It was all his own fault.
“Dad, you’re not the first person to distance yourself from me. To be honest, I’ve been very lonely all these years.”
This was the first time Lu Mingran had seen a look of desolation on Zhang Tianshi's face. Zhang Tianshi began to ramble on and on, saying many things he had long wanted to say to his father.
He spent his childhood in an orphanage, where he was ostracized and bullied. Those days only ended after his master adopted him.
But it wasn't enough, or rather, it was too late; his heart had already hardened to the point of no return.
Now, Zhang Jicheng brought up Wei Jiangyan:
"Dad, I recently discovered a very interesting person."
After bidding farewell to his master, Zhang Jicheng came to this city. At that time, he was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy and lived in the house that Wei Jiangyan rented.
Those were rather lonely, but also simple and happy days. He stayed in the house alone, researching many strange and unusual little spells, and thus left quite a few things for Wei Jiangyan.
When he learned that the male head of the household in his neighbor's house had not only cheated on his wife but also kicked his pregnant wife out of the house, he first conducted an experiment on his own wall. Then, as a prank, he used the excuse of visiting to tamper with the wall in his neighbor's living room.
But people change eventually, and besides, he had already gone astray. Later, Zhang Jicheng gave up the house and went out to make his way in the world.
The landlord's business was booming; he had just moved out when a new tenant arrived the very next day. That day, he came back to pick up some things and happened to see the young man moving out.
Zhang Jicheng immediately recognized that Wei Jiangyan was no ordinary person, and he keenly sensed that given time, Wei Jiangyan would definitely be able to defeat him.
“I recently set up some small formations, and Xiao Xiao told me that she always runs into Wei Jiangyan when she’s doing things.”
"I modified the formation, hoping he would discover me. Really, I want to test him and see how capable he is now. Dad, you know, this person is very similar to me in the past."
At this point, Zhang Jicheng smiled and said:
"But he doesn't seem as smart as I thought. Even now, he still hasn't figured out what's behind those ghost stories. He's really stupid."
Hmm... Lu Mingran really wanted to tell him that it wasn't that Wei Jiangyan was stupid, but that she, his amazing teammate, had forcibly lowered his intelligence.
Zhang Jicheng was still talking to himself: "Actually, I really want to be friends with him."
But that's impossible.
Lu Mingran listened to Zhang Jicheng speak, her pen remaining motionless. Fearing her father had already left, Zhang Jicheng hurriedly asked, "Dad, are you still there?"
"yes."
"Then, will you come to see me again in the future?"
Upon hearing the question, Lu Mingran thought for a moment and circled "No".
Now Lu Mingran realized one thing: Zhang Jicheng could not be moved. The idea that a villain could be swayed by family ties and a single sentence is practically impossible.
So when Zhang Jicheng asked him if he was going to be reincarnated, he chose yes.
Next, Lu Mingran wrote down the name of the orphanage where Zhang Jicheng was located on a piece of paper—this was in preparation for what would happen the day after tomorrow.
As soon as Zhang Jicheng saw the name, he knew what his father was talking about. He was a man who always sought revenge, and he did not let go of that orphanage when he grew up.
Finally, Lu Mingran wrote down three words and put down his pen:
"Take the right path."
He wasn't sure if his words would work. Moreover, the system told him that the world had principles, and even if Jiang Yan, the defender, didn't touch Zhang Jicheng, he would still get his just deserts.
At this moment, Lu Mingran is truly acting as a father.
Your father is about to start a new life, and I hope... I hope you can too.
After doing all this, Lu Mingran stood up and left without looking back.
————————————————
Perhaps because Zhang Tianshi was in a good mood recently, his powerful aura had weakened a bit, and several gray figures were crowded at the stairwell, clearly wandering spirits who had come to listen to the commotion.
Lu Mingran thought he would be so frightened by the sight of these wandering spirits that he would rush downstairs, but he found that the spirits didn't take him seriously, and he was surprisingly calm.
"I'm not scared anymore."
The system's reply was meaningful: "Because you have become what you fear."
Like Zhang Tianshi, he was afraid of the darkness, but he later became the darkness itself.
Sigh, even doing a task has to be so philosophical.
Lu Mingran went downstairs with a wry smile. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but at the far end of the first floor, there was a hunched figure watching him cautiously.
Lu Mingran vaguely sensed that the other person was smiling and didn't seem hostile. But just as Lu Mingran took a few steps to chase after them, the figure hurriedly ran away.
"...What's wrong?" the system asked.
Lu Mingran stopped and stood in front of the dark corridor.
"It's okay, maybe I just saw it wrong."
——————————————
The next day, Wei Jiangyan was busy at work all day, and Lu Mingran didn't find him until evening.
Seeing Lu Mingran holding the nail she had hammered in that day while eating, Wei Jiangyan almost choked: "Put it back right now, aren't you afraid of being possessed again?"
"It's alright, I'll burn some paper money to send that old father off."
After saying that, Lu Mingran asked, feigning curiosity:
"That's amazing! Who was your last tenant?"
You mean him?
Wei Jiangyan laughed: "I also saw the notes he left behind. He was a person just like me."
Equally lonely, equally desolate.
No wonder Wei Jiangyan developed feelings for the house while living here in the novel. It turns out that he didn't develop feelings for the house, but for... Zhang Jicheng?
"Sometimes I really want to see him."
When she said this, Wei Jiangyan's expression was full of longing.
Perhaps he had already considered Zhang Jicheng a kindred spirit.
She was destined not to be his confidante.
Later, Wei Jiangyan talked about many things, including the matter on the living room wall. After he finished speaking, Lu Mingran pretended to be nonchalant and smoothly steered the conversation away from there:
"It seems you're all quite interested in ghost stories."
"By the way, Jiang Yan, I'm going to do volunteer work at an orphanage the day after tomorrow, but I'm a little scared. Can you come with me?"
Chapter 29 Want to know the formation? No way (The End)
Wei Jiangyan looked at Lu Mingran in surprise.
It's just an orphanage, what's so scary about it?
Until Lu Mingran revealed the name of the orphanage:
"Furukawa Orphanage".
——————————————
In recent years, various strange tales have circulated about the Furukawa Orphanage, such as the dolls in the activity room dancing by themselves at night, casting a dark shadow over the orphanage.
It happened to be a Saturday, and Lu Mingran and Wei Jiangyan drove for a long time before arriving here.
From a distance, the small Western-style buildings of the Furukawa Orphanage look quite impressive, but perhaps due to the ghost stories, the buildings standing under the gray sky appear somewhat eerie and frightening.
They were picked up by a male staff member from the orphanage. They followed him and saw only a few scattered children chasing and playing in the large courtyard.
“The facility used to be quite lively.” The staff member sighed. “As you’ve probably heard, since those strange things happened, many people in the community have been against sending their children here.”
Lu Mingran couldn't help but sneer inwardly. It's as if your place is some kind of wonderful place. When Zhang Jicheng was here, you just stood by and watched him and the weaker children get bullied.
Despite thinking this in his heart, Lu Mingran still smiled brightly. He then dismissed the staff and went to the activity room alone with Wei Jiangyan, carrying the cardboard boxes.
Wei Jiangyan's expression was not good from the moment she stepped through the door. Lu Mingran, while unpacking her things, casually asked, "What's wrong? Are you not used to it here?"
"No, it's just a little... familiar."
In Zhang Jicheng's notebook, he mentioned his experiences at the orphanage many times. He didn't specify where, always referring to it by that place. But today, after seeing the orphanage, everything here matched the descriptions in the notebook perfectly.
For example, this game room. Wei Jiangyan walked to the west storage locker, squatted down on the far right, and sure enough, saw the little dog drawn with crayons left in the corner.
"Hey, Jiang Yan, what are you doing there?"
Wei Jiangyan suddenly stood up:
“I remember this place.”
At this moment, Wei Jiangyan stopped following Lu Mingran and ran into the corridor, as if he was looking for something. He bumped into the staff member.
The staff were grateful for the donated toys and snacks, but that was certainly no excuse for them to wander off. So the man stopped him and politely said:
“Sir, the children’s accommodation area is ahead; you cannot go there.”
"Jiang Yan." Lu Mingran also came out.
Wei Jiangyan was very persistent. He gestured and said a name:
"Zhang Ji." This was Zhang Tianshi's name when he was still in the orphanage.
Wei Jiangyan said somewhat anxiously, "I don't want to wander around, I want to find the place where this child lived."
Upon hearing the name, the staff member's smile froze.
Lu Mingran knew it was fear and guilt. Zhang Ji's name had long been a taboo here.
"Excuse me, sir, we do not have a child named Zhang Ji here."
"Also, opening hours are over, please leave."
Seeing that Wei Jiangyan and she were about to be kicked out, Lu Mingran decided to help him. With the help of the system, she pleaded with Wei Jiangyan and the child to be related, and finally got permission.
————————————
Just as the staff said, there are indeed fewer and fewer children here, and many rooms in the accommodation area are empty. Interestingly, only the room where Zhang Ji stayed was locked, because in many ghost stories about orphanages, this is the scariest place at night.
"Are you... sure you want to go in?"