On the way back in the car.
Wen Dong asked with a low mood, “Does Da Lin not want to see us?”
Wu Mabo: “He must be angry. He’s angry that we insisted on bringing him back.”
Tong Xiaosong looked at Zhi Xian and asked softly, “Is he angry?”
Zhi Xian spoke gently, “You don’t need to blame yourselves. Coming back was the right decision. The reason he could appear in front of us is because he has been enshrined as a family deity. If we let him continue to deceive himself, without the long-life lamp being lit, relying only on the Immortal hall and incense, he wouldn’t last long. Maybe one or two months, and he would become like what we saw in Tang Yuxin’s temple.”
“So, what now?” Tong Xiaosong asked the question that Wu Mabo and Wen Dong were also worried about, “What will he become?”
“I’m not sure, but he probably won’t suffer much,” Zhi Xian said in a calm voice. “A real long-life lamp can accumulate merits. All the worship and offerings will turn into merits to protect him. I don’t know what he will become, but for a deceased person, it’s like winning the jackpot.”
With that said, their mood improved a bit.
Tong Xiaosong turned to look out the window. They had been waiting for Ke Lin to appear until it was dark, so now they had to travel the night road.
Fortunately, in the dark night, there were lights everywhere, and even though they had now reached a remote area, it wasn’t completely dark outside.
He stared outside in a daze and suddenly saw a familiar figure.
Tong Xiaosong quickly got up and leaned on the car window, carefully looking outside. “Zhi Xian! I think I saw Ke Lin!”
Zhi Xian hit the brakes, stopping the car on the side of the road.
Wu Mabo hurriedly asked, “Where is he?”
Tong Xiaosong pointed in a direction. “Right there. I saw him squatting there, looks like Ke Lin…”
Wen Dong opened the car door and got out, followed by the others.
As the evening breeze blew, they realized that their current location was the bridge they passed by yesterday, and below the bridge was the lake.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Qe Zjyb ibbxfv jgbecv jcv jrxfv klat j agfwyilcu nblmf, “Kbcu Wljbrbcu, ktfgf lr tf? Qts mjc’a P rff tlw?”
Kbcu Wljbrbcu kjixfv j ofk rafqr abkjgvr atf yglvuf jcv ibbxfv abkjgvr atf ijxf. “P rjk Bf Olc rdejaalcu ys atf ijxf pera cbk. P rjk la nfgs mifjgis. Lf fnfc ibbxfv eq ja beg mjg, yea cbk tf’r ubcf.”
Wu Mabo anxiously searched around. Seeing no one, he shouted, “Ke Lin! Ke Lin!”
Still, there was no response.
Tong Xiaosong tugged at Zhi Xian’s sleeve. “Zhi Xian, your eyes can distinguish between yin and yang. Can you see Ke Lin now?”
“Yes!” Wu Mabo also looked at Zhi Xian. “You can see him, right?”
“He doesn’t belong to the realm of yin and yang right now, similar to me…” Zhi Xian paused, swallowed the words he was about to say, and continued, “similar to supernatural entities. If we were in a closed room, I might have a way to catch him, but this place is open, and if he doesn’t want to be seen, there’s nothing we can do.”
Upon hearing this, everyone’s expressions turned somewhat disappointed.
Zhi Xian: “If there’s anything you want to say in farewell, say it now. He should be able to hear.”
Upon hearing this, Wu Mabo was the first to excitedly shout towards the lake, expressing many heartfelt words. After he finished, Wen Dong also spoke loudly for a few moments.
When it was Tong Xiaosong’s turn, he opened his mouth, but all his emotions seemed to be stuck inside him, like dumplings in a teapot unable to come out. He didn’t know what to say; it seemed that no matter what he said, it would only be a farewell, and it wouldn’t change anything.
Zhi Xian rubbed Tong Xiaosong’s hair and said gently, “Do you remember what I once told you? You have to say it, even if you think it’s unnecessary. Only by speaking it out loud, the other side might understand.”
Upon hearing this, Tong Xiaosong was momentarily stunned, feeling that all his emotions suddenly found an outlet. Facing the lake, he shouted loudly, “Ke Lin, thank you! I’m so lucky to have you as a roommate! I’ll miss you a lot, and I really want you back…”
Zhi Xian: …
Wu Mabo and Wen Dong suddenly felt a chill, and they looked at Zhi Xian.
Zhi Xian still wore a gentle smile, but they felt that the smile seemed stiff, like someone who was clearly unhappy but was forcing a mild and gracious expression.
Wu Mabo, Wen Dong: …
Tong Xiaosong: “I really like you, you’re really good…”
“Alright, alright!” Wen Dong stepped forward, patting Tong Xiaosong on the back and awkwardly saying, “One farewell is enough; you don’t need to say anything else.”
Tong Xiaosong, panting a little from shouting, turned to look at Wu Mabo and Wen Dong, his eyes shining. “I really like you both; you’re great too.”
Wu Mabo, Wen Dong: …
The smile on Zhi Xian’s face was starting to fade. In the next moment, Tong Xiaosong rushed into Zhi Xian’s arms, shouting loudly, “Zhi Xian! I love you! Without you, I really don’t know what I would become.”
Zhi Xian was momentarily surprised, but his smile instantly brightened, and his eyes were filled with genuine warmth.
Wu Mabo and Wen Dong both breathed a sigh of relief, wiping off some cold sweat.
Even though they knew that Tong Xiaosong’s expression of ‘liking’ was of the pure and simple kind between ordinary friends, they couldn’t help but feel uneasy with a vinegar jar nearby, especially when that vinegar jar had the potential to turn into a deadly weapon. It was truly frightening.
Before getting on the car, everyone bid farewell to Ke Lin in unison, even though they might never see him again.
However, on the way back, their hearts finally felt lightened, and the burden seemed to have lifted.
***
After returning, it was already late at night. Zhi Xian went home, while Tong Xiaosong, Wu Mabo, and Wen Dong sneaked back into the school dormitory.
When they entered the dorm and turned on the lights, they suddenly found someone on Ke Lin’s bed, who woke up in surprise, staring blankly at the three who had just returned.
Tong Xiaosong and the others were a bit stunned looking at this stranger sleeping in Ke Lin’s bed.
After a moment of silence, Wen Dong said, “Are you the new roommate?”
“Yes, I’m Lei Haoyu. I moved in on Saturday.” The person responded strangely, “I thought you guys went home and would come back tomorrow. Why are you back in the middle of the night?”
Wu Mabo frowned and suddenly realized something was wrong. He asked, “You moved in on Saturday, but your bed doesn’t have anything on it?”
Did Ke Lin’s bedding, including the sheets and pillows, turn out to be fake?
Lei Haoyu said, “There was a wet and tattered old quilt on the bed, so I threw it away… Was that yours?”
“Fuck! I…” Wu Mabo was about to get angry but then realized that this was already Lei Haoyu’s bed. Although it was a bit annoying for him to throw it away without asking, there didn’t seem to be any problem with what he did.
He sighed, “Forget it, let’s sleep!”
After saying that, still sulking, he took off his shoes and climbed onto the upper bunk. Without changing his clothes, he lay down and closed his eyes.
Wen Dong sighed and said, “Lei Haoyu, don’t mind him. He’s in a bad mood. I’m Wen Dong, and this is Tong Xiaosong. The one who’s angry is Wu Mabo. From now on, we’ll be sharing the same dorm, so let’s take care of each other.”
Lei Haoyu nodded, “Oh, okay…”
Wen Dong and Tong Xiaosong didn’t bother to wash up either. They just changed into their pajamas, turned off the lights, and went to sleep.
Lei Haoyu couldn’t sleep and asked, “Can I ask you guys something?”
After a few seconds of silence, Wen Dong said, “What’s the matter?”
Turning over, Lei Haoyu spoke with excitement, “Is it true that there are a lot of supernatural events in this school?”
In the darkness, Tong Xiaosong opened his eyes.
Fck… They’re gonna have another victim soon if lei haoyu doesn’t curb that curiosity of his…
Nope, not a fair trade. Gimme Me Lin back rn! 🔪
Man, i cry like someone cutting onion infornt of me, my nose and eyes hurt bro. This the first time for me crying for MC friends in horror genre, ITS hurt hurt so good ( ；∀；)