Chapter 25 Don’t give up on life
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Qi Ming and Zhuang Lao entered the house and immediately noticed the person lying on the ground—it was Lin Zhaohe.
“Brother Lin, are you okay, Brother Lin?” Qi Ming hurried over, helping him up and checking his breathing. “He’s still alive.”
Zhuang Lao stood in place, not moving, merely observing Lin Zhaohe from a distance, as if he didn’t want to touch him.
Qi Ming helped Lin Zhaohe onto the sofa and was about to go to the bathroom to get a wet towel to wipe his face when suddenly, Lin Zhaohe woke up.
“When did you, when did you guys arrive?!” Chen Xi suddenly woke up, startled by the sight of two unfamiliar faces. But he quickly remembered that these two were Lin Zhaohe’s friends, as he had seen them accompanying Lin Zhaohe in and out of the apartment before.
This was one of the benefits of being a security guard. He remembered the owner of the body and everyone who had visited here. At least he wouldn’t arouse their suspicion.
“We just arrived. Are you okay?” Qi Ming said.
“I’m, I’m fine,” Chen Xi replied, his voice trembling. “There’s a ghost in this house…”
Qi Ming was a bit puzzled by his words. Of course, they knew there was a ghost in the house. It was just that Lin Zhaohe seemed so panicked at the moment, as if he had just found out about the ghost. Qi Ming didn’t think much about it, though. After all, not everyone could easily get used to encountering ghosts. He said, “I know, that’s why Boss Zhuang and I went to find a way to resolve it.”
“Did you find it?” Chen Xi asked.
“We found it,” Qi Ming said. “We brought back the woman’s urn…”
Upon hearing this, Chen Xi immediately revealed a ferocious expression. He gritted his teeth and demanded that they give him the urn. He wanted to crush and scatter the woman’s ashes, so she would never be able to reincarnate.
Qi Ming was taken aback by Chen Xi’s expression. How did Lin Zhaohe suddenly become so fierce? He looked really intimidating.
“Don’t be hasty,” Zhuang Lao suddenly spoke in a soft voice, offering his advice. “This matter can’t be rushed. Even if we want to destroy her ashes, we need to find a suitable time.”
“When would be the right time?” Chen Xi couldn’t wait for even a moment and asked eagerly.
“When she appears,” Zhuang Lao said, “In movies, the protagonist’s way of resolving such matters is to wait until she appears and then burn her remains right in front of her. Only then can her grudge be eliminated.”
Chen Xi: “Alright, alright. When will she appear?”
With a solution in hand, he wasn’t afraid at all. In fact, he was even a bit excited. He couldn’t wait to show that woman that he wasn’t someone to be trifled with!
“She could appear at any time,” Qi Ming analyzed. “We’ll give you the ashes, and you wait for the right moment. Once the time comes, scatter the ashes…”
“Alright, alright,” Chen Xi nodded in agreement.
Zhuang Lao glanced at him and then handed over the urn of ashes. Chen Xi quickly accepted it, expressing his gratitude to the two of them.
“Do you want us to accompany you?” Qi Ming asked.
“It would be nice if you could accompany me,” Chen Xi smiled, trying to please them.
“I’ll go out to buy a cigarette,” Zhuang Lao said.
Qi Ming was a bit surprised. They had been together for so many days, and he had never seen Zhuang Lao smoke before. Unexpectedly, he wanted a cigarette now. But since the boss wanted to smoke, Qi Ming didn’t inquire further and could only nod, watching Zhuang Lao leave.
Zhuang Lao took the elevator down and paused when he passed by the security booth at the entrance.
The old man in the security booth was still asleep. The weather was pleasant at the moment, with the sun hiding behind the clouds, neither hot nor cold. The old security guard leaned back on his chair, tilting his head, deeply immersed in his sweet slumber. His peaceful appearance made it difficult to disturb him.
Zhuang Lao glanced at him and approached, waking the man up.
“Hmm…” Lin Zhaohe opened his eyes drowsily and mumbled, “Who’s there? What’s the matter?”
Zhuang Lao said, “It’s already ten o’clock. You’re still sleeping?”
As soon as Lin Zhaohe heard the voice, he immediately straightened his posture and said, “Oh no, I’m late—” He tried to get up, but his aged body clearly didn’t allow him to make such sudden movements. He immediately felt pain in his back. “Aww, my back…”
Zhuang Lao said, “Old man, be careful.” He reached out and supported Lin Zhaohe.
Lin Zhaohe finally fully awakened and saw Zhuang Lao’s handsome face. He suddenly felt a bit embarrassed and whispered, “Ah, thank you, young man. Thank you.”
“Young man?” Zhuang Lao raised an eyebrow.
Lin Zhaohe: “No, no, boss, it’s me, it’s me! Lin Zhaohe!”
Zhuang Lao: “What?”
Lin Zhaohe became anxious. He knew it would be difficult for someone to believe that he was Lin Zhaohe. But if Zhuang Lao left, he would truly have no one to help him. So he trembled and said, “Boss, it’s really me, Lin Zhaohe, who works overtime with you every day… Don’t you remember?”
Zhuang Lao blinked, not understanding why Lin Zhaohe sensed a hint of mischief in his boss’s expression. Zhuang Lao said, “Oh, Lin Zhaohe…”
Lin Zhaohe looked at him hopefully.
“I am not familiar with him,” Zhuang Lao said.
Lin Zhaohe felt a sudden wave of sadness. You capitalists are truly ruthless. I at least contributed a wheel to your supercar, didn’t I? Now we’re not familiar anymore. Just a few days ago, you called me your little darling, and today you don’t recognize me…
Zhuang Lao smiled and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Lin Zhaohe cried, “Why don’t you recognize me? I’ve grown old… I’ve been changed by someone…”
Zhuang Lao: “Don’t worry, take your time to gather your thoughts. I’ll go buy a pack of cigarettes.” And without waiting for a response, he turned and left.
Watching his retreating figure, Lin Zhaohe had a strange feeling that he was being bullied. Tears welled up in his eyes. Damn it, maybe it’s better if I don’t change back. It’s not so bad to stay here and collect my monthly social benefits.
Zhuang Lao went to buy cigarettes, leaving Lin Zhaohe anxiously waiting together with Chen Xi and Qi Ming upstairs.
Qi Ming couldn’t understand what was happening. He had gotten along well with Lin Zhaohe before, but today he inexplicably felt like the person in front of him was a stranger. It was as if they were meeting for the first time. The two of them sat in the living room, silent and perplexed.
Finally, Qi Ming couldn’t bear it any longer and asked if there was any food in the house. He went to the kitchen to fill his stomach.
“Go check it yourself,” Chen Xi evasively replied, “I haven’t been home for a few days, so I’ve forgotten.” He held onto the urn like it was a lifeline.
Qi Ming went to the kitchen, and the house fell into silence, with only the ticking of the clock filling the air.
Chen Xi suddenly felt a chill and reached for the nearby blanket to cover his legs. However, as soon as the blanket was placed on him, something felt off. It should have been warm, but instead, the blanket was icy cold. The sensation on his legs wasn’t soft and fuzzy like a blanket but damp, as if it had been soaked in water.
Chen Xi looked down and discovered that his blanket seemed to be soaked in blood, countless faces writhing and rolling underneath it. He let out a scream and tried to throw the blanket aside, but it clung to him as if it were glued, refusing to be shaken off.
Chen Xi let out a piercing scream as everything around him began to twist and distort in an eerie manner. The walls transformed into rippling water surfaces, and from the water, numerous limbs emerged, reaching out towards Chen Xi, attempting to grab hold of him.
Chen Xi found himself firmly immobilized on the sofa. He knew that “it” had arrived, and he understood that this was his only chance. With his hand clutching the urn, he raised it high and fiercely smashed the urn of ashes given to him by Zhuang Lao onto the ground.
“Die! Just die!” The horrifying scene before him had driven the man into complete madness. After hurling the urn to the ground, he began to shout frenziedly while continuously stomping on the woman’s bones with his feet. “You scared me! You scared me! I’ll reduce you to ashes and bone!” Pushed to the extreme of terror, Chen Xi burst into laughter. His expression turned grotesque as he laughed manically. “Disappear in ashes and smoke!”
The surrounding environment paused for a moment, as if even the female ghost was momentarily stunned by Chen Xi’s actions.
Seeing those entities freeze in their tracks, Chen Xi felt that his actions were effective, and he breathed a sigh of relief. “Damn things, get the hell out of here!”
“How dare you…” A shrill, piercing scream filled with anger resounded in Chen Xi’s ears. It was the voice of a woman, leaning against Chen Xi’s shoulder, her deathly pale lips about to touch his ear. She said, “How dare you… treat me like this…”
The ghostly woman’s reaction left Chen Xi perplexed. It was completely different from what he had imagined. Chen Xi stood there, dumbfounded. She should have vanished with a scream like they do on TV, right? Why did she seem… even angrier?
Sensing that something was not right, Chen Xi felt the grip of the blanket loosening around him. He stood up and ran, rushing out of the house and gasping for breath only when he reached the ground floor.
However, the atmosphere around him seemed off. Chen Xi looked around but didn’t see a single pedestrian. In the dimly lit evening, he cautiously continued walking, passing by the fountain in the residential area. The fountain’s lights were on, and there were quite a few people playing in the water, creating a lively scene.
Seeing so many people, Chen Xi finally relaxed. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and slowly approached the fountain.
He was familiar with this neighborhood. Residents often brought their children to play in the fountain. The water in the fountain was only as deep as a palm and posed no threat to the children.
“Scared me to death,” Chen Xi muttered as he sat on the edge of the fountain. “What kind of life is this… damn.” Was this the kind of life that the owner of this body lived?
Before Chen Xi could come up with an answer, he suddenly felt that something was off. He looked around and realized that the previously bustling fountain had become eerily quiet. Not a single figure could be seen.
Chen Xi was instantly horrified. He tried to stand up and run, but his body refused to move. He glanced into the fountain and saw a pale face imprinted on the water’s surface, twisted into a grotesque smile directed at him.
“Aaaaaaaaaah!!!” Chen Xi let out a terrified scream. He felt something pressing against the back of his head, forcing his face down into the shallow puddle of water. It was just the size of a palm, but no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t break free.
ᴏxʏɢᴇɴ ɢʀᴀᴅᴜᴀʟʟʏ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴍᴇ ꜱᴄᴀʀᴄᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴄʜᴇɴ xɪ’ꜱ ꜱᴛʀᴜɢɢʟᴇꜱ ɢʀᴇᴡ ᴡᴇᴀᴋᴇʀ. ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ ꜰʟᴏᴡᴇᴅ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ʜɪꜱ ɴᴇᴄᴋ, ꜰᴏʀᴍɪɴɢ ᴀ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟɪᴀʀ ᴘᴀᴛᴛᴇʀɴ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ɢʀᴏᴜɴᴅ… ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴀᴍᴇ ꜱʜᴀᴘᴇ ᴀꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴄᴀʏɪɴɢ ʙᴏᴅʏ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴇɪʟɪɴɢ.
The female ghost let out a piercing laugh, but Chen Xi could no longer hear anything.
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