Lanpu

Kapitel 13

"But you have many scars, even from a car accident."

My smile froze; I suddenly didn't know what expression to make. All of this was just my own meddling; it had nothing to do with Tang Chen. I don't like being emotionally blackmailed, so I don't want to treat others like that.

"...It was my own carelessness."

“I’m not stupid, Hengzhi.” He was getting angry. “I know what’s wrong with me. My uncle advised me to become a nun because I shouldn’t be in this world. I don’t want to…”

“No one should be born into this world. You were born into this world.” I interrupted him. “You didn’t become a monk because of your faith, so what’s the point? So many people love you, so you should live your life well and enjoy it. Everything will be fine, I promise.”

"Why can you guarantee that, Hengzhi? What have you done?"

Now it was my turn to get angry. "I didn't do anything bad to you! Because I like you a lot..." Seeing his face turn red, I quickly added, "...like a friend."

He remained silent for a while, saying, "Don't take on any disaster for me."

“I didn’t.” I stared at him.

"When you lie, your eyes always dart to the upper right."

Damn it. What's the point of observing so meticulously?!

"I need you to promise me you won't do anything dangerous." He became serious.

"If you agree to that too, I'll agree," I replied curtly.

"I promise you." He said seriously. "Also, Hengzhi, don't avoid me."

“You don’t understand, I’m doing this for your own good…” I grumbled. “I’m not an ordinary person…” I pointed at Huang’e. “If you have too much contact with me, you’ll see… things you shouldn’t see.”

"How do you know this is for my own good? Do you even know what's good for me? You should at least ask me!" His expression turned sorrowful, that damned "good people are always good" law. "I think you avoiding me is the worst thing for me! I'm not afraid to see those things!"

I made a gesture I didn't even understand myself, and slumped my shoulders. "...Hmm."

He stared at me for a while. "I have a girlfriend."

Why are you telling me this? "I know, I've known for a long time. Wait, don't get me wrong, I didn't..."

“I know. That’s why I cherish you.” He looked down. “I wish you were a boy. Even if you’re not, you’ll still be my best friend.”

…best friend.

Sigh, others might not think much of it. But to a weirdo like me, it feels like someone has placed a precious gift in my hands. My interpersonal relationships are so terrible that I know very well that pure friendship is a luxury for me.

My roommates treat me well out of pity. Although I'm grateful, I know it will never develop into an equal friendship. Others call me "Silent Girl" and think of me as a "supernatural girl" without objection, because they believe that if I ever get into trouble, there will be a powerful person (actually, it's a misunderstanding) to help me.

But Tang Chen extended his hand in an equal and friendly manner, saying that I was "my best friend".

Holding his hand, I held back my tears and nodded.

But I forgot that this was Shuo's café, and the painful desolation was watching from the side.

Childhood sweethearts, how wonderful. Shuo chuckled softly.

Shuo, don't panic. I'm getting a little annoyed.

Childhood sweethearts, right? Does going to university count as childhood sweethearts? Aren't we getting a little old? Huang E was very interested in joining in the fun.

Shut up! There's no need to be so polite with Huang'e.

She doesn't offer me free herbal tea.

(The Ouija board game is over)

Ten Girlfriends of Desolation

After the Ouija board incident came to an end, it left me with a headache.

The principal summoned me, and after going around in circles for a while, asked if my family's "temple" could help with a religious ceremony or something.

…Where would I go to give birth to what “temple in my home”?

I tried everything I could, but to no avail. In the end, I pushed the old man away and said a lot of nice things... A few days later, the local earth god temple in our school became very lively. I heard that the principal spent a lot of money and paid for a lot of expensive Viagra.

The old man and the local residents ate until their mouths were greasy and they were beaming with joy for quite a while.

"He who eats another's food is bound to him; he who takes another's money is bound to him." These incredibly bored and impoverished locals have indeed become much more well-behaved, and the endless stream of nonsense at the school has subsided considerably. Now, I've actually become a burden; even the smallest, most trivial matter has the principal calling me in for questioning, which is incredibly bothersome.

...Don't ask me about toilet renovations, how would I know?!

However, the old man was quite pleased with the alcohol and was very friendly to me for a while. He even generously told me the truth about the Ouija board incident.

At the base of this burial mound, an old demon, eight or nine tenths dead, is suppressed. He is so weak that he can only be summoned through an altar and possessed by a spirit medium to have any effect. In the past, when something went wrong at a group meeting, it just so happened that there was a spirit medium among them.

At that time, the old man had no other choice but to fight the old demon for the spirit medium's body, and he actually won, returning to his rightful place and destroying the disc. But if a god and demon were to fight over the spirit medium's body like that, an ordinary person would definitely be injured or maimed. That student was hospitalized for a long time, and after being discharged, he was left with a life-shortening illness, definitely not living past forty.

This incident left the old man deeply resentful, which is why he harassed the then-principal day and night, demanding that he establish this school rule. The rule was eventually established, and the principal retired early. Later generations, knowing the uproar it caused, simply kept the rule in place.

"You're so capable, why don't you just eliminate the problem completely?" I asked quickly, taking advantage of His good mood.

"Kill! Kill! Kill! All you youngsters know is 'kill'!" The old man glared. "Where there is yin, there is yang; where there is good, there is evil. This is the cycle of nature. How can there be yang without yin, or heaven without night? Is it only the living who can exist in this world? How stupid! Everything has rules. Without rules, wouldn't everything be chaotic? I ask you, you know that only one demon can exist in a place. Do you want an old demon that can be ruled and suppressed, killing eight or nine out of ten? Or do you want a young and powerful demon that can wreak havoc? I'm too old to suppress this old demon, but if it were me, I'd have to pack up and pretend I didn't see it. What are you going to do with all the living beings and dead souls on this mountain?"

I could only bow my head and agree, and quickly serve the wine.

"Sigh, I know young people like to play around, but this Ouija board thing was originally on par with spirit writing," the old man sighed. "But now, why don't respectable people use it anymore? It's because it's considered unorthodox and unstable, so they've abandoned it. Who knew that some people would pass it down as a pastime, banning it again and again, but it just won't listen..."

At this moment, the old man really does look like a grandfather from the school.

I guess the "benefactor" Tang Chen mentioned was the old man, right?

Tang Chen and I made up, and he told me why he chose to study at this school. His mysterious uncle had done all sorts of calculations for him, and only this school could avert disaster. He had no choice but to abandon his original aspirations and come to this school.

"...Aren't you disappointed?" To be honest, I feel quite sorry for you.

"I don't have any regrets... It's just that I'm a little worried about not being able to go to the same school as Yu Zheng." He gave a shy smile.

"Tsk tsk, there's no cure for lovesickness~" I nudged him with my elbow.

"Hengzhi, you really are something." He laughed and beckoned. Huang'e, overjoyed, pounced on his hand, greedily inhaling his escaping life force, letting out strange groans.

"What did she say? I can't hear her," he asked me with a smile.

My smile froze, and I felt awkward. "...Don't get too close to monsters."

"But I think she's cute," Tang Chen replied, unusually oblivious. Huang E... let out a long, drawn-out groan and frantically rubbed against Tang Chen's hand.

I grabbed Tang Chen's schoolbag and slammed it down on him without any hesitation. Hopefully, the Diamond Sutra and the Bible will bring Huang E to his senses.

"Don't be so mean to her." This "Tang Sanzang," who was treated as food, actually pleaded for the demon.

I only waved goodbye to Tang Chen and went to the library after Xiao Lian rushed over to defend her territory. Huang E didn't follow; he smirked and left with Tang Chen like a kidnapped little animal.

I shrugged. I went to the library to give a presentation, and the locals were very helpful in giving me pointers, but unfortunately, almost everything they taught was wrong. After all, fifty or sixty years ago (some even a hundred), mastering modern economics required foresight.

But before I finished my report and was about to go eat, Huang E returned in a huff.

"What's wrong?" I asked casually.

"...Tang Chen's girlfriend is no good!" She was completely enraged.

I stared at her for a while, pondering what it meant.

The "not a good thing" that Huange speaks of is very complex. As a youkai who loves the taste of evil and sin, she is allergic to kindness and gentleness, so of course she thinks such a person is "not a good thing".

But she doesn't necessarily like bad people, because she doesn't understand that kind of inexplicable greed and murderous intent, and she thinks they are "not good people".

But all I sensed was her agitation and anger, mixed with a hint of disgust and fear. It was all very chaotic; I couldn't understand it.

"Tang Chen's girlfriend is at school?" I decided to ask the more obvious question.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, still excited. "He's such a jerk!"

After thinking about it, I decided not to go to see Tang Chen.

Women in love have a peculiar possessiveness and hostility. Although I am not a monster like Huang E who can see through people's hearts, I have spent a lot of time with her and my feelings have become mixed with hers. I can still sense this negative emotion to some extent.

Tang Chen and I have a good relationship; we're friends. We know the truth, but others might not. Lately, the gossip has been getting to me, and if even the slightest bit of it reaches his girlfriend's ears, and I go to her door... wouldn't that just make things worse?

It's better to just go with the flow. She's Tang Chen's girlfriend, not anyone to me.

Having made up my mind, I coaxed Huang'e, intending to find a secluded place for her to drink some blood. Since her battle with the demon, her healing had been slow and poor. Fortunately, Tang Chen was generous (or perhaps unaware), and she received a little life force, which helped her recover somewhat.

But I'm worried that some of the larger wounds are healing so slowly.

"Stop cutting your fingers, it's disgusting to look at!" She turned her face away, clearly in a bad mood, and even refused to drink the blood.

"Have a little drink, it hurts a lot." I mustered my strength and tried my best to coax her.

She licked reluctantly, then suddenly snapped, "Why don't you get your body in better shape, put on some makeup, and wear some fresh, pretty clothes! Think about how to snatch Tang Chen away! If you don't marry him and don't want to kill him, how am I supposed to get what I want?!"

Then a commotion started.

The logic of monsters is really...

“He’s a good friend of mine,” I said, trying to calm her down.

"Bullshit! What good friend! I don't care, I don't care, go and snatch him away! I just don't want that bastard to take Tang Chen away!" Then she burst into tears, her voice hoarse.

Now, I'm actually quite curious.

Curiosity aside, I didn't go looking for trouble. But according to the law of nature, trouble always comes knocking.

I was heading back to my dorm when Tang Chen and his girlfriend blocked my way at the door.

They were the epitome of a perfect couple, a truly beautiful pair. Of course, that's just in appearances. Now I finally understand why Huang E said Tang Chen's girlfriend was "not a good person"...

I guess if Huang E were born as a human, this would probably be what he would be like? People of the same sex repel each other, and the more similar people (or demons) are, the more they hate each other.

A vibrant, imposing, queen-like, stunningly beautiful woman. I almost wanted to back away... because she had a remarkable "talent," an unconscious "witch."

Their vitality and willpower were simply excessive.

This is the first human being who can communicate with me so deeply through emotions, just like Shuo. Unfortunately, it's one-way. She poured her emotions over me like a waterfall, and it took me a lot of effort to block her out. Fortunately, my long time spent with Huang'e had already trained me well.

On the surface, we exchanged polite greetings, exchanged names, and chatted about the weather and studies, making no real connection. In reality, from our brief emotional interaction, I knew she looked down on me and thought I was an ugly woman who had gotten close to her boyfriend through charlatanry.

She originally thought Xiao Lian was the "supernatural girl Lin Moniang", but she didn't expect her to be a girl who looked like a weed.

An emotional torrent can transmit a large amount of information in a very short time, so I also learned some things I shouldn't have known. She wasn't a bad person, to be fair. It's just that she was very determined about her goals and knew how to proceed step by step.

Love was only a small part of her life; after all, she was a queen.

I don't know what happened next. Because I quickly erected high walls to avoid knowing more things I shouldn't know.

I suspect Tang Chen is also within her protection zone. Even monsters and ghosts would be scared away by her and run as far as they can.

To be honest, I also wanted to run away.

We chatted for a while, and she politely and gently asked me to take good care of Tang Chen. I readily agreed, saying, "We're classmates, we should look after each other."