Chapter 4
For a moment, a shiver mixed with a chill filled the senses.
Nian Qing hunched over in a wary posture, staring at "him" with his pupils distorted into vertical lines. He feigned a lighthearted tone, "Oh, what brings you here, sir? I'm sorry for not coming to greet you..."
"I am handling the case, strangers please stay away!" A sharp voice with incomparable deterrent power came from all directions, making Nian Qing breathless.
"But I haven't seen any dead souls, nor have I seen anyone nearing the end of their lifespan..."
"What nonsense!"
Nian Qing was shaken off the ground, and the aura of death made every living being instinctively fearful. She wanted to flirt with him, but now that method was probably not going to work.
"We are here on orders, you little demon, retreat immediately! Don't obstruct me from investigating the case!" Si Youfen slammed the soul-catching rope in his hand to the ground, showing the cruelty of a ghost.
Nian Qing sneered and said no more flattering words. He jumped up quickly and pounced on the man in white, "But the life of the person in the house is not over yet. Aren't you afraid of the blame from the old man in the underworld for doing this!" Neither the thrust nor the stab hit the dead man's body. Instead, the ghost swung the soul-catching rope in his hand, and the seemingly heavy chain made it unusually light.
Nian Qing dodged it, her heart still tense. Seeing the iron chain just about to hit her side, she couldn't afford to lose her temper. She jumped up and dodged the next chain.
If it hits the body directly, not to mention anything else, all creatures in the three realms will have their souls torn out of their bodies.
The iron chain in front of him was like a serpent, preventing Nian Qing from getting close. Just dodging the chain that was like a thunderbolt was already a difficult task.
Looking at the ghost again, his face was cold and pale, expressionless. As he moved up and down, some of his Yin blood dripped down. When it landed on the mortal world, it immediately turned into a nightmare that would bring nightmares to people.
Nian Qing moved swiftly between the walls, dashing around the courtyard, her form barely recognizable as a human. When the next chain descended, she didn't dodge, but charged headfirst. The instant it touched her, her entire body turned to dust. In a split second, before the fatal chain could be retracted, and as she was scanning her surroundings, a ferocious fox-faced figure emerged from the mist and bit the ghost's neck.
——But it passed through the body and hit nothing.
The fox's pupils trembled for a moment, and then it fell to the ground. In an instant, foot-long nails grew from its pale fingers and ripped her open.
The fox howled, its body convulsing in pain. Blood trickled down the stone steps. She saw the demon raising the iron chain, about to bring it down on her.
Perhaps I was too anxious, how could I have forgotten. Ghosts and gods are also the souls of the dead. If they do not have the "mind" to manifest a physical body, they are just a shadow, a vacuum.
She saw the ghost in white floating several feet up, shouting in a sharp voice: "You don't know what's good for you."
The dark blood on the dead face dripped onto her forehead and turned into a black nightmare.
The next moment, she suddenly noticed that the ghost's face blocked the light on the eaves, leaving only a little halo of light.
Then blue fireflies appeared in his eyes, looking directly into Si Youfen's eyes!
"Get out of here!" the fox said in human language.
The man in white turned around in a daze, as if he was pushed to the gate of the courtyard by an invisible force.
But it was only for a moment, the pain in his body brought the fox back to reality, his concentration was gone, and the charm disappeared.
It was no longer able to roar or scream. Glancing sideways, it could vaguely see the oozing intestines in its stomach.
The ghost god at the gate of the courtyard was completely enraged, and blood spurted out of his seven orifices.
Nian Qing thought that she was going to break her promise.
As she thought about it, she finally created a bone whistle in her palm.
The moment before she closed her eyes, she saw Si Youfen swinging the chains vigorously, but a woman appeared outside the door and asked, "What's that sound?"
Crunch——
The gate opened, and the prostitute who had stepped into the courtyard came face to face with Death. With a scream, she fainted.
There was another sound behind her, but Nianqing couldn't hear it clearly. She just shuddered, and the Buddha's light that she didn't like also enveloped her.
The red spider lily withered. Death faced the person entering the hospital, and was enveloped by the Buddha's light again. Countless holes were burned into his white clothes. His whole body seemed to be in flames. He screamed wildly and flew away.
Rongti called out to the prostitute who had fainted from fear, and then saw the dying fox in front of the door. He wanted to get up, but he didn't expect someone behind him to run over there faster than him.
The cuffs of her python-colored skirt dragged on the ground, stained with blood, leaving dark marks. Rongti saw the leader run over, squat down, and use the hem of his skirt to cover the mess on the stone steps.
He couldn't see the leader's expression, but the next moment he heard the leader calling him.
Others also approached. But the leader suddenly turned around, glared at everyone, and shouted, "I'm calling Rongti! Who dares to take another step forward?"
So the maids, nannies and prostitutes who had come with them stopped and looked at each other.
So Rongti trotted forward and saw Gu Luoyan standing up with something in her arms, covering it with her wide sleeves. He knew it was the fox.
Gu Luoyan walked towards the door and kicked it open. With a cold look on her face, she let Rong Ti in and closed the door.
She asked Rong Ti to light the lamp, while she knelt carefully and placed the object in her arms on her knees. Blood immediately soaked more of her robes into a dark color.
She let go of her hand, which was covered in blood. When she looked up at Rongti, her voice trembled a little.
But it was ordering him: "Save it."
"I'll do my best." Rong Ti bowed, but did not move. He spoke carefully, "Sir, please put it on the ground, on your knees. I really..."
"Aren't you afraid that it will die of hypothermia if I put it down?" Gu Luoyan interrupted him.
"But it's so chaste for you..."
"What chastity can I talk about? I'm just a piece of tattered clothing, already full of holes... Come and see me."
"Yes," Rongti said no more, reaching out to the fox on Gu Luoyan's lap. It slept like a broken puppet, its reddish-brown fur congealed with blood, turning it into a filthy mess. But a closer look revealed that the wound beneath the fur was no longer bleeding.
Rong extracted some ointment and applied it to the fox's wound. The fox's ears twitched at the pain, and it whimpered and bit the hand of the person applying the ointment.
"hiss--"
Rongti stared blankly at the bare hand still in the beast's mouth.
Gu Luoyan's eyes darkened, his brows furrowed, his expression twisted for a moment before returning to normal.
Half of her palm was still in the fox's mouth. But she didn't struggle, letting the fangs pierce her skin, and the blood flowed in countless rivers between her fingers.
She placed her other hand on the fox's back, soothing it gently without saying a word.
Rong Ti quickly bandaged the fox's wound. Seeing that the fox was still biting Gu Luoyan, he didn't know what to say. He wanted to say something several times but stopped himself. In the end, he just waited by the side.
He saw that the cold, arrogant and aloof leader remained calm, but the strength in his hands was extremely light. If it weren't for the thin sweat running down her cheek, he would have really ignored the small pool of blood on the ground under her hands.
Gu Luoyan waited until the fox fell into a deep sleep before pulling out its teeth. The bite marks were so deep that they would definitely leave a scar.
Gu Luoyan raised his hand and asked Rongti to bandage the wound.
Only then did she turn around to look at the old woman lying on the bed. She looked as haggard as a lamp that was about to burn out, and was already in a state of death.
An unknown emotion flashed across his eyes, but when his gaze met the red fox on his lap, all that remained was heartache.
Rong Ti was treating the wound on Gu Luoyan's hand. He was the only one who heard her mutter, "I was wrong."
Her fingertips touched the fox's face again, and she whispered, "Silly."
Outside, the sound of wind and rain mixed with a sense of desolation. Suddenly, a whistle blew, its long and lingering sound carried away by the wind.
The fox on Gu Luoyan's knees moved, its eyes rolled back, and its mouth opened. There was a sound of thunder, accompanied by a whistle, and white gas floated out of the fox's mouth. Rong Ti stepped back and his face changed.
There was another muffled thunder, and in a flash the air in the room condensed into the shape of a person, which disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Rong Ti's breathing became heavier. He stood at the back with Gu Luoyan facing away from him.
The person on the bed, who had just been as pale as paper, now had a rosy complexion.
She looked down at the still fox, and her heart sank. She regained consciousness and simply pulled a bag of silver from her sleeve, then turned back to Rongti.
Gu Luoyan said to him, "What can you see?" and then handed him the purse.
"Something... strange."
"The doctor is probably too nervous. Go back and have a good rest." Gu Luoyan stood up holding the fox and covered it with her sleeves.
She asked Rongti to open the door for her, looked at the people in the courtyard, and said loudly, "You didn't see anything tonight, do you know?"
She glanced down at the broken bone whistle at the door and walked down the stone steps, her voice still as gentle as usual: "If I hear some strange stories tomorrow, don't say that the Hong Kong Coliseum won't let you stay." She finally looked at Rong Ti, who was still in the room, and bowed slightly: "Goodbye, Doctor Rong."
Looking up at the sky at this moment, there was no sign of rain. A few messy running tracks remained around the yard, forming a formation that people in the community called "Soul Calling."
It’s hard to say who left it behind.
Gu Luoyan sat in the sedan chair and whispered to the thing in her arms, "Little fox, I promised you a good feast."
·
In Taohuawu, the candlelight in the flower-folding lamp is dimly lit.
Gu Luoyan leaned against the jade bed, gently stroking the fox's fur. It had been wiped clean, still sound asleep, its breathing rising and falling slightly.
She was alone in the room, the servants having been dismissed. She stared intently at the fox, feeling the touch of her hand.
Suddenly there were three knocks on the door. Gu Luoyan turned around and pulled the bed curtain with both hands.
"who?"
"Miss, it's the old slave." Before she could finish her words, the door was pushed open. Gu Luoyan had clearly locked the door, but now the lock was gone.
An old woman came in, holding a bowl of medicine. She hunched her back and looked up at Gu Luoyan in a flattering manner.
It was a face covered with spots, with a pointed chin and monkey-like features, and a pair of shrewd eyes always appeared under its gray hair.
Gu Luoyan didn't like her, but she still said politely: "Aunt is here, but what does mother want?"
"No, no..." The old woman's long black nails reached into the medicine bowl she was holding. She then raised the bowl above her head and said, "I am here to give the young lady medicine."
"Thank you for your help, Auntie." Gu Luoyan took the bowl and drank it without saying a word. When she handed the bowl to the old woman, she could vaguely see the rat tail that the old woman had dragged on the ground in the dim light.
The old woman took the bowl but didn't leave in a hurry. She asked casually, "I heard that the young lady specially called a doctor to see the sick nanny in the front hall today."
"yes."
"Why bother with this? He's already dying. You're too kind, young lady." The old woman stared at her, her smile gone.
"Aunt, you're worrying too much." Gu Luoyan moved to the wooden bench and sat down, looking at herself in the bronze mirror as she untied her hair. "She was just trying to win over the girls who followed her, so she wouldn't have to worry about crying all day."
"They are just a few prostitutes. Why bother making such a trip?" The image of the old woman also appeared in the bronze mirror. She stood behind Gu Luoyan and used her long nails to push away the hair beside her ears.
Gu Luoyan laughed and said, "Auntie, you're wrong. Human hearts are the hardest to come by. Besides, Mother relies on us for income. If we lose several girls because of a nanny, it wouldn't be worth it, would it?"
"Puff puff..." The old woman laughed softly, "Our girl is still the most calculating."
"Don't show mercy so easily in the future. We don't keep any Buddhas in the Hong Kong Coliseum." The long nails broke the skin on Gu Luoyan's ear. The old woman withdrew her hand and sucked a drop of blood on her nails.
"Today's medicine will serve as a lesson." She bowed to Gu Luoyan, "The old slave will withdraw."
She lifted the hem of her skirt, revealing a pair of extremely ugly "feet". The five fingers on her feet did not look like those of a human, but more like a hairless "hand".
The door closed again. The woman, who had been holding onto the dressing table, collapsed on it in agony, her stomach churning. She turned her head gloomily to glance at the door. Sweat poured down her face. She closed her eyes gently, her clenched fists trembling until they were deformed.
——She knew she had to be more careful and hypocritical because the museum was full of his eyes.
The monsters and demons in strange stories are just there to scare sleeping children.
But this cannibalistic Hong Kong pub is a purgatory where life is worse than death.
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