sastre

Capítulo 1

Introduction

"Tick-tock—tick-tock—"

Water droplets splashed on my face, and after what seemed like an eternity, I awoke from my unconscious state.

My head throbbed with pain. After a while, I regained consciousness and realized I had fallen into that deep pit—or rather, that dungeon pit. The walls were covered in green moss and were soaking wet. I struggled to sit up, and in the dim light, I could glimpse a pale crescent moon overhead. I knew in my heart how far away it was. I hadn't expected to fall in; it was foolish, but undeniably true.

"Cough! Cough! Cough!"

Standing at the edge of this pit before, I had already estimated its approximate depth. Like the countless crimes committed by those hardened prisoners, it was unfathomable. Below, there was only despair, absolutely no hope. And now, that despair enveloped me tightly. Of course, this wasn't the only reason I couldn't breathe; she was also a factor.

Why did she do this to me?

I tried desperately to recall everything that happened before I fainted, and something felt off. Thinking back to the events before I fell, I was utterly baffled, and a burning hatred welled up inside me. Whatever her reasons, I would make her pay!

I gently moved my arms and legs; it hurt, but I could still move them, thankfully! This gave me a sliver of relief; it seemed my arms and legs weren't broken or fractured, if I could still get out…

After struggling to my feet, I grabbed the wall and began to assess my situation. Now, at the bottom of the pit, I could see clearly that the deep dungeon I had fallen into was at least five meters below the ground. Its shape was quite irregular, almost circular. It had just rained and was flooded, making escape a pipe dream.

That's true. Such a stupid question should have been solved by the rulers of that time thousands of years ago... If you could just crawl out, there would be no need to build these dungeons, which are practically useless.

I gave a wry smile.

The feeling of leaning against the wall was strange; there seemed to be something unusual about it. However, because it was dark and had rained, the surroundings were not only damp but also extremely gloomy. Without thinking much of it, I brought my face closer to take a better look. Upon closer inspection, my breathing instantly became unusually heavy and rapid. There were clearly scratch marks on the wall!

Section 2: Introduction (2)

Clearly, it was man-made.

Realizing it was caused by human fingernails, the wall before me instantly became clear. Countless shocking scratches, seemingly imbued with heavy resentment, were deeply embedded in the wall. Touching them sent a chilling, desperate fear coursing through my body. I suddenly understood that she was right; these pits were indeed prison-like facilities used to hold criminals long, long ago. It wasn't hard to imagine how profound the despair etched on the walls of these pits must have been.

Touching the marks of struggle, looking at them, I felt dizzy. The densely packed scratches in the cramped space were already suffocating me, and then my sense of smell returned, bringing with it a cacophony of strange, pungent odors that nearly made me gasp for air. My thoughts began to race, and my consciousness started to blur…

Wait...wait! What is this?!

Despite my immense discomfort, I still caught a glimpse of something oozing from the damp walls of the pit, from the deep dents. What was that red liquid? No! It couldn't possibly be blood! I frantically tried to wipe it away, but my foot slipped, and I lost my balance, falling to the ground. At the same time, I seemed to hear some faint noises coming from the cave above me.

Is that... footsteps? It doesn't sound like it. Ignoring the pain, I quickly looked up.

"Hehehehehehe..."

What came into view was a very beautiful face. She, or rather "it," was lying by the entrance of the cave, facing down, quietly watching me... Everything about it was right, except for its eyes.

It...it didn't have eyeballs! A terrifying black hole stared at its pale face! And I, unable to control my fear any longer, screamed hysterically.

"Help! Help me!"

Chapter One: Embarking on a Ghostly Journey

Ye Min picked up the necklace and started shaking it from side to side, saying to me in a threatening tone, "It can make you faint, and then you'll open your heart to me."

Is that so?

Seeing her extremely arrogant gaze, I curled my lip and stared at the coin swinging back and forth in front of me. I refused to believe it. But who knew that after staring at it swinging back and forth a few times, my vision went black, and I collapsed onto the table with a "thump".

1 new employee

2 Unknown destination

Ghost Stories in Carriage 3

Section 3: Embarking on a Ghostly Journey (1)

Chapter One: Embarking on a Ghostly Journey

1 new employee

My name is Yang Feng. I live in Jingcheng and work for a design company.

Our company has been quite lively lately because we just hired two recent graduates from prestigious universities. Their arrival is a huge boost for a small company like ours, and coupled with the company's consistently high performance over the past few months, everyone is in high spirits. In a moment of joy, the boss slammed his hand on the table and said, "Alright! You're all on vacation for two weeks. Go and have some fun!"

It was Ye Min who made this request. Everyone had been working day and night, putting in extra hours to boost sales, and they were all exhausted. Even Lin Pang had lost weight. How could they not be happy to hear this news? They immediately started discussing all sorts of trivial matters, such as where to go, how to get there, and so on.

I'm not particularly interested in travel, so I didn't join the discussion, but I was quite happy about it. After all, it's a good thing to have time to rest after working hard for several months. Ye Min had been looking forward to a vacation for a long time, and now her wish had finally come true. I thought to myself, as long as they come to a conclusion, I'll just follow the group. With the idea of "one generation plants the trees, another enjoys the shade," I sat down at my desk and started working on some documents I hadn't finished that morning.

Speaking of our company, I have a lot to complain about. It's not a big company, and the boss's surname is Ma, and his given name is Ma Lian—a really silly name. I seriously wonder what his father was thinking. "Lian" sounds like "face," so everyone secretly calls him Horse Face or Horse Face Boss. He used to be a traveling merchant, a kind of itinerant trader. After years of wandering around doing business, he grew extremely disgusted with it. In his own words, he still enjoyed traveling all over the country, but as the saying goes, "There are no roads to begin with, but as more people walk on them, they become roads." With roads everywhere, he had no new paths to take. To put it bluntly, this guy failed in business, but luckily he still had some money left, so we ended up with this little company.

To be honest, he dared to call himself a company after running a small wholesale business. If we hadn't been here supporting him, he would have gone bankrupt seven or eight times already.

So how did I, a student of excellent character and academic standing, end up here? Well, it's a long story, and there's no mother for me.

Section 4: Embarking on a Ghostly Journey (2)

A few years ago, I entered the provincial key high school with the best score in the city. Not only that, but during my freshman year, I shone brightest, standing out from the crowd. Apart from a few students who were green with envy, who in the entire grade didn't like me? My popularity back then was beyond description; everyone loved me, flowers bloomed for me, and cars would gravitate towards me. The principal was beaming from ear to ear. That crappy key high school hadn't produced a decent top student for two years, and the pressure from the Education Bureau was suffocating the old man. Clearly, I was his lifeline.

So, right after my freshman year, this guy immediately made me special. What was special? It meant a guaranteed job placement after graduation. Fine, these days even a monthly salary of 300 yuan is fiercely competitive, let alone the more than that back then. At that time, relying on the idea that I would be set for life, I became complacent and started to slack off in my studies. I was still among the top students in the whole school in my sophomore year, until I failed three courses in my junior year, and the others were barely passing like a dying bitch. I didn't think much of it myself. But it was different for the outside world. First, the gardeners who diligently cultivated the flowers of the motherland all gave me a black face when they saw me, and then the flowers around me followed suit. That wasn't the worst part. The most infuriating thing was that the principal actually suppressed my job placement and gave me six months to catch up to the top two in the whole school, otherwise the special treatment was pure nonsense. I've always considered myself proud, how could I stand this humiliation? In a fit of rage, he ordered the burning of books and the burying of scholars alive. Damn it, I'm not reading anymore!

When I got home, my grandfather gave me a good scolding several times, but no matter what he said, I absolutely refused to go back to school; I couldn't bring myself to do it. My grandfather understood my temperament; once he made up his mind about something, he'd stick to it even if it was completely wrong. He argued with me for weeks, almost severing our father-son relationship, but I remained unmoved. In the end, he gave up and told me to find something to do. And wouldn't you know it, that was it. Just then, this guy named Ma Lian returned from a failed business venture. I don't know if it was bad luck or some sin from my past life, but he somehow managed to get on some good terms with my grandfather, and after some back and forth, he said he was starting a company and needed people. My grandfather, without a word, pushed me into it.

This is like a lamb entering a tiger's den.

At first, I thought this was actually pretty good. After all, it's just an office job, not tiring and prestigious. Besides, given my father's relationship with him, whether he's giving me face or not, even if he's my boss, I still have the chance to turn the tables and outmaneuver him.

Section 5: Embarking on a Ghostly Journey (3)

When the company was first established, I was immediately dumbfounded: a small rented single room served as the so-called office, where they sold some groceries, fruits, and other goods, set up a few computers and printers for advertising, and they told me to hold on for a while and then hire some colleagues later. I was so angry that I almost couldn't get it out. If my father hadn't been so furious about me dropping out of school, I would have left long ago.

Well, what's done is done. After weighing the options, I figured I could just switch jobs when the company went bankrupt. Since I was the number one employee, I was practically a founding member of the company; and given the connections I had with them, I naturally ended up in the "second-in-command" position.

There is always a subtle relationship between the CEO and the vice president.

What happened next was an unexpected turn of events for the company. Whether it was a stroke of good luck or the presence of someone with talent like me, the small business not only flourished but also gained increasing recognition. We even started receiving appointments from customers, which was quite surprising. With business booming, how could two people handle it all? So, the company quickly hired two new colleagues.

The first one to arrive was a fat guy named Lin Yong, whom we called "Fat Lin." He was the kind of college graduate who could easily knock down a bunch of people with a single brick, around thirty years old, and timid and cowardly. Actually, he wasn't really fat; he was more of a stocky man. Maybe it's because I'm rather thin, but standing next to him, he seemed especially fat. He didn't seem to mind the nickname, so everyone got used to calling him Fat Lin. Originally, Horse Face had assigned him to contact clients, but then he felt it wasn't appropriate and pulled him back to doing sales.

So the task of socializing fell to Xiaomin.

Xiaomin's real name is Ye Min, and she's only in her early twenties—oh, but she seems to be a year older than me. She was a medical school graduate, but I heard she gave up medicine to become a career woman. Hmm… she's always very shy, speaking softly to everyone, and her cute short hair gave me a very good impression. She told us to just call her Xiaomin, and of course we didn't stand on ceremony—we're all in the same boat, why be polite? When she first joined the company, she was quite reserved, but after a while, she became less reserved, often trying to get close to me. That awful perfume she wore often made me forget where I was at work. It was really bothering me, and I kept thinking I should find an opportunity to tell her how terrible that perfume was. If this continued, the company might go bankrupt. I wouldn't worry about starving, but if the old man found out I was responsible for this company's collapse, wouldn't he just throw me into that ancestral burial plot?

Section 6: Embarking on a Ghostly Journey (4)

Finally, to conform to the demands of the times and to uphold the spirit of "biting off the hand that feeds you," she became my office girlfriend. Of course, it was a clandestine relationship.

And so, the three of us, a bunch of simpletons, worked in that single room for a few months, and surprisingly, our sales improved significantly. Our boss, Horseface, was so happy he was considering giving up fruit and snacks, moving to a decent office, and focusing solely on advertising. Now, having hired two inexpensive university graduates from prestigious universities, he was even more overjoyed.

The business has grown big, let it be.

2 Unknown destination

"Mr. Yang, don't you have an X5? How about we do a two-week road trip?"

Before I could even finish organizing the documents in my hand, Fatty Lin came over, calling out to me.

Damn... I knew it would be like this. My X5 was a luxury my dad bought me when I got into university. To be honest, I don't really like it, but I make do with it. It's better than walking, though. I rarely drive, since my company is right next to my house. Strange, how did they know I had a car?

With the money and valuables out in plain sight, I figured I couldn't hide it any longer, so I smiled and nodded and said okay, but I was extremely dissatisfied inside. We've only worked together for half a year, when the hell did I become so familiar with you guys?

Seeing that I agreed, everyone felt the problem was solved, so they told me what they had been discussing for so long.

In short, this road trip will last about two weeks. Driving is convenient, allowing us to travel and explore along the way. The final destination is an ancient town cluster located near the border of our province, not too far from Xishuangbanna, but I'd never heard of it before—it's called "Naniso." It seems I'm the only one unaware of this destination; the others all seem to have heard of it. I asked around and learned that it's a place Horse Face had visited when he was doing business there. He said it has a rich ethnic culture and many mysterious and interesting things to do.

This guy kept repeating the same two points, and I had no patience to listen to his rambling anymore. I nodded impatiently, which was my way of agreeing to everything, following orders, and obeying commands.

The initial preparations were extremely tedious. We had to prepare food and supplies, arrange plans, maps, and drivers. As always, the "horse-faced boss" only talked the talk but didn't walk the walk, leaving us subordinates running around doing everything. When the old man learned we were going on a long trip, he kept giving the "horse-faced boss" a long lecture, saying things like my heart wasn't good and my blood pressure was high, as if I was a half-dead patient who was just stubbornly insisting on going. What I found even harder to accept was his parting words, "You better treat Xiaomin well on the road," which left me completely baffled. Did the old man know about the perfume scandal? Or did he already know about my relationship with her?

Section 7: Embarking on a Ghostly Journey (5)

Considering these troublesome matters, I nodded vigorously.

With everything arranged, I started to worry a bit as the departure date approached. My X5 looked decent, but it only came in two engine sizes: a 30i and a 48i. The older 44i was already discontinued in the newer models. The difference between the 30i and 48i became immediately apparent when considering off-road and city driving. The 30i was perfectly adequate for city driving, but its engine did feel a bit underpowered. The 48i, on the other hand, had more than enough power for both city and off-road driving. It was powerful enough, but its engine was practically guzzling gasoline. If the 44i hadn't been discontinued, it would have been a clear winner in the mid-range engine segment. Unfortunately, it was discontinued, and you couldn't buy one even if you wanted to.

When I was buying the car, I was thinking of just getting the 48i. My dad's got money to burn, so gas was no big deal; I could drive it even on RMB. But when I mentioned it, he glared at me, almost slapped me twice, and without a word, drove the 30i home. He said something like, "You little brat, just drive around the city, I'm not asking you to drive out of Asia, what the hell do you want with a 48i?" Then he tossed the keys to me, and that was the end of it.

Now look what's happened. While all roads lead to Rome, this guy surnamed Ma is really being unreasonable. That "Naniso" is about 800 or 900 kilometers from our little cabin, and it doesn't seem to be all highway. Once we start off-roading, my little engine will be absolutely inadequate in terms of efficiency.

What's even more infuriating is the number of people. How many people can an X5 even seat? Besides Horse Face, Fatty Lin, Xiaomin, and me, two new college graduates are also going on this trip. Horse Face made it sound so appealing—it's better to be lucky than early, and bringing them along will help strengthen the bond between new and old employees, and they can learn from each other. But I found he's really good at talking without considering the consequences. Afterwards, I paid for all the fuel, road tolls, wear and tear, and maintenance myself. Of course, you guys have a bond!

I was about to explode with anger when a girl came out from behind the car, stood in front of me, and politely asked, "Um... can I sit in the front row with you?"

I recognized her immediately – the new female college student, Su Yan. This girl made a strong impression on me; okay, I admit, I had a crush on her, but I didn't have any ulterior motives yet, and I didn't even know what kind of person she was. Besides, she seemed quite close to that other college student named Lü Fang, and Ye Min kept following me around. I'm not a middle school student anymore; I have no interest in playing those cat-and-mouse games.

Section 8: Embarking on a Ghostly Journey (6)

However, with the driver, only two people can sit in the front, meaning four people have to squeeze into the back. It's not too cramped, though; the X5 is generally a pretty good car. As everyone knows, the front seat is a good spot for road trips—moderate space and a good view. I originally planned for Horse Face to sit in the front, and the rest of us to sit in the back. Only Fatty Lin would take up a little space there; the other two women and one man are all rather thin, so they could just manage. But before I could even tell them my plan, this girl beat me to it.

Without thinking, I asked her, "Are you not feeling well?"

The young woman clearly didn't understand. Seeing the company's vice president looking at her seriously, she was a little at a loss for words: "Um...yes, I've had rheumatism since I was a child."

I laughed as soon as I heard that. As I closed the car door, I glanced at the horse-faced girl walking towards us. So I whispered to her with a half-smile, "I'll let you sit in the front, but next time you have to say your rheumatism is asthma, understand?"

"How are the preparations going?" The horse-faced leader's voice preceded his arrival, shouting from afar.

The words drifted over leisurely, and I didn't think much of it. I replied, "That's about it. We can leave after we pack our luggage and finish eating." But Su Yan next to me was different. Seeing the leader approach, she quickly straightened her back. I smiled and started loading the luggage onto the roof of the car, thinking to myself that this young lady was just like Ye Min when she first arrived.

I remember when Ye Min first arrived, her attitude was shockingly reserved. She basically had to "ask the leader" for permission before doing anything, especially towards me, probably because she had a crush on me at the time. Thinking about it now, it seems she was recommended by the old man, who even asked me to take special care of her… Wait, if the old man didn't know about our relationship, could it be that he and she… I also remember that recently the old man kept going out, never saying where he was going… Impossible, right? The old man is almost sixty!

As I was lost in thought, Ye Min called us over from afar. I glanced at my Casio watch and realized it was almost midnight. I quickly interrupted the horse-faced man and the woman with plain skin who were chatting away: "Time to eat. We'll hit the road after we finish."

Later I realized that what I said back then was actually quite classy.

Section 9: Embarking on a Ghostly Journey (7)

Ghost Stories in Carriage 3

After leaving the city, the view opened up before us, and our mood instantly lifted. The highways in the suburbs stretched out in all directions, and the journey was smooth and unobstructed. A gentle breeze in March caressed our faces, and the warm sunlight peeked through the clouds, warming the backs of our hands, our cheeks, our skin, and the entire springtime. I lazily enjoyed the moment, feeling an indescribable sense of contentment.

As I drove, I listened to the horse-faced man and the guy named Lü Fang rambling on in the back seat. It was all nonsense—they were talking about how our company was a regional branch of a certain large domestic corporation, how the head office had over a certain number of employees, and how the branch was currently in its trial phase, so recruitment absolutely didn't involve any deposits or fees. After listening for a while, I started to doze off. In my drowsy state, I glanced at the female college student next to me—she was completely makeup-free.

She was looking out the window with her face turned to the side, silent, which made me feel a little awkward. I had wanted to strike up a conversation with her, but now I had to give up. I saw that in the back seat, besides Horse Face and Lü Fang, Fatty Lin and Ye Min were also enthusiastically discussing work. I suddenly felt bored and decided to put all my good mood into driving.

The natural scenery outside the window was picturesque, but unfortunately, the few idiots in the car couldn't appreciate it at all.

Along the way, we drove through several cities and small towns. Lin Pang and I switched drivers once, and Ye Min and Su Yan seemed to have formed a good friendship during our rest. Horse Face, on the other hand, kept nagging at poor Lü Fang. Later, while Su Yan and Ye Min were chatting and laughing, I noticed something peculiar on Su Yan's wrist—a bracelet made of several strangely tangled strands of thread. I later learned that the threads were actually dog hair, which she said was for warding off evil spirits.

When it came to warding off evil spirits, Horse Face left Lü Fang behind and joined in, showing us a triangular paper packet hanging around his neck, boasting that it had been blessed somewhere—I was afraid he was about to launch into another long-winded rant, so I quickly changed the subject.

When we stopped for lunch, Ye Min asked me, rather strangely, whether I liked the dog hair on my hand. I assumed she was implying something, that she'd sensed my growing attraction, and that creating a rift so early in the trip wouldn't be good. So I quickly waved my hands in denial—how could animal hair be attractive? She stared at me for a while, then, with a coquettish expression, pulled a dark, dull necklace with an ancient coin pendant from her small bag. The coin looked badly damaged, covered in copper stains.

Section 10: Embarking on a Ghostly Journey (8)

The old man had been in the antique business for a while. Experts appraise antiques by first observing their color and smelling their texture. Although I'm not an expert, I've been exposed to this for some time, so I have some knowledge in this area. This patina... it's clearly the result of years of weathering, a genuine bluish-green.

The coin in her hand is most likely a genuine ancient coin.

I was quite surprised and wanted to take it to examine it. As I reached out, I said to her, "Oh, so you're into retro fashion now? Tell me where you bought this from a street vendor? The soaking technique is really good. Thanks, thanks!" But Ye Min, while holding the money in her hand, avoided me and said seriously, "Stop being so vain. Who said I was giving it to you? This isn't some fashionable accessory; it's a family heirloom for self-defense."