CH 11.1

Lin Luoyan recoiled in shock, her lips quivering uncontrollably, and let out a horrified whimper. 

Chen Peng clenched his other hand and hollered at Tang Tian, “You did this!”

“Silence!” Chen Yunzhi admonished. Ignoring his family’s reaction, he composed himself, and whispered with a concerned voice, “Xu’er,1 was your death merely an accident? Or did someone harm you?”

Both Chen Peng and Lin Luoyan turned to Chen Yunzhi instantly, with their eyes widened in disbelief. 

Suddenly, the saucer began to move once again in the same circular motion, slowly sliding along the concentric circles drawn on the ouija board. 

Everyone fixed their gaze upon the saucer, eager to see where it would land, but this time, it took a longer time to provide an answer. It seemed hesitant, landing first upon “yes”, but after a pause, shifting to “no”. Then, it moved again, this time rather swiftly, onto the alphabets, finally settling into the blank space in between “yes” and “no”. 

“What does this mean?” Chen Peng was confused. It wasn’t giving a clear answer. 

Tang Tian answered on behalf of Chen Xu. “He isn’t sure what caused the accident, but he suspects someone is behind it.” 

Under the dim candlelight, Lin Luoyan’s expression flickered uncertainly, and she seemed to turn a few shades paler than even Tang Tian. 

A stern expression broke through Chen Yunzhi’s calm, reserved facade, and he spoke with steely determination. “Tell me, Xu’er. Where is your body? I promise that I will do everything in my power to ensure that you are properly buried, and I will punish those who dared put you in harm’s way!” By the end, a tinge of sorrowful regret had entered his voice and tears gathered at the corner of his eyes. The hand that he kept on the saucer trembled as he pressed onto it with great force. It was as if he was channelling his overwhelming grief onto the small object that was his only medium of connection with his dead eldest son. 

Chen Peng stared at his father with his lips pressed into a tight line, while his mother closed her eyes resignedly. Read only at salmonlatte.com

As the little saucer shifted once more, everyone focused their gaze on it. It slid swiftly towards the concentric circles containing the 26 alphabets, pausing on certain letters from time to time before rushing towards the next. 

“Da… wan… vi… llage.” Tang Tian memorised each letter perfectly and muttered the answer out loud after the saucer stopped completely. “So, the body is in a place called Dawan Village, I guess.” Her unfamiliarity with the name was genuine, and a clear sign that she was not playing tricks on anyone there. 

“What the hell is that place?” Chen Peng mumbled. Now that he knew Tang Tian wasn’t lying, he was more rattled by the unseen supernatural forces at work. With the location of Chen Xu’s body revealed, he was eager to end this spooky ritual and his first thought was to reach for his phone so he could search for the location. 

“Don’t move! The ritual hasn’t ended!” Tang Tian cried out abruptly.

All eyes landed on Chen Peng right away and he froze. Fortunately, the tip of his index finger was still in contact with the porcelain surface. He put everything else out of his mind for the moment and hurriedly pressed his finger down firmly. 

Everyone let out a sigh of relief. 

“Any other questions to be asked?” Tang Tian swept her gaze across each of the Chen family members, observing their expressions. Her question was met with silence. Chen Yunzhi thought of the many questions he would like to ask his son and opened his mouth, but no sound was heard. In the end, he hesitated as he struggled to find the right words. All of his unspoken words came out merely as a long, heavy sigh. 

Throughout his forty-odd years of life, he had always maintained a dignified and reserved countenance in front of everyone, including his own family, but at that moment, under the unsteady candlelight, he seemed to have aged over ten years, the deep wrinkles that were etched his once youthful features looking deeper than ever.  He lowered his eyes and lifted his free hand to cover his face in remorse, or possibly regret. 

“No,” Chen Peng and Lin Luoyan said tersely. They despised seeing Chen Yunzhi’s reaction and desperately wished this wretched ritual would end as soon as possible. 

Just when Tang Tian was about to end things, Chen Yunzhi interrupted her. “Don’t you have anything more to say to Xu’er? Since you are, in fact, wed to him, shouldn’t you cherish this opportunity?” 

“Father!” Chen Peng almost considered Chen Yunzhi to be insane for going along with such a preposterous act.

The dark figure that sat silently beside her slowly turned to meet her gaze. His eyes were as dark as obsidian, and staring into them felt like staring at a bottomless abyss. After a few seconds, she finally remembered to blink and mumbled absentmindedly, “Oh, there is something, actually, that I wanted to say in private. Since Boss Chen, I mean, father, wishes to hear it now, I’ll do as you wish.” Read only at salmonlatte.com

Chen Yunzhi nodded solemnly whereas Chen Peng scowled, his patience running thin. 

Tang Tian smiled and spoke in a cheery tone, “Let’s make a deal, Chen Xu. In life, we barely knew each other, and yet, we’re now technically a married couple. Why don’t we give each other some time, and try to get to know one another before we spend our first intimate wedding night? Deal?”

Chen Peng immediately shot her a disgusted look as if to say, “Are you entirely out of your mind?” The delicate features of Lin Luoyan contorted in disbelief, whereas a slightly shaken Chen Yunzhi managed to recover his calm, reserved facade. But upon a closer look, the corner of his lips twitched slightly, revealing his true reaction.

The saucer moved swiftly again, this time without hesitation. The red line on the saucer pointed towards “yes”.

Seems like he is a friendly, understanding ghost. We should be able to get along. Tang Tian grinned in satisfaction. 

Chen Peng gave up trying to find fault in her antics and muttered under his breath, “How could you be so calm talking about—cough—that thing, with a ghost? Aren’t you afraid at all?”

Tang Tian tilted her head at him, showing off a toothy grin. “I already have a foot in my own grave, anyway.” Her response somehow irritated Chen Peng, who rolled his eyes and looked away. 

Besides, I’ve already experienced the real ghost marriage. A simple ouija board ritual is a piece of cake compared to that. For now, nothing else will be able to spook me as much as that either, Tang Tian thought confidently, completely unaware of the dangers that she would come to face in the future. 

“Alright. I have nothing more to ask. Let’s end this, shall we?” She glanced at everyone’s faces for permission, before softly murmuring, “Spirits, please leave us. Goodbye.” 

The others followed suit, repeating after her, “Spirits, please leave us. Goodbye.” Their low voices echoed around the dark, silent hall.

Suddenly, the candlelight flickered violently, casting everyone’s shadows onto the nearest walls. The fifth shadow, which had gone unnoticed by the others since the beginning, slowly dispersed into nothing.1

Xu’er (煦儿) is the male lead’s nickname. The ‘er’ denotes a more intimate form of address.