Ghostly Encounter

Chapter 8

I asked Old Wang, "In this building, which family has always lived here?"

Old Wang said, "The room on the first floor where you live used to be occupied by a woman surnamed Shen. She was probably sick and never went out. Aunt Mei would visit her regularly. After you moved in, we thought that woman surnamed Shen had died."

Tian Li said, "After we open the coffin and see what's inside, we'll go talk to Aunt Mei and see if she knows anything about the situation."

As noon approached and the sun shone brightly, the three of them pried open the coffin lid with shovels, and to their surprise, it was effortless. It turned out the lid wasn't nailed in place. I grabbed the front of the lid, while Tian Li and Lao Wang lifted the other end, and together they slid it open. The lid was incredibly heavy, and a stench of decay wafted out. We held our breath and struggled to move it. As the lid slowly opened, the three of us were shocked by what we saw inside.

Inside the coffin lay three corpses, one on top of the other. The bodies were completely dry, shriveled skin covering the bones, and the corpses were naked. Tian Li had never seen Liu Fengcai before, but Lao Wang and I recognized her. Although she looked very different from her human form, her hair was tied in a ponytail with a Hello Kitty charm hanging from the hair tie. Now that the mummified corpse was lying there, we could see it clearly; it must be Liu Fengcai.

I thought of a beautiful young female college student who ended up like this, and I couldn't help but feel sad for her. Her whole family consisted of only the father and daughter, and they both died within three days. It was a truly tragic massacre.

Old Wang and I used the fire hooks from the coal stove to pull up the three corpses. To everyone's surprise, I recognized the second corpse—it was Aunt Mei! Old Wang was terrified, and Tian Li frowned as well. Her corpse was different from Liu Fengcai's; her face was lifelike, and her clothes were clean and tidy, as if she had washed and dressed herself before lying down there.

None of us can understand the reason behind this. The whole thing is too unbelievable. It is not surprising that such a large coffin was buried in the yard, but judging from the soil on the ground, it has not been dug up for at least several decades. Moreover, there is a very solid cement flower bed on top that is connected to the ground. How did Liu Fengcai and Aunt Mei's bodies get in there?

But the thought of meeting Aunt Mei just a few days ago and renting this house from her really gave me a fright. I couldn't figure it out no matter how hard I tried. Since I couldn't understand it, I guess I just had to accept it.

When we saw the third corpse, all three of us broke out in a cold sweat. If Liu Fengcai's corpse was tragic and Aunt Mei's corpse was peculiar, then the third corpse could only be described as terrifying.

This is a corpse without skin. What's even stranger is that the muscles on her body have not decomposed. The muscle texture and veins are clearly visible, making her look as fresh as a cow or sheep that has just been skinned in a slaughterhouse. Judging from the body, this should be a female corpse.

I suddenly had a gut feeling: this skinless female corpse was the woman in the portrait I had seen before. Who else could it be but her? I had only seen her photos before, which I thought were scary enough, but I never imagined that the corpse would be even more grotesque and terrifying. After reading Zhang Daolin's notes, any pity I felt vanished instantly. No wonder Zhang Daolin was so ruthless back then; it was probably because the evil practice of skinning and eating the living corpse was too bloody and cruel.

After examining the three corpses, the thick fog before my eyes gradually coalesced into a clear clue in my mind. I think I am the only one among those present who knows the truth of the matter.

I asked Tian Li what to do with the three bodies. Tian Li looked at the bodies and said, "I'll have the police take the three bodies away in a car, check them, and then cremate them."

I thought to myself, "This is pretty good. I was just having trouble figuring out how to burn it, but it was solved so easily." I asked Tian Li, puzzled, "How will you explain this to your superiors if they find out?"

Tian Li said, "Of course, I'll tell the truth, but the official written report can't be written exactly like that. Don't worry about these things, I'll take care of them."

This has always been my biggest worry, because if I told the police the truth, I'd be arrested as a lunatic, and I simply couldn't come up with a lie to explain all these events. Hearing Tian Li speak so confidently, a weight was finally lifted from my heart. The matter of this century-old corpse has finally been resolved, and Zhang Daolin can finally relax.

Tian Li remembered something else and said to me, "This matter is not over yet. You and Lao Wang shouldn't stay here. Go to Hongqishun Restaurant at the intersection and order a table of food and drinks. You can eat slowly first, and I'll pay later."

I asked Tian Li if there was anything else she needed to do, and Tian Li smiled and replied, "I'll take some people back to the branch office, and then I'll come find you. We have no clue about the ins and outs of this matter. The only clue is Aunt Mei, the one you mentioned who rented you a house. We'll go to your house to investigate later."

Tian Li went back to the police station to find someone to move the coffin. Lao Wang and I were going to Hong Qi Shun on the street to order a table full of food and drinks so we could eat and wait. Just as we stepped out, we ran into Fatty driving up to find me. It turned out that Fatty was worried I would forget that I had to go to work at the newspaper tomorrow, so he bought some new clothes to remind me. Perfect timing, the three of us could eat and drink together.

Although Old Wang was quite old, he was a complete busybody. When he saw that there was going to be some action that night, he got excited and shouted loudly, which attracted strange looks from the diners and staff in the restaurant.

I felt I should keep a low profile, so I changed the subject and said to Fatty, "I'm not going to work at the newspaper tomorrow. I've been through a lot these past few days, and I seem to have matured a lot. After witnessing the deaths of some people, I never realized before how fragile and fleeting life is. Compared to the vastness of the world, human life is truly insignificant. I've re-examined my life more than once, and now I've finally come to my senses. I don't want to run away anymore. Once things settle down for me, I'm going back to Beijing to face my life directly. I'm going to see Han Yena, and I'm going to tell her again that I love her. Whether she can forgive me or not, I will accept the outcome I deserve. I'm not the coward I used to be."

Fatty was overjoyed to hear this, saying that I had finally figured it out myself, and then he told me some good news: "My wife wasn't feeling well today, and when she went to the hospital for a checkup, she found out she's pregnant. I'm really going to be a father this time."

When I heard my buddy was going to be a dad, I was naturally happy for him. The image of Fatty holding a chubby baby flashed through my mind, which I found hilarious and couldn't help but laugh out loud. But then I remembered that the hole in my room hadn't been patched yet. What if Tian Li went there? Wouldn't I become a suspect? So I winked at Fatty and went to the bathroom.

Without stopping, I rushed back to the cabin. The large coffin and the three female corpses had already been taken away by the crane. There was no one there. Looking around, perfect timing! There was still a lot of soil piled up outside that hadn't been filled back in yet. I quickly ran back and forth a few times to fill the hole in the cabin, then dragged the bed over and put it on top of it. I saw that it was right next to the wardrobe. I thought to myself that I was not going to come back to sleep tonight no matter what. I would deal with everything tomorrow.

Before leaving, I realized I'd forgotten something. I hadn't touched the ten thousand yuan that Jin Laopian had given me, so I stuffed it into my pocket. As for the Black Flame Lamp, I was having a headache. It was too big to carry. I could wear it on my waist when I crawled out of the tunnel, but not now. In the end, I stuffed the lamp into the wardrobe. Fortunately, not just anyone could enter the formation here, and since it was a haunted house, I wasn't worried about thieves.

Back at the restaurant, I walked in almost immediately after Tian Li. Fatty and his friend had been sitting there for an hour or so. Seeing Tian Li enter, they perked up and whispered to me, "Your honey's really something! You're such a jerk! I'm going to tell Han Yena."

Upon hearing this, Tian Li glared at him and said, "You, Chai Yong, after all these years, you're pretending not to recognize me, just like Old Feng!"

Fatty then recognized Tian Li and hurriedly apologized, seemingly a little afraid of her. He quickly said that he had finished eating and needed to rush back to work.

Tian Li shook hands with the fat man to say goodbye in a generous manner. Seeing that she hadn't had lunch yet, I casually ordered a few more hot dishes.

I asked Tian Li, "How can you be so sure that Aunt Mei is related to that skinless female corpse? Maybe she was just a victim like Liu Fengcai."

Tian Li said, "What you said makes sense. At noon, I just said she was an important clue based on my years of experience in police investigations. After returning to the station, I checked the files on Aunt Mei and that building. Guess what I found?"

Chapter Twenty-One: The Codex Book

Of course I knew the ins and outs of these things, but I was still a little curious about Tian Li's abilities, so I pretended not to know and urged her to ask, "Inspector Tian, stop keeping me in suspense, you're making me anxious! Tell me what happened."

Tian Li smiled gently and said, "It turns out that Aunt Mei's real name was Zhang Meiyu. After checking the files, we found that she lived in this building before Liberation. The exact year and month of her birth is vague in the files, so we don't know. We estimate that she was over seventy years old. There was also a man who was Aunt Mei's relative, named Zhang Daolin, who lived here. He disappeared the year after Liberation, in 1951. The forensic examination revealed a major discrepancy: the skinless female corpse, based on bone density, was only thirty years old! We're in a hurry and haven't had time to do further verification yet. However, I've already arranged for them to take tissue samples and burn them as soon as possible, to avoid any unforeseen complications."

Finally, Tian Li said, "Old Feng, it seems the only way to get further clues is to search your room." I felt a pang of bitterness in my heart. I knew I absolutely couldn't go into that room. Not only was there a hole dug in there, but there was also a dead body inside. How could I escape responsibility? Luckily, I had tried to cover it up earlier, but Tian Li wasn't someone to be trifled with. Did she think she wouldn't see through it?

But as the conversation progressed, I couldn't help but agree against my will: "That's right. This matter involves the lives of many innocent people, and we must get to the bottom of it."

The plan was set. The three of them had a hearty meal and asked the restaurant waiter to brew two pots of tea. They would start their operation once they had digested their food.

I was anxious, afraid that Tian Li would bring Lao Wang to search my room. I looked at my watch and said to everyone, "It's almost five o'clock now. I think it's getting late. How about we go tomorrow? Inspector Tian, what do you think?"

To my surprise, Tian Li said, "Let's not delay, let's set off now." I was so angry I could only glare at her helplessly.

As darkness fell, the twilight enveloped the small Western-style building, making it appear peaceful and ancient. However, the more peaceful it seemed, the more uneasy I felt, sensing that some great danger awaited the four of us ahead, though I refused to show it on my face.

Looking at my composed expression, Tian Li said thoughtfully, "Old Feng, you've changed."

I was startled, thinking she had figured something out, and quickly asked her what was going on.

Tian Li said, “I feel that deep in your calm gaze there is a yearning for adventure and battle. Even if the sky were to fall and the earth were to crumble before you, your eyes would remain as clear and calm as the night sky. I really admire this professional demeanor. I really want to ask you what you have been doing these past few years and how you have developed such a temperament. Why haven’t I met a man like you?”

I was sweating. I'd never been praised like this before: "You flatter me. I'm just an ordinary person, the most ordinary of all. Xiao Tian, your poetic descriptions are so eloquent. I didn't realize until today that I'm actually such a profound and great man. Why don't we just start dating? I'll take care of your boyfriend, Xiao Tian."

Tian Li glanced at me and said, "That's the only bad thing about you. It'll never change, no matter how many years pass. If I gave you a stick, you could climb up to the Queen Mother of the West's garden and pick peaches! Let alone the fact that I don't have a boyfriend yet, even if I did, could you steal him away?"

Just then, Old Wang's wife came to find him, saying that his father was sick and she couldn't take care of him, so she asked him to come and help. Old Wang looked at me and Tian Li, and reluctantly left with his wife. I was just looking for this opportunity, so I quickly persuaded Tian Li: "Old Wang is gone, and I'm afraid we won't be able to manage on our own. We're too short-handed. Let's come back tomorrow. I also have something to do; I need to pick up a guest who has come from afar at the station. Let's rest for the night and expose him tomorrow!" After saying that, I turned around and tried to slip away.

But I bumped right into a fat guy. I was about to start yelling when I realized it was Fatty again. I quickly winked at him and said, "Fatty, don't you go home after get off work to take care of your wife? You're almost a father, and you still have no sense of responsibility?"

Fatty looked at me strangely and said, "So you knew to pick someone up? Then I made a wasted trip. I'm such a busybody!" He turned to leave, but I grabbed him. "What are you talking about? Who are you picking up? I didn't know. Did Han Yena come?"

Tian Li watched us with interest from the side. Fatty had no choice but to say, "This afternoon, I received a long-distance call from overseas. When I heard it was for Fatty, it took me a while to find out it was that guy Jin Laopian. He faxed something to me and asked me to pass it on to you. Luckily, I work for the telecommunications company, otherwise the fax fee for that piece of paper would have been enough to make you regret it. Jin Laopian also said that Master Qin is coming to Beijing and told you to be careful. I've never heard of you knowing a Master Qin before. An overseas friend, an international friend, that's pretty impressive, but it just sounds really awkward, like he's involved in organized crime. What, aren't you going to pick up this guy?"

Chapter Twenty-Two: Corpse Oil Gu

Tian Li looked at the line of words I wrote and read it silently, I don't know how much she understood.

I calmed down and analyzed it one by one. The Rongwang Tomb in Nandan, Guangxi, is the most dangerous tomb Qin Jianjun has ever excavated. According to Jin Laopian, the process was quite strange. The appearance of this line in the fax indicates that Qin Jianjun attaches great importance to this place because he lost a very important jade box there, which may contain the last piece of dragon and phoenix jade. Now that Qin Jianjun has collected all the books, he should have uncovered many secrets. In order to uncover all the hidden secrets, perhaps this trip back to China is to go there and find the lost jade box from the Rongwang Tomb?

Tian Li said, "Does 'Beware of Miao people at Beijing Railway Station' mean you should go to Beijing to find someone, or that someone will be waiting for you at the station? But what does 'Beware of Miao people' actually mean? It's really strange." It's clear that these words have aroused Tian Li's great curiosity.

Why would Jin Laopian be so cryptic? Using bookish gossip as a code—Jin Laopian couldn't possibly be that skilled at it, could he? If it was written by that Master Qin, and he sent it to me through Jin Laopian, was he trying to tell me some information but couldn't meet in person? Looking at this fax, I realized I hadn't noticed when I was solving the riddle earlier. The last four characters, "Beware of Miao People," are completely different from the previous hidden methods; they seem like they were added on the spot. Did Master Qin run into trouble in Beijing and call Jin Laopian to add them? If so, my situation isn't very good right now; I could easily be targeted.

Perhaps I should go back to Beijing.

I pondered for a long time before finally telling Tian Li, "You're right. I think I need to go back to Beijing. By the way, I want to reiterate that everything I told you about my experiences is true, without any exaggeration. You absolutely must not go to my little house to investigate. Otherwise, if the women suppressed by the Five Ding Disfigurement Technique escape, it might not only harm your life, but also cause widespread suffering, which would be extremely inappropriate."

"I've only placed a black flame lamp there to guard against the century-old corpse jumping out and harming people, but it's still not very safe. By the time I return from Beijing, I estimate that your corpse-burning operation will be almost finished. You must remember that the century-old corpse must be burned to ashes extremely quickly in order to completely resolve this matter. We'll go to that small house together to investigate further. In the meantime, you just need to increase patrols around there."

Tian Li glared at her and said, "Looks like I have to say yes, it feels kind of awkward that you're my boss!"

I could only smile wryly and remain silent, but Tian Li wouldn't let me off the hook. She said, "No, I have to go to Beijing with you. I don't trust you. What if you were the murderer from the beginning and deliberately made up this lie to escape? Wouldn't I be letting a bad guy go for nothing?"

After much persuasion, I had no choice but to agree to Tian Li's request. We arranged a time and place to go to Beijing together the next day, and chatted about various other things. To outsiders, we really looked like a couple deeply in love, which only fueled my excitement. Before I knew it, I had drunk quite a bit of beer. When Tian Li checked her watch, I saw it was almost midnight and there were no more buses to Beijing. I immediately sobered up a lot and realized that this little girl had tricked me. She would definitely be waiting for me at my place or Fatty's house first thing tomorrow morning. She might even have already arranged for people to keep an eye on me. I didn't want to go back to Beijing wearing a police hat. People would think I was arrested from out of town, and then I wouldn't be able to stay in Beijing anymore. So, after leaving the Western restaurant, I immediately took a taxi straight to Fatty's house.

Seeing that I was red-faced and swollen, Fatty quickly pulled me to the living room to make some hot tea. Without wasting any time, he told me directly, "There are some things I didn't say clearly at the time. Old Jin told you some things on the phone and also wired some US dollars to me, but they haven't arrived yet. Tian Li was there at the time, so I couldn't explain it to you in detail."

I knew that fat bastard had a trick up his sleeve, but running away was the priority, so I urged him: "Hurry up and tell me what else Jin Laopian has to say. I still have the money. Once Jin Laopian's money is in my account, consider it a red envelope for the unborn little fat guy."

Fatty hesitated for a moment, but seeing my anxiety, he said directly, "Old Jin asked me to tell you that Qin Jianjun was supposed to come to Tianjin to see you after returning to the mainland, but he ran into trouble and has to go to Guangxi first. He left some things in Beijing and hopes you can help him retrieve them. As for where in Beijing, Old Jin said he didn't know. The fax was drafted by Qin Jianjun, and he added the last four words as instructed. He said you should understand it, and if you don't understand it, burn it and never contact him again."

I knew this was a provocation tactic, an attempt to get me to join him on the adventure, otherwise he would definitely renege on the promise of the first half of the book he owed me. But even without the provocation, I was already energized by the mysterious adventure. This kind of code-breaking, test-taking thing was even more challenging. I was determined to go back to Beijing, no matter what, I had to go and explore!

I was going to drive Fatty's car to Beijing. His wife was easy to talk to. Anyway, with the US dollars that Jin Laopian had wired as collateral, she wasn't afraid of being taken advantage of. Although this woman was a bit petty, seeing that she was single-mindedly thinking about herself and Fatty's family, I didn't say anything. I took the car keys and left.

The highway had just been completed, and what should have been a journey of just over an hour took me almost three hours to reach Beijing. The road, built with a World Bank loan, is of good quality, but it has few lanes and is full of curves. To make matters worse, there are no guardrails on the outer side of the road. Driving at night, I was so scared that I soaked my clothes with sweat several times.

When I arrived in Beijing, it was already morning, and everything was bustling with activity. I was a little confused. Which train station in Beijing was Qin Jianjun referring to? Generally speaking, when people mention Beijing Station, they are referring to the train station between Dongdan and Jianguomen. The West Railway Station wasn't finished yet, and the old Qianmen Station near Zhengyangmen didn't seem like it either. Logically speaking, since Qin Jianjun arrived from abroad and didn't leave his things at the airport but at the train station, it meant he had been staying in Beijing for quite some time. Which station should I go to?

I hesitated for a long time. Beijing Railway Station was too chaotic, with too many people and too much chatter. After thinking it over, I decided to try my luck at the old railway station in Qianmen first. If that didn't work, I would go to Panjiayuan Antique Market to see if I could find any information about black flame lamps. I parked my car at Lao She Teahouse in Ximenkou, wandered around and had breakfast. After making sure no one was following me, I looked up and found myself near the Qianmen subway station. It was already morning.

I was standing there in a daze when someone bumped into me from behind, then grabbed my pants, almost making me fall flat on my face. I turned around angrily and saw an old man, very thin, who had somehow bumped into me. He was sitting on the ground, holding my pants, and knocking over everything he was holding. He looked like a fortune teller running a street stall. I chuckled to myself, thinking, "How come I'm always dealing with fortune tellers and word readers this year? I just arrived in Beijing and one's already delivered himself to my door."

Suspicious, I thought, "This guy's starting work way too early. Does he really need to be this dedicated?" Just as I was lost in thought, the blind fortune teller started yelling, "Who's that? So blind! I, Blind Wang, got up this early to catch a market day! Oh dear, you'd better pay my medical bills!"

As soon as I heard that, I understood. This guy was trying to scam me. I had to put an end to his idea quickly, or it would be troublesome if a crowd gathered. In a moment of quick thinking, I also shouted, "What are you playing at? You're a grown man, and you're just pretending to be ignorant. You bumped into me, Old Blind Feng, and you're still showing off. Do you think I'm blind, or are you blind too?"

The blind man hesitated for a moment, his grip loosened slightly, and he spat out a mouthful of saliva, muttering, "So you're blind too? Am I that unlucky?"

I quickly said, "Go do what you're supposed to do, don't try to play games with me, it's useless." Then I shook off Blind Wang and ran away as fast as I could.

After walking a few steps, I realized I was going the wrong way and had entered the passageway of the Qianmen subway station. Suddenly, a lot more people came out around me. Some people stood there expressionlessly chanting "Invoice, invoice, invoice, invoice," while others held up a sign that read: "Hotel, 30 yuan, single room." Some people were carrying a case of frozen mineral water and hawking it. Most of them didn't seem to be waiting for a bus or someone, but were just wandering around like idlers. I've been here hundreds of times, but this time I had a strange feeling. It seemed like something was off about the people around me.

I tried to go back to the subway entrance, but I felt like I had entered a strange place. Every time I walked past someone and thought I was about to pass, someone would suddenly appear in front of me to block my way. One person after another would appear. In this way, the small passage was filled with a chaotic mess of people, making me feel like I had walked into a bottomless abyss.

I have my doubts. This is definitely not some kind of strategic deployment. If someone with such high skill could arrange things by using unrelated people, they wouldn't need to come and harm me. They could be making a lot of money.

So these living people must be under some kind of evil spell, without even realizing it. I sniffed and felt an indescribable smell around me, like rotten meat or frying oil, it was very strange.

I stared at a blank-faced idler and saw a drop of sweat roll down his forehead. It was orange-yellow, like oil, and didn't stick to the fabric at all. It slid quickly down his clothes. I was startled and couldn't help but touch my own forehead. Thankfully, it wasn't oil, it was just a drop of water.

Qin Jianjun warned me to be careful of the Miao people. I have carefully recalled everything I know. The Miao people are skilled at using Gu poison, but how do they use it? What are the symptoms? How do you break it? I know nothing. I only remember that in addition to poisonous insects, the Miao people also use corpse oil and hair to cast Gu. The smell I'm smelling is increasingly reassuring me that it's the smell of corpse oil, the kind of oil that congeals after a corpse has decomposed. It smells terrible.

I panicked. I'd encountered this so quickly, completely unprepared. Calming myself, I figured that since they used corpse oil to cast the Gu, this person couldn't be too far away. In the *Secret Techniques of Tianyuan Mountain and Water*, only the chapter on "Breaking" briefly mentioned how to break some evil spells. I dared not think too much about it. I remembered the book saying: "Evil, slope, same as oblique. Evil is evil because it strikes unexpectedly. Focus your mind and observe the yin; sometimes it possesses objects that harm people. One is upright, the other reversed, sitting in a void position; one cannot abandon it. If you seize its excess, clear its emptiness, it will surely cause blood to break and backfire. Therefore, we must never do this."

Although I don't quite understand the meaning, as I understand it, this kind of Gu poison is considered a sinister technique, which carries the risk of backlash from blood loss. The word 'break' definitely doesn't mean gaining the upper hand, right? It probably means taking the superior position of the person casting the spell. I don't know how backlash from blood loss works yet, but I can only give it a try.

Looking around, if I considered the abyss formed by these people as a constantly rotating disc, or the yin and yang of a tai chi symbol, then the center point would be a little to the right, where the old man telling fortunes was sitting. I slowly moved my feet, step by step, towards him. At first, my steps were very heavy, but the closer I got to the old man, the lighter I felt. When I got closer, I saw that the old man was indeed not expressionless, but solemn, telling a man who looked like a boss, "Your wife is a prostitute."

I thought to myself, "This is a disaster. Calling someone's wife a prostitute, no wonder he's going to curse you out."

Unexpectedly, the boss readily agreed, saying, "I've taken a liking to a woman who works as an escort. We've known each other for over a year, and we have a very good relationship. She's willing to marry me, but I don't know if this marriage will be successful, and I'd appreciate any guidance on the numerology of the characters in the name."

The fortune teller said, "You are in the business of sieves and filter cloths, so it's not surprising that you wrote the character 'sieve' for me to interpret. But look at this."

After finishing his explanation, the fortune teller turned the piece of paper over and pointed it out to the shopkeeper: "Look, your handwriting is not neat enough, with many cursive strokes. From the back of the paper, it looks like the character '茆' (mao), with the flower radical and the willow radical. It resembles neither flower nor willow, and the characters themselves suggest withered flowers and fallen willows. Therefore, I interpret it as a prostitute. The last stroke is from the character '节' (jie), which can be interpreted as good, indicating that she is truly sincere towards you. You should marry her."

The middle-aged man dressed as the boss thanked him profusely, willingly paid the fortune-telling fee, and then took his leave.

I think I might have a special connection with fortune tellers, because everyone I've met is incredibly insightful. Chinese characters are truly amazing. If you put them on a foreigner, the winding and complex English alphabet would lose so much of its charm.

But suddenly my back started to itch terribly, as if something was crawling on it, which made me extremely uncomfortable. My heart clenched. Had I been infected again? Had someone tampered with my body? To make matters worse, when I looked up, I saw the old fortune teller smiling slightly at me!

Chapter Twenty-Three

Embark on the journey

I felt a little dizzy and absentmindedly watched the old man stand up, pack up his stall, and walk out. He waved to me, and I found myself involuntarily following him. I was terrified and screamed, "Help!" But when I opened my mouth, no sound came out. My face looked like it was covered in mud, so stiff that even my eyebrows wouldn't move.

Oh no! I saw the big round holes on the old man's earlobes, and the pants he was wearing, which were wide and just past his knees, and the jacket he was wearing. He really looked like a Miao person. I was even thinking of dying too slowly, so I went up to him and got caught!

The old man led me through the streets and alleys, keeping us about five steps apart. My consciousness gradually blurred, and sweat streamed down my face. I vaguely saw familiar faces, heard my girlfriend Han Yena scream, and saw Tian Li and an arrogant young man following me furtively. For some reason, after we reached a narrow alley, the old man suddenly stopped and stood there motionless. I suddenly felt my body go limp, as if something had flown away from me. Then I saw the old man turn around, his face contorted, pointing at me and saying, "You...you..." Before he could finish speaking, he collapsed to the ground, dead!

I felt an intense, piercing itch on my back, which was unbearable. Suddenly, I felt two fingers pinch the spot that was itchy. The pain was followed by extreme relief. When I turned around, I saw something even more unbelievable: the blind man who had bumped into me was staring intently at me.

This blind man wasn't really blind after all. Judging from his appearance, he was probably under thirty. It turned out he was just pretending. He pinched the itchy spot on my back hard and whispered, "Feng Yixi, is that right? If you don't care about your life, then run. To be honest, you've been cursed. If I don't help you now, you're definitely going to die!" He loosened his grip slightly, and I immediately felt something struggling to break free from his fingers. Knowing he wasn't lying, I obediently stayed still.

In this secluded spot, where no one had come yet, Blind Wang nimbly pulled something out of his pocket and plunged it into my back. I was in so much pain that I broke out in a cold sweat, but I was too embarrassed to cry out, so I could only grit my teeth and bear it.

Blind Wang struggled to crawl onto my back, talking to me as he said, "Don't faint, remember not to faint, I can't carry you. My name is Lin Nan. Qin Jianjun asked someone to tell me to wait for you. You're really brave, kid, actually thinking of breaking the Gu technique. You're lucky you're alive. You accidentally brought the whole evil technique back to this old man. Luckily, you were rescued in time, so he won't die."

I couldn't help but retort: "What do you mean by accident? I'm as tough as gold, my whole body is made of special parts, I'm invulnerable to swords and spears. If it were you, you would have been kicking your boots to meet the King of Hell long ago!"