Chen Ling scratched his skin twice with his fingernails. It didn't hurt or itch, and there were no bumps due to external stimulation, so it shouldn't be a mosquito bite.
Could it be that I touched something I shouldn’t have touched and I’m allergic to it
There was a knock on the door to the left.
Zhao Xunchang saw that his apprentice had been in the bathroom for a long time and didn't come out. He couldn't help but worry and shouted outside: "What are you doing in there? Why don't you come out!"
"Okay, okay, I'll be right out."
The apprentice's voice was blocked by the wooden door, and it sounded muffled and guilty, as if he was deliberately hiding something.
Zhao Xunchang frowned and was considering whether to break in when the tightly closed wooden door opened with a click.
Chen Ling covered his neck and walked out, "Master, I'm fine."
Zhao Xunchang blew his beard and glared, "Why are you just sitting there slacking off?"
Removing his palm, Chen Ling tilted his head to reveal the marks on his neck: "It's an allergy. I applied some medicine."
He didn't know that what started out as a pale pink mark had now deepened into scarlet, with the edges faintly showing signs of turning purple.
Zhao Xunchang breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't sense any evil spirit from Chen Ling, but his eyes were still sharp. He looked at the young man in front of him carefully from head to toe. Finally, he realized the disharmony that suddenly arose in his heart since his apprentice entered the door.
"Where is the Sanqing Bell I gave you? Why didn't you hear it ring?" Zhao Xunchang spoke sternly, as if he was going to teach someone a lesson.
"Here it is!" Chen Ling took out the Sanqing Bell from his trouser pocket, took out the toilet paper stuffed at the bottom, and said flatteringly, "Look, I didn't lose it."
Zhao Xunchang took the copper bell, put it to his ear and shook it. The sound was as crisp as the sound of jade hitting each other.
After making sure that the young apprentice was not possessed by any ghost, he handed the Sanqing Bell back to him and sternly warned him: "Under no circumstances are you allowed to plug the copper bell with toilet paper." Seeing that the apprentice said "Oh" dejectedly, he naturally changed the subject and talked about the workers.
"I gave the cemetery planning blueprint you drew to the contractor. Let him study it first." Zhao Xunchang took out a thick and full triangular talisman paper from his pocket. "If I'm not around when something happens, just throw this out. It can't save your life, but at least it can buy you some time to escape."
Chen Ling took it obediently and put it in his shirt pocket. "Thank you, Master."
Zhao Xun raised his chin: "Why are you being polite? We are all family."
Chen Ling went back to his room, changed his shirt and trousers, hung the Sanqing Bell back on his waist, put on the triangular yellow talisman that his master had just given him, put on a sun hat, and ran towards the mountain.
In order to avoid being taken away by ghosts over the years, he has developed great endurance. With this endurance, he climbed to the top of the mountain easily.
Yuhe Mountain is covered with dilapidated and withered trees, as if it had been severely ravaged by the cold winter and all vitality had been taken away.
The contractor and his workers were sitting under a huge parasol. Hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw a familiar young man.
The young man had an outstanding appearance, with a neat and clean short haircut, wearing a white T-shirt, khaki shorts, and light-colored knitted sneakers. His brows were full of flamboyant vitality.
The contractor straightened his clothes and stood up from the stone. When the young man approached, he took the initiative to extend his hand: "I don't know if Mr. Chen still remembers me. I am Yang Jianmin who signed the contract with you before, and I am also the team leader of this cemetery project."
Chen Ling shook hands with the middle-aged man in a friendly manner, "Hello, Mr. Yang."
The two of them let go at the same time, sat under the umbrella, and talked about the project.
Yuhe Mountain is not small, with the front and back mountains together covering more than 200 acres. However, only the front mountain with more than 40 acres facing the dead water lake below can be used as a cemetery, and this also includes the green area within the cemetery.
Chen Ling discussed the brief construction plan and the design drawings that Zhao Xunchang helped draw with the contractor for nearly two hours. Before leaving, he thought of the Jiang family member, stopped, looked around, and seemed to be looking for something. Then he strode diagonally upwards, toward the top of the mountain.
As early as when it was decided to transform Yuhe Mountain into a cemetery, Zhao Xunchang took him to measure the entire mountain inch by inch with his feet. Chen Ling knew exactly which position and direction was suitable for burial. In order to avoid mistakes, he also secretly marked it without telling his master.
About forty meters away from the top of the mountain, Chen Ling stopped, moved the marking stone, and inserted a dry wooden stick into the soil.
Chen Ling: "Mr. Yang, please make sure to dig a grave at this location before the sun sets today."
Generally speaking, a single tomb for storing urns should not exceed 1 square meter. Such a small place is really unfair to the sponsor.
Chen Ling felt that since he had received double the money, he should give the other party an ideal and comfortable sleeping environment. At least it should be a mansion with a mountain view. "It should be the size for burying the body."
The contractor took note of the boss's request and confirmed, "So 4 meters long, 2 meters wide, and 1.4 meters high?"
Such comfortable living conditions are not available in other cemeteries even if you have money!
Chen Ling nodded and reminded: "Hurry up, it must be used before noon tomorrow."
The grave should not be moved before noon, because the midday sun is too strong and will burn the bones.
This was not the first time that contractor Yang had taken on a project of this kind. Knowing some relevant common sense, he immediately promised that he would complete the task perfectly, but he felt a little confused.
Recalling what he had heard before, the contractor stopped the young man who wanted to leave and asked, "Mr. Chen, who is this acupoint for? Why are you so anxious? Could it be the Jiang family in the south of the city?"
Chen Ling turned his head and asked cautiously, "How do you know?"
The contractor's eyes widened: "Is it true?"
Seeing the young man staring at him inquiringly, the contractor explained, "I didn't investigate your business privately. I heard that the Jiang family's ancestral tomb is very strange. It is not buried with other deceased ancestors, but is alone in the woods in the suburbs."
Chen Ling became interested: "What else do you know?"
"Well, I'm just a nobody, how can I know the secrets of the rich and powerful?" The contractor scratched his head and said embarrassedly, "It was just that when I was working at the xx cemetery, I happened to run into the Jiang family visiting the tombs, and afterwards I was curious and listened to some gossip."
Chen Ling glanced at him sideways, and his tone became mature: "Since you know it's the Jiang family, you should be more careful when working, don't fool around."
"I understand, I understand." The contractor assured again and again.
The Jiang family has deep roots in Taipei, dating back hundreds of years, and is still thriving today, with involvement in both politics and business. No one dares to mess with such a family, unless they want to die.
The contractor looked at the young boss's receding back and laughed, shaking his head. He never expected that this Chen, at such a young age, could climb up the big tree of Jiang family.
Chen Ling returned to the courtyard and plunged into the temporary simple study room to make up for his professional knowledge.
Zhao Xunchang was smoothing his beloved bird's feathers. He took the time to glance at the half-open window of the study and walked over.
Zhao Xunchang tapped the glass with his fingers a few times and said, "This matter is entirely up to you. I won't interfere. This is a good opportunity to test how much you have learned in the past two months."
Chen Ling said with a bitter face: "It's only been two months and you're asking me to finish my apprenticeship. I'm not sure."
"You will never learn anything if you only read books without applying them."
Nearing evening, the scorching sun, which had already faded, was suddenly blocked by clouds. A damp and hot wind blew up, causing the green tiles on the roof to vibrate and clang.
The violet parrot screamed: "It's raining! It's going to rain!"
Chen Ling dropped the book and ran to the yard to collect clothes. Just as he filled his arms with them, raindrops as big as beans began to fall, and it actually hurt a little when they hit his body.
The rain was heavy, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and the wind was howling, making the whole sky abnormally dark.
Chen Ling was worried that there might be problems with the Jiang family’s ancestral tomb, so he put down his clothes and called Mrs. Jiang.
The phone was always busy, no matter how many times I called, it just didn't go through.
Chen Ling had a bad premonition in his heart, his scalp was tingling, and his whole body was cold... He only had this feeling when he encountered a ghost!
He subconsciously reached into his trouser pocket and tightly grasped the Sanqing Bell inside.
The bell didn't ring, which meant there was no evil around.
Chen Ling rubbed his brows, wondering if he was having an illusion because he was too nervous about having to take on the responsibility alone tomorrow.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then took out a thick volume of criminal law from under his pillow and read aloud word by word.
This was a habit he developed after he saw a ghost for the first time. Whenever he was scared, he would recite the core values and read the criminal code. In this way, he could transfer the righteousness of socialism to himself and would not be afraid of anything.
Zhao Xunchang lived next door. Listening to the emotional and rhythmic reading, he twitched his lips a few times, picked up a feather duster and knocked on the wall between the two rooms.
Knowing that he caused noise pollution, Chen Ling pursed his lips in grievance and changed his reading aloud to silent recitation.
The sky outside was getting darker and darker. Under the cover of wind and rain, the lights of the houses not far away dimmed and gradually went out. Dogs kept barking. The barking sounds were unusually clear in the dark evening, and became more and more frequent.
Chen Ling suddenly remembered that cats and dogs can see things that ordinary people cannot see...
Quickly stopping his wandering thoughts, he cleared his throat seriously, clenched the book in his hand, and was about to open his mouth to continue reading, but his body suddenly stiffened, and his neck seemed to be pinched by an invisible hand, and he could not utter a word.
There was a person standing in the corner that I could see out of the corner of my eye.