Chapter Forty-Six: Peeping

The blazing sun hung high in the sky, not a cloud in sight. Red rays shot down like fiery arrows, setting the earth aflame and sending waves of heat swirling upward, scorching the air. The dazzling sunlight fell like countless silver needles from above, as if intent on piercing everything in existence.

In the midst of a desolate desert, a ragged man with a scarf wrapped around his head trudged alone, hunched over as he walked through the boundless sea of sand. Wild winds swept across the wasteland, sending grains of sand flying, turning day into night. Whirlwinds rose in succession, pushing sand waves forward like an invisible giant hand stripping away layer after layer of the desert.

Stepping on the burning, shifting sand, the man climbed a dune. Looking out, he saw jagged sand hills stretching endlessly, seemingly reaching the sky. The landscape all around was the same, barren and lifeless.

Facing the deathly silence of the sand sea, he licked his dry, pale lips, glanced at the azure sky, and shook the sand from his clothes. His sturdy calves trembled uncontrollably, refusing to obey his will. Exhausted, he bent to knead his legs and sat down, unable to go further or perhaps waiting for something to happen. He sat cross-legged, staring ahead, unmoving.

Gradually, the wind and sand began to cover his body. As the dune reached his chest, distant cries and roars of wild beasts echoed from afar.

Moments later, massive shadows swept across the sky, and the sand hills ahead churned violently, surging toward the man with overwhelming force. At the same time, the thunderous sound of a thousand horses galloping filled his ears.

This sudden disturbance stirred the restless desert. In an instant, the wind howled, sand whirled, and chaos reigned—the boundary between earth and sky blurred, merging into one.

Sand and stones flying at high speed struck the man’s exposed body, shattering instantly with a crisp sound, as if bullets were hitting steel plates.

Yet the man remained unresponsive, his gaze fixed unwaveringly ahead.

A thunderous rumbling echoed—boom, boom, boom.

Suddenly, the cacophony in the air resonated, shaking the man to his core.

Disturbed, his brows furrowed and his body began to sway.

Gradually, the droning intensified and became rhythmic, like ancient war drums beating relentlessly against his will, until it was fractured and broken.

Boom—boom—boom—boom—boom—boom—

Indeed, as the sound of heaven and earth enveloped him, his eyelids drooped, drowsiness overtook him. This time, it seemed he truly would become one with the sea of sand—

...

"Damn! Ended up in a desert this time? The world’s so big, how long am I going to wander before it’s over... sigh." Lin Fan slowly opened his eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling. Every day he awoke from a different nightmare. Though he was used to it by now, the apocalyptic scene he'd just experienced still left his heart pounding.

"Awake?" Tang Hao, who had stood by the window for some time, watched the gentle rain outside and spoke without turning his head.

"Yeah. I don’t know why, but everything I experience in my dreams always feels like it really happened in reality." Lin Fan walked to the window and stood beside Tang Hao.

"They say the past is like smoke—one breath and it disperses, leaving only a lingering taste; a touch becomes sorrow. The past is like a dream—upon waking, everything is clear, yet the dream clings on. Tears follow, and life is but suffering. There, you meet those you wish to see, forget the pain burning your heart—isn’t that good?" Tang Hao, as if possessed by a poet’s spirit, spoke with feeling.

"Haozi, speak properly, don’t be so dramatic! What if it’s a nightmare?" Lin Fan retorted.

Tang Hao turned, gazed deeply at Lin Fan, and said firmly, "Forget it."

"Sigh—you haven’t experienced it, you can't know how real those dreams feel... It's not that I don’t want to forget, but that I can’t!" Lin Fan pushed open the window, letting a fresh, damp fragrance wash over him, temporarily dispelling the gloom and melancholy in his heart.

The man and the ghost stood quietly at the window, saying nothing, breathing in the rare scent of rain in the city.

As dusk approached, Lin Fan and Tang Hao remained motionless, each lost in thought...

Suddenly, Lin Fan shuddered violently.

"What’s wrong? Not feeling well?" Tang Hao asked, concerned.

"Haozi, did you see it?" Lin Fan squinted, staring intently at a villa across the way, unusually excited.

"What?"

"Spring scenery!"

Tang Hao followed Lin Fan’s pointing finger. "I see it, but not very clearly."

He then squeezed his eyes shut, opened them wide, and in an instant his pupils turned blood-red—Tang Hao activated his visual technique. Yet the scene made him dizzy, "Hiss... now it’s clear... ah, so white, so big..."

Just one glance, and his pale, childish face flushed redder than his eyes.

The villa opposite seemed ordinary at first glance, but zoomed in, it was a different story. Through the half-open skylight of the second-floor bathroom, a graceful, curvaceous, waist-length-haired woman was changing clothes, preparing to bathe... If one’s eyesight wasn’t keen, this enticing scene would easily be missed!

"Damn! You’re cheating, that’s not fair! Aren’t you into cartoons? How can you be so invested in this adult drama? How old are you?" Lin Fan saw Tang Hao nearly bleeding from his nose and reminded him.

"I—I didn’t mean to... mind your own business. I’ve seen everything when I was alive, and this little girl is nothing special. Hmph!" Tang Hao quickly looked away, feigning calm with a pout.

"Damn! You can see even that? What kind of eyes do you have! Haozi, I really want to try our soul fusion technique—what do you say?" Lin Fan looked earnestly at Tang Hao.

Tang Hao stared wide-eyed in disbelief, then gave Lin Fan the finger.

"Forget it! Better to rely on myself! Don’t stick your head out—don’t let anyone notice! I’ll get a tool, or I’ll really lose out!" Lin Fan dashed to Lin Hai’s bedroom.

Upon entering, he saw Lin Hai still sound asleep. Without hesitation, Lin Fan rudely yanked the binoculars hanging from Lin Hai’s neck. "Give me that! Borrowing, don’t rush me!"

Having secured his spoils, he ran straight back to his own room.

"Damn! What now?" Lin Hai, jolted by Lin Fan’s force, fell to the floor, clutching the broken strap. "Hell! There’s something happening and you didn’t call me? You want all the fun for yourself, you ungrateful brat!"

Sleep vanished, and Lin Hai scrambled after him.

Back at the window, Lin Fan’s heart raced—this was his first time letting himself go. When a person’s pent-up bad feelings reach a threshold, they need to be released.

Lin Fan slowly raised the binoculars, adjusted the focus, and greedily aimed at the woman’s graceful figure in the opposite bathroom, trembling with excitement. "So white, so big!"

Tang Hao turned away in contempt. "How did I end up attached to someone like this!"

"You little pervert! Don’t pretend to be pure! Last time, thanks to you, I got beaten by my sister until I could barely live! You enjoyed yourself first, then left me out to dry? The full don’t know the hunger of the empty! Shut up!" Lin Fan, holding the binoculars, drooled unconsciously as he spoke.

"Hopeless! Really, hanging out with rotten people, doing rotten things," Tang Hao said helplessly.

"Damn! Who are you talking about? Talk behind my back and you’ll have a rotten ass!" Lin Hai burst in at the wrong moment, ignoring Tang Hao’s angry glare. He snatched the binoculars and shamelessly switched to depraved mode. "Where? Where—"

Lin Hai took one look through the binoculars and hurriedly tossed them back to Lin Fan, suddenly serious. "You two little perverts! How can you do such things? Despicable! Shameless! Lewd! Low! I refuse to associate with you. What the hell! Bah!"

Lin Hai’s abrupt change stunned Lin Fan and Tang Hao. Human and ghost glanced at each other, unable to believe their ears—what was with him today? To say such out-of-character things was truly jarring!

At that moment, Lin Hai, who had slipped to the doorway, suddenly turned back and asked Tang Hao, "You didn’t use your eye technique just now, did you?"

Tang Hao was caught off guard, unsure how to respond, and nervously glanced aside, avoiding Lin Hai’s gaze.

"Damn! Do you two know whose house that is? You’ll get someone killed! I’ve never been in this room, don’t know what you did. If they come knocking and anyone betrays me, I’ll fight them to the death!" Lin Hai clutched his head in regret and walked out heavily.

"What’s going on?" Lin Fan was confused, but from Lin Hai’s behavior, he guessed the woman being watched was no ordinary person.

"I’m still a kid—if they come looking, they won’t suspect me!" Tang Hao, sensing trouble, quickly distanced himself.

"Damn! You traitor! Who saved you back then? If you leave me to face this alone, I’ll self-destruct and leave you homeless—no one will have it easy!" Lin Fan fumed, hands on hips.

"......"

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang—

A thunderous pounding came from downstairs, as if someone meant to break the door down. Clearly, the visitor was not friendly.