It was a bit crowded for three people to sit in the same row, so Chen Ling bent down, stood up, and walked to the last row and sat down.
The North City at night loses the crowds of the day and becomes colorful and peaceful. Shops on both sides of the road light up their signboards, and the white magnolia street lamps are peaceful and quiet, lighting the way for passers-by.
The business car drove quickly after entering the city and arrived at the Bayi Community where the Lin family lived at 11:30.
The community is open, with no gates.
In addition to them, there was a van parked downstairs of the Lin family. Three young men were leaning on the car window stealthily, looking at the floor where the Lin family was located.
Chen Ling had a good angle and could see at a glance the large words printed on the back of the van under the dim street lights: 018 Program Team.
He pulled Wu Weiwei and pointed out the window: "The one you found on your phone this afternoon?"
"Yes, it's this Zero One Eight." Wu Weiwei lowered his voice, "What on earth do these people want to do? They are basically in step with us."
"What else can you do? Use science to explain it." Chen Ling doesn't like this so-called "program group". Science and metaphysics can coexist, but some people insist on using far-fetched science to explain those phenomena and strange things that cannot be explained by existing logic.
Chen Ling put his hand on Wu Weiwei's shoulder and said, "Get out of the car. Don't worry about them."
Wu Weiwei was worried, "I don't think they will catch up with us."
Chen Ling said he didn't know. He looked up at Li Hongyu who had already opened the car door and asked, "Do you know them?"
"I know." Li Hongyu seemed to be very troubled by this program team and said unhappily, "Last year, they wanted to film the Dharma Assembly live, and the temple agreed, thinking that it would promote culture. But when they arrived at the scene, they did not follow the rules and were rash. That would have been fine, but they also joked with the audience about things that we are taboo about during the live broadcast."
Chen Ling: "I'm not afraid of a stomachache."
Li Hongyu said sternly: "The Grandmaster is kind and will not bother with them."
Chen Ling: "The Grandmaster is merciful, but the ghosts may not be so."
If you bump into something you shouldn't bump into, at best you'll suffer bad luck, at worst you'll be haunted by ghosts or die suddenly.
The Lin family’s house is not big. If five people go up there together, it would not only be scary but also noisy.
Li Hongyu changed his mind and said to the two brothers in the driver's seat and the co-pilot's seat: "Brothers, you don't have to go up. I will narrate the details of the case to you later."
The fat and thin senior brother thought it didn't matter, "Okay, call us anytime if you need anything."
The people from the program team also saw the business car and saw several young men coming out of it, but they didn't take it seriously and continued to watch with the camera.
The two recent cases were truly bizarre, with gruesome and bloody deaths. Anyone who knew about the cases in the forums and communities where the cases occurred was discussing the cause, saying that it was evil spirits that were at work.
Based on the principle that metaphysics is pseudoscience, they decided to conduct in-depth investigations to decipher those unrealistic statements, and they came here specifically on the so-called Night of the Return of the Soul.
The person in charge of the program team squinted his eyes and looked at the people passing by his van. He noticed that one of them was carrying a copper coin sword on his back.
He sneered: "I thought they were residents, but they turned out to be a few charlatans."
A Gui, a subordinate next to him, echoed: "She's so young, the Lin family must have been deceived." He rolled his eyes and came up with an idea, "Boss, why don't I follow her and take a sneak shot."
The person in charge considers the feasibility.
Agui added, "If we go up together, we will be too conspicuous and easily attract people's disgust. If I go up alone, even if I get caught, I can say that I am new here and I just peeked out of curiosity."
The person in charge thought it made sense and said to a little girl in the back seat: "Give him a button camera."
Button cameras are specially used for undercover investigations. They are small in size and have a long service life. They can be attached to clothes or hidden directly in the collar and are not easily discovered.
Agui took the camera from the little girl, hid it in the chest pocket of his shirt, gestured to the person in charge, opened the door and jumped down.
It was approaching midnight and the corridor was dead silent. Because of the walls on all sides, the light was much dimmer than outside, to the point where you couldn't see your hand in front of you.
Afraid that the voice-activated wake-up function would be exposed, Agui walked very lightly, his fingers tightly gripping the rusty stair railing as he groped his way up.
He lifted one leg and stepped onto a staircase, his trouser leg moving up with the movement, revealing part of his ankle.
The hot air feels slightly cool after entering the old building, like a slender, cold hand passing through the skin.
Agui shuddered and his heart beat inexplicably faster.
This was not his first time to participate in a program recording with the boss, but it was the first time he felt nervous.
He swallowed, stopped, and listened to the sounds upstairs.
After those people entered the Lin family, they had been very quiet. They probably wouldn't come out again soon... With this in mind, he clapped his hands lightly, and the voice-activated light came on.
The moment the white light filled the corridor, his pupils suddenly shrank and he subconsciously took a step back.
In the moment when darkness and light alternated, he seemed to see a person on the stairs...
Agui's heart beat faster, hitting his ribs hard and causing pain, and his breathing became rapid.
He pressed his chest hard, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then pressed the Bluetooth headset on his left ear and whispered to the person in charge in the van downstairs: "Boss, did you see anything just now?"
The audio received by the person in charge was not very clear, with some black and white snow mixed in from time to time, and the call voice was also intermittent.
After barely making out what the other end was saying, he said, "Nothing. Hurry up and go up. Didn't they say that the Night of Returning Souls starts at midnight? There are still a few minutes left. You'd better go up to the platform between the third and fourth floors to shoot."
When the night of the return of the soul arrives, the family members need to open the door to welcome the deceased, otherwise the deceased cannot open the door and enter the house. In addition, the deceased's favorite food should be placed on the table and lime powder should be sprinkled on the ground to determine whether the relative has returned.
The program team had already checked these things before coming here.
So they don't need to sneak into the Lin family, they just need to wait on the stairs and take as many photos as they can.
After receiving the order from his superior, Agui was not so scared anymore. He held his head high and walked up aggressively. When he passed the gate of the Lin family, he saw two small bowls filled with something.
He took off the camera on his chest, took a close-up shot, left quietly, and continued walking upwards.
As soon as he left, the door of the Lin family opened.
A clear voice said, "Uncle Lin, sprinkle the lime from the door all the way into the house. A thin layer will do. Then light a candle at the door to guide Xiaofan."
He spoke in a very convincing manner. Agui curled his lips, grabbed the handrail, and slowly lowered his head, trying to take a picture of the face of the young man who was speaking.
But who knew that the man was not at the door at all, but behind Lin's father.
Just as Agui was about to take two steps down, some grayish-white lime powder was sprinkled out from the house, falling down and evenly spreading on the ground.
He carefully shrank back, found a suitable place to sit down, and wanted to wait until the person entered the house before going down.
After spreading the lime, Father Lin did not retreat immediately. Instead, he stood at the door, looking at the dark corridor below, and whispered: "Xiao Fan, it's almost time. Mom and Dad are waiting for you at home. Please stay a little longer when you come... Mom and Dad really miss you..."
The middle-aged man's voice was hoarse and dry, as if he had been drained of all his energy. Every word was squeezed out from his chest and lungs.
Ah Gui felt sad and scared when he heard this on the stairs, and shrank back.
The watch on his wrist was ticking in the quiet air, and every time the second hand passed a small scale, it made a slight "click" sound. No one else could hear that sound, but it fell into his own ears, like thunder, hammering at his mind with gravity.
As if possessed by some mysterious force, Agui began to count along with the second hand.
One, two, three... Seven, eight... Thirty-one, thirty-two...
When he counted to 183, the second hand suddenly stopped moving. With the help of a little light from outside, he saw that the second hand on the dial was shaking left to right.
He shuddered and tapped lightly on the watch cover.
The second hand stopped.
The voice-controlled light above my head suddenly lit up, but the light stayed on for only a few seconds before the bulb went dark again.
Before he knew it, Agui's body was soaked with fine cold sweat. He wanted to stand up and move his stiff limbs. Just as he shook his wrist, there was a noise at the bottom of the stairs, which was at the entrance of the Lin family.
He froze, his eyes wide.
Under the illumination of the corridor lights and on the ground covered with lime powder, there was unexpectedly an extra footprint.
The footprints have distinct fingers, the soles of the feet are not big, even a little small, and are very complete.
Immediately afterwards, about half a step away from that footprint, another footprint appeared, one on the left and one on the right, forming a pair.
Agui held his breath and his heart skipped a beat. Fear and coldness climbed up along his fingertips, along his spine and arms, and penetrated into his body and internal organs.
It's not an illusion, nor a special effect, the footprints really appeared out of thin air!
The footprints on the lime powder formed a continuous row and had reached the gate of the Lin family.
The candle standing in the middle of the door suddenly trembled, and the orange flame turned into dark blue in the moment of swaying, as if someone had stepped over it!
After a brief panic, Agui gradually came to his senses. He mustered up his courage, took out the camera from his chest pocket, and approached quietly.
Slightly raise the position of the camera and place it in the corner under the Lin family's security door.
The Lin family's living room was quiet and silent. Chen Ling and others had already hidden in the bathroom.
According to the rules, when the deceased returns to the body, family members must stay away to avoid any conflict.
Wu Weiwei squatted on the ground, one eye stopped in front of the crack of the door, observing the situation outside.
The stools in the living room were moved away, and the dishes and chopsticks on the table were moved as well. The three incense sticks standing in the middle of the dining table burned rapidly. In just thirty seconds, the incense had burned to the bottom.
Afterwards, a trail of footprints stained with a little lime walked towards the bedroom of the Lin couple.
The door was pushed open, and at this moment, a shadow appeared in the empty place.
The shadow squeezed into the room and walked around his parents' bed. The Lin couple forced themselves to close their eyes. Several times, they wanted to open their eyes and take another look at their daughter.
But Chen Ling had explained that once they opened their eyes, the deceased would be disturbed and would most likely linger in the world of the living and not want to leave.
Father Lin's heart ached. He held his wife's hand tightly and felt another hand touching his forehead.
The hand was very cold, and it brushed across his cheek with some affection.
Mother Lin has always been timid, but today she was not afraid at all. She knew that everything she felt at the moment came from her daughter's touch, which was simply a gift from God for her.
Hot tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes, her lips trembled, and the fingertips hidden in the quilt flicked, and she wanted to reach out and grab her daughter several times.
The strange noise in the room soon disappeared.
The bedroom door that was closed by the wind was opened from the inside.
The cool air passed through the living room and stopped at the door. Xiaofan was waiting for the time to return to the underworld.
Downstairs, the head of the program team, along with everyone else, put their heads close to the receiver display of the undercover camera. The screen, which had been working fine before, suddenly jumped up and down.
The still furniture captured in the photo was distorted along with the picture and even made rustling noises.
The noise grew louder and louder, until finally the entire back seat of the modified van was filled with the rustling sound of electricity.
"Boss, look!" a thin young man exclaimed.
Everyone looked in the direction of his finger, and there was a small red dot there. The small red dot gradually grew bigger, as if it was stuck to the screen.
That was a drop of blood.
Fresh, freshly shed blood.
The person in charge exclaimed, remembering the purpose of the program group's visit. He forced himself to calm down and said with a stammer, "It must be that kid Agui who put something on the camera. Wait... I'm going to give him a good beating when he comes back!"
No one else said anything, and they all saw fear in each other's eyes.
Upstairs, Chen Ling walked out of the bathroom.
The souls that have just died for seven days are very confused, and they act entirely based on the vague memories they had before they died. They often don't even know that they are dead.
For fear of scaring Xiaofan's soul, Wu Weiwei and Li Hongyu chose to stay in the bathroom and wait and see.
Chen Ling couldn't see the soul that had not yet appeared, so he had to rely on the yin energy on the other party to determine the direction.
He walked to the security door and called softly, "Xiao Fan."
Agui, who was sitting on the other side of the wall, was frightened. He covered his chest and quietly hid backwards. He recognized that the voice was from the same person who had asked Lin's father to spread lime powder before.
Chen Ling had no idea that there was a mouse hiding outside. Seeing that the soul did not show up, he called out again, "Xiao Fan."
The first thing that appeared was a pair of bare feet.
There was blood on her feet, and above her ankles and pale calves. The hem of her white nightgown was dark red, which was human blood that had cooled but would not coagulate.
There was no more blood on Xiaofan's neck, but the wound had split open, revealing the trachea and bones hidden under the skin.
Her eyes were dull, her head tilted 90 degrees to the right, her fingertips tapping lightly on the side of her thigh, her lips moving, humming silently.
Chen Ling was startled by this scene. He suppressed his nervousness and long-lost panic, took a step forward and leaned forward with his ear.
It is mourning music.
Xiaofan was humming a sad song.
Chen Ling retracted his neck, stared into Xiaofan's eyes and asked, "Xiaofan, where is your rose?"
Xiao Fan's dull look changed.
She blinked gently, and smiled: "On the 15th day of the seventh month, the gates of hell open, let's hold hands and be friends. On the 15th day of the seventh month, the gates of hell open, let's hold hands and be friends..."
These four sentences are repeated over and over again, like a ballad or a tongue twister, and give people a headache.
Chen Ling called her name again and asked, "What did you see and hear before you died?"
This is a very dangerous question.
Death is a taboo for both the living and the dead.
Just this one word was enough to drive Xiaofan, who had not yet noticed that she was dead, crazy, and stimulate her desire for life. She was unwilling to die and gave up on reincarnation.
But Chen Ling had no choice, he had to find clues about the paper rose through Xiaofan.
"Roses, paper roses, bright red paper roses..." Xiaofan's smile twisted, "Only when I die can it become more beautiful. It will be the decoration of my wedding and our keepsake."
Chen Ling was stunned. "You guys?"
Xiaofan's body began to sway from side to side, and large amounts of blood flowed out from the wound on her neck. The dripping sound broke the silence in the room.
In the bedroom, Lin's parents couldn't bear it any longer and rushed out one after another.
The person standing at the gate was their daughter, but not her.
It was a soul that had lost its life and body.
Mother Lin was frightened by the man in the bloody coat and fainted on the spot.
Even someone like Mr. Lin, who had a strong psychological endurance, rolled his eyes and almost choked. Wu Weiwei still rushed over, supported his body as he fell backwards, and kept massaging his chest to help him breathe more easily.
Father Lin soon recovered. The bloody daughter in front of him looked exactly like the person lying in a pool of blood that morning.
The man in his forties burst into tears after the huge visual and mental stimulation.
The veins on Chen Ling's forehead bulged and throbbed, "What are you doing here? Shut up and don't make a sound!"
Once I start crying, how can I stop immediately
Father Lin covered his mouth with his hands, but the sobbing sound still leaked out, floating in the living room which was filled with negative energy, which was very strange.
Xiaofan was attracted by his father's crying and slowly turned his head to look over.
She seemed confused about the situation until she heard a voice again saying, "You are dead, do you remember?"
Xiao Fan was startled, and the blood on his neck began to flow more.
The dress could not bear the weight of the blood. Blood beads hung on the edge of the wet fabric, one by one, and then pulled out red sticky threads and fell to the ground.
"Am I dead?" she murmured, and her eyes gradually became bright.
Chen Ling: "Yes, you have been dead for almost seven days. Today is the night of the return of the soul. Come back to visit your parents."
Xiao Fan's eyes began to bleed, and he became insane, his voice still weak: "Why would I die? I'm already a senior in high school, and I'll be able to take the college entrance exam in another year. Why would I die..."
Chen Ling couldn't bear it, but he still said directly: "You picked up a paper rose on the road. The paper rose was attached with evil magic. You were killed by someone."
"Paper Rose, where is my rose?" Xiao Fan's neck did not move, but his eyes moved to the left, revealing only a little pupil at the corner of his eye.
Chen Ling looked at the strange pair of eyes, then looked again, unable to understand how she did it.
"The paper rose is gone. Do you remember what happened before you committed suicide?"
"Remember." Xiao Fan said excitedly, with a look of paranoia on his face, "With it, I can find my lover. He is waiting for me not far away."
"Who is he referring to?" Chen Ling asked, "Have you seen him?"
"No." Xiaofan turned her head back and her pupils returned to their normal position. She stood there quietly, like a floating duckweed, unable to find her home or direction.
The whole room was filled with a deep sadness.
Chen Ling broke the silence and said, "Why not? It's because you have no resentment and cannot stay in the human world. After you sense the pull, you go to the underworld. Right?"
"The underworld... I remembered it." Xiao Fan suddenly laughed happily, "I want to go find him, but I don't have a wedding dress, so I can only cut my neck and stain my nightgown with blood."
She smiled brightly and asked with some expectation: "Do you think my skirt looks good?"
Chen Ling shook his head, "It doesn't look good."
"How can it not look good?!" Xiao Fan asked sharply, his eyes turning blood red.
"Because there is a difference between the color of blood and a real wedding dress, you should ask the person who wants to marry you for a real wedding dress." Chen Ling said calmly, but he was a little anxious in his heart.
It was obvious that Xiao Fan's mind was affected by what happened before. He was confused and irritable. After questioning for such a long time, there was no substantial clue at all.
He looked at Li Hongyu who was standing with Wu Weiwei: "What should we do?"
Li Hongyu thought for a moment and asked, "Try the Heart Purification Mantra?"
Taoist spells all have the effect of exorcising evil spirits to some extent. If the spells are not used properly, Xiao Fan might be reduced to ashes on the spot.
Chen Ling didn't dare to take the risk, so he had to induce again: "Xiao Fan, your fiancé hasn't arrived yet, why don't you tell me where he is and I'll help you find him?"
"I have no idea."
"Can you hear him?"
Xiao Fan shook his head and began to repeat, "No, no..."
Chen Ling sighed and looked at Father Lin: "Uncle Lin, do you have anything to say to Xiaofan?"
Father Lin was in pain and fear. He wiped his tear-soaked eyes and stood up with the help of Wu Weiwei's arm.
He took a step forward, hesitant at first, then suddenly quickened his pace and rushed in front of Xiaofan, his trembling voice full of longing for his daughter.
"Xiao Fan, I'm your dad, please look at your dad, okay?"
Xiao Fan moved his stiff facial muscles and revealed a puzzled expression.
Seeing that his daughter seemed to recognize him, Father Lin almost cried out. He tried hard to hold back his tears, and reached out his hand tremblingly to hold one of his daughter's hands.
The hand was covered in blood and no longer warm, but it made him feel extremely at ease.
"Xiao Fan, Dad and Mom have been missing you. Are you doing well over there? Are you eating well? Are you warmly dressed?"
Xiao Fan didn't say anything, his eyes were focused.
Father Lin smiled, took his daughter's hand and put it on his face. The sticky and fishy blood stained his skin. "I remember when you were just born, Dad was so happy that he couldn't sleep for three days. He couldn't help but get up in the middle of the night to see you, hold your little hand, and touch your warm little face. You didn't even know how to open your eyes, but you knew to hold Dad's fingers tightly..."
"Fate is so strange. It gave us the fate of being father and daughter, but took it away halfway. But it doesn't matter. If you miss mom and dad in the future, you can dream and mom and I will come to see you... The time we spent together in this life was too short. In the next life, you can still be dad's daughter, okay?"
At the end, Father Lin's voice was almost choked with sobs. He lowered his head and wiped his tears with his arm, then looked up again and smiled.
"Xiao Fan, can you say goodbye to your dad before you leave?"
"Just one sentence, okay?"
“Just one sentence, really just one sentence… Daddy, please, please…” Father Lin felt a dull pain in his heart. He couldn’t understand why it was their Xiaofan.