"Why did he hang himself?" Chen Ling hunched his shoulders, his eyes wet with fear and confusion.
"I also heard from the students who came here to eat. It seems that he felt that his family was not as well off as other students, and his grades were average. He might have been too self-abased, so he couldn't think straight and committed suicide." Thinking of the loss of a young life, the proprietress sighed, "I still have some impression of that child. During the two monthly holidays, he was brought to my place by his classmates to eat twice. Each time, he kept his head down and didn't say a word when others talked."
"Those classmates have a good relationship with him?" Chen Ling felt very strange. According to what Wu Weiwei heard, the classmates in the class did not seem to like the deceased that much.
"It's probably... not very good." The lady boss said, "He was a very quiet child, and the students who came with him didn't treat him very well. I saw them poking someone with a barbecue skewer once. Just imagine, little classmate, the barbecue skewer has a sharp tip, it would hurt a lot if it poked you."
Chen Ling's eyes fell on the table. The cleaned skewers were shining coldly under the light. If he used a little more force, the skin would be punctured and bleed.
Wu Weiwei also leaned over the table and asked, "Auntie, from what you said, that student committed suicide?"
"It was suicide. That day, students returned to school after the monthly vacation. Many students who had not finished their homework arrived at school early, hoping to finish their homework before the morning self-study session. As a result, some of them went to that grove for unknown reasons. They turned along the path and saw a pair of feet hanging there."
The boss's wife was standing on the street outside the small gate at the time and heard the frightened screams. "Not long after, the police came. But I heard from the security guard at the school gate that when the body was lowered from the tree, there was no stool or other footstool underneath."
She groaned and looked at Chen Ling: "Little classmate, how do you think he climbed up the tree and hanged himself?"
"I don't know either..." Chen Ling carefully recalled the scene when he climbed up the strange wall before. There was only a branch on the enclosed ground. Could it be that the deceased climbed up the tree by himself, put a rope around his neck, and then jumped down
If it was really suicide, it seems that this is the only way for a person to hang himself without any foothold.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting." The boss came out from the back with an aluminum tray carrying hot barbecue. He had just eavesdropped inside and knew what his wife was talking about.
After putting down the tray, he pleaded in a low voice: "Please don't tell anyone that these things were spread from our family. All the shops on this street belong to Rongshen Middle School. After the incident, the school ordered us not to tell anyone about it, otherwise we will not be allowed to continue working there."
"You can rest assured about that." Jiang Yu had a calm expression. After he finished speaking, he returned to his desk and tapped it lightly a few times with his fingers.
After receiving the call, Chen Ling immediately sat back in his seat and started eating.
After finishing his midnight snack, before leaving, he suddenly asked, "How long ago did that happen?"
The proprietress recalled carefully: "Not long ago, about a month and a half ago."
The moon in the sky was still blocked by dark clouds, and the streets in the city were also covered with a layer of shadow.
Not long after Chen Ling got on the bus, he fell asleep leaning against the window and did not wake up when they arrived at Yuhe Mountain.
Wu Weiwei stretched out his hand to wake the person up, but was given a sharp look.
His fingertips trembled, and he silently took his hand back, "Brother Jiang, we have to wake up Brother Chen first. We can't keep sleeping in the car."
"No need." Jiang Yu got out of the car, walked around to the passenger seat, and carried the person out.
The car key drew a parabola in the air. Wu Weiwei was startled and quickly reached out to catch it. It was not until the man carried his brother Chen into the yard that he realized belatedly that he was asked to park the car.
Jiang Yu carried the person into the house, lifted the collar of his polo shirt with his fingertips, revealing the pinch marks underneath.
The pinch mark has faded a lot, like a light blue rope across the skin, very eye-catching.
After rubbing his thumb gently a few times, he leaned over and pressed his slightly cool lips against the young man's warm skin, rolling and sucking, as if he was greedily tasting some delicacy, and the expression on his face was calm.
Chen Ling slept very well. After waking up, he rubbed the back of his neck, then stared at a distance. He lifted the quilt in surprise and looked at it, then lay down on the edge of the bed again.
"Five baht coins." He asked, "How did I get back last night?"
I only remember falling asleep in the car and have no recollection of anything else.
Wuzhuqian climbed down from the door frame, rolled to the side of the bed, and jumped onto the thin blanket on the young man's legs. "That man carried you in, and he nibbled your neck, touched your hands, and inhaled your scent while you were asleep."
Chen Ling: “…”
Wuzhuqian was a pure wild ghost, so there was no ambiguity or ridicule in his words, but rather a complete accusation.
Seeing that the owner didn't say anything, it said again: "I don't think he is a good person. He always sneaks into your bed."
Chen Ling rubbed his brows and asked, "How long has he been in the room?"
Wu Zhuqian remembered it very clearly, "Thirty-five minutes and twenty-three seconds!"
Chen Ling thought, it’s been so long, no wonder he wants to leave, maybe he has made enough money.
He hung the five-zhu coin back on the door frame and went into the bathroom.
He looked carefully in the mirror. There was no trace of the mark caused by the evil spirit's pinching left, but there was a red mark below near the collarbone.
Although I have never eaten pork, the description of the Wuzhu coin is enough to confirm that it is a masterpiece of our ancestors.
Chen Ling found it very mysterious that a kiss mark appeared on his body.
He squeezed some toothpaste on himself, and after brushing a few times, he couldn't help but pull open his collar again, touched the marks, grinned, and continued brushing his teeth.
Today's breakfast was noodles, and everyone in the family, except Jiang Yu, devoured the food.
Chen Ling washed the dishes to digest his food and asked Wu Weiwei whether the school had a response.
Wu Weiwei shook his head and said no, "Maybe he hasn't seen it yet. If there is no reply by ten o'clock, I will send two more messages to ask."
Chen Ling nodded: "Don't worry, even if we need to exorcise the evil spirits, it will be at the end of the month, so there are still ten days to go."
"Brother Chen, if there really is a ghost haunting that school, and the ghost is the freshman who was bullied to death, what are you going to do?" Wu Weiwei asked curiously.
"If no one was killed, it would be best if we could help him to be liberated. If he was, he can only be handed over to the underworld officials to take him to the underworld." Chen Ling stacked up the clean bowls and looked at Wu Weiwei, "But he must inform the underworld officials of all the injustices he has suffered. The underworld has its own yardsticks. It is up to them to judge whether it is excusable or unforgivable."
Wu Weiwei drained the water from the pool, lowered his eyes and said, "I hope he was not blinded by hatred and lost his mind and hurt innocent people. Otherwise, he will be bullied while alive and be punished in hell after death."
No living person has ever seen the real hell, but from the descriptions in various scriptures, one can imagine the cruelty and ruthlessness of hell.
"Humans have their own laws, and ghosts have their own constraints. No matter who you are, you must abide by them." Chen Ling's words were somewhat cold, but this is the law of the world that no one can control.
If someone harms others because he died unjustly, and does not seek revenge on his enemies, then how is the ghost of the unjustly killed different from those who once bullied and humiliated him
The message from the principal of Rongshen Middle School was not replied until around ten o'clock in the morning. At that time, Chen Ling was sitting in the newly bought bus and went out with Wu Weiwei to buy diving equipment.
It is unsafe to look at the phone while driving, and you will be fined if caught, so Wu Weiwei handed the phone to the person in the passenger seat.
Chen Ling looked at the information displayed on QQ and raised his eyebrows: "Rong Xin's principal has asked us to meet at the back door of the school after 6pm on the 31st."
Wu Weiwei: "Where is the back door? I have no idea."
Chen Ling had no idea. He opened the map on his phone, switched to satellite map mode, and quickly found the back door of Rongshen Middle School.
The back door must have been abandoned for a long time, and there is a narrow alley behind it.
In order to prevent the news from spreading, the school could warn off-campus businesses, delete forum posts, and not even report it in the news. They were allowed to leave through the back door simply because the principal did not want people to know that he had invited someone to the school to exorcise evil spirits.
Chen Ling replied with a word "OK" and then exited QQ.
Wu Weiwei took the phone and put it in his pocket. "The principal is very cautious. Even at this point, he still refuses to give me a phone number."
"He didn't want to get too involved with us, and he was afraid of exposing more personal information," Chen Ling said. "The more he did this, the more I wanted to know what happened at Rongshen Middle School. I always felt that it might not be as simple as school violence."
The diving equipment store was in the city center. After arriving there, with the professional introduction of the owner, Chen Ling spent a lot of money to buy two sets of diving equipment. He hesitated for a long time between an ordinary mask and a glass helmet... In the end, he chose the latest model of glass helmet. After connecting the oxygen tube at the back, he could wear it at the bottom of the pool for half an hour even if his legs cramped.
The afternoon he returned to Yuhe Mountain, he carried his equipment up the mountain to find contractor Yang and asked him to help call the worker who was very knowledgeable about water that he had mentioned before.
The worker has dark skin, is in his early thirties and has a simple and honest personality.
"Boss Chen." He rubbed his hands nervously, "Brother Yang said you wanted me to go in the water and take a look right now."
Chen Ling nodded, "You will be paid, and I have prepared the equipment for you."
He handed a bag at his feet to the worker and pointed to a shed not far away. "You go change first. I'll wait for you on the shore after I change. If you find anything you can't solve in the water, come up and tell me, and then I'll take you down."
Chen Ling is a little afraid of swimming.
He had poor skills to begin with, and when he was 19 years old and went on vacation to the beach with his parents, he was nearly dragged into the water and drowned by a water ghost. From then on, his whole body became stiff whenever he was in the water, and he couldn't stop thinking about the scene of having his ankle grabbed and being dragged under the water.
The worker was born in the countryside and is used to playing naked in the water. Now he has to put on a diving suit, carry an oxygen tank, and wear a full-face glass helmet. He feels so awkward that his walking posture becomes a little distorted.
Chen Ling also changed his clothes, patted his shoulder and said, "This is all for safety, just bear with it."
The worker moved around a few times and when he felt his limbs were less stiff, he walked towards the pool at the foot of the mountain.
The pool was no longer so smelly, but it was not at all ornamental. The turbid black water was frightening just by looking at it.
Fortunately, I was still wearing that layer, otherwise it would have been too disgusting.
The worker was grateful for the boss's thoughtfulness. He took the flashlight that Wu Weiwei had just handed him, bent his legs, and dived into the pool like a fish leaping into the water.
Because it was daytime, the inside of the pool was not pitch black. The water had an indescribable sticky feeling that was disgusting.
The workers followed the instructions for finding the spring, and with flashlights they searched inch by inch along the bottom of the pool. Finally, they found a strange object in the center.
That thing was like a plug, blocking the mouth of the spring.
The blocked spring was actually alive, but because it was blocked, its ability to spit out water was greatly reduced. If you listen carefully, you can hear gurgling sounds coming from the depths of the spring.
The worker turned the flashlight to its brightest and observed carefully.
It is round and black like a ball of mud, or like a ball of soft black cotton.
He reached out and touched it, and immediately felt a shockingly cold sensation. Just as he was about to go up and report it, his bare feet became entangled by something.
On the shore, Chen Ling suddenly smelled an unusual scent.
He immediately put on a helmet, fastened the safety valve connected to the diving suit, closed his eyes and jumped into the water. Following the faint light of the flashlight, he quickly found the worker whose limbs had been entangled.
He swam over and also discovered the spring, as well as the disgusting spherical "monster" that had swelled up a lot and had countless tentacles extending out.
Chen Ling never expected that he could encounter evil spirits underwater. He could only grope for a stone from the bottom of the pool and cut the middle finger of his right hand.
The blood spread in the turbid water. He ignored the pain and used the blood as cinnabar and the water as yellow paper to quickly draw the talisman.
The thing that was wrapped around the worker seemed to have suffered great damage. The entire sphere was shaking violently, and it instantly let go of the person and shrank back to its original size.
The workers were so frightened that they swam desperately to shore as soon as they were rescued.
Chen Ling picked up the flashlight he had thrown at the bottom of the pool, observed it through the mask for a while, and finally confirmed that it was a ball of death.
The dead air gathered at the bottom of the pool over the years, blocking the spring.
He closed his eyes and whispered: "The heaven and earth are natural, the foul air is dispersed, the mysterious void in the cave is shining, the Taiyuan is bright. The mighty gods of the eight directions make me natural..."
The divine spell to purify heaven can slay demons and bind evil spirits, and save thousands of ghosts.
The dead air left behind after the vegetation on Yuhe Mountain withered has transferred to the bottom of the pond through the ground. Over the past twenty years, it has slowly accumulated into a mass. It has developed its own consciousness and can be considered an evil spirit.
If it is not eliminated, once it grows strong enough, it will spread like a plague. Not only will the water in this pool of water die, but the newly grown grass and saplings around it will also wither again.
The spell was recited three times, and Chen Ling's fingertips blood filled with yang energy floated in the water again. The deathly aura was like the ice surface hit by an icebreaker. The atmosphere broke into pieces, dissolved in the water, and disappeared.
The gurgling sound of water bubbling out of the spring became louder. Chen Ling moved closer and saw that the water near the spring was changing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Not every inch of grass and trees on Yuhe Mountain is full of vitality. Some weeds on the back mountain are still lifeless. To prevent the death from condensing together again, he swam back to the shore and asked Wu Weiwei to go down the mountain to get a Bagua mirror from the drawer in his room, wrap it with several layers of plastic wrap, and then send it up the mountain.
Wu Weiwei ran back to the courtyard, panting. Seeing the old and young still sitting quietly at the stone table playing chess, he could not help but announce the good news: "Mr. Zhao, Brother Jiang, the pond water on our Yuhe Mountain has come alive. Brother Chen pulled out a ball of death from the water!"
The two men at the foot of the mountain had already felt it when the ball of death suddenly attacked the workers.
Especially Jiang Yu.
Zhao Xunchang was just about to break the rules and take back his move when the man sitting opposite him suddenly turned his head and looked in the direction of Yuhe Mountain, his eyes as sharp as a cold knife.
You don't need to ask to know that something went wrong on the mountain.
Just when Zhao Xunchang was about to ask, he also felt an unusual, gloomy breath brought by the breeze.
Jiang Yu dropped a chess piece and looked at Wu Weiwei: "After the matter is over, drag the person back. The water in the pond is turbid and the wound needs to be disinfected."
Wu Weiwei was shocked. It would have been fine if these two people were not surprised after hearing what happened on the mountain, but how come they even knew that Brother Chen’s finger was injured!
It’s amazing.
Jiang Yu turned his head to look at the stunned person, "What are you standing there for? Go quickly."
"Oh, right away!" Wu Weiwei walked into Chen Ling's room with a prostrating mood, took out the Bagua mirror and went to the kitchen.
The Bagua mirror was carved from peach wood struck by lightning, with a round copper lens embedded in the middle. He wrapped it again and again with plastic wrap, and then, still feeling uneasy, he put another plastic bag on the outside.
Only then did he run up the mountain again, panting, holding the Bagua mirror in his pocket.
Wu Weiwei came to the pool panting and handed the mirror to Chen Ling.
Chen Ling took the mirror, turned around and dived underwater, buried the Bagua mirror in the mud beside the spring, and found a few stones to press it on top.
The worker who had just gone into the water had not yet recovered and was breathlessly telling others about his experience.
"Really? I'm not lying. It's a fucking water... a water ghost! It's slippery and it first entangled my feet, then my hands..."
Wu Weiwei comforted him, "Brother, calm down. Don't be afraid. Brother Chen is here. No ghost dares to hurt you. And that's not a water ghost. It's dead air..."
"What is dead air?" Contractor Yang asked in a trembling voice on behalf of the dazed workers.
Wu Weiwei explained: "As long as something is alive, it has vitality. After death, the vitality is taken away, leaving behind the cold death energy. This is the special smell emitted by the corpse, which is different from the yin energy of ghosts."
"What is Yin Qi?" The contractor asked because he didn't understand, and he asked very seriously.
Wu Weiwei: “…”
If he continued asking, he might end up asking about the origin of Taoism. He waved his hand and said, "Brother Yang, you can check it online. There are standard answers there, which are more professional than my answer."
Contractor Yang nodded and actually took out his cell phone to check.
With a splash, Chen Ling emerged from the water, first taking off his heavy helmet and throwing it to the shore.
Wu Weiwei quickly squatted down by the pond and pulled the man up.
Chen Ling lay on the grass to rest for a while, then returned to the shed halfway up the mountain, picked up his clothes, and went back to the yard to take a shower.
Wu Weiwei was helping him pick up the diving equipment that was dropped on the ground outside the bathroom door. Just as he was about to pick up the diving suit, Jiang Yu came in.
He said, "I'll do it."
In the bathroom, Chen Ling turned the water temperature up a bit and used the hot water to wash away the chill from his body. But when he came out of the bathroom, drying his hair, the person he saw was not Wu Weiwei.
"Where is Weiwei?" Chen Ling sat down on the edge of the bed and asked casually.
"I'm going to make ginger soup for you." Jiang Yu got up from the stool, walked over, took the towel from the young man's hand, and gently helped him wipe his hair.
Drops of water fell on my knees, forming a small ball.
Chen Ling looked at the water stain, closed his eyes and enjoyed it peacefully. After a while, he suddenly said, "Actually, before today, I had been thinking about buying a set of special water filtration equipment to purify the lake water after Yuhe Mountain was completed. Now it's all good, and I can save a lot of money."
Jiang Yu: "So happy?"
"Yeah." Chen Ling looked up, and could only see the man's chin. "Jiang Yu, why do you think everything in Yuhe Mountain died suddenly?"
Jiang Yu lowered his eyelids, his gaze becoming deep and unfathomable, "If the vitality is cut off, the vegetation will naturally not survive."
"Who is so powerful that he can cut off the vitality of a mountain?" Chen Ling found it incredible.
"I don't know." Jiang Yu took away the towel, took a half step back, and bowed slightly to look at the young man, "Maybe you can find the answer."
Chen Ling smiled at him: "Are you so confident in me?"
Jiang Yu curled his lips and looked at him, "Yes, I have."
Chen Ling was stunned for a moment, and forgot to move his eyes as he looked at the man.
I was reflected in those eyes, and the light-colored pupils were like the most transparent amber, carrying the endless time and the changes of all things.
It is quiet and deep, making people want to get closer to see if there are other secrets hidden inside.
Their breathing was counteracting, their eyelashes were almost touching, and their lips were about to touch. Wu Weiwei's roaring voice came closer and closer.
"Brother Chen, the ginger soup is ready, drink it while it's hot."
Wu Weiwei put the scalding hot bowl on the desk and pinched his ears to cool his fingertips.
Seeing that both people in the room were glaring at him with red faces, he loosened his fingers in surprise, "What's wrong?"
Chen Ling puffed up his cheeks, "No!"
Wu Weiwei believed it and pointed at the ginger soup and said, "Let it cool down a little longer and you can drink it."
"Got it." Chen Ling sat down at the desk like a deflated ball and blew into the bowl.
He glanced at Wu Weiwei who was still standing there, "Anything else?"
Wu Weiwei waved his hand, "No, but Mr. Zhao said you don't like ginger, so he asked me to stay with you until you finish drinking it before leaving."
Chen Ling cast a sad look at Jiang Yu. Jiang Yu pursed his lips and indulged him without limit: "I can only drink one third for you."
Wu Weiwei was afraid that if he drank less, the effect would not be good, so he was about to move Zhao Xunchang out when he suddenly felt a chill on his back.
Knowing who was staring at him, he shrank his shoulders and whispered to Chen Ling: "Brother Jiang always pokes me with his eyes, I think he treats you the best."
Chen Ling felt so happy that he could even taste a hint of sweetness in the ginger soup he drank.
When the sun was about to set in the afternoon, Wu Weiwei's cell phone suddenly rang. The continuous alert sounds all came from the same person.
Chen Ling stood in front of the stone table feeding the parrot, raised his eyebrows, and urged him: "Hurry up and open it."
Principal Rong Xin was so anxious that he sent seven or eight messages in succession.
Can the exorcism be brought forward? I can pay extra!
Is your master free tonight? How about I drive to pick you up tonight
Mr. Wu, are you there
Are you there
Mr. Wu, please ask your master to take a look at this school. The school is haunted. If this continues, people will die!
…