Chapter 12: Cock Crows at Midnight
Ai Chan was caught off guard and didn't know how to respond. She could only say dryly, "I'm serious."
Qing Bai wanted to laugh. This monk had said before with great certainty that it was impossible for him to become a demon for revenge, but now he emphasized that he really wanted to return to secular life. It can be seen that people are self-righteous and deceive themselves... He is the same.
The smile on Qing Bai's face carried a hint of subtle bitterness. It was already dark, and he suddenly felt a little bored.
"Oh, good luck then."
Ai Chan took a deep look at Qing Bai, who looked sleepy, and said with a hint of admonition: "Persistence is a good thing, but if it goes too far, it will become obstinacy..."
Qing Bai raised his eyelids, his eyes clear and bright, without a trace of sleepiness: "So, Master, are you finally letting it go?"
Well, he got another reply. This guy is really a hedgehog and can't be talked to.
Ai Chan sighed, but didn't force it: "I just want to try to pick it up."
Qing Bai raised his eyebrows, somewhat sarcastically saying, "Poor monk—oh?"
Ai Chan subconsciously raised his hands, but froze before putting them together. He opened his mouth, but the Buddhist mantra he was used to chanting almost came out of his mouth, and he was completely at a loss.
He said he wanted to return to secular life, but his body was very honest.
Under Qing Bai's half-smile, Ai Chan was embarrassed for only a moment before she calmed down: "You're still obsessed."
Qing Bai didn't hold on to it, but instead recalled the past with a sigh: "Ai Chan, we've known each other for four years, right? I only realized today that you have this ability."
The sad cicada remained silent, quietly waiting for Qing Bai's next words.
"Do you still remember what we said when we first met?" Qing Bai asked in a low voice.
Ai Chan didn't dwell on the past and answered quickly, "You asked me if there are ghosts in the world."
"You asked me if I believed in gods and Buddhas." Qing Bai said slowly, "I said no, and you said if I didn't believe in gods and Buddhas, why should I be suspicious of ghosts and monsters?"
"Thinking about it now, if I had said I believed it, would you have had a different opinion?"
Ai Chan was frank: "If you say you believe it, I will say that death is like the extinguishing of a light. Please accept my condolences."
"In short, you just won't tell the truth? Monks don't tell lies, Master Aichan, you've violated the precepts." Qing Bai's voice was soft, as if he was sighing but not sighing, but the expression on his face was completely the opposite, three points colder than the moon in the water in the ancient well in the courtyard.
Ai Chan remained calm even after being accused of breaking the rules. He remained composed and composed, his signature smile on his face as he looked at Qing Bai with gentle compassion. "We've come to this point, even bringing up old matters. What exactly do you want to ask, Qing Bai?"
Qing Bai looked away, remained silent for a moment, and then whispered, "You said that people return home on the seventh day after death... Is that the case for everyone?"
"Will there be someone..." Qing Bai paused, his voice becoming softer, as if he was afraid of disturbing something, "Will there be someone who chooses not to come back?"
Ai Chan didn't answer but asked, "How do you know he didn't come back?"
Qing Bai shook his head without explaining the reason, and said firmly: "Of course I know."
Ai Chan said that although he was still a monk, he still insisted on seeking truth from facts and could not go against his conscience. However, Qing Bai was too sure, so he could only gently remind him: "Qing Bai, you only saw ghosts recently."
So in the past, even if you were face to face with a ghost or even passed through it, you would only think that the weather was getting cold and you needed to put on more clothes, or that the air conditioner was broken and it was hot and cold.
Qing Bai: "So why did I suddenly become able to see ghosts?"
"…I think it's about time."
Time, time again... Boss Hong said that the time when he couldn't see ghosts before hadn't arrived yet, and Ai Chan said that the time when he could suddenly see ghosts had arrived. But when was this time? And who set the time?
Seeing Qing Bai's gloomy expression, Ai Chan couldn't help but say, "Maybe it's not that he suddenly 'became' able to see ghosts, but rather a kind of... ability?"
"Life in this world is like walking through thorns, with obstacles at every step. But Qing Bai, you are different... If you just let go of yourself, you will be free."
Ai Chan spoke with great sincerity, but Qing Bai just thought he was talking nonsense.
"What about Fat Qi? Why can he also see Minglang?" Is it time too?
Ai Chan thought for a moment and said, "Maybe... people get corrupted by the company of bad people."
Qing Bai: "..." Is this bald guy scolding him in a roundabout way?
"What does it mean that birds of a feather flock together? Who birds of a feather flock together?" Fat Qi came out of the kitchen carrying a pot of fragrant, hot instant noodles and just heard the last sentence.
"Master, eat it while it's hot! I've added two sausages for you!"
Ai Chan sniffed the air deeply, his expression intoxicated: "Thank you, benefactor."
Qing Bai sneered.
Ai Chan paused in her chanting, silently lowered her folded hands, and picked up her chopsticks with a fawning smile: "Just call me Ai Chan, ahem... I haven't asked for your name yet."
I ate the noodles cooked by someone only to realize I didn't know their name. What a sin...
"Haha, my last name is Qi, Master, you can just call me Xiaopang!" Qi Xiaopang agreed readily, but his eyes kept glancing at his brother Qing.
He just went to cook some instant noodles, but why did the master's attitude become weird... Are instant noodles so powerful?
Qing Bai spoke up to explain Qi Xiaopang's confusion: "No need to call him Master, he's thinking of returning to secular life."
"Huh? Why?" Are monks nowadays so casual?
Qi Xiaopang looked at Ai Chan in surprise. The filter of the enlightened monk he had just put on instantly became as broken as the instant noodles in the pot.
Ai Chan, who just moments ago exuded compassion as he expertly slurped his instant noodles, now looked like an ordinary otaku only because of his bald head. He swallowed his noodles, drank a mouthful of soup, and then, contentedly, opened his mouth to say something seemingly unrelated: "My graduate studies major is religion."
"Hmm...so?"
Qi Xiaopang still doesn't understand. Is there anything wrong with monks chanting about religion? It's very fitting!
Ai Chan said, "There's a saying in our profession: those who have studied religion won't believe in religion."
So, this is... a victory for modern education?
Qi Xiaopang was a little confused and didn't know how to express it for a moment: "But isn't there a ghost..."
Since everyone knows that ghosts exist in this world, why don’t you, a monk, believe in Buddhism?
Qi Xiaopang's words were illogical and incoherent, but Ai Chan unexpectedly understood them. He put down his chopsticks and said seriously, "Ghosts originate from humans and have nothing to do with religion."
"Where there are talents, there are ghosts. Talents are the starting point of the so-called reincarnation." Qing Bai said thoughtfully.
Ai Chan smiled and clapped his hands: "Qing Bai is indeed more perceptive than me. If you were in my position, you would definitely be able to do better than me!"
Qing Bai didn't take it seriously: "You don't even believe it yourself, yet you're urging me to believe it?"
"It's not that I don't believe it, it's just..."
Ai Chan's eyes were complicated, and he pondered for a long time but couldn't make out the reason.
Seeing him looking disappointed, Qi Xiaopang offered a suggestion: "How about... why don't you change your religion?"
Qing Bai: "..." Only Qi Xiaopang could say this.
Ai Chan actually followed suit and said, "What a great idea! I had no choice before, but now I want to start over!"
Qi Xiaopang stood up excitedly and applauded Ai Chan's courage. The atmosphere suddenly became lively.
"..." Qing Bai had a headache and was too lazy to watch them fooling around. "I'm tired. You should rest early too."
After saying that, he turned and went upstairs.
…
A lot of things happened today. I learned things I didn’t know before and came into contact with new and unknown areas... Qing Bai was very tired. This tiredness was not only physical, but also brain and soul.
What's more, he forced himself to talk to Ai Chan for a long time.
Although he still had many questions in his mind, as well as an urgent desire that he could hardly suppress, Qing Bai did not have the extra energy and strength to think any further.
After a quick wash, he lay down on the bed. A second before he fell into darkness, he thought, maybe I can get a good sleep tonight...
...Bullshit!
Who kills a chicken in the middle of the night!
Qing Bai fumbled around the bedside for a while, and the dazzlingly bright screen of his mobile phone showed the time as three o'clock in the morning.
After lying in bed and waiting for a few minutes, the faint and shrill screams did not stop, but instead became more and more intense and closer.
Qing Bai got up irritably, instinctively opened the window on the inside of the bed, and looked out carefully - it was empty.
In the early morning without stars or moon, the night wind blew, and the tall grass rustled.
Qing Bai's window is on the back of the second floor, facing the small earthen slope behind the house. The small earthen slope is made of the sand and stones left over from the construction of the house. It has been exposed to wind and rain for many years, and there is no good scenery except weeds. But fortunately, it does not block the view. Beyond it, you can clearly see the dark woods and the winding river in the distance, which can barely be regarded as adding a scenery to this window.
But at this moment Qing Bai was not in the mood to appreciate the scenery. The wailing in his ears was so shrill. He looked left and right but still couldn't figure out the exact location. It seemed very far away, and it seemed like it was next door... But this was a single-family building, and he was the only room on the second floor. How could there be a next door?
You can only be patient and listen carefully.
...After careful listening, I found that the sound was not like the crowing of a chicken, but more like the singing of a bird. The sound was monotonous, and seemed to have only two tones. It was somewhat familiar... Hurt... Hurt about what?
The sound was too sharp, Qing Bai raised his hands to cover his ears to relieve the pressure on his eardrums...wait.
Qing Bai paused rubbing his ear and quickly looked around. It was still dark and not a single light was on.
The noise, so loud that it woke him up from his sleep, did not cause any ripples in Weiming New Village. Even the watchdogs, who were usually very sensitive and would bark at a bird flying by or a cat passing by, did not respond, as if he was the only one in the entire village.
If it was a matter of distance, Qi Xiaopang and even Ai Chan who were on the same floor would not have reacted.
So, was he hallucinating, or was it that the birdsong...was...only he who could hear it?
If it's the former, he might need to make an appointment with a psychiatric department as soon as possible.
If it was the latter... He wouldn't go out even if the bird screamed at the top of its lungs today. Solo action is the most taboo on a supernatural film set, and his job is to deliver food, not make it.
Qing Bai didn't close the window and turned back to lie on the bed.
He thought that he could just get through this. After all, the bird sounded full of emotion and had a high pitch, so it shouldn't be a programmed 'perpetual motion chicken'. However, the bird seemed to be at odds with him, and it changed to a more energy-saving singing style. The sound became intermittent, but it would always reach a high pitch just when he was about to fall asleep.
...It's hard to say it wasn't intentional.
But what was even more bizarre was Qing Bai himself. Faced with such a noise that disturbed his sleep and seemed to be precisely amplified, he felt annoyed but not disgusted.
Even though I was so sleepy that I couldn't open my eyes, I didn't feel disgusted.
Maybe it's because it's more like a silly prank that's not very harmful?
Is it scary? A little bit at first.
But what he felt more helpless afterwards was that he just wanted to have a good sleep, and after he had a good sleep, he would go and grab the naughty kid who was making trouble behind his back and give him a good spanking... Qing Bai thought so for no reason before he fell into darkness again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
