Hailing deserted city

Chapter 18

He wanted to leave, to get out of the villa immediately. But before he could turn around, his right hand was suddenly grabbed by Ling Li.

"If we can't be friends, how about trying a different kind of relationship..."

The man's voice was deep and slightly hoarse. It possessed a sensuality and languor unlike anything she had ever heard before. Tao Rujiu inexplicably felt her mouth go dry, and the hand that was being held tightly began to burn.

"What...relationship?"

Almost effortlessly, Ling Li, his face still bandaged, pulled Tao Rujiu back to his side, placing his other hand on the back of Tao's head. They stared at each other, their faces only centimeters apart. Then, Ling Li seemed to simply lean forward slightly and kissed Tao Rujiu's lips.

Tao Rujiu's mind instantly turned into a state of anxiety as the man's lips, burning hot, pressed against his, igniting his senses in an instant.

The kiss was gentle, yet tinged with a touch of possessive arrogance. It began with a simple lip-to-lip contact and caress. Once the other did not resist, the kiss deepened unrestrainedly. The tongue pried open the bewildered teeth and sucked on them with ecstasy. Then, the hand swiftly reached out and pinched Tao Rujiu's chin, forcing him to open his mouth and teasing his soft tongue, entwining it with the tongue's.

Startled, Tao Rujiu had no idea how to stop Ling Li's ruthless advance. As the passionate kiss deepened, the feeling of suffocation intensified. In his confused state, he felt as if he had been thrown into a deep blue sea, and the only thing he could cling to was Ling Li. They were intertwined and clung to each other, as if they were both floating and sinking on the sea.

It was a feeling that was both suffocating and incredibly comfortable. Unconsciously, his body had reacted before his consciousness could, and when Ling Li finally ended the sudden kiss and regained his senses, Tao Rujiu realized that he was lying naked beneath Ling Li.

"Shall we continue?" The dim light illuminated the man's equally naked upper body, an elegance that made Tao Rujiu blush. He awkwardly turned his head away, trying his best not to be seduced by the light and the atmosphere. However, Ling Li was determined not to let him go, and before he could reply, he had already pressed down on him. Every move he made seemed either from someone with extensive experience or someone who had planned it for a long time. However, at this moment, Tao Rujiu had no time to think. Perhaps at this moment, what he could truly decide was which part of his body Ling Li's claws would first land on.

The thought of this made Tao Rujiu feel dizzy. And amidst this dizziness, he vaguely heard a voice calling his name.

"Tao Rujiu!"

The young man shuddered, thinking it was his imagination. However, after only a moment, the voice calling his name reappeared, becoming clearer and clearer, as if someone was calling his name as they walked over.

As Tao Rujiu's confused mind gradually returned to clarity due to the sharp teasing, he even involuntarily broke out in a light sweat.

Finally, the unlocked bedroom door was pushed open, and unexpectedly, the one who called his name and pushed the door open was a cat.

"Hey, who let you in?"

Noticing Tao Rujiu's absent-mindedness, Ling Li followed his gaze. To his surprise, he discovered that the large white cat, known for its ability to roll around on graves without flinching, had run into his bedroom. He frowned, about to get out of bed to chase it away, but Tao Rujiu beat him to it.

"I...I'll take the cat outside. You rest...rest."

The young man, his face flushed, quickly put on his shirt and fled the bedroom as if escaping. Only Ling Li remained, leaning against the bed, chuckling softly, casually pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.

Tao Rujiu and Qi Maoxian left the bedroom and walked all the way to the farthest entrance hall before stopping. The big white cat lightly leaped onto the shoe rack, raised its head, and began to berate the young man.

"Are you out of your mind? I told you the underground palace was dangerous, and you shouldn't go there unless it's absolutely necessary. You still insisted on going when the water was rising. Weren't you just courting death?"

Tao Rujiu felt something was off about what Qi Maoxian said, and it took him a while to realize what was going on.

"Qi Mao Xian, why are you speaking in Cantonese again?"

He clearly remembered that the big white cat had once used "you" and "I" repeatedly, acting like an ancient person.

"I'll say whatever I want, do you have a problem with that?"

The big white cat glared at him irritably.

"After all these years of hanging out with opera troupes, don't I know how to talk to you? Of course, I have to put on a show when we first meet, but if I keep talking to you like that, I'm afraid your blockhead won't understand what I'm saying! Isn't that what happened? It's only been a few days and you've already caused this mess!"

Only then did Tao Rujiu suddenly recall the terrifying experience of the previous night. He reached up and touched the amulet around his neck, saying:

"Just because I can hear you again, does that mean the amulet is useless?"

Qi Mao Xian nodded and said, "Of course. Although it was covered with a bag, the ghost water seeped in directly last night, and now there's no way to remedy it."

Tao Rujiu panicked a little, bent down and leaned closer to Qi Maoxian, asking, "Why were the monsters in the underground palace so powerful last night... Could it be the ghost I met in Corpse Soul Town that day? If so, the flowers will bloom..."

Qi Maoxian shook his head, denying his guess.

"The haunting ghost in the underground palace is different from the one beside Hua Kai. The ghost in the underground palace is the vengeful spirit of the three workers who died in a construction accident a few years ago. They have been lingering in the waterways on the third floor of the underground palace for a long time. Their murderous aura and resentment could not be released. Instead, they absorbed all kinds of terrifying and negative emotions from the visitors to the underground palace from outside the bronze door. Over time, they have become vengeful ghosts, waiting for the day when they break through the iron door, find the body they possess, and start a massacre."

Tao Rujiu was horrified. The thought that he had almost been dragged into the water to become a substitute sent chills down his spine.

While Shangqi Cat Immortal was saying, "I just went to check outside the underground palace again. The entire underground palace area is sealed off. The bronze door on the third floor is broken and cannot be repaired for the time being, and those three vengeful spirits are probably hiding somewhere in the city with heavy yin energy. Although these three evil spirits will be subdued sooner or later, Hailing City is large, and it will take some time to find them. It is also difficult to guarantee the safety of the people in the city during this period. It would be better to let the people in the city move out for a while. That way, Bu Po and I won't have such a heavy burden."

"Bu Po?" Tao Rujiu was hearing this name for the first time. "Who is Bu Po?"

“Dongli Bupo,” Qi Maoxian replied, “is the ghost that often haunts Huakai. He was also Huakai’s lover seven lifetimes ago. My relationship with him isn’t particularly close. If you want to know anything else, just ask it yourself.”

"You want me to ask it?" Tao Rujiu laughed in shock. "That Dongli... Bupo, he tried to kill me back in Corpse Soul Town!"

"That's just because he thought you were spying on him and wanted to harm Hua Kai," Qi Mao Xian replied calmly. "He cherishes Hua Kai dearly. As long as you treat Hua Kai well, he won't do anything to you."

Tao Rujiu nodded, then heard Qi Maoxian instruct: "It's not easy to move everyone out immediately; it requires a reasonable explanation and a pretext to silence gossip. However, it must be done within seven days. At the very least, no one should be left in the city at night. Understand?"

What kind of reason should he use to persuade Ling Li? Tao Rujiu was somewhat unsure, but he knew this was no trivial matter. So he nodded in agreement. Qi Maoxian also considered it for him and ultimately suggested that he communicate with Dongli Bupo, saying that Dongli Bupo might have a way to get Ling Li to make a decision in time.

"If you are unwilling to agree to some of the conditions proposed by Dongli Bupo, don't force yourself, otherwise it will be too late later."

After explaining these matters, Qi Maoxian left the villa, instructing that she would bring some talismans to Cuiying Pavilion that evening. Tao Rujiu sat blankly in the entrance hall for a while, then, feeling a bit chilly, stood up and swayed as she walked towards the bedroom.

Tao Rujiu walked blankly toward the bedroom, passing the living room and going around into the corridor, when she heard a sharp, low voice coming from the bedroom.

With a touch of curiosity, Tao Rujiu walked over and peeked through the slightly ajar door. Hua Kai had come downstairs sometime earlier and was leaning over Ling Li's bedside, communicating with him in sign language. It was clear that the young girl was deeply saddened by Wang Baihu's death, and Ling Li was comforting her, gently patting Hua Kai's shoulder from time to time, showing tenderness and patience.

Tao Rujiu stood quietly outside the door for a while, then suddenly realized that he had no reason to go back into the bedroom. The sky outside was cloudless after the typhoon had passed. He silently turned around, neatly buttoned up all the buttons on his clothes, left the corridor, and pushed open the door.

Hailing City wasn't greatly affected by the typhoon, but because of what happened in the underground palace last night, Sun Zhendao still decided to close the park for a day. Back at Cuiying Pavilion, Tao Rujiu saw most of the opera troupe members sitting idly in the courtyard. Seeing Tao Rujiu return, they only nodded slightly in greeting, their eyes filled with unspeakable sorrow for Wang Baihu's accident.

"Tao Tao, you're back!" Master Lü, the only one unaware of the situation, walked over anxiously. "I heard that Wang Baihu broke his leg when a tree fell on him. How is he now? Is he in any danger?"

Tao Rujiu hesitated for a moment, then immediately realized that this was a well-intentioned lie told by everyone. Although she was also very sad, she still smiled and comforted the old man, saying, "Wang Baihu is lucky. He's in the city hospital with a cast on. He said he's ashamed to see you after causing this trouble, so please don't go to see him at this critical moment."

Upon hearing this, Master Lü finally felt a little relieved and cursed, "That little brat, he wants me to go see him? Of course, I want him to apologize to the patriarch after he gets better!"

Seeing that Master Lü seemed to completely believe him now, everyone pressed their advantage and said some more comforting words. Finally, they managed to appease the old man. Tao Rujiu returned to his room and made a simple record of what had happened over the past few days. Before he knew it, it was noon. Just as he was about to go eat, he received a call of concern from Uncle Qing.

Uncle Qing had been a doctor before becoming a civil servant, so he was particularly concerned about his nephew's health. This phone call was simply to remind him not to eat too much seafood after the typhoon, lest he catch a disease. Tao Rujiu listened half-heartedly, and suddenly that pair of sharp blue eyes popped into her mind, so she casually asked, "Uncle Qing, do you know which nationality a Chinese person mixed with will have blue eyes?"

"Blue?" Uncle Qing frowned on the other end of the phone. "Theoretically, that shouldn't happen. A child born to a person with dark eyes and a person with light eyes will always have dark eyes. That's because dark color is a dominant gene..."

Tao Rujiu had been out of biology class for a long time, and only had a vague memory of dominant and recessive traits. After hearing Uncle Qing's explanation, he ultimately only understood one thing:

The sharp blue eyes were not inherited from mixed race.

"Uncle Aqing, under what circumstances would there be people with blue eyes?"

“Under the condition of illness.” Uncle Qing’s answer startled Tao Rujiu. “But aren’t there colored contact lenses on the market? They change color when you wear them.”

The sharp eyes weren't due to wearing contact lenses. If the blue glare was intentionally applied, why would one constantly cover it with sunglasses?

Then the only explanation is... illness. "Uncle Aqing," Tao Rujiu asked, "what kind of illness is it?"

Uncle Qing paused on the other end of the phone, clearly thinking back. He had actually been away from medical books for even longer than Tao Rujiu had been away from biology class. After a while, he slowly began to speak: "Have you ever seen a white cat? There's a kind of white cat with blue eyes that's born deaf. There's a similar condition in humans, Waldenberg syndrome. You can look it up online." Just then, someone called Qing's name on the other end of the phone, and the caring call ended abruptly.

Tao Rujiu turned off his phone, his mind filled with the unbelievable news he had heard. Were those sharp blue eyes really a sign of illness? Yet, the man's usual behavior didn't seem like he was sick at all. In fact, he often displayed a decisiveness beyond that of ordinary people in handling certain situations… The more Tao Rujiu thought about it, the more confused he became. He simply turned on his computer, plugged in the wireless network card, and started searching for related information online.

Waardenburg syndrome is a complex disorder characterized primarily by blue eyes. It includes a variety of frightening symptoms, yet almost none of them are related to fierceness. Tao Rujiu opened the book page by page, becoming increasingly terrified with each reading. In the end, she didn't reach any conclusion, but instead broke out in a cold sweat.

He sighed and lay back down, his back touching the cool mat. Suddenly, he remembered the kiss from that morning at the villa—gentle, sweet, playful—a jumble of indescribable feelings. He commanded himself not to think about it, to forget it immediately. But fate had other plans; the man who had forced the kiss unexpectedly pushed open the door and walked in at that moment.

"You left without even saying goodbye."

Ling Li had a white cloth wrapped around his head, but his complexion was not bad. He walked in casually and sat down on the edge of the bed, while Tao Rujiu sat up very awkwardly, only to be forced against the wall by Ling Li.

"Is it because of what happened this morning?" the man asked. "If you don't like it, just tell me and I won't force you."

No.

Tao Rujiu blurted out that he had only meant to say that he didn't hate Ling Li because of that kiss, but Ling Li interpreted it as tacitly acknowledging the relationship. Instead, the man pulled him into his arms from behind, and Tao Rujiu immediately panicked and tried to break free, but he was afraid of making a noise and being discovered.

—After all, this was Cuiying Pavilion, with a courtyard right outside, not a grand private villa. In his helplessness, the young man felt a strange warmth spreading through his body. He was vaguely pondering the source of this feeling when he remembered the words Qi Maoxian had told him.

"What do you plan to do about the underground palace?" he asked Ling Li hurriedly. "You should understand that what you and I bumped into last night was not something that should have happened during the day."

“This matter is indeed rather strange. I believe you know more about it than I do,” Ling Li replied, releasing Tao Rujiu and leaning against the wall with his arm around Tao’s shoulder. “You already know what happened on the third floor, right?”

Tao Rujiu nodded, "I know some of it. I've also heard about the accident on the third floor. It must be those three dead people who were trying to climb out of the water."

Ling Li nodded. "It can only be those three. The matter was caused by my father. I have also seen the files. Their relatives' pensions have already been paid, and their funeral arrangements have been made properly. They even invited a Taoist priest to perform a ritual to help them pass on to the afterlife. I just don't know why their spirits are still haunting them."

Tao Rujiu inwardly grumbled, "Knowing there are ghosts, they still opened the Netherworld Palace. Only a cunning merchant would do something like this." But outwardly, he still followed Qi Maoxian's instructions and said to Ling Li, "With the bronze gate damaged, these three vengeful ghosts should have already hidden in some corner of Hailing City. They will come out to act at night. To prevent further harm to the people in the park, shouldn't we temporarily evacuate them for safety?"

“It’s not difficult to evacuate everyone,” Ling Li said, “but the actions involved are not as simple as ‘relocation.’ In fact, there are still spies of other members of the Ling family in Hailing City. When my uncle returned Hailing City to me, many people in the family also wanted to get the land here and use it for other purposes. If I make a mistake, they might be able to find something to use against me.”

Tao Rujiu listened, seemingly understanding but not quite, only knowing that relocating everyone would be difficult. He then heard Ling Li say, "When this entire Netherworld Palace was built, feng shui was taken into account. A Vajra Net has been embedded in the protective walls of the Netherworld area, so even if a vengeful ghost escapes, it won't leave the Netherworld Palace's boundaries. I'll consider this further… I will also guarantee that the people in the city will not be harmed. Sun Zhendao has already sent people to find those Taoist priests who sealed off the three levels of the palace. I believe the matter will be resolved soon."

"How many days will it take for the Taoist priest to get here?" Tao Rujiu asked.

The sharp reply was: "Within four days."

Tao Rujiu thought to herself that this didn't conflict with Qi Mao Xian's seven-day limit, so she stopped arguing. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Tao Rujiu jumped and quickly shook off the sharp hand that was on her body, and the person knocking entered at that moment.

It was Qin Huakai.

"Flower, why don't you sleep a little longer?"

Having discovered Tao Rujiu's abrupt departure from the villa, Ling Li was wide awake. Hua Kai, who had been talking to him by the bedside, soon succumbed to sleep. So Ling Li quietly waited for him to fall asleep before carrying him to bed to lie comfortably, and then quietly slipped out the door, heading towards Cuiying Pavilion.

Tao Rujiu saw the flowers bloom and was about to greet them when Ling Li beat her to it. Looking at the man who had just been affectionately holding her shoulder, she realized he had suddenly turned to someone else. Although she had been the one to shake off his hand, Tao Rujiu still felt a strange unease.

(I want to talk to Tao Tao...) Hua Kai said to Ling Li in sign language. At the same time, she nodded to Tao Rujiu, and the young man quickly understood what she meant and asked Ling Li to leave for the time being.

Ling Li was clearly curious about the conversation between the two, but Tao Rujiu asked him to leave with unusual seriousness. Hua Kai sat by his bedside, took out paper and pen, and wrote on it: "I heard from the Cat Fairy that you must see through the impenetrable barrier."

Tao Rujiu gave a bitter laugh to himself, almost forgetting about this matter. To be honest, he didn't want to see Dongli Bupo, because his encounter in Corpse Soul Town that night made it impossible for him to feel any goodwill towards that ghost. However, Hua Kai clearly didn't think so; he even had a sliver of anticipation for Tao Rujiu's meeting with Dongli Bupo.

(I'll take you to see him tonight, it's a deal.)

Tao Rujiu looked at the boy's smile, the first one he had shown since the events of the previous night, and couldn't bear to ruin it.

That evening, Qi Mao Xian indeed returned with a stack of talismans, instructing Tao Rujiu to affix them to hidden spots at the entrances and exits of Cuiying Pavilion. This would prevent resentment from entering. Tao Rujiu also told Qi Mao Xian about Dong Li Bu Po's meeting with him that night. The white cat nodded, but reiterated the warning not to easily agree to make deals with him. The young man also relayed Ling Li's reply regarding the evacuation to Qi Mao Xian. Qi Mao Xian remained noncommittal about what he said.

“There is indeed a Vajra Net outside that underground palace, but it probably won’t be very effective. Didn’t you also see that Dongli Bupo can freely enter and exit the Netherworld Palace? Although he is not an ordinary ghost, perhaps you should ask him about this yourself.”

As they were talking, Hua Kai was already waiting at the door.

Where are we going?

Without paper and pen, Tao Rujiu communicated with Huakai via text message on his phone. Huakai simply typed three words on his phone: "Come with me."

They left Cuiying Pavilion through the back door at dusk, heading towards a large expanse of wilderness west of Yanyu Jiangnan. This was a wasteland specifically created to mimic the wildness of nature, overgrown with wildflowers and weeds as tall as a person, and teeming with countless mosquitoes; normally, no one would dare approach it. Yet now, Huakai was leading him deeper into the undergrowth, and the further they went, the more desolate and secluded it became.

"Do flowers always have to bloom in a place like this?"

Tao Rujiu was clearly somewhat frightened. He even doubted whether the boy in front of him was the same Qin Huakai he usually saw. Fortunately, the boy turned around in time, smiled, and indicated that they were almost there.

Sure enough, after walking less than ten meters, Qin Hua stopped. Tao Rujiu followed and discovered a small depression in front of them, with a slightly raised mound in the distance. Strangely, two deep, connected holes were dug in the center. Tao Rujiu stood there for a moment, then realized that it was actually a double burial site. After the coffin was removed, only two empty holes remained, like dark sinuses on a skull. It seemed that the coffin had been removed during construction, but somehow the double burial site was left behind.

Although she still believed that the blooming flowers wouldn't harm her, seeing such an ominous scene, Tao Rujiu couldn't help but take a few steps back. She bumped into a small tree behind her.

At the same time, a man's voice rang out from the gradually darkening woods.

"At sunset, the yang energy has not yet dissipated, so I can only appear in this low-lying area where the yin energy is heavier. If you are afraid of even these things, how can you face me... this ghost?"