren't you being harassed by an evil spirit? Maybe we can... Huh?"

When Vivian saw Ogyust, she was stunned as if something had struck her. At the same time, Ogyust' response was even more dramatic: he was wide-eyed. He began to choke as though he was being strangled, and he started to shiver!

The old man staggered backwards. It looked like he was ready to turn around and run. Vivian finally recalled something in her mind, "Pavel? You're still alive?"

"Pavel..." Ogyust tripped and fell on his back. He looked at the sky in a daze. "Pavel... No one's ever called me by this name for three centuries... Mistress, you finally came back to get your possession?"

"How could this be..." Vivian was stunned. "You're the one who's been in contact with the Andrea Family all this while?"

Hao Ren had guessed the truth from the inexplicable conversation. He looked at the shivering old man in disbelief. Meanwhile, Lily was quick to lunge forward and hold the old man up. Together with Nangong Sanba, they helped the old man, who was about to pass out to door. "Don't say anything yet. Let's get side where it's warmer."

The wooden house was clean and tidy, except there was an aged feeling of not keeping up with the times. Nevertheless, there were a few modern electrical appliances and daily necessities, which contrasted with the ancient wooden tables and chairs. It exuded a wonderful sense of space-time confusion.

A portrait depicting the upper half of Alexander I was hung below the portrait of Lenin. A copper, Soviet rocket mold was placed next to a silver candlestick from the Tsarist Period. There was an old-fashioned mud-brick fireplace that was crackling with fire. It was a fireplace commonly present during the Red Army Era. A metal lunchbox from the Red Army Era was placed above the fireplace, warming up the soup he left there in the morning. This was an old house, which contained many things older than the house itself.

This was also the dwelling place for the reclusive man, who had lived there for three centuries.

Three hundred years ago, the witch left two stones to her two human minions, and inadvertently changed the fate of the two exiles, who had embarked on incredible and completely different lives. The careless witch simply did not foresee the kind of consequences her actions would bring upon the two of them.

One servant had become incredibly wealthy while another servant had become immortal.

And the price they paid for these gifts were the same: a nightmare that haunted them for life.

"Every time I reach 60 years old, I'll 'die' of acute hemorrhage. Then, I incredibly wake up after 3 to 10 days of sleep and return to the moment when I first came into contact with the stone—me at 22 years old with a strong body." Ogyust Futoryak Rakikh a.k.a Pavel was wrapped in a thick blanket as he sat on a rattan chair. He was in a crouched position as if he had crumbled in the cold winter of his life. "I don't know what's going on in my body, but I know it must be a curse that's keeping me alive forever. But I'm entangled with this crazy voice in my head."

Ogyust lowered his head and clutched his own hair. "I tried to put an end to all of this several times, and once, I even pointed a gun to my head. Yet in the end, I still couldn't make up my mind. Die and resurrect—the same process has been repeating over and over again until today."

Vivian looked at her former servant. She finally remembered. From his 50-year-old complexion, she could still vaguely recall his young face. "So, you're the one who's been in contact with Andrea's descendants all this time? That's why they could only receive letters from the Rakikh Family. Have you ever married? Do you have any children?"

"During the first two cycles of resurrection, I got married twice." Ogyust shook his head. "But soon I discovered that it would only cause trouble. I had to find ways to conceal my immortality. Even my family couldn't understand this phenomenon—my second wife accidentally found out about my resurrection, and she reported me to the church. I was deemed a warlock and was almost burned alive. Since then, I've stayed away from humans, and continued moving around to conceal my secrets. I also tried to disguise myself as my son, which worked well in a time when household registration systems weren't that perfect... It was difficult during the first hundred years, but then I became used to such a life. The census and personal identity system were rather troublesome things. During the entire Stalin Era, I lived in the mountains and almost became a savage. During that time, I lost contact with the Andrea Family. But thankfully, everything returned to normal after that. Such was life, there were ups and downs. I once thought the world was a dull place, but after living long enough, I began to be amazed by the ridiculous changes taking place in the world."

"So, you played your own descendants or changed your identity again and again. While you kept in touch with Andrea's descendants, you kept a safe distance." Vivian sighed. "You're not comfortable with them?Are you worried that once they find out your secret of immortality, they'll put you into danger?"

"I did have that concern indeed," Ogyust said in a deep voice. "After learning that Andrea had died from old age, and his descendants were unfathomable strangers to me, I chose to guard my secret cautiously. But this isn't the main reason why I keep a distance from the Andrea Family. The main reason is the voice."

Ogyust pointed at his own head. "It's here. The voice comes every night, urging me to go to Siberia to reunite the two cursed stones. The dark forces were divided by the witch, so they're eager to come together. I'm not sure if it's attached to the stone or me. I can't even imagine what would happen if I go to the Andrea Family's and the two dark forces merge into one... It may recover fully, and break the mistress' seal. No mortal strength can defeat the monster."

Hao Ren glanced at Vivian with surprise. "Divided into two? You cut the vengeful spirit in half?"

"Don't joke around, the vengeful spirit is not tofu." Vivian gave Hao Ren a sideways glance. "It's possible that part of the vengeful spirit's obsessiveness is in another stone. Nevertheless, Pavel's decision to distance himself from the Andrea Family is right. If that obsession had returned to Siberia, it could have destroyed the seal. Pavel, give me the stone."

Ogyust got to his feet obediently just like he used to, but he mumbled, "Just call me Ogyust... I've been using this name for years. I feel odd being called Pavel now."

After Ogyust walked into his room, Lily looked at Vivian and could not help but sigh. "Look at the mess you left behind."

Vivian could only remain silent.