Ombre 380 000 Niveau 17, Ouragan de l’Esprit suspendu arrive

Chapitre 18

"I'm so sorry I couldn't let you carry me... to... the bridal sedan chair!"

She took my hand and pointed to the ghostly car.

"Look, so many women are wearing veils, how beautiful my bridal sedan chair is! Can you carry me over there?"

I choked up and couldn't say a word.

“I am not Tang Yuqing. I have killed many people, including palace maids from the Republic of China era, as well as Qi Silong and Ning Yu.”

"Who are you? Tell me, please? I want to know who the most beautiful bride of my life is?"

"Luoyi is the princess of Emperor Chongzhen who ate the Dragon Seal of the Vengeful Spirit. Back then, my twin sister and I were in the well. She ate that painting, and the vengeful spirit was enraged. It possessed us and forced us to eat each other... My sister committed suicide so that I could live... I took the painting from the vengeful spirit's body and was cursed... to restore the parts that my sister destroyed... or I would die."

She coughed violently, her body trembling; her last, fragile life could not withstand the howling wind. I comforted her in a low voice:

"You had no choice but to kill him. I don't hate you. I just want to know why you shot Qi Silong? Why?"

"He killed his lover, Pang Zhen...! I want... him dead."

"Don't say anything more, it's all in the past, I just want you to live."

“I love you… Remember your fallen clothes, stay away from this place, and never go looking for vengeful spirits.”

"Luoyi, tell me, who exactly is this vengeful spirit? You know that song is the vengeful spirit's incantation, can you tell me its meaning?"

"It's over! The mystery of the curse lies in this painting, and I don't want... you to be in danger if you find out. All I know is that the curse is in the painting."

A violent cough caused her body to tremble violently, and I held her tightly. Luo Yi gently stroked my face with three fingers and murmured:

"Can...you kiss me?"

I lowered my head, unable to contain my grief any longer, and let a hot tear fall onto her hand. I tried to feel the presence of her beautiful face, and finally understood why Luo Yi had never let me see her face, why she was called Luo Yi and had three faces, because the princess's beautiful face no longer existed.

What met my eyes was a blurry image of black and blood. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the beautiful face of the Republic-era girl in the movie and Tang Yuqing. I pressed my lips to hers, which were covered in blood and as cold as ice, and passionately kissed her goodbye. She pressed herself against my body, struggling to lift her thin chest until my tongue warmed her parted red lips. Only then did her body stiffen in calm, and her head fell limply into my arms. She never moved again. I gazed at her and gently lifted her black hair to cover my bride's face.

I picked up her mutilated body, went to the dry well, squatted down, and looked down into the well, a deep sorrow welling up inside me. I picked up the scroll, but had no interest in opening it. Looking at the dry well at my feet, I tossed the heartbreaking national treasure into the water.

A crisp, clinking sound broke the sorrowful silence, followed by a soft splashing sound from the bottom of the well. The dry well had filled with water; after the ripples subsided, the water shimmered, as bright and clear as the moon over the River Styx. I knew that the appearance of water in the dry well meant that the vengeful spirit was in this well, and tonight, he would probably be admiring that painting alone.

I had to go. A policeman, a fabrication by Ji Yunsheng, whose Forbidden City doesn't even exist, had no right to stay here so late at night. I laid her body, her white wedding dress disheveled, flat on the dry well platform, carefully wiping the blood from her face. Finally, I took out the evidence of her ghostly encounters at the Forbidden City—the roll of film used to photograph ghostly tourists—from my pocket and gently placed it beside her. Perhaps it would be useful to the police; they would then know how to identify those strangely behaving uninvited guests among the tens of thousands of visitors attending the Forbidden City's 80th anniversary celebration.

My ghost bride shrank in my sight. With endless longing, I turned around one last time to gaze at her with deep affection, only to suddenly discover that a black veil covered her head, the haunted car number 1644 had also disappeared, and a sedan chair with four red bars forming the character "井" (well) was parked by the well.

Chapter 53 The Unbreakable Curse

I returned to my dormitory in the Forbidden City, intending to take away everything that belonged to my past nightmares. However, when I stepped into the so-called security department again, all I saw was a desolate and dilapidated old building, overgrown with weeds. Amidst the bleakness of the gray bricks and tiles, I could no longer find my former workplace.

It turns out that Ji Yunsheng and his gang used a covert deception throughout the entire process of carrying out their conspiracy. Although he was a member of the security department, his office was actually in several old buildings in the Forbidden City that were waiting to be renovated. This was the den of iniquity where they had once committed murder.

I squatted in my former "dormitory," gazing at the gloomy attic filled with desolation. Everything from the past seemed like fleeting smoke from the Forbidden City, flowing sadly from the darkest part of this Forbidden City, a place almost no one had ever set foot in, into the man-eating well before me.

Tomorrow is the day the Palace Museum will exhibit the national treasure "Along the River During the Qingming Festival." But does the so-called vengeful spirit really exist, and will it prevent such a public exhibition? Is Ji Yunsheng the only schemer? Would they so easily give up their conspiracy that they've been carrying out for years? Impossible. Perhaps Ji Yunsheng is just a figurehead, a disposable pawn. The real mastermind might be laughing maniacally in some corner right now. The past emotional entanglement between ghost and human, the life-and-death struggle between the seemingly righteous schemer Ji Yunsheng and me, the so-called vessel of the vengeful spirit, is nothing but a fabricated supernatural story.

I left silently, and my first destination was the library. I wanted to uncover the secret of the ghost's song. What exactly did those few lines of the song mean? Why did they appear repeatedly? Why were they so difficult to pronounce and understand?

Medicine carts and horses at sixteen o'clock,

The old man passed away peacefully.

The two bridges are always covered with fields of millet and sorghum.

What does "Who knows the past east of the Bian River..." mean?

I found historical records about "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", and when I came across the poems in the inscriptions, I suddenly realized that the words in that strange folk song could all be found in the inscriptions of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival"!

Following Zhang's inscription, there are postscripts by Jin dynasty figures such as Zhang Gongyao and Li Quan:

The main thoroughfares are bustling with carriages and horses; it's only been a few years into the Xuanhe era. Back then, the Hanlin scholars presented their paintings, depicting a peaceful and prosperous scene worthy of being passed down. The water gates flow eastward to connect with the Sui Canal; even the towns and villages are now incomparable. Laozi always cautioned against complacency, thus we know today it has turned into ruins. The Chu and Wu ships, with their masts and rudders, sail for thousands of miles; the scenery is beautiful to the south and north of the bridges. ...

The 16 points of the medicine chariot and horse, the 1644 code after the chariot and horse, is the first character of the first and sixth segments, "通井" (Tongjing). Then the fourth character is "来" (Lai), and the fourth character after that is "故" (Gu). The meaning is "Tongjing comes to the Forbidden City"!

What does "Two Bridges Without Sunlight" mean? Li Quan's postscript poem contains the line "Two Bridges Without Sunlight, River Boats Cease," followed by the word "cease." Is "all grain and millet" the same as the line "Looking far and wide, all grain and millet remains"? Before that is "now," and there's also the line "Returning to the painting, I see only smoke and mist." ...My mind is still blank, but I'm certain this folk song is a code they used to act through the curse of a vengeful spirit. The old man's death and the good wind and smoke signify the old vengeful spirit's desire to rule the Forbidden City! He wants to destroy that timeless masterpiece, to turn it into a wisp of smoke.

The conspiracy is still ongoing in the Forbidden City, and the wells below are interconnected, so there must be a secret hidden inside.

On October 10th, the Palace Museum celebrated its 80th anniversary. Early in the morning, I followed the crowd into the Palace Museum, eagerly awaiting the public exhibition of the timeless masterpiece, "Along the River During the Qingming Festival." The number of visitors today was many times greater than in previous years; everywhere was bustling with people. Those who had heard the news had come to see the national treasure and were buying souvenirs printed with images of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival."

There's still some time before the exhibition. Before that, I need to find the discordant faces hidden in the crowd. I need to use the clues I have to try my best to identify the hidden secrets. Although my strength is weak, as long as I find the source of their conspiracy, I may be able to break the conspiracy's calamity against the national treasure.

I searched diligently for tourists to see anyone playing with the nine-linked rings, and sure enough, in a relatively quiet alley, I finally heard the clinking sound like jade pendants. It belonged to a young couple; the man wearing sunglasses was holding the object.

He was strolling leisurely, carrying a travel bag and holding his girlfriend's hand, when I rushed up to him from the side and asked:

"Sir, what time is it?"

I snatched the ring from his hand. He abruptly looked up; my arrival seemed to have made him extremely nervous. In that instant when he turned his head, I noticed the corner of his eye. In the sunlight, I felt that his eyes seemed to be entirely white. He glanced at me, then pulled his girlfriend away strangely, without looking back, heading straight for the palace wall. I had seen this scene before; was he going to bang his head against the wall?

Sure enough, they disappeared as soon as they turned the corner.

I deliberately made a clanging sound while carrying the iron rings, and also deliberately acted like a zombie, walking in a strange posture. Sure enough, another group of young men and women carrying nine-linked rings aroused my high vigilance with their bizarre behavior. Under the shade of the trees by the red wall, I scanned the young couples resting on the benches. The clinking of my rings caused the girls to turn around unintentionally. They smiled and nodded at me. Wasn't that strange look a tacit understanding and a secret code?

Chapter Fifty-Four: The Eternity of the Well

I suddenly understood a long-standing mystery: weren't those ghost couples on the TV screens in the haunted building just like the people in front of me? They were no longer zombie-like figures, but now they were tourists in the Forbidden City, living people with flesh and blood, but they were undoubtedly being used as tools for conspiracy.

Could their casual stroll and romantic walk really be those of the ghost couple who were skinned alive? Looking at their beautiful faces and intact figures, how could they possibly be a couple who were persecuted by Ji Yunsheng and his gang? I don't believe it. Perhaps they are possessed by ghosts, walking and talking spirits, and their mission may be today. As the public exhibition of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" begins, the ghosts will seize the opportunity to act...

I pretended to be nonchalant, smiled at them, and then turned at a corner of a red wall, heading towards the depths of that familiar street. In a courtyard overgrown with weeds, I skillfully avoided the gazes of pedestrians and possible plainclothes policemen, and re-entered the familiar courtyard ahead. Beside an ancient locust tree in front of me was the well where Tang Yuqing's naked body lay, a place I could never forget.

I came to the well and looked down with endless sorrow. The well was full of clear water. I looked around and saw that no one was passing by. Suddenly, I pulled myself into the well and used my limbs to support myself as I slowly moved down into the well. When I was less than two meters from the water surface, I jumped down.

In the icy, bone-chilling well water, I groped around, hoping to find Tang Yuqing's body or perhaps an exit leading to another place. But there was nothing at the bottom of the dark well. This filled me with tension and surprise. I worried that my understanding of the vengeful spirit's incantation regarding the well was wrong, and that I had mistaken the courtyard above. There are many wells with similar appearances in the Forbidden City; perhaps this wasn't the place where I had my heart-wrenching parting with Luo Yi last night!

Just as I was hesitating, wanting to come up to catch my breath and prepare to go back underwater, I suddenly felt an invisible pulling force on my feet. The force was so strong that I couldn't resist. I tried to grab the well wall to stop sliding down, but the smooth stone wall was no match for my lifeline. In my last struggle, I was forcibly pulled into the deep well.

Suffocation made me lose consciousness, and gulping down water was my last memory of life before I fell into a coma.

When I woke up again, I was lying in a spacious, dark little space filled with paintings and colorful paint splattered all over the walls. When I opened my eyes, I saw a small, thin girl sitting quietly in front of me. Seeing that I was awake, she smiled, revealing her dark teeth.

"Little cousin!"

I felt as if I had entered a childhood dream, and she looked exactly like my older sister, Pang Zhen, from my childhood. She stood up and looked up happily at the ceiling of the small space. Only then did I realize that there were countless paper butterflies, tied by red threads, fluttering in the wind.

I didn't know how to understand it; what was wrong with my little cousin? Seeing that I could sit up, she turned around and walked towards the cave ahead. Then I realized that she might have pulled me into this space from the well. Are the wells in the Forbidden City truly interconnected?

Do you remember me?

I shook my head, then nodded.

"Your Pang Zhen!"

"No, I am her younger sister. That year, when we were playing in Wuguo City, I fell into a tree hole and never went home again. Later, Ji Yunsheng brought me here."

"But why are you still so small?"

“In the dry well under the big tree, I ate a painting and then stopped growing. They said I had a secret and wanted to peel off my skin. Sister Luoyi saved me and put me here.”

My little cousin spoke in her childish voice, as if nothing had happened; she was still thirteen-year-old Pang Zhen.

“Come with me, I know where they all went. Today is a good day; they said they can take this opportunity to escape.”

Who are they?

I asked in surprise.

"These are the people! They are all my sisters. I've been with them for many years."

My cousin pointed to the images of people fluttering like sails in front of me. I knew that those were the last marks left in this world by each vibrant life: human skin.

"They escaped to get rid of the vengeful spirits, right?"

I pressed on, and the future of those wronged women tugged at my heartstrings.

"What vengeful spirit? Heh! Sister Luoyi said I am a vengeful spirit."

"Where is Luo Yi? Tell me!"

I could no longer suppress my emotions. Whether Luo Yi was a person or a ghost, I had to find her again.

"Didn't you throw her into the well? She's dead. Look, that prettiest skin of hers is hers!"

My cousin said calmly, ran over, and pointed to something bloody on the wall. My vision blurred, and I stood there motionless, tears streaming down my face.

I followed her into a large room, and when the piles of white bones stung my sensitive and kind nerves, the little girl stopped. She pointed to hundreds of things fluttering like banners in the distance, deep in the cave. I looked closely and felt as if I were already dead.

There were dozens, even hundreds, of floating human skins, all belonging to young women. In my pain, I finally understood that this was the real hellish abyss, and the roots of those ghosts outside who depended on the living were all here. They were the death tools of evil vengeful spirits. Those people were not Ji Yunsheng's people; they were all death vessels for vengeful spirits!

I understand now. The so-called curse and the so-called ghost marriage all have the same purpose: the vengeful spirit wants to use this terrifying form to restore the Forbidden City and turn it back into a paradise for demons. The vengeful spirit's curse took advantage of Ji Yunsheng and his gang's greed for "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" and eventually brought me, my cousin, and my cousin's younger sister, who had access to the secrets of Emperor Huizong of Song in Wuguo City, to the Forbidden City for final elimination.

A painting like "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" is not important to evil; what matters is that it can turn the Forbidden City under the sunlight into a stage for ghosts and monsters. Perhaps, just as this national treasure is on display, vengeful spirits will create a terrifying and supernatural event.

Chapter Fifty-Five: If There Is an Afterlife

Gazing at these skinned human figures, I was reminded of the horrific, bloody images that pierced my nerves. Dozens of young people, persecuted to death in ghost marriages, would create terrifying ghostly events at the exhibition. Their souls were being remotely controlled, their passion turned as cold as that of beasts. The wronged ghosts, "living" under the devil's tyranny, would swarm towards the national treasure like moths drawn to a flame. Then, the national treasure would be destroyed in an accidental fire, and those terrifying ghosts would forever become victims of Emperor Huizong's vengeful spirit.

I dare not tread lightly anymore; every step I take will trample on a living soul. Perhaps that is the final cry of the slaughtered lovers. My heart is bleeding.

The little girl stopped. She seemed to sense my unease, gently walked over, hugged me, then looked up into my eyes and wiped away my tears. With her thin, bony hands, she handed me a box of matches.

"I'm leaving, can you give me a kiss? I'm your little Luoyi too."

She murmured to herself, then closed her eyes, tilting her head back high, her sparse but beautiful hair hanging down like delicate ribbons in the February wind.

I cupped her disheveled hair in my hands and gently kissed her lips. She smiled contentedly, then pursed her lips alluringly.

"Please set this place on fire, for the vengeful spirits are about to return, and then none of them will be able to escape."

She pointed to the matches in my hand. Then she hugged my waist tightly and lingered affectionately against my chest for a moment.

"I don't want to be this young forever. If I have an afterlife, I want to be the most beautiful woman."

"You will."

I held her delicate, cicada-like shoulders tightly. A blush rose to her cheeks, as if a ray of morning sun had suddenly turned her cheeks red. She ran away in tears, letting go of my small hand as she left, like a lotus breeze disappearing into a distant cave.

"Goodbye! Light the fire, please, I'm begging you on their behalf!"

"Take care, miss..."

I stood there in the wind, clutching the box of matches, tears of profound sorrow falling onto the matchbox. Watching Xiao Pangzhen's retreating figure, I waved goodbye.

"I love you, Xiao Luoyi!"