CH 18

Chen Yanyan’s voice was clear when she was calm, but when she screamed, it almost pierced people’s eardrums. The door of the ward was wide open, and people outside should hear the slightest movement inside. Yelling like this, the whole floor would be disturbed.

However, Lu Yingjiu and Jing Xian didn’t respond, they didn’t try to escape, didn’t try to close the door right away, and didn’t try to appease her. Even the eyebrows were not raised for half a point.

No one came in from the outside, both nurses and patients were doing their own thing. A young man with a broken leg walked past the door with a cane, slowly, and didn’t even look inside the room.

It was as if there was an invisible barrier separating the room.

Chen Yanyan suddenly realized something, and shut her mouth firmly.

Although she didn’t touch anything relating to exorcism anymore after changing her name, the basic principle was still clear: Lu Yingjiu was in front of her at the moment, he didn’t take out the talisman paper, and didn’t pinch anything in his hand. In other words, this enchantment that she didn’t know when started was……

Her eyes glanced over Lu Yingjiu’s shoulder, and landed on Jing Xian.

Jing Xian casually leaned against the door and smiled at her, that smile was evil and handsome, but there was no smile in his black eyes. Looking at such a pair of eyes, Chen Yanyan’s teeth began to chatter unconsciously, and her intuition screamed.

—Did this person want to kill me just now?

This idea suddenly popped up in Cheng Yanyan’s mind, and she forcibly suppressed it because it was too outrageous. Looking at Jing Xian again, no matter how she looked at it, she felt that there was some kind of monster lurking under that impeccable face.

Chen Yanyan’s hands and feet went cold, and a shadow suddenly fell in front of her eyes.

It was Lu Yingjiu who picked up the coat on the bedside and put it on her body. “We didn’t see anything, please tidy up your clothes and don’t do this in the future.”

Chen Yanyan gritted her teeth, and hastily pulled her clothes, “……..What are you guys doing here? Especially you Mr. Lu Yingjiu, I have seen you and I know that you are a suspect. Are you afraid that the clues of that year will be exposed and have come here to kill me?”

Lu Yingjiu pulled out a chair and sat down.

His demeanor was completely different from that of Jing Xian’s, he was too gentle and restrained, and appeared very approachable. He said, “If I want to kill people, you might already be rotting in some wilderness. No one will find you, and I will not leave any traces.”

His tone was relaxed.

He was not trying to persuade Chen Yanyan: this is just a very simple statement, because it is a fact, so it doesn’t matter whether others believe it or not.

Chen Yanyan looked at the two people in front of her again, and finally realized belatedly: These two people are not normal people.

Lu Yingjiu said, “I just want to know about the situation at that time. There are still doubts about this case, so I won’t go around in circles. I saw your family turned into ghosts in the bar where the crime happened. Your grandma Chen Minlan, also appeared in the community near the bar.”

Chen Yanyan’s eyes widened.

Lu Yingjiu continued, “Chen Minlan was pestering a waiter at the bar, maybe the waiter had some clues. After that, she even took the initiative to find me—this is also the crucial reason why I want to investigate.”

Chen Yanyan became really astonished. Lu Yingjiu and Jing Xian were reflected in her clear eyes. After a long time, she finally spoke, “Did they……say anything?”

“No.” Lu Yingjiu shook his head, “Unfortunately, they lost their sanity and were unable to communicate.”

“So, what about that waiter?

“He couldn’t remember.” Lu Yingjiu concealed the part where Jin Xiaoyang had already passed away.

Chen Yanyan lowered her eyes.

The delicateness of her body was heavier, almost pitiful, and the burden brought by her life experience seemed to climb up her back in an instant. A girl this young, with her good looks, would look endearing when doing it–even though she was hysterical like a madman two minutes ago.

Jing Xian got up and went to the corridor to get a glass of water. He mixed the hot and cold water very carefully, making sure that the temperature in his palm was moderate, then returned to the room with the glass of water and walked to the bed.

Chen Yanyan raised her head, looked up at him, and whispered, “Thank–.”

Jing Xian handed the water to Lu Yingjiu, “Drink it slowly, be careful of the heat.”

Chen Yanyan: “………..”

Lu Yingjiu took a sip, put it in front of the bed, and continued to talk to Chen Yanyan, “The car accident that fractured your bone wasn’t really an accident, right? I can still feel that you are entwined with Yin energy. In addition, you have been running frequently in the hospital in recent months, one because of a sprained foot, and other all kinds of minor diseases. No matter how you look at it, you are haunted by ghosts.”

These materials were all written in the files Chen Xiaoling gave him, and he had already read them on the way here.

Chen Yanyan asked, “Can you feel the Yin energy in my body?”

She had seen several ghost exorcists before, and they didn’t even notice it, unlike Lu Yingjiu, who could tell at a glance.

“Yeah.” Lu Yingjiu said, “And I can see that it has been with you for many years… Let me see, 5 years? or 6 years? it was not strong enough before, something must have stimulated it, and if you let it be, your life could very well be in danger. This time it was your wrist, the next time, it could be your head.”

Chen Yanyan’s hands trembled.

Lu Yingjiu leaned forward slightly, and continued, “Although I don’t know why, you didn’t have any intention of asking the Chen family for help—maybe it was because you didn’t want to contact them, or maybe you didn’t realize the seriousness of the situation, anyhow, my proposal is as follows: I’ll help you get rid of this ghost, and you tell me the details of the year. I don’t have the hobby of exposing people’s scars, and I will never ask more questions except for the case itself.”

Chen Yanyan subconsciously said, “It’s the same if I find other powerful ghost exorcists, it doesn’t have to be you.”

“You can try it.” Lu Yingjiu smiled, “But do you dare to bet?”

If you win the bet, you will keep the secret of the year. If you lose the bet, you will lose your life.

Chen Yanyan glanced at her left hand, the effect of the painkiller had passed, and the wound was only aching slightly. When she closed her eyes again, the roaring truck that was rushing towards her seemed to be still in front of her eyes. Her bicycle was knocked out of shape, and she flew five or six meters away. When she landed heavily, a strong smell of blood rose from her throat. In her blurred vision, she could only see the wheels of the bicycle turning slowly towards the air. The surrounding noise was far away, as if someone was shouting deep underwater.

“There’s an accident—!”

At that moment, she really thought she was dead.

Indeed, as the doctor said, she was lucky this time.

She had heard the name of Lu Yingjiu many times, and asking him to exorcise ghosts was an opportunity that no one else could ask for.

She bit her lips, “…but,” she glanced at Jing Xian quickly, hesitated for a long time before speaking, her voice was like a thin thread, “I also, I don’t know if you are the murderer…what if you are a bad person……”

Lu Yingjiu: “If I were the murderer, would I still have to spend so much time asking you for details? I should be the one who knows the case best. The first time you saw me, you didn’t even recognize me. That year, I wasn’t even a serious suspect at all, didn’t you know this best?”

There was a convincing power to his voice.

Anyone who had inquired about him a little would know that he had an excellent reputation when he was the chief, and he was the conscience of the ghost exorcist world: if he promises to protect the client, then nothing will happen to the client; if he promises to find the ghost, then the ferocious ghost, whether big or small, will be pulled out to its roots. Coupled with the friendly appearance and calm temperament, no matter how one looks at it, it has nothing to do with “bad intentions”.

Chen Yanyan was silent for a long time.

It was hard to see what kind of psychological struggle she was having, but her expression gradually softened when she looked at Lu Yingjiu.

After a long time, she took a deep breath and said, “Okay, I’ll tell you. Actually, the ghost haunting me is the one that killed my family back then…..”

Lu Yingjiu and Jing Xian looked at each other.

Chen Yanyan clenched her hands, “At the time, my classmates and I said we wanted to play a game of courage together, so we found an abandoned building called ‘Four Hole Slaughterhouse’ and played the four-corner game. You should know the rules.”

Lu Yingjiu nodded.

He lowered his head and searched. The Four Hole Slaughterhouse was between Lujiang City and Yuantai City. There was no village or shop behind it. He didn’t know how those little kids got there.

Chen Yanyan continued, “As we were playing, we realized that something was wrong. It seemed that there was really an extra person among us. We were very scared and left immediately. Then, I took a taxi and went to the KTV to celebrate my brother’s birthday. I didn’t expect, I didn’t expect…” She closed her eyes, “The ghost came with me. You know what happened next. I was the murderer who killed them……..and now it’s finally my turn.”

Lu Yingjiu: “It’s not anyone’s fault. It’s your best comfort to them by clarifying doubts and finding out the truth.”

Chen Yanyan nodded with her eyes closed, took a long breath, and continued, “The four people that played the game with me were Fan Xin, my best friend and our boyfriends. Fan Xin….Fan Xin also passed away due to an accident not long after that, it must have been caused by that same ghost. As for the two boys, I didn’t contact them afterwards.”

She recalled the past.

On that afternoon 6 years ago, 2 boys and 2 girls squeezed into a car, left the sunny campus, and went to the gloomy slaughterhouse together. The old building was silent under the dark clouds, like a huge monster. They climbed over the rusty iron gate, stepped on knee-high weeds, walked in laughing and joking with each other.

Dark clouds swirled overhead, torrential rain fell from above, lightning tore the sky, and strong winds blew the young people’s clothes. No one could have imagined that this was a road of no return.

Lu Yingjiu wrote down these three names and sent them to Chen Xiaoling.

If Chen Yanyan was in danger, it might be the same for those two boys.

“So,” Chen Yanyan looked at him, “Can you kill it?”

Her gaze swept over Jing Xian again–the handsome man was standing behind Lu Yingjiu, unlike Lu Yingjiu who was listening carefully, his expression was nonchalant, as if he was not interested in her story, and even disdained to show false concern. He went to fill another glass of water, held it in his hand and drank it slowly, his eyes were on Lu Yingjiu from beginning to end.

Lu Yingjiu thought for a few seconds, “Because the ghost was invited by the supernatural game, it is better to return to the place at that time and then disperse it. To be on the safe side, we need to go to the Four Hole Slaughterhouse.”

Chen Yanyan’s face paled a little, “Go back?

“Hmm.” Lu Yingjiu nodded, “Some things are suspicious. You went to the KTV in the evening, and the time you played games was in the afternoon. It is very difficult to really attract ghosts in supernatural games. If you play during the day, the chances are even lower. What’s more, this ghost is very powerful, it is simply out of proportion…..From my personal point of view, it is almost impossible for this to happen.”

Chen Yanyan smiled bleakly, “That’s because we pasted up some talisman papers to invite ghosts before playing the game. I was so courageous at the time, and the ghost I wanted to invite was the scariest one. If it was him, doing those things would be easy.”

“Is its name taboo?”

“No, only the official position. If I say it, you may laugh at me.” 

“No.” Lu Yingjiu said, “This is a very important clue.”

Chen Yanyan’s hands gripped the quilt tightly.

She was really scared, her lips were trembling, and whispered after a long time, “The one I invited was the Ghost King.”

“Cough, cough, cough—!” Jing Xian choked a mouthful of water, and couldn’t help but laugh directly.

****

Two minutes later, Lu Yingjiu and Jing Xian stood outside the ward.

They were kicked out by an angry Chen Yanyan.

The two watched the people coming and going in front of them, and were speechless for a while.

After a long time, Lu Yingjiu said, “Although I know it’s impossible, why did you laugh at her……”

Jing Xian: “..I couldn’t hold back all of a sudden.”

He really felt that it was outrageous, so he laughed again—the Green Lantern Association said that Lu Yingjiu was a suspect, and Chen Yanyan said that “he” was a fierce ghost who killed countless people. Jing Xian felt that the extermination case was the result of the crime committed by the ‘husband’ and the ‘wife’.

That little girl really dared to say, how could there be anyone in this world who could invite him?

He had come to this world once before.

And it was the day of Lu Yingjiu’s ghost wedding.

Jing Xian said: “I was really wrong, don’t be angry.”

Lu Yingjiu looked at him, that handsome face that surpassed models and was meticulously sculpted was full of sincerity–Lu Yingjiu thought to himself: if he had been as sincere as now, towards Chen Yanyan back there, things wouldn’t have developed like this.

Lu Yingjiu: “………not angry, just that, you have to respect others.”

Jing Xian promised, “Next time for sure!”

He thought again–although Lu Yingjiu said he wasn’t angry, but Black and White Wuchang told him that when dating someone, when the other said that they are not angry, they are probably angry.

It doesn’t matter, it’s very likely that’s the case.

Thus when Lu Yingjiu was just trying to clear his mind, he saw Jing Xian said sincerely, “Don’t be angry.”

Lu Yingjiu: “…?

Lu Yingjiu said, “I really am not…”

Jing Xian took half a step closer, cornered him against the door and hugged him tightly. The strength was still as strong as ever, Lu Yingjiu flailed a few times in his arms, like a cat being pinned down by a big dog. Although there was no water splashing, it still made a mess.

Lu Yingjiu: “What are you doing again?”

“I was wrong!” Jing Xian said, and hugged him even tighter after speaking.

An old man passing by stared at the two of them, his eyes were extremely complicated, and his face was full of words “You guys are having a great time”, and he seemed to be watching the scene of “Battle of Love”: a remorseful scumbag trying to recover his beautiful old love, and the beautiful old love………..That beautiful old love Lu Yingjiu raised his head and cursed silently a dirty word.

After finally struggling out of Jing Xian’s embrace, Lu Yingjiu supported his forehead and said, “Your way of apologizing is too unique.”

“Hugging can put people in a good mood.” Jing Xian said with certainty, “Do you want to be hugged one more time?”

Lu Yingjiu: “…….”

He pushed Jing Xian away and his another warm hug, but couldn’t find a point to refute for a moment, thinking that it was also good thing Jing Xian didn’t go up and hugged Chen Yanyan just now, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to wash themselves clean even if they jumped into the Yellow River today.

He took a deep breath, turned around and knocked on the door of the ward, “Can we go in?”

No one inside the room answered, thus he gently opened the door. Chen Yanyan was wrapped in a quilt, and turned her back to not look at the two of them.

Lu Yingjiu sat down in front of her again and said, “I’m sorry, he didn’t have any malicious intentions.”

Chen Yanyan didn’t speak.

Lu Yingjiu said, “Theoretically speaking, I don’t think priests will come to the world at will. Yin and Yang have their own balance. Priests will be greatly restricted when they come to the yang world, and they will not kill people easily. As for the Ghost King you mentioned, whether he exists or not is uncertain. Even if there is, I don’t think you’ve invited him……..” He looked back and glanced at Jing Xian.

Jing Xian smiled.

Lu Yingjiu kicked his foot, he immediately restrained his smile and pretended to be concerned.

Lu Yingjiu: “You have just finished your operation, we will go to the slaughterhouse after you are discharged from the hospital.”

“No, we’ll go there today.” Chen Yanyan suddenly turned around and looked at Lu Yingjiu, “I really can’t bear it all day, you, you must kill it as soon as possible. Just you and me, us, the two of us will go now!”

She bit “the two of us” hard.

Jing Xian clicked his tongue lightly.

Lu Yingjiu knew what he was dissatisfied with and said, “He wants to go with me. Besides, it’s not just the three of us.”

He stood up, went to the door and pulled someone.

A man was leaning against the door to eavesdrop, unable to react, he staggered and fell inside the room.

It’s clearly Xiao Li.

Xiao Li supported himself with his hands, so as not to let himself fall, and then raised his head in panic.

Lu Yingjiu raised the corner of his mouth, “Hello, how is Chu Banyang doing recently? Seeing that he is still thinking about sending someone to follow me, he should be quite relaxed, right?”

****

The Aston Martin that Jing Xian bought to avenge the shame of that bus incident was really good-looking. The sun flowed smoothly from the front to the rear of the car. It was dazzling and compelling. The lines of the body all show the beauty of speed.

At this time, on the expressway, it was advancing at a speed of…..50 kilometers per hour.

Lu Yingjiu: “Xiao Li, you’d better drive faster, the minimum speed on this section of the road is 80.”

In the driver’s seat, Xiao Li trembled and said, “I’m afraid of being hit. Brother Lu, you can’t afford to sell me for this collision. Let, let, let me, let me see or we can just find a pit stop, and let Brother Jing Xian drive.”

Jing Xian leaned against Lu Yingjiu, and said leisurely, “I just drove a long distance and I’m tired.”

Lu Yingjiu also said, “It doesn’t matter, if you really don’t have enough money, ask Chu Banyang to pay a ransom for you.”

Xiao Li wailed, “Master will kill me! It’s his grandma’s birthday next month. Then will he just kill me for his grandma’s entertainment? That’s extremely cruel, bibimbap in ashes! Brother Lu, or you take the wheel?”

(t/n bibimbap in ashes- kind of curse word ( don’t know if it’s F*ck or what, but it’s a curse word))

Before Lu Yingjiu could speak, Jing Xian said, “He didn’t get enough sleep, driving when tired is very dangerous, and there are also four people in the car.”

Xiao Li didn’t know how to refute, and merely said, “Brother Lu! You two are really a husband and wife! You look like villains that collude together!”

“If you don’t know how to use idioms, you don’t have to.” Lu Yingjiu said, and Jing Xian laughed beside him.

However, Lu Yingjiu actually didn’t know why Jing Xian, who was addicted to driving, suddenly didn’t want to.

What was the situation that time?

It seemed that, after he said something like catching up on sleep in the car, Jing Xian drove Xiao Li to drive the car, Chen Yanyan to the co-pilot, and insisted on squeezing with him in the back seat.

He also looked at him excitedly, with “I’m ready, why aren’t you sleeping?” written on his face.

The way Lu Yingjiu looked at him was completely inexplicable, and he had no idea what Jing Xian was expecting. On the contrary, Chen Yanyan, the co-pilot, had just lowered the seat and fell asleep because she had just had an operation and was not in good spirits. Jing Xian was originally sitting at the back of the co-pilot, but when the seat was lowered, the space became narrow, and his long legs were uncomfortable, thus he moved his body closer to Lu Yingjiu.

Lu Yingjiu lowered his eyes and pondered.

The current situation was that the Green Lantern Association didn’t know that he had found Chen Yanyan, and Chen Yanyan didn’t know that the Green Lantern Association had restarted the investigation because of him. This kind of poor information allowed him and Chen Yanyan to act together.

However, the truth will never be concealed forever, and will soon be exposed. He actually doesn’t have much time, and he needs to sort out the clues before that.

As for Xiao Li……………….

He glanced at the trembling Xiao Li.

Xiao Li simply listened to Chu Banyang’s words and followed him, not even knowing that the girl beside him was Chen Yanyan.

He continued to think.

Jing Xian and him were close together, in such a narrow space, they could even feel each other’s body temperature and breathing. Gradually, Lu Yingjiu’s mind was no longer tense.

They have only met for a few days, but it felt like they had already experienced a lot.

Moreover, Lu Yingjiu felt that he could trust Jing Xian very much.

He couldn’t find the words to describe that trust, and he didn’t know where it came from. Subconsciously, he always felt a sense of security staying by Jing Xian’s side. If he had to say it, he could only think of a strange metaphor: it was the sense of security that would allow him to sleep peacefully in the long night where ghosts were rampant.

What is this? Clicked right away?

The sports car drove forward slowly, and a few impatient cars flew by, overtaking them neatly. Lu Yingjiu took a deep breath, and suddenly realized that there was a cold breath like that of a crescent moon on Jing Xian.

It was extremely light.

If it wasn’t for this narrow environment, if it wasn’t for the quiet surroundings, if it wasn’t for them huddled side by side, he wouldn’t have noticed it either. Lu Yingjiu was stunned for a moment.

Then he lowered his eyes slightly, and said, “Jing Xian……”

“Huh?” Jing Xian looked sideways at him.

Lu Yingjiu: “…….”

He smiled: “It’s nothing, I just wanted to ask you, do you know the Chen family’s ‘Weaving Cloud Art’?”

Jing Xian paused for a few seconds.

Those ghost teachers only taught him common sense. He actually didn’t know a lot about ghost exorcists. He shook his head, “Not sure.”

Lu Yingjiu glanced at the sleeping Chen Yanyan, and moved closer to Jing Xian, lowering his voice, the two of them were almost rubbing each other’s ears, then explained, “The so-called ‘Weaving Cloud Art’ is just another name for human masks. In the early years, the Chen family made a fortune by cutting off the skin of the dead and making masks. Later, when the law was perfected, they became concerned about moral issues, thus they no longer used human skin, but instead used animal leather, such as pigskin, sheepskin or cowhide.”

He continued, “I checked, and the Four Hole Slaughterhouse we are going to is the Chen family’s enterprise—that’s why Chen Yanyan brought his classmates here to have that courage game. In the past, the Chen family should have used the slaughterhouse to make masks.”

“Animal skins are definitely not comparable to human skins. They are much stiffer and flaws can be easily seen. I have seen real human masks before, and they are really vivid when worn. Even if the closest person comes, you won’t find any flaws. From one of my taks, a masked man was a ghost. It pretended to be a human being, lured acquaintances to its lair, and then devoured them. Those victims did not know why their ‘friends’ wanted to kill themselves in the end.”

“Put on a disguise, a person who lives with you day and night, one won’t even know whether he is a human or a ghost.”

Jing Xian listened carefully, but Lu Yingjiu didn’t continue talking.

The silence was a little strange.

Jing Xian turned his head to one side, Lu Yingjiu looked up at him, the sunlight shone through the glass, illuminating each of his eyelashes perfectly, and his soft black hair seemed to be coated with a layer of golden light.

Lu Yingjiu stared at Jing Xian intently, smiled, and repeated word by word, “One won’t even know whether he is a human or a ghost.”