If one of them is a ghost, he will be swallowed up and nothing will be left. Tang Ning swallowed and asked quietly, "What should I do?"
"Have you ever raised fish?" Lin Yun asked.
"I did." Tangning was a little confused. She didn't understand why Lin Yun suddenly asked this question, but she replied seriously, "Little goldfish. Later I got a cat and gave the fish away."
Lin Yun and Tang Ning stared at each other for a few seconds. Only those clear eyes could see his face, which was incredibly clean. He heard himself ask, "Have you ever been in a relationship?"
Tangning was stunned for a moment, then nodded awkwardly, "We have talked about it."
"How many?" Lin Yun asked.
Tangning was silent for a while, and inexplicably felt like playing both sides of the fence: "Two."
"Will you hold the water? Do the same thing twice, don't be too biased towards one side." Lin Yun seemed calm: "I'm not sure what the impact of close contact with them will be, so I suggest that if you kiss one of them, don't leave out the other one."
Tangning opened her eyes wide, not quite believing what she had heard.
Lin Yun pointed out: "The ghost groom kissed me yesterday. For the sake of balance, when Ji Lianyun shows up, it's best to kiss him back."
After a pause, Lin Yun said, "The same is true if we take things a step further."
Tang Ning was completely stunned.
"What's wrong?" In fact, Lin Yun could tell at a glance that Tangning and the ghost groom had not made any progress. It wasn't because he had a sharp eye, but Tangning's physique-
Her voice was not hoarse, she could still walk on her own, her back was straight, and she was as pretty as a little swan, without any notice.
Tang Ning shook his head quickly.
He bit his lip and ultimately didn't tell anyone what that person had done.
"It's not easy to get things out of the well." Lin Yun suggested: "Let's pick up the pearls first."
In the early morning, before the sun rose, there was fog all around. The windows and doors of the houses were closed. Red lanterns were hung on the dead trees. The gray tones made them stand out in the village.
As Tang Ning passed by each house, he felt a slight chill creeping down his back. He reflected on the scene in the mirror: windows and eaves were hung with pale corpses, looking miserable and filled with resentment. Reason told Tang Ning not to go, not to go, but when the muscles on his back trembled to the extreme, Tang Ning could not help but glance back.
Nothing.
The empty house whimpered as the morning breeze blew through it.
Tang Ning turned back quickly, his entire body tensing up without him noticing.
He felt a little safer only when he walked between Ji Ke and Lin Yun. There is a thing called "human aura", which refers to the breath of a living person. This aura can dispel some coldness just like the sun.
If possible, Tang Ning really wanted to walk hand in hand with either Ji Ke or Lin Yunzhong. He really couldn't walk through the village with a normal mentality after the horrific scene last night.
But Ji Ke and Lin Yun had to squat down to pick up pearls, so they had no time to take care of him. The pearls were scattered in every corner, in the abandoned farmland, on the abandoned millstone, and in front of the steps covered with fallen leaves.
Time was running out, they had to get back to Tangjia Village as soon as possible, and Tang Ning didn't want to hold everyone back because of his fear.
He clenched his fists, trying to suppress the weak trembling that had spread throughout his body. Tang Ning squatted on the ground with difficulty and reached out to touch a pearl.
The moment his fingertips touched the pearl, the figure of a ghost child lying on the ground playing with pearls suddenly appeared. He reached out and dug out his eyeball, put the pearl into his eye socket, and then handed the eyeball to Tang Ning with a grin.
Tang Ning's legs went weak and he collapsed from his half-squatting position.
"What's wrong?" Ji Ke had been paying attention to Tang Ning. He picked up a handful of pearls and stuffed them into his bag, then asked Tang Ning.
Tangning raised her head stiffly, and witnessed a scene she would never forget.
Behind Ji Ke, there was a row of blue and white ghost children. They were like the chicks playing "Eagle Catches Chicken". The little hands behind them were on the bodies of the ones in front, and one hand after another fell directly on Ji Ke's legs.
"My legs are a bit numb after squatting for so long?" Ji Ke said as he hammered his leg. The ghost children behind him turned their heads and gave Tang Ning a weird smile.
Tangning couldn't utter a single word.
"What's wrong?" Lin Yun, who was bending over to pick up pearls, also asked.
The ghost boy sitting on Lin Yun's shoulder swung his legs and reached out to grab the pearl in Lin Yun's hand with a smile. When the pearl was put into the bag by Lin Yun, the ghost boy who was still smiling in the last second turned his face pale in the next second, and stared at Lin Yun who was unaware with resentful eyes.
Tangning seemed to be unable to breathe. He propped himself up on the ground with his hands and said in a trembling voice, "Don't pick it up anymore."
All the ghost children turned their heads and stared at Tang Ning.
Only then did Tang Ning realize how naive Lin Yun's previous method was.
They were unable to intervene in the struggle between Ji Lianyun and the ghost groom from beginning to end.
"Throw them all away." Tangning tried hard to keep her voice in tune.
After he said this, all the ghost children looked at him with hatred, as if Tangning was the culprit who stole their toys.
Pearls were scattered all over the floor. Ji Ke and Lin Yun silently pulled up the limp Tang Ning, and walked back with her on each side.
Tang Ning's legs were as weak as noodles and tears of fear welled up in the corners of his eyes. He didn't want to go back, but now it seemed that he was the only one who could do this.
Tang Ning turned around tremblingly, stiffly, and slowly. His long legs were filled with small blue-white bodies. They were covered in a faint mist, but their cold and resentful gazes pierced through the morning mist and fixed on Tang Ning!
Tang Ning's soul screamed, he turned back trembling, and met the sinister face of the ghost boy in front of him.
The way back is also blocked!
No! Don't go there!
His limp body suddenly regained strength, and Tangning grabbed Ji Ke and Lin Yun who were still trying to move forward. He had to stretch his hands very low to touch their hands.
Tangning was stunned for a moment, holding two small green hands.
The ghost children on both sides were looking up and grinning at him.
Finished.
A chill filled Tang Ning's body.
"Cough, cough, cough." A weak cough was heard, and the voice was a little hoarse. "Why did someone come outside?"
As the voice appeared, all the ghost children disappeared. Tang Ning looked up blankly. Ji Lianyun, who looked sick, clenched his fists, put them to his lips, and coughed weakly.
It seemed as if a gust of morning wind could blow her down. Ji Lianyun slowly walked in front of Tangning, took off his coat, and gently draped it over Tangning's shoulders, "Your face looks so cold, aren't you cold?"
Tangning grabbed Ji Lianyun's hand with trembling hands.
The hand was cool, not too hot after being bedridden for so many years, but when I held it tightly, I could feel a faint warmth.
"Your hands are so cold." Ji Lianyun held Tangning's hand and blew on it gently. He asked softly, "Are you doing this outside by yourself?"
"Picking pearls." Tang Ning said breathlessly.
"I feel very tired after getting up." Ji Lianyun stretched out his arms and hugged Tangning, "Do you want to go back to the room and rest for a while?"
Tang Ning leaned on Ji Lianyun's shoulder like a boneless person, and pressed his whole body against Ji Lianyun, not even wanting to consider whether the other party's weak body could bear his weight.
"No." His voice was still light and trembling, but it showed that he was not stubborn. A little water seeped through his eyelashes, and Tangning's wetness rubbed against Ji Lianyun's clothes, "I want to be with you."
Ji Lian looked at Tangning for a while, then coughed slightly and said, "Okay."
They walked back for a distance, and Tang Ning saw Lin Yun with a talisman on his forehead, and Ji Ke with grayish-white powder sprinkled on his body.
When Ji Lianyun appeared, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Lin Yun and Ji Ke took off their gear, and everyone silently picked up pearls from the ground. The scattered pearls on the ground were put into Ji Lianyun's pocket.
"Cough cough." Ji Lianyun kept coughing. Tang Ning nervously went to Ji Lianyun and received a reassuring look from him. "Are you hungry?" Ji Lianyun asked softly.
Tang Ning hadn't eaten anything all day except for that glass of wine. His stomach was numb from hunger. Only after Ji Lianyun said that did he react and hurried to order.
"I'll make some porridge for you later. It'll warm your stomach." Ji Lianyun said attentively.
Tangning tried harder. His psychological defenses that were about to collapse were rebuilt by Ji Lianyun's caring words. His pale face turned a little red. He whispered, "The rest of the betrothal gifts are in the well."
Ji Lianyun nodded slightly when he heard this. He did not ask why, but just said calmly: "Okay, I understand."
He took out a piece of chocolate from his pocket, tore off the wrapper and put it next to Tangning's mouth, "Eat a little first, it will fill your stomach."
Tang Ning opened his mouth and took a bite. The sweet taste spread across his lips and teeth, giving his weak body some strength.
"Can you still walk by yourself?" Ji Lianyun asked.
Tang Ning ordered quickly.
Ji Lianyun said softly: "I'm sorry, if I feel better, I can carry you on my back."
—“No, it’s already very good!”
Tang Ning held the chocolate in his mouth and said nothing, but his eyes clearly conveyed his meaning to Ji Lianyun.
Ji Lianyun smiled slightly. He held Tang Ning's hand and walked with Tang Ning in the quiet village. This time, Tang Ning did not feel the trembling feeling of being noticed.
There are still empty houses and red lanterns waving constantly, but all of this has become ordinary and dull.
After a while, they walked past the well.
Ji Lianyun stood beside the well for a while, his eyes as calm as water, and then he threw the bucket in. Not long after, he salvaged a pile of wet jewels.
The jewels were all wet. Ji Lianyun lowered his eyes and glanced at them. He did not touch them himself, but let Ji Ke and Lin Yun do the hard work. He then held Tang Ning's hand as if he was holding the most precious treasure here.
Those eyes looked at Tangning intently. He asked softly, "Do you want sweet porridge or salty porridge?"