Le Chemin des Fantômes Lésés, Partie 1 Le Chemin des Fantômes Lésés

Chapitre 21

Pei Linhai pushed Lou Lifan to the school's central garden. He wanted to put him under the loquat tree, but Lou Lifan refused. Pei Linhai couldn't persuade him otherwise, so he could only put him on the bench under the banyan tree.

The reason he placed Lou Lifan under the loquat tree was because loquats have the effect of warding off evil spirits and are also very good for the body, while banyan trees are the opposite. They gather yin energy that they have been collecting since they started growing, which is very harmful to ordinary people.

“You don’t understand. One-quarter of my body is composed of Yin energy,” Lou Lifan explained to him. “My maternal grandmother wasn’t human; she was a ghost with a thousand years of cultivation. If you put me under a loquat tree, I would definitely react to it. It wouldn’t be severe, but it would be very uncomfortable…”

"A quarter of the Ghost Clan bloodline?" Pei Linhai was extremely surprised. "That's incredible! A thousand-year-old female ghost! How come you've never mentioned it before?"

"I'm not crazy, why would I talk about such boring things with everyone!" Lou Lifan glared at him.

“That’s true…” Pei Linhai scratched the back of his head. “Oh, right, would you like something to drink? I’ll go buy it for you.”

"Ah, I want green tea."

"good."

Watching Pei Linhai's retreating figure, Lou Lifan let out a long sigh of relief, opened his arms, and was about to stretch out when he was startled to touch something warm. He turned around and realized that someone had been sitting next to him.

"You...when did you sit here?!" He tried to make his words sound less stuttering, but his efforts weren't very effective. He was genuinely startled; normally, no one could approach him so silently, and if he hadn't happened to bump into him, he probably wouldn't have even noticed his presence!

He was a young man in his early twenties with delicate and handsome features. His overall demeanor was melancholic, and when he sat there quietly, you couldn't even feel his presence.

He seemed not to hear Lou Lifan's question, because he was immersed in his own world, his eyes looking in a certain direction, his hands clasped together, and muttering to himself.

Lou Lifan initially thought he was performing some kind of magic, but when he finally understood what the person was chanting, he nearly slid off his chair.

"I have to go back... I can't go back... I have to go back... I'll die if I go back... I can't not go back... But zombies are terrifying... But I have to go back... I don't want to go back... I have to go back... I won't go back..."

"Sorry, sorry to interrupt," Lou Lifan patted his shoulder, and the man turned around. "Although it feels like you're meddling a lot, your nagging here is really annoying. Can you tell me what problem you're facing?"

"What's it to you?" the young man replied arrogantly.

Lou Lifan tried hard to suppress the urge to kick him, reminding himself that he was still injured and his broken leg hadn't healed yet. He couldn't let all his previous efforts be wasted on such a bastard...

"But if you want to know, I can tell you." The voice was still arrogant, as if speaking to Lou Lifan was a great honor for him.

"I don't want to hear it." Lou Lifan's fists began to pound. He really... really wanted to punch this guy in the nose and make him even more annoying!

The man seemed not to hear and continued proudly, "Actually, it's like this..."

"Li Fan! The green tea you ordered!" Pei Linhai ran over from afar and handed Lou Li Fan a simply packaged green tea: "We don't have your usual brand anymore, so this is all we have. Is that alright?"

Lou Lifan was pleased that he had appeared at this time. He took the green tea and said, "It doesn't matter, they all taste the same anyway. By the way, let's go somewhere else, this place isn't quiet."

Pei Linhai didn't understand what he meant: "Huh? Not peaceful?"

Upon hearing his words, the young man angrily shouted, "Don't be quiet! What are you saying! Weren't you the one who kept asking me about things? Why are you going back on your word now!"

His voice startled Pei Linhai: "Huh! When did this person get here?! I didn't even notice!"

Lou Lifan looked surprised: "You didn't notice... I didn't notice yet! By the time I did, he was already here."

The young man interjected indignantly, "I've been here the whole time! You haven't even glanced at me since you arrived!"

Pei Linhai and Lou Lifan remained silent. Because they truly, truly, truly hadn't realized there was someone else there...

“I just don’t understand,” the young man muttered, “I’m right here, so why does nobody ever notice me? Why do they only notice me after I speak? Don’t think I’ll fall for their act of just being discovered! They’re all hypocrites! There’s not a single sincere person among them!…”

If he hadn't provoked Lou Lifan, he probably would have patiently asked him and explained what was going on. Unfortunately, he had angered Lou Lifan, and Lou Lifan didn't want to pay any attention to him.

"Pei Linhai, let's go."

Just as Pei Linhai created the air cushion, the young man suddenly grabbed Lou Lifan's waist as he was about to float up: "Hey! You can't leave! I haven't finished speaking! It's been so long since anyone noticed my existence! That guy doesn't care about my feelings at all! Keeping those things around! I'm going to have a nervous breakdown! I'm going to die! I don't want to live anymore! I really don't want to live anymore! Don't stop me! I don't want to live! I'm going to die..."

The young man was incredibly strong; Lou Lifan was nearly choked to death. He pounded on the guy, wishing he could seal his dull head shut: "Bastard! What does your death have to do with me! If you want to die, then die! Nobody's stopping you! Let go! If you don't let go, I'll kill you! Pei Linhai! Aren't you going to help?! I'll kill you too!"

Pei Linhai was stunned for a moment, then squatted down to the side and laughed until he couldn't breathe.

"Peilinhai!"

“No…it’s okay! That’s just how he is, hahaha…” Pei Linhai continued to laugh, “I remember now, he’s Dongming Taotie, a second-year student majoring in I Ching. He’s very eccentric, and his eccentricity is well-known throughout the school. You were offended by him just now, weren’t you? Actually, he’s a very nice person, just a little narcissistic.”

"That's all!" Lou Lifan was almost fainting with anger. "Stop spouting nonsense! Get him off me right now!"

"Me? I'm useless. He's very stubborn. Only one person can handle him..."

"Taotie? So you were here?"

A very gentle male voice rang out, but upon hearing it, Dongming Taotie's body immediately stiffened. He slowly turned around, saw the person behind him, and the person behind that person, and his hand loosened—he collapsed to the ground.

It should be noted that the person behind him was not scary at all, just a bit tall and fairly handsome. Unfortunately, there were several pale-faced zombies standing behind him, staring straight ahead, which made even Lou Lifan feel a chill.

"Has Taotie caused you trouble again? I'm so sorry!" The man bowed politely. "I am Dongchong, hello!"

"I am Lou Lifan."

"I am Pei Linhai."

Lou Lifan nodded slightly, and Pei Linhai followed Dong Chong's example and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect.

“He didn’t cause us ‘too much’ trouble,” Lou Lifan glanced at the person who had fainted on the ground, “but could you tell me what he was saying just now?”

Dong Chong was confused: "What did he mean by what he said? What did he say?"

"The zombies are terrifying, we can't go back, we have to go back," and so on.

“Ah, that’s it,” Dong Chong smiled gently, “It’s because he’s terrified of zombies.”

"!?!" This is the first time I've heard of people who attend paranormal schools being afraid of zombies!

Dong Chong settled Dongming Taotie on the bench and said, "Actually, he's from a family that drives corpses, but something happened that made him terrified of zombies ever since. I'm his roommate, but my ability is to control zombies. He often gets scared by my zombies without realizing it, and then he immediately runs away. This gives me a real headache."

Lou Lifan looked at the foreheads of the zombies and found no seals or signs of them being sealed. He asked, "Don't you ever seal them?"

Dong Chong asked in surprise, "Why should I seal it?"

"...Didn't you say you often scare him?"

"But if we seal them, the zombies will be uncomfortable."

"..." I had nothing to say.

"And he gets scared whenever there's a zombie in the room. Last time I put a zombie in the bathroom, it scared him to death."

"..." Normally, no one would put a zombie in the bathroom, right...?

"I hid them in the closet today, but I didn't expect it would still scare him so much that he left home."

"..." You can imagine that anyone would be terrified if they opened a closet and found several zombies inside.

"He rarely speaks to people, but today he chatted very happily with the two of you. I am very pleased..."

“Let me clarify,” Lou Lifan interrupted unhappily, “I didn’t have a pleasant conversation with him. He just kept me there and made me listen to his complaints. It prevented me from leaving even if I wanted to.”

“This is also a rare occurrence,” Dong Chong smiled. “Due to his physical condition, he is easily overlooked, and he himself is also prone to overlooking others. Therefore, he rarely interacts with people. Most of the time, he hides in a corner and mutters to himself. Even I don’t know what he’s thinking. Something like what you said about chasing after someone to confess his feelings is almost never happening to him.”

“First, that wasn’t a confession,” Lou Lifan said. “Second, I would never be happy about something like that. Pei Linhai, let’s go.”

Pei Linhai reached out to make an air cushion, but Dong Chong stopped him: "Excuse me, could you wait a moment?"

Pei Linhai stopped, and Lou Lifan, though impatient, had no choice but to ask, "Is there anything else?"

"You two are the famous couple staying here this year, right?"

Lou Lifan's face turned from white to green, and he turned to Pei Linhai and asked, "Do you have a throwing knife?"

Pei Linhai forced a smile: "Li Fan, no way..."

Dong Chong smiled nonchalantly, "I mean no harm, I just want to verify your identities. If you really are those two guests, then things will be much easier. Could you two do me a favor?"

Lou Lifan didn't want to pay any attention to him, but Pei Linhai couldn't bear to see the man embarrassed, so he replied, "Okay."

Dong Chong said, "Lou Lifan was born into a family with a long history of supernatural abilities and has extremely high experience in supernatural phenomena; Pei Linhai was born into an ordinary family and has limited experience in supernatural phenomena, but his spiritual power is unfathomable."

Although it was all the truth, it sounded quite comforting, and Lou Lifan's expression softened.

"If possible, I hope you two can help adjust Taotie's problem so that he is no longer afraid of zombies."

"...Even his family can't do anything, what can we do?"

“No,” Dong Chong said, “his family did have a solution, but they tried many methods, none of which worked.”

Isn't that the same as having no other choice?

"Moreover, his family mainly practiced corpse driving in ancient times, but in modern times, this skill is almost useless and they are gradually declining, so their methods are definitely limited. If it were Lou Lifan from a family of supernatural beings, he would certainly be far beyond the capabilities of ordinary people, right?"

These words made Lou Lifan feel dizzy, and he was extremely pleased. Without thinking, he said, "That's right! That's exactly it! Of course, those people can't... cough cough... of course, they're much worse than my family. Even if I can't, I still have my three witches, they can definitely do it."

"Then thank you both in advance!" Dong Chong cupped his hands in greeting again, and Pei Linhai habitually returned the gesture.

He bent down, grabbed Dongming Taotie's arm, pulled him up, and hoisted him onto his shoulder, saying to Lou Lifan and the others, "Once he wakes up, I will have him pay a visit."

"You're welcome," Pei Linhai replied.

After he and the zombies had walked away, Lou Lifan said to Pei Linhai, "Don't you think his words and actions are a bit strange?"

What's strange about it?

Lou Lifan glared at him fiercely: "Are you blind?! Can't you see something so obvious?!"

Pei Linhai was extremely aggrieved: "I...I just didn't notice...it's not like I did anything heinous!"

Lou Lifan was so angry he didn't want to say anything more, but he had to bring up that matter, so he suppressed his anger and said to him, "Although he tried his best to hide it, it was still obvious that he used mostly archaic language, especially in some subtle places, such as 'I,' 'today,' and 'indeed'..."

"Isn't this just ordinary talk?" Pei Linhai still didn't understand.

Lou Lifan's healthy foot played a crucial role, striking the victim with a sharp crack. Pei Linhai hopped around, clutching his leg, for a while.

Lou Lifan continued, "Judging from his age, he's only in his early twenties. People of this age rarely receive that kind of traditional education anymore, and even if they do, they wouldn't speak like this, with such a distorted manner."

“That makes sense,” Pei Linhai pondered, “but is it possible that his family is quite traditional and specifically uses this method to educate their children?”

“That’s possible,” Lou Lifan said. “But if that’s the case, why would he need to hide it so obviously? It’s like he’s afraid we’ll find out that he’s using archaic language.”

“I remembered something,” Pei Linhai suddenly said. “When he came over just now, I used my spiritual energy to investigate, and the result was very strange—his nature is different from that of ordinary people. Although he looks similar at first glance, if you compare them, he doesn’t look very much like a ‘human’, but is very similar to the fluctuations of the zombie behind him.”

“I also sent out a spiritual detection at the same time,” Lou Lifan said. “The result… he is at most half human, and the other half is unclear. You said his fluctuations are similar to those of a zombie, and if you ask me, there are indeed some similarities with zombies, but more than that, he feels very similar to my grandmother.”

Pei Linhai blurted out, "That thousand-year-old female ghost?!"

Lou Lifan's eyes nearly blazed with fire: "Don't spout nonsense! What thousand-year-old female ghost! Watch your mouth!"

"sorry……"

"Anything can happen in this school. Although he may not necessarily be harmful to us, it's always good to be cautious. Be careful yourself."

"knew."

After that disastrous meeting, more than a week passed peacefully. Lou Lifan's leg had healed completely, and there was no trace of the injury he had ever suffered. That day's incident was merely a minor episode, and by the next day, he and Pei Linhai had completely forgotten about it.