Nightmare Master – CH 001

Chapter 1. The Accountant

Spring sunshine spread its blessings, and all things shone with vitality. In Fujiang City, a gentle breeze blew, and flowers bloomed in vibrant colors. The wide stone-paved streets were teeming with people, shoulder to shoulder. Vendors carried their wares, calling out loudly; the crowd was as bustling and lively as boiling water on a stove.

A hunched old woman, jostled by the crowd, leaned on her stall, tiptoed to pay, and then held the tofu high above her head to protect it. She angrily cursed, “What kind of evil wind is this? So many people have suddenly appeared in Fujiang City! There’s nowhere to even step! We have to queue to buy tofu, and if we buy three pieces, we break two! Life is unbearable!”

The young man selling tofu exclaimed in surprise, “Grandma, do you not know? Three months ago, everyone was saying that the Zhaiyue Tower in the east of the city was going to hold the Nightmare Master Alliance Grand Assembly. Now the ceremony is almost here, and people from all directions are flocking to Fujiang City. In a few days, there will be even more people.”

“What Salt Master¹ Grand Ceremony? A grand assembly of salt merchants?” The old woman made way for him, shouting at the top of her lungs by his stall. Passersby on the street were drawn to the commotion.

The burly man behind the old woman chuckled, asking the young man for tofu as he said, “It’s definitely not a salt shop! I’ve heard that Nightmare Masters manipulate dreams like the pastry chefs at Songyun Shop manipulate dough—they can make them whatever they want and even bring things in dreams to life. They are incredibly powerful.”

“Ha, if they could really make dreams come true, they should be emperors by now. To me, it is just like that legend of the Realm of Granting Wishes—all a bunch of lies,” the fruit vendor chimed in.

The tofu seller immediately tensed up: “Shh, do not talk nonsense. The world’s in chaos lately; be careful what you say! I heard this is a really big gathering; all the sorcerers in the country are here. Even the Taoist sects have sent their experts. Look at all the people walking the streets and flying in the sky lately; all those Taoist priests and immortals are so dignified and extraordinary, they might have lived for hundreds of years. If they decide on one of us to take back to their immortal sect, that person can also fly on clouds…”

He became more and more excited as he spoke, gesturing in the air, as if he had already mentally conjured up a magic formula for turning tofu into gold.

The old woman impatiently interrupted him: “What are they all doing together?”

The tofu seller, annoyed at being interrupted, replied: “It seems they are going to kill someone.”

“Such a big commotion; who are they going to kill?”

“That guy? I’ve been hearing a lot about him lately; his name is Ye… Ye… Ye something?”

“Boss, five dried persimmons.” A clear, cold voice rang out, breaking the conversation.

A woman in a gray cloak and hood, completely covered from head to toe, suddenly appeared in front of the dried fruit stall, resembling a gray broom at first glance. She extended a hand from under the cloak, a gold bracelet with a circular design adorning her slender, pale wrist, and a copper coin rested in her palm.

It looked like the hand of a wealthy young lady, yet the fingers and the base of her thumb bore the calluses typical of a craftsman’s hands.

These days, all sorts of strange people came to the city, and the dried fruit stall owner was no longer surprised. He greeted her warmly, picked up the coin, wrapped five persimmons, and even threw in a handful of dried fruit. While wrapping the persimmons, he continued his casual conversation: “Ye… what? The words are on the tip of your tongue; why can you not say them?”

The woman’s eyesight seemed a little dim; she waved her hand a couple of times in the air before finally finding the persimmons. Clutching the persimmons, she prepared to leave, only to find the path she had come from completely blocked by a dense crowd. The group chatting in front of her was still holding their seats, refusing to leave and firmly blocking her way.

After a moment’s thought, she reached out and touched the dew on the table, bent down, and made a series of scribblings on the wood. Then she poked the burly man blocking her path.

The burly man turned around and, following her finger, uttered, “Ye Minwei?”

The tofu seller slapped his forehead. “Oh, that’s right! The person they want to kill is named Ye Minwei. I heard he’s a powerful figure who’s lived deep in the mountains for nearly a hundred years. You know him too?”

The burly man pointed to a line of damp writing on the fruit stall: “It’s written on this table.”

“Let me see, let me see…”

The crowd immediately surged forward to look, but the woman sidestepped them, then successfully squeezed through the gap they had created, blending into the surging flow of people in the street.

A spring breeze suddenly arose, the tavern banners fluttered, the windmills spun, and the wind chimes tinkled, creating a cacophony of activity. The woman lowered her head to gather her cloak, her hair billowing in the wind, forming an arc in the air, as white as snow, shimmering with light.

Walking east along this main street for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, one would reach the city’s largest tavern, the Zhaiyue Tower. This five-story tavern, with its magnificent and imposing style, could be seen from anywhere in Fujiang City, its towering silhouette and the gilded pearl atop its high, sloped black-tiled roof atop the tower, serving as a moon.

It was the hour of Chen², and those who had eaten breakfast had left, while those who had eaten lunch had not yet arrived. Normally, this would be a relaxed and leisurely time at the restaurant. However, Zhaiyue Tower was unusually bustling. The reason was simple: Xie Yuzhu, the sixth young lady of the Xie family, more precious than any gilded pearl, had graced the establishment with her presence.

To be honest, Xie Yuzhu did not want to come to this place.

She, Xie Yuzhu, was the apple of the eye of Xie Zhao, the richest man in Jiangdong. Her parents had her late in life and spoiled her rotten, treating her like a precious gem. As a result, even at seventeen, she had never been allowed to leave the house, fearing the chaos of the outside world and the possibility of her getting hurt; even a minor scrape would cause them great anxiety.

However, Xie Yuzhu was now at the age of rebellion and found her family’s overprotectiveness increasingly tiresome. She had finally found a chance to sneak out of her home, intending to travel to Southeast Asia, but less than a month later, she was captured in Ningzhou and escorted home by a group of servants.

The reason she graced the Zhaiyue Tower with her presence was simply because she was passing through on her way home and heard that the Nightmare Master Alliance was holding a meeting there. She insisted on staying to watch before returning home. Uncle Zhuang, the steward of Ningzhou, could not refuse her, and since he was short of escorts for his young mistress, he had no choice but to let her stay at the Zhaiyue Tower, planning to send this little devil away after the Nightmare Master Alliance meeting in ten days.

Because her escape plan was thwarted midway, Xie Yuzhu was depressed and showed no sign of joy. Zhaiyue Tower was a Xie family property, and surrounded by her entourage, Xie Yuzhu inspected it, picking and choosing, complaining that the vases were tacky, the curtain patterns were outdated, the wine was not good, and the porcelain was not white—in short, everything had to be replaced.

She practically wore her words on her sleeve: “If you do not set me free, I will not let you have it easy either.” Uncle Zhuang, a man in his forties, had several more gray hairs appearing in the past few days. He frowned deeply yet forced a smile.

“And… and that accountant over there, what’s with that cloak and hood over there in broad daylight? So secretive! Is the Xie family’s accountant so shameful?”

Xie Yuzhu’s scrutiny finally settled on the suspicious-looking person behind the counter.

This accountant, shrouded in a gray cloak, sat behind the counter, seemingly blending into the gray paint, her face indistinct. To her left was a mountain of account books; to her right, a bag of dried persimmons. She was bent over so deeply that her eyes were close to the paper, her left hand holding a pen, writing with lightning speed.

The young woman seemed not to have heard Young Lady Xie’s words, startling the shop assistant beside her, who quickly nudged her, saying, “The young lady is talking to you!”

The accountant’s pen finally stopped. She looked up as if waking from a dream, glancing at Xie Yuzhu, who was surrounded by the crowd. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, bright yet hazy.

The shop assistant whispered something in her ear, and she stood up from behind the counter, as if a gray tree had “grown” from within. Light streamed in from the window behind her, illuminating her entire figure. She obediently removed her cloak, and her long white hair, falling with the cloak, gradually revealed itself in the sunlight, shimmering like pure silver, so bright it was blinding.

Xie Yuzhu’s anger immediately turned to surprise. Her almond-shaped eyes scanned the accountant from head to toe, and she said, “You… you are so young. How come your hair is all white…?”

Uncle Zhuang stepped forward and explained softly, “Yun Chuan was born with a deficiency; her hair turned white early, and her eyesight is not good either. Please bear with her, Young Lady.”

Xie Yuzhu was silent for a moment, then looked at Uncle Zhuang: “Uncle Zhuang, when did you suddenly have a kind heart and do this unprofitable business? She was born with a deficiency, and you still hired her to be the accountant?”

Uncle Zhuang was afraid of this… The young mistress, after picking and choosing, even wanted to change the accountant. He hurriedly said, “Young lady, you do not know; the last manager of Ningzhou embezzled funds, leaving behind a pile of messy accounts, especially the accounts of Zhaiyue Tower, which were the most troublesome. Now that I’ve taken over Zhaiyue Tower, I need to quickly clean up the accounts to prepare for the Nightmare Master Alliance meeting, and several accountants I’ve found could not do it. Only Yun Chuan, after arriving for three days, has sorted out ten years’ worth of accounts for Zhaiyue Tower; every single entry is clear and without error. Truly, no one can replace her.”

Xie Yuzhu’s expression was inscrutable upon hearing this, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. She slowly walked to the counter with her hands behind her back, lowered her head to look at the account books spread out on the counter, and then her gaze swept over the mountain of books beside it, finally settling on the accountant girl.

“Three days, and you’ve cleared up ten years’ worth of messy accounts?”

The girl called Yun Chuan, with her refined features, slightly raised her eyelids and replied, “Yes.”

“Why did you not use an abacus?”

“Why would I use an abacus?”

“How can I calculate without an abacus?”

“I can tell just by looking.”

Yun Chuan answered matter-of-factly, even adding at the end, “Can you not tell?”

Her tone was one of genuine doubt, and the servants and even Uncle Zhuang could not help but gasp. Leaving aside whether an ordinary person could see it at a glance, Xie Yuzhu was no ordinary person! She was the infamous Sixth Young Lady Xie, known for her ignorance and incompetence!

The latter was indeed speechless, her eyebrows furrowed, her eyes wide with anger. Uncle Zhuang, sweating profusely, cried out, “Young lady! Yun Chuan has a strange temperament; she speaks without thinking…”

Xie Yuzhu suddenly pointed at Yun Chuan and exclaimed, “Uncle Zhuang! I want this person!”

Uncle Zhuang was stunned: “What?”

Xie Yuzhu turned to Uncle Zhuang and said decisively, “I want to take this person back to the Xie family to be my fortune teller.”

“But… but, Young Lady… there are still debts…”

“What’s wrong? You will not let me leave? Fine, I will take people home! Who’s the master here, me or you? Uncle Zhuang, why not forget about Ningzhou and go back to the gambling den with my Third Brother to settle the debts?!” ​​Xie Yuzhu immediately flew into a rage, yelling like a firecracker, leaving Uncle Zhuang with no choice but to repeatedly agree.

In Yun Chuan’s blurry vision, the pretty girl in orange and the hunched old man in blue were just two blurry figures, and the surrounding waiters, maids, and servants were a vast, gray background.

Someone whispered behind her, “It’s over! Yun Chuan has offended the Sixth Young Lady. The Sixth Young Lady is willful and domineering; she’s going to take her back and torture her. Yun Chuan’s life is probably in danger.”

“You are still worried about her? She’s such a strange person, her hair is all white at such a young age, and she never greets anyone. Even if she does not offend the Sixth Miss today, who knows what might happen in the future…”

Yun Chuan calmly sat down amidst the commotion, as if she had nothing to do with the situation. She leisurely closed and tidied the account book, the gold bracelet on her wrist clinking against the table.

Xie Yuzhu felt that the accountant girl she had specifically requested was indeed as strange as Uncle Zhuang and the other employees had described.

Xie Yuzhu sat in a private room on the second floor, watching the bustling activity below as people prepared the high platform, hanging red silk and carrying plaques. After a long while, she turned back to find that the dozen or so dishes on the wooden table between her and Yun Chuan remained untouched.

Yun Chuan, one hand wet, scribbled on the table, leaving a line of strange symbols. In her other hand, she held a dried persimmon, slowly chewing it.

Xie Yuzhu, her chin resting on her hand, said, “Why are you not eating? Are you afraid I will deliberately cause trouble? I invited you up here to eat with me; I would not bother you like this.”

Yun Chuan looked up, holding the dried persimmon calmly, and said, “I am eating.”

“What’s so good about dried persimmons?”

“Dried persimmons are the best.”

“Come on, you just do not trust me. Are you afraid I will poison you or something?” Xie Yuzhu stared at Yun Chuan for a while, then huffed indignantly.

In the private room, only she and Yun Chuan were present; the other servants were far away. Xie Yuzhu leaned back in her chair, looking like a boneless orange-red silk hanging on it. This “orange-red silk” was now full of earnest concern, a stark contrast to her arrogant demeanor just moments before. “Do you think Uncle Zhuang is a great person for not caring about your strange appearance and letting you work at Zhaiyue Tower, while I am a great bad person?”

Before Yun Chuan could answer, Xie Yuzhu continued, “Come on, Uncle Zhuang is a merchant. What good intentions can a merchant have? They are all just people who do not work for profit. You sorted out ten years’ worth of accounts in three days by yourself. An ordinary accountant would take more than half a year to do that. How much did Uncle Zhuang pay you?”

Xie Yuzhu held up three fingers: “Three days’ pay.”

“Am I right? Looking at the ledgers on the counter, it seems he’s brought over all the accounts from the Xie family’s shops in Fujiang City. He just took over Ningzhou, and the mess from before is huge. In a few days, he might take you out with him and have you travel around doing all the accounts in Ningzhou. You can do the work of a hundred people, do you think he will pay you for a hundred? He will save the money for ninety-nine people; Uncle Zhuang is secretly delighted.

Accountants always need trusted confidants; he’s only using you as a temporary measure. Once he gets you…

He will squeeze you dry, then kick you to the curb and replace you with his own people. You will only get a few months’ wages as a regular accountant. You are all alone; if you try to raise your wages, he will agree amicably first, then find fault and deduct from your pay later. If you dare offend him, no one in the entire Ningzhou will dare hire you.

I know Uncle Zhuang’s character better than anyone. He knew where I was all along, waiting until I entered Ningzhou before capturing me and bringing me back to claim credit. Of my five stewards, he’s the one I dislike the most.”

Xie Yu Zhu launched into a tirade, her words flowing like a rapid-fire clapper, before turning her attention back to Yun Chuan: “I will call you ‘sister’ because you are a bit older than me. Accountant sister, you are truly capable; do not work for him anymore. Go back to the Xie residence and work for my Elder Brother. But we are all business people, so do not trust them too much.”

Yun Chuan showed neither surprise nor gratitude. She stared quietly at the blurry orange silhouette before her for a long while, then suddenly picked up oranges from the fruit box beside her and began arranging them on the table.

“Are you talking about piling up oranges?” she asked.

“Piling up oranges?” Xie Yuzhu asked, surprised.

Yun Chuan took the oranges and piled them one by one into a square on the table, explaining as she did so, “If the table were big enough, all the oranges could be laid out flat. But the table is too narrow; to fit so many oranges, we have to pile them up.”

She picked up an orange and placed it in the gaps between the first layer, stacking them layer by layer upwards: “Once you start piling the oranges, some will always be pressed down at the bottom. Each layer of oranges presses down on the oranges below and supports the oranges above.”

She pointed to the orange at the very bottom: “This is me.”

She moved her finger to the second-to-last layer of oranges, then continued upwards: “This is Uncle Zhuang, and above that are…

You, and above you is your Elder Brother. To reduce the weight, Uncle Zhuang has to prevent the oranges at the bottom from spilling out, and then move the oranges from the top to his level. Since Uncle Zhuang and I are both below you, our position changes will not affect your load capacity; you can take me out and put me on top of Uncle Zhuang as you like.”

Xie Yuzhu looked wistfully at the five-layered mountain of oranges in front of her: “Hearing you say that, I do not seem like a very good orange.”

“No, no, it has nothing to do with the oranges themselves; it is just that the table is narrow, so they need to be stacked.”

Yun Chuan waved her hand, earnestly explaining to Xie Yuzhu how this stacking method could support the most oranges.

Xie Yuzhu looked up at the composed accountant girl in front of her, opened her mouth, then closed it again. After the girl finished explaining, she managed to stammer, “Accountant sister, has anyone ever said you are strange? I do not mean your hair.”

Xie Yuzhu tapped her temple with her finger and continued, “I mean your head.”

Yun Chuan touched his head and said, “My skull, shape, and size are all very normal.”

Xie Yuzhu felt it was best to avoid continuing this topic.

Just then, the shop assistants downstairs made a commotion as the plaque for the “Nightmare Master Alliance” was slowly lifted and hung on the high wall behind the platform. Xie Yuzhu glanced at the plaque, changed the subject, and sighed, “It’s called the Nightmare Master Alliance, but is it not all for Ye Minwei? Everyone’s talking about Ye Minwei, but who’s actually seen her? Even if she stood here, no one would recognize her.”

Yun Chuan silently took a sip of tea.

Xie Yuzhu continued, “Ye Minwei failed in her Nightmare Cultivation, losing both her cultivation and memories. When she sees these guys attacking her in Mount Kunwu, she will probably be completely bewildered, having no idea why they want to kill her.”

Yun Chuan nodded in complete agreement: “That’s true.”