Kann nicht atmen

Kapitel 16

Grandpa tapped Ke Liang on the head from a distance: "You have no manners! I'm still your grandpa. You're allowed to chase girls, but I'm not allowed to look at pretty girls?"

Shishi and Lu Ziming were speechless looking at this pair of clowns, and could only exchange glances in secret.

Grandpa spoke up: "Shishi, can you find your way back to that little village?"

“I remember, I know how to get there. It wasn’t long when I came back last time, I won’t forget,” Shishi replied.

"That's good. When you get there, you must find the family that gave you the red ribbon and ask them to tell you the truth."

Shishi said confidently, "No problem, it's not far from here, we can just return the cloth."

Grandpa frowned; his handsome face looked like a twin of Ke Liang's.

“Things may not be that simple. Kabeng won’t let you succeed so easily. If a curse were so easy to break, it wouldn’t be called a curse. But I can’t help you much, because we Taoists don’t know much about Miao witchcraft. The Miao people have never been aggressive. They just live in their own territory and fight against invaders. Their witchcraft never spreads outside, so I don’t have a way to break it. If you could get help from the local shamans, that would be great.”

Ke Liang said, "Grandpa, what do the local shamans look like? Let's pay someone to help us."

Clearly, Ke Liang got another slap on the head from his grandfather. "Bullshit! You always think money can buy everything. Miao shamans protect their own people and won't help outsiders for money or anything else. You'll definitely anger many shamans this time, thinking you're invading their territory. So, you must be kind. Remember, you only have one goal: to break the curse. Don't meddle in other people's business along the way."

Qin Jin nodded.

Grandpa said, “I don’t have many chances to show myself, but I will try my best to stop Kabun from summoning the local evil spirits to attack you. However, the children and old women ghosts controlled by Kabun, as well as the evil spirits of your dead friends, are very powerful, so you must not get separated.”

As they were talking, Grandpa disappeared, startling everyone awake. Ke Liang muttered to himself, "Luckily, Grandpa only appears for three minutes a day, otherwise it would be troublesome."

Lu Ziming retorted, "Yeah, that will stop you, you playboy, from picking up girls."

Who are you calling a playboy?

"Whoever looks like them is the one!"

"What? You're just jealous that I'm more handsome than you!"

"You're so handsome, look at you, a gust of wind could blow you away."

Qin Jin shook her head. She was increasingly realizing that Lu Ziming's natural nemesis was Ke Liang. Whenever Ke Liang appeared, all of Lu Ziming's rationality would vanish, and the two of them would start bickering like children.

Shishi suddenly screamed, "It's there!"

The car came to a sudden stop. Shishi pointed to the lights in the distance and said, "That's it. I remember. I've been there before. It's a primary school that was just built. I recognize the gate. I went there during the day last time. I gave the children there a lot of things, and then we walked into the back mountain and found the small village."

Ke Liang looked at Shi Shi, then at Xiao Lu, and said, "Alright then, let's go to that school first, and then go to the back mountain to look for someone when it gets light."

Everyone agreed and they got on the mountain road. The road was very difficult to drive on, but fortunately, Shishi's family's off-road vehicle had excellent performance, and Ke Liang rarely showed off his driving skills. The four of them arrived at the primary school very quickly.

The mountain Shishi saw looked serene under the moonlight; the summer forest possessed a delicate beauty, filled with the chorus of frogs. The four of them drove to the school gate, where a chandelier still hung in the newly built primary school.

Ke Liang wanted to knock on the door, but Shi Shi stopped him: "Forget it, everyone at school is asleep. I have sleeping bags and a tent in my car, so let's just set up our own and sleep here. Let's not bother them."

Lu Ziming nodded: "Okay, park the car here. There's a big grassy area next to the school where we can set up our tents."

Lu Ziming and Shishi were clearly the kind of people who traveled frequently, and the two of them worked together to quickly set up the tent. Starlight streamed down, and the four of them lay down in the large tent. Although no one said it aloud, everyone knew it was out of fear; they had listened to Grandpa's words and dared not separate. Now, there was no distinction between men and women; each person had a sleeping bag and crawled into the large tent.

Perhaps it was because they hadn't been this relaxed in a long time, or perhaps it was because they were about to find the village, everyone was very excited. Shishi had been here once before and knew the local customs and culture quite well.

Ke Liang asked, "Where is this place?"

"I don't know either. I'm usually very casual when I travel, and I don't try to remember place names. If I see a fun place, I'll stay there for a few more days," Shishi replied.

Qin Jin asked curiously, "But what's fun about this place? The place we saw under the moonlight just now was pretty ordinary!"

"The reason I stayed here a few more days is because there is a group of lovely children here. They don't have classrooms and go to school in a dilapidated temple. Last year, a successful businessman named Li Niu donated a lot of money to build a school here and developed education. He really did a good thing."

"You even worked as a teacher here for a few days!" Lu Ziming teased kindly.

"Haha, I don't have any ability to be a teacher. I just played with the kids here for a few days."

Chapter Nineteen: Little Fish (1)

The sky was already beginning to lighten. Everyone got into the car. Despite not having slept all night, they were in high spirits, their eyes bright and alert. The four of them settled into the car, and Ke Liang drove, continuing to follow the directions Tang Shishi had given them.

The road narrowed and narrowed until the car could no longer pass. More and more trees appeared on both sides, making it increasingly difficult for Ke Liang to control the car. He turned to Shi Shi and asked, "Did you give me the wrong directions?"

Everyone cursed, "Idiot!" because there was no other way; there was only this one road behind the school. How could they have given the wrong directions?

Qin Jin asked, "Shishi, did you really drive in from here to find that village?"

Shishi opened her eyes wide, nodded and said, "I really went in through this road. This road leads all the way to the village. The village was strange. There were hardly any people. I saw the cloth hanging on the outer wall, so I knocked on the door. A child came out, and I gave him a thousand yuan and took the cloth. Oh, and I remember that the child was blind."

"A blind man?!" Qin Jin asked in surprise.

"Yes, he was a very handsome little boy, about five or six years old! He was very fair-skinned. When I gave him the money, he didn't say anything. I was afraid that he wouldn't give me the cloth, so I just slipped him the money and left." Shishi must have thought she had stumbled upon a good thing and found a cheap treasure. Now she knows that the cloth was actually a curse. It seems that the saying "extreme joy begets sorrow" is really true.

Ke Liang rolled his eyes at Tang Shishi and made a gesture that meant: "Still so smug? You're the one who caused all this trouble."

Ke Liang finally stopped the car and said with difficulty, "How about we look for another way to get to that village?"

Everyone stopped arguing; the car couldn't go any further.

The atmosphere was heavy, and no one knew what to do. Finally, Tang Shishi was the first to jump out of the car and said, "I'm sure the village is ahead. Although I don't know why I was able to drive in last time, this road must be the right one. Since the car can't go in, let's walk in."

Hei Bao screamed and jumped out of the car. Ke Liang was taken aback and said, "Since even the cat is getting out of the car, what am I afraid of?"

Lu Ziming and Qin Jin both got out of the car with smiles, took their luggage out of the car, carried it on their backs, and set off while it was still early.

This was supposed to be a picturesque scene of a picnic, with two men and two women walking ambiguously through the mountains, carrying backpacks, and a beautiful black cat leading the way as a pet. If it were accompanied by romantic music, it would be a scene straight out of a classic Qiong Yao drama. However, although everyone was pretending to be relaxed and joking, they all sensed that something was amiss.

It felt like there was something very heavy hanging on everyone's back, but in order to keep their emotions in check, no one dared to turn around and look, for fear that someone might scream and scare the rest of them half to death.

The road narrowed as it became more difficult to walk, and the trees on both sides almost squeezed people into a fleshy line. Shishi and the black cat walked in front, Qin Jin in the middle, Ke Liang in third, and Lu Ziming walked at the very back with a pistol.

As darkness slowly fell, Shishi had mentioned turning back, but Ke Liang said that if they turned back, they wouldn't find anything. If all else failed, they had brought tents and provisions and could spend the night there. When the first small star appeared, the despairing group snapped back to reality with a scream from Shishi. Pointing to the distant light, Shishi exclaimed, "That's it! I'm sure! God! We really found it! I told you we were on the right track!"

Everyone hugged each other and cheered, as if the curse surrounding them and the female ghost that was always clinging to them would disappear as soon as the cloth was returned to the village.

That single light was like a glimmer of hope in the midst of despair.

Shishi began to sob softly. Qin Jin held her, and Shishi said, "If I hadn't brought the cloth out, Lanqi wouldn't have died, Yingqi wouldn't have gone mad, and so many things wouldn't have happened to us."

Ke Liang chimed in, "If your parents hadn't given birth to you, you wouldn't know how to drive. If you didn't know how to drive, you wouldn't be here. If there were no cars in the world, no one who invented them, you wouldn't be traveling on your own. But there aren't so many 'ifs' in this world. This isn't your fault."

Lu Ziming remained silent for a long time: "I always feel something is wrong. There's no reason why the curse could be broken so easily."

Ke Liang said, "What else do you want? Doesn't this fit your future identity as an Interpol officer?"

Qin Jin shouted, "Alright, what's the point of arguing at a time like this? Our first priority is to return the cloth and rescue Yingqi and her child, who are being haunted by the evil spirit. Otherwise, none of us will be able to leave this forest."

Looking back, the path they had come from was no longer in the darkness. The weeds were so tall that it seemed as if someone had swept the path away from behind. They were trapped in the deep forest, with no way to turn back.

While everyone was discussing, they didn't notice that Blackie was slowly walking back. Its figure was very light, and it quickly disappeared into the grass.

The four of them argued as they moved forward. Suddenly, Qin Jin screamed. A person was hanging from a tall tree, gently swaying back and forth in the very center of the tree.

Ke Liang looked closely, then sighed and called out, "Grandpa, come down!"

The others were still in shock when they saw Grandpa Ke Dao fall from the tree.

Shishi couldn't help but shout, "Grandpa, do you know that we're already terrified? In our time, heart disease is more terrifying than ghosts in your time. You can make us have a heart attack anytime, you know?"

Ke Liang said to his grandfather, somewhat embarrassed, "Grandpa, didn't I tell you last time that we shouldn't try too hard to make a sensational entrance?"

Grandpa said with a serious expression, "You'd better go back with Hei Bao. Although I still haven't figured out what kind of spirit it is, I have a feeling that we've been tricked this time. Someone deliberately led us into the village, and the forest here is controlled by that kind of power."

Lu Ziming asked, "What power?"

"Our world is divided into two parts, which, in Taoist terms, are Yin and Yang. This place is not actually the Yang realm, but the Yin realm. Although it is not the ghost palace you mentioned, it is a place dominated by Yin energy. If the curse really originated from this place, it should not let you go back, because this Yin energy is very powerful. If it goes in, it may be trapped. Therefore, it does not want you to go in either."

"Isn't that even better? We can go in, return the cloth, and trap that female ghost. Isn't that the result we want?" Qin Jin asked, puzzled.

"But can you even get out? You can't even escape a place cursed to the brink, do you even have the ability to get out?"

Everyone fell into deep thought.

“You should go back! In any case, if the curse originated from this village, it was by chance that you brought it out. If you want to send it back, you might lose your lives. Since you're going to lose your lives anyway, you might as well send it to the mortal realm. That way, I can take care of your ghosts. Even I can't stay here for long. So, don't stay here. In a while, at midnight, all the paths you came from will be blocked, and it won't be easy for you to go back.”

Shishi almost collapsed: "Grandpa, does that mean we'll die whether we go forward or retreat, we'll still be tormented by the curse? It's a dead end no matter what?"

"That's not necessarily true. Since you brought the cloth out, and you've come out before, it proves that you weren't necessarily going to die."

Grandpa sighed softly and said to Ke Liang, "You should go back. You are the only one left to carry on the Ke family line. Chi Yue will protect you as you leave the forest. This little bit of Yin energy is not enough to defeat Chi Yue, but it can only protect you alone."

As he spoke, Grandpa's three-minute appearance each day came to an end. His sigh seemed to linger in mid-air, and his figure had already disappeared.

Everyone's mood plummeted from the previous high excitement back to rock bottom, and Qin Jin and Shi Shi were already hugging each other and crying.

Shishi said, "What should we do? Should we go back now?"

Everyone went through so much pain and suffering just to break this curse, to save their own lives and the lives of others, but the answer they received was still death. All that struggle, all that fear, all that perseverance, became utterly helpless in that instant.

Seeing Qin Jin and Shi Shi's pained expressions, Lu Ziming suddenly snatched the bag containing the red satin and said, "I'll take it back. Ke Liang, you protect them and get them out of the village."

Shishi's gaze immediately fell on the man. He was almost the most incompetent and listless person there. He started out as just an ordinary policeman. Qin Jin had Hei Bao's protection, Ke Liang had Chi Yue's protection, and Shishi herself had her guardian spirit's bracelet for protection. Only he had nothing, except a gun that was completely useless.

However, no matter what difficulties these people encountered, he was always the first to rush to the front. In his eyes, this was just a special mission to protect the citizens. Although he was a bit cool and a bit stubborn, he always put protecting others first.

Ke Liang snatched the bag away: "Hmph, I am the heir of the Ke family. If I am afraid of this little bit of yin energy, how will I make a lot of money by catching ghosts in the future? By the way, my family used to be very important Taoist priests. Of course, I will send the cloth back to the village, and Lu Ziming will send the two girls out of the forest."

Qin Jin looked at Ke Liang. He was still as mischievous as ever, even a little silly, trying to look handsome. He even liked to check his hairstyle in the rearview mirror while in the car.

Shishi didn't say a word, grabbed her bag and ran.

Everyone was chasing after Shishi when she suddenly shouted, "Stop! Stop chasing me!"

Everyone looked at Shishi's tear-streaked face. She said, "I brought this cloth out, and I must personally return it. I've already killed Lanqi and harmed many others. If I harm you too, I'll never have peace of mind for the rest of my life. Go."

"Shishi, how could you be so foolish?" Qin Jin shouted loudly, "No matter what, we are good friends. You didn't cast the curse. There's nothing we can do about it. It's our destiny. If I let you go into the village alone now and we all go back to live in hiding, I will never be happy for the rest of my life."

Qin Jin knelt in the evening breeze: "I don't want to see anyone die anymore. If we're going to live, we'll live together; if we're going to die, we'll die together. No one should have to sacrifice themselves for me anymore."

Ke Liang and Lu Ziming both stood behind Qin Jin and nodded.

Shishi dropped her bag and ran towards Qin Jin; everyone clasped hands. At that moment, the fates of the four were intertwined, and none of them wanted to build their lives on the death of others.

Just as everyone was holding hands, a clear meow was heard. Qin Jin happily ran back a few steps: "It's Hei Bao, it's back. It didn't run away."

A dark figure emerged from the bushes and jumped into Qin Jin's arms.

As Qin Jin happily hugged and kissed Hei Bao, she heard a rustling sound coming from the grass again. Hei Bao sat up and started meowing again.

Something slowly rose from the grass. Everyone quietly backed away, and no one remembered to turn on their flashlights. They could only see a figure rising from the grass by the faint moonlight.

The feeling of almost suffocating reached the depths of the four people's hearts.

But the figure called out in a clear voice, "Little cat, where are you?"