Chapter 31

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

Original Title: 挖坟挖出鬼

Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural, Yaoi

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter Index

Chapter 31

“Stop staring. It’s not like I can run away.” Lin Yan couldn’t help muttering.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” He grabbed Xiao Yu’s wrist. Hadn’t they buried the hatchet?

“I said I wouldn’t drive you away.”

Xiao Yu turned his head and looked out the window like he couldn’t hear him. For some reason, Lin Yan felt that his demeanour made him look sad, like the shadow standing alone under a street lamp on a rainy night, waiting for him quietly outside the car window for the day that he opened the door.

However, there had been some strange developments during this period. Lin Yan found that when he was concentrating, he could close his eyes and perceive a greenish-black shadow in Xiao Yu’s direction. The butterfly orchid on the windowsill had a warm, pale yellow glow floating around it, but it was much fainter than the one he had seen around the little Daoist priest on the mountain. Lin Yan found an explanation for this in a journal devoted to Daoism. All living creatures in the world have yang energy. When ghosts pretend to be human, looking at their aura of yin-yang energy can usually break the illusion.

In ancient times, this ability was called “Opening the Third Eye.” It usually took a long time to practice and it was extremely rare to acquire it accidentally like Lin Yan had. He sighed as he stared at the dream-repellent talisman on the paper and thought that this was a good thing. The next time he came across a strange person, he’d be able to tell whether they were alive or dead, meaning he wouldn’t get tricked by the little girl again.

Since the little girl had shown up Lin Yan and Xiao Yu were basically inseparable, which really made him feel embarrassed. He wasn’t sure why but Xiao Yu’s presence seemed to have completely aroused his hidden desires. Lin Yan couldn’t remember ever having these kinds of urges before. Now, he was taunted by the slender figure in front of him, and he had to rush to the washroom for the third time to relieve his uncomfortable situation.

After a steamy dream, the habits he had abandoned during his adolescence suddenly made a resurgence. Lin Yan locked the bathroom door, pressing himself against the door and wrapped his fingers around his shaft. He slowly reached moved to the tip, pressing it, rubbing it; the whole thing feeling like it was on fire. Lin Yan bit his fist and muffled a groan, impatiently adding more pressure. When he stroked the underside, the top pulsed painfully. When he stroked the topside, the emptiness underneath him made it so uncomfortable he could cry. Nothing he did was enough to satisfy him. He held onto the sink to catch his breath and roughly splashed his face with cold water to extinguish the heat in his belly. “You pervert,” Lin Yan scolded himself, staring at his reflection in the mirror.

Fortunately, Xiao Yu didn’t stick to him like he did before. He even took the initiative to stay by his side a few times and he never moved to avoid him. Lin Yan wiped his hands with a towel and suddenly remembered what time it was, making him slightly aggravated.

Professor File Folder’s secretary had called him a few days later than planned while Lin Yan was in the middle of being constantly tortured. When he heard the sweet female voice on the phone, a shock of fear ran through him. Since the girl in red had appeared, he was instinctively wary of any female stranger. The female secretary said somewhat apologetically that the team had just returned from a business trip with the feng shui master, and was finishing the roster of the Ming tomb archaeology artifacts.

“It’s a bit late today. Are you free tomorrow or the day after tomorrow? You can come directly to the institute to see the materials you need.”

“Let’s do it tomorrow.” Lin Yan casually drew a talisman on the paper, a charm meant for deception. “I can come at 10 o'clock if that works for you.”

“That works.” The female secretary paused: “Umm… can you not tell the professor that I’m just calling you now? I’ve only been here for a short while, it’d be embarrassing if he found out.”

Lin Yan hung up the phone and saved the secretary’s number on his phone. When he looked up again, Xiao Yu was still sitting in the same posture, as if he didn’t care about that discussion at all. He threw the pen into the sofa and rubbed his forehead against Xiao Yu’s shoulder. He murmured: “I found something that might explain your situation. Come with me tomorrow?”

Xiao Yu’s eyes went cold. Lin Yan guessed that he would react that way. He sighed and said: “I know you don’t like it, but I think this whole thing started when I entered your tomb. The two of us are connected, and now even Second Immortal Gu’s spirit is being dragged into it. As the saying goes, it is better to take the initiative than wait around for death to show up. Maybe the person who brought me to your tomb will know something.”

“It’s dangerous.” Xiao Yu frowned.

“I know.” Lin Yan dragged his pillow into his arms. He thought for a second: “I still have you. Really, you make me feel much safer.”

Xiao Yu didn’t deny it. He gently touched Lin Yan’s hair, with something he couldn’t read hidden in his deep eyes. Lin Yan grew anxious and subconsciously grabbed Xiao Yu’s wrist. He asked: “You’ll come with me, right?”

Xiao Yu remained silent for a while and then nodded.

———

When he brought A-Yan some dinner, Lin Yan mentioned how he was being forced by Xiao Yu to learn Daoism at home. The little Daoist priest was so excited that he didn’t even touch his dinner, instead pestering him to share more details. The books made Daoism out to be much simpler than it truly was. Each spell required a focused mindset in order for it to work. The most talented people only tracing out the symbol might get a measly tenth of the intended effect, but most would only get a scrap of useless paper.

“I-I’ll teach you when I get out of the hospital.” The little Daoist’s pale face flushed with excitement and his eyes were gleamed brightly: “It won’t be as good as my master’s lessons, but it should be fine for a beginner.”

Lin Yan didn’t know how to react. He lay down on the next hospital bed with his head resting on his arms, staring at the ceiling of the room in a daze. He said that he was unlucky enough. Not long ago, he was sitting in his classroom and talking about his archaeological experience with the shy girls in the class, freaking them out whenever he mentioned the corpse. The youngest man in the dormitory pointed to the little Daoist sitting in the corner and told Lin Yan to glance over at him and that he should be careful. There were rumours that people who offended him in their freshman year said they saw ghosts. He squinted his eyes and made faces, making everyone laugh.

But now he was being targeted by a ghost. He was worried about things that he didn’t know how to fix. He had even bought a can of cinnabar to learn how to exorcise ghosts from the little Daoist priest. Lin Yan sighed and lamented: “I want to learn, but I don’t want to be forced to do it.”

“He’s been weird recently. He has a lot on his mind, but he won’t tell me what he’s thinking.” Lin Yan rubbed his face. “A-Yan, what do you think ghosts think about all day long?”

The little Daoist was silent for a while, and answered the wrong question: “You care about him very much.”

Lin Yan turned to face A-Yan, subconsciously playing with the sheets with his fingers. He helplessly said: “Obviously I care. We’re stuck together 24/7. Even my girlfriend wouldn’t get this kind of treatment.” He glanced at the phone and frowned, pushing himself up on the bed: “I have to go. It’s Weiwei’s birthday. I promised I’d be there and I shouldn’t be late.”

“Weiwei?”

“The one who upgraded our tickets for us during the lecture.” Lin Yan glanced sheepishly at Xiao Yu.

A-Yan tore off a loose thread from the blanket. The little Daoist priest twisted the cotton thread around his fingers loosely. He gestured his sharp chin towards Xiao Yu, and inquired: “He’s letting you go?”

Lin Yan was going to just nod his head but suddenly clued into what the Daoist had said. He threw the pillow towards the little Daoist priest, and said happily, “There’s nothing to let go of. Even people being stalked by ghosts have basic human rights, don’t they?”

The little Daoist put his chin on the pillow. He shook his head: “I-I can see that he likes you.”

Lin Yan stiffened. His tone was somewhat unnatural: “Stop talking nonsense. What does it matter who he likes.” Lin Yan packed the dinner containers and hurriedly changed the subject: “What do you want to eat tomorrow? I have ribs at home. I could make soup for you?”

A-Yan stared at him for a long time. His skin was very pale but his eyes were very dark. His pupils were more dilated than usual. In addition, he was covered with a sheen of sweat. At first glance, he looked a bit like a reptile. After staring at Lin Yan, his whole body was covered in a cold sweat. A-Yan’s mouth twitched. A trace of coldness flashed in his eyes and he said softly: “Ghosts are very possessive about what they want. Don’t mess with them.”

Lin Yan’s hands stopped moving. After A-Yan spoke, he suddenly felt that the room had grown too quiet and he panicked. His eyes fell from Xiao Yu’s back and moved all the way down to his black boots standing on a small section of floor tile. Lin Yan barely squeezed out a smile: “Don’t worry, I know. We’re just strangers, really. I want to live a normal life again.”

Lin Yan had always tried to avoid going to the same events as Weiwei, but he couldn’t really avoid it this time. On one hand, he promised he’d go. On the other hand, he was getting sick of staying looked up in his apartment recently and was bored. Just looking at the talismans and spells plastered all over his house, the thread-bound books on the table, sofa, and his bed, Lin Yan felt like he had become an old witch in a fairy tale. All he was missing was a broomstick to fly out of his twelfth-floor apartment. He just wanted to hear another human voice. Lin Yan sighed. Any human voice other than Xiao Yu, A-Yan or Yin Zhou.

But, in the end, once Lin Yan showed up at the address, he was regretting it. Weiwei always loved to have a good time. He didn’t make it in time for dinner and was dragged directly to Houhai for the second stop of the night when he showed up at the restaurant he was supposed to meet them at. The summer night was warm and humid, with bars lining the lake’s shoreline. The evening breeze was filled with the light scent of lotus flowers. The atmosphere reminded Lin Yan about the old days. After dinner, he and Weiwei would walk along the lake with a street lamp casting their shadows on the ground. When the jazz musician took off his hat and whistled at the two of them, Weiwei unceremoniously blew kisses back, and Lin Yan smiled warmly at her side.

In all fairness, his past with Weiwei was pretty good. It wasn’t perfect, but it was simple and heartfelt.

At that time, he also seriously thought about proposing to Weiwei. He had thought out a future that he could see her being a part of.

So what happened?

The background music of the bar was wild, the strong drum beats hitting his eardrums, and even his heartbeat synced with the rhythm of the music. Lin Yan was bored out of his mind. He sat in the corner with a cup of Chivas whiskey infused with black tea. Men and women embraced in the dark, twisting their bodies between the small gaps between the tables, like a frenzy of madness. The amount of tea in his cup was slowly going down and the whiskey burned his throat. When he drank it all, Lin Yan felt that the world was spinning. He dizzily lay across the table, whispering a name over and over again.

… Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu.

His brain was muddled from the alcohol and it didn’t have a filter anymore. It took Lin Yan a long time to understand what he was saying. “You’re a fucking pervert.” He smacked himself.