The next morning was as crisp and refreshing as ever.
Shen Yiqiong had no idea that they’d been dealing with dirty things all day yesterday. With great excitement, he found Zhou Jiayu and said, “Let’s go, let’s go and play with that little sister again.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Zhou Jiayu still decided to reveal the true identity of the little sister that Shen Yiqiong had been longing for. Shen Yiqiong originally had on a silly, cheerful expression, but after listening to Zhou Jiayu speak just a sentence, his entire face froze.
Zhou Jiayu got straight to the point: “Your little sister isn’t human.”
Shen Yiqiong: “Huh??”
Zhou Jiayu gave Shen Yiqiong a rundown of what Lin Zhushui had told him last night. Shen Yiqiong’s body became increasingly tense as he listened. He said, “Tang Xiaochuan’s already dead?”
Zhou Jiayu nodded.
“Then why could I see her… no, I’ve been able to see dirty things before.” Shen Yiqiong rubbed the goosebumps on his arms. “So Tang Xiaoling probably knew from the beginning that Tang Xiaochuan wasn’t human. No wonder she refused to let me help Tang Xiaochuan.” The day before, when Tang Xiaochuan was injured, Shen Yiqiong had wanted to help, but was firmly rejected by Tang Xiaoling. At the time, he thought it was because Tang Xiaoling was afraid of him taking advantage of Tang Xiaochuan, and felt a little hurt. Thinking about it now, she was probably worried that once he touched Tang Xiaochuan’s body, he would discover something unusual.
“So what exactly are her intentions?” Shen Yiqiong asked. “What’s the relationship between that website and Tang Xiaochuan’s death?”
Zhou Jiayu said, “I don’t know, either.”
As the two were talking, Lin Zhushui came out of his room. He’d changed his clothes, and said, “Come along somewhere with me.”
Zhou Jiayu and Shen Yiqiong nodded.
A driver was already waiting outside. Once they were in the car, they headed towards the suburbs.
“Sir, where are we going?” Shen Yiqiong couldn’t help but ask.
“You’ll know when we arrive,” Lin Zhushui said.
The scenery outside the window grew increasingly desolate, and half an hour later, the car stopped outside a cemetery.
Lin Zhushui got off the car first and headed into the cemetery. Zhou Jiayu followed behind him, a faint feeling emerging in his heart.
Around the cemetery, the trees were emerald green. The autumn wind was so strong that it made one inexplicably feel a little chilly. They bypassed the main group of tombstones and headed towards a remote corner.
“Here it is.” Lin Zhushui stopped.
Zhou Jiayu turned his gaze to the tombstone before Lin Zhushui. The tombstone was a double tomb with two names engraved on it. One of the names was a light golden color, while the other was still in black and white. Tang Xiaochuan, Qi Yihe, joint burial. The time of the burial was a month ago.
A thought immediately came to Zhou Jiayu’s mind. “Is Tang Xiaoling’s real name Qin Yihe?”
Lin Zhushui nodded. He reached out and lightly touched the tombstone, saying, “Yes.”
Zhou Jiayu’s mood was a little complicated. Just by looking at this tomb, one could already sense that Qin Yihe wanted to die.
“Zhou Jiayu,” Lin Zhushui said. “Touch it.”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiayu extended his hand and brushed the tombstone. The next moment, he saw scattered scenes in front of him. The scenes were chaotic. There were arguments, there was crying, and there was death. The last scene was of Tang Xiaochuan driving a car, in the darkness of the night. As she drove, she was talking to someone on the phone, sobbing and crying, tears blurring her eyes. Suddenly! Before Tang Xiaochuan appeared a walking old man. She reflexively turned her steering wheel, but her car lost control and crashed straight into a nearby guardrail.
Bang!!! The violent impact was accompanied by a mournful scream. Tang Xiaochuan cried out, “It hurts— help me—”
The familiar voice of a young lady came from the other end of the phone. It was Tang Xiaoling’s. No, to be presence, her name was Qin Yihe. She called out, “Xiaochuan, Xiaochuan, what happened? Are you alright?”
Tang Xiaochuan didn’t respond again. There were several loud bangs. The cars behind her didn’t seem to see her and collided with her one after another.
“Xiaochuan—” From the other end of the phone came the sound of weeping. “What’s going on— Xiaochuan—”
Tang Xiaochuan’s face was covered in blood. Her eyes began to glaze over, and as she looked ahead, her lips twitched slightly, but she was unable to say what she wanted to say.
The screen darkened, and when Zhou Jiayu woke up again, he found himself embraced in Lin Zhushui’s arms. Lin Zhushui’s body was like a scorching sun, constantly transferring heat to Zhou Jiayu. Zhou Jiayu was cold all over. Tears streamed down his face, and he was even shivering slightly.
There was a rare furrow in Lin Zhushui’s brow. He reached and touched Zhou Jiayu’s forehead, then sighed. “How are you so sensitive?” He’d meet a few people able to channel memories before, but most of them could only see fragmented scenes when they touched such things. During the competition, he thought that the venue being the scene of a murder was what made Zhou Jiayu react so strongly, but he didn’t expect Zhou Jiayu to respond so violently by just touching a tombstone.
Zhou Jiayu regained his composure and realized the state he was in. He felt a little embarrassed and reached out to wipe away the tears from the corners of his eyes, whispering, “I saw Tang Xiaochuan’s death.”
Lin Zhushui said, “En, how…?” He noticed Zhou Jiayu’s awkwardness and slowly let go, allowing him to stand up on his own.
“She seemed to be driving a car,” Zhou Jiayu said. “While driving, she was talking to Qin Yihe on the phone, but suddenly she saw a person up ahead and turned her steering wheel…”
Lin Zhushui said helplessly, “I was going to ask how you were.”
Zhou Jiayu’s face went red: “Oh oh oh, I feel fine.”
As soon as he said this, he realized that Shen Yiqiong, standing at the side, was looking at him with a frightened gaze.
Zhou Jiayu: “…” Just what had happened while he was fainted?
In order to ease the awkward atmosphere, Zhou Jiayu shared the scenes he saw while unconscious. He’d seen Tang Xiaochuan forcefully turn her steering wheel in order to avoid hitting a person, which resulted in her hitting a guardrail and dying at the scene. The vehicles behind her continued to collide with her car, probably resulting in many deaths and injuries.
These scenes were filled with strangeness. Why would a slow-moving old man suddenly appear on the bridge during early morning? And why did the cars behind collide as if they couldn’t see Tang Xiaochuan and cause a series of accidents? The situation was suspicious.
Zhou Jiayu finished speaking about what he saw, but Lin Zhushui didn’t seem very surprised. He said, “When that bridge was being constructed, it was tampered with.”
Zhou Jiayu and Shen Yiqiong both revealed stunned expressions.
Lin Zhushui said, “The bridge was originally a connection between the realms of yin and yang. Folklore says that after death, one must cross Naihe Bridge in order to be reincarnated. This is not a simple matter.”
As he was speaking, Shen Yiqiong’s phone rang. He looked at the number and said, “It’s Tang Xiaoling. Should we pick up?”
“Pick up,” Lin Zhushui said. “Don’t tell them what you already know.”
Shen Yiqiong nodded and answered the phone.
His acting skills weren’t bad, and he didn’t expose any abnormalities at all. His attitude was so good that even Zhou Jiayu couldn’t find any faults. After hanging up, he said, “Tang Xiaoling said Tang Xiaochuan has locked herself inside the house and is refusing to come out.”
“Refusing to come out?” Zhou Jiayu was surprised.
“That’s right.” Shen Yiqiong scratched his head. “She wants us to go over and take a look. Judging from her tone, the matter seems pretty urgent.”
“There’s no harm in taking a look,” Lin Zhushui spoke. “I’ll join you.”
Hearing this, Zhou Jiayu was a little surprised, but since it was Lin Zhushui who made this request, he had to have his own reasons.
Leaving the cemetery, the three of them got into the car and headed towards where Tang Xiaoling lived.
Zhou Jiayu sat with Shen Yiqiong sat in the back row and asked in a low voice what exactly had happened while he was fainted, causing Shen Yiqiong to make a horrified expression.
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.
Shen Yiqiong glanced at Lin Zhushui, who was sitting in the front, and whispered, “Sir’s temper really is getting better and better.”
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Shen Yiqiong said sincerely, “Sir really is good to you.”
Zhou Jiayu: “…Stop talking.”
Shen Yiqiong probably understood Zhou Jiayu’s mood and patted his shoulder with an expression of “I understand your feelings, I won’t say anything more.”
Zhou Jiayu’s face was full of regret. Apart from being unable to eat mushrooms and drink alcohol, he now had one more taboo— don’t randomly go about touching things.
When they returned to the city, it was afternoon. The driver parked the car outside the neighborhood where Tang Xiaoling lived.
Tang Xiaoling… no, it seemed more appropriate to call her Qin Yihe now. She was waiting for them outside, smoking a cigarette.
When Zhou Jiayu and the others walked over, Qin Yihe hadn’t yet noticed the three of them. She had an indescribable expression on her face, like pain and indifference mixed with a fierce determination. She looked completely different from the woman who had been in a state of panic yesterday.
When she noticed Zhou Jiayu and the others walking over, the expression on Qin Yihe’s face disappeared as she returned to her usual appearance, a hint of anxiety in her eyes.
“You’re come?” Qin Yihe extinguished her cigarette. As she took a step forward, she saw Lin Zhushui standing next to Zhou Jiayu and asked with a hint of vigilance in her gaze, “Who’s this?”
“I am their master.” Lin Zhushui’s voice was light, almost gentle. An outsider might even think he was an easy person to get along with. He said, “I heard from them what you told them yesterday, and was a little curious, so I wanted to come and take a look.”
Qin Yihe then knew that this Lin Zhushui should’ve been the “Sir” whom Zhou Jiayu and Shen Yiqiong were talking about yesterday. She saw that Lin Zhushui had his eyes closed and said, “Excuse me, your eyes…”
Lin Zhushui said, “Yes, my eyes cannot see.”
Perhaps it was Zhou Jiayu’s illusion, but Qin Yihe seemed strangely relieved, as if she was thankful for such a situation. “Oh… I’m sorry, I’ve offended you.”
Lin Zhushui said, “It’s no matter.”
After spending too much time with Lin Zhushui, one would forget his physical flaws. After all, he didn’t seem to have been greatly influenced by it, and it could even be said that he was stronger than many people who could see. Listening to the two conversing, deep in the bottom of Zhou Jiayu’s heart, a bit of an ache suddenly rose up. He pursed his lips and changed the topic. “You said that something was wrong with Tang Xiaochuan? What’s going on?”
Qin Yihe said, “She’s locked herself in her room now, and no matter what I say to her, she won’t respond to me.”
Shen Yiqiong, who loved stirring up excitement even if a matter was important, said, “This can’t go on. Let’s call the police. If the police can’t do anything, we can even call the firefighters!”
Zhou Jiayu clearly saw Qin Yihe’s face twist as if she had never expected Shen Yiqiong to propose such a solution. However, it was only for an instant, and her expression quickly returned to normal as she began to make excuses, saying, “We can’t call the police. Her mental state is already very unstable. If she’s triggered again, I’m afraid she wouldn’t be able to bear it.”
Shen Yiqiong said, “That’s true. Let’s go over and take a look, then.”
Qin Yihe let out a breath of relief.
After speaking, the three of them went to Qin Yihe’s house.
The house was still as empty as before, and as soon as the door opened, wind from the hallway rushed over them. Zhou Jiayu looked up and saw what appeared to be some kind of talisman affixed above the door. Before, he had been in a hurry and hadn’t paid attention, but now that he was calm, he took a closer look around, only to find that there was a sense of discord everywhere in the house.
For example, there were rows of bells tied with red rope hanging above the window, more for fear of something inside getting out than for something outside coming in.
Qin Yihe walked to Tang Xiaochuan’s room, knocked on the door, and said, “Sister, sister, come out!”
There was no sound from the room.
Shen Yiqiong said, “How long has she been in there?”
Qin Yihe said, “After lunch, she hid inside and refused to come out. At first, she responded to me twice, but now she doesn’t even bother to respond.” Her face showed a hint of helplessness.
Before, Zhou Jiayu thought that Qin Yihe was really Tang Xiaochuan’s cousin and sighed at how good their relationship was. Now that he thought about it, the doting way Qin Yihe looked at Tang Xiaochuan had clearly crossed the line of familial affection.
“What should we do? Smash down the door?” Zhou Jiayu asked.
Qin Yihe hesitated slightly. “Smash it down.”
“Don’t smash it! Don’t smash it!” Who knew that Tang Xiaochuan, hiding inside, would cry out sharply after hearing their words? “Don’t smash it, please, there’s a ghost outside the door, I’m scared, I’m scared!”
Qin Yihe said, “Sister, I’m right outside, don’t be afraid…”
Before she could finish speaking, a burst of crying came from Tang Xiaochuan inside the room, Tang Xiaochuan said, “Help, she’s gone, she doesn’t love me anymore, she doesn’t want me, I’m going to die, I’m going to die—”
The smile on Qin Yihe’s face froze in place.
Although Shen Yiqiong already knew the truth, he still followed along with the situation and asked, “Is Tang Xiaochuan talking about her lover?”
“Yes.” Qin Yihe’s voice was a little hoarse. “My sister’s lover abandoned her.”
Shen Yiqiong said, “If Tang Xiaochuan’s lover appears, won’t her condition ease a little?”
Qin Yihe said, “That’s impossible. Meeting them won’t do her any good.” Her tone was firm, with no room for negotiation.
They couldn’t enter, and Tang Xiaochuan couldn’t come out, so they were in a stalemate.
Time passed. Watching the sun begin to dip below the horizon, Qin Yihe said helplessly, “Did you all have dinner yet? I’ll get takeout. Let’s eat together.”
Zhou Jiayu and Shen Yiqiong politely excused themselves, but Lin Zhushui didn’t say much. He had been quiet since he entered the room and hadn’t given any advice, seemingly thinking about something. Zhou Jiayu and Shen Yiqiong didn’t dare to ask anything, after all, what Lin Zhushui was thinking about was definitely more important than the questions they wanted to ask.
In the end, Qin Yihe still ordered takeout. She’d called Tang Xiaochuan from outside her door for an entire afternoon and was feeling a little tired. At the moment, she sat on a sofa to rest.
Zhou Jiayu and Shen Yiqiong were still trying to persuade Tang Xiaochuan, but upon hearing their voices, Tang Xiaochuan had no reaction at all. If it weren’t for the words she had just said, they probably would’ve suspected whether there was anyone in the bedroom at all.
The takeout came quickly. Qin Yihe entered the living room carrying several boxes. She’d ordered stir-fried vegetables and rice, and at first glance, they looked like they’d taste pretty good. Zhou Jiayu and Shen Yiqiong hadn’t eaten dinner yet and were a little hungry. However, when the takeout was placed in front of them, they didn’t dare move their chopsticks and looked at Lin Zhushui for his opinion.
“I’m not hungry.” Lin Zhushui felt their gazes and said calmly, “You two can eat.”
With permission, Zhou Jiayu and Shen Yiqiong picked up chopsticks and started eating.
Qin Yihe didn’t have a good appetite either, so she just tried her best to stuff food into her mouth. But no matter what she ate, she didn’t chew it much and just swallowed it whole.
Zhou Jiayu was a little surprised by her actions. “What’s wrong?”
Qin Yihe shook her head and said. “Nothing, I just have no appetite.”
Zhou Jiayu gave an “oh.”
After dinner, the sky had completely darkened. Seeing that Tang Xiaoling still refused to come out, everyone felt a bit of a headache. Shen Yiqiong said, “It’s getting late, and it’s inconvenient for us to stay here. Why don’t we go back first and come over to see you tomorrow?”
“But, but…” There was a hint of fear on Qin Yihe’s face. “I’m afraid to be alone.” She bit her lip and looked at them pitifully. “Could you accompany me, just for tonight?”
Zhou Jiayu and Shen Yiqiong exchanged a glance but remained silent.
Lin Zhushui, who had been sitting silently next to them, said softly, “Alright.”
“Thank you, thank you.” Qin Yihe was very happy.
Zhou Jiayu couldn’t ignore her strange reactions, but he was afraid that she would discover his thoughts and didn’t dare discuss with Shen Yiqiong. He could only chat with Jiba in his head.
Jiba said, “Hm… she deliberately made you guys stay behind, right?”
Zhou Jiayu said, “She must’ve. But why does she want us here?”
Jiba said, “Perhaps today is a special day that requires you all to stay…”
After careful consideration, Zhou Jiayu couldn’t think of anything. Therefore, Jiba advised him not to think anymore, saying that since Lin Zhushui was here, Qin Yihe wouldn’t be able to do much anyway. This made a lot of sense. Zhou Jiayu sneakily glanced at Lin Zhushui and his mood inexplicably settled.
As time passed, Qin Yihe gradually became more and more anxious. She got up and left multiple times to smoke.
Taking advantage of her smoking in the hallway, Shen Yiqiong whispered, “What’s she planning to do? She deliberately made us stay behind.”
Zhou Jiayu said, “I don’t know, but she must have a purpose.” Qin Yihe would never be afraid. She’d already known Tang Xiaochuan’s true situation but still stayed with her for more than a month, and even went so far as to ask for a Yin Buddha, which wasn’t good for herself but beneficial to Tang Xiaochuan.
The two of them had only managed to exchange a few words before Qin Yihe returned. She said, “The wind outside is so strong today.”
Zhou Jiayu said, “En, the weather forecast says there’s a cold front and the temperature’s going to drop.”
The wind outside was indeed strong, whistling loudly, and the trees beside the house swayed in the darkness with the wind, as if they were large, terrifying hands trying to drag the people inside out.
Time crept to eleven o’clock, but Qin Yihe never suggest the three of them leave to rest. She seemed to have been waiting for something all day. The reason behind this was solved half an hour later.
At 11:30, the door opened with a click.
Tang Xiaochuan, who had locked herself up all the day, walked out of her room. She was still wearing her beautiful floral dress, her complexion so pale that she looked almost invisible.
“Xiaochuan!” Qin Yihe exclaimed. “You’ve finally come out.”
Tang Xiaochuan gave her an indifferent glance. Without a word, she turned around and went to the entrance, picked up a key from the shoe cabinet, and was about to leave.
Qin Yihe said, “Xiaochuan! Where are you going?”
Tang Xiaochuan said coldly, “I’m going to see her.”
Qin Yihe said, “You… you…” Her words were stuck in her throat, and she couldn’t get them out even after a long time. Her complexion began to become unsightly.
Zhou Jiayu and Shen Yiqiong exchanged a glance and stood up to ask about the situation.
“I want to leave,” Tang Xiaochuan spoke. “I’m going to be late.”
Qin Yihe gritted her teeth and said, “Xiaochuan…”
Tang Xiaochuan didn’t say anything more and turned to leave. Zhou Jiayu was about to stop her, but Lin Zhushui, who was standing behind him, said, “Don’t stop her, let’s leave together.”
While they were speaking, Tang Xiaochuan had already pressed the elevator button and was about to head downstairs.
Qin Yihe also changed her shoes and seemed to be planning to follow her. Zhou Jiayu’s heart began to feel uncomfortable again, but fortunately, the presence of Lin Zhushui lessened his unease. There were people who, without saying or doing anything, would still make others feel safe.
The five of them entered the elevator together. Tang Xiaochuan pressed the button for the -1 floor, probably intended to head to the underground garage.
Her expression looked irritable and angry, and she even began to curse under her breath. Zhou Jiayu, who was standing next to her, listened carefully, but then realized that the words she was saying had no actual meaning, as if they were just words uttered uncontrollably in order to vent some kind of emotion in her heart.
“I’ll drive.” When they arrived at the garage, Qin Yihe grabbed the driver’s seat. Tang Xiaochuan glanced at Qin Yihe and didn’t even fight with her, just sat in the passenger side.
Zhou Jiayu and the other two sat in the backseat.
“Drive, drive.” Tang Xiaochuan was very anxious and kept looking at her phone. “I’m going to be late!”
Qin Yihe gritted her teeth and started the car.
In fact, the three of them had vaguely guessed in their hearts where Tang Xiaochuan was going, but Shen Yiqiong continued to act, saying, “Where are we going? Is Tang Xiaochuan’s mental state alright?”
Qin Yihe said, “Yes, yes.” But her words were forced, and anyone could see that the expression on her face was not quite right.
But Shen Yiqiong still looked like a curious baby, so Zhou Jiayu gently patted his back, signaling that enough was enough. Shen Yiqiong gave Zhou Jiayu a look of grievance, his eyes seemingly saying, ”You’ve deprived me of my hobbies again.”
The car drove out of the garage. Tang Xiaochuan didn’t say where she wanted to go, but it seemed Qin Yihe already knew.
At 11:30, everything was shrouded in darkness, and dim yellow streetlights cast narrow shadows on the road. The heavy traffic during the day had disappeared, leaving only silence.
It was too quiet, the road was simply too quiet. This kind of silence made one uncomfortable, and deep down, it was followed by a fear of the unknown.
The car’s route confirmed Zhou Jiayu’s suspicion that Qin Yihe was heading towards the bridge where Tang Xiaochuan’s accident had occurred. The reason why was unknown, but making them stay behind so late was definitely for this situation.
Halfway through the car ride, Tang Xiaochuan, who was sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly answered a phone call. She began to cry again, voice mournful and sorrowful, and said to her phone, “Don’t leave me, I’ll come find you. I’ll come find you right now.”
Outsiders might not understand, but Zhou Jiayu knew what Tang Xiaochuan was experiencing again. She seemed to have returned to the night of the accident. She was driving, racing down the road, on the phone with a heartless lover cruelly rejecting her pleas.
Qin Yihe seemed to be unable to control her emotions. She stared straight ahead, biting her lip and drawing blood. She tried hard to control her tears, but her efforts failed in the end, so her staring eyes begin to turn red as hot tears flowed out.
A light sigh sounded inside the car, and it was indeed from Lin Zhushui. He said, “Have you ever heard the phrase ‘being the tiger’s accomplice?’”
Zhou Jiayu didn’t understand Lin Zhushui’s words and gave a confused “en?”
Lin Zhushui said, “If we take this phrase literally, it means that those who are eaten by tigers will turn into ghosts that will then lure innocent people to feed the tigers.”
In the front, Qin Yihe’s eyes suddenly widened.
Lin Zhushui said, “There are usually two kinds of people who find it hard to enter the path of reincarnation after death: those who commit suicide, and those who die with great resentment. But only those who commit suicide will keep repeating what they encountered before death.”
Qin Yihe gripped the steering wheel tightly, tears continuing to flow uncontrollably down her face. She wasn’t foolish and knew that Lin Zhushui and the others had guessed her intentions. She said, “It’s my fault.”
“But who told you that Tang Xiaochuan committed suicide?” Lin Zhushui’s voice went cold. “Not only do you not seek revenge for her, but you’re also helping the murderer who killed her. Do you really love her?”
Qin Yihe’s hand trembled, and the car nearly hit a roadside tree. Fortunately, she stepped on the brakes just in time. “What do you mean—” her eyes reddened, her ferocious appearance even more horrifying than Tang Xiaochuan beside her.
“She didn’t commit suicide? She didn’t commit suicide—” Qin Yihe said. “What makes you say that? What evidence do you have?”
Lin Zhushui said, “You don’t even read the news?”
Qin Yihe was stunned.
Lin Zhushui said, “There were four car accidents on that bridge in a month. Twelve people died, three in each accident. You don’t really think that’s a coincidence, do you?”
Qin Yihe’s expression twisted. After she returned to China, she was crushed by immense grief and had no intention of paying attention to news from the outside world. Not to mention the news, she even cut off contact with all her friends.
“Then why, why is she still returning?” Seeing that the biggest secret was exposed, Qin Yihe no longer hid it, and desperately said, “Why does she still keep driving there?”
Lin Zhushui said, “Naturally, it’s because someone is leading her in that direction.”
“Who is it?!!” Qin Yihe’s expression was simply too terrifying. She said, “I’m going to kill them, kill them!!”
Lin Zhushui simply said four words. “Go to the bridge.”
Qin Yihe said, “To the bridge?”
Lin Zhushui said, “If you want to find the culprit, you have to start from the source.”
Qin Yihe hesitated, “But….” She hesitated for a moment, but still gritted her teeth. “That bridge… if a living person gets on, they won’t be able to come down.”
Lin Zhushui raised an eyebrow. “How do you know?”
Qin Yihe said in a low voice, “Because I’ve seen it happen.”
Lin Zhushui remained indifferent and simply asked Qin Yihe to drive there first.
Tang Xiaochuan, sitting in the passenger seat, became increasingly irritable as midnight approached, and even began to forcefully kick at the door, as if urging Qin Yihe to drive faster.
Qin Yihe remained silent for the rest of the journey.
Zhou Jiayu sat by the window, and he clearly felt that the closer they got to the bridge, the greater the change in the surrounding atmosphere. It was still the same scenery and the same road, but in his eyes, everything around them seemed to be cast in a layer of light yellow, like a sign that some end was approaching. At first, Zhou Jiayu thought there was something wrong with his eyes. After rubbing them vigorously, Shen Yiqiong, who was sitting next to him, said, “Stop rubbing. I think I’ve installed a filter, too.”
Zhou Jiayu: “…” He admired Shen Yiqiong for being able to describe such a terrifying situation in such a refreshing way.
Soon, Qin Yihe brought them to their destination— the bridge that was buried in darkness.
Tang Xiaochuan calmed down. She began to pull out her cell phone to make a call, as if she had tried many times but couldn’t get through.
“I was planning to take you guys to the bridge,” Qin Yihe exhaled cigarette smoke, her eyes full of exhaustion and confusion. “Some people say that Xiaochuan was driven to death. If someone were to take her place, she could break free from experiencing her death over and over again.
“Some people?” Zhou Jiayu latched onto the keywords.
Qin Yihe said, “Yes, some people. A forum that I accidentally found with quite a bit of information about such things. The internal website that I had a conversation with you on was also found on that forum.”
Zhou Jiayu didn’t believe that this kind of thing could be a coincidence. He said, “How exactly did you accidentally find it?”
“It was just a pop-up window, I clicked in…” Qin Yihe hadn’t thought about it carefully before, but now, after being told by Lin Zhushui that Tang Xiaochuan’s death wasn’t a suicide, but a homicide, she suddenly became suspicious about many things. “No, no, that was too coincidental, too coincidental…”
Zhou Jiayu was still wondering why Qin Yihe’s emotions calmed down so easily when he tilted his head and saw Lin Zhushui sitting in the back. In Lin Zhushui’s hand was a ball of hair that had appeared at some unknown time. That ball of hair seemed to be alive, struggling and wriggling in his palm, looking extremely disgusting.
“S, Sir.” Zhou Jiayu was scared to death.
Lin Zhushui said, “En?”
Zhou Jiayu said, “What’s that?”
Lin Zhushui said, “Oh, I forgot you could see such things.” A flame ignited in his palm, burning away the ball of hair. “It’s only the hair of a dead person.”
Zhou Jiayu: “…” Only?
Lin Zhushui said, “It has some impact on one’s emotions.” Anything tainted with yin would have an effect on people’s emotions, making them depressed, irritable, and extremely prone to negative emotions such as resentment or even making decisions that weren’t in line with their nature.
Qin Yihe also heard the conversation between the two. Her expression changed, and she was about to say something when Tang Xiaochuan, whose call had finally gotten through, suddenly let out a scream, “It hurts— help me—”
The moment she cried out, Qin Yihe’s face changed drastically.
The next moment, Tang Xiaochuan’s body began to change. Her head dented in, blood gushed out from her body, and wounds appeared on her hands and feet— it was as if she had experienced an extremely tragic car accident.
“Xiaochuan!” Other people might find it ghastly to see Tang Xiaochuan like this, but Qin Yihe’s first reaction was to reach out and take the girl into her arms.
But Tang Xiaochuan refused Qin Yihe’s embrace as she pushed open the car door and, with her twisted body, began to run toward the bridge.
“Xiaochuan—” Qin Yihe also got out of the car. She wanted to follow, but she stopped when she saw the situation on the bridge.
The bridge, which didn’t look like anything special in the daytime, was covered by a thick layer of yellow mist. In the mist, Zhou Jiayu saw countless faintly moving shadows gathering towards the center of the bridge. At the same time, the sound of several huge crashes came from the bridge…
“Has there been a car accident?” Zhou Jiayu was shocked.
“No.” Lin Zhushui was calm, his expression not shaken in the slightest. “This scene is just a reenactment.”
Bang! Bang! The loud noises came one after another, chilling one’s heart. Qin Yihe saw Tang Xiaochuan’s broken body entering the mist. She turned to look at Lin Zhushui and directly knelt down, saying, “Great master, please save Xiaochuan. I really have no other choice. As long as you’re willing to save her, I’ll agree to any conditions!”
Lin Zhushui was indifferent, raising his chin slightly towards the bridge. “Let’s go to the bridge and take a look.”
The author has something to say:
Lin Zhushui: I’m here, don’t be afraid.
Zhou Jiayu gratefully hugs Lin Zhushui’s thigh: It’s so nice, having a bigshot around.
Lin Zhushui: Don’t hug me too tightly, or I’m worried you’ll be afraid of me.
Zhou Jiayu: …Huh?
Everyone, don’t break the mirror in your bathroom at midnight. I don’t know if you’ll see dirty things, but your mother might beat you into a dirty thing with her own hands.
honeydew: In this chapter and the last, Tang Xiaoling/Qin Yihe is Tang Xiaochuan’s cousin/lover but they still call each other “sister,” cause that’s just how it is in China! You can basically call anyone “brother” or “sister” so long as you’re in the same generation and don’t have a terrible relationship.
it’s rare to see wlw in danmei, i was genuinely surprised when i figured out the subtext in the past few chapters! sad that it’s so tragic tho…
thanks for the chapter!!
Lmao Shen Yiqiong defo starts to smell the scent of dogfood, whenever LZH and ZJY together ヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ( •̀ .̫ •́ )✧
Also thank you for the superb translation!!
Amazing skills
Thank you for your translation 💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛
Hah? I’m so confused. So Xiaochuan is happily married to Qin Yihe and was on the phone with her crying while on the way to her male lover whom she wanted back? Or.. what? Kindly make me smarter! haha Thank you for the chapter!
I hope this helps you? Not sure if it answered your question
Either that or Yihe was the one with the male lover, who Xiaochuan wanted dead. That explains her saying “she doesn’t even know their name!” But it doesn’t explain the photo of their (the girls) marriage. Unless Yihe cheated on her while abroad. Which sounds pretty shitty tbh, no wonder she would feel so guilty
ooohh that makes sense! I have yet to read the new chapter, maybe it’ll give clarity haha thank you for the thorough explanation! 😀