Mrs. Yuan closed her eyes, wishing she could squeeze her body into the elevator. She was trembling all over, and her breathing became rapid, even more intense than the breathing of the person who was gradually approaching her.
I don't know how much time passed, but there was no other movement in the elevator.
She quietly opened one eye, and there was nothing on her left hand. Then, she tentatively opened the other eye little by little.
From the corner of my eye, I saw a person standing next to me, an old man.
She was wearing a black shroud, her face was snow-white, and the corners of her lips were curled.
Mrs. Yuan screamed and turned back.
Only when she saw the smooth elevator wall with her own reflection did she realize that she had been standing in an angle and there was no way anyone could stand next to her.
It was a hallucination, it must have been caused by excessive fright.
She did not relax, but walked forward and tilted her head to look at her reflection on the elevator wall.
A large patch of skin was burned on the carefully maintained face. From the temple downwards, the blood-red flesh occupied almost half of the face.
"My face... my face!" Mrs. Yuan raised her hand in horror, and she gasped in pain as her fingertips touched the flesh.
"How could this happen!" She screamed like crazy, her eyes wide open, as if she could see the missing skin back.
She stared at her reflection for a long time, as if she suddenly remembered something. She stepped back in fear, but was soon blocked by another solid barrier.
That wall was uneven, unlike the other three elevator walls which were smooth and flat.
Mrs. Yuan was terrified and was about to walk away when a hand reached out from the elevator wall and held her head tightly.
"Let me go, let me go!" she screamed, but her hands and feet suddenly became paralyzed.
A huge fear came over me.
Mrs. Yuan's face turned pale, her lips trembled constantly, and her fingertips became stiff. She could clearly feel the temperature around her drop suddenly.
The cold air rushed madly into her loose hospital gown and wrapped around her body.
The hands holding her head suddenly moved.
Mrs. Yuan instinctively looked at the image reflected on the opposite wall of the elevator. The hands were pale and rough, like old tree bark.
One of them moved slowly and gently landed on the top of her head. Then, the other one moved as well, tapping her face with its fingers, sliding from her forehead to her cheek.
Mrs. Yuan's heart skipped a beat and she shouted, "No!"
The index finger of that hand dug into her cheek, pinched the thin skin with the thumb, and pulled it down hard!
“Ahhh!!”
"Face! My face hurts so much!"
The moment she screamed in pain, the invisible shackles on Mrs. Yuan loosened and she fell headfirst to the ground.
With a ding-dong sound, the elevator, which had never arrived, finally reached the first floor.
The elevator door slowly opened, and outside were several people waiting for the elevator.
They were all stunned when they saw the woman collapsed to the floor in the elevator, crying and screaming in pain.
"Please make way." Chen Ling and Yuan Yongxiang came out of the elevator next to them. Seeing that more and more people were gathering here, they quickly pushed through the crowd and walked in.
There was a heavy negative energy in the elevator, which showed that the other party was coming with great force, but Mrs. Yuan, who was lying on the ground, was still alive, which meant that the other party did not want to take her life now.
The doctors arrived soon after. They pulled Mrs. Yuan up from the ground, and to prevent her from losing control of her emotions and running away again, they gave her an injection of sedative.
Soon after being sent back to the ward, Mrs. Yuan fell asleep on the bed.
Looking at the enlarging wound on her face, Yuan Yongxiang felt cold all over. For this reason, he asked the hospital to help him check the surveillance footage.
In the surveillance video, there was only his wife in the elevator. She stepped back, turned around, screamed, and the skin on her face fell off inexplicably. Then his wife fell to the ground... It was too weird. Not to mention Yuan Yongxiang himself, even the security guard in charge of surveillance was stunned.
"Mr. Chen, what is going on?" Yuan Yongxiang's voice trembled.
"Damn it." Chen Ling said it concisely and without any rhetoric.
But just such a simple sentence made the security guard completely frightened, "...Ghost?"
Chen Ling patted his shoulder and said, "Don't be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door if you don't do anything wrong. Don't be afraid and don't think too much."
The security guard swallowed and pulled the corner of his mouth, "You are right."
Yuan Yongxiang glanced at Chen Ling and murmured unconsciously: "Don't do anything that would make you feel guilty..."
Things had developed to this point, and he could no longer afford to keep defending his wife.
If the mother really couldn't let go of her loved ones and didn't want to leave, why didn't she come to see her son, but instead went to see her daughter-in-law? Why did she hurt her own daughter-in-law
Just as Mr. Chen said, ghosts will not haunt a person for no reason. Could it be that his wife had done something to his mother when he was not at home
Somehow, Yuan Yongxiang suddenly remembered his mother's face, which was smiling until her death.
He shuddered and suddenly called out, "Mr. Chen."
Chen Ling hummed blankly, "What's wrong?"
Yuan Yongxiang: "I have doubts about my wife, can you help me?"
Chen Ling: "Sure, what do you want me to help you with?"
Yuan Yongxiang glanced at the security guard and stretched out his hand to pull the young man into the corridor. He was embarrassed to say that he wanted to test and deal with his wife because of a little suspicion, as he had always behaved properly.
Chen Ling said it for him: "Help you test Mrs. Yuan?"
Yuan Yongxiang was stunned for a moment and lowered his head.
You can see that he is still struggling.
Chen Ling: "Mr. Yuan, ghosts are the result of people's obsessions, resentments, and hatred. If a person died peacefully during his lifetime, few people would linger on after death."
Yuan Yongxiang opened his mouth but could not make a sound. All that flashed through his mind were images of himself and his wife getting along. Over the years, they had supported each other all the way, especially in the past two years when their son had temporarily settled abroad for work, and the two of them had almost depended on each other.
He always believed that Shen Mingyue was a good wife and daughter-in-law. She was considerate, gentle and decent, and had given him great help and encouragement both in work and in life.
Now, reality tells him that everything may not be as good as he imagined.
What is hidden behind the beautiful mask may be an ugly heart and a greedy soul.
Yuan Yongxiang recalled the insults he had heard when he walked to the door of the ward. They were vicious, fierce, and contained a bit of hatred and rejection.
He wondered if she had treated his mother in the same way when he was not around.
Chen Ling knew that some things would be difficult to accept, so he waited quietly. He did not receive a reply from Yuan Yongxiang, but instead received a message from his ancestor.
I'm in the parking lot
Chen Ling lowered his head and replied: Why are you here
Jiang Yu: If you don't come home, I miss you
Chen Ling pursed his lips and sent an emoticon package. It may take me a long time. The case is a bit complicated: (
Jiang Yu: Yeah
Chen Ling: “…” That’s it
He stared at the phone for a while, but never received any follow-up from Jiang Yu. Well, the ancestor had talked Tian to death, so there was no need for him to bring Tian back to life.
He put away his phone and looked up at Yuan Yongxiang.
Yuan Yongxiang made up his mind and said solemnly: "Mr. Chen, tell me what to do. I will listen to you."
Chen Ling would not interfere in other people's family affairs: "Mr. Yuan, it's the other way around. I should be the one to cooperate with you."
Yuan Yongxiang said, "I just want to know if she was the one who killed my mother. If so, if so..." He closed his eyes in pain and clenched his fists. "If so, I will never condone her. I will make her pay the price she deserves."
Chen Ling nodded and waited for further words.
Yuan Yongxiang: "I, I will take her home this afternoon."
According to Mrs. Yuan's current condition, it is impossible for her to stay in the hospital. She is too manic and her emotions are too out of control. The first thing she said when she woke up was that there was a ghost here and she wanted to leave.
Yuan Yongxiang looked at his wife's frightened face, and his heart grew colder: "Then I'll take you home?"
"Go home?" Mrs. Yuan shook her head vigorously. "No, I won't go back. She is waiting for me at home. She must be waiting for me at home!"
Chen Ling glanced at her pale face, lowered his head and sent a message to his ancestor, asking if he could open a back door. In case Mr. Yuan's mother really killed Mrs. Yuan out of hatred, could it be handled at his discretion and be considered a legal death claim without asking for Mr. Yuan's mother's guilt.
Jiang Yu replied quite happily: Yes
Chen Ling looked at the two domineering words and asked in confusion: Don’t you need to ask for instructions
This time, the ancestor took half a minute to reply: No need
Chen Ling raised his eyebrows, put away his phone and looked at the woman curled up on the hospital bed. The right side of her face was covered with a large piece of gauze, which gave off a strong smell of disinfectant.
"Mrs. Yuan, do you need to inform your brother about your hospitalization?"
When the word "brother" was mentioned, Mrs. Yuan's mood improved. She looked at Chen Ling steadily: "Brother? Yes! Contact my brother!"
Mrs. Yuan turned around and reached for the cell phone on the bedside table. She frantically dug out the number and dialed it.
Mr. Yuan was standing close by and heard the phone beeping repeatedly, until it finally said no one was answering.
Mrs. Yuan was stunned for a few seconds and replayed the video. The result was the same as before.
She remembered something and turned her back, as if she didn't want Yuan Yongxiang to hear or see her. After dialing a number, she carefully put the phone to her ear.
This time it worked, but the person on the other end was not Shen Mingliang. Judging from the tone of Mrs. Yuan's voice, the person on the other end should be Shen Mingliang's friend.
"Is Mingliang next to you? Then go and call him... Go now! Right now!"
The last two words were broken, which showed how frightened and uneasy Mrs. Yuan was.
Yuan Yongxiang rubbed his fingers on the crotch of his pants and asked, "Mingyue, who did you call? Wasn't it Mingliang?"
Mrs. Yuan turned around suddenly as if she had woken up from a nightmare. Her emotions had calmed down a lot at this time, and she immediately realized that her reaction was too intense.
She curled her lips stiffly and showed an ugly smile: "Mingliang might be busy, his phone is silent, I called his colleague."
Yuan Yongxiang nodded and said nothing more.
Soon, Shen Mingliang's voice came from the other end of the phone.
Mrs. Yuan quickly covered the receiver, turned around, hunched over, and whispered, "Mingliang, there's a ghost, there's a ghost."
The person on the other side seemed unconvinced. Mrs. Yuan frowned and raised her voice a few degrees: "I didn't lie to you! I'm very scared. Can you come and accompany your sister for two days?"
Chen Ling folded his arms and looked at Mrs. Yuan's profile with a pleading look on her face. It seemed that the relationship between the siblings was quite good.
Mrs. Yuan kept pulling the wound on her face when she spoke, causing her unbearable pain. She quickly held the phone and said a few more words before hanging up.
Yuan Yongxiang asked: "Mingliang wants to come over?"
Mrs. Yuan nodded, like someone floating in the boundless ocean who finally found a lifeboat. She looked much better than before, and her emotions became calmer. "Yes, he said he would be here soon."
Chen Ling was not afraid of offending anyone, since they were not his relatives or friends, so he asked curiously, "Mrs. Yuan, so many things have happened at home recently, but you didn't tell your brother about any of them?"
Mrs. Yuan glanced at Yuan Yongxiang and replied, "No, things about gods and ghosts are too unreal, and many people don't believe them, so I didn't tell him."
Chen Ling said "oh" in a very light voice.
That tone made Mrs. Yuan feel uncomfortable. She frowned slightly, lifted the quilt and lay down gently. She asked in a cold and coquettish voice, "Yongxiang, can you stay here with me and don't leave for the time being?"
Yuan Yongxiang looked embarrassed: "But my company has urgent matters, I have to go back immediately."
Chen Ling said: "I'll stay."
Mrs. Yuan was a little dissatisfied and said "hmm" in a dragging voice, which was considered as her agreement.
Yuan Yongxiang did not return to the company. Before leaving, he sent a message to Chen Ling, saying that he remembered that there were surveillance cameras at home and wanted to go back to check.
Chen Ling turned off his cell phone, picked up a newspaper and started reading, but his attention was always on Mrs. Yuan.
Her face seemed to be in great pain and she was very anxious. She couldn't help but make a hissing sound of pain. From time to time, she would take out her cell phone from the quilt to take a look.
Chen Ling guessed that she was probably waiting for news from her brother.
After closing the newspaper, Chen Ling asked directly without hesitation: "Mrs. Yuan, I heard from Mr. Yuan that you have a very good relationship with your brother."
Mrs. Yuan stuffed her phone back under her pillow. As it was inconvenient to talk, she just responded impatiently.
Chen Ling stood up from the sofa and was about to say something when the door of the ward was pushed open from the outside.
A sturdy man wearing glasses walked in from outside, followed by an old Taoist with a white beard.
The old Taoist was wearing a yellow robe and had a bun on his head with a simple wooden hairpin inserted in it. He walked slowly and steadily, looking a bit like an immortal.
The man ran straight to the bed and the first thing he said was, "Sister."
Mrs. Yuan turned over and sat up, her eyes sparkling with surprise, and she grabbed Shen Mingliang's sleeve. She bit her cheek, and her expression became sinister, but the next second when she realized that Chen Ling was present, her expression returned to normal.
"You're finally here." Mrs. Yuan said in a relaxed tone, with a hint of dependence. "I've been scared to death these past few days. Ever since my mother-in-law was buried, our family has been restless. They always make trouble for me and scare me. Look at my face."
As she spoke, she lifted up a little bit of gauze, which made Shen Mingliang frown: "How did you get hurt like this?"
"It was torn apart by a ghost..." She paused as she spoke and looked at Chen Ling, "Mr. Chen, I have something to say to my brother. Could you please go out first?"
Chen Ling glanced at the old Taoist standing in the middle of the room and said, "Okay."
He did not walk far, but stood in the corridor. Just as he was about to put his ear to the door to listen, there was a click and the door opened again.
The old Taoist was also "invited" out. He put his hands in his wide sleeves, stood on the ground with his eyes closed, as if he could not blend in with the mundane surroundings.
The other party clearly didn't want to talk to him, but Chen Ling insisted, "Old sir, are you here to deal with the Yuan family's haunting at the request of Shen Mingliang?"
The old Taoist opened one eye and was about to speak when his other eye also opened. He looked behind the young man in a daze.
Chen Ling looked back following the other person's gaze, with surprise in his eyes: "How did you get up here?"
Jiang Yu handed him the lunch box in his hand and said, "I'm worried you'd be hungry."
Chen Ling glanced at the packaging bag and couldn't help swallowing his saliva. He held the bag in both hands and sat on the bench in the corridor. As soon as he opened the lid, the spicy smell filled his nose, strongly stimulating his taste buds.
Jiang Yu helped him hold the lid of the lunch box: "Let's go to the cafeteria to eat?"
Chen Ling looked back at the closed ward door and said, "Okay."
The cafeteria of private hospitals is spacious, bright and clean. There is a small window for getting food on each floor. There are special stir-fries. If necessary, you can make your own menu and have the kitchen prepare it.
Chen Ling found a seat by the window and sat down. Before he could even get comfortable, he couldn't help but ask, "Can you tell what that old man is capable of?"
He could feel that the old Taoist must be quite capable.
"Not as high as you." Jiang Yu thought of a reference, "Better than Wu Weiwei."
Chen Ling picked up a crayfish with chopsticks and was about to peel it himself, when he saw two slender fingers taking the disposable gloves from his hand.
Jiang Yu put on his gloves slowly, picked up the shrimp tail from the young man's bowl, and began to peel it skillfully.
"Wu Weiwei told me the general idea of this order. Can you tell me what you found in the past half day?"
"Okay." Chen Ling stared at the crayfish in the man's hand. After he peeled off the shell and dipped the shrimp meat in the soup, he opened his mouth on his own initiative.
Jiang Yu stuffed the shrimp into his mouth and picked up the second one with chopsticks.
Chen Ling chewed a few times with satisfaction, swallowed it, and then began to speak.
After a few words, another shrimp tail was stuffed into his mouth.
He ate while talking, and it took him ten minutes to explain what happened in a disjointed manner.
Jiang Yu: "With a smile?"
Chen Ling nodded and said vaguely: "Mr. Yuan said that even the undertaker couldn't wipe away the smile, the flesh on his face was very stiff."
Jiang Yu moved the pile of crayfish in front of him to the young man, took off his gloves, and wiped his hands with the wet wipes provided by the restaurant. "Interesting. This is the first time I've heard of such a thing."
"Yeah, it's really weird." Chen Ling picked up some shrimp and fed it to Jiang Yu, "You can try it too."
Jiang Yu stepped back, his face full of rejection.
Chen Ling curled his lips. His ancestor was good in everything except not eating junk food. There was no way he could share real food with him!
He stuffed the shrimp meat back into his mouth and said seriously, "And I think Shen Mingliang is weird. After he received a call from his sister saying there was a ghost, he actually invited a Taoist priest directly. Shouldn't he come to check out the situation first? It's as if he knew there really was a ghost."
Jiang Yu: "Maybe Shen Mingyue is not the only one who has something to hide?"
Chen Ling glanced at the man: "What do you know?"
Jiang Yu put down the wipes and said in a low voice: "You asked me to open a backdoor for you. I took the opportunity to check Shen Mingyue's karma. She and her brother are both guilty."