Chapter 36

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 36

The car raced across the fifth ring road, the reincarnation mantra was played in the car over and over again, just like the night when Xiao Yu followed him up the elevator. Irritated, Lin Yan increased the volume. He searched for everything related to the small temple from the depths of his memory.

In the early hours of that morning, Lin Yan posted on a spiritual enthusiast forum to describe the problems he encountered. He soon got some responses. It was almost too fast as if they had been waiting for him to post. First, the arranged internship, and then Xiao Yu’s appearance, Second Immortal Gu’s tampered time of death and the files that suddenly disappeared. Lin Yan rubbed his sore temples. Even though he still hasn’t figured out the temple master’s goal, the vicious incidents that followed him told him that this person’s presence had no good intentions by any means. Besides, he has been trying to keep himself hidden in the dark without being noticed.

Does the girl in red who wanders downstairs every day and the grandmother who is inexplicably involved in it have anything to do with him? Lin Yan stared blankly at the windshield and for the first time, he realized that, compared to his own predicament, Xiao Yu seemed to be in much more danger. During the first attempt, the temple master had already made no secret of endangering his employer’s own safety but unfortunately, because of A-Yan’s intervention, he didn’t succeed. After that, Xiao Yu slowly regained consciousness. A-Yan said that a pure yin physique was suitable for summoning ghosts. In less than a month, things took a turn for the worse. Not only did he no longer want to kill him, but Xiao Yu also began to protect himself…

“As long as he’s by your side, he will get stronger and stronger. Now there’s no way to subdue him with typical methods,” A-Yan once said when he was in the hospital. A thought crossed his mind. Perhaps because of this, the girl in red suddenly led him to jump off the building. Lin Yan glanced at the ghost sitting next to him, wondering whether he had been wrong from the beginning. Maybe the target wasn’t him, but Xiao Yu?

“Go home and wait for me. I can’t protect you with the few things I know now.” Lin Yan felt his facial muscles freeze. He looked straight at the road ahead, saying it with a blank face.

Xiao Yu laughed softly and leaned sideways to rest on the chair.

“Can you stop being so dismissive, I’m being serious.” Lin Yan huffed and flicked his hand on Xiao Yu’s head. “I’m your only guardian in the living world now. You have to be obedient.”

The ghost didn’t mind at all. He propped his hands on the chair, acting much more intensly and kissed Lin Yan’s face.

“Squeak–” With a sudden brake, the car stopped on the side of the road.

Lin Yan touched the small piece of skin that Xiao Yu had kissed, feeling his body temperature slowly rise. What the hell. He took a deep breath and stared at Xiao Yu. “You’ve made up your mind not to leave?”

Xiao Yu shook his head as if he was too lazy to speak.

“Fine, don’t blame me when you’ll be stolen away to create some magical potion and fed to the monkeys.” Lin Yan angrily took out his phone and said to himself: “I don’t believe it, a strong living person can’t deal with you evil people.” He pressed three numbers, 110.

“Hello, I want to report something to the police. Someone is using feudal superstitious practices to scam people. The address is XXX in Xishan District…”

“Yes, I paid them money more than half a month ago, and there have been no updates since. No, not just me, but many people have reported being deceived… My name is Lin. Sounds good, I’m rushing over there now.”

Hanging up the phone, Lin Yan internally muttered, I need as many people as possible, something yin and yang, popularity would work best. The more people who see those tricks, the better. Then he dialled Yin Zhou’s number. The urgent need to deploy troops before the case was filed usually depended on the help of this guy’s influential father. He thought for a second and added: Help me and go to the hospital to see A-Yan. Don’t tell him where I am, and don’t waste any time. I’ll be there in a couple hours.“

Everything was whirling in a vortex of chaos. Everything was happening quietly around a certain area, and the people at the center of the event were unconsciously pushed around in circles by the whirlpool currents. Lin Yan grit his teeth. Instead of waiting at home for another inexplicable murder, it was better to rush into the center of the vortex to see what was happening.

When they arrived at the western mountain, dusk had fallen and the ancient trees on the mountains rustled in the night wind. Lin Yan parked the car not far from the small temple and sat in the car, staring at the temple. The difference from last time was that the courtyard was not lit. Two white lanterns hanging at the door were dark, and there was a crooked-necked tree in the courtyard. The last time he was here, there was a spirit banner hanging, but now it had been removed, leaving only the branches of the tree strewn across the well.

Back at this hellhole again. Lin Yan suppressed the tension in his heart. He turned his head and exchanged glances with Xiao Yu. The police car arrived immediately. The mountain road was dark, and the noticeable blue warning lights flashed on the side of the road. Lin Yan took a deep breath and pulled the key out of the ignition.

"Hello, I’m the one who called just now. I’m sorry to bother you with a trip this late.”

“Mr. Lin, just call me Xiao Li.” The police officer who came here was very young and spoke very politely. Yin Zhou must have introduced him. Lin Yan thought silently that the purpose of the system was to facilitate the privileged class, and he had to admit that sometimes it was beneficial. The police officer shook hands with Lin Yan and took the two of them into the courtyard together. Taking this opportunity, Lin Yan roughly explained the reason for the exorcism. After listening, the police officer looked at Lin Yan and then looked at the dark courtyard. He couldn’t help showing a surprised expression.

“Recently something happened at home. The old man preys on the superstitious. I don’t want any trouble, it just wasn’t worth the money.” Lin Yan scratched his head, embarrassed to explain.

The courtyard was silent as if no one had ever lived there before. The group stood at the door of the small temple. They knocked on the door and no one answered. The temple door opened with a light push, and the room was completely dark. From the yellow light of their flashlights, he saw that the furnishings in the room were the same as the last time when the ghost was exorcised. A simple wooden table was decorated with fruit offerings and an incense burner. A plate of apples was shrivelled up and wrinkled. Green mould was sprouting from the surface, and there was a faint smell of decay in the room. It seemed like it had been a long time since someone last lit any incense.

“Is no one here?” Police Officer Li asked, puzzled. He reached out his hand and touched the table. The thin layer of dust was disturbed with finger marks. The city was known for its dust and dryness. A house would get dusty within a few days of being unoccupied. The flashlight beam swept across the table. The police officer frowned and said, “No one has been here for almost a week. He must have snuck away very quickly.”

Was the place deserted? Lin Yan was a little disappointed. He didn’t expect to be a step too late. The few people rummaged around the house in the dark for a while. Behind the incense case, they found a lot of tools and talisman papers for exorcisms. The temple master seemed to have been in a hurry when he left. He had hardly taken anything with him.

“This thing looks like it’s straight out of a movie.” Officer Li drew a mahogany sword out from under the table and slashed it in the air. The tip of the sword passed through the dusty air with a whistling sound. “Does it really work?”

The small group laughed. The old wooden house could not withstand the sound of people. The beams creaked and shook and dust fell on the floor.

“Don’t move.” Lin Yan frowned.

“Hah… do you find it cold in here?” The other police officer who came with the younger police officer suddenly took a cold breath and rubbed his half-sleeved uniform with his exposed arms. The remaining two looked around the room and the officer echoed, “I’ve got goosebumps. The weather is so different in the mountains.”

A cold hand tugged on Lin Yan’s wrist. Xiao Yu furrowed his brows and pursed his lips, “Get out of here.”

“What’s the matter?” Lin Yan asked as indiscreetly as possible.

“Death. There’s an air of death in the room.” Xiao Yu said softly, tracing a portrait of Zhong Kui on the wall with his fingertips, “It’s late, go back first.”

Lin Yan cast his gaze to the window pane. The old white paper that had been pasted there had now been removed to reveal the glass. The wooden window frame is not strong, the wind making it squeak. He slowly closed his eyes and concentrated… A large number of floating blue figures appeared in the darkness. The silhouettes moved back and forth outside the window. Lin Yan couldn’t help but take a step back. He whispered: “It’s not even eight o'clock, why are there so many of them?” An icy chill ran down his spine. The ancient books mentioned that a rundown temple could accumulate yin energy. Since this place was adjacent to a mass grave, there were usually offerings to bind the ghosts to their graves. Now that the temple master was missing, there was no telling what would happen if they delayed any longer.

“You are the only one reporting this crime so far. The evidence we’ve found isn’t sufficient for the time being. So, let’s take this stuff back first, and we’ll let you know if we find any clues.” At the entrance of the small courtyard, the younger police officer politely spoke to Lin Yan.

Lin Yan nodded. He simply filled out his statement and personal data, shook hands with the police officer to express his gratitude, and stepped into the car.

—————

On the way to the hospital, Lin Yan’s phone never stopped buzzing. He parked the car on the side of the road and looked through the messages, all of which were sent by Yin Zhou.

“Where are the people? How come they aren’t coming?”

“Hey, tell me why I had to come and see him. The Daoist priest and I are now staring at each other and have nothing to say. If you don’t come soon, we’ll stare a hole through the ceiling!”

“The hospital is going to start making visitors leave soon. Dude, please keep track of the time…”

“…”

Lin Yan parked the car in the underground parking in the inpatient department and ran all the way to the little Daoist’s ward. The elevator was being repaired so he was forced to climb the stairs and endure the pain in his back. Cold sweat ran down in big drops. Lin Yan grumbled as he held on to the stair railing. He glared resentfully at the person next to him, trying to vent his anger by imagining slicing him into a thousand pieces…

“Lin Yan.” Xiao Yu tugged on his arm. “I’ll carry you.”

“No need.” Lin Yan rubbed his sore back. He glanced towards the stairwell, took a deep breath and continued to climb.

Unrelenting, Xiao Yu stopped him. The two of them stood in a stalemate in the corridor. The sound-activated lights in the corridor went out. At night, few patients in the inpatient department went downstairs. Their surroundings quickly sank into silent darkness. The ghost’s eyes were hidden in depth. He gently pursed his lower lip: “There’s not much time left.”

Lin Yan didn’t know why he’d say that. He took out his phone and glanced at the time, and said casually: “It’s still early, it’s fine.” Xiao Yu shook his head and wrapped one hand around his shoulder and the other under his knee, picking him up without a second thought and walking up the stairs. Lin Yan wanted to struggle, but Xiao Yu’s expression was indescribably serious, and every step seemed to fulfill an ancient promise. Lin Yan was so frightened by his expression that he didn’t dare speak up. After a long while, he gave up and raised his arm to wrap it around Xiao Yu’s neck.

The ghost walked silently. Lin Yan could hear his heartbeat intensify in the dark, but when he approached Xiao Yu’s chest, it was silent, like a porcelain doll placed in a shop window, delicate, cold, and lifeless.

When he turned from the safe passage onto the fourth floor, their surroundings regained light. Lin Yan pulled out of Xiao Yu’s arms and walked to the door of the Daoist’s room, gently opening the door.

The room was quiet. Everything was the same as usual. Yin Zhou was sitting on the small sofa playing games on his laptop, yawning occasionally. The little Daoist was curled up in the blankets with his back to the door. Lin Yan walked over and nudged him. A-Yan turned his face. When he saw Lin Yan, he hurriedly sat up. He adjusted the pillow on the bed and leaned against it. He blushed and said, “I-I thought you weren’t coming today. It’s been a long time since I had dinner.”

Lin Yan didn’t know what to say. He took a chair and sat down. After organizing his thoughts, he said softly: “A-Yan, I hope you can tell me everything you know about this.”

“I just came back from the temple, and your master is missing.”