The fault of yin and yang

Chapter 6

I was a little annoyed by Yufei's deception, and I suppose Duanmu felt the same way, because Duanmu secretly squeezed my hand while Yufei was speaking.

"Besides that woman, did you see anything before you got lost? Tell the truth, otherwise I can't help you." This time our answer was quite thorough—all four of us shook our heads. Yufei and Qian Lizhong had been walking sweetly ahead, while Duanmu and I were in a more complicated mood, having no time to look around. If Yufei hadn't realized we were lost, we probably would have continued wandering aimlessly. But how could we possibly share these feelings with a strange old lady…

“If what you’re saying is true, then Grandma has a way to get you out of here,” the old woman said, taking a deep drag on her cigarette. Pointing to the three paths ahead, she continued, “You can’t go down the left one. There’s a cliff there. Even an eagle might not be able to fly all the way down, let alone a person.” She exhaled a smoke ring and pointed to the middle path, saying, “You can’t go down the middle one either. A group of bandits have gone into the mountains. Although they’re people, their rule is—death is no crime, beating is no excuse. Besides, they’ve been here for almost four days. You children…” "If we go that way, they'll probably cook us alive," the old woman said, making our hearts tremble. Fortunately, there was still the road on the right. I was about to thank the old woman when she scratched her head, pointed to the road on the right, and said, "You still can't go that road. It's a mass grave. There aren't any people there, but there are tons of ghosts. If you go there, they'll either devour you alive or exhaust you to death." Hearing this, we were all stunned. So, after all that, we still couldn't get out?

"Grandma, didn't you say..." Before I could finish speaking, the old lady interrupted me with a smile, "Children, you are all good children, of course Grandma will save you. Since we can't go any of these three paths and we can't go back, we can only go up." The old lady pointed to the rocks above.

"But Grandma, how are we going to get up there?" Yufei looked around at the mountains and asked hesitantly. Although we couldn't see what was on top of the big rock, the other mountains, while not very high, were all angular and overgrown with trees, offering no foothold whatsoever. It was clearly impossible...

The sky gradually brightened, and the rain had lessened considerably. The surrounding trees and grass looked exceptionally fresh, and the air was pleasant. Normally, I would be delighted to see all this, but at this moment, I couldn't feel happy at all. Hiking? We hadn't eaten almost all day; how could we have the energy to climb? It was better not to think about food; just thinking about not having eaten all day made my stomach rumble again.

Just when we were at our wits' end, the old lady pulled out a few steamed buns from somewhere and handed them to us. At that moment, we completely forgot about the rule that we couldn't eat things from strangers; we wanted to swallow our hands whole...

"Um, Grandma, where are you from? Um, why are you helping us?" I asked the old lady while chewing on my steamed bun. She smiled at us, tapped her pipe, and said, "My family is from Boquan Mountain, and my husband's family is from Jiuling Mountain. Now that we're old, we come here to visit relatives. You don't need to thank me; I should be thanking you." I nodded while still chewing on my bun, but actually, I didn't understand at all…

While all our attention was focused on the rainbow after the rain, the old lady suddenly disappeared without us noticing...

The steamed bun the old woman gave us wasn't big, but it was very effective. We didn't feel hungry again until the sun was setting. Climbing the mountain wasn't as difficult as we had imagined. Although we slipped and fell several times because of loose stones, thankfully we escaped unharmed each time. As it was getting dark, we finally found the cave the old woman had mentioned…

This cave is exactly the same as the one we came in from. After hesitating for a long time, we finally decided to go in...

When we emerged from the cave, it was broad daylight, and the sun was high in the sky. If we hadn't all been covered in wounds, I would have thought it was all a dream...

"Zuo Weiyang, Chen Yufei, Qian Lizhong, Duanmu Ping, what's going on with you guys? Everyone else is working, where have you been? You've made such a mess. I'll have your parents come see me tomorrow..." The homeroom teacher emerged from under a fruit tree on the left...

"Teacher..." Upon finally seeing a living person, our first reaction was to rush over, hug the teacher, and cry our hearts out, wiping him with snot and tears... I dare say, that was the first time I, Zuo Weiyang, felt that teachers were such a close animal...

(III) The Gathering, Chapter Nine: The Ghostly Encounter

"Grandma, is this light blue one better, or the black one, or the red one..." I rushed into the kitchen with a pile of clothes and asked my grandma who was making juice. The old lady didn't even turn her head and just kept nodding and saying, "They're all good, they're all good." At that moment, I suddenly realized that I had made a mistake in decision-making.

"You have a new message, please check your inbox," my computer beeped as soon as I got back to my room. It was an email from Prince. This guy went to Toronto again and said he was going to Africa. Why doesn't he just go to the moon? That trip must cost a fortune! It's incomprehensible. But when I replied, I also asked for his opinion on what I should wear. This time, his answer made me realize that this wasn't a "mistake" but a "mistake." He said—you look best without anything!

In the end, I decided to touch one item with my eyes closed; women always want to be the most beautiful in front of their female friends, which is why we are often unwilling to admit the charm of our friends...

Although the agreed-upon meeting place wasn't far from my home, I still decided to drive there. Women always want to show off. If I were 27 and already married, I would definitely have my husband drive me. But since I don't even have a steady boyfriend, I can only show off my comfortable middle-class lifestyle...

"Zuo—Wei—Yang!" I heard someone call my name as soon as I got off the bus. It was Yufei, still with her long, curly hair, as adorable as a porcelain doll, though she'd gained some weight compared to a few years ago, which gave her a voluptuous beauty. "This girl must be even more attractive to men now," I thought as I went to greet her.

"Yufei," I said, putting my arm around her as we walked into the cold drink bar. "When did you arrive?" I asked, gesturing for a waiter to come over.

"I just got here too. I saw that the person who parked looked like you, so I called out, 'Wow, you're amazing! You're driving a BMW!'" Yufei said with a smile. I hadn't heard her soft voice in years.

"It's alright, where's Duanmu?" I scratched my head with a smug grin.

"Two glasses of water first, we'll order more once everyone's here," I told the waiter.

"Hmm, Duanmu should be here soon. We agreed on three o'clock, she shouldn't be late, right?" Yufei was saying when Duanmu walked towards us from the door. Although Duanmu's appearance hadn't changed much, she definitely had a lot more charm. She had grown her hair long and dyed it, giving her a very elegant beauty.

"Duanmu—", the three of us hugged each other tightly and jumped around like children.

"Let's order something to drink first, then we can chat more," I nodded to the waiter who brought the water to express my gratitude, and then handed the drink menu to Duanmu.

"Orange peel slush, please." Yufei still loves oranges as much as she did when she was in school, and now she doesn't even let the orange peel go to waste. "Soda water, and another fruit platter." It seems that Duanmu's tastes have indeed changed a lot in the ten years he's been abroad. After I learned about soda water and tried it, I felt that it was one of the things I disliked the most, second only to carbonated drinks. Seeing me shake my head, Duanmu smiled and said, "Ten years abroad, I've gotten used to it." I pursed my lips, indicating that I couldn't understand. "I want a glass of chilled watermelon juice, with raisins."

"Your tastes are still so quirky. Who orders watermelon juice with raisins?" Yufei teased with a laugh. Duanmu took a sip of water, smiled, and continued, "It would be strange if she were like everyone else." Fortunately, Duanmu's way of speaking hadn't changed; she was still teasing me as always. But that made me happy. It seemed that Duanmu was still the same Duanmu, and hadn't changed much because she had grown her hair long and loved drinking soda.

Yufei giggled incessantly for a while before finally saying, "Yeah, yeah, Weiyang is now a famous fortune teller in F City, known as—Left Half-Immortal." "You brat, daring to tease me! How come I didn't know I had another name? It's your treat today!" I said, snatching Yufei's bag, finding her wallet, and slamming it on the table. "Duanmu, today we're going to eat Yufei out of house and home!" Yufei hurriedly tried to grab the wallet back, while Duanmu nodded and laughed, actually indicating that they should bring three more sundaes…

Just as the three of us were having a great time, another group of customers came from the left front. Yufei's hand, which was still grabbing a wallet in mid-air, suddenly stopped. I followed her gaze and saw a young couple. The girl was tall and thin, dressed in a flamboyant manner, and looked to be in her early twenties. The man looked like a businessman; he was good-looking, just a little overweight, but fortunately, he was tall and not bad-looking. They were obviously a couple who were just passing through their lives. I couldn't figure out what Yufei was looking at. Duanmu, on the other hand, turned to me, who was putting ice cream in my mouth, after looking around for a while, and said, "It's Qian Lizhong." Yufei nodded, and I realized that it did look like him. Yufei took a sip of water and lowered her voice, saying, "He transferred schools the year we came back from our spring outing, right? It's been more than ten years. I've only heard that he opened a building materials processing factory or something, and now he's considered a rich man."

"Weiyang, do you remember when we came back that time, he would hide whenever he saw you? It got to the point where he even avoided me and Yufei." I nodded, then glanced at Qian Lizhong, who was holding the little girl's hand, and said, "How could I not remember? That's secondary. What I despise most about him is that we had an accident during the spring outing, and he cried the whole way." At this point, we suddenly burst out laughing. We were really funny back then, a bunch of little kids who insisted on having a crush on someone, only to be extremely disappointed in the end.

"Should we say hello to him?" I asked. Duanmu popped a strawberry into his mouth and said, "Yes, I did come back this time for something else, which is to go to the place where we had our accident last time." "Why?" Yufei asked. Before Duanmu could answer, I interrupted, "Actually, even if Duanmu didn't say it, I wanted to say it anyway. We really should go back to that mountain while everyone's here." Seeing Yufei's curious eyes, I took a sip of watermelon juice and continued, "I wonder if you guys still remember that old lady from Boquan Mountain, the yamen..." "My home is Jiuling Mountain Man..." "That's exactly why I'm going," Duanmu interrupted me. "Those are the names of two temples." Seeing Yufei's confused look, Duanmu continued, "I heard from the elders that there really are such places in Shandong. And after I told my grandfather, he said—ghosts return to their mountain graves, and gods return to their temples. We must go and thank them, otherwise we'll owe the gods four lives..." "Going back is the right thing to do, but it's not entirely about thanking them," I interrupted Duanmu. What the elders said was mostly legend, and the facts were often different...

“It’s true that ghosts should return to their graves and gods to their temples. Moreover, gods and ghosts each have their own territories. Since they can coexist there, they must have their own rules of balance. If the old lady is a god or an immortal, then if she wants to save four people from the hands of ghosts, she must pay a price. It’s entirely possible that she will be sealed in the mountains forever after that, or there might be an even more terrible exchange. We just don’t know yet, so I think we should go and see. It would be good if the old lady is alright, but if she is, maybe we can help her.” After I finished speaking, Yufei and Duanmu both agreed. At first, I was worried that they would be scared and not want to go.

“As long as we follow Master Zuo, there’s nothing to be afraid of,” Duanmu said, mimicking Yufei’s tone. “Hey, don’t laugh at me. What about Qian Lizhong?” After I said that, they all started to worry. Qian Lizhong had been timid since he was little but was willing to pretend. If we talked to him directly, he would definitely run away in fear…

"My dears, I have an idea, I don't know if it will work," Duanmu said, tapping the table. Yufei and I listened intently to what Duanmu had to say. I thought it was a good idea, but Yufei had a few objections—"It would require a huge sacrifice! Why don't you go? You came up with the idea!"; "But you're the prettiest among us!"; "Qian Lizhong liked you the most back then!"; "Just look at your beautiful hair, you could easily win him over with a flick of it!"; "Look at that other girl, she's nothing compared to you!"; "Exactly! Qian Lizhong's current taste is entirely because he hasn't met a woman like you to love!"...

Duanmu and I showered Yufei with compliments until she was completely smitten, so in the end she agreed without even thinking...

(III) Ghostly Entanglement Chapter Ten: The Secrets of Heaven Must Not Be Revealed

Qian Lizhong and his girlfriend sweetly ordered ice cream, drinks, and a whole bunch of dried fruit. They ate together for a long time, and then the girlfriend stood up to go to the restroom. Before leaving, she turned back and blew Qian Lizhong a kiss, but he just smiled. He was obviously much more mature than before, after all, he was now the CEO who had traversed countless women.

Let's seize this hard-won opportunity...

Duanmu got up and followed me to the restroom, while Yufei took her phone and waited in the lobby. I called the front desk to ask for Mr. Qian Lizhong...

It was only then that I realized that the saying "the most poisonous heart is a woman's" was absolutely true.

As Qian Lizhong walked toward the front desk, muttering to himself, Yufei came over with a glass of water. In a rather clichéd move, Yufei poured all the water onto Qian Lizhong's slightly bloated belly, without wasting a single drop. Although the method was a bit old-fashioned, it was clearly very effective.

"How could you..." Although Qian Lizhong was a little angry, he was already in his thirties and still had some self-control, so he didn't shout too loudly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, sir, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to," Yufei said in a sweet, coquettish voice, which made my heart tremble. Qian Lizhong was even more attracted by the voice and began to pay attention to Yufei's face.

"Never mind, it's alright. Miss, you look so familiar. Have we met before?" Qian Lizhong's tactic was a bit cliché, but it was the truth.

“Really? I think so too…” Yufei raised her head, her slender fingers lightly touching her pink cheeks, and looked at Qian Lizhong with bright, watery eyes.

When Qian Lizhong shouted those three words, he almost spat out his saliva.

"Qian Lizhong!" Looking at Yufei's surprised eyes as she pretended to bump into him, I have to say—some women are born to be actresses, especially when it comes to romantic scenes.

"Yes, yes, it's me, what a coincidence... Hmm, did you come by yourself?" Qian Lizhong's excited yet feigned calm demeanor was somewhat amusing. Although his expression shifted rather quickly, without being overly dramatic, it was remarkably fast. People who can control their expressions well are generally quite intelligent. While he hadn't reached that level yet, he certainly showed great promise.

“Oh, no, it's an old classmate. You know her too? She's my deskmate from middle school—Zuo Weiyang, remember her?” As soon as Yufei finished speaking, Qian Lizhong's expression became a little unnatural. It seems that his memory of that spring outing is still very vivid. I'm glad that from my angle, they were standing sideways, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to see their expressions, which would have been such a pity…

"And you? You must be with your girlfriend, right?" Yufei asked with a smile.

"No, no, he's just a regular friend, just a regular friend," Qian Lizhong hurriedly denied. This was exactly what he wanted; he was just afraid Qian Lizhong wouldn't deny it.

"Let's go over there and talk, do you have time? It's been so many years, it's so rare to see you like this," Yufei said softly, taking Qian Lizhong's hand before he could answer, and led him into the couple's private room...

The timing was perfect. Duanmu, as expected of a female business elite who had spent many years abroad, managed to win over Qian Lizhong's girlfriend in such a short time. The two walked out chatting and laughing, and the girlfriend's smile was especially sweet.

"Thank you so much, Miss Gao. I'm so glad I met you today." Duanmu's gratitude pleased Miss Gao, but she still politely replied, "Really? You're welcome."

"Ah, Miss Gao, this is my friend—Zuo Weiyang." I hurriedly stood up with a smile. "Weiyang, this is Miss Gao. She's a fashionista. I've learned quite a bit in just a short time." Although Duanmu's words were a bit exaggerated and self-deprecating, Miss Gao was already smiling like a flower.

Because of her very apt compliments, Miss Gao's attitude towards me was quite good.

"Hello, Miss Gao, oh, Miss Mi, your hands are so soft! You're destined to be a wealthy and privileged young lady!"

"You can read faces?" Twenty-year-olds are always interested in these things.

"That's a family heirloom. Don't let her young age fool you, she can afford a BMW and a villa. When it comes to stocks, whichever one she buys, it hits the daily limit..." Duanmu's words became increasingly outrageous, but they were quite effective.

"Then please tell me when I can become a young mistress, and what kind of person my husband is." Miss Gao quickly sat down, grabbed my hand, and asked me to calculate for her. Her eagerness was completely different from before.

Miss Gao's hands were indeed soft and supple, but the lines were tangled and uneven. While she might never endure poverty, she was also unfit for such a life. Just look at the way she walked—her knees weren't straight, her shoulders were askew, her waist swayed wildly, and her buttocks bounced sideways. As the saying goes, a woman who behaves improperly is either a noblewoman from a brothel or someone hiding behind a screen. Although Miss Gao's early life was wealthy, her later life will likely be miserable; to put it bluntly, she's destined to be a mistress, though a third or fourth mistress is also possible. Although that's the truth, we can't say that at this point…

"Miss Gao, please write down your birth date and time," I said, handing her a piece of paper.

"Ah, okay, here you go." As the saying goes, "Seeing the words is like seeing the person," which makes sense. Although Miss Gao's handwriting can be described as neat, it is as ethereal as drifting clouds, soft and lacking in form and rhythm.

"Miss Gao is lucky. She had good fortune at the age of three and has never lacked money since childhood. Apart from your parents, there are always people who give you money." Miss Gao nodded slightly, looking quite satisfied.

"It's just that Miss Gao's academic luck is a bit lacking; she doesn't have the talent for literature. But it doesn't matter; it won't affect your love life," I continued. Actually, I didn't even need to look to know that Miss Gao wasn't exactly a good student.

"However, Miss Gao's family seems to be incomplete. Are her parents divorced?" The young girl nodded vigorously, her face full of admiration.

"Miss Zuo, you're amazing! Please take another look at my love life." At this moment, Miss Gao finally completely trusted me.

“I told you, Miss Gao, you have a lucky life; you’re destined to be a wealthy lady. As for your husband, he should be in the restaurant business, as that would be a perfect match for your destiny.” I glanced at her; she was deep in thought, probably searching her memory for potential connections to the restaurant business. “But Miss Gao, be careful. You might encounter some bad luck in love before you turn twenty-three.” I figured it was time to start my smooth talk.

"Peach Blossom Curse? What is Peach Blossom Curse?" The girl immediately became extremely nervous upon hearing this.

"This is what's commonly known as 'bad romantic luck.' You might encounter some troublesome men who could damage your future relationships and leave hidden dangers. Judging from Miss Gao's fate, you should definitely avoid getting involved with people in the metal business." I nodded to Duanmu, indicating that it was about time to end the discussion. Duanmu took out his phone and started texting Yufei to let her know he was back.

"Metal? Does that include building materials?" she began asking Qian Lizhong.

"Of course it counts. Besides, that 'bad peach blossom' might also be a fickle man. He might have other women besides you, which could ruin your luck. That is to say, it might prevent you from becoming a young mistress, or it might ruin your fortune or something." Saying this, Miss Gao nodded fiercely. What a fickle woman she really is. It can be seen that she has made up her mind to cut ties with Qian Lizhong.

"What does my husband look like?" He's still just a child asking such a question.

"Well, Miss Gao, it's a secret that can't be revealed." This remark came at just the right time, because as soon as she finished speaking, Chen Yufei gracefully walked over with Qian Lizhong, and Miss Gao was facing them directly.

Upon seeing this, Miss Gao stood up abruptly. However, she was quite clever and did not rush over to argue. Instead, she picked up her bag from the chair and rushed directly between Yufei and Qian Lizhong.

"Why is this girl like this?" Yufei said coquettishly, deliberately hitting the nail on the head.

"Who knows, haha," Qian Lizhong said awkwardly, looking like a mole, and then grinned foolishly.

"Where's your friend?" Yufei asked, bringing over another pot of water that hadn't boiled.

"Ah, they've probably left." Qian Lizhong was getting more and more embarrassed, but at this point he could only grit his teeth and keep going.

"Oh, come sit with us then," Yufei said, linking arms with Qian Lizhong as they came over.

The second phase of the plan is about to begin...

(III) Chapter Eleven of Ghostly Entanglement is Coming Soon

"Weiyang, Duanmu, look who this is!" Just as we turned our gloating expressions to reality, Yufei came over arm in arm with Qian Lizhong. At this moment, Yufei was no longer as shy as before, otherwise she really wouldn't have been able to handle Qian Lizhong.

"Qian, Li, Zhong... Ah, I remember now, hello, hello." I tried hard to recall what I was looking for before standing up to greet them.

“I remember you, Qian Lizhong, a classmate from middle school. Come and sit down,” Duanmu said, suppressing a laugh as he stood up.

Qian Lizhong sat awkwardly next to Yufei. Duanmu and Qian Lizhong exchanged a few words about business, and Yufei chatted with him about trivial matters. Meanwhile, I kept my eyes glued to Qian Lizhong until he became uncomfortable…

"Zuo Weiyang, why are you staring at me? Is it because I'm too handsome?" Qian Lizhong finally couldn't help but ask. Although he tried his best to make it seem natural, it was clear that he was still afraid of my Yin-Yang techniques, just like when we were kids. Even though I only talked about the theory back then and didn't do anything substantial, it still scared him so much that he transferred schools to avoid me.

"Wei Yang, are you telling Old Qian's fortune? Qian Lizhong, don't you know, Zuo Wei Yang is now a famous Yin-Yang Master." Duanmu started talking nonsense again.

"Come on, Duanmu, I'm not going to pay you for this," I joked. "But, Qian Lizhong, you seem to have been..." I clapped my hands and sighed, not finishing my sentence.

"What's wrong with me? Don't scare me. I'm fine now." Although Qian Lizhong was stunned by my half-finished sentence, he still couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

“You certainly don’t lack money or wealth, but I’m afraid you’re lacking the life to enjoy them,” I said with a shake of my head and a sigh. Qian Lizhong was immediately stunned.

"Ha, haha..." Qian Lizhong laughed a few times, then said without any confidence, "Zuo Weiyang, we haven't seen each other for so many years, why are you trying to scare me as soon as we meet?" He looked unconvinced, or at least he was trying his best to pretend not to believe it.

"No way, Wei Yang doesn't seem to be joking," Yu Fei chimed in at just the right moment.

"Ah, what, what, what does that mean?" Qian Lizhong's face turned pale. Of course, who would be unmoved if they heard they were about to die?

"Your forehead is dark, your cheeks are swollen, the whites of your eyes are dull, and your gaze is unfocused. I'm afraid you've accumulated some kind of debt," I said sincerely, even moving myself to tears. I could assure my ancestors that apart from the part about accumulating debt, I hadn't lied about anything else. The swollen cheeks were due to lack of sleep, and the dullness and unfocused gaze were probably due to kidney problems. This Mr. Qian had likely been partying every night lately, which had weakened his constitution, but that was all. As for the dark forehead, it was true; after hearing my words, his entire face turned dark.

"I, Qian Lizhong, have been in business for so long, and I don't owe anyone any money. Even if I do, it's just normal payment for goods. I never delay settlements every quarter," Qian Lizhong quickly denied.

“It’s not about money. If it were money, I wouldn’t need to say anything. You owe someone your life. Have you ever had a near-death experience?” I was trying my best to coax him, while also ensuring that my tone was absolutely sincere.

"No, it's a family business, I didn't... Ah, could it be that spring outing?" Qian Lizhong suddenly stopped, then shook his head, "Impossible, you were all there, how come nothing happened?" Although he'd given me a difficult problem, at least he remembered that spring outing. Now the question is, how can I convince him it was that spring outing?