"Lu Yingjiu, there is only one way to break your natural bad luck: ghost marriage. As the saying goes, fight poison with poison. I will find you a beautiful, fierce and sexy female ghost." The master with a goatee was very confident in his promise.
The master never said anything serious, so the young Lu Yingjiu automatically ignored the "sexy female ghost" and asked, "Will it really work?"
"Really, Master, when have I ever lied to you? You will be able to sleep well from now on."
—That’s how the ghost marriage began.
The ceremony took nearly half a year to prepare, and the master took a long time to arrange it. Finally, the date was set on the Ghost Festival.
That day, Lu Yingjiu stood in front of the window.
He was still young and could only stand on tiptoe to look outside. Rain water flowed through the glass, the sky was dim, and the crowd of people in the yard was like a group of silent crows. Soon, a tiny sound came through the cracks in the window glass.
"Have you heard? This child is in such a pity. He has been haunted by various ghosts since he was a child."
"I don't think he'll live past next year. What a pity, he's such a pretty boy."
"What's the point of this ghost marriage? No matter how evil the ghost is, it can't suppress the bad luck that is born."
"… "
The master specifically instructed that parents could not come along.
When saying goodbye, his mother took his hand. There seemed to be tears in her eyes, but she turned her face away, wiped them with the back of her hand, and finally smiled: "Come back soon."
Lu Yingjiu changed into a bright red and gold-threaded top scholar uniform and, surrounded by the crowd, headed off into the distance.
Paper clothes and jewelry, a long wedding procession, and heavy rain. Although there were people all around him, he felt a sense of desolation and silence in his heart, as if he was not heading to an ancient house, but to the underworld.
I didn't know how long I walked along the mountain road.
At last they saw the mansion in the distance.
The mansion had been abandoned for many years and was dead silent. The red lanterns at the door drifted in the rain like blood and fog.
The MC pushed open the door, which made an ear-piercing scream.
Walking forward along the long corridor until the end, a door opened.
The room is full of brightness and red.
A large "囍" character was in the middle, and lanterns were hung high. In the middle were eight tables covered with red tablecloths, and red candles were shedding tears. At the end, paper figures sat on the chairs of the parents. The spectators around them all wore ghost masks, some tall and some short. They looked at Lu Yingjiu and laughed sharply, and applause broke out.
What no one expected was that the master was really unreliable. He found a wandering ghost who came from nowhere, without even a photo or a tombstone. No matter how the sorcerer and the emcee called out, he never showed up.
Lu Yingjiu stood there in a daze, feeling a little overwhelmed.
The ceremony has been arranged, the birth dates have been matched, and the ghosts, whether they are willing or not, will eventually make some noise, unlike now.
—It neither showed up and grabbed him with its cold hands to show that the contract was established, nor did it go crazy because of dissatisfaction and kill everyone at the wedding.
But just standing there isn't a solution.
Lu Yingjiu still bowed deeply towards the empty space opposite.
Worship heaven and earth.
Pay respects to your parents.
The couple bowed to each other.
Red candles flickered, lanterns hung high, and the word "囍" hung above their heads.
When Lu Yingjiu looked up again, the witch had shut her mouth tightly, the master of ceremonies took several steps back, his face so pale that he seemed to faint in the next second, and the master knelt down without knowing how, and kowtowed repeatedly in fear. Looking at the guests in the room again, although their faces could not be seen, they were drowned in deathly silence.
fear.
It was a fear that could not be described in words.
what happens
Lu Yingjiu was a little confused, and when he looked down again, a longevity lock appeared out of thin air around his neck.
Cold, small, and lifeless, it carves out the mountains and the sea.
The ghost did not show up until he left the mansion.
On the way back, the master of ceremonies and the fortune-teller were talking nonsense and mumbling constantly. No matter how Lu Yingjiu asked, there was no result.
After finally returning home, his mother hugged him and cried bitterly. Finally, she gritted her teeth and said, "There are so many ways. What's bad luck? It's not like I can't survive."
She was a smart and capable person. She quickly cheered herself up and started thinking of new ways.
Lu Ying was sitting in the corner with his dimples, the young man's hand tightly grasped the longevity lock and he bit his lip.
He wasn't afraid, he just felt a little sad.
I feel like I'm being disliked...
But strangely enough, after that, every one of his dreams was peaceful and harmonious.
…
Thirteen years later.
Lu Yingjiu carried his bag on one shoulder and looked up. The summer sun fell into his eyes, a soft brightness.
More than ten years have passed. The handsome child who was praised by everyone who saw him back then has grown taller, with a straight back, and his youthful eyes and eyebrows are extremely handsome. Even when the camera is close to his face, no pores can be seen. He looks like he walked out of the cover of a magazine. Anyone who sees him can't help but take a few more glances.
If no one told him, no one would have imagined that he dealt with evil spirits every day.
No one could have imagined that the child who was almost killed by ghosts would eventually become a top exorcist.
The Dongyang community not far away is very old, and the walls of the buildings are peeling off.
He received a commission saying that the third floor of Building 5 was haunted.
After entering the community and going upstairs, a middle-aged woman dressed in colorful clothes came to pick him up.
"It's right here," the old lady stood trembling at the end of the corridor, refusing to come closer, "This public phone will ring by itself every midnight."
"Shouldn't you contact the property management?" Lu Yingjiu asked.
"But the power line was cut off several years ago and is about to be removed. Who uses a public telephone now?"
This sounded plausible, so Lu Yingjiu immediately decided to stay here for one night.
No one lives in room 302 on this floor. The old lady picked out a key for room 302 after a long time, until her hands were full of the smell of metal.
When she handed the key to Lu Yingjiu, she suddenly said without thinking: "Lu Yingjiu, your time has come."
Lu Yingjiu was stunned for a moment: "Huh? What did you say?"
The old lady was even more confused than him and rubbed her hands: "Did I say anything just now?"
After the old lady left, Lu Yingjiu opened the door of Room 302. There were two bedrooms and a living room inside. Some of the furniture was still unfinished and very dusty. The sound insulation here was not good, and all kinds of sounds came out from the narrow door gap, the sound of couples arguing, the sound of cartoons, the sound of cooking and washing dishes... It was a crowded and lively atmosphere. He opened the door again and looked out the corridor. The haunted phone was very quiet. The security net in the corridor was rusty. Outside, the sun was shining, and a few flowers and plants were swaying in the wind. Children running in the kindergarten could be seen in the distance.
Lu Yingjiu made a spell and the wind started to blow away the dust in the house.
There doesn't seem to be anything unusual.
The TV still worked if you tapped it hard. Lu Ying dimpled on the sofa, eating a bag of potato chips while watching the TV.
As he looked at it, he subconsciously touched the longevity lock on his chest.
Thirteen years have passed, and the longevity lock is still cold.
It was the only evidence left of the ghost marriage. Without it, Lu Yingjiu would have almost thought that the wedding was entirely a figment of her imagination.
He waited until midnight.
It was so quiet outside that the only sound could be heard was the ticking of the second hand inside the house.
The clock pointed to half past one, and the crows outside were cawing miserably. Lu Yingjiu looked out through the peephole, and saw a black cat, its tail cocked, passing through the corridor railing, turning its head and grinning at him, its white teeth bared.
Two o'clock sharp.
Lu Yingjiu stood up and stood silently by the door.
The black cat outside the door sensed something and suddenly puffed up its fur in his direction. After a few seconds of intimidation, it ran away. It was dark and windy outside the window. The shadows of the branches cast on the curtains looked like ghosts. The phone rang sharply!
Lu Yingjiu rushed out and picked up the phone.
A hoarse voice came from the other end of the phone: "... Lu Yingjiu, your time has come."
Lu Yingjiu said, "Your time has come too."
He slapped a piece of talisman paper on the phone. The talisman paper burst into flames, forcing out a black mist.
The black fog made an extremely sharp and terrifying cry!
Before it could escape, Lu Yingjiu slapped it to pieces.
Lu Yingjiu checked the phone again to make sure there was no remaining evil spirit.
It was a very simple task, and he completed it easily, just like usual.
The next day he got up early, packed his things and prepared to go home.
The old lady followed him and shouted, "Mr. Lu, Master Lu! Are you sure that guy won't come back?"
"I'm sure." Lu Yingjiu shook his hand lazily.
…
Lu Yingjiu lived in a remote area, more than 40 minutes by car from the city center. His family lived in an old building with gray walls that had never been painted. The only color was the clothes hanging on the balcony.
Many people's impression of Lu Yingjiu is that he must be very rich. After all, he is the top figure in the ghost exorcist world, and many people beg him to do things for them.
But in fact, his life is very simple, even plain: he lives alone in an old building with simple decoration and few furniture. He wears either a white shirt or a pullover sweater, has no favorite food, and sometimes after staying up late for a long time, he drinks a few sips of health tea like an old cadre. The places he frequents most are the convenience store downstairs and the bookstore 500 meters away.
The bookstore owner always saw him and remembered that this young man was always reading unpopular books, mostly about horror, the supernatural or crime. Sometimes when he got tired of reading, he would lie on the table and take a nap. His hair hung in front of his forehead, and the back collar of his shirt revealed a slender neck. His skin was as white as snow in the sun.
He hesitated several times and asked Lu Yingjiu: "What do you do? Don't you have fixed working hours?"
Lu Yingjiu was half asleep: "It's a dangerous job."
"Oh." The boss said, "So you are a loan shark." After saying that, he nervously picked up the wallet on the table.
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
Just as Lu Yingjiu returned home, Niu Nai came to greet him with his tail erect. It was a cow cat, rubbing against Lu Yingjiu's feet enthusiastically: "Meow--"
Lu Yingjiu then remembered that there seemed to be not enough cat food at home.
He scratched the cat's chin and went out to the convenience store downstairs.
The convenience store was brightly lit, with several students eating juicy beef balls. Lu Yingjiu picked out cat food, a few bags of frozen food, and various daily necessities, and placed them all at the checkout counter.
The cashier at the convenience store was a young girl named Tang Xiaoqian. Her eyes lit up when she saw him.
She tied her hair into a ponytail, with a bow-knotted hairband spreading wings on her black hair. She scanned the barcode and said, "Have you been... free recently?" Her eyes flickered, and she lowered her head and dared not look up. "I remember there is a new action movie coming out soon, from abroad, and it has very good reviews."
Lu Yingjiu smiled and said, "I don't have time for now. I'm a little busy at work."
"Okay..." Tang Xiaoqian was a little disappointed and brushed the hair by her ears. "It's okay. Work is indeed more important. You should also take care of your health. By the way, do you want to pack this fish ball?"
"want."
Tang Xiaoqian handed over the hot fish balls and looked at him with bright eyes, but in the end she just said, "Be careful, it's hot."
Lu Yingjiu said goodbye to her and carried two large bags.
The automatic door of the convenience store opened, and the July wind was scorching hot. The heat waves outside mixed with the voices of people poured in. He heard Tang Xiaoqian say, "Mr. Lu, your time has come."
Lu Yingjiu turned back suddenly.
Tang Xiaoqian was busy cleaning the cash register.
After returning home, Milk was waiting for him at the door, meowing. Lu Yingjiu patted its head and mixed the new and old cat food together to feed it. Milk cat was very happy to eat and purred against him.
I went to bed late the past two days, and I couldn’t sleep at night, so I heated a cup of milk and drank it while reading a book.
The more I look at it, the more energetic I feel.
His sleep quality has always been poor, his sleep is very shallow and the sleep time is insufficient. He only slept for four or five hours last night, and now he is trying to catch up on his sleep.
But no matter how bad it is, it is still not as good as when he was a child. Before the ghost marriage, he could hardly sleep at all.
Finally he fell into a deep sleep. When he opened his eyes again, it was pitch black around him and the air was extremely cold.
Lu Yingjiu's head was in a daze. Just as he was about to reach out to turn on the light, the back of his right hand hit something.
A hard, cold object, like a wall.
He froze for a few seconds, stretched out his hands and groped around, but the "walls" around him stopped him from moving. He tried to bend his knees, but was also stopped.
The cage imprisoned him, forcing him to lie flat on his back, and even if he hit it hard, it would only make a dull sound, like wood.
After a few seconds, he heard the sound of gongs and drums, and he didn't know whether it was a wedding or a funeral.
He searched his surroundings carefully again and suddenly understood something.
This texture...
This is the texture of a coffin!
He was locked in there, without seeing the sun.
All I heard outside was the increasingly lively sound of gongs and drums, someone was playing the suona, and some were crying and laughing.
A sharp, piercing voice appeared.
The little devil raised his voice and shouted: "The time has come!"
At this moment, the longevity lock on his chest moved for the first time in many years: it was extremely hot, almost furious.