Chapter 16 Skeleton Under The Clothes 09
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Ma Qiqi was quite shell-shocked. Being a quiet girl in nature, she could hardly speak coherently after the fright. When they went downstairs to eat, she stuck close to Ge Qing.
She wore a long dress that reached her feet, showing off a few pretty toes. The collar covered her neck, hiding the faded bruises.
Ge Qing stayed by her side all the time and said to Mao Xiaoli, “I’ll sleep with Qiqi tonight.”
Mao Xiaoli nodded and said, “Okay.”
In the evening, a sliver of moonlight sneaked through the gap in the curtains and entered the bedroom. Two girls were asleep on the large bed, and the curtains swayed without any wind, creating a strange and mysterious sight.
Ge Qing suddenly opened her eyes and glanced towards the window. She noticed the curtains moving, first thinking it was just a gust of wind, but then froze in place. She distinctly remembered closing the doors and windows before going to sleep. So how could the curtains be moving now?
Or was it something that had opened the window?
Ge Qing swallowed nervously and didn’t dare to move. She stared fixedly at the swaying curtains in front of her, where a shadow emerged, completely dark, facing her and staring at her.
She blinked, relieving the strain of staring for too long. Ge Qing shifted her body and suddenly lifted the covers, turning on the bedside lamp. The light flooded the entire bedroom, and the swaying curtains came to an abrupt halt, while the dark figure vanished.
Ge Qing couldn’t relax. She picked up her phone to check the time and turned around, planning to call Ma Qiqi to sleep together in Mao Xiaoli’s room.
However, as soon as she made a slight movement, her entire body stiffened.
Something neared her neck, rough and coarse to the touch. She slowly lowered her head to glance at her phone, and the black screen reflected the image of her neck and what lay behind her. A hemp rope was wrapped around her neck, tightening as if it possessed a life of its own.
Pressed against her back was Ma Qiqi.
ᴍᴀ QɪQɪ’ꜱ ᴇʏᴇꜱ ʀᴏʟʟᴇᴅ ᴜᴘᴡᴀʀᴅ, ꜱʜᴏᴡɪɴɢ ᴏɴʟʏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡʜɪᴛᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ʜᴇʀ ᴇʏᴇꜱ. ʜᴇʀ ᴍᴏᴜᴛʜ ɢᴀᴘᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴅᴇ, ᴄᴏɴᴛᴏʀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴀɴ ᴜɴɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴀʟ ᴍᴀɴɴᴇʀ, ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇʀ ʀᴇᴅ ᴛᴏɴɢᴜᴇ ʜᴜɴɢ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ᴛᴏᴡᴀʀᴅꜱ ʜᴇʀ ɴᴇᴄᴋ. ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴇᴘ ᴘᴜʀᴘʟᴇ ʙʀᴜɪꜱᴇꜱ ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ʜᴇʀ ɴᴇᴄᴋ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴅᴇᴇᴘʟʏ ɪɴᴅᴇɴᴛᴇᴅ, ɴᴇᴀʀʟʏ ꜱɴᴀᴘᴘɪɴɢ ʜᴇʀ ᴄᴇʀᴠɪᴄᴀʟ ʙᴏɴᴇꜱ.
Ge Qing took a quick glance, terrified. She hastily covered her phone, pretending not to have noticed anything. “Qiqi, why don’t we go find Mao Xiaoli and sleep together?”
“I don’t know her, and I don’t want to sleep with her.”
Ge Qing took a deep breath and forcefully hurled her phone at Ma Qiqi’s face. With both hands grasping the hemp rope around her neck, she bent down, struggled, and managed to free herself from the rope. She ran towards the bedroom door while urgently crying for help.
Hastily dashing forward, she collided with an obstacle. Ge Qing was propelled backward, and upon looking up, she found herself face to face with a pair of legs. Ma Qiqi was suspended in mid-air, wearing a grotesque and terrifying expression as she stared intently at Ge Qing.
A hemp rope materialized before Ge Qing, causing her struggling movements to gradually subside. The rope held an inexplicable allure, bewitching Ge Qing, who found herself gradually entwining it around her own neck.
The hemp rope abruptly tightened, jolting Ge Qing back to her senses. Amid her struggles, the bedroom door was forcefully kicked open, and two figures leaped inside. Chen Yang removed the red string from his wrist and vigorously thrashed it towards the suspended Ma Qiqi.
Accompanied by a piercing scream, a crimson apparition was whipped out of Ma Qiqi’s body. With a pallid complexion, ᴀ ᴍᴇɴᴀᴄɪɴɢ ꜰᴀᴄᴇ, ᴀɴ ᴇʟᴏɴɢᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏɴɢᴜᴇ ʜᴀɴɢɪɴɢ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ᴛᴏ ʜᴇʀ ᴄʜᴇꜱᴛ, ᴀ ʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ ɴᴇᴄᴋ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴀ ᴄʀɪᴍꜱᴏɴ ᴀᴜʀᴀ ᴇɴᴠᴇʟᴏᴘɪɴɢ ʜᴇʀ, it was evident that this was a hanging ghost, now transformed into a malevolent ghost.
Chen Yang caught Ma Qiqi and gently laid her on the bed, then proceeded to remove the hemp rope from Ge Qing’s neck. As for the malevolent ghost, it was entrusted to Kou Xuanling’s care.
“…Upon this plea, assist this subject in the conquest, exterminate it promptly, following the Laws of the Xuandu Ghost. Urgent, urgent, like a strict decree.” Kou Xuanling formed a hand seal with his left hand and held a six-sided ancient bronze square object, resembling a dice, in his right hand. He used this artifact to contain the malevolent ghost.
Chen Yang entrusted Ma Qiqi to Ge Qing, who couldn’t resist extending her hand to check for Ma Qiqi’s breath.
“Don’t worry. It’s just a case of spirit possession.”
Ge Qing let out a sigh of relief, but her heart was once again seized by these words. “I saw a dark figure beneath the curtains earlier. Was that the entity that possessed Qiqi?”
“No. She was already possessed during the daytime.”
“What?!”
“Silent and reserved, tiptoeing, spirit possession.”
Ge Qing rubbed her arms. “No way. I thought Qiqi was just frightened—”
The mere thought of having spent almost the entire day with Ma Qiqi, who was possessed by a malevolent ghost, and sleeping on the same bed for hours, made her unable to shake off her fear.
“Why didn’t you inform me?”
Chen Yang: “Ma Qiqi was possessed by a malevolent ghost, filled with resentment and Yin energy. Plus, she experienced a significant fright, causing her soul to be unstable. We must seize the moment when the malevolent ghost is off guard and whip it out of Ma Qiqi’s body to ensure her soul remains intact.”
Given Ma Qiqi’s weakened state, Chen Yang’s red string could easily whip her soul. Even a slight misstep could result in fragmenting her soul and causing issues for Ma Qiqi.
“Will Ma Qiqi experience any lingering effects?”
“No. After resolving the situation, she should see a doctor, take care of her health, and get plenty of sunlight.”
Ge Qing expressed her gratitude and dedicated herself to taking care of Ma Qiqi.
Chen Yang looked curiously at the dice in Kou Xuanling’s hand, an ancient bronze object engraved with scriptures on all six sides. He asked, “What is engraved on it?”
“‘Laws of the Female Malevolent Ghost.'”
The ‘Laws of the Female Malevolent Ghost’ was a classic Zhengyi disciplinary code, chronicling the fates of innumerable spirits. Bestowed upon Celestial Master Zhang by the Supreme Old Lord, it served as a means to pacify the multitude of malevolent ghosts plaguing the mortal realm. Overwhelmed by the suffering caused by these malevolent ghosts, the Supreme Old Lord entrusted Celestial Master Zhang with the sacred task of subduing them, granting him the ‘Laws of the Female Malevolent Ghost’ as a powerful tool.”
“Why use dice to contain the ghosts?” Chen Yang remembered that celestial masters used wine jars to capture ghosts in the past. Why had it become popular to use dice now?
“It’s convenient,” Kou Xuanling said while tossing the dice. “The previous wine jars were large, cumbersome, fragile, and unreliable. Although the ghosts couldn’t break out of the jar, if the jar accidentally fell and shattered on the ground or if a stone hit it, all the effort put into capturing the malevolent ghost would go to waste. Moreover, wine jars are too heavy to carry around.”
Chen Yang nodded in agreement. Capturing ghosts with wine jars indeed had many inconveniences, but using wine jars was meant for guiding and transforming the malevolent ghosts. If transformation was not possible, then they had to be refined into excellent materials for capturing ghosts.
“Now we don’t need celestial masters for transformation,” Kou Xuanling waved his hand. “The underworld collaborates with the mortal realm. When we capture malevolent ghosts that cause trouble in the mortal realm, we simply ask the ghost officials to take them away.”
Chen Yang: “Truly efficient.”
It truly was a future of mutually beneficial cooperation, even extending to the underworld.
At that moment, Mao Xiaoli hurriedly rushed over but abruptly fell silent upon reaching the doorstep. After a while, Chen Yang and Kou Xuanling could faintly hear her voice, as soft as a mosquito’s, saying, “Greetings, Director.”
Chen Yang couldn’t help but smile and walked out of the bedroom.
Kou Xuanling was quite surprised. “Has the Director been outside all this time?”
“Yes. He followed me out. I told him I would handle it myself, so he didn’t intervene.”
In reality, Du Shuo had no intention of getting involved, but after all, he was the Director. Doing nothing and still reaping benefits would surely invite resentment from colleagues. So, Chen Yang vaguely explained a few words, shifting the blame for Du Shuo’s inaction onto himself.
Unexpectedly, Kou Xuanling looked at Chen Yang with a hint of surprise, leaving the latter to be confused, thinking that his lie had been exposed.
Could it be that Du Shuo’s behavior of fishing in troubled waters and holding a position but doing no work had long been known to everyone?
What Chen Yang didn’t know was that when Du Shuo took on this case, it attracted the attention of many people in the central office. They thought it was a major case that would stir up the country’s spiritual energy. Kou Xuanling also thought so and was filled with enthusiasm when appointed to handle the case.
It wasn’t until he realized that this case, although complex and severe, didn’t even meet the level of a two-star assignment.
Therefore, in his opinion, it was normal for Du Shuo not to intervene.
Chen Yang fell silent, deciding to go back and have a good talk with Du Shuo after closing the bedroom door. At least make an effort and not be too obvious about slacking off.
Exiting the doorway, Chen Yang said to Mao Xiaoli, “Xiaoli, you stay in the bedroom tonight and keep Ge Qing and Ma Qiqi company.”
“No problem.” Mao Xiaoli swiftly entered the bedroom like the wind, as she was worried about finding an excuse to stay away from Du Shuo.
Du Shuo glanced at Chen Yang, noticing he wasn’t injured, and said to Kou Xuanling, “Tomorrow morning, Chen Yang and I will go to the haunted house. Fang Wenwen will be under your care.”
“Hmm.”
Kou Xuanling acknowledged with a sound. When he saw Feng Yuan and Wei Changping approaching in response to the commotion, he quickly rushed into his bedroom, as if he suddenly remembered something.
Feng Yuan and Wei Changping’s expressions turned unpleasant and pained upon sseeing it.
Chen Yang: “What… you’re having insomnia again?”
Their faces were pale, with exhausted expressions and floating footsteps. It was evident that they lacked sleep.
Feng Yuan let out a sigh, wearing a look of indescribable hardship. “Master Chen, you don’t understand. Celestial Master Kou… is extremely devout.”
Chen Yang nodded, as Du Shuo had mentioned that Kou Xuanling would pay respects to his ancestral master three times a day.
Wei Changping looked pained. “In the middle of the night, I wake up and see him lighting incense and paying respects to the ancestral master.”
Feng Yuan added, “Bathing, burning incense, reciting scriptures, and then burning them. From three to five in the early morning, and then he gets up to practice swordsmanship.”
They were in great agony. Both being night owls, they would hold their phones in bed and wouldn’t stop playing until two or three in the morning. Just as they closed their eyes, Kou Xuanling would wake up to recite scriptures.
They really couldn’t hold on any longer.
Chen Yang’s face was full of admiration. “Celestial Master Kou diligently studies and trains. No wonder he achieved the rank of Five Thunders at such a young age.”
There was a strong sense of admiration in his words.
Feng Yuan and Wei Changping felt overwhelmed.
“You can go to bed early.”
Du Shuo suddenly took Chen Yang by the shoulder and said, “Go back and get some sleep.”
Chen Yang obediently said, “I’ll go back to my room. You don’t have to stay in the same room as Celestial Master Kou. If you encounter any ghosts, just shout for help.”
After saying that, Du Shuo pulled Chen Yang back into the room.
Feng Yuan and Wei Changping looked at each other . “Master Du and Master Chen have a really good relationship.”
“It’s a bond formed through shared experiences of sleeping together,” Wei Changping absentmindedly said, “Should we talk to Ge Qing and ask if we can sleep on the floor inside?”
Feng Yuan fell silent, then went to knock on the door.
They arrived a few steps late and were unaware of what had just happened. After getting an explanation, both of them shivered in fear.
Ge Qing: “Do you have something else to say?”
Feng Yuan shook his head. “No, nothing.”
Ge Qing slammed the door shut.
Feng Yuan: “Upon careful reflection, having an ancestral master by our side makes us feel especially secure.”
“Then let’s go back?”
“Hmm.”
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