CH 33

Ten minutes later, Ye Feng arrived on time in his car.

Then drove the car and left on time.

It’s just that something went wrong with the plan: originally only Ye Feng and Lu Yingjiu would go there, but now there were four people inside the car. The whole journey was dead silent.

Jing Xian was an accident—no one knew how he came back, except for Lu Yingjiu.

Xiao Li was also an accident—no one knew why Xiao Li had to tell Chu Banyang on a whim today that he had learned a lot from Lu Yingjiu. As a result, Chu Banyang said lightly, “then in the next commission, continue to follow him”.

Ye Feng was driving, glanced at Lu Yingjiu and Jing Xian in the back seat from the rearview mirror.

According to his usual impression, the two of them should have been chatting shoulder-to-shoulder together, talking like that for a long time, as if they couldn’t even be pulled apart.

But for some reason, they were so silent today, with an awkward and polite distance between them, they didn’t even make eye contact.

Lu Yingjiu looked out the window to look at the scenery, but he was completely absent-minded, like being distracted during a meeting. Even if a bomb exploded next to him, he might not have any reaction. While Jing Xian had his gaze lowered, with a gloomy and domineering demeanor all over him, as if planning a tens of billions robbery, or ruling the world or something… If he hadn’t sneaked a peek at Lu Yingjiu from time to time, Ye Feng would have felt everything was perfectly fine.

Xiao Li, the co-pilot, was still immersed in the mood of “Ah, have I been rejected by the master wuwuwuwu” and didn’t want to say a word.

Ye Feng didn’t know why, but his mind was full of strange thoughts.

… He felt that these two people were like a young couple who had just finished arguing.

What about the “absence makes the heart grow fonder”?!

Ye Feng couldn’t stand the silence and coughed, “Oh, I didn’t expect you two to come together.”

Lu Yingjiu: “……”

Jing Xian: “…….”

Ye Feng bit the bullet again and said, “I thought you weren’t coming back. Yesterday Lu Yingjiu just said that you had resigned.”

Lu Yingjiu: “……”

Jing Xian: “…….”

Ye Feng felt that the atmosphere was becoming increasingly strange, so he quickly added, “Very good, very good, welcome back!”

Lu Yingjiu: “…….”

Jing Xian: “……..”

Originally, the atmosphere in the car was still ordinary and awkward, but now the air was about to solidify.

Ye Feng shrank his head, realizing that he didn’t know how to speak at all, and was merely picking up which pot was not open, therefore he just hurriedly concentrated on driving.

(t/n: picking up which pot was not open-which means that people should not mention other people’s privacy shortcomings, talk about what should be said, and not say what should not be said)

The car passed the highway, and the scenery whizzed by.

Xiao Li was in good spirits at first, but then he started to get motion sickness.

After driving for another ten minutes, his face was pale and he looked like he was about to vomit.

He said weakly, “I’m quite prone to motion sickness…it’s especially serious today.”

Ye Feng said, “Did you not buy motion sickness patches when you went out?”

“No….I left in a hurry, I forgot to bring it.” Xiao Li stretched out his hand weakly, looking for plastic bags everywhere in the car.

Seeing that the situation was not going well, Lu Yingjiu finally stopped staring out of the window and said, “Ye Feng, why don’t you find a rest station to stop and let him take his time.”

“The nearest rest station is still 20 kilometers away.” Ye Feng glanced at the navigation.

In order to protect Ye Feng’s freshly washed car, Lu Yingjiu hurriedly helped Xiao Li find a plastic bag.

After searching around but couldn’t find it, he saw Jing Xian handing over something.

Xiao Li picked it up, and at a glance, it turned out to be a motion sickness patch.

He said weakly, “Ah, you have a motion sickness patch, that’s really great…”

He endured the nausea and opened the package, stuck it on the back of the earlobe, and asked Jing Xian again, “I’ll push the seat back slightly?”

“You can, I’ll just sit in the middle.” Jing Xian said.

He moved to the middle, and this time he was next to Lu Yingjiu.

Lu Yingjiu’s body stiffened for half a second.

Xiao Li lowered the seat, lay down and closed his eyes, finally he didn’t look like he was about to vomit in the next second.

Ye Feng also breathed a sigh of relief, and hurried to the rest station.

Silence returned in the car, Lu Yingjiu couldn’t hold back, and glanced at Jing Xian.

Jing Xian took out the motion sickness patch from a backpack. Now that the zipper had not been closed, Lu Yingjiu saw neatly placed sandwiches, small packets of nuts and other snacks, as well as Band-Aids and motion sickness patches. At first glance, it’s like he’d prepare for a long journey.

He didn’t know how Jing Xian managed to take out these things like magic in that short 10 minutes.

Ghosts do not have motion sickness.

Therefore, this looks to be prepared for him.

Lu Yingjiu felt that his current expression must be very stiff.

He wanted to turn his head sideways to the window and continue to look at the scenery, but he felt that it was too obvious.

He had never been so embarrassed and at a loss on what to do in his life.

Mainly because the impact was too great.

Who could accept it all at once, imagining that 13 years of ghost marriage, the promised glamorous female only to suddenly turn out to be a man who was half a head taller than him?!

That master was indeed a fucking charlatan!

Deceived him with Jing Xian!

Even though they are both victims, why does Jing Xian look so happy!

Jing Xian’s words still echoed in Lu Yingjiu’s ears.

In the corridor, Jing Xian pulled him to apologize sincerely, “I’m sorry, I made you a widow for so many years.”

Lu Yingjiu was so shocked at the time that he didn’t bother to complain about this “widowhood” which had so many exploding slot points.

Now, his mind was no longer in a state of confusion, his whole mind had simply became a mosaic: The universe is dark and yellow, and the universe is vast and desolate, Makabaka Yigubigu, hehehahajiejiejie, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, blue and purple, chickens, ducks, pigs and dogs, and swords, spears and halberds—Quantum entanglement, Ultraman with Ox-head and Horse-face hand in hand doing the yangko dance.

In the end, there were still two big characters: Widowhood.

Lu Yingjiu: “…….”

He took a deep breath, forced himself to stabilize his emotions, and cleared his mind.

Fortunately, Ye Feng turned the temperature of the air conditioner very low, the cold wind blew, suppressing the heat waves outside the window, which helped people clear their minds.

Lu Yingjiu finally calmed down.

As soon as he calmed down, he started to feel hungry.

Originally, he planned to go downstairs to have breakfast before getting in the car. As a result, he was entangled with Jing Xian for a while, where could he have the heart to eat?

He didn’t have a good meal last night and had been hungry since morning. Seeing that there were still 150 kilometers to Mt. Gassan Village, it seemed that he could only buy something to eat at the rest station.

Speaking of food…

Lu Yingjiu thought about the nuts he saw at Jing Xian’s backpack just now.

He likes nuts, and Jing Xian always carries his favorite brand.

If it was before, he would take it and eat it directly.

Lu Yingjiu took another deep breath and rubbed his eyebrows, but he heard Jing Xian speak.

Jing Xian’s tone was rarely cautious as he handed over a bag of nuts, “Want?”

“…No need.” Lu Yingjiu’s voice was tense.

He thought to himself: what Chen Xiaoling said is really correct, Jing Xian is not a little goblin, Jing Xian is a super big goblin, and he has almost mastered the art of reading minds.

The two remained silent for more than ten seconds.

Then Jing Xian slowly moved.

This time, he didn’t directly give the nuts to Lu Yingjiu, but stuffed them secretly.

The movements were very small, as if afraid of being discovered, like a deskmate who was secretly passing notes in class.

Lu Yingjiu thought again: is there any difference between giving it to me directly and sneaking it over to me?

He wanted to refuse, but Jing Xian acted extremely fast this time, the bag of nuts was forced into his hand.

Lu Yingjiu: “……”

He squeezed it, and whispered after a while, “Thank you.”

He unwrapped the nuts.

The clatter of a packing bag broke the silence.

Lu Yingjiu had just eaten two nuts when he saw Ye Feng reached out and pressed a button, music started playing- he was also trying to ease the atmosphere.

Lu Yingjiu ate and listened, hoping to divert his attention.

Just listened to the lyrics playing:

Spring Festival in the first month

The widow asks her heart in her room

Widow is 32 years old

Yeah yeah yeah

Passed the gate at the age of seventeen

Yeah yeah yeah 

Lu Yingjiu: “…?”

He quickly resumed eating nuts, suppressing his shock.

Then heard the lyrics again:

Spend time at home, old and young

Expecting us husband and wife to grow old together

Come on ah ah yeaaah

Unexpectedly, halfway through, I guarded the solitary tomb

Yeah yeah

Lu Yingjiu:? ? ?

Lu Yingjiu couldn’t help it anymore. “Ye Feng, what song are you playing?”

“Ah?” Ye Feng said, “It’s “The Little Widow Going to the Grave”.”

Lu Yingjiu felt his eyebrows twitch and his blood pressure surged up. “Change the song.”

“Oh oh.” Ye Feng cut the song.

Lu Yingjiu continued to eat nuts, and heard a song coming in again:

Missing my darling in April

The peony flower is blooming, holding a sweat towel in hand

Can’t stop wiping away tears

Sitting bored in the embroidery room, talking nonsense alone

Which flower has fallen in love with you

Abandoning the little me~~

Lu Yingjiu:? ? ?

He said, “What song is this?”

Ye Feng replied, “”Looking forward to the Lover”.”

Lu Yingjiu: “…”

Lu Yingjiu restrained his urge to curse, and said, “You, you don’t let go, turn off the song quickly.”

Ye Feng didn’t know why, but he finally turned off the music and the car was peaceful and quiet again.

After driving for more than an hour, the car got off the highway in dead silence, went to various bends, and slowly climbed up the mountain.

Mt. Gassan Nursing Home was built in the mountains, next to an ordinary small village.

The mountain road was full of bumps and sharp turns and Ye Feng drove very slowly. They looked like a group of people going out for a spring outing. Lu Yingjiu looked out the window, the mountains were verdant, the branches of the trees were growing wildly towards the sky, a few birds hid their bodies among the leaves, and they could only hear each of their crisp singing voices.

Xiao Li asked, “That, how long has the nursing home been abandoned?”

“It’s been seventeen years.” Ye Feng replied, “Except for us, no one has come back.”

The air on the mountain was good, opening the window, the refreshing wind blew in.

The mountain road was rugged, and a few times, it seemed that there was no way ahead. After a sharp turn, there was a large continuous mountain.

The car moved forward, shuttled through the mountains, and finally after a certain turn, it suddenly cleared up.

——The green trees were lush, there was a large blue lake, and the children in the village were chasing and playing. Looking up, a vast stretch of forest was in the middle, and the white walls of the nursing home seemed to be shining under the sun.

****

Mt. Gassan Nursing Home was no ordinary nursing home.

It was built in 1965 and was jointly established by several ghost exorcism organizations, including the Green Lantern Association. What it accepted were patients who had been traumatized physically and mentally after being involved in supernatural events.

From 1965 to 2003 when the hospital was closed, the directors were all members of the Ye family.

Ye Feng’s second grandfather was the last director, and he came here many times when he was a child.

But not long after the nursing home was closed, Ye Deyong passed away. Ye Feng also hadn’t been back for ten years.

Ye Feng parked the car outside the village.

The parking lot was covered with wildflowers and weeds, swaying in the wind, and emitting a faint fragrance.

The four got out of the car and walked into the village.

Xiao Li said, “Why was the compound closed? I think it’s good to have in such a place.”

Ye Feng hesitated for a few seconds, “The management is not good.”

There were usually no outsiders in this village, and there was only one small hotel and restaurant.

Ye Feng led the way, and they walked into the “Roasted Chicken King Farmhouse”.

When ordering, the waiter scribbled on the paper and suddenly asked, “Are you an anchor?”

Ye Feng was stunned, “Why do you ask?”

“Several anchors have come here these days.” The waiter said, “As soon as they came, they took photos of the village, saying they came to explore.”

Lu Yingjiu asked, “Is there a supernatural event in your village?”

“No.” The waiter pointed to the mountain, “They went to that nursing home.”

“They have already set off?”

“Many have been here many times, it should be to go up the mountain as well.” The waiter smiled, “Unfortunately, you are not the first batch to rush here. They have been live broadcasting for so many days, and they have gone where they should go. There’s nothing for you to broadcast anymore.”

Ye Feng asked again, “Apart from the nursing home, where else did they go?”

“I’m not sure about that.” The waiter shook his head.

Their food arrived.

Their product was surprisingly good. The black tofu in the stone pot was hot, smooth and tender in the mouth, and the skin of the roast chicken was crispy, and the mouth would be full of oil when one bit it.

Lu Yingjiu ate while going to the “Two-faced Buddha” forum.

His slender fingers slid across the screen, and he quickly found what he was looking for.

The name of the post was: [Has anyone heard of Mt. Gassan Nursing Home? I had a drink with my brother today, and he told me a story]

Lu Yingjiu went in and took a look.

[The landlord said that his brother’s mother had run into a ghost and became insane. She had stayed in this nursing home, and all the patients around her had experiences similar to hers.]

[Later, when my mother recovered, my brother came back with fruits and flowers, and wanted to thank the doctors and nurses, but found that in just three years, the extremely luxurious and well-equipped nursing home had been empty.]

The poster wrote mysteriously: [My brother inquired for a long time, and heard that someone went up the mountain late at night, saw a nurse walking along the mountain path with a lamp, and heard that there were always cries in the nearby cemetery]

[I just thought that when the nursing home was closed so suddenly, there must have been a ghost!]

[Iron Juice, what do you think?]

The post had received a lot of replies.

—— Mt. Gassan Nursing Home had received many patients.

Back then, the profession of exorcism was yet to be revealed, and the family members of the patients had signed non-disclosure agreements. But the situation was different now, the nursing home had closed down, and there were even spiritual live broadcasts, the atmosphere was much more open. Many people spoke freely in that post, talking about which of their relatives and friends had also been to Mt. Gassan.

In the long run, the heat would rise.

Wherever there was heat, there would be anchors, no wonder they’d come here.

Lu Yingjiu remembered Ye Feng’s photo.

Ye Deyong’s neck seemed to be strangled by something.

If something went wrong in the nursing home and the village, it would be very troublesome for many outsiders to come over.

Lu Yingjiu furrowed his pretty eyebrows slightly.

Jing Xian next to him reminded him softly, “Eat quickly, the food is going to be cold.”

After eating, Ye Feng went to the warehouse according to the information given to him by the village head.

The name of the village head was Feng Mao. He was in his fifties, his hair had turned a bit gray, his skin was bronze, and his physique revealed the vigor of doing farm work all year round.

He was wearing a white old man’s shirt, and led the crowd there while waving his fan. After searching for a long time from a large number of keys at his waist, he found one and opened the door of the warehouse.

As soon as the door was opened, there was a strong stale smell, and Ye Feng couldn’t help coughing a few times.

Feng Mao had been familiar with this smell for a long time, had become inured to the unusual and he didn’t even change his face.

The lights here were also broken, thus he walked to the corner of the warehouse with a flashlight, pointed to a large cardboard box half the height of a person, and said, “That’s it.”

On the top of the carton, the word “Ye” was written using a fountain pen with a powerful and flexible stroke.

Ye Feng went up and took a closer look, it was indeed his second grandpa’s handwriting.

The box was too heavy, and it was difficult for him to lift it alone, thus Xiao Li and he carried it out of the warehouse and walked all the way to the small hotel at the entrance of the village.

They didn’t know what Ye Deyong left behind, but the box was really heavy. Halfway along the uphill road, both of them were already out of breath.

Lu Yingjiu said, “Change to someone else.”

“Yes, yes.” Ye Feng said panting, and put the box down.

Therefore it was changed to Lu Yingjiu and Jing Xian carrying the box.

After walking a few steps, Lu Yingjiu only felt light in his hands, without much weight at all.

It was impossible for Ye Feng and Xiao Li’s strength to be so weak, it could only be identified that most of the weight went to Jing Xian’s side.

Lu Yingjiu subconsciously wanted to look at Jing Xian, but the cardboard box was too high for him to see anything.

He used a little more force in his hands and walked faster.

Unexpectedly, Jing Xian also began to increase his strength, and the force in Lu Yingjiu’s hand lessened again.

Lu Yingjiu applied force again, Jing Xian also increased his strength, the two walked faster and faster on the mountain road, walking fast and vigorously, anxiously competing to get to the hotel.

Ye Feng and Xiao Li were left behind, they couldn’t catch up with those two at all, and were all dumbfounded.

After a long time, Xiao Li murmured, “Ah this, they are really strong……am I lacking in exercise too much? I should have earnestly gone to the gym recommended by my Master.”

“No, no,” Ye Feng shook his head, “I’m sure it’s not our fault, it’s their problem. Compared to this, I want to know what happened between them……The atmosphere along the way is really weird.”

Just like that, Lu Yingjiu and Jing Xian arrived at the hotel before them.

In the hotel lobby, they put down the box, and the box fell to the ground with a dull “boom”.

Most of the strength was still exerted by Jing Xian, in short, neither of them was panting.

Before Ye Feng came, Lu Yingjiu looked at the box.

The box was wrapped in layers of seals, tangled like a rice dumpling. There were extremely complicated patterns drawn on the seal, which looked like rivers and mountains. If one looked at it from a distance, it would appear to be like a python occupying illegally.

The spirit or deity who bonded with the Ye family was the “Li Snake”.

This talisman was unique to the Ye family. Lu Yingjiu didn’t know much about it, naturally, he couldn’t decipher it, and therefore could only wait for Ye Feng to open it.

Unexpectedly, when Ye Feng came, he looked at it carefully and said, “This talisman is too complicated, it’s impossible to undo for a while.”

Lu Yingjiu said with a smile, “Aren’t you from the Ye family? You can’t even undo your second grandpa’s talisman. Are you not proficient in learning?”

“Ah, you’re insulting me! It’s not that it can’t be undone, but it will take time. Give me half a day and I’ll make sure to open it!” Ye Feng vowed.

They hadn’t unraveled the matter of the photo yet, thus they still need to stay in the Mt. Gassan Village.

Usually, there were few people in the village, and at most a few photographers came to take pictures of the scenery in the mountains. The hotel was really too small, and there were not many rooms left after being booked by the anchors.

Ye Feng took their ID cards, paid the money, returned with two room cards, and handed one to Lu Yingjiu. “Yours.”

Lu Yingjiu held the room card and was speechless for a moment.

Jing Xian didn’t know those two very well, no matter how he looked at it, he was going to sleep with him.

He didn’t want to look at Jing Xian’s expression, thus he simply carried the cardboard box to the second floor with Jing Xian’s help again.

The two double rooms were adjacent to each other, Ye Feng asked them to put the box in the middle of the room, and started to study it.

Then Lu Yingjiu and Jing Xian entered room 202 together.

As soon as the door was closed, the room became dead silent.

Lu Yingjiu took a deep breath and said, “I’ll go to the balcony to get some air.”

He opened the balcony door, and the fresh mountain air rushed in.

There was a wooden recliner on the balcony. He didn’t want to go back inside the room for the time being, and planned to sit on the balcony for a while.

Unexpectedly, sitting here, listening to the sound of swaying leaves, listening to distant human voices, and basking in the warm sunshine——

He fell asleep.

All along, good sleep habits come into play.

This sleep was fuzzy, and the dream was chaotic.

Lu Yingjiu seemed to be dreaming of the ghost marriage, the downpour of rain, the blood-red lanterns, and the flickering red candles.

It’s just that in this dream, he was no longer young, but had become his current age.

The child who was plagued by bad luck back then had finally grown up safely.

Walking into the wedding hall, all the guests were wearing ghost masks and were sharply laughing.

He stood alone under the word “囍”, and bowed deeply. (TL: happiness)

It’s just that——

It’s just that this time, when he stood up again, the opposite side was no longer empty.

Jing Xian stood in front of him, with a smile in his eyes, lowered his head slightly, and kissed his forehead.

The two stared at each other for a long time.

The sound of the ripples of the rainstorm, as if for eternity and will never end, the candlelight suddenly jumped up for a moment, and the red wax oil rolled down, seemingly blazing.

Jing Xian stretched out his hand, stroked his temples carefully, and said with a smile, “Haven’t seen you for a long time.”

“…….”

Lu Yingjiu woke up, and his face felt a little hot for some reason.

He took a long breath and stood up, only to notice the sound of music playing in the background.

The balcony was facing a small square, and several young boys were rehearsing dances underneath.

Someone nearby shouted with a loudspeaker, “Jump faster, jump faster! There are three days left in the festival, are you guys going to perform like this?! Look at yourselves!”

The young man worked even harder, and after a while, another girl came up, singing in a playful voice, babbling.

Thud, thud——

The glass of the balcony was knocked.

Lu Yingjiu turned his head and saw Jing Xian opened the balcony door and walked to him. “Awake?”

Lu Yingjiu nodded.

He had just woken up, and his whole body was comfortable and sluggish after the nap.

The young man under the balcony jumped up and down, Lu Yingjiu didn’t know what to say, so he continued watching the play.

Looking at it, he suddenly heard another sound of music coming.

He identified it carefully: Okay, Ye Feng played a song again.

Lu Yingjiu shouted, “Why did you put it on again!”

Ye Feng’s voice came from afar, “I’m really bored! You can’t deprive me of the few fun I have!”

“What did you put?”

——As soon as he asked this question, Lu Yingjiu regretted it.

Sure enough, Ye Feng replied, “I’m listening to “The Big Girl Watching a Play”!”

Lu Yingjiu: “…..”

Jing Xian beside him also heard it, and chokingly laughed.

“Don’t laugh, don’t laugh.” Lu Yingjiu said helplessly, and unconsciously smiled.

The music continued, and the two stood side by side under the sun, their shadows being elongated by the light.

The awkward atmosphere seemed to be diluted by the sunlight.

The timing was good now, Lu Yingjiu was thinking about how to open up and have a chat with Jing Xian.

If he speaks up, what should he say? It seems that nothing is quite right.

A few minutes later, the song happened to have reached the end, and everything became quiet.

Lu Yingjiu lowered his eyes slightly and said, “Jing Xian, you…”

Then a cheering sound suddenly came!

Ye Feng shouted, “I opened the box!”