Xiao Jiu was still sitting on the floor. He looked at Lu Mingran, thought and thought, and finally slapped his thigh through the blanket:
"It's okay, you still have me!"
Lu Mingran: "?"
——————————
In the dead of night, the two, who should have been in bed, slipped out again, but didn't go out; they stayed at home.
Xiao Jiu led the way, with Lu Mingran following behind. The two quickly passed their aunt's room and entered the innermost room.
There was so much dust there that Lu Mingran had to cover her nose tightly to stop herself from coughing. But when the lights were turned on, Lu Mingran was shocked by what was there.
A row of items placed against the corner of the wall consisted of knives, swords, and spears, resembling a theatrical troupe at first glance. Lu Mingran tried to lift an iron sword, but quickly realized it wasn't something used in operas; it was a real weapon, so heavy that he couldn't lift it at all.
On the other side, Xiao Jiu was digging in a box, and finally he dug out a gong, which he happily hugged to his chest.
"...You're not planning to bang a gong in the middle of the night, are you?"
"Of course not tonight, I just came to check if the things are still there."
Xiao Jiu treasured that thing and held it tightly.
"Lu Mingran, this is a precious thing my parents left me. I wouldn't have let you use it if you hadn't helped my live stream gain followers."
Huh? Nowadays, parents usually leave their children houses and money, so why would they leave a gong?
Just as Lu Mingran was about to ask, he suddenly saw Xiao Jiu stand up straight.
"You two, come downstairs."
Behind me came my aunt's cold voice.
——————————————
"You ask me how I woke up? You were screaming like a pig being slaughtered, it would be strange if I didn't wake up."
Downstairs, a family education drama unfolded for a while, while Lu Mingran, an outsider, sat to the side and dozed off.
Finally, after the aunt had finished disciplining the child, she turned to him and said:
"I'm asking you, did that brat Fang Xiaojiu go to do his live stream tonight?!"
"Hmm?" Lu Mingran subconsciously hummed in agreement, which her aunt took as an admission.
"I've told you so many times to behave yourself and be an ordinary person."
Aunt looked at the jade pendant around Xiao Jiu's neck, her eyes filled with helplessness:
"Do you think you're Gu He? Do you think you can achieve his level of success?"
Seeing Xiao Jiu being scolded so pitifully, Lu Mingran couldn't help but interrupt, "Actually, I also know Gu He..."
If there's a chance in the future, we could ask Gu He to teach Xiao Jiu a lesson.
However, my aunt laughed:
"You know Gu He? What nonsense are you spouting? Let me tell you, Gu He is a very capable person, not someone that ordinary people can get close to."
Wow, so Gu He was really that impressive in the eyes of the older generation.
As the male lead's nominal brother, Lu Mingran suddenly felt a little proud.
Yes, yes, you're right, you're absolutely right.
Lu Mingran clapped expressionlessly, fully agreeing, though she secretly wanted to laugh.
After her aunt finished speaking, she straightened up and gave Xiao Jiu a final warning:
"From now on, put away all that junk you've got and go to university properly."
At this moment, Xiao Jiu suddenly broke his silence, and Lu Mingran noticed that his voice had changed.
It turned somewhat cold; to be precise, the voice suddenly lost its childishness and became chilling.
"But Auntie, this is what my parents do, why can't I?"
Aunt was stumped by the question.
Seeing the atmosphere between the two become tense, and Xiao Jiu still stubbornly refusing to admit defeat, Lu Mingran quickly tried to smooth things over.
He looked at the jade around Xiao Jiu's neck and decided to start there: "Xiao Jiu, is that jade for protection?"
He must have been born weak or something. That's how it's often written in ghost stories: I was born laughing, or a Taoist priest told me I wouldn't live past a certain age, or that I would suffer this or that. Lu Mingran had already guessed the gist of the story.
Sure enough, Xiao Jiu's aunt nodded:
"Yeah, his parents went crazy and bought it from a dealer for two thousand yuan. I had someone check it out, and it's only worth two yuan."
“I saw the old man who told his fortune later. He was wearing a Taoist robe when he came to our house. The day I saw him, he was carrying a cross and had dyed his hair yellow.”
Lu Mingran: "...Then, where are his parents?"
"He's just like me, he went out to visit some master and left him to me."
Well, how should I put it? If it weren't for the plot involving the death of both parents and the leaving behind a family heirloom, at least it would be a very happy ending.
Lu Mingran looked at Xiao Jiu, then at her aunt, and said, "Um, Auntie... Xiao Jiu is really interested in these things."
"If all else fails, let him have some fun. Look, he still has a lot of fans in his live stream."
Lu Mingran looked into her aunt's eyes and said, "You must have seen Xiao Jiu holding that gong; he really likes it."
To put it bluntly, her aunt probably doesn't want to get involved anymore. After all, the child is grown up, and now she just needs a way to back down. After saying this, Lu Mingran sighed, turned around, and went upstairs.
Now Xiao Jiu returned to her previous state, looking at Lu Mingran with a confused expression: "What does my aunt mean by this?"
"It seems... he doesn't want to bother with you anymore."
To put it bluntly, your aunt thinks you're hopeless.
Lu Mingran could understand her aunt's thoughts. Opposing feudal superstition was one aspect, but Lu Mingran also knew very well that even if some niche cultures were popular now, they would ultimately be rejected by the mainstream. If one rashly embarked on a path different from others, there would be a lot of suffering to endure.
However, young people still have to walk their own path.
Little Jiu had no idea what was going on. After regaining her senses, she howled:
"Good heavens, I've argued with my aunt so many times and still haven't succeeded!"
Then Xiao Jiu excitedly hugged Lu Mingran, who was so frightened that her whole body stiffened.
But Xiao Jiu showed no sign of letting up. He added, "Xiao Lu, we'll bang it tomorrow morning! We'll bang the gong tomorrow morning!"
It's as if you're in a rush to start a company tomorrow morning and go public with a gong.
...For safety's sake, Lu Mingran asked the system whether it was just a gong or really just a gong.
The system simply replied, "Sleep soundly."
——————————
The two of them spent the whole night together, and when they woke up the next day, it was almost noon.
Xiao Jiu jumped out of bed in a flash:
"Noon is the best time, when the yang energy is strongest. Lu Mingran, hurry!"
However, Lu Mingran couldn't hurry; his back was in terrible pain this morning. When he looked in the mirror, he clearly saw the purplish-blue finger marks on his neck.
It looks like this female ghost plans to strangle him by the weekend.
“System…” Lu Mingran called out, “If anything happens later, please save Xiao Jiu first.”
His role this time was truly awkward. If the novel is to continue its supernatural tale plot, then his good friend should just find a secluded corner and wait to die, without bothering the protagonist at all.
But he wanted to live, and he had to live, otherwise the protagonist would cause a lot of trouble in order to find out the cause of his death.
Lu Mingran was scared.
He was also afraid that he would implicate others.
“Hey, you don’t have to be so dramatic,” the system couldn’t stand it anymore. “The fact that this world can give you such a clue means that Xiao Jiu has a way to solve your current predicament.”
Just then, there was a knock on the door:
"Lu Mingran, are you all better yet?"
"……alright."
As soon as he opened his mouth, Lu Mingran realized that his voice had suddenly become hoarse. He went to open the door, startling Xiao Jiu outside.
Lu Mingran was hunched over, as if he were carrying something very heavy. He tried to stand up straight, but something was pressing down on him.
Xiao Jiu's face darkened: "We need to hurry."
——————————
For some reason, after seeing that gong again today, Lu Mingran felt some strange reactions in her body.
She was afraid; the female ghost was afraid.
"Xiao Jiu!" Lu Mingran's hope suddenly ignited. "Do you know what to do?"
Xiao Jiu over there was lighting some incense, and without turning her head, she said:
“My dad said this gong is used to ward off evil spirits, and you just need to keep striking it.”
"The louder the better."
Huh? Just that simple and straightforward?
Before Lu Mingran could react, Xiao Jiu had already picked up the mallet and slammed it against the gong.
Lu Mingran felt like her ears were going to go deaf, and her neighbor next door heard the noise and was yelling.
"No, wait a minute."
Lu Mingran covered her ears, picked up her phone, connected it to Xiao Jiu's Bluetooth speaker, and played a song first:
"Good luck, I wish you good luck..."
It's really... very festive.
That way, the neighbors might think they're having a celebration, which is much better than just the sound of gongs.
In this way, Lu Mingran can rest assured to "die heroically".
Xiao Jiu nodded and got ready. He found a pair of earplugs somewhere and put them in his ears.