Chapter 89 Want to fight a mysterious creature? No way (5)
Old Yan and Lu Mingran stared intently at the screen, hoping to glean some clues. They watched with bated breath, fearing that some terrifying scene might flash before their eyes.
However, no, it was just an inspirational but somewhat boring documentary from beginning to end. Embarrassingly, they started with Lin Jiansheng's childhood and included a picture of him as a naked baby. Lu Mingran looked at this and thought about the days they had spent together, and couldn't help but cover her eyes.
Just then, Lin Jiansheng's somewhat wistful voice rang out in the movie theater.
"Oh, you mean a turning point in your life?"
"...Well, there was a time when I left here, left my students, and met some very interesting people."
Lu Mingran gradually loosened her grip on her eyelids and lowered her hand.
Through his hazy vision, he saw Lin Jiansheng's nostalgic expression on the screen and heard him say, "I went there a few days ago to visit an old friend."
"It's a pity that the heavy snow blocked the mountain and I couldn't go. I still really wanted to see him again. On the way, I met a girl from a farmhouse. She said she insisted on bringing porridge to my old friend."
"...I can feel her feelings, but he's a monk, hahahahahahahaha."
Lin Jiansheng laughed loudly at the camera, but the lingering sound of his laughter made Lu Mingran feel inexplicably melancholy.
He didn't know when the movie ended, only that when the lights came on and the movie theater was brightly lit, Old Yan stood up, but he was still standing.
"I have a question for you," Old Yan said, rubbing his temples. "How did you take a liking to this person at first sight?"
It took Lu Mingran a while to come to her senses. She stood up and smiled, "Yeah, I guess."
It's not really a feeling, it's just that we knew each other before.
——————
When the onlookers saw that Lu Mingran and Lao Yan walked out on their own without anyone helping them, they were stunned for a long time before bursting into cheers and whistles, which they had already done many times before.
Lu Mingran listened carefully for a moment, then said to the system:
"Is this cheering sound from your world's sound effects library? It sounds exactly the same to me, even the burps mixed in are exactly the same."
System: "...You have really good hearing."
At this moment, Xu Lingqiu and Xiao Shuang came up to them and asked, "Are you alright?"
Old Yan smiled, a rare occurrence: "It's alright, Lu Mingran made the right choice."
After that, two of Lao Yan's men went to him for advice, while Lu Mingran went to eat alone first.
The deadline was noon. By noon, no one could match Lu Mingran and his group, and ultimately, they were undoubtedly the winners.
As the victor, Lao Yan must express his wishes to the clown in front of everyone.
Old Yan pulled Lu Mingran aside and said, "If you want him to give you gold or something, I can understand, but I have something very important to ask him."
Lu Mingran nodded.
The crowd was already waiting there, and the cheers were just the usual sound effects from the sound library. But in this overly joyful atmosphere, Lao Yan took two steps forward, rolled up his sleeves, and asked the clown a question that seemed completely out of place with everything else.
Where is he?
Old Yan stared intently into the clown's eyes: "Where is Ding Qi? I know he's dead. Tell me, where is his body?"
Ding Qi is the missing boy.
The crowd fell silent instantly.
The clown still wore his exaggerated smile, but the warmth in his eyes was gradually cooling. Old Yan, on the other hand, patiently awaited his answer.
Suddenly, the clown let out a sharp scream and turned to run towards the courtyard where the performance had taken place. As he turned and ran, he let go of the string of the balloon he was holding, and the red balloon floated upwards.
Lu Mingran followed after him. When he arrived, he saw that on the platform where they had been before, the clown was hanging from the chandelier with his neck crooked, his legs dangling in mid-air. He still stared wide-eyed at everyone who came in.
Of course, it wasn't Old Yan who killed anyone. Lu Mingran calmed herself down and saw Old Yan using tools to pry open the stage, pulling out another clown with his eyes closed and covered in blood.
And this was the missing person. At this moment, Xu Lingqiu also ran over, and seeing this scene, he frowned and took a few steps back.
Old Yan recognized him and said without looking up, "If you had followed me back then, you would be dealing with this kind of thing with me now."
Alarm bells immediately went off in Lu Mingran's mind. What? It's been ten years! You're still thinking of kidnapping the male lead of the ghost story? No way!
"Um, you two..."
Lu Mingran quickly said, "The body has been found. Let's think about how to get back as soon as possible."
Old Yan sighed, "I'm afraid it's not that simple..."
Ding, ding—suddenly a dull bell rang out.
Lu Mingran realized that Lao Yan was right, because the next moment everything on the ship changed drastically. He turned around in alarm and saw that everything on the ship's walls was peeling off, revealing blood-stained, old things, even worse than what they had seen in the room that day.
In addition, tourists continued to flock to the area.
To be precise, they were forcibly brought here by their deceased companions, lovers, and relatives. People have been dying here ever since they boarded the ship, but this ship is so special that the dead can still exist as if they were alive.
Now, the clown is dead, order has collapsed, and these dead people finally appear as ghosts. They hold the hands of the living, neither frightening nor killing them, but simply dancing and dancing.
A carnival. This was the most desperate carnival Lu Mingran had ever seen. Beside him, a little girl, terrified and with tears streaming down her face, was being held by the wrist by her deceased boyfriend. The man's face was ashen, and there were obvious finger marks on his neck. He was forcing the girl to dance with him in this manner.
Lu Mingran and her group were among the few who weren't bothered, but apart from Lu Mingran and Xiao Shuang, the situation wasn't so optimistic.
Xu Lingqiu suddenly looked in a certain direction, repeatedly muttering "I'm sorry, I couldn't save you back then..."
It looks like I've run into that person from before.
But this must be an illusion. Thinking of this, Lu Mingran pulled Xiao Shuang over.
After saying "I've offended you," Lu Mingran wrote a note and stuck it on Xiao Shuang, then dragged her to Xu Lingqiu's face and waved it vigorously:
"Wake up, she's here! Here she is!"
Having dealt with Xu Lingqiu, the next step was Lao Yan. Seeing Lao Yan walking blankly towards the deck, Lu Mingran rushed out, feeling the wind rushing past her.
Outside, the sea was calm, and there seemed to be no danger at all.
However, Lao Yan stood alone on the deck, with some white fragments at his feet.
"...Old Yan?"
After a long while, Lao Yan looked at the blue sea and said, "I'm fine."
Old Yan saw his master.
The master was still dressed as a Taoist priest. Old Yan was not fooled, firstly because he was a highly accomplished cultivator, and secondly because he knew that his master had long since died, and his soul was nothing but remnants.
But he still lost control when he saw a child dressed in ancient costume on each side of his master.
When the two children laughed, white maggots rolled out of their mouths. As they pulled their master outside, Old Yan suddenly lost control of himself, fell for their trick, and ran out after them.
How did he regain consciousness?
After hearing the sound of something breaking on the ground.
The remnant soul of the master burst forth from the two porcelain dolls, its thin form blocking the way between him and the fake master.
His master was watching him.
Although his expression was unclear, Lao Yan was fully conscious. This was his master, the master who would protect him.
It was at this moment that Lao Yan sensed a look of sorrow on his master's silent face.
He had imprisoned his master for far too long. In a way, his master was wrong and guilty. For him, the dissipation of his soul was a relief.
Old Yan looked at his master, then at the two children in front of him, and smiled.
Then he took the two porcelain dolls, broke one on the boat, and sank the other into the sea.
Once his mind was focused, the imposter spirit vanished on its own. When Lu Mingran arrived, Old Yan was gazing at the sea, lost in thought.
Lu Mingran silently walked to his side and joined him in enjoying the sea breeze. Behind them, the ghost ship was bustling with activity.
At that moment, the invitation in Lu Mingran's pocket became hot again.
After reading the content, Lu Mingran was stunned.
Tonight at 11 PM, the new ship will pick up these guests, and you will continue to stay at our hotel.
Hotel? What hotel?
Lu Mingran suddenly realized that this ship was actually the strange hotel.
——————
The invitation was right. Sure enough, at 11 p.m., rescue ships arrived, and the survivors erupted in cheers that it wasn't just a material library anymore.
The sky and the sea were both gloomy at this moment. Lao Yan and Xu Lingqiu were both looking for Lu Mingran, but when they met, they realized that neither of them could find Lu Mingran.
Where are the others?
"I don't know," Old Yan said, somewhat irritated. "Neither of my two men have been able to find him."
The ship over there was already urging them on, and they couldn't dawdle any longer. Helpless, Lao Yan and Xu Lingqiu had no choice but to go to the boarding area, turn around and look at the ship for a long time before preparing to leave.
Lu Mingran had actually been watching them from somewhere.
As the manager, he had to stay. But when he saw Lao Yan and the others leaving, Lu Mingran knew that this was the last time they would see each other.
It's true, we'll never see each other again.
“System,” Lu Mingran said, “I want to hug them in my imagination.”
To Lu Mingran's surprise, the system granted his request and told him after a while that he could go over now.
Then Lu Mingran rushed out and ran to the stunned Lao Yan and Xu Lingqiu. He first gave Xu Lingqiu a big hug, and then he hugged Lao Yan.
Those around them were scrambling to move, occasionally glancing at them before quickly looking away. Lu Mingran, however, held Lao Yan tightly for a long time before finally letting go and taking a step back.
"Until we meet again."
...All of this really only happened in my imagination.
After doing all this, Lu Mingran found himself back in the cabin. He stood in front of the dark window, watching them being forcibly taken away by Lao Yan's men.
There was no goodbye and no hug.
Fortunately, in my imagination, we did say goodbye with an embrace.
If the farewell is perfect in your imagination, then let's consider it perfect.