A love knot? Woven with hair and bones?!
Hearing this, I couldn't help but feel a chill run down my spine.
This ritual was so bizarre?
No wonder my grandfather never told me about it in detail. Now that I think about it, he must have thought it was better for me not to know about this kind of ritual!
This is no mere token; it's the most vicious curse, forcibly binding the living and the dead together, condemning them to eternal damnation!
I must find Bai Yang as soon as possible; I absolutely cannot let her complete this ritual.
Otherwise, her life would be ruined.
A young girl in the prime of her life was thus burdened with the most vicious curse, becoming a half-human, half-ghost being, condemned to eternal damnation.
Just then, the old man spoke again, saying something meaningful:
"As for the old place, you'll have to ask yourselves. What place does that girl miss the most? Or rather, what place is she most connected to that person?"
Where are the two most connected, Baiyang and Baiyin?
Several images flashed through my mind.
Is this her hometown?
No, ever since Bai Yang's mother died, her father has been extremely hostile towards her and made her move out of the house long ago!
So the place where Bai Yang and Bai Yin lived together the longest was her rented room!
I think I heard Bai Yang mention this before. She recalled it painfully, saying that she didn't understand why her father was so cruel.
They kicked her out of the house and didn't give her enough money to live on, so she had to rent an old, dilapidated house in the suburbs.
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.
This is clearly not her fault!
But her father, Bai Linfeng, insisted on blaming her for all of this!
He also secretly orchestrated the ritual, hoping to resurrect her mother at the cost of his own life.
"Thank you!" I didn't have time to ask any more questions, and I turned around and rushed out with Luo Tianhe.
Time waits for no one, midnight is fast approaching!
"Wait." The old man's voice rang out again, as if from a ghost.
Luo Tianhe and I turned around at the same time, looking at the old man with some confusion.
Wasn't this old man already quite impatient? Why did he suddenly call us back?
He, who had been sitting on the stool weaving paper figures, had somehow stood up.
She was also holding three oddly shaped but exquisitely woven concentric knots.
This love knot appears to be woven from cinnabar thread, which I find somewhat puzzling.
It's truly bizarre that a ghost like him could use something as potent as cinnabar thread, which is extremely yang.
"I'll do this because you guys are still loyal and righteous."
He threw the three love knots onto the counter.
"Take this with you. In a critical moment, it might help you avoid a 'backlash.' Of course, believe it or not."
I was immediately filled with doubt and suspicion. Could this old ghost really be so kind?
But soon, I gritted my teeth and grabbed the thing.
Why not take it? What if it really works? Besides, this old man has no grudge against us, he wouldn't harm us, would he?
I rushed out of the funeral home and immediately called Li Huai.
The call connected, and there was a lot of background noise; Li Huai seemed to be in a repair shop.
"Hey, Yan-ge, what's up? My phone'll be fixed in a minute!"
Li Huai's voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Forget about your phone for now, I've received important information. We need to go to Bai Yang's old house, you know the address!"
We helped Bai Yang move her things when she moved, so we all knew her previous address.
"Okay, I'll take a taxi there now."
Upon hearing this, Li Huai spoke solemnly, and then I heard his voice again on the phone.
"Brother, I'll leave my phone with you for now and come back for it in a couple of days. I have something urgent to do right now."
I hung up the phone, opened the car door, and jumped in.
Luo Tianhe knew the situation was urgent, so he stepped on the gas and drove towards the suburbs.
"Bai Yang is really something, keeping such a big thing from us!"
Luo Tianhe was driving, still muttering complaints under his breath.
I couldn't help but rub my temples.
"Sigh, she doesn't want to drag us down with her. She knew the last ceremony almost killed us. So, she probably has the same concerns this time."
Luo Tianhe slammed his hand on the steering wheel, and the car immediately honked.
"She doesn't consider us true friends!"
"Alright, alright, when you meet her, just give her a good scolding."
Seeing that Luo Tianhe was a little angry, I was too lazy to persuade him any further, especially since I was also holding back my anger.
"Heh, if Li Huai did something like this, I wouldn't just scold him, I'd kick him a few more times!"
Luo Tianhe sneered and pressed the accelerator harder, as if he were kicking Li Huai.
We soon arrived at our destination. From a distance, I saw someone get out of the taxi. His figure looked familiar; it seemed to be Li Huai.
I waved to him, and he quickly spotted me and jogged towards me.
"What a coincidence, we arrived at the same time. I thought I would have to wait for you for a while, since I'm closer from here."
Unlike us, Li Huai wasn't furious; he was all smiles.
I couldn't help but roll my eyes and said irritably:
"If we had arrived earlier, we could have just gone straight in to find her. Why would we have waited for her?"
Li Huai chuckled awkwardly, scratched his head, and said:
"I'm all alone, and I don't know what to do. I'll just have to rely on the Calabash Brothers to save Grandpa."
Hearing him say that, I couldn't help but twitch my lips. This kid, aside from anything else, is quite self-aware.
"Hey, were you guys speeding? How come you were driving so fast?"
I glanced at Luo Tianhe; that kid not only sped, he ran several red lights along the way.
Because his car is relatively expensive, most drivers consciously keep a certain distance from him, otherwise accidents would inevitably occur.
Luo Tianhe also got out of the car, lit a cigarette, and then looked around the neighborhood.
This neighborhood is very old, and most of the people have moved away because it's going to be demolished and a new commercial street is supposedly going to be built.
Ahead lay that desolate old neighborhood, soon to be bulldozed.
The Bai family's old house stands like a silent ghost deep within the ruins.
“I remember there was still some life when we came last time, but now there’s not a soul in sight.”
Li Huai couldn't help but speak up.
I glared at him. Couldn't this kid just say something nice? Does he only feel happy when he sees something ghostly?
When the time comes, he'll probably be the first one to wet himself in fear.
Too lazy to say more to him, we found Baiyang's hut based on our memory.
It was on the third floor of a rented room, with crooked doors and windows and peeling paint on the walls.
“This house seems to deteriorate very quickly once no one lives there. It wasn’t like this when we came here last time.”
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