Xiao Taos Geistergeschichten (Vollversion)

Kapitel 22

"Mr. Ling."

Tao Rujiu turned around and said, word by word, "I'll only say this once: I haven't done anything to wrong you, and there's no need for me to explain. Once I leave Hailing City, let bygones be bygones and never know Mr. Ling again."

Ling Li frowned but did not answer, his gaze lingering on the tattered clothes until Tao Rujiu slowly began to walk up the steps leading to Hailing City.

The young man climbed about ten steps when the sunlight peeked out from the dense clouds overhead.

The bright white sun illuminated everything on the ground. Tao Rujiu slightly raised her head to look at the newly risen sun, then slowly raised her hand to shield her eyes. The next instant, her legs suddenly gave way, and she tumbled down the steps.

No other thoughts or anger remained; only utter panic filled Ling Li's heart. He rushed over barefoot and tightly embraced the tumbling youth. Tao Rujiu had a dream.

He dreamt he was standing on the edge of a cliff in front of his villa, looking at the sea. The deep blue, boundless sea was devoid of any clouds. There was no wind, and not a single sail in sight. Tao Rujiu didn't know what he was doing; in his dream, he seemed to simply stand there, waiting for someone to arrive.

The person he was waiting for was Ling Li.

The man's footsteps came from behind him, but without the gloom of the daytime. He slowly reached out and hugged Tao Rujiu from behind, then whispered something in his ear. Just as Tao Rujiu was about to listen carefully, a large shadow suddenly flew in from the horizon, swooping down rapidly towards the cliff.

Tao Rujiu was startled and instinctively tried to dodge, but the man behind him suddenly grabbed him tightly. Tao Rujiu looked up again and saw that what was swooping down was a large flock of silvery-white seabirds, each one seemingly flying out from Dongli Bupo's silver mask. Their sharp claws and hooked beaks reflected a metallic glint.

The bird flew lower and lower, almost touching her. Tao Rujiu struggled desperately, calling out her sharp name repeatedly. But the man didn't respond at all, instead slowly releasing his grip on Tao Rujiu.

Once freed, Tao Rujiu turned around abruptly, only to find that the person holding him was not Ling Li at all, but Wang Baihu, whose body was tattered and decayed, and who was missing half of his head.

Startled, Tao Rujiu took a large step back, completely forgetting the cliff behind him. Under Wang Baihu's mossy gaze, he fell from mid-air and woke up from the dream of his rapid fall.

He opened his eyes and found himself lying alone in Ling Li's bedroom. All around him was deathly silent; Ling Li didn't seem to be in the villa.

The huge floor-to-ceiling curtains in the bedroom were drawn, covering an entire wall. Tao Rujiu stared blankly at the wall, suddenly feeling that something was hidden outside the curtains.

He slowly climbed off the bed, approached the wall, and gently tugged on the curtain cord. With a soft "click," the curtains were silently pulled open, revealing the floor-to-ceiling window stained with crimson blood, as if rain had fallen on it. A pair of men's hands were pressed against the other side of the window, motionless.

Tao Rujiu, not knowing where the courage came from, continued to draw the curtains open.

Hands, wrists, arms, and torso—a naked male body gradually appeared before Tao Rujiu, resembling a giant bat clinging tightly to the outside of the blood-stained glass window.

However, what terrified the young man the most was that he didn't know who this person was, because the body had no head on its shoulders.

It was only about the size of a bowl, a bright red scar.

Tao Rujiu finally drew back the floor-to-ceiling curtains completely. He stood quietly by the window, the headless corpse standing less than 20 centimeters away from him, separated by a pane of glass. A faint, salty, fishy smell wafted through the air.

The glass window slowly moved, and the corpse's hands pushed to both sides, drawing two bloody streaks on the glass.

"Don't let him in!"

Tao Rujiu suddenly shouted this in his heart. He hurriedly grabbed the glass from the inside, but at this moment the headless corpse had opened a hole in the window, and another round object rolled through the hole to Tao Rujiu's feet.

A skull.

Before Tao Rujiu could even make out the face on the head, the headless corpse suddenly flung the window open. It stretched out its bloodied hands and grabbed Tao Rujiu by the neck. The young man screamed desperately and sat bolt upright in bed.

It was a dream within a dream.

He was panting, his body burning hot but unable to break a sweat. As soon as he regained his senses, he felt pain all over his body. He slowly lay back down on the bed and realized that he was still in the villa, lying on the sturdy bed.

He had a headache. He raised his hand and touched his temple, where a large lump was swollen and roughly covered with a square gauze.

He then slowly recalled what had actually happened.

He was abruptly driven out of the villa. As soon as he put on his soaking wet clothes, his vision began to blur. He managed to climb the steps, but the sudden burst of sunlight blinded him. In his dazed state, he lost his footing and fell.

It seems that Ling Li has taken him back.

With mixed feelings, Tao Rujiu examined her body. There were many more small wounds on her limbs, but they had all been treated. Even her lower body had been treated with ointment by the man.

How long had he been unconscious? He had no idea what had happened. Imagining the man who had always looked down on him handling his body like a corpse, Tao Rujiu felt a chill run down his spine.

Just then, Ling Li walked in carrying a bowl of something that was unclear.

Seeing Tao Rujiu sitting blankly on the bed, he immediately put on that cold, expressionless face.

"Don't think I still have feelings for you. I just don't intend to let you die in my business." With that, he slammed the bowl down on the bedside table and gave it a couple of quick taps. "I was going to buy this for Huakai, but he didn't have an appetite, so it's a good deal for you."

It was a full bowl of pork liver and vegetable porridge, steaming hot and freshly bought, but the man insisted on making such an insulting explanation. He couldn't tolerate showing the young man even a shred of kindness.

"I am not a dog that eats leftovers."

Tao Rujiu didn't even glance at the bowl of porridge. "Mr. Ling, there's no need to reward me with something that can't please others. I won't accept Mr. Ling's charity."

"Then don't eat it!"

With a sharp flick of her wrist, she swept the bowl into the wastepaper basket on the floor, and said fiercely, "You'll starve to death here. I won't buy you anything else to eat. Let's see if you'll have the strength to leave this place when you can get out of bed!"

Tao Rujiu closed his eyes, refusing to listen to his harsh words. He knew he had a fever, so hot that he felt weak all over. Angering Ling Li at this moment was a very disadvantageous choice. The man might even just throw him, blanket and all, out the door. Yet those malicious words were like sharp thorns piercing his heart; if he didn't pull them out one by one, his entire heart would rot away.

He lay on the bed in a daze. He didn't know how long he slept, only that the outside world turned from white to black, and then from black to white again. When he finally came to his senses, it was already the next morning.

A cat's meow caught his attention.

There was a gap in one corner of the floor-length curtains, revealing a patch of white fur outside the window.

Dark bloodstains were visible on the white fur.

Tao Rujiu got out of bed and hurried to the window. Sure enough, it was Qi Maoxian, covered in blood and grime, standing outside the window with a depressed expression.

"Let me in." The cat scratched at the glass twice, and Tao Rujiu opened the window.

"Qi Cat Immortal... what's wrong?" The young man saw the bloodstains on the cat and thought he had a wound. He was about to look down when the cat immortal shook his head and said, "I'm fine. Most of this blood isn't mine. A few small wounds on my body are nothing." He paused, then glanced at Tao Rujiu, who was draped in a bed sheet, and said, "You look worse than me."

Tao Rujiu gave a wry smile. "As expected, Dongli Bupo's request is not so easy to agree to."

The cat fairy shook off its matted white fur uncomfortably and said, "I don't want to get involved in the specifics, but things have come to this point, so you don't need to regret it or hold a grudge. Everyone has their own responsibilities. Dongli Bupo has already done what he promised you, and Lingli will pay the price for his actions sooner or later. Your most urgent task is to help me take a bath."

Tao Rujiu exclaimed in surprise, "Ah!" "Qimao Xian, did you used to have someone else help you bathe?"

The white cat glared at him irritably. "I don't want to lick this disgusting blood off." Ling Li seemed to have really left the villa, and Tao Rujiu put the white cat in the bathroom next to the bedroom. The shower room was obviously unsuitable for the Qi Mao Xian. It jumped onto the sink and squeezed its slightly chubby, long-haired body into the lotus leaf-shaped basin.

“If you want to vent your anger, you can use that unscented bar to give me a bath.” It stretched out its paw and pointed to a piece of buttery soap on the metal shelf. “That’s what Ling Li uses to wash his face. I’ve wanted to try it ever since he stepped on my tail last time.”

Tao Rujiu was amused by the cat fairy, who was even more petty than himself, and the painful experiences of yesterday and the day before seemed to dissipate somewhat. He picked up the bar of soap and turned on the tap. And the cat fairy, as was its duty, began to enjoy the special service.

"The hairdryer is in the kitchen cabinet." After taking a bath, the cat fairy, whose white fur had completely flattened and whose body had shrunk to the size of a miniature cat, climbed out of the sink. "It's been so long since I've had such a refreshing bath."

Following his instructions, Tao Rujiu indeed found almost brand-new appliances. He felt a little dizzy when he got up, but after Qi Maoxian's antics, he felt more energetic. The pain in his body was also less bothersome.

"You seem very familiar with the furnishings of this villa." He was genuinely impressed by this all-knowing non-human.

Back in the bedroom, the big white cat had already jumped down from the sink and landed on the large, imposing bed. Its wet white fur had soaked a large patch of the sheets.

Tao Rujiu heard Qi Maoxian casually reply, "Well, when Ling Li wasn't at the villa before, Hua Kai often brought me here to take a bath. He had a key..." Halfway through his sentence, the white cat suddenly stopped talking, but the young man's bitterness had already been stirred up.

Tao Rujiu asked, "Hua Kai... how is he now?"

Qi Maoxian shook her head, "Dongli Bupo sealed away his memories of that night."

Why do that?

The white cat replied, "That deadbeat said that after Hua Kai regained consciousness, she insisted on clarifying the truth, but that deadbeat believed that Ling Li liked Hua Kai, and he was afraid that he couldn't protect Hua Kai for a lifetime. So he wanted to entrust Hua Kai to Ling Li first. Naturally, he wouldn't let Hua Kai tell the truth."

Tao Rujiu said with a wry smile, "If he wants to protect Huakai, does that mean he has to make me the sacrifice?"

The Cat Fairy shook her head: "Dongli Bupo said he would personally explain this matter to Ling Li. He will never let you suffer any injustice. However, it seems that your relationship with Ling Li can only end here."

Tao Rujiu silently took the hair dryer out of the box, plugged it in, and slowly started blowing it on the big white cat.

"Everyone says he likes flowers in bloom, but there was never anything between us," he said.

Qi Maoxian swayed its tail in the warm breeze, turned around and gently patted Tao Rujiu's leg with its paw. "Let's not talk about this. Last night, Dongli Bupo and I went into the underground palace and we made some gains. Do you want to hear about them?"

Tao Rujiu nodded.

Cat Fairy settled into a comfortable position and lay down, urging Tao Rujiu to keep his hands busy until he was comfortable. Then she recalled, "It was Dongli who felt guilty and called me to go to the underground palace as soon as night fell. We entered the park and soon found one of the vengeful spirits by following the water. He was holding Wang Baihu's lower limbs."

Tao Rujiu nodded and said, "I've seen that one too. He's very impressive."

"Among the three vengeful spirits, it's one of the easier ones to deal with." The Cat Fairy shook her head. "Dongli Bupo and I attacked it together. As long as we didn't let it merge with the other two rivers, it would be under our control sooner or later. Who knew that just when we were about to take it down, Ling Li suddenly barged in with two Taoist priests."

Tao Rujiu recalled the day Dongli Bupo forcibly took him to the Reincarnation Street, and secretly admired Ling Li's courage. "Isn't Ling Li afraid of ending up like Wang Baihu?"

"That Ling Li is frighteningly tough." Qi Mao Xian said dismissively, "Even if he were captured, he would at most suffer some physical injuries. Even if he died, no ghost would dare to stay with his body. In ancient times, that would be the fate of a true dragon, extremely valuable."

Tao Rujiu said bitterly, "He's really lucky. He's so fortunate. Why am I the opposite of him?"

Qi Maoxian rolled over, letting the warm breeze dry her belly without any regard for her image: "It's precisely because you two are two extremes that you're attracted to each other. But speaking of good fortune, Ling Li was quite pitiful when he was young, just like his fair-skinned mother, he wasn't favored by his father."

Tao Rujiu was somewhat surprised, but unwilling to think about it further, he simply asked in a muffled voice, "What happened after the Taoist priest arrived?"

"What else can we do!" Qi Maoxian glanced at him irritably. "They took Wang Baihu's two legs. Although one of the Taoists was slightly injured, they were all just talking big, saying it was no big deal. Let's see if it's so easy for them to do it themselves next time."

Tao Rujiu asked, puzzled, "Since you're both trying to get rid of the ghosts in the underground palace, why can't you cooperate with the Taoists? That might solve the problem faster."

Qi Mao Xian seemed to have heard a joke. "Dongli Bupo is a dead ghost, and I'm possessing a cat. If a Taoist priest sees me, won't there be a huge uproar?"

Tao Rujiu nodded, half understanding, and then thought of another question.

"You keep saying you're possessed by a cat, but what about your real body? It's not rotten by now, is it?"

Qi Maoxian immediately retorted angrily, "How could it rot? It's just being properly preserved by placing it underground!"

As the man and the cat were talking, Tao Rujiu's stomach suddenly growled loudly, followed by Qi Maoxian saying, "You must be a little hungry too. Do you have anything to eat here?"

Tao Rujiu gave another wry smile and pointed to the waste paper bucket on the ground.

"There was a bowl of pork liver and vegetable porridge in there. Ling Li said that Hua Kai had no appetite, so he brought it back."

"Hua Kai hates animal offal the most!"

Qi Maoxian shook its head. "Why would Ling Li buy that stuff for him? Why can't that guy just tell the truth?" It then said to Tao Rujiu, "I bet you there's something to eat in this house. I'm going out to look for it now."

Tao Rujiu didn't believe it, but the white cat went out of the room on its own and soon returned triumphantly with a bag of sliced toast in its mouth.

"There was still milk on the restaurant table. I can't believe that big man was drinking that stuff..."

Tao Rujiu listened in a daze, then looked at the cat fairy, who had already brought the toast bag to him.

"Eat up, the two of us can finish this bag without any problem."

As he spoke, he used his two front paws to tear open the packaging bag, grabbed a slice, and jumped onto the table next to him. Tao Rujiu looked at the toast bag, which was beyond repair, and gritted his teeth, took a slice, and put it in his mouth to chew.

The toast had been sitting on the table all night, and it tasted bland and tasteless. But Tao Rujiu was indeed hungry. At first, she hesitated, but in the end, she simply stuffed two or three slices into her mouth. After eating, she felt thirsty, so she limped off to find the milk and, incidentally, put the hairdryer back in its original place.

Just as he walked into the living room, he suddenly heard the sound of a door opening in the entryway.

Ling Li is back. Last night, he returned to the Netherworld Palace with two Taoist priests. The garden was in complete disarray. Sewage flowed across the ground, and there were broken branches and fragments of trees and buildings everywhere. It was clear that three vengeful spirits had been wandering the ground every night, turning the already eerie and ghostly setting into a desolate and abandoned world of the underworld.

He followed the Taoist priest to the Slope of Lost Souls, where he saw Wang Baihu's rotting lower body standing in a pool of murky water, while the tentacle-like water flow surrounded a small clearing at the top of the slope.

In the open space lay the large white cat kept by the Emerald Oriole Pavilion. Ling Li believed it had wandered in by mistake and nearly been harmed by a ghost. The two Taoist priests were indeed powerful; in less than half an hour, they subdued the vengeful spirit and placed it within their magical artifact. Wang Baihu's lower body, however, was dragged out and secretly burned overnight.