Chapter 034: Ancient House Phantom (6)
I woke up at noon, this quiet house, no one disturbed me, it was a good place to cultivate my character.
Tao Xing got up to buy food: "What do you want to eat?"
The person on the bed simply said, "Milk tea, please change it. I want to try other flavors."
"good."
Tao Xing bought some electrical repair tools today, but couldn't find a ladder that was tall enough. The store said they had to get it from somewhere else, which would arrive in the evening.
After lunch, there was nothing to do, so the two people sat quietly and looked at each other for a long time, then walked into the room again.
It was already afternoon when he got up again. Bored, Tao Xing opened the back door and walked towards the backyard for the first time.
The land was bare and without any grass, and there were traces of turning over the dry ground.
He bent over and pinched the soil. When he raised his eyes, the surroundings suddenly became dark, the wind was howling, and suddenly human screams rang in his ears, as if coming from a distant world, shrill and eerie, flowing and floating in the wind.
The temperature rose, as if being in an iron furnace burning with raging fire. The screams were mixed with the sound of flowing water, gurgling, as if it was boiling, with bubbles of various sizes appearing.
Tao Xing loosened his hands and shook off the dirt.
The wind suddenly stopped, the light returned, the screams, the sound of flowing water, and the burning sensation all disappeared, and everything returned to normal.
He felt clothes fluttering behind him. He turned around and saw the man in red standing by the door, looking at him calmly.
Tao Xing smiled: "What are you looking at?"
The man looked him over: "What's wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with me?" Tao Xing looked down, "I'm fine, aren't I?"
The man's eyes fell on him, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Don't come here, it's... windy here."
"Okay." Tao Xing answered simply and walked into the door. "It's getting dark. What do you want to eat tonight?"
"Milk tea, change to another flavor."
“Only one cup a day.”
The man was displeased. He turned and went upstairs. A light flashed in his hand, and a cup of milk tea, the same as the one he had at noon, appeared in his hand.
Tao Xing went out to buy food and brought the ladder back. When he returned, he gently pushed the door open and he lowered his eyes slightly.
The room was dark, and that person didn't know how to light a lamp.
He leaned the ladder against the wall, put down the things in his hand, and was about to look for a candle when a breeze blew around him. He paused, stood still, and heard some sounds.
It sounded like someone was whispering, and there was also the sound of clothes rubbing against each other.
He closed the door tightly when he left, and when he came back, the door was slightly ajar, indicating that someone had been there.
Following the sound, I walked to the stairs. There was a small window next to the dark stairs, and moonlight poured in. Under the soft light, two figures were hugging and kissing each other.
"Forehead……"
Someone comes here for a private meeting, you really aren't afraid.
Tao Xing turned around and sat down on the chair by the door, thinking: "Should I interrupt them?"
Before he could think it through, the two people had already separated, and one of them said, "Why did you ask me to come here? It's so eerie." It was a man's voice.
Another person said, "I can't help it." This was also a male voice, and it sounded familiar. "Our Tao family has strict rules and conservative ideas. They absolutely don't allow me to like men. Who in this town doesn't know a member of the Tao family? If someone sees me dating you and tells my dad, I'll be finished. This house is our family's old house. It's the most dangerous place but also the safest. No one will find out here."
"But your house is haunted."
"Don't listen to those rumors." The man said, "I'm telling you in secret, it's not haunted, it's just that we hired someone to seal it before, which can easily cause hallucinations. Now, our new head of the family has broken the seal, and everything will be fine."
Tao Xing remembered that he had heard this voice at the family dinner the day before yesterday. It belonged to a collateral descendant of the Tao family named Tao Xiaowen.
"Really?" the other side said.
"Really? Look, we've been here for a long time. Have we seen anything?" Tao Xiaowen said.
"No, but there is always wind blowing."
"The back door is open, so there must be some draft. Are you cold? I'll go close it."
"No, you...if you want to kiss, just do it quickly...wait, what is that?"
There were subtle and chaotic footsteps. After a moment, the two of them exclaimed in unison: "Oh my God, is that... gold? It's shining."
"There must be a treasure hidden in the backyard of your old house. It's so bright, it must be a mountain of gold."
"Come on, let's go and take a look. No wonder the old man doesn't allow anyone to come in casually. Turns out there is a treasure. We are going to get rich. If we see it, it's ours..."
Two figures walked out from the stairs, their bodies stiff and their eyes staring, and walked towards the backyard step by step.
A strong wind blew through the courtyard. Tao Xing glanced sideways in the darkness and shouted loudly, "Tao Xiaowen!"
Tao Xiaowen suddenly stopped, his eyes moved, and his composure returned to normal. The young man holding his hand also came back to his senses.
The two were confused for a moment. They looked at the door to the backyard and then at the dim courtyard. "How did we get here without realizing it? Weren't we at the stairs just now?"
"I don't know, it seems..." Tao Xiaowen was puzzled, "It seems that I saw something, but I can't remember it."
They rubbed their heads, as if they were suddenly awakened from a deep sleep, awake yet confused, with a bang in their heads. They leaned against the wall in a daze, and Tao Xiaowen panted, "I think I heard someone calling my name."
The person next to him said, “I heard it, too.”
The two young men came to their senses, their hair stood on end in horror, they hugged each other, and looked around tremblingly: "Could it be..."
"Tao Xiaowen." A voice calling his name came again at the table. At the same time, a candle was lit on the table and Tao Xing turned around.
The two were so startled that their legs went weak and they almost fell to their knees. When they saw clearly that it was a person, they breathed a sigh of relief. Tao Xiaowen rubbed his eyes and asked in disbelief, "Master?"
"Master!" After a few more glances, they finally relaxed and walked forward quickly. "Master, why are you here?"
"I like this house and will stay here temporarily." Tao Xing said, "What are you two doing..."
Tao Xiaowen's relaxed expression became tense again, and he let go of the hand of the person next to him: "My friend and I came here to play, I didn't know you lived here, I didn't mean to disturb you, it's okay, we'll leave first, please don't tell my dad about this little thing, please."
"Oh." Tao Xing nodded, "Okay."
He was impressed by Tao Xiaowen because he performed a quick-speaking performance at the family dinner the day before yesterday. As for who his father was, Tao Xing had no idea at all.
"Then let's go." Tao Xiaowen bowed politely and pulled the young man out, whispering to him as they walked, "Look, there are people living here. Don't be afraid. We must have been too excited just now and accidentally moved to the door."
The young man hit him and said, "You said that someone lives here, but you brought me here. It's so embarrassing. Why does your master live in such a dark place without lighting a lamp?"
Tao Xiaowen shook his head, he didn't know either.
The two men walked out, and Tao Xing stood up to lock the door. The room returned to silence. He lit a few more candles, looked around and couldn't find the man, so he moved the ladder to fix the electricity first.
Maybe the backyard door was not closed, and a gust of wind blew into the house, making the food packaging on the table rustle and the candlelight flicker.
Tao Xing was wearing a flashlight and climbing up the ladder. Halfway up, he saw a faint light in the backyard, but it disappeared in a flash.
"There's lightning. Is it going to rain?" He continued to climb up, and when he reached the top, he sat on a beam and pried open the lighting circuit.
The wind made the tables and chairs in the house creak, and the dim light in the backyard flickered on and off. Tao Xing lowered his eyebrows and glanced. Fortunately, the ladder was not blown away. He smiled, fiddled with it for a while, connected the circuit, stepped down the ladder, clapped his hands, and pressed the switch.
The glass lamp was not quite suitable for this house, but every piece of glass reflected light, instantly illuminating the entire room. The old house, which had no light for many years, was now bright.
The wind in the room stopped and the lightning outside ceased. Tao Xing took down the flashlight and put it on the table, blowing out the candles.
Then he stood up and turned around.
Suddenly, his pupils dilated.
Before my eyes was a skeleton, covered in black spots of decay and mud, as if it had just emerged from the earth. Red light shone through its empty eye sockets, swaying under the light.
It was so close that Tao Xing's face was almost touching the white bones. Two red lights flickered like will-o'-the-wisp fires, and the smell of damp, rotten earth filled his face.
He screamed and staggered back: "Ah, ghost..."
He accidentally bumped into the table, turned along the table, went to the back, and went around in a different direction. He raised his head in panic and shouted upwards: "Hey, run, there is a ghost, where are you, on the third floor?"
The breeze started to blow again, the lights flickered, and a man in red stood by the railing on the third floor, looking down indifferently.
Tao Xing glanced at him and said, "Come down quickly, let's go quickly, there is a ghost here." As he spoke, he picked up a bench leg and turned back tremblingly, "Just..."
It was bright and empty under the lamp, the food on the table was steaming, and there was nothing where the bones had just stood.
"Hey, it's gone?" Tao Xing's face was pale, and his heart was beating wildly. "It was clearly here just now. It's too real. It's not an illusion. There really is a ghost. Let's go."
The person upstairs looked at the sparkling light and said, "I'm not afraid of ghosts. You can go by yourself."
"You're not afraid because you haven't encountered it. Once you really see it, you'll be afraid." Tao Xing was horrified. "What seals and illusions are all nonsense. There are ghosts here. Even if you're not afraid, this haunted house is uninhabitable."
"If you say you won't leave, then don't leave." The man upstairs waved his sleeves, "If you're scared, then leave quickly."
"Who do you think I am?" Tao Xing took a step forward. "I won't abandon you. Oh." He patted his head. "I understand."
He brought the ladder back and climbed up. His movements were swift and he reached the beam in no time. "Are you reluctant to part with the plaque? It doesn't matter. We can just take it with us. It just so happened that I saw it here when I was repairing the electrical equipment. You are quite good at hiding it."
The red-clothed man's face changed slightly. By then, Tao Xing had already hooked his hand and pulled down the plaque that was resting on the beam.
As soon as he touched him, the man in red lost control, secretly clenched his hands, and frowned.
With a "ding-dong" sound, the plaque fell to the ground. Tao Xing jumped back to the ground, picked up the plaque, and blew away the dust: "Okay, let's go."
The man in red gritted his teeth, turned around and walked downstairs. The cracks on his face were faintly visible in the dim light and shadow, but they returned to normal in the bright light downstairs. He stretched out his hand: "Give me the plaque."
"Oh, oh." Tao Xing handed the plaque to him. When it was about to touch his hand, she suddenly thought of something and took it back. "Let me hold it for you. Go pack your things quickly. Don't worry, I don't want yours."
The man's hand missed and a trace of anger flashed across his face. He stood still.
"Aren't you going to pack? Well, forget it. Go out and buy whatever you need." Tao Xing pulled his hand and said, "Let's go."
The man raised his hand and broke free from his pull.
Tao Xing was slightly startled: "Okay, I'll go open the door first." He took a few quick steps and opened the locked mahogany door, "Come quickly..."
When I turned around, I saw the man with an angry look on his face. Before he could react, he suddenly waved his sleeves, and a gust of wind blew past. With a "bang", the door that had just been opened closed again.
Tao Xing's eyes widened.
The man in red stepped closer: "Give me the plaque."
Tao Xing leaned against the door, his expression changing again and again, his voice trembling: "You...you are a ghost too!"
He screamed and turned to open the door. Fortunately, the door didn't seem to be locked and it opened easily. He held the plaque and stepped out of the threshold.
The person behind him became anxious, took a step forward, and spoke in a much softer tone than before: "Don't go."
Tao Xing stopped and looked back.
The man in red said, "I'm not a ghost, don't leave yet."
Tao Xing was half-believing and half-doubting, so he stepped back into the room. Seeing the other party staring at the plaque, he subconsciously hugged him tighter.
The man said, "It has something to do with me, you can't take it away."
Tao Xing raised the corner of his mouth imperceptibly and closed the door again: "The Tao family said that this plaque has a spirit. Could it be that it really has a spirit, and you are the incarnation of this spirit?"
The man in red hesitated for a few steps: "Yes and no." He raised his sleeves, and a breeze blew into the house again. "My spiritual consciousness is indeed attached to the plaque, but I am not just it. In the past, the plaque was hung in this house, and thousands of people chanted scriptures. I developed spiritual consciousness. I am this house, and this house is me. This plaque, this house, the front and back yards are one, and they are all me."
"So, you are a house?" Tao Xing was surprised. He guessed that he was a plaque, but he didn't expect that he was more than just a plaque. "What are you, a god or..."
"I am not a deity, nor a ghost, nor a demon, nor a monster. I am..." The man in red hesitated for a moment, with a hint of confusion in his eyes. "I was once blessed by outsiders, and chanted by practitioners. I am..."
He did not say what he was, he did not belong to any of these, he did not know what he was.
Tao Xing changed the subject: "What's your name?"
The man raised his head: "You can call me Xianyue."
"Xianyue?" Tao Xing turned over the plaque in his arms. "These two words?"
"That's right."
"Okay, Mr. Xianyue." Tao Xing smiled, "What about the white bones I saw just now?"
Xian Yue's eyes widened, and he thought of something, and asked first: "You just accepted my identity like this, and you are not surprised or afraid?"
"It's OK, you don't look scary." Tao Xing said, "I'm only afraid of scary faces."
Xianyue touched his face, was silent for a moment, and answered the question just now: "The bones are my illusion, I want you to leave."
"Then why did you keep me here?" Tao Xing thought for a moment, "Oh, because I want to take the plaque away, and you can't leave the plaque."
Xianyue did not comment.
Tao Xing added: "This house is you, and you don't want to leave here."
Xianyue said nothing and agreed.
Tao Xing stood up: "You can call the wind... the legs of the bench, and turn bones into white. I am just an ordinary person. It shouldn't be easy for you to take the plaque from me, right?"
Xianyue raised her eyes: "Do you know that I was the one who caused the wind?"
"Uh... is it hard to guess?" Tao Xing walked around the man in red. "The wind was either created by you or you. It was transformed from your true self."
Xianyue frowned and looked at him blankly.
Tao Xing continued: "The first time I came, you were sitting on the rocking chair by the wall. I took away the plaque, and you had no choice but to follow me and circled around my bed. This time when I came, you didn't want me to come in, so you held up the leg of the bench to block me."
Xianyue squeezed her hands slightly and rolled her eyes: "No, it still didn't block it."
"So, you can't do anything to humans directly, right?" Tao Xing poked his head behind him, "After humans take this plaque, you can't take it again. You must make humans return it to you on their own initiative."
Xianyue glanced at him and said, "Humans are so abominable." Then he added, "Give me back the plaque."
Tao Xing returned to the chair and sat down, stroking the golden words on the plaque, wiping off the dust, and handed it forward: "Okay, here you go."
Xianyue was stunned and took it with confusion. A light flashed on his hand and his heart fell back. This time he had to hide it somewhere that was hard to find.
After getting the things, he seemed less repulsive to this person and his expression softened slightly.
Seeing Tao Xing sighing, "Hey, if you want me to leave, just tell me directly. It's not like I don't understand you. Why are you pretending to be a skeleton to scare me? Okay, I'll leave after dinner." He picked up the chopsticks, "The food on this table can't be wasted."
Xianyue remained silent and watched him quietly from the side.
"I bought too much." Tao Xing sighed as he ate. "I originally bought a meal for two, but you're not human. You said you didn't want to eat, and it turns out you meant it."
The aroma of food wafts over me.
After a long silence, Xianyue looked at the cup next to him: "Didn't you say you can only drink one cup of milk tea a day? Why did you buy another one? Is this a new variety?"
"You look like you really want to drink. After thinking it over, I decided to relax for once. Um...are you still going to drink?"
Xianyue straightened his back: "I am not a human, I don't need human food, I was just cooperating with you before."
"Okay then." Tao Xing put the milk tea next to herself.
Xianyue wanted to say something but held back.
It doesn’t matter, he can transform.
Tao Xing lowered his head to eat, Xianyue stood beside him and watched, then slowly sat beside him and watched.
After looking for a long time, he crossed his arms and said sideways: "You don't have to leave."
"Didn't you let me go?" Tao Xing looked up, "Humans are hateful."
Xianyue said: "You are an exception."
"How am I an exception? I am also a human being."
The man in red looked at him and said, "You make me feel very comfortable."
Tao Xing: “…”
He stroked his brow and smiled, "This is replaceable."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing, it's best if you don't understand." Tao Xing said, "I think I'd better leave."
Xianyue thought for a moment and said, "You can buy me milk tea."
Tao Xing raised an eyebrow. This was also replaceable: "Forget it, I won't keep it."
The other party frowned: "You will take the initiative to give me the plaque."
"That's my kindness. I won't keep it."
Xianyue was silent for a while: "My feeling towards you is different from that towards others. I can't explain it, but it's different."
Tao Xing smiled and raised her eyes: "What if you scare me again? I'm very timid."
Xianyue gritted her teeth and slowed down her tone: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, I won't do it again in the future."
Tao Xing stared at him for a long time, then smiled faintly: "Okay, I won't leave."
Xianyue breathed a sigh of relief, brushed her sleeves and stood up: "I'll go upstairs first."
"Wait a moment." Tao Xing said, "I have something else to ask."
"you say."
Tao Xing narrowed her eyes slightly: "You and my dad... have nothing to do with each other, right?"
"No, those are all lies."
"oh."
"Any questions?"
“No more.”
"I'll go upstairs first." Xianyue said, and his eyes swept across the table.
Tao Xing looked down and picked up the milk tea that she hadn't finished yet: "You want some?"
"I don't need human food." Xianyue flicked his sleeves and walked away with his head held high.
His identity had been revealed, so there was no need to conceal it any longer. He took a few steps and turned into a gust of wind. The wind swirled around, and after swirling a few times, it fell back in front of Tao Xing.
Tao Xing blinked in confusion and tentatively handed the milk tea over again.
Xianyue glanced and said, "I said I don't need human food."
"and you……"
"I'll wait for you in the room." He said, and then turned into wind and disappeared.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
