Deep Illusion - Chapter 3
"You're such a hassle, fine," Mu Feng said.
"Phantom Shadow" boasts stunning sound effects and scenes, terrifying even the two grown men. Even Ruofei, who had seen it several times, wasn't much better off; only Yiqi, while watching, found herself secretly laughing to herself. At this moment, Liu Yu and Mu Feng exchanged a glance and said:
"What a piece of garbage! It's so fake. How can a director like this even be in the business?" Liu Yu said.
"Yes, yes, ghosts can't be like that, it's too fake. Right, Yiqi?"
“Indeed,” Yi Qi said, stopping her laughter.
"What are you saying? Do you even understand? This is such an excellent film, it grossed tens of millions of dollars at the box office, and you dare to say it's rubbish!"
"You think you know what you're doing? It's getting late, and I'm getting a little hungry. Let's get something to eat," Mu Feng said.
"No, let's go home and eat," Yi Qi said.
"That won't do. You all have to stay with me until tonight," Mu Feng said.
Liu Yu readily agreed, and Ruofei and Yiqi, considering it was Mu Feng's birthday, had no choice but to comply. So they started cooking, but then Liu Yu and Mu Feng were stumped. Who knew how to cook? Lunch had been prepared by Mu Feng's grandmother the day before, stored in the refrigerator, and then reheated in the microwave for everyone. But what about dinner? They couldn't very well ask the old lady to come back and cook for them again. Thinking of this, Mu Feng said, "Let's go out to eat."
"I'm too lazy to move, I'll just eat something at home," Ruofei said lazily.
"Alright, then please cook for everyone. We'll eat together when it's done," Mu Feng said irritably.
---Magpie Bridge Fairy
Reply [11]: "Are you kidding me? I don't know how to cook."
"That settles it then, you can't cook, so you're just going to eat raw food!"
Ruofei and Mufeng's conversation was overheard by Yiqi, who was browsing through books on the bookshelf in the study. She came out and said, "Leave it to me, I can do it."
Amidst the surprised gazes of the other three, Yi Qi walked into the kitchen. Liu Yu and Mu Feng could only wash and chop on the side—or rather, wash, as Yi Qi did all the chopping herself. These two boys couldn't even hold a knife properly, so the food they cut was hardly presentable; it was a miracle they didn't cut their fingers together.
Before long, steaming hot food was placed on the table. The other three people wolfed down their food under Yi Qi's smiling gaze. Ruofei said while eating, "I didn't expect that Yi Qi, who doesn't know how to use a computer, can cook such good food. She will definitely be a good housewife in the future."
"Alright, stop talking so much nonsense. Who's as playful, lazy, and gluttonous as you?" Liu Yu put down his rice bowl and said.
"Alright, alright, let's be quiet for a bit while we eat. Liu Yu brought half a case of beer at noon, let's bring some more to drink," Mu Feng said.
"Okay!" they said in unison.
Mu Feng said he would bring beer, but he went and brought back a bottle of wine instead. He was afraid that the beer's alcohol content was too low and wouldn't work on Yi Qi...
Unexpectedly, Yi Qi was so bad at drinking; after only half a glass, she said she felt dizzy. Indeed, it was evident from her flushed face. Mu Feng and Liu Yu were still worried, so they forced Yi Qi to drink the rest. At this point, Yi Qi couldn't hold on any longer and slumped onto the table, falling asleep.
Mu Feng and Liu Yu helped her to the bed in the bedroom, closed the door, returned to the dining room, and explained everything to Ruofei.
Ruofei stood there stunned for quite a long time.
As the saying goes, summer weather is like a child's face, changing in an instant. Sure enough, the weather forecast said it would be sunny today, but it started raining again tonight.
They were completely oblivious to everything outside, discussing how to ensure that Yi Qi would have nothing left to hide tonight.
The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only the patter of rain to be heard. The three of them dared not speak too loudly, for fear of waking Yi Qi, who was still fast asleep.
Gradually, they seemed to smell a strange odor in the air. At first, they thought it was because something was moldy due to the rain, but the increasingly strong smell almost suffocated them, and they realized there was a problem. They rushed to Yiqi's bedroom.
As the door opened, an even more disgusting stench of decay hit them. Yi Qi, lying on the bed, had her face covered with a pillowcase and was breathing heavily.
Just as Liu Yu was about to step forward and pull down the pillowcase, Yi Qi spoke first, "Wait, would you please take me back?"
"Yi Qi, please stop hiding anything. We're all friends. If you tell us, we might be able to help you."
Yi Qi was silent for a while, then said, "I actually knew a long time ago that you knew about me, but after I found out, I originally wanted to do as the God of the Underworld said and get rid of you. But I couldn't bring myself to do it because you made me feel like I was back in my past life without me even realizing it. Especially that time when I was harassed by a group of thugs at school, and you, Mu Feng and Liu Yu, fought them bravely. That made me feel even more that you are the only ones in this world, and it made me completely give up that idea."
Mu Feng then remembered the fight with the thugs at school that day. It started when a group of thugs stopped Yi Qi, saying their boss had a crush on her and invited her for tea that day, with no say in whether she went or not. Mu Feng and Liu Yu happened to be passing by and, seeing this, decided to play the hero, relying on their two days of Taekwondo training. They fought fourteen thugs, managing to drive them all away, though they themselves were badly injured. Later, they heard that the group of thugs, including their boss, went on a road trip the next day, only to be involved in a car accident, killing everyone in the car.
Unexpectedly, this once sensational car accident was related to Yi Qi. After hearing what Yi Qi said, I truly felt fear towards the person in front of me—no, a ghost.
Yiqi continued, "Please, you must take me back, because my grave was dug up in the rain, and my body has been eroded by the rain. Every time it rains, it will revert to its original form. Look how difficult it is for me to breathe now, so I must go back immediately!"
"So you really are that female ghost?" Mu Feng asked.
"Yes, I am a ghost, but I am definitely not a demon."
“Alright, we’ll take you back. To the cemetery?” Mu Feng asked.
---Magpie Bridge Fairy
Reply [12]: The head covered by the pillowcase moved up and down slightly twice. So the three of them started to get busy, but the rain was so heavy and the road was so far, how were they going to get there? They couldn't just drag a zombie around like that. Mu Feng then remembered that his father's little Alto might still be parked downstairs, so he didn't care about anything else. He picked up Yi Qi and ran downstairs, with Liu Yu and Ruo Fei following closely behind. It wouldn't take long to get from the fifth floor to the bottom, but now everyone felt that the stairs were so long. Mu Feng carefully looked at the steps under his feet and found that Yi Qi's breathing was no longer so intense. She was so quiet that there was not a sound, including her heartbeat.
Mu Feng sat in the car, fastened his seatbelt, and said to Liu Yu and Ruofei outside the window, "You two go back. Drive. I've been sitting in the car watching since I was little, so it should be fine. I'll be careful."
We're waiting for you to come back!
"Please keep an eye on my house. Here are the keys. If I'm not back by tomorrow morning, call the police."
The heavy rain pounded on every corner of the world, and Mu Feng's words were drowned out by the sound of the rain. Only a soft echo remained outside the car window.
The Alto slowly disappeared into the night. The rain was still falling, and only countless rain streaks were reflected in the headlights. It was Mu Feng's first time on the road, but he didn't dare to drive slowly, so he gripped the steering wheel tightly, pressed the accelerator and brake pedals, and sped forward. Fortunately, there weren't many people on the road leading to the cemetery to begin with, and even fewer because of the rain.
Sitting in the back, Yi Qi suddenly started talking. Mu Feng listened carefully and realized she was talking about her past life: "I was born in this place in 1924. At that time, this city was just a small town. There were many people coming and going in the town, and my family ran an inn, so I saw a lot of people from a young age and became used to them. In 1938, the Japanese invaded, and my family was forced to provide services to the Japanese. A Japanese officer and several soldiers stayed there for a long time. Over time, I discovered that the Japanese officer was plotting against me. My mother also realized this, so she made me escape overnight. It was the dead of winter, and the New Year was just around the corner, so I..." I was staying at the home of a distant cousin. After the New Year, I planned to go home for a visit, but as soon as I entered town, someone told me that my home had been destroyed the day after I fled. The Japanese not only looted my house but also killed everyone in it and burned it down. Several of my neighbors had secretly gone to collect my parents' bodies at night, but when the Japanese found out, they suffered the same fate. Upon hearing this, I fainted on the spot. When I woke up, I found myself in a Japanese military camp, with the Japanese officer standing with his back to me. I didn't see what he was doing, but I knew something was wrong, so I took the initiative, took out the poison I had prepared beforehand, and drank it. As my consciousness gradually faded, I only felt a thunderclap explode in the sky…
Yi Qi's voice began to grow old, and slowly, it changed into another voice. Finally, she stopped speaking. Mu Feng saw Yi Qi in the rearview mirror; she was looking down, her hair was disheveled, and some of it was gray.
They finally arrived at the cemetery, but he never expected it to be so terrifying at night. Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the crooked tombstones and the scattered, rain-soaked paper money on the ground. Mu Feng's heart was pounding so hard he was on the verge of collapse.
Alto drove around the cemetery for an unknown amount of time before Yiqi finally spoke, saying they had arrived, and then fell silent. Mu Feng opened the car door and found the car parked beside a deep pit. He lifted Yiqi out of the car and walked into the pit. At the bottom was an open coffin. Mu Feng carefully placed Yiqi inside, smoothing her disheveled hair. Yiqi had aged, but her former radiance was still evident. Mu Feng returned to the car, took out a blanket, and carefully covered Yiqi. He then struggled to close the coffin lid. Stepping out of the pit, he pushed all the accumulated soil from the edge into it, burying it completely. The rain continued to fall. After doing all this, rainwater, sweat, mud, and tears mingled together and flowed onto the ground. Mu Feng felt as if he had said goodbye to a friend. He bowed deeply three times to the unmarked grave, his eyes blurred with tears, making it impossible for him to see the way home.
---Magpie Bridge Fairy
Reply [13]: In the car, Mu Feng saw the bracelet and note left by Yi Qi:
Mu Feng:
I think I no longer need this bracelet. Because I've let go of my last attachment to life. I can finally rest in peace. Looking back now, the months we spent as deskmates were the happiest days of my life, but I can no longer let them continue. I'm leaving, and all I can say in the end is goodbye. I hope you'll come to visit me during the Qingming Festival, to talk to me, so that I won't be as lonely as before in the years to come.
Yiqi
Mu Feng didn't know how he got home; he was filthy, which startled Liu Yu and Ruofei. But Mu Feng said nothing, quickly took a shower, and went to sleep on the bed where Yi Qi had just been lying. The stench of decay was completely gone, and a faint fragrance remained.
In his dream, he saw Yiqi sleeping peacefully, fairies dancing in the night sky, softly whispering that she would be very happy in the future; wildflowers bloomed all around, landing on Yiqi's white dress when she woke up, the bracelet no longer there, the weather was beautifully clear, and the joyful colors were so dazzling...
----------------------over-------------