Chapter 65 Window Shadows and Barking Dogs
Qi Xiaopang had already jumped around on the middle bed, and Qing Bai was placed on the bed by the window by Jiu Nian. Ai Chan had no choice but to sit cross-legged on the bed closest to the door.
It wasn't until Ai Chan started meditating and chanting that Qi Xiaopang realized, "Zhi Liao actually changed his house-themed battle robe into a monk's robe?"
Qing Bai: "Otherwise, why would we say bathing, burning incense, changing clothes, fasting, and cleansing the body?"
If you still wear that T-shirt with the word "宅" on it, then it's called taking a shower.
Qi Xiaopang looked at Ai Chan, who was dressed in a yellow monk's robe, with his head lowered and eyes downcast, and his appearance was solemn. If it weren't for the slight rise and fall of his chest, Qi Xiaopang couldn't help but want to reach out and feel his breath... Ai Chan looked so strange like this. The vitality in his body seemed to have been diluted by the difficult and incomprehensible Buddhist scriptures he was silently reciting. The whole person was like a wooden statue with natural textures. It looked warm and shiny, but it was actually cold to the touch. It could only be admired from a distance.
"I... I know this looks... quite presentable."
Qing Bai recalled the scene when he first met Ai Chan in the Leiyun Temple in Shangjing. In the hall filled with the air and the Bodhisattva bowed his head, the young monk's robes shone and the Buddhist chants were elegant. He lowered his eyes and smiled softly, as if a clay statue had come back to life and walked down from the lotus seat... If this guy hadn't looked so impressive, he wouldn't have taken the initiative to approach him and talk to him. He even added him as a friend and kept in touch... Who knew he was just an 'embroidered pillow'.
Jiu Nian came to the bedside with the prepared lotus root powder and fed it to Qing Bai's mouth as carefully as if he were a seriously ill patient. After this period of adjustment, Qing Bai had become accustomed to it and would start eating as soon as the spoon came. However, Qi Xiaopang, who was standing by, felt jealous and hurried down to eat when the call for dinner came.
...As for the wooden sculpture of the mournful cicada, let him sit for now. We'll pack up some light food for him after he finishes eating. Fat Qi didn't want to admit that he was a little intimidated by the meditating cicada and was hesitant to disturb it.
A bowl of lotus root powder was quickly finished. Qi Xiaopang, who had gone downstairs to eat alone, also came back unexpectedly fast with a disposable lunch box. However, his expression was a little strange, and he didn't look like he had satisfied his appetite at all.
Seeing him hesitant to speak while feeding the coal briquettes, Qing Bai kindly took the initiative to speak and give him a sense of satisfaction: "Just say it."
After hearing what was said, Qi Xiaopang immediately pressed the coal briquettes into his stainless steel rice bowl, then lowered his voice and whispered in a low voice as if he was afraid that someone could hear him: "Brother Qing, something seems to be wrong with this farmhouse!"
After washing the dishes and spoons, Jiu Nian brought back a basin of hot water. Qing Bai raised his paws skillfully and said casually, "What do you mean?"
A half-wrung-out warm towel was placed over the paws, and the pads and crevices of the paws were gently kneaded and wiped. Qing Bai was so comfortable that his eyes half-closed and he instinctively "bloomed his paws".
Qi Xiaopang groaned inwardly, but remained honest and straightforward, saying, "Didn't Boss Zhou say there was only one room left in his farmhouse? But when I went out just now, I noticed there was absolutely no movement in the other rooms. Not even a ray of light could be seen through the cracks in the doors. It didn't look like anyone was living there at all."
After taking care of one paw, Qing Bai switched to another and said nonchalantly, "So?"
"So?" Qi Xiaopang was irritated by Qing Bai's nonchalant look. He pounced onto the bed, his head facing the bed next to him, his whole body buried in the pillow. Qing Bai only needed to lift his hands and feet as if he were getting a luxurious spa. "So, Boss Zhou cheated us... Could this farm stay be a scam?"
As he spoke, Fat Qi made a retching motion: "I just ate several meat buns and steamed buns..."
There are also buns and siu mai for dinner? I really don’t know whether to say that this farmhouse restaurant has a rich menu or that the business is really not good, so breakfast can be left until the evening.
Seeing Qi Xiaopang, who was clearly recalling the overly detailed descriptions of the shady meat buns in many movies and TV dramas, Qing Bai kindly explained, "It's not necessarily a shady place. Saying they're full with only one room left is also a marketing tactic."
Seeing Qi Xiaopang's disbelief, Qing Bai simply gave an example: "Why else would those guys and girls who missed the dormitory curfew because they went on a trip or a date always have only one king-size bed room available when they stay overnight at a hotel?"
This, this, this is totally different, right?! Qi Xiaopang muttered to himself, then suddenly realized the key point: "Brother Qing, why do you seem to understand so much?"
Have you ever taken a boy or girl to a hotel and booked a king-size bed room?!
Qing Bai: “…”
In the past, Qi Xiaopang would never have harbored such suspicions about Qing Bai. After all, in his mind, Qing Bai wasn't just pure and innocent, aloof from women. He was downright unfeeling and aloof when it came to relationships. Even if he were to miss the curfew and couldn't get back to the dorm, he firmly believed that his brother Qing would rather spend the night in the morgue with corpses than check into a room with a living person.
However, the situation is different now... Who would have known that his brother Qing, who was allergic to living people and kept strangers away, was not a virgin without any emotional experience? Then everyone is an adult, whether he is bringing others or being brought there... It is normal to have seen a hotel room with a double bed.
Qing Bai knew at a glance that this person had misunderstood again. Just as he was about to explain, Jiu Nian spoke at the right time: "Someone."
Qing Bai subconsciously asked: "What do you mean by someone?"
After all four paws had wiped, Jiu Nian placed the towel back into the basin and spoke more clearly: "The other rooms are occupied."
"Is it true?" Qi Xiaopang asked, "How do you know?"
He didn't mean to doubt his big brother's ability, but he remembered that he had been busy around Qing Bai for nine years, taking care of her meals and washing, and had never left the house, right?
Qing Bai raised his paw, which was still slightly damp, and answered Qi Xiaopang's question indirectly with a question: "Did you sense it again?"
Jiu Nian nodded. "This farmhouse isn't big, but it's very popular. This is indeed the only room in the building that's unoccupied."
For some reason, hearing Jiu Nian say those rooms were occupied actually made Qi Xiaopang feel even more unsettled than when he'd previously assumed they were empty. It wasn't that late, and while the farmhouse accommodations were basic, they had basic necessities like water and electricity. Hot water was available 24/7, and every bed had an outlet. It didn't make sense that those rooms wouldn't have any sound or light at all... It was pitch black, what could they be doing in there?
It's impossible to gather your strength and go into the mountains to fight the monkeys at dawn, right?
Qi Xiaopang was so frightened by his own imagination that he got goosebumps on his arms. He shook his head frantically, trying to clear the weird image of "human-monkey war" from his mind.
After finally getting dizzy and about to leave, his brother Qing suddenly said something meaningful: "They're so popular... Are you sure they're all 'normal' people?"
Qi Xiaopang paused and asked, "What is a normal person?"
...Are people like them considered normal?
Jiunian did not answer immediately. He was silent for a while, not knowing whether he was thinking about the definition and scope of "normal" or strengthening his perception.
When he spoke again, his tone was a little uncertain, and his words were very provocative: "They are all alive."
Qi Xiaopang's eyes were sore from widening. In this person's eyes, as long as one is alive, he is a normal person?
"I'm sorry," Jiunian said, looking a little ashamed. "My abilities are limited. I can only sense the yang energy of the living and the yin energy of the 'dead' or ghosts. For more, I have to meet them in person to judge."
That's right, as long as a 'security guard' can fight, it doesn't matter whether he's alive or dead, normal or abnormal. Strength can defeat skill. In the face of absolute strength, all disguises are just empty talk... Qing Bai was amused by his own thoughts and said with a smile, "It's just a casual question, don't take it seriously."
"Right, right!" Fat Qi hated it most when talented people underestimated themselves. "Being able to sense whether there's someone around is already quite impressive! If you even knew their specific situation and what they were doing, honestly, that's a bit abnormal, especially in the dead of night... Don't you agree?"
Qing Bai: “…”
Nine years: "..."
As soon as Qi Xiaopang opened his mouth, the atmosphere was gone. There were three beds in this room, and if they continued talking it would probably just turn into a crosstalk.
Qing Bai lay back with an expressionless face: "Go to bed early."
Although Qi Xiaopang still felt a little spooky, he could hold the fluffy and warm puppy in his arms... Fortunately, he acted quickly and occupied the middle bed first. The monk on the left and the big man on the right had a cute evil-repelling toy in their arms, so he felt extremely safe!
Qing Bai was a little uncomfortable at first. Although he had been sleeping in the same bed with Jiu Nian every day these days, it was all in his own bedroom, a private space. This was the first time he had done it in public... However, the next second, a black spot appeared on the snow-white bed sheet, and Jiu Nian turned back into a black cat.
Sharing a bed instantly turns into cat-and-mouse bonding.
That bit of discomfort also disappeared with the contact of the soft and fluffy cat fur... Never mind, even if he had been in bed in human form for nine years, he still looked like a cat. It was just that sleeping with a "human-pet" had changed to cats hugging each other. Thinking about it this way, cats and cats seemed more harmonious. At least they were of the same kind, even though neither of them was a real cat.
As Qing Bai was thinking, he became a little drowsy and fell asleep unknowingly.
It is hard to say whether the night in the countryside is quiet or not. If you say it is quiet, the insects chirp one after another and the wind rustles continuously. But if you say it is not quiet, the subtle and trivial insect chirping and the endless wind sound are close to your ears... Fortunately, it is not noisy.
After sleeping for an unknown amount of time, Qing Bai suddenly opened his eyes. He seemed to hear... a whimpering dog barking.
There was also the sound of chains creaking and colliding.
The window next to the bed was a large sliding window. Qing Bai remembered that although the window faced Chushan Mountain in the distance, there was a three-story hill behind the house. The farmhouse was built on the hill, and the two were very close to each other. One could almost reach the branches and leaves of the trees on the hill from the window.
There was a constant whimpering and barking of dogs in his ears, which was so pitiful. However, the people in the same room or even the same bed did not react at all. Qing Bai turned his head and looked directly into a pair of green eyes outside the window.
Chushan Mountain at night was a huge shadow, and outside the window, on the branches, there was a small black shadow squatting.
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