Chapter 5 "The Junior Policeman" He smelled of gardenias.
A ghost marriage in the dead of night?
A fox spirit getting married?
This night, which was filled with unease and fear, suddenly became more erotic because of this new twist.
Upon hearing this, Jian Dieda's nose was sweating profusely, and he was certain that there would be a surprise at midnight tonight.
He tried to back out, but suddenly the door was slammed shut by an external force, and the cold wind from the crack began to seep into Jian Dieda's ear canals again, causing him to scream in agony and leaving him in a dilemma.
Originally, Jian Dieda came to this courtyard to help Dong Dongdong escape the 'karma', but this situation is definitely not right. Could that coffin have been prepared for him in the end? Is this Dong Dongdong the same one as before?
In another dimension, the cat-faced old lady, acting as an outside helper, was still bombarding him with information about karma and fox spirits, how dangerous it was for a person to be possessed by a fox spirit, the structure of this house, and so on...
In short, the best word to describe it is: death.
Dong Dongdong took his hand out of his pocket, stepped forward and took the paper lantern. The two people in front of the mourning hall were instantly enveloped in phosphorescent green light. Jian Dieda's limbs were weak and he could not get up. He could only be pulled up by this strong and powerful hand by the light.
Jian Dieda's hands felt very soft. The other person smiled and squeezed his palm, saying, "Look at you, aren't you afraid that the fox spirit will take a liking to you?"
Jane missed the word "see," and with a start, quickly shook her head and said, "It's a different price for me."
other side:"……"
Jane asked, "What's wrong?"
The other person gave a forced smile and said, "I've taken a liking to you, not that I'm interested in you."
Jane looked bewildered: "What did I say? I've forgotten."
The other party remained silent.
If it weren't for the inappropriate setting, the dim-witted young police officer would always sound like he was seducing someone whenever he opened his mouth, and the worst part was that he himself didn't even realize it.
So when Jane looked up again, he vaguely saw a face in front of him with an expression that seemed to say, "Heh, you've caught my attention, man..."
With his mind preoccupied with the case, Jian Dieda didn't have time to analyze micro-expressions. He glanced outside the door and then, with the courage to stick his neck out, asked, "If this family is having a happy occasion, could we stay for the night?"
When Jane Dieda spoke, she was looking at the 'guest' in front of her.
The other person's gait changed at this moment. He swayed his waist, played with the green lamp, and smiled sentimentally and ambiguously at this side, "Okay, there just happens to be a room inside. Come on over. Since it's a joyous occasion of wearing a wedding dress, wearing a veil, and riding in a bridal sedan chair, other people's funeral halls have everything you need."
They immediately crossed the courtyard in front of the gate and came together to the main hall, where the oil lamps were stained with grime. The 'family members' from the small courtyard were all there.
At the table, a pair of paper doll parents appeared before them.
The male paper figure is wearing a military overcoat, while the female paper figure is made up and has a large red flower tucked into her temple.
These two terrifying paper figures with wide-eyed stares are waiting to have tea up there.
They were below, with a prayer cushion placed right in front of them for kowtowing.
Looking at the two figures sitting upright in the hall, Jian Dieda's voice softened, "This family is having a wedding, but... are the elders all paper figures?"
The other person responded, covered the abundant food on the octagonal table with a large red double happiness character, and turned around to say, "That's what I heard too. The groom is the only one left alive in this family."
"Where are the others?" Jane Dieda doubted this statement.
"Shh," the pair of eyes, so black they seemed to suck people into hell, blinked, and pointed a finger at the attic above the main hall, saying, "He's waiting for his bride."
Jane didn't dare answer him.
In fact, not long ago, the cat-faced old lady had mentioned this strange pavilion structure.
"Child, remember, the most forbidden place in this courtyard is the attic where the fox spirit is kept! No one should go in and see the fox spirit casually, because in our folk tradition, there are two main ways to worship spirits: one is to set up a Buddhist shrine and place a statue of the deity in front of the memorial tablet; the other is that some families with larger courtyards will build a spirit pavilion and put offerings inside, specifically for worshipping memorial tablets..."
"Dong Dongdong," who had deliberately led the wrong way, then said...
"Anyway, it's fate that we happened to be there to witness the ceremony. Listen to the music coming from the courtyards next door. It sounds like they've hired a suona band and local old ladies singing chebai songs."
Listen closely, and you'll hear a strange, distinctive voice playing a traditional wedding song, accompanied by a clapperboard.
"Let's sing a silly song, the wind blows the hawthorns red and bright, and the sparrows lay goose eggs in their nests."
"An old man can act as matchmaker with just a few words, and a fox can carry him away in a sedan chair."
"The groom wears open-crotch pants, gets out of the sedan chair in the main room, and the bride is twenty-four years old."
"The groom didn't have a long pillow, and in the middle of the night he wanted to nurse, so he lifted the covers and pooped on the bed."
"Oh dear, I'm your wife, not your mother, ding-dong."
The lyrics to this song were quite fitting. Jian Dieda, who didn't understand some of the dialect pronunciations, broke out in a cold sweat. He even felt that the song was deliberately sung for him.
Otherwise, what's the point of the last sentence?
Dong Dongdong set out two bowls and chopsticks for holding candy, intending to serve Jian Dieda rice, dishes, and a toast.
The sumptuous food on the table was covered with a large red "囍" (double happiness) character. Jian Dieda hesitated to take a bite for some reason. He clutched his stomach, his lips twitching, "Ouch... wait a minute."
The man paused, his voice as cold as a knife in the dead of winter, and asked impatiently, "I just set out the food for you, what's wrong?"
"I... have an upset stomach. How about we ask this family for a room so I can hide and relieve myself? You can eat and drink here for now, and come find me later."
Jane showed him her pale face, which didn't look fake.
Although his excuse was incredibly lame, it's only natural for a person to need to use the restroom. Jian Dieda quickly got his first chance to be alone with the other person that night. After entering a room in the courtyard, Jian Dieda closed the door. The person outside said, "Besides fried dough sticks, what else would you like to eat? I'll bring it to your room and we'll eat together."
Jane Dieda replied, "Anything is fine, as long as it's not prison food."
The other party agreed, and just then, Jane Dieda heard the strange singing stop. The other party knocked on the door frame and said, "Wait, I'll be back in half an hour. Don't open the door for anyone but me."
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23:55.
Simplified Dieda returns to the main storyline.
As he forced himself to recall every detail and event of the second night, he felt that familiar suffocating sensation appear along with the system's voice: ["Police officer, please open your eyes."]
Jane snapped her eyes shut, so tightly that it seemed impossible to pry them open with your hands.
system:"……"
Looking at the midnight countdown, the bald system decided to broadcast again, "Police officers, please open your eyes and analyze the second part of the case from everyone's new testimonies."
Jane said, "I don't want to open my eyes. My system hasn't given me a subject yet."
system:"……"
In other horror games, this kind of hopeless bastard would only deserve a "good luck" comment.
But the old saying "the strong are often bullied" is indeed true. After the extreme tug-of-war between host and system, it was ultimately the smaller system that bore the humiliation and spoke out.
"Master... please open your eyes."
Jian Dieda immediately widened his eyes like Black Cat Sheriff: "Hey bro!"
At the same time, he immediately added a message following the task prompt: "Oh, little system, mark the information of the character at the door, don't alert him."
The system has not yet been executed.
Jian Dieda analyzed the details of the patrol based on his intuition: "I can now confirm that the Dong Dongdong outside is the fox spirit young master in the alley. He has possessed the body of the second informant, and he was also the old man at the convenience store who led me in at the beginning."
As soon as he finished speaking, the system sensed its host's criminal investigation capabilities for the first time. In fact, even advanced technology couldn't detect the supernatural phenomenon of being possessed by a shaman. Jian Dieda's main thought process shifted.
Congratulations! You have triggered the case testimony regarding the "fox spirit".
[You've finally discovered a major truth: the 'immortal' Cao Chunlan and Dong Dongdong were talking about is actually the nine-tailed white fox from the gray file. As a fox spirit, he should have been worshipped by believers and accumulating merit, but unexpectedly, he got involved in the murder of veteran police officer Dong Zhijie. Do you think he's the real culprit?]
Jian Dieda was not in a hurry to defect to the enemy, but he could tell that this testimony implied that there were hidden circumstances surrounding Dong Zhijie's death, or at least that it was not as simple as it seemed on the surface.
He immediately decided to tell only the system how he discovered the clues through detailed reasoning.
Pointing to the shadowy night behind the door, Jian Dieda said, "After entering the house, I couldn't tell at first whether this person was Dongzi or not. But when I deliberately got close to him twice, I could smell that he smelled very fragrant, with the scent of gardenia pollen. This must be to cover up the fox spirit's odor. If a guy like Dongzi had this kind of hygiene habit, I wouldn't have to worry about living in the dormitory with him. But the problem now is how to rescue the original Dongzi and figure out the grudge between the fox spirit and the original residents of the alley."
The system asked a pointed question, "Why do you conclude that ghosts and humans are incompatible?"
There are actually two reasons.
First, there's the 'business' that's chasing after him at the door.
Jane Dieda recalled the old woman with the cat face's words, saying, "Karma is a Buddhist term. Legend has it that all the causes and effects a person has in their life, whether good or bad, are called 'karma.' But when a person dies and enters hell, a fire will burn away all these memories of their past life, and this fire is called 'karmic fire.' With so much 'karma' here, there must be many unresolved grudges between mortals..."
The second is the system itself.
Jian Dieda said, "Secondly, the high-dimensional ghost story group also gave me a hint. The protagonist of each ghost story in it turned from a human into a ghost. They died unjustly and became unsolved mysteries. Therefore, these ghost stories must contain countless resentments waiting to be resolved. I think this is part of the reason why your all-night system exists."
The system didn't give any positive answer, but the value contained in this conversation has clearly been seen by the interdimensional group, and the evaluation of the junior police officer by the higher-ups has undergone some reversal.
The group inside said,
"These two points of analysis make a lot of sense. I didn't expect this kid to be so capable..."
"I truly didn't know why I became a ghost story before I died, sob sob..."
"So, if I tip him and sponsor him to become stronger, will I be able to send him story cards in the future? And have a junior police officer help me investigate the truth behind the strange tales of this world?"
"That makes sense! I'll help by offering these fifty strands of hair and three days of lifespan! Consider it witnessing the birth of a new ghost story!"
"I'll offer thirty strands of hair first! Let's see how he unravels the secrets behind the fox spirit and 'karma'!"
Meanwhile, the Chengdu Zombie, who had been silently watching, was also observing from another dimension. It was paying attention to the events at the Fox Fairy Mansion and sent a message to the cat-faced old lady: "Grandma, did you exchange story cards with the young policeman?"
[Old woman with cat face]: "No, it's just that I saw that the child was left unattended, so I wanted to help him. If he's lucky, I'll become friends with him."
[Chengdu Zombie]: "...Like what was said in the group, do you also want to use his power to investigate the cause of your death?"
[Cat-faced Old Lady]: "Of course, you and I are both tales of the resurrected... how could we not want to know the truth about ourselves..."
"Yes, I just don't know if it's possible for the two dimensions to connect to the time before the founding of the nation..."
The Chengdu zombie had a yellow talisman pasted on its face. It scratched the long braid on the decaying corpse with its black claws: "Anyway, we've been unearthed cultural relics for many years. Today, we have to do our part for the core socialist values!"
The cat-faced old woman clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Good, good, child! You're a Qing Dynasty zombie, could it be that you know Mr. Pu Songling, the author of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio? Do you know how to catch a fox spirit?"
【Chengdu Zombie】: "No, no, not everyone in the Qing Dynasty could be Pu Songling. I just watched the live stream for so long and had an idea to deal with 'karma'. Didn't Buddhism say that 'karma' is most afraid of fire? If we can fix 'karma' to a wall a second time and then burn it with kerosene, maybe we can help it escape!"
[Cat-faced old lady]: "You're really something! What you said makes perfect sense!"
------
Almost simultaneously, some changes occurred...
[Newcomer's Ghost Stories - 'Junior Police Officer' has received two spooky emojis from the group chat and two new ghost story friend requests.]
The two teammates I was looking for have actually arrived!
Regardless of what time the fox spirit planned to come in and kill him, Jian Dieda sat up a second earlier and clicked "agree," saying, "Cat-faced old lady, Chengdu zombie, welcome to the Strange Tales Club."
A note from the author:
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Today I'm busy being a corporate slave, but Jianzi is busy being a boss, hahaha.
As for the fox spirit, he was busy dressing up and singing.
For example, like this → Fox spirit: "My lady, aha~"
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