Chapter 37 How many days have I been dead? Please come to my funeral...
The way down the mountain was not difficult to walk. Chang Xile walked it once and looked at the map with Yang Guisi.
This map is quite detailed. As Chang Xile looked at it, he exclaimed, "Huh?"
"What's wrong?" Yang Guisi asked.
"Logically, there should be a temple dedicated to the Goddess of Laughter here." Chang Xile pointed to a spot on the way down the mountain and muttered to himself, "Could it be that it's not depicted in the painting?"
That made sense. After all, the Taoist priest at the Laughter Goddess Temple was initially reluctant to mark Chang Le Guan's location on the map in order to recruit her as a follower.
At this point, she suddenly remembered that her aunt had told her last night that she had been taken to worship the Goddess of Laughter as her adoptive mother. It truly was fate. It seemed necessary to bring incense, flowers, and fruit to fulfill her vow. For yesterday's guidance, and for all the years of protection she had received before.
"Never heard of it." Yang Guisi shook his head. Because the amplitude of the shake was a little too big, he covered his head and made a "hiss" sound.
"Let's go down the mountain to treat you first. We can talk about this later." Chang Xile supported Yang Guisi and changed the subject with a smile.
After the hospital finished its examination and confirmed that Yang Guisi's head injury was not serious, Chang Xile urged her to return to the dormitory to rest. However, Yang Guisi was reluctant to go back to the dormitory. She said to Chang Xile in a somewhat distraught tone, "I want to go back to my rented house to rest."
"Okay." After all, the dormitory was small and not the best place to rest. Chang Xile walked Yang Guisi to the apartment door and was about to leave when Yang Guisi grabbed his sleeve.
"What's wrong?" Chang Xile asked her patiently.
"You call Tang You...Auntie?" She seemed to have been holding it in all the way, and finally couldn't help but asked when they were parting.
"Yes. You were not in good condition at that time, so I didn't introduce you to me." Chang Xile nodded.
Yang Guisi lowered his head and asked with some difficulty, "Can I see what she gave you before she left?"
"Of course." Chang Xile took out the carefully placed stack of talisman paper and the book from her bag and handed them to Yang Guisi.
Yang Guisi took the two things with great care, touched the dried words on the talisman, and then opened the book again. Seeing the unique handwriting on each page, he was silent for a long time.
Chang Xile saw Yang Guisi engrossed in watching, and guessed that she was also interested in the art of drawing talismans, so he asked, "These are what she gave me for self-defense. If you want to learn, I can lend them to you for a while."
Yang Guisi blinked vigorously, shook his head, returned the things to Chang Xile, and smiled: "It's okay, I just want to take a look. I can learn these by myself."
"Okay." Chang Xile urged her, "But you should also make sure to rest. Don't rush into these exercises before you're well."
After Chang Xile left the community gate, he did not rush back to the dormitory, but turned on his mobile phone and prepared to call Anping again.
But before she could dial, she was interrupted by a voice.
"Hey, can you still hear me?" The voice was familiar, but it wasn't as powerful as before, and it sounded much weaker.
It was Dai Shanyan calling her.
Chang Xile lowered her head and took out the crimson-purple brocade pouch she was wearing. She then drew out the orange brocade pouch Nianci had given her. When placed side by side, the patterns on the two pouches were very similar, differing only in color. This seemed to be Chang Xile's signature.
At that time, in front of Nianci, Chang Xile wanted to compare the two sachets, but she held back when she remembered Dai Shanyan.
"I can hear it. What's wrong, Shanyan?" Chang Xile asked her, and couldn't help but think of Tang You's advice to him - never trust ghosts completely.
Dai Shanyan seemed to have been holding it in for days, and asked her anxiously, "Do you know how many days I've been dead?"
Wow, Chang Xile had never been asked this kind of question in her life. She hesitated for a moment, then actually began to calculate seriously, and then told Dai Shanyan, "It's been almost nine days."
Dai Shanyan's voice was visibly anxious: "Ah... the funeral is almost over."
Without waiting for Chang Xile to speak, she asked, "Would you like to accompany me to my funeral?"
"What?" Chang Xile was stunned.
Dai Shanyan seemed afraid that she would be unwilling, so she explained, "It's not that I'm reluctant to give up anything, I just really want to know how my family will react after I die."
"There are also my good friends, enemies, people who have a crush on me, and people I have a crush on. I'm curious about everything." Dai Shanyan listed them one by one. She added, "If you are willing to go with me, I can give you the private money I saved!"
Chang Xile was stunned simply because she had never heard of such a request before. Of course, she was willing to help Dai Shanyan, but upon hearing this, she declined the benefits she had promised: "It's nothing, but I can't just take your money. It's better to leave it to your family."
Besides, it is still unclear whether it is legal to take away the property promised by a dead person.
"They don't need these small things from me, so just accept them." Dai Shanyan's tone was brisk and unquestionable.
"We'll talk about this later. First, tell me the approximate time and location of the funeral." Chang Xile interrupted her and got straight to the point.
"At my house," Dai Shanyan replied quickly. "That's how it was done when my grandfather passed away."
Chang Xile asked again, "Excuse me, where is your home?"
"Hmm..." Dai Shanyan pondered for a moment and said hesitantly, "I don't know."
"This is your home?" Chang Xile was shocked. "Did you never know where your home is, or do people forget where their home is after they die?"
"I usually have a driver when I go out, so I don't need to remember the address." Dai Shanyan was a little embarrassed, but she quickly thought of a solution. "Go online and search for Dai's family in Shancheng, Dai Yonghui."
"Is your family so famous?" Chang Xile took out his mobile phone and searched for her. Looking at the entries that appeared on the web page, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.
Not just famous.
And money and power.
The news headline hanging at the top of the webpage is: Dai Shanyan, daughter of real estate tycoon Dai Yonghui, died of a sudden illness at the age of twenty.
The photo shows a couple who look a bit haggard. The man has a solemn expression and red eyes, while the woman lies on the coffin and sobs loudly. In the corner of the photo, there are many people standing, each with a different expression.
"Look online for the address of Dai Family Villa." Dai Shanyan didn't know what Chang Xile had seen, but continued to give orders. She seemed unaware of the impact her death had on the people around her.
Chang Xile looked up the information Dai Shanyan had given him. After a moment's silence, he said, "One piece of good news, one piece of bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
"Good news." Dai Shanyan chose happily.
"I found your address."
"What about the bad news?"
"The entrance is strictly controlled. It seems that ordinary people like me cannot get in."
Dai Shanyan didn't think this was a problem: "You are my savior, no one in my family dares to stop you. What's more, you are a guest, no one will chase you away."
Ms. Dai's tone was very arrogant, and Chang Xile decided to believe her. Tomorrow was the last day of the funeral, and the two decided to leave early tomorrow morning.
Chang Xile followed her aunt's instructions and called her mother, telling her that she would not be going home for National Day.
"Why? Didn't you say you missed home a few days ago?" Tang Shixin used her delicious food temptation method, "Your dad specially went to the market to find the fattest crabs and came back to make braised crabs for you?"
"There are also sweet and sour fish, salt and pepper shrimp, garlic vermicelli and cabbage..." Ms. Tang Shixin continued to count on her fingers.
Chang Xile's heart wavered when she heard this. She took a deep breath and said firmly, "Mom, I really can't go back. I have to attend my friend's funeral."
"Ah?" Tang Shi was startled and asked, "What's going on? Your friend is not very old, right?"
"Well...so I'll wait until the winter vacation to go home and try your cooking then." Chang Xile held the phone and kicked the stones on the road.
"Okay, I'll make you whatever you want to eat then." Tang Shixin gave a few more instructions before the two hung up the phone.
After putting away his phone, Chang Xile continued walking towards the dormitory building.
Yesterday, the class monitor said Fang Xinai didn't go to class either. She didn't oversleep, she was unconscious. This matter could be serious or minor, and Chang Xile was worried.
When she walked past the wisteria corridor not far from the dormitory building, she saw a familiar white long-haired cat lying on the stone bench.
Chang Xile approached the cat quietly, looked at it for a long time, and concluded that it was Sui Sui.
It looked extremely sleepy, curled up in a ball and soundly asleep. Chang Xile watched it quietly for a while, and the words he wanted to ask it why it left without saying goodbye were not spoken.
But since they'd already met, it still felt a bit itchy not to say hello. Chang Xile's eyes whirled as she came up with a bad idea. She took a pink butterfly hairpin from her hair and quietly pinned it to the long white hair on Sui Sui's forehead.
Chang Xile admired Sui Sui's sleeping face for a while, and couldn't help laughing. He took out his phone to take a picture of it. Only then did he remember that he was going to find Fang Xinai when he saw the time. Chang Xile waved to Sui Sui and said goodbye in a whisper: "See you next time, don't sneak away again!"
When Chang Xile opened the door of the dormitory, he saw that there was no one at the desk, but a pair of slippers was placed next to the ladder in front of Fang Xinai's bed.
It was already afternoon, and Fang Xinai hadn't gotten up yet. Chang Xile couldn't help but recall the news about college students who had died suddenly from staying up too late. Adhering to the principle of safety first, he gently tapped the railing beside her bed and whispered to her, "Xiao Ai, Xiao Ai, wake up."
After a while, there was no movement. Chang Xile couldn't help but feel anxious. He slapped the railing again, thinking that if he still couldn't wake the person up, he would take him to see a doctor.
"Wow!" A cry of surprise came from behind the bed curtains. A furry head popped out from between the two tightly closed curtains. It was Fang Xinai, who looked very energetic. She took off her headphones and let out a sigh of relief after seeing who it was. She patted her chest and said, "Xi Le? You scared me to death!"
"I thought you fainted again." Chang Xile was relieved to see that she was awake. He raised an eyebrow and asked her, "How could you be so scared in broad daylight?"
"I'm watching a horror livestream." Fang Xinai shook his phone. "When did you and Xiao Yang come down the mountain? My phone just reminded me that she was going live, so I opened it to watch since I was bored."
"Guisi has started broadcasting?" Chang Xile's eyes opened wider. The doctor had just told her to take good rest recently. She put her things on the table, took out her tablet and started watching.
In the video, Yang Guisi is sitting in her study wearing a mask. She's not wearing any makeup, her lips are pale, and she rarely responds to comments. However, because she's usually aloof, the audience didn't notice the difference.
At this time, she was connected to a viewer via microphone. When Chang Xile came in, the male fan with the ID "I'm really impressed" was telling his story.
"I'm a freelancer and recently moved. My normal job is to write at home. But lately, I've been feeling really, really sore in my neck, and the back of my neck is always cold."
"Shoulder and neck pain caused by prolonged sitting and incorrect sitting posture?" Yang Guisi judged.
"No, no, it's different. I used to sit like this for six or seven hours a day at home and didn't have these symptoms. But now, sometimes even if I just sit up straight and let my mind wander, my neck still hurts." The man was interrupted by his family's black cat. The cat used his knees to jump onto the table and meowed incessantly in his direction.
"Meigu, stop making noise." He scolded the cat and continued to talk to Guisi, "So, I was wondering if there was something wrong with this house, or if it had bad feng shui or something."
As Chang Xile listened, her expression grew serious. She looked at Yang Guisi in the picture, wondering what she would say.
However, Yang Guisi remained expressionless and silent.
Many comments quickly swiped through the barrage, with some suggesting it was simply caused by prolonged sitting, others urging the Ghost Department to respond quickly. There were even some who speculated whether this was a supernatural event or a scientific one.
However, as the silence grew longer, the audience began to get restless.
The one who said "I'm really impressed" spoke first and asked hesitantly: "Ghost Secretary, can you solve my problem?"
Silence finally has a time limit. Yang Guisi seemed to have made a very important decision. She said: "I may not live broadcast anymore in the future."
The barrage of comments immediately exploded.
"Why?"
"Because you can't answer it?"
"No, wuwuwu, even if you don't know anything, Guisi, I still love to listen to you just sitting here and chatting."
Yang Guisi frowned and said helplessly, "I did solve it..." But she couldn't. However, before she finished speaking, the phone beside her suddenly rang.
Being interrupted, Yang Guisi glanced at the phone screen impatiently.
This glance made her eyes widen.
The next second, Gui Si straightened up and asked, "Ask your landlord if there has been any murder in the house."
"What...?" The male fan was stunned for a moment and said hesitantly, "No way."
"And, most likely, suicide. Right here in your room."
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