Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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At this moment, Ma Xiaochuan, who had arrived late, happened to run into Bao Yuesheng’s lover. She was tearful and looked unhappy.
The lover glanced at Ma Xiaochuan but didn’t bother to argue with him. She just covered her mouth and walked away.
As soon as Ma Xiaochuan entered the room, Bao Yuesheng immediately said to him, “My head hurts! They’re coming, they’re coming for me! And there’s a skull in her belly!”
The family doctor’s hair stood on end, and his movements froze for a moment.
“What kind of pain is it?” Ma Xiaochuan asked seriously.
Bao Yuesheng stroked his head, which was slowly relieving from the painkiller injection, and muttered with his eyes closed, “It feels like my head’s about to split open. It hurts everywhere, from inside my head, to my eye sockets, my teeth… It hurts so much…”
He shuddered at the memory of that pain.
Ma Xiaochuan’s face twisted, and he suddenly leaned over to pick up something from his pillow and said, “It feels like a plant has taken root in my head.”
Bao Yuesheng paused, opened his eyes, and his gaze fell on his hand, his pupils shrinking instantly.
It was a leaf, a very familiar shape. Bao Yuesheng had many such plants in his garden.
And beneath those plants, several skulls had once been buried.
Suddenly, the image of countless plant roots clinging to the skull, extending from its dark eye sockets and mouth, surfaced in Bao Yuesheng’s mind.
Of course, he knew the principles of skull magic: plants were planted on skulls holding trapped souls. As the plants grew, their roots pierced through the skulls, tormenting those souls so agonizingly that they could no longer be controlled. For months and years, there was no escape.
However, he had never imagined what kind of pain that would be. Now he knew it could bring him to his knees in less than half an hour.
Instead of taking lives directly, was it a tooth-for-tooth approach?
So, how long would this torture last?
Bao Yuesheng’s face was distorted beyond recognition, his heart pounding. “No—”
Ma Xiaochuan, uneasy at his appearance, took a step back. Inside the closed window, another leaf fluttered from nowhere, brushing against his face. His expression suddenly changed.
….
Xie Lingya was on the phone with Ning Wanlai, who revealed that the underworld had issued an order allowing the souls of those who died under the skull technique to return to the human world for revenge, and had even sent ghost messengers to follow them. He was an experienced ghost messenger, and he likely knew all the tricks of the human world.
“I was saying…someone came here again today and even asked the leaders of the relevant departments to intercede, hoping to remove our old idol,” Xie Lingya said, understandingly. “I did some divination later, and it was most likely Bao Yuesheng’s order.”
“Teacher Xie, wealth and honor cannot corrupt, poverty and humbleness cannot move and might and power cannot bend!” Ning Wanlai said.
“Do I need you to remind me?” Xie Lingya said seriously, “Just focus on the case. I’m not going to talk anymore, I have something else to do.”
When Ning Wanlai heard that he was busy, he naturally didn’t dare to disturb him and quickly hung up the phone.
Xie Lingya stood up and fixed his hair in front of the mirror. He and Shi Changxuan had an appointment to go out on a date today. The two of them usually had classes or were busy in the Taoist temple. Although they spent a lot of time together and even slept in the same bed at night, they didn’t have many opportunities to go out on a date.
Even now, the Taoist temple was only just closed, and Xie Lingya finished his homework before going out. So it was already past eight o’clock.
The two went to see a movie and then walked side by side on the street and started talking about the horror movie they had just watched.
“It was quite scary, people’s imagination is much scarier than real ghosts.” Xie Lingya said with emotion.
Shi Changxuan rarely complained, “There was a loophole.”
“Are you talking about the Taoist priest in it?” Xie Lingya laughed, “This is probably inevitable. The crew may not be able to find a Taoist priest who can really exorcise ghosts.”
The two of them walked to the vicinity of Zhuyang Gymnasium unknowingly. They saw that at this time, there were still many people near the gymnasium, and it was very lively. Most of them were young people, dressed quite exaggeratedly, and holding light boards, banners and other things in their hands.
“Well, is there a concert today?” Xie Lingya glanced at him. “Oh, just in time. I need to go to the bathroom. Let’s go inside.”
They walked into the gymnasium. It was just after the concert and there were many people queuing for the bathroom. Even the men’s room had a line.
“Our school held a sports meet here before. I remember there were bathrooms upstairs.” Xie Lingya simply walked towards the elevator.
The Zhuyang Gymnasium, including the basement, had six floors. Xie Lingya went straight to the top floor.
Shi Changxuan stood waiting for him at the door. As expected, there was no one here and it was very quiet.
Xie Lingya washed his hands and wiped them as he walked out. He looked down from the window and saw many audience members who had left the concert below, their glow sticks flickering. From above, they looked like a river.
“Let’s come to a concert next time,” Xie Lingya said with a smile. “It’s quite lively.”
Most of the things they did together were different from those done by ordinary couples, so there was a special feeling of cherishment in these mundane things. They walked all the way here and were now reluctant to go back.
“Hmm.” Shi Changxuan took Xie Lingya’s hand, his fingers weaving between his, a gentle invasion. They interlocked their fingers, then pressed the elevator button and stepped tenderly.
As the elevator doors opened, they saw a man standing in the corner, his face as pale as paper, his face devoid of color. His eyes were mostly white, with less black. Clearly, he couldn’t really be called a man, but a male ghost.
Xie Lingya was caught off guard, his heart skipping a beat.
“…Why is a date like this?” Xie Lingya grumbled quietly after recovering.
Shi Changxuan was also speechless. The two exchanged glances, then stepped into the elevator, pretending not to see the male ghost.
Because of the structure of the elevator shaft, some recently deceased ghosts, still confused, might mistake it for the underworld. This was why many places didn’t have eighteen floors, to prevent ghosts from straying.
On such a beautiful day, Xie Lingya didn’t want to deal with ghosts anymore. He stood inside, staring at the floor numbers as if nothing had happened.
The elevator stopped at the third floor. Before the door opened, Xie Lingya heard a commotion outside. Perhaps some audience members had gone to the upper floors to use the restroom.
Xie Lingya pressed the close button frantically. The ghost thought it was going to the underworld, so it revealed its form. It would be fine if he and Shi Changxuan saw it, but ordinary people would be scared to death if they saw it!
The elevator door opened a little and then quickly closed. At this time, a light board was inserted and blocked the door. “Hey, hey, why are you closing it? Don’t you see there is someone?”
Xie Lingya’s face darkened. The ghost didn’t mean to scare people, so how could he appease both parties…
The elevator door was blocked and opened again, revealing five or six young people outside, both men and women. Some had purple hair, some had gray hair, and all wore strange makeup. Some wore red contact lenses, some wore white contact lenses in one eye, and some even had bloodstains on their faces.
They were all holding all kinds of support items in their hands. The most exaggerated one was wearing a small tank top, her cleavage almost exposed, and a string of colorful lights wrapped around her body, like a Christmas tree, probably to attract the attention of her idol.
These young people with exaggerated styles only glanced at the male ghost in the corner, looked away without caring, and stepped into the elevator.
“…………” Xie Lingya watched helplessly as these people ignored the eerie and terrifying ghost in the corner and walked in.
One of the girls, whose lips were also painted purple, complained to Xie Lingya, “Handsome boy, why are you in such a hurry to close the door?”
Xie Lingya was speechless for a long time before saying, “…Today is a rock concert, right?”
This made sense. Compared to them, the male ghost’s appearance was so weak! No wonder he couldn’t scare anyone!
He worried for nothing!!
“Yeah, aren’t you here for a concert?”
“Today’s Liberty’s concert! I came all the way here!”
“Oh, I think I’ve heard of this band. They’re pretty popular lately,” Xie Lingya replied dryly. “The songs are good.”
He thought to himself, if the two weren’t related, nothing would happen. It’s just a few floors. We’ll be fine once we get out of the elevator…
“Of course,” the fans cheered again. “Mu Song sang so well, okay? I’m so excited—”
With the word “excited,” the elevator came to an abrupt stop!
Everyone swayed, almost losing their balance. The lights flickered a few times, and the elevator was plunged into darkness, illuminated only by the signboards, colored lights, and glow sticks. The display was otherwise blank.
“Holy shit, the elevator’s broken?” the excited fans wailed.
Xie Lingya and Shi Changxuan’s hearts skipped a beat. They turned to see the male ghost standing in the corner, his head lowered, their expression unclear.
“Press the emergency button!” Someone reached for the button.
After pressing the button, there was no other reaction, but the words reappeared on the display. The number representing the floor jumped rapidly and finally stopped at “18[1]“.
….
Everyone was stunned. Are you kidding? Where did the eighteenth floor of the Zhuyang Gymnasium come from?
The atmosphere in the originally noisy elevator was a bit weird. No matter how bold they were, they felt uncomfortable seeing this number that had some meaning in traditional Chinese culture. Even if the elevator was broken, it was too unlucky!
Xie Lingya leaned his head weakly on Shi Changxuan’s shoulder next to him, thinking sadly, I just want to have a date safely.
Shi Changxuan hugged his shoulders with one hand and patted him twice to comfort him.
The girl’s face was glowing green under the light of the sign as she said faintly: “Handsome boy, you gays are so excessive. You still have to show your affection at this time…”
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[1] In some traditions, 18 is considered unlucky because it represents the 18 levels of hell.