Chapter 14

Xiao Tangqiu, “……………”

Tang Mianmian, “……………”

Xiao Tangqiu, “Don’t you dare joke around, it’s not funny at all!”

Tang Mianmian replied weakly, “I’m not joking with you. I didn’t make a sound this whole time………..”

Soon, Xiao Tangqiu realized that Tang Mianmian was telling the truth because at the same time Tang Mianmian was talking, the crying had started again. Worse still, this time, the cries sounded closer. There was a cold breath drilling its way into his ear canal; it felt as if someone was blowing right into his ear.

Xiao Tangqiu felt a shiver run down his spine. He grabbed Tang Mianmian’s hand and dragged him away as he ran. But the sobbing seemed to follow him relentlessly, as though someone had climbed onto his back…… At that thought, he trembled all over and started to run even faster.

The both of them ran for a long time until Xiao Tangqiu couldn’t hear the eerie crying anymore. He panted harshly as he ceased running, “Can’t………. Anymore……….. I can’t do it anymore……………”

Tang Mianmian didn’t seem to have heard those eerie sobs. He was still in the mood to joke around, “A man should never say that he can’t do it…….”

Xiao Tangqiu hesitated for a second. Then, he asked, “Didn’t you hear that?”

Tang Mianmian looked confused, “Hear what?”

“Crying…….. the cries of a baby…… You really didn’t hear anything?”

They ran into a ghost, but was he the only one who could hear the crying?

Tang Mianmian looked like he was about to cry, “Cries…… cries of a baby? An infant spirit ? Was it cursed? That’s right, wasn’t Fang Lan pregnant when she was drowned to death? It must be an infant spirit! Fuck ah! Infant spirits are also fucking fierce! You’re sure you heard it? But I really didn’t hear anything at all ah! If I did, I would’ve run faster than you!”

Xiao Tangqiu replied faintly, “I’m really telling the truth. It’s already scary enough, why would I bother faking a scary atmosphere?!”

Tang Mianmian gasped, “Then………. do you still hear anything?”

Xiao Tangqiu shook his head, “Nope, that’s why I stopped running.”

“Thank God,” Tang Mianmian breathed a sigh of relief. “Wait a minute, where are we right now?”

In their feverish haste to run away, they had ended up in some unknown place. There was a courtyard with several rooms just up ahead. But, clearly, this wasn’t a place many people knew about because it looked lonely and unfrequented.

“Let’s go in and have a look?”

Tang Mianmian looked at the courtyard in front of them that was shrouded in darkness, and madly shook his head, “No! God knows what we’ll find inside! What if the infant spirit let us go because there’s something even more scary inside?!”

Xiao Tangqiu didn’t force him either, “Wait outside then. I’ll go in by myself.”

Tang Mianmian cried, “………….If that’s the case, I’d rather go in with you.”

Xiao Tangqiu rubbed Tang Mianmian’s doge face, “Since you already knew this would happen, why do you still resist?”

Tang Mianmian cried bitterly, “You always do this!” Whenever the both of them played in team mode while they were live broadcasting, Xiao Tangqiu would also use this method to force him to make a choice.

“Let’s go!” Xiao Tangqiu took a deep breath, “I have a hunch………”

“Fuck! Will you stop raising Flags?!”

The both of them quietly snuck into the courtyard. Xiao Tangqiu pointed at the biggest room, indicating that they should go inside. Tang Mianmian gritted his teeth, strengthened his resolve and followed after Xiao Tangqiu.

Xiao Tangqiu was just about to open the door to the main room, when it suddenly creaked open on its own.

Tang Mianmian shivered and held onto Xiao Tangqiu’s arm in fright.

But nothing happened after the door swung open. Xiao Tangqiu waited for a while. After he was sure there was really nothing, Xiao Tangqiu cautiously entered the room.

“Be careful……” Xiao Tangqiu whispered. They were still fine even after entering the room. The room seemed to light up at once, as though someone had purposely lit a candle for them.

As the dim light spread across the room, they discovered that there was indeed a candle burning on the table in front of them. What’s more, it was one of those candles used during funerals…………

They looked around the room only to find that it was covered with cotton drapes. The white, see-through drapes gently fluttered in the air although there wasn’t any wind at the moment. If they ignored the creepy atmosphere, this would actually be quite a beautiful scene.

As soon as they entered the room, Xiao Tangqiu could tell that the temperature in the room was much lower than the temperature outside. It felt very much like someone had turned on the air-conditioner. “Don’t you feel that it’s much colder in here? Cold to the heart, makes your heart soar?”

Tang Mianmian shook all over, too afraid to speak.

Xiao Tangqiu pushed aside the white cotton drapes as he walked towards the inner part of the room. He couldn’t figure out what the owner of the room was thinking to layer so many drapes. He passed layer after layer before finally reaching the innermost section of the room.

Compared the the rest of Yun Manor, the decoration in this room was rather simple and understated, and there were only a few pieces of furniture. After looking high and low, Xiao Tangqiu finally noticed a painting on the wall.

It was a portrait of a young man. Dressed in all white, he was reading while leaning against a banister. He held a book in one hand and rested his head on the other, keeping his gaze lowered. He exuded a faint air of dreamy languor; his eyebrows were elegant and refined. But he appeared to be a little weak from illness.

Xiao Tangqiu stared in a daze. Who was this person? Why did he seem to find this person familiar………….. He soon noticed a line of words written on the side of the portrait, and the words “Yun Jizhou” quickly stole his attention.

“Yun Jizhou? This is the Yun family’s oldest young master?” he blurted.

Tang Mianmian immediately walked up to him to take a look. “Damn! The Yun family’s oldest young master looks really handsome! Usually, someone this good-looking is either the protagonist or the big villain in a horror video game!”

Xiao Tangqiu nodded in agreement, “Unfortunately, no matter how good looking he was, he was still cuckolded by his wife.”

Tang Mianmian sighed, “Well, why did he have to die so early ah?!”

Xiao Tangqiu rubbed his chin, “But then again, maybe the child was really his?”

“How the hell is a ghost supposed to do “that” ah?”

Xiao Tangqiu was about to refute Tang Mianmian when he suddenly realized there was something behind. He quickly walked over, “I think I see a bed…..”

“Bed?” Tang Mianmian followed Xiao Tangqiu, but shouted after seeing what was behind the drapes. “Fuck!”

Xiao Tangqiu cursed out loud as well. How was that a bed?! It was clearly a coffin the size of a bed!

The coffin was about twice as large as a normal coffin; it seemed to be able to hold two people.

Finding a coffin in a room like this really creeped them out. But what made them sigh in relief was that the coffin was completely empty.

“How can they keep a coffin in the house! Isn’t that bad luck?!”

“This is probable yet another one of the weird customs in this fishing village,” Xiao Tangqiu surmised. “They must be unafraid of coffins. Didn’t you see how they buried the coffins of their dead relatives in the back of their houses? Maybe they think that they will be able to continue living with their dead relatives this way.”

Tang Mianmian gasped, “But there’s a huge difference between burying a dead relative behind the house and keeping the coffin in the house!”

Xiao Tangqiu continued to speak, “I have a conjecture – this may be one of the customs for ghost weddings in this village. When Fang Lan married Yun Jizhou, she was still alive, so there shouldn’t be a coffin behind her maiden home. After she died, the whole village fell under her curse, so it’s even more unlikely that she was buried in a coffin. I’m guessing that coffin must’ve been bought when she was still alive, most likely just before she got married.”

Tang Mianmian understood that he was trying to imply something, “You mean…….”

“When Fang Lan got married, her family found her a coffin and placed the paper doll inside the coffin to replace her. At the same time, the Yun family must’ve also gotten a coffin and placed a paper doll inside to represent Yun Jizhou.” Xiao Tangqiu loved to let his imagination run wild and soon fell into the joy of letting his imagination fly, “On top of that, look at how big this coffin is….. Perhaps this was the wedding “bed” they used on their wedding night. If living people sleep in a wedding bed, then maybe deceased newlyweds use a coffin? Sounds about right to me.”

“What you said makes sense,” Tang Mianmian nodded. “If your guess is right, there should be Yun Jizhou’s paper doll inside this coffin……. So now, the problem is, where is Yun Jizhou’s paper doll?

They both stared at the empty coffin, feeling a chill crawl up their spine.

~~~

Me to any good-looking guy in GLB: Is that ML???