Ghost Diary - Chapter 16
Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, another guy came from the other side.
"Do you remember the female ghost from Er Gou Manor?" Gu Ming suddenly asked.
"Of course I remember."
"Do you still remember the dark figure that rescued her?" Gu Ming asked again.
"I remember you said that."
“The guy I encountered last night was the shadowy figure who rescued the female ghost back then.” Gu Ming sighed. “Same figure, same aura, and the same, even more, malevolent aura. I recognized him at a glance. I said the female ghost at Er Gou Manor was very powerful, but that shadowy figure was even more powerful. I had time to set up an array back then, but yesterday I only acted on the spot. Although I made some preparations, I was still injured in the end.”
"You were injured by that thing?" I asked. "How did that dark figure end up here?"
Gu Ming nodded and said, "Although I was injured, she also injured her arm. I don't know why she is here, but it must be related to that lake."
"What is that dark shape? Is it a person? What does it look like? Male or female?"
“A woman,” Gu Ming replied.
"What does it look like?"
"Looks like a human." Gu Ming frowned. "Let's not talk about that. It's almost dawn. You should rest a bit more. We'll go out for a walk during the day and buy some things while we're at it."
After daybreak, Gu Ming's injury seemed to have completely healed, with only a slight redness at the wound site. The medicine was indeed extraordinary. After he finished tidying up, he took me out. We ate some breakfast first, and then drove around in a winding road for a long time. Around noon, Gu Ming finally nodded and said, "We're here."
When I got out of the car, I was stunned. This was a remote suburb, and there wasn't a soul in sight. Gu Ming smiled and walked ahead. I followed him for another half hour before we finally saw a small temple hidden in a grove of trees.
Standing at the entrance, a bell suddenly rang out from inside the temple, deep yet clear, its echo lingering. The irritability brought on by the sweltering midday heat vanished instantly, leaving my mind clear. I looked at Gu Ming in surprise, and he smiled and pulled me directly into the temple. Just before stepping inside, I unconsciously looked up—Qingyin Temple.
Although the temple was small, it was clean and tidy. When he entered, he saw a young monk leaning against a tree in the courtyard, holding a broom in his hand, seemingly lost in thought. Gu Ming walked up to him and asked with a smile, "Little monk, is Master Yinchen here?"
The young monk snapped out of his daze, looked at me and Gu Ming, and said, "Master is in the Buddhist hall."
After speaking, he looked us over again, then his gaze suddenly stopped, fixing on my forehead. After a long while, he opened his mouth with a surprised expression, then pointed at me tremblingly, "You...you..."
"What's wrong with me?" I asked, looking at the little monk's strange expression and then at Gu Ming.
“Young master, my surname is Gu. Please take us to Master Yin Chen. I have important matters to discuss with him,” Gu Ming suddenly interrupted me.
The young monk paused, then turned to look at Gu Ming, "Gu...you're surnamed Gu, could it be that you are...?"
"Please lead the way, young master," Gu Ming said, nodding.
The young monk immediately put down his broom and led us to the Buddhist hall. I muttered to Gu Ming, "Where is this? What is this young monk saying?"
Gu Ming secretly pinched me hard.
"Please lead the way, young master," Gu Ming said, nodding.
The young monk immediately put down his broom and led us to the Buddhist hall. I muttered to Gu Ming, "Where is this? What is this young monk saying?"
Gu Ming secretly pinched my cheek hard and whispered, "Why do you have so many questions?"
When I arrived at the Buddhist hall, I finally met Master Yinchen of the temple. I had imagined him to be a wise and venerable old monk, but he turned out to be a dark-skinned old monk with a bitter face. He smiled slightly when he saw Gu Ming, then turned to look at me and smiled slightly again. I didn't think he looked very good when he smiled.
Gu Ming whispered a few words to him, and the old monk nodded. He took out a bag from behind the house and handed it to Gu Ming. Then he smiled and looked at me, saying, "You two have come from afar. You must be tired. Have a vegetarian meal before you go."
I was delighted at the mention of food; I was really hungry after traveling so far. Just as I was about to nod in agreement, Gu Ming tactlessly interrupted and refused, "We shouldn't disturb Master's meditation any longer; we need to get back as soon as possible."
Then he grabbed me and ran off without looking back. As soon as we stepped out of the temple gate, I glared at him and said, "I'm starving! There's nowhere to eat around here. Why can't we eat before we leave?"
Gu Ming looked at me with disdain and said, "The food at Qingyin Temple is absolutely terrible, and it's cooked by the master himself. If you don't finish it, he'll lecture you for ages. Only a fool would run away."
Huh? I stared at Gu Ming in surprise, speechless.
The moon was obscured by clouds on April 6, 2005.
I got back to the hotel after dark yesterday. After dinner and going upstairs, I remembered that Master Yinchen had given Gu Ming a bag. So I asked him what was in the bag, and Gu Ming said it contained top-quality talismans and magical artifacts. My eyes lit up and I asked him to show me the treasures, but Gu Ming refused, saying he would have a use for them the next night. So I had no choice but to go to sleep disappointed.
I woke up this morning to find something strange outside. A layer of mist seemed to hang in the air, and piles of ashes from burning paper offerings littered the streets. The wind was cool, and when it blew, the ashes swirled and flew into the air, looking like menacing claws. There were very few pedestrians, probably because it was Monday, but why did everyone around look so blank, like empty corpses? It couldn't be a mass zombie outbreak in broad daylight, could it?
I was about to go find Gu Ming when I noticed he was already standing behind me, looking out the window with a serious expression. I asked him what was wrong outside, and he blurted out, "Today is Qingming Festival."
"So what?"
Gu Ming ignored me, only frowning and muttering to himself, "Just as I thought, just as I thought, she really did choose today..."
I felt something was off everywhere, including Gu Ming. "What are you muttering about?"
Gu Ming turned to look at me and suddenly said, "The yin energy is heaviest on Qingming Festival, and ghosts and monsters roam freely. It's not surprising that someone would choose today to do something against the will of heaven."
"Then do you know about the gathering of ten thousand ghosts and evil spirits?" Gu Ming asked again.
"I don't know what it is." I said to myself, thinking that the name didn't sound like anything good.
"The gathering of ten thousand ghosts is an ancient legend. It is said that there was once a man named Fu Yi who died an untimely death. After death, he was filled with resentment and refused to be reincarnated according to the will of Heaven. However, for some reason, he could not avenge his enemies. At this time, around the time of Qingming Festival, a ghost that ate souls in the underworld took the opportunity to escape, but was chased by the ghost messengers and was seriously injured. Fu Yi happened to encounter this ghost and saw that there were hundreds of dead souls in the ghost's body and its mournful aura was extremely strong. So Fu Yi devised a plan and made a deal with the ghost. He would help the ghost escape from the ghost messengers' pursuit." The ghost wanted to use its own gushing energy to forge a body for Fu Yi to use. After Qingming Festival, the ghost messengers indeed failed to find the soul-devouring monster. No one in the world knew how Fu Yi had hidden the ghost, but according to records, thousands of people disappeared without a trace after Qingming Festival that year. The government searched for decades without success. A hundred years later, a strange person saw black energy rising into the sky from the southeast. Buddhists, Taoists, and other religious groups rushed there but found nothing. At this time, Master Yichen of Jiuhua Mountain urgently summoned all religions to the mountain with important news. When everyone arrived, they found... The Western Regions Dharma King was also present and learned that the two high monks had long ago received a divine revelation: a malevolent spirit had been born in the southeast, none other than Fu Yi from a hundred years ago. It was certain that the soul-devouring demon had forged Fu Yi's body. The technique for forging this body was an ancient forbidden art, requiring the souls of ten thousand ghosts, coupled with extremely strong wailing energy. The resulting body was not within the six realms of existence; it was neither human, nor ghost, nor immortal, nor demon, capable of being male, female, or anything else. To obtain this body and avoid being discovered, Fu Yi had spent a hundred years collecting ten thousand ghosts, finally using the technique of gathering evil spirits from ten thousand ghosts to forge this body. Afterwards, he immediately sought revenge on the person who had caused his wrongful death, but this person had already been reincarnated twice. So, Fu Yi personally killed everyone related to this person in all three of their past lives, skinned and gutted them, and went into a frenzy. Legend has it that blood flowed like a river. When Master Yichen and Dharma King Dima arrived, it was too late. The two high monks were heartbroken by the sight and used all their knowledge to transform into two rainbows to track Fu Yi's whereabouts. They then used their own magical power to injure his body, thus averting a catastrophe.
Gu Ming spoke slowly, but I broke out in a cold sweat listening to him. This gathering of ten thousand ghosts was truly... truly terrifying.
"Is Nafuyi dead?" I asked.
“I don’t know,” Gu Ming replied. “There are no records, and no one has seen him causing trouble, but no one can guarantee that he has disappeared.”
"What does this gathering of ten thousand ghosts have to do with us?"
“A thousand years ago today, a thousand years ago, Fu Yi was subdued. It’s been a full thousand years.” Gu Ming said with a frown. “I told you last time that my uncle observed the celestial phenomena at night and saw an anomaly. He sent my cousin here to investigate. We all think that this change is related to Fu Yi a thousand years ago. Apart from the escaped Soul-Eating Monster and that evil body, there is no other anomaly in this world that is so powerful.”
"Don't scare me." I grinned.
Gu Ming looked at me, his eyes not at all like he was joking. I was stunned for a moment. He continued, "Didn't you see that those people outside have been corrupted by the Yin energy? The weather will change soon."
"What yin energy corruption? That's a person! If they're corrupted, they'll be... they'll be in serious trouble..."
“A corpse!” Gu Ming interjected, “A moving corpse, a corpse controlled by the source of the screeching aura.”
"Gu Ming, if what you said is true, shouldn't we do something? That's a human being, a perfectly healthy human being."
I asked nervously, and Gu Ming shook his head. "This anomaly wasn't only observed by my uncle. Experts from other sects gathered here and probably noticed it even earlier. Yesterday, I heard from Master Yin Chen that the abbot of Jiuhua Mountain had already notified everyone, and fellow practitioners have arrived. They are probably using their magic to help those affected dispel the 'screeching qi.' Moreover, although this 'screeching qi' corrodes people, it only affects a part of them. That's not what I need to do. The Gu family members will come out tonight. What we need to face is the guy hiding behind the scenes."
I listened to him quietly, and suddenly realized that the person in front of me was very unfamiliar. From the beginning until now, I knew very little about him. I only felt that he and Xia Canyue would not hurt me, and that they were good people. But these good people have so many secrets.
"There are some things I'm not telling you for your own good," Gu Ming said, as if he had guessed what I was thinking.
I sighed and asked, "What about tonight?"
"Let's go to West Lake."
Should I stay here?
"No, you're coming with me."
What can I do?
Gu Ming looked at me, hesitated, and finally said simply, "It's safer to stay with me."
At noon, the weather turned a bit colder. The sky outside the window was overcast and then cleared up again, changing constantly, as if the dark clouds and the sun were playing a tug-of-war. Gu Ming said that everyone from each sect had arrived. The yin energy was weakest at noon, and everyone was trying their best to dispel it to prevent more people from being infected. So the sky was overcast for a while and then the sun came out. But the yin energy was too strong. Even when the sun came out, the world was still cold and gloomy.
I shuddered, suddenly feeling like the world was ending, and asked, "If it really is Fu Yi and that soul-eating monster, and we can't defeat them, will everyone die?"
Gu Ming looked at me, thought for a moment, then looked up and smiled, "If that were really the case, what would you do?"
"The end of the world???" I chuckled. "Then we've hit the jackpot! This is a once-in-a-million-year event. I'm going to have a good look around."
"Hehe." Gu Ming chuckled and ruffled my hair. "So all you want to do on the day of the apocalypse is visit? Don't you have any other wishes?"
"Well... I have a ton of wishes. I want to find a boyfriend, get married, have kids, buy my parents a seaside villa for them to retire in, and then carefully raise my child, watching them grow up little by little. My biggest wish is to be able to hold someone's hand and walk along a path when I'm old... But, I only have one day! Even if I became Superman, I couldn't accomplish that, haha." I said, laughing loudly.
"You really are..." Gu Ming twitched the corner of his mouth, "I never would have guessed you were the type to be a virtuous wife and loving mother."
"Hmph, you must have something wrong with your eyes. By the way, what would your wish be if the world ended?" I asked.
Gu Ming smiled but did not answer.
"Hurry up and tell me," I urged him.
"Well, back to the moonlight, then I'd order you around wiping the table and washing the cups. I'd listen to music while you worked, and then suddenly the sky would fall, and we'd die without knowing anything," Gu Ming said with a smile.
I rolled my eyes at him, thinking to myself that this charlatan was truly a pervert; even in death, he would still exploit labor. He must have been a wicked capitalist in his past life.
It got dark very early; the sun seemed to have been pulled down by something, and night fell impatiently. It was cold all around, and the wind howled like someone crying. I was really scared, but more than that, I was nervous. I didn't know what awaited us in the night, what would happen to Gu Ming, Xiao Bi, Deng Fei, and me, would Gu Ming win, would Xiao Bi and Deng Fei come back safely, and would I be able to fulfill all my wishes?
Just then, Gu Ming came in, patted my head, and said, "It's time to go."
I then realized it was already past 11 o'clock. I had been thinking for so long without realizing it. I smiled apologetically, tugged at my clothes, and was about to leave when Gu Ming suddenly called out to me, "Xiao Mo, there's something you need to remember."
"What are you saying? Speak."
"I will never harm you, but if that day ever comes, I will try my best to live after you die."
"What do you mean?" I looked at Gu Ming, not understanding what he was talking about.
"What are you saying? Speak."
"I will never harm you, but if that day ever comes, I will try my best to live after you die."
"What do you mean?" I looked at Gu Ming, not understanding what he was talking about.
"Waiting is more painful than death."
Gu Ming spoke in a low voice, and my heart suddenly skipped a beat. My mind exploded, and I felt a strange mix of despair and happiness. I shook my head and realized that Gu Ming was already far away. I ran after him, shouting, "You damn charlatan, you're cursing me to die! We don't have any grudge against each other, right? You still owe me wages..."
April 7, 2005: Continuous rain
It started raining at midnight, a light drizzle, a gentle whisper, splashing tiny droplets of water. Gu Ming held an umbrella, and I stood to his right, carefully avoiding puddles. Sometimes I jumped too far, and he would pull me back under the umbrella. From behind, it would surely be a scene as tender as the raindrops, but my heart was in turmoil. The closer we got to West Lake, the tighter my heart clenched. It felt like something was about to burst forth. Gu Ming's words kept echoing in my mind. As the chill around me intensified, sadness surfaced. I touched my wet eyes in confusion. Why were I crying? What was I feeling sad for no reason? I stole a glance at Gu Ming and met his gaze. He smiled at me, took my hand, and said, "Don't jump around like that, or you'll get soaked."
I was about to speak when I noticed his palms were sweaty.
Gu Ming, he must be very nervous...
It was already 12:30 when I got to the lake. I found it eerily quiet. It was supposed to be the season when ghosts roamed, but I didn't see a single ghost. The lake was rippling with rain, and something was surging beneath the seemingly calm surface.
"Amitabha, how is Benefactor Gu?" An aged yet resonant voice appeared beside them; it was Master Yinchen and the young monk from the temple. The master smiled slightly, emitting a soft, gentle light in the dark night, which warmed his body somewhat. The young monk, however, remained with a blank, dazed expression, glancing at Gu Ming, then at me, before finally fixing his gaze on his toes, biting his lip with a pitiful look on his face.
"Thank you for your courtesy." Gu Ming nodded gently and tightened his grip on my hand.
"They're here too," the master said, looking into the distance. I looked up and saw dozens of people approaching from afar—old and young, men and women. As they drew closer, they nodded and exchanged greetings. I examined the items in their hands: swords, whips, and some strangely shaped objects. Judging from their appearance and color, they were definitely not ordinary items; they must be the magical artifacts Gu Ming had mentioned. I felt a little excited and couldn't help but shake Gu Ming's hand, saying, "A real-life version! Live! It's like the Incredibles! The Battle at the Forbidden City!"
"Keep your voice down," Gu Ming said angrily, pulling me behind him.