Chapter 37

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 the product of my limited knowledge of Chinese characters as I attempt to learn the language. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter Index

Chapter 37

The summer night breeze was moist with humidity, and the fresh earthy smell was like a watermelon that had just been cut open. The moonlight illuminated the old pine trees in the flower bed outside the hospital. On a wooden bench, the two of them sit side by side. A-Yan propped his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his palms. Lin Yan lit a cigarette and listened to the little Daoist priest talk, and every now and then he went to take a drag.

A third person stood silently behind the bench, with both hands on Lin Yan’s shoulders. The moonlight shone straight down. There was no shadow on his face, and his jade-like skin was exceptionally clear.

“I was fifteen years old when I m-met Master. I was in my first year of high school.” The little Daoist said, “My parents died in a car accident when I was very young, and I made money by helping people clean their house and remove negative energy with feng shui techniques my family taught me. O-One time I took a job, the owner had just moved and their new house was a murder house. When I rushed over, I found that someone had hanged themselves in the home not that long before. The ghost did not want to reincarnate and lived in the closet of the room he used to live in. The owner of the house didn’t trust me because I was so young, so he invited an expert to exorcise the ghost, that is, my current master.”

“I used my family’s Daoism practices to send the ghost away, and the master was watching the whole process. Afterwards, he asked me if I would like to be his disciple. At that time, I couldn’t afford my tuition. Master said that in the future, he would take me with him when he had a business to do so I could make money so I-I agreed.” With his eyes fixed on the tip of his shoe, the young Daoist recalled: “Master was very strict, but he taught me many things.”

“Before you came to the temple to have a ghost exorcised, Master had been acting very strange. He often disappeared for a few days without telling me what he was doing. We have strict traditional rules about being a disciple. A disciple can’t just ask about his master’s affairs. T-That night, I went to the temple to say there was a guest, but I didn’t expect it to be you.” A-Yan’s right hand kept tearing the dry skin on his left thumb. He said nervously: “Master originally planned to get rid of the issue thing before it got worse, but I didn’t expect you to suddenly change your mind… After you left, I begged Master for mercy, and Master was very angry. He slapped me and warned me not to intervene.”

Lin Yan looked at the young Daoist in surprise and asked softly: “How come I’ve never heard you mention that before?”

A-Yan shook his head, his pale face flushed: “I don’t have parents, so Master is like a father to me. Is it weird for him to slap me? But I still decided to help you. I’ve been hiding the topic of you coming to me for help from Master. He’s been getting busier and busier recently. He hasn’t let me go to the temple for a while. and I don’t know what he’s doing. I didn’t expect it to be related to your affairs.”

“At first I thought he just didn’t like that ghost. Master hates the supernatural. He says that they destroy the order of the world…” A-Yan’s lips trembled. His face turned a little blue, and he said anxiously, “I don’t believe that Master would use evil magic. Even though he can sometimes be fierce, I promise that he’s a decent person.”

Even if I know that the internship is related to the temple master, there isn’t enough evidence for the ghost of the girl and grandma. Maybe he should check the small temple again when he had time. Lin Yan nodded silently. He exhaled a breath of smoke, and said to the little Daoist priest: “What are you going to do now?”

“Get out of the hospital.” The little Daoist clenched his fists, “Master is like a father to me. I have to find him and I have to find evidence to prove that he didn’t hurt anyone!” After speaking, his face suddenly changed. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he pointed at Xiao Yu. He said to Lin Yan, “Master said you can’t believe in ghosts, but I guess, right now, y-you’d rather believe in a dead person than me.”

Lin Yan raised his head and glanced at Xiao Yu. He put his hand on the little Daoist priest’s shoulder and said softly, “Don’t talk nonsense, I only believe the facts I see.”

A-Yan stood up abruptly, his body trembling slightly. His sharp face had a strange neutral beauty in the moonlight, his eyelashes densely circled around his eyes, like black velvet. The trembling made his voice a little shaky. Like a strand of sugar that had been thrown into the air and solidified, it was crisp and incoherent: “Lin Yan, do you know why I want to help you?”

Lin Yan extinguished his cigarette and was about to go upstairs. When he heard these words, he stopped suddenly.

“In my freshman year, I was kicked out of the school by the people in the department. You were the only one who was willing to talk to me. I… I’ve always been grateful to you…” The little Daoist blushed, his nervous stuttering growing stronger. “I-I want to say…”

Lin Yan sucked in a breath of cold air. The little Daoist priest always showed him a shy smile and bright eyes suddenly appeared in front of him. He subconsciously grabbed Xiao Yu’s hand and tightly wrapped his own around his cold and slender fingers. He didn’t want to listen to this any longer. This conversation had developed into something completely unexpected. Lin Yan turned around and quietly interrupted A-Yan: “A-Yan, I know all about it.”

“Sorry.”

The person in front of him was stunned. He was unable to speak for a long time. In the empty courtyard, his figure was extraordinarily thin, like a piece of paper fluttering in the night wind. Finally, he raised his head, and a strange expression appeared on the corner of his lips. He gave a wry smile, “You can’t like him. If you like him, you’ll die.”

Lin Yan didn’t say anything. He turned around and walked back. For some reason, he always felt uncomfortable hearing someone else say this sort of thing. This was a matter between him and Xiao Yu.

The hospital foyer was brightly lit. Yin Zhou was smoking a cigarette while leaning against the marble pillar at the door. His hair was dishevelled. Seeing Lin Yan and the little Daoist priest coming back, Yin Zhou grabbed Lin Yan and dragged him behind the pillar. He stuck his head out and laughed dryly: “Ahem, you go upstairs first, I have something to do.”

Seeing that the little Daoist priest was still far away, Yin Zhou threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stepped on it: “Do you believe what he said?”

Lin Yan frowned. He glanced at the entrance cautiously, and said, “I don’t believe it all. He’s defending the temple master, and he was concealing a lot of things, but I think if the temple master really used the drop technique on me, if A-Yan knew about it, he didn’t care. He won’t hesitate when it comes to killing Xiao Yu.”

“Why does the temple owner hate Xiao Yu so much? Why did he do everything possible to get me to take him out of the tomb, and then use me to set up one trap after another to wait for him to jump in?”

Yin Zhou snapped his fingers. He shoved his hand into his jeans pocket and said, “You think that man had something to do with what happened twenty years ago?”

Lin Yan curled the corners of his lips: “It’s not that far of a stretch, man.” He sighed and pouted at Xiao Yu. “I really hope my ancestors can hurry and remember something, or point me in some direction otherwise this directionless investigation will continue. Within a few days, we’ve lost almost all of our troops. I’m really afraid that something will happen to you guys again.”

Yin Zhou hummed. He lowered his head, his bangs skimming the bridge of his nose. He pouted: “With your IQ, I won’t be brought down so soon. Wait a bit. As long as that person is doing something, it won’t take long for a weakness to emerge.”

Lin Yan nodded and said, “First, let’s go ask the doctor if he can get A-Yan’s discharge done. He doesn’t feel comfortable living here…”

Before he could finish speaking, a sudden burst of strong dizziness and throbbing pierce through his head, and his body felt numb. Lin Yan leaned on the pillar and bowed down, breathing heavily. Yin Zhou was so scared that he hurried to help him. Lin Yan waved his hand. He moaned: “No… it’s nothing. It’s been like this lately. Maybe I didn’t get enough sleep or my blood sugar is low…”

As soon as he finished speaking, his vision suddenly went dark. It was as if someone had switched off the power. Lin Yan threw himself to the ground and landed on his knees. After holding out for a few seconds, he finally collapsed.

The last thing he remembered was Yin Zhou calling his name loudly in his ear. Lin Yan tried hard to open his eyes, but found that no part of his body would listen to him. The intense fatigue was like a sledgehammer hitting his temple hard. There was a muffled sound, as if a thousand little people surrounded him and shouted in unison: “Sleep, sleep.” Lin Yan groggily agreed, and he fell asleep. The bottomless darkness consumed him and he slowly lost consciousness.

He didn’t know how long he slept, but when he woke up, Lin Yan found himself lying on a bed. His eyelids were heavy as if filled with lead. What caught his eye were the transparent plastic tube of an IV needle and the drop of falling medicine. The smell of disinfectant poured into his nose. Lin Yan moved his arm. The medicine flowing into his veins sent a cold wave through his small arm. He couldn’t help but take a breath: “Hiss…”

“Holy shit, you’re finally awake!” Yin Zhou stepped over from out of nowhere with two rolled crepes in his hand. He sat on the bed and shook Lin Yan violently. Lin Yan was dizzy from his shaking, coughing and struggling: “ Cough, you’re going to kill me, stop shaking…”

Yin Zhou finally stopped and let out a big stretch: “Dude, you’re really something. You fell asleep in the middle of our conversation last night. How tired were you?”

“I fell asleep?”

“No shit! I thought something was wrong with you, so I carried you into the emergency room, but the doctor said that you fell asleep from fucking overexertion and told us not to disturb you to sleep!” Yin Zhou tsked: “Remember what happened last night?”

Lin Yan nodded. He remembered that he seemed to be talking in the foyer last night, and suddenly felt dizzy and didn’t know what happened. He stretched out his left hand, which was not hooked up to the saline drip, and touched the tip of his nose. He turned his head and looked out the window. The curtains were drawn and he saw the sun rising. He had actually slept in the hospital all night. Lin Yan shook his haggard head and glanced around the room. On his left was A-Yan’s hospital bed. The little Daoist priest was lifting the blanket and jumping off the bed. His gaze was looking at something over his shoulder. Xiao Yu leaned quietly at the window. When he woke up, he didn’t come over to him. A narrow pair of eyes stared straight at him.

“Xiao Yu…” Lin Yan called to him softly.

The ghost pursed his lower lip to avoid Lin Yan’s sight. His slender hands were propped up on the windowsill. The sunlight was rolling down on the snow-coloured material of the shirt, and his tall figure was as beautiful as a painting.

“D-Don’t call him. If he gets that close to you again, your body will not be able to take it.” The little Daoist grabbed Lin Yan’s left hand and put two fingers on his pulse. He said, worried: “How long have you been like this?”

Lin Yan lay back on the blankets. He recalled that he had been feeling tired for some time recently. Every day, he had to struggle for a long time to properly wake up, but he had never fainted. After hearing this, the little Daoist looked worried. He said with a serious face, “Remember when I said that your physique is suitable for attracting ghosts?” Lin Yan nodded. A-Yan continued: “Actually, people can’t live in an environment with heavy yin for a long time… I-In other words, you will lose some of yourself by raising it. Your life is special. Ordinary contact is no big problem, but now…” The little Daoist’s eyes suddenly turned cold, and he looked back and forth at Lin Yan’s embarrassed expression, “What did you do?”

Lin Yan recalled the madness of the night before. His face flushed right to the bottom of his ears. He kept mumbling and didn’t do anything, and before he could think of an explanation, Yin Zhou, who was silent on the side, suddenly closed his phone and said with a complicated expression: “Lin, I have something to tell you.”

“When I went downstairs to buy breakfast just now, I ran into your little girlfriend’s dad on the elevator. He said that she was also in the hospital. She seemed to be sick. Should we go see her?”

—————————-

Since the strange thing started, Lin Yan felt that he had gone to the hospital more times than in his entire life. These people all seem to have a connection with him in one way or another. Some were people he had just met, and others were people he was about to meet. Then, they either went to the hospital, to the police station or went missing. When Lin Yan heard the news that Weiwei was in the hospital, there was a buzzing sound in his head. After a minute of silence, he chuckled to himself. Maybe it was just a cold, he thought.

Weiwei’s room was downstairs from A-Yan’s. Lin Yan wore a long-sleeved hospital gown and headed downstairs. When he saw the light box erected in the glass doorway of the corridor, he suddenly froze: the neurology department.

It is completely different from the upstairs ward. Entering through the glass door, this corridor was covered with soft cushions from the floor to the ceiling, and the doors of the wards were tightly closed. Lin Yan ran into a nurse wearing a mask at the door of Weiwei’s room. She shot an icy gaze from behind her gold-rimmed glasses, and stared alertly at Lin Yan, who was wearing a hospital gown: “You’re in the wrong place, you can’t just walk in here.”

Lin Yan pointed to the door of the ward and said shyly that his friend was inside. The nurse looked at him suspiciously for a while, and muttered that it might be beneficial to meet his friend, so she left with a tray. Lin Yan fixed his breathing at the door. He knocked on the door and walked in.

The single room was smaller than the one he and A-Yan had stayed in, but it was clean and exquisite. As soon as he entered the door, Lin Yan noticed the girl huddled up on the bed against the wall, her semi-long hair hanging down in a mess. The covers were pulled over her nose, revealing a pair of eyes full of fear and confusion.

“Weiwei?” Lin Yan greeted his former soon-to-be father-in-law and walked straight over to the girl. “What’s the matter? I was hospitalized upstairs and just came to see you.”

Weiwei’s father’s face was covered with a haze of gloom and he said sullenly: “Don’t bother. She won’t answer.”

The girl on the bed didn’t seem to notice what was going on around her at all. Her fair face was swollen, traces of blood staining her cheeks. The makeup she had on the day before had not been removed. The champagne-coloured eyeshadow was the same as the one she used at the birthday party. Compared to the energetic person on stage, she looked like a different person, clutching her knees with a frightened face.

Before Lin Yan’s hand touched her shoulder, Weiwei shivered violently and mutely begged, “Don’t cut out my tongue… Don’t cut my tongue…” After saying this, she suddenly began to scratch her face with her fingernails, while screaming at the top of her lungs. Lin Yan was so shocked that he hurriedly backed away. At the same time, the door of the room slammed open, and several nurses rushed in to hold Weiwei down. After injecting a sedative, the girl shivered and cowered back into a ball.

“She was like this the next day after her birthday. The doctor said that she suffered from strong mental stimulation.” Weiwei’s father was obviously used to this appearance. He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket with a sad face. Recalling that this was a hospital, he stuffed it back into his pocket. “The CT results haven’t come out yet. Sit down for a while. She doesn’t recognize anyone, and no one is allowed to touch her. She just said, "Don’t cut out her tongue.”

“Lin, did you go to Weiwei’s birthday? Do you know what did this?” The man said as he went to empty his pocket. “She’d been clutching this thing since she got home. I had to pry it out of her hands to take it. Do you recognize who this belongs to? I’ll fucking kill that brat!”

His broad palms were spread out flat, and a nostalgic piece of jade was lying in his palm. It was shiny and transparent and hung on a string of crimson tassels. Lin Yan used almost all his strength to keep himself from screaming. That thing belonged to Xiao Yu. He bought it at Shenjiyuan and gave it to him himself to hang on his waist. How could it appear in Weiwei’s hands?