CH 85

Chapter 85 Sharing Ghost Stories (1)

They now had a problem.

There was only one quilt. There was not enough space to sit on, so what should they do?

Wen Yantong was stunned for a moment.

Mu Yang came in very unceremoniously and said, "Brother Xi said that there are no ghosts in Nian'an Temple, so I brought him here. Wen Yantong, you will be responsible for persuading Brother Xi today."

Wen Yantong said, "Why should I? Even I don’t believe that Nian'an Temple is haunted."

Seeing that Chi Jingxi was still standing outside, she immediately said enthusiastically, "Little Marquis, come in quickly! It's very cold outside, so be careful of freezing."

Since Chi Jingxi was dragged here, he naturally wouldn't turn his head back at the door. He stepped into their room, saw Mu Yang sitting down on the quilt, and chuckled, "You are really quite crafty." 

Wen Yantong was busy inviting the two imperial princes in. Once she finished, Wen Yantong turned around and saw that Mu Yang had taken her place. She hurried over, "This is my spot. Get up."

Mu Yang wrapped Wen Yantong's quilt around his body. "It’s my spot now."

Of course, Wen Yantong wasn’t gonna have any of it. She stepped forward to pull her quilt back, while Mu Yang started pulling against her. It's just that her strength was really inferior to Mu Yang, the ‘dumb musclebrain’, so Mu Yang didn't move an inch, even after tugging for a while. Wen Yantong rolled up her sleeves in anger.

Just when she was about to use her fist, Zhang Jieran stood up and said, "Brother Wen, sit here. I'll go and get another spare quilt."

Zhang Jieran put on his shoes and went to his room, taking out his spare. He put the two quilts side by side, but it was still not enough for everyone to sit on.

Fu Zixian said, "I'll go get mine too."

Mu Yang, who had been pretending to be a tortoise, chose to make a move now. He stopped Fu Zixian and said, "Don’t bother doing such troublesome things. Let the attendants at the door get a few."

As he spoke, Mu Yang got up and went to the door. Wen Yantong seized the opportunity to get back to her seat. She huddled herself into a ball and squeezed into the inner seats.

After a while, the guards brought a few more quilts and a heater. The somewhat cold room was instantly warmed up, and everyone was able to sit down with adequate space on the quilts.

Wen Yantong turned off the lights in the room. She then took a copper lamp and placed it in the center of the quilts, so that the soft orange light shone on everyone's faces.

Cheng Xiao asked her in confusion, "Why did you turn off the lights?"

Wen Yantong said, "You don't understand. It’s for the ambience."

"What ambience?" Mu Yang asked.

Wen Yantong didn't explain as she waved her hand and said to Zhang Jieran, "Begin. So what happened to you in Nian'an Temple last year?"

Zhang Jieran nodded lightly and started telling the story. "When I came to Nian'an Temple last year, I lived in Baishen Courtyard. The first night, I heard a woman's cry. It was very low and intermittent. It sounded close as if she was right next to me..."

Mu Yang coughed, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"What are you doing?" Wen Yantong asked.

Mu Yang said to Zhang Jieran, "Tell the truth! Don't fool around!"

Zhang Jieran received his warning and nodded quickly. "I don’t dare lie."

Cheng Xin said, "Be quiet and listen carefully."

After Mu Yang stopped interrupting, Zhang Jieran continued. "The sound lasted for a long time, so I was unable to sleep well."

"What time did it start?" Wen Yantong asked.

"I don't know." Zhang Jieran said, "Nian'an Temple is outside the Chaoge, so the sound of the chiming of the hours cannot be transmitted. Furthermore, there is no time bell in the temple, so I don't know when the sounds started."

He continued. "When it finally stopped, we heard screams. We hurriedly went out to look and saw a classmate sitting on the ground. He was yelling that there was a ghost and attracted many people."

"The crowd slowly dispersed after the arrival of a teacher. The strange sounds stopped after that. I didn't fall asleep until halfway through yín-shí (3-5am). The morning bell rang at chén-shí (7-9am), so I didn't sleep well on the first day."

Several people were silent for a while. After a moment, Wen Yantong asked, "What about the second night?"

"The noise was even worse on the second night. There were indeed cries of children and women, which could be heard faintly. Many people in Baishen Courtyard could not sleep well. Later, there were cries mixed with mournful screams, so the Teachers took the students to investigate together. They have even asked the monks in the temple to lead the way but found nothing in the end."

Zhang Jieran continued. "I only slept for two hours on the second night. During that time, I heard someone knock on my door, but because I was a little scared, I didn't go to open the door. But I remember it quite clearly. Some people said that they saw a woman hanging herself in the temple, but I don’t know if this is true or not.”

Mu Yang rubbed his arms. "So that’s what happened. Fortunately, I went to Fule Temple last year."

Chi Jingxi pondered for a moment and then asked, "How did you know it was yín-shí when you fell asleep the first night?"

Zhang Jieran quickly replied, "I heard the crowing of a rooster, so I vaguely guessed that it was half past yín-shí."

Chi Jingxi's eyes darkened, as dark as black ink. It was hard to figure out what he was thinking.

Cheng Xiao wondered. "Do ghosts really exist in this world?"

Wen Yantong said, "How should I put it? To believe it or to not believe it, no one can say for sure."

Mu Yang flattened his lips. "There is no way they exist."

Wen Yantong smirked. "Don't be in a hurry to deny it. After I tell you a story, then you'll know."

As she spoke, she glanced at Chi Jingxi. When she just sat down, she deliberately squeezed into Chi Jingxi's side. Firstly, because she was afraid that Fu Zixian would be cautious when sitting with him, and secondly, it was because of her own subconscious.