Chen Yang put his hand into Du Shuo's palm, which was held tightly and pulled up. He patted his chest and asked, "Why are you here?"
Du Shuo glanced at him and said, "I saw you didn't bring an umbrella this morning, and I didn't see you when I came back. I guess you must be trapped in the school."
Chen Yang responded softly, "Oh." The two walked from the quiet school corridor to the staircase, and the sound of footsteps echoed clearly in the corridor. The lights on the stairs were induction lights, which kept flashing as the two walked by, accompanied by the sound of "sizzling" electricity. Chen Yang knew that there was a ghost, and he was stunned for a few seconds and looked at the calm Du Shuo. For some reason, he suddenly felt very safe, without fear or worry.
He quietly quickened his pace, followed Du Shuo, got close to him and walked side by side with him. Du Shuo saw all his small movements, but he just pretended not to see them. When they arrived at the door of the teaching building downstairs, the sky was still gloomy, and the heavy rain showed no sign of decreasing. Chen Yang looked at Du Shuo and found that he only had a big black umbrella, which meant that they had to share an umbrella. Would it be too crowded for two people
"Come here." Before Chen Yang could think, he walked over and was enclosed in the big black umbrella. He and Du Shuo were very close, and they could touch each other's shoulders with one step. Before he could say anything, Du Shuo stepped into the rain, and Chen Yang hurriedly followed him, stumbling a little. When their bodies touched, Chen Yang was not used to it and wanted to stay away as much as possible. He paid attention to the distance between the two people and ignored other things. He almost walked out of the black umbrella and was drenched by the heavy rain.
Without even looking at him, Du Shuo stretched out his long arms and hugged Chen Yang in front of him. The hand on his shoulder was as motionless as an iron hoop, and Chen Yang was directly hugged into his arms. He was stunned for a long time and didn't know how to react. When he raised his eyes, he only saw Du Shuo's profile and chin. The other party looked straight ahead, without looking at him, but he knew his movements and protected him very well.
Chen Yang blinked, and his hands, which he didn't know what to do, quietly grabbed the corner of Du Shuo's clothes. He lowered his head and leaned on his arm. He relaxed his vigilance and defense, and let Du Shuo lead the way.
Du Shuo lowered his eyes and glanced at Chen Yang, imagining the scene of him curled up beside him, and he actually found it very cute. A smile appeared in his eyes, and even the disturbing heavy rain curtain seemed to become less annoying. He asked, "Is it okay to walk back?"
Chen Yang shook his head: "If we walk back, it may take two hours. But there is a bus stop outside. We can take the bus across the bridge, get off at the intersection and walk home."
"good."
They walked out of the school gate, and the teaching building behind them stood in the hazy rain, casting a shadow. Some classrooms had lights on, but they suddenly went out when the two walked out of the school gate, as if there were people in the classrooms. Gray shadows did appear in the dozen windows that were immersed in darkness. Without exception, those shadows stared at Chen Yang at the school gate, unwilling and terrified.
Chen Yang and Du Shuo walked to the bus stop. When the latter put away the big black umbrella, he let go of Chen Yang's hand. Chen Yang immediately took two steps back to increase the distance between them. Du Shuo paused for a moment while putting away the umbrella, and then said, "Are you afraid of me?"
Chen Yang raised his eyes: "No." He looked at Du Shuo's back, thinking that the man in front of him was now his nominal ghost husband. His avoidance seemed a bit hurtful, so he lowered his head and said hesitantly: "I'm just not familiar with him."
"The bus is coming." Du Shuo suddenly said. Chen Yang also saw the bus slowly stop at the bus stop, and couldn't help feeling a little disappointed, wondering if Du Shuo had heard his explanation just now. The door opened, and Du Shuo said, "Get on board."
The two got in the car. There were not many people in the car. They all sat in the corners, either resting with their eyes closed or listening to music with headphones. The driver was concentrating on the road and did not even look at the two people who got in the car. Chen Yang suddenly felt strange. He was very sensitive to these things. Usually, what made him feel strange was encountering ghosts. He immediately grabbed Du Shuo and whispered, "I feel very strange. Get off the car. We will wait for the next one."
As soon as he finished speaking, the door closed immediately. The sound of "click" made Chen Yang's alertness reach the highest level, and then he saw the driver start the bus as if no one was there, not caring whether the passengers who just got on the bus were standing firmly. Chen Yang almost fell down due to inertia, and Du Shuo held his hand to stabilize his body. Just as he was about to break free, he was pulled to the back seat by Du Shuo. During this time, he passed by a long-haired girl sitting alone listening to headphones, a grocery shopping grandmother with her head down, a couple who fell asleep, and a young man looking out the window with his head facing someone.
There was no one in the back seat, so Du Shuo pulled Chen Yang to the back seat and they sat together. The big black umbrella was placed aside, and the water drops on the back of the black umbrella gathered at the tip of the umbrella, flowing onto the surface of the car and forming a pool of water. The "tick-tick" sound was particularly clear in the quiet car. Chen Yang moved his index finger slightly and suddenly realized that the tip of the umbrella was leaning against the ground, so where did the ticking sound come from
The sound of rain outside the car was blocked by the soundproof glass of the car window, leaving only a muffled sound. The clear sound of water was obviously coming from inside the car. Chen Yang looked up at the people in the car. Because he was sitting at the back, he could only see the heads and arms of a few people. He found nothing unusual. He thought for a moment, then lowered his eyes to the ground, and found black blood flowing under the driver's seat. The "tick, tick" sound of water drops came from him.
Chen Yang pursed his lips, frowned, and held the copper coin tightly. After a while, he felt Du Shuo's hand reaching out to hold his hand. Chen Yang looked over in surprise, and then heard him say, "Don't be afraid."
Chen Yang stared at him blankly for a long time, then retracted his gaze and looked at the big hand holding his back. The hand was very pale, with slender and strong fingers, more than one size larger than his. "I'm not scared."
Du Shuo lowered his head: "Hmm?"
"I'm not scared." He was just worried that Du Shuo would find him annoying, because so many ghosts appeared around him on the second day. Chen Yang was worried that Du Shuo would feel that he had taken on a big trouble, busy with Fengdu's affairs every day, and had to deal with ghosts that appeared around him when he returned to the world of the living. And these ghosts were very ferocious, biting his body and fate tightly and refusing to let go.
Although he didn't say anything, it seemed as if one could read his heart from his eyes. Du Shuo patted his hands: "Got it."
The bus drove across the bridge and arrived at the bus stop at the intersection. Chen Yang thought the ghost in the bus would never let go, but to his surprise, the bus really stopped at the bus stop. Before he could come to his senses, Du Shuo had already picked up the big black umbrella and led him out of the bus. The rain had subsided a little, there were not many pedestrians on the road, and the big trees were blown crooked in the same direction by the wind.
Du Shuo held up the umbrella, raised his hand, held Chen Yang in his arms and stepped into the rain: "Let's go."
Chen Yang looked back at the bus that was still standing there. He saw that the bus was instantly damaged and emitting white smoke. The front of the bus collapsed and the rear of the bus was on fire. The driver, whose head was cut off in half, and the passengers with broken limbs in the bus stared at them with resentment, unwillingness and fear in their eyes. After walking a little further, the bus started and gradually disappeared after moving forward two or three meters.
That was the bus of the dead. Chen Yang remembered that in mid-August, a bus also crashed into a cliff on a rainy day, killing the driver and six passengers in the car.
Both of them walked fast, and the station was not far from home. So they arrived home quickly. When Chen Yang entered the house, he found that the lights were not on. It was estimated that Grandpa Wu was still drunk and had not woken up. Chen Yang looked back and saw Du Shuo put away the black umbrella and put it in the bucket at the door. His shoulders were partially wet by the rain, and his trouser legs were also quite wet.
Although Du Shuo tilted the umbrella towards him, his upper body and schoolbag were not soaked by the water. However, the rain was too heavy and there was a lot of water on the road, so it was inevitable that his trouser legs would be splashed. Chen Yang: "I'll run you a hot bath, take a shower first."
He ran upstairs and filled the bathroom in his room with hot water. After testing the temperature, he asked Du Shuo to come in and take a shower. After hesitating, he asked him, "Do you have any clothes?"
Du Shuo stared at him with deep eyes: "No."
Chen Yang scratched his head, hesitated for a moment and said, "I made a set of undershirts for my dad before, but he never wore it. It should be about your size. I'll find it for you." After saying that, he turned around and wanted to look for it in his parents' bedroom. After walking a few steps, he turned back and said, "Wash it first."
He found a set of undershirts in his parents' bedroom. Although it had been there for a long time, he was used to taking them out every once in a while to wash and dry them in the sun. He smelled it and it smelled like clean laundry detergent. He took the clothes and the unused men's underwear back to his room with confidence. He heard the sound of water in the bathroom, so he knocked on the door and whispered, "I brought the clothes. Please take them."
Soon, the bathroom door was opened a crack, and hot air rushed to Chen Yang's face. A wet hand stretched out: "Where is it?" Chen Yang handed him the clothes and sat back on the bright red wedding bed. There were still Chinese characters for "囍" on the wall, and a bright red quilt cover embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water. It was obvious that this was a wedding room.
Chen Yang shook his legs, coughed a few times, and took out his books from his schoolbag to prepare for his lessons. Just as he was preparing for math, he heard the bathroom door open. Du Shuo came out with wet hair and an expressionless face. He stood in front of Chen Yang and handed him a towel: "Help me wipe my hair."
"Oh." Chen Yang took the towel and suddenly realized, why should he wipe Du Shuo's hair? Du Shuo's attitude was very natural, as if this was normal. Chen Yang, who couldn't understand it after thinking about it, helped Du Shuo wipe his wet hair and found that his messy hair looked funny. Even with a cold face, he didn't look as imposing as usual, making people afraid to approach him.
Chen Yang asked: "Does the dress still fit?"
Du Shuo frowned: "It's a bit short." The sleeves of his shirt only reached his wrists, and his pants only reached his ankles. He frowned again, feeling a little uncomfortable: "Hmm."
Chen Yang reacted, coughed twice and said, "I'll make two sets for you next time, ahem... buy you some new underwear."
Du Shuo sat in the seat where Chen Yang had sat before. Seeing the books on the table, he asked, "What are your homework?"
"Yeah. The second year of high school is very close to the third year, and the college entrance examination is coming soon. I want to prepare in advance so that I can review and prepare for the college entrance examination. And I was always teased by ghosts in school before, so I couldn't study. So I got used to preparing at home."
Du Shuo flipped through the textbook, tapped the table with his index finger, and asked, "You haven't learned Taoism?"
"I learned it." Chen Yang said, "When I was teased by ghosts in class, I would secretly hide away to learn Taoism, and review it when I got home. Fortunately, the homework was not too difficult, and I had to study Taoism at night. Otherwise, I would have died long ago." When he mentioned being teased by ghosts, he did not have any resentment, and his tone was mostly self-deprecating.
Du Shuo pointed out bluntly: "Your Taoist skills are very poor."
Chen Yang smiled embarrassedly: "I have poor talent and am not suitable for learning Taoism. Sometimes I seem to understand some Taoism, but I just can't use it."
Du Shuo remained silent and did not respond. In fact, Chen Yang's talent was as special as his fate. He was suitable for practicing the ghost way, and Wu Kui was the master who practiced the ghost way. However, he did not teach Chen Yang to practice the ghost way but only taught him some basics. It was not that Wu Kui was cruel and did not teach Chen Yang to protect himself, but it was precisely to protect him that he did not teach him the ghost way.
People with strange yin fates were already considered ominous people to be killed immediately by Fengdu, not to mention that if they dared to practice ghost magic, they would not even live to adulthood. If Chen Yang really practiced ghost magic, Du Shuo would never show mercy to him when he met him for the first time and became curious.
Chen Yang: "Please put your original clothes in the bathroom. I will wash them together later."
Du Shuo: “Yeah.”
Grandpa Wu woke up from his drunken stupor and found the lights in the living room were on. Then he saw that the lights in Chen Yang's room were also on, so he guessed that he was back. So he went upstairs, knocked on the door, opened it and said, "Yang Yang, how about we make eight-treasure rice tonight!!! What are you doing?!!!"
Chen Yang was slightly surprised, still holding the towel in his hand. He blinked in confusion, thinking they didn't do anything.
Grandpa Wu was so angry that his face turned green. He walked in and pulled Chen Yang behind him. He stared at Du Shuo. At this moment, he felt as if his innocent son who was raised in the boudoir was pried away by his mortal enemy Lao Wang next door. He felt uncomfortable and angry: "You didn't keep your promise!"
Chen Yang tugged at Grandpa Wu's sleeve: "What's wrong?"
Grandpa Wu was heartbroken and said, "Why did you let him into your room?"
Chen Yang's face was full of confusion: "It's okay. I just wiped his hair." In his heart, he regarded Du Shuo as his benefactor. Although he always felt a little awkward because he had prayed to heaven and earth, the benefactor factor was more important.
Grandpa Wu spat: "Take off all your clothes!" Are you still far from going to bed
Chen Yang smiled and said, "I forgot to bring an umbrella, so he went to school to pick me up. He was soaking wet when he came back, so I asked him to take a shower and gave him the shirt I had made for my dad to change into."
"Still taking a shower here? Isn't there a bathroom downstairs?"
“The bathrooms upstairs and downstairs are the same.”
It's totally different. Grandpa Wu thought angrily, looking at Du Shuo with suspicion on his face. The latter glanced at him indifferently, frankly and freely, mixed with a hint of disdain, as if mocking his dirty thoughts. Thinking back to when they just opened the door, there was no ambiguity in the atmosphere between the two of them, everything was very frank, could it be that he really thought too much
Grandpa Wu covered his chest and said, "I always feel uneasy."
Chen Yang: "You've drunk too much." He pushed Grandpa Wu out of the room and took him downstairs: "I'll make some hangover soup. Don't drink secretly while I'm at school. If you do that, I'll be angry."
Grandpa Wu: "Okay, okay, I drink it once in a while, not often."
"You drank secretly when I was not around, and the aunt next door told me. You did something wrong and you don't admit it?" Chen Yang was really angry. Grandpa Wu kept silent and did not dare to deny it anymore, so he had to admit his mistake.
Du Shuo couldn't help but smile when listening to the conversation between the father and the son, and then he thought of the ghosts he encountered today when he went to pick up Chen Yang. It was just a rainy day, but there were so many ghosts and monsters surrounding him. If he didn't go today and Wu Kui didn't go either, wouldn't he be in a desperate situation? Does he often encounter such things? It must be, otherwise his reaction would not be so calm. When he returned home, he actually noticed his half-wet clothes and ran the bath water for him to take a bath.
He is so well-behaved that it makes people feel soft-hearted. It would be a pity if he was really killed by ghosts.
If it was Chen Yang, letting him practice ghost magic would only make him grow better.
Chen Yang cooked a hangover soup for Grandpa Wu, forced him to drink it, searched for bottles of wine from all over the house, hid them, and ordered him not to drink for a short period of time. Then he took a shower and changed clothes, and came back to make dinner. After dinner, he came out to the living room and read a Taoist book seriously. Du Shuo and Grandpa Wu were in the courtyard, and the rain had stopped.
Du Shuo: "You didn't tell him that learning those Taoist techniques was a waste of effort."
Grandpa Wu snorted coldly: "Yangyang has good talent. Even if he uses the wrong method, those simple spells can save him at the critical moment."
"Then you shouldn't have lied to him."
"Who made me not dare to teach him the ways of ghosts?" Grandpa Wu said sarcastically.
Du Shuo was silent for a while and then said, "You can teach him now."
Grandpa Wu was stunned, his heart was filled with turmoil, but his face was cold and alert: "You really don't have any thoughts about Yangyang?"
Du Shuo glared at him coldly, his eyes almost turning into tangible ice knives and frost swords. "You are disrespectful to the elderly."
Grandpa Wu reacted and said respectfully: "I am definitely not as good as you. You are highly respected and set an example. I will definitely follow your example. You must treat Yangyang as your grandchild. Haha, I know that old people like such well-behaved grandchildren." He sighed and said: "Sometimes Yangyang is so well-behaved that people can't bear to abandon him. Not to mention, all the old people in the village like Yangyang. If it weren't for his horoscope, Yangyang would definitely be very lively now."
Du Shuo did regard Chen Yang as a junior, but after hearing what Wu Kui said, he always felt unhappy. He attributed this to Wu Kui's unpleasant appearance, and said with his hands behind his back: "From now on, you can teach him ghost magic." He seemed to remember that Wu Kui's death was coming, and after a pause, he said: "If Chen Yang learns to control and kill ghosts, and his character remains unchanged, I will teach him."
If he could be taught by the Emperor of Fengdu, it would be a great fortune for Chen Yang. Upon hearing this, Grandpa Wu bowed again and said sincerely: "If Yang Yang can live past the age of 18, I will let Yang Yang worship you as his godfather and worship you devoutly." In the world of the living, there is a custom of worshipping the King of Hell, Lu Pan, the City God, the Emperor of Fengdu, etc. as godfathers. If both parties agree, Chen Yang will worship Du Shuo as his father in the future.
At this time, Grandpa Wu was also keeping an eye on it. If Chen Yang could really worship Fengdu Emperor as his godfather, then even if the two of them dissolved their marriage after the age of 18, they could still continue to receive the Emperor's blessing. Such a thick thigh, naturally, cannot be easily missed.
Du Shuo replied in a deep voice: "No need." He felt upset again. This time he was sure that Wu Kui was really unpleasant.
Grandpa Wu was a little disappointed, but soon became happy again. Being able to receive instruction from the Great Emperor of Fengdu, and the fact that they had been married before, ghosts and monsters dared not disturb him. At least, he could be sure that nothing would happen to Chen Yang in the future. As soon as he was happy, he returned to his room, took the Taoist book from Chen Yang's hand and told him: "Yang Yang, Grandpa Wu will teach you the ghost Taoist magic from today on, and you must study hard."
Chen Yang didn't know the magic of ghosts, but seeing Grandpa Wu was serious, he nodded and said, "Okay."
After that, Grandpa Wu taught Chen Yang everything he could and couldn't teach. He also recorded all the Taoist techniques he didn't know in a booklet, fearing that Chen Yang might have missed some techniques, and even asked the person in the ancient tomb to mail him new ghost techniques. He didn't live long, and couldn't stay in the world for long, so he naturally gave Chen Yang everything he could while he was still alive.
Fortunately, even if he was not here, Chen Yang was smart enough to figure it out on his own. Even if he couldn't figure it out, there was still Du Shuo.
Chen Yang knew that Grandpa Wu was going to die, but he didn't expect that it would come just as winter began. The incident happened suddenly, and the weather turned cold at night. He got up, took out his quilt and went downstairs to Grandpa Wu's room because he was worried that Grandpa Wu would get drunk again and forget to cover himself with the quilt.
After he covered himself with the quilt, he stood up and walked to the door. Grandpa Wu turned on the light behind him and called him: "Yangyang, come and talk to Grandpa Wu."
Chen Yang pulled a chair to the bedside and sat down: "You go ahead."
Grandpa Wu asked him, "How is your magic learning going? Have any ghosts bothered you recently?"
Chen Yang shook his head and said happily, "I have almost mastered it. Yesterday, I encountered a ghost that wanted to kill me in the back mountain of the school. I used magic to send it into reincarnation."
"Not killed directly?"
"No. I've seen it before, it has never harmed anyone. It would be too cruel to just let it turn into ashes. If you can help it to reincarnate, then let it go."
Grandpa Wu smiled. He was relieved that Chen Yang did not take his anger and hatred towards ghosts because of his previous experience. However, he warned: "Ghosts are just like people. Some are kind, some are mean, and some are violent. You must never be soft-hearted towards evil ghosts. You cannot believe what they say. They are not kind at all. Kill them immediately if you see them!"
Chen Yang: "I know."
Grandpa Wu thought about it, his expression became more serious, and he lowered his voice to warn: "Respect Da more in daily life - respect Dushuo more, respect him as you respect your grandfather and your father."
Chen Yang: “Ah?”
Grandpa Wu patted Chen Yang's arm, with a look of "seeing through everything" on his face: "Trust me, it's right."
Chen Yang: “…Oh.”
"Go back to sleep." Grandpa Wu waved his hand and told Chen Yang to go back. Chen Yang took a few steps and stopped at the door. He suddenly felt a sense of loss as if he was about to lose something important, and looked back at Grandpa Wu.
Grandpa Wu lay on the bed and watched him go, his eyes were very calm, as if he was about to go to a feast but was in a calm mood. He smoothed the wrinkles on his clothes and strode forward without fear or retreat.
Chen Yang: "Good night, Grandpa Wu."
"Good night."
This was the last time Chen Yang heard Grandpa Wu say goodbye. Because the next day, Grandpa Wu lay in bed, wearing his best clothes, with his eyes closed and a smile on his face, and he passed away peacefully.
Chen Yang covered his face with his eyes, knelt at the head of the bed, and cried silently. Du Shuo stood at the door for a long time, sighed silently, and finally walked in with a soft heart. He carefully held Chen Yang in his arms and said to him: "Don't be sad, I'm still here."
The author has something to say: Grandpa Wu: I will die with my eyes open!
There should be probably two or one chapters about Yang Yang and the Emperor, and then there will be the chapters about Lao Kou, Zhang Qiudao and the others.
Yangyang’s bridal chamber car will definitely be posted on Weibo, but not so soon. I’ll notify you if it’s posted.