Mysteriöses Brennen

Kapitel 8

Lin Feng continued his struggle with the chicken leg, saying between bites, "I wasn't lying to you, was I? Your face is twice as big as usual, who could recognize you? And you're blaming me?"

Thinking that it was all Li Mingsheng's fault, Xiao Jie tightened her grip, pulling until Li Mingsheng cried out in pain before finally letting go.

Li Mingsheng touched his ear and said, "Old Zhang is still lying over there. You two are awake, but I don't know if he's awake yet!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Feng immediately said, "Why didn't you say so earlier? Which ward is it in? Take me there right now!"

When they entered the ward, Zhang the Taoist priest had already woken up, but due to his old age and weak constitution, he was still somewhat listless.

As the three men entered, Zhang the Taoist priest said, "Come here, come here!"

Lin Feng walked to the bedside and said, "Taoist Zhang." Taoist Zhang waved his hand and said, "No need for so much. I should thank you more. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I wouldn't be alive!" Then he glanced at Xiao Jie Jie and Li Ming Sheng behind Lin Feng and said, "Please leave for a moment, you two."

After Li Mingsheng and Xiao Jiejie left as instructed, Zhang Daoshi carefully examined Lin Feng and said, "Young man, this old Taoist priest is over 70 years old, and I'm afraid I won't escape this calamity this time."

Lin Feng quickly replied, "Don't mention it! Aren't you perfectly fine, sir? You're in great health!"

The Taoist priest shook his head and said, "I wanted to teach you everything I know, but I'm afraid I don't have time. I plan to be discharged this afternoon."

Lin Feng was about to offer a few more words of advice when Zhang Daoshi suddenly uttered a "Huh?" and said, "Stretch out your hand, let me see!"

Lin Feng, unaware of what had happened, obediently extended his left hand. Zhang the Taoist examined it carefully for a long time and asked, "When did you get this scar on your middle finger?"

Lin Feng looked at the red lines on his hand that looked like they had been cut by a knife and said, "I don't know either, it's probably from the injury I sustained last night!"

The Taoist priest pondered for a long time before saying, "I'll give you a piece of advice: go with the flow. It will benefit both yourself and others; otherwise, alas..."

In the afternoon, all three of them left the hospital, and naturally, Li Mingsheng treated them to a big meal at a restaurant. They had originally invited Zhang the Taoist priest, but he declined three times, so the three of them took him home.

After eating, Lin Feng returned home with Xiao Jie Jie and lay on the sofa. He kept thinking about what Zhang Daoshi had said, and a strange feeling lingered in his heart. He pondered it for half the night but couldn't figure it out, so he simply decided to ignore it and go to sleep first.

Two days later, Xiao Jie's face was no longer swollen, and she went back to school.

Lin Feng accompanied Xiao Jiejie on a walk around the campus and discovered that all the locust and willow trees in the school had suddenly withered and died.

Lin Feng said, "These are plants that easily attract resentment. Since they've all withered and died, there won't be any problems in the future."

Xiao Jiejie said thoughtfully, "Then how did you know I was in danger that day?"

Lin Feng said smugly, "It was just a sudden whim of mine."

Before she could finish speaking, Xiao Jiejie said, "Speak properly, you're starting again!" After several years of being classmates, Xiao Jiejie knew her old classmate's true nature well; he could always crack a joke.

In truth, Lin Feng himself wasn't entirely sure why he knew there was a third person present that day, or why he knew Xiao Jie was in danger. If he had to explain it, it might have been some kind of premonition.

Looking at the red line extending from the base of my palm to my fingertips, it looked like a fresh wound. Although it didn't hurt or itch, it still looked so eerie.

Xiao Jie saw the red thread on Lin Feng's palm and said, "Huh? What's going on?"

Lin Feng shook his head, puzzled, and said, "I don't know either!"

Since she didn't know Lin Feng, she was too lazy to think about him. She accompanied Xiao Jiejie for a walk around the school and then went back to the house.

Volume 1, Path of Vengeful Spirits, Chapter 19: Nightmare (1)

A handsome man gently hugged a young and beautiful woman from behind. The woman turned around and smiled tenderly, saying, "You naughty boy, be careful not to get burned!"

"It's okay!" The man pressed close to the woman's back and buttocks, feeling the woman's breasts rise.

The woman gently blew on the steam rising from the pot, releasing a rich aroma.

The steam rising from the pot enveloped the woman, filling the kitchen with a hazy warmth that obscured her face. She gently stirred the soup with her chopsticks. The man asked, "Why aren't you using a ladle?"

"I'm used to using chopsticks!"

That's too much trouble.

"Really?" the woman asked absentmindedly.

The rain outside the window was pattering softly, like a lover's fingers tapping incessantly on the glass. The woman remarked casually, "The rain is so heavy!"

The man seemed not to hear what the woman was saying, and continued to kiss her neck greedily, the woman's smooth neck radiating an alluring glow.

A flash of lightning appeared outside the window, followed by a clap of thunder, and the woman seemed to shudder. The man held her waist and gently nibbled on her ear, saying, "Don't be afraid! It's just thunder."

"Yeah, it's just thunder!"

"What's wrong? Is something on your mind?"

"No, no!"

"Then why are you so distracted?"

"No!"

The woman turned her head, her face still obscured, and kissed the man passionately. One of her hands was around the man's neck, while the other hand still gripped the chopsticks tightly.

The passionately kissing couple finally separated, and a flash of lightning streaked across the sky. The man exclaimed "Wow!" and said to the woman, "Outside!" Before he could finish speaking, the woman suddenly raised the chopsticks in her hand and stabbed them hard into the man.

The chopsticks pierced the man's eye precisely. Just as the man screamed, a clap of thunder drowned out his cries. Blood gushed out like a runaway tap, flowing down the chopsticks.

The man shoved the woman away abruptly, and she crashed into the cupboard. A chopstick remained lodged in the man's eye; he grabbed it but lacked the courage to pull it out. The liquid dripped from the chopstick onto the pristine white tiles, like delicate peach blossoms painted on the floor. The man staggered towards the door, and the woman picked up a pot of steaming hot soup from the stove and poured it over his head, pot and all.

The kitchen was still filled with a thick, moist atmosphere and fresh aromas, and the woman's face remained hazy.

As the man screamed and ran to the kitchen door, he collapsed with a thud, like a toppled statue, lying motionless on the ground.

The woman opened a drawer under the cupboard, took out a roll of wide tape, and first wrapped it around the man's hands several times, then around his mouth and around the back of his neck several times. After thinking for a moment, she dragged the man to the bathroom, tied his feet together, and then tossed the tape aside with satisfaction.

The woman took a knife from the kitchen and carefully made cuts on the man's body. She first applied cooking wine to each cut, then sprinkled MSG, followed by chili powder, and finally rubbed in salt. The dim light cast flickering shadows on her face, making it difficult to see clearly.

The woman turned around and smiled at Lin Feng. Why? Why can't I still see her face clearly?

Lin Feng woke up abruptly from his dream, his head covered in sweat, still feeling lingering fear. He had been having this dream for three days in a row; each time he woke up, he saw the woman's devilish eyes and smile, but he could never make out her face.

Lin Feng was utterly bewildered. He had never encountered anything like this before. It felt more real than a dream. The scene and details flashed vividly through his mind, yet it was definitely just a dream. When he woke up, he was still shaken, but the sunlight told him that this was reality.

Lin Feng looked at the red line on his hand, which looked like it had been cut by a knife, and wondered if it had anything to do with this.

She drew back the curtains; it was already broad daylight. Hearing Lin Feng's movements from the living room, Xiao Jiejie, who was in the kitchen, said, "Lazybones, get up!"

Lin Feng stretched and said, "Fried dough sticks again?"

Xiao Jie said, "And hot milk!"

Lin Feng curled his lip and said, "It's not your milk, so what?"

"Lin Feng, do you want to die?!" Xiao Jiejie rushed out of the kitchen with lightning speed, holding a chopstick in her hand.

Lin Feng's heart skipped a beat at the thought of the chopsticks in the woman's hand in his dream.

Xiao Jiejie, holding chopsticks, yelled at Lin Feng, "If you keep talking nonsense, believe me, I'll stab you to death with these chopsticks!"

Lin Feng didn't answer, but just stared at the chopsticks in Xiao Jie Jie's hand.

Xiao Jie looked at Lin Feng strangely. What was wrong with this usually glib-tongued guy today? Looking at the unusually flustered Lin Feng, Xiao Jie asked, "Are you alright?" She touched Lin Feng's forehead and exclaimed, "Wow! So much cold sweat! Are you sick? Let me see!"

Lin Feng pushed Xiao Jie Jie's hand away and said, "What are you looking at? It's nothing!"

Seeing that Lin Feng was so ungrateful, Xiao Jiejie said angrily, "It would be better if he died!" and walked towards the kitchen.

Lin Feng gazed at Xiao Jie's graceful back; she didn't quite resemble the woman in his dream. The woman in his dream wore a floral sleeveless tank top, while Xiao Jie almost never wore tank tops!

"Little Jie Jie"

"What are you doing, you pervert!"

Do you have any floral print tank tops?

"Are you crazy? Why are you asking your grandma about this?"

"It's nothing, I was just asking!"

"Hmph, I never wear tank tops. The polluted air and scorching sun will ruin my skin!"

Lin Feng breathed a sigh of relief; the woman in his dream wasn't Xiao Jie Jie.

After eating, Xiao Jie went to work. Before leaving, she said to Lin Feng, "Don't forget to pick me up after get off work this afternoon so we can go out for dinner together!"

Lin Feng noticed the strange expression on Xiao Jie's face and felt that she was hiding something from him, but he was too lazy to guess. He generally never tried to guess what a woman was thinking. If a man racked his brains to guess a woman's thoughts, he must be a fool. A woman's thoughts change faster than the clouds in the sky; if you kept trying to guess, you'd exhaust your brain cells.

Seeing that Lin Feng remained unmoved, Xiao Jiejie scolded, "Did you hear that?"

Lin Feng nodded and said, "I understand. I'll pick you up this afternoon!"

"That's more like it!" Little Jiejie happily went off.

Volume 1, Path of Vengeful Ghosts, Chapter 20: Nightmare (2)

After Xiao Jie left, Lin Feng, feeling bored, turned on his computer and went online.

There were hardly any people online on QQ, and those who were online weren't chatting much. Only Li Mingsheng's avatar was flashing. Lin Feng opened the chat window, and a message read: "Lin Feng, where the hell are you? Your phone isn't on either. I need to contact you. Call me if you see this!"

Lin Feng chuckled inwardly, thinking that this idiot must have dialed the wrong number; his phone had been on the whole time. He pulled out his phone and saw that it was indeed switched off. Lin Feng was a little puzzled. He had checked the time on his phone last night; when had it been switched off? Could it have run out of battery? That couldn't be right; it had three full bars of battery when he checked last night. Lin Feng then checked Li Mingsheng's message, which was dated yesterday morning. That was impossible; his phone was definitely on then. The only explanation was that Li Mingsheng had dialed the wrong number.

Lin Feng pulled out Li Mingsheng's phone and dialed it. After a series of dial tones, a emotionless female voice said in a standard tone, "The number you dialed is currently switched off!"

"Damn it!" Lin Feng hung up the phone and continued browsing the news online.

Lin Feng played until the afternoon when his phone suddenly vibrated. He saw it was Xiao Jie Jie calling, picked up the phone, and said "Hello!"

"You don't need to pick me up this afternoon. I'm going shopping with my friend! Just come find me at the 'Nongqing Yipai' Western Restaurant across from the Development Zone Management Committee. We'll be waiting for you there!"

"What's going on? Why are we having Western food with such a sentimental name!"

"If you dare to be even a minute late, I'll castrate you. Be there by 7 o'clock sharp, you hear me!"

"Alright, alright, did you have to be so fierce?"

"Hmph!" Xiao Jie hung up the phone.

Lin Feng gritted her teeth and said into the phone, "With such a fierce temper, she'll never find a husband in her entire life!"

At 6 o'clock, Lin Feng tidied up and went out. After being here for so many days, Lin Feng had basically figured out the general situation here, and he knew which bus to take to get to some important places. To go to the development zone, he took bus number 29, which was right outside the gate of the residential area.

Lin Feng stood and waited for a while, and the car arrived at 6:20.

Lin Feng was taken aback when he boarded the bus. It was practically empty except for the driver, the conductor, and three people in the last row. Lin Feng was puzzled; 6 PM should be the peak time for school dismissal, so why was this bus so empty? But he couldn't worry about that now. Fewer people was better; he'd treat it like a private car.

When buying the ticket, Lin Feng noticed the female ticket seller's gloomy face; she was so thin she was practically skin and bones. He thought to himself, "Damn, is she being abused by her husband at home? She's so skinny, like a ghost. If I weren't brave enough, I would have been scared to death."

Lin Feng chose a seat in the front row and glanced back at the three people at the back of the car. All three were staring at him. One had wide eyes, as if he were angry. The one in the middle had a somewhat dazed look, like an idiot. The one who had come closer was looking at him, but his gaze was shifting, as if he were distracted.

Lin Feng thought to himself, "These three strange fellows," and began to admire the scenery along the roadside.

Honestly, this city is really well-built. Although it's located in the far northwest of China and isn't a large city, everywhere is lush with new willows and vibrant flowers. Aside from a few main roads, there aren't many people on the other streets. The air is exceptionally fresh. If he had a choice, he would be very happy to work here.

After a 20-minute ride, the bus arrived at the Development Zone Management Committee. The ticket seller coldly said, "Sir, you've arrived at your stop!"