Chapter 30 Daydream
Just as they were wondering what to do with the person who was determined to run away, Bai Tao squeezed through the door. She emerged from the corner of the hallway, looked at the messy room filled with the smell of urine and blood, covered her nose and pointed to the door, "Let's go out first, it's clean outside."
Before anyone else could react, Jiang Ye forcefully grabbed the dejected man and shoved him into the bathroom.
He rolled up his sleeves, turned on the tap (thankfully there was still water), grabbed the showerhead, and began spraying Tang Jie with water in one swift motion. It was as rough as bathing a pet dog. He slightly raised his chin. "Will you do it yourself, or should I?"
"I...myself." A timid voice rang out.
Jiang Ye glanced at him and then closed the door.
Tang Jie, soaking wet, slowly raised his eyes. The door opened, and a set of clothes was roughly thrown into his arms. The door closed again, and a look of astonishment appeared on Tang Jie's dirty face. He was still trying to process what had happened.
In the solid wood sofa set on the first floor of the lobby.
"Jiang Ye, can't you be a little gentler? Is this really okay?" Zhou Zhuohua asked worriedly, glancing at the bathroom every now and then.
Bai Chenzhu sat in the chair, leaning back and looking up at the dazzling lights. "What are you afraid of? Are you afraid he'll drown?"
"Let's wait and see," Jiang Ye said. "Perhaps he needs some mental preparation. If he doesn't come out soon, I'll go check on him."
Bai Tao looked around and, after confirming that the place was empty and no one lived there, she couldn't resist her restless thoughts.
She pushed Zhou Zhuohua towards the kitchen, "Sis, I really want to eat white rice~ Let's go get some more! How come I never noticed how sweet white rice is before?"
"All you ever think about is food," Zhou Zhuohua said helplessly.
"Enjoy life while you can, you never know when you'll be gone, so why not eat a few more meals!" Bai Tao said, her argument unconvincing but still confident.
The sound grew fainter as the two walked away.
Bai Chenzhu rested her chin on her hand, looked at Jiang Ye, and urged, "Why aren't you going?"
He really liked Jiang Ye's cooking skills; the roast chicken he made last time was quite good.
Jiang Ye glanced at the door. "It's not good to leave you here alone, injured person. Why don't you come with me?"
"That would be even worse. We are guests and should wait for the host." Bai Chenzhu shook his head and waved his other hand like a fan. "Go on, go on. Let's not talk about that girl. I also want to eat roast chicken. I can manage on my own. Call me if you need anything."
Jiang Ye turned and left helplessly.
They waited a long time until the four of them sat down at the table, enjoying two simple dishes with plenty of white rice, when a figure appeared limping in the doorway.
He was dressed simply in a short-sleeved shirt and trousers, his clean face showing delicate and youthful features, appearing to be in the prime of his life. However, his exposed arms were red, swollen, and bruised, clearly indicating that he had been abused recently.
He stared in disbelief at the four men and the food on the table.
When the four men’s eyes were on him, the man shrank back a few steps and stood at the doorway, in a posture that suggested he might run away at any moment.
He watched the four people warily, and when he saw Jiang Ye and Zhou Zhuohua, whom he recognized, the fear on his face lessened somewhat. But for some reason, he didn't dare to approach easily, and just observed them silently.
Jiang Ye walked over first, pulled out a chair for him in an inviting gesture, "Tang Jie, long time no see. We borrowed the kitchen and dining table for a bit, we hope we didn't cause you any trouble?"
"It's alright, it's just..." Tang Jie stammered, shaking his head. He coughed violently twice, barely managing to clear his throat, and stared in disbelief, "You... how dare you still be active in this house?"
He looked at the four composed people with a subtle expression, "Aren't you afraid of seeing ghosts?"
"Ghosts?" Zhou Zhuohua asked curiously. Among everyone present, she was probably the least superstitious about ghosts, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to live her life in the past.
"Where is the ghost?" Zhou Zhuohua leaned forward, asking repeatedly, "Xiao Jie, what's going on? Don't be afraid, take me to see it?"
They all ignored Tang Jie's injuries, speaking in a relaxed and natural tone.
Tang Jie choked up, shook his head, and smiled bitterly as he urged them to leave: "Since you don't know anything, you'd better leave quickly. Jiang Ye, this is not a good place; you shouldn't have come."
“I remember this is your house. What’s wrong with me coming over to visit? We’ve known each other for so many years, you can’t even give me this chance, can you?” Zhou Zhuohua pulled him in from the doorway and pressed him down to sit.
Zhou Zhuohua's familiar tone and movements reminded Tang Jie of the past, and the tense muscles in his body slowly relaxed.
"Yes, it's my home. But, but..." Tang Jie was flustered and confused, trying to express something incoherently. He hurriedly tried to get up, but was pressed down again.
Although Zhou Zhuohua spoke gently, her actions were quite forceful. "Don't rush, let me check your hand first. Losing so much blood is no small matter."
She examined the wound closely. "The wound is so fresh, was it done by that man in black?"
Tang Jie gave a vague reply.
Zhou Zhuohua sighed and helped the swaying person sit down. After a while, she said, "It's stopped. Let's eat first, and I'll apply the medicine after we eat."
The group ate in complete silence. Tang Jie seemed starving; he devoured the hot food, and even when he couldn't eat anymore, he kept stuffing himself, as if he wanted to eat all the food he would ever eat in his life. Finally, he couldn't eat anymore and vomited it all up. He squatted in a corner, lost in thought, tears streaming down his face. His disheveled hair made him look utterly dejected.
Zhou Zhuohua went to get the first-aid kit and gave him a simple bandage. Tang Jie kept his eyes down the whole time and didn't say a word.
During this time, Bai Chenzhu gave Jiang Ye several meaningful glances, but Jiang Ye shook his head each time, seemingly unsure of how to speak.
Bai Tao knelt listlessly on the chair. The four-legged chair was pulled forward by her, and it was now dangerously stable with only two legs. There were occasional ear-piercing sounds between the chair and the wooden floor. To make matters worse, she was swaying back and forth, which made people very worried.
In silence, she glanced at Jiang Ye, then at Tang Jie, and suddenly reached out to tug at Bai Chenzhu's sleeve, changing the subject, "Brother, do you think that 'Uncle Duan' lives here?"
"What Uncle Duan?" Tang Jie reacted. He jumped up the next second, his fists clenched, his shoulders trembling violently, his pupils shrinking, his reaction intense, fear, disgust, and hatred reflected in his eyes. "Isn't he dead?"
With a starting point, Tang Jie's reaction changed significantly, and he became more communicative.
"You know him? Is he your enemy?" Bai Chenzhu asked thoughtfully. "Don't be afraid, his body has been destroyed."
Tang Jie gritted his teeth and scanned the four people. "Jiang Ye, what brings you here this time?"
He wasn't so arrogant as to think someone would come specifically to rescue him, especially since they hadn't seen each other for several years.
Bai Chenzhu explained their purpose in just a few words. It started when he and Jiang Ye went to People's Park to look for something, and ended when they killed Uncle Duan and were suspected of being targeted for revenge, and then they took the initiative to come to Tang Jie to see what was going on.
"Thank you so much." Tang Jie was stunned for a moment, then clapped his hands and laughed, laughing so hard he was bent over. "Thank you so much."
Because of Bai Chenzhu's explanation, Tang Jie felt a little safer and started talking more.
"Uncle Duan used to be my family's butler. The revenge is just a misunderstanding. How could we seek revenge for someone like Uncle Duan? Even if there were, it wouldn't be Ah Liang and his group. Oh, by the way, the man in black you mentioned is my childhood friend Ah Liang. Don't worry, Ah Liang is a very good person."
In other words, these are two different groups of people. Bai Chenzhu tapped the armrest with his fingertips.
Bai Tao couldn't help but interrupt Tang Jie, "But the person who just kidnapped me was clearly him! They're all bad people! Also, wasn't that a cut on your hand from your brother?"
Tang Jie was speechless, muttering to himself. Then, as if thinking of something, he lowered his head and stared silently at the injury on his wrist.
"If they were really good people, why would they make you live in a doghouse in your house?" Bai Tao said with an innocent face, her words sharp as knives. "Is it because you treated them badly before, so they bullied you after they awakened their superpowers?"
Bai Chenzhu's eyelids twitched upon hearing this. He both liked Bai Tao's straightforwardness and worried about her frankness, fearing that the person involved might be upset and unwilling to say more.
“No, that’s not it. You’ve misunderstood. My injuries weren’t caused by A-Liang, and I didn’t live in the doghouse because of him. He was just too scared to come here.” Tang Jie shook his head, then nodded. “I never bullied Uncle Duan either. It’s just that people always change after they gain superpowers.” He gave a bitter smile. “Besides, Uncle Duan is gone now. Let bygones be bygones.”
"Now that we've finished eating, let's leave early," Tang Jie said in a low voice. "This isn't a good place."
Jiang Ye's eyes flickered slightly, his words hitting the nail on the head, "You've been chasing us away, so what's in the villa?"
Tang Jie's heart pounded, and he clenched his fists: "It's nothing, it's just..."
About two weeks ago.
At noon, Tang Jie was taking a nice nap at home when someone pulled off his blanket and woke him up from the cold.
When he opened his eyes, he thought it was a daydream, otherwise how could he have seen his father, dressed in a suit and tie, at home?
You should know that Tang Jie hardly sees his parents for almost 365 days a year, especially his father, who, out of the blue, actually went back to his hometown.
When Tang's father saw his son's unpromising behavior, he was furious. He confiscated all the keys to his car and house, froze his bank cards, and roughly locked him in a room, telling him to reflect on his actions.
Tang Jie, clutching his blanket, was filled with confusion. He couldn't understand why his father, whom he rarely saw, was so angry and so violently trying to lock him up at home. Tang Jie was indignant and, that very night, packed his small bag and prepared to run away from home to stay with a friend.
Unexpectedly, late at night, a loud thud came from the master bedroom, as if something had been violently slammed to the ground.
Tang Jie immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
It is said that this house has a history of 100 years. His father bought it from a nobleman in the last century and renovated it into the magnificent villa it is today.
It is said that several maids hanged themselves in the stairwell on the second floor, and a farmhand supposedly committed suicide in the corner storage room...
Tang Jie gritted his teeth and, trembling slightly, made his way to the master bedroom.
He cautiously pushed open the door a crack, only to see Mr. Tang, sprawled in the corner, looking disheveled and retreating towards the balcony. The man, well past fifty, was now clutching his head, screaming in despair, "I don't know anything! I don't know! You've got the wrong person! You've mistaken me for someone else!"
Tang Jie heard the strange tone and said coldly, "No one can escape."
Tang's father, who had been retreating, was lifted into the air by the neck, kicking and struggling wildly. He gasped for breath and said intermittently, "You've violated the treaty, aren't you...aren't you afraid of being discovered?!"
Tang Jie's first reaction was to rush forward and fight to the death!
But when he pushed the door open a little wider, what did he see? He saw nothing; it seemed as if he was facing off against a mass of thin air!
Surprise, doubt, and fear took over his body, making Tang Jie shiver and feel cold all over as he began to assess his own and his opponent's strength.
This is a monster! How could I possibly defeat it? He pondered this question.
The next second, Mr. Tang was thrown out, his body smashing through the French windows and crashing to the ground with a loud thud. His screams were clearly audible in the night.
All of this happened in just a few minutes. Tang Jie, who witnessed everything, covered his mouth tightly and dared not speak.
Tang Jie rushed downstairs, and at the same time, the housekeeper, housekeeper, gardener and others in the villa came out because of the noise.
Lying on his back, Mr. Tang's eyes were wide open, staring intently at the dark sky, blood flowing all over the ground.
Tang Jie stood pale-faced on the broken glass, his legs trembling and weak, struggling to reach the person in the pool of blood, "Dad..." What on earth happened?
"Later, people in the villa area said that my father was possessed by a ghost and jumped off the balcony in the middle of the night. Moreover, people who came into contact with his body after that all showed strange symptoms."
"They've all been possessed by ghosts, turned into zombies in broad daylight." Tang Jie twitched his lips, revealing a somewhat ugly smile, and wiped his eyes.
He blew on the wound on his arm that he had just applied medicine to, looking completely unconcerned. "If you don't believe me, I have nothing more to say. I've told everyone this, but they all say I'm crazy or that I'm lying, including Uncle Duan who gained superpowers. I told him this house was unlucky, but he insisted on going in, and in the end, he was gone."
This isn't just outrageous, it's utterly outrageous. Bai Chenzhu mentally went over these words in her head, but outwardly remained calm, even nodding slightly in agreement. "It's a good thing he's gone. So where did you get these injuries? Were they all caused by him...?"
"Injury?" Tang Jie stopped blowing. "Oh, you mean this?"
"You don't know how many people originally lived in this villa area, do you? Later, some died, some fled, and some turned into zombies. Their relatives asked me for an explanation. Then Uncle Duan said that since the anomaly was caused by my father's corpse, the son should pay for the father's sins, so he brought some people..."
Zhou Zhuohua couldn't stand it anymore and couldn't help but curse, "A bunch of idiots!"
Tang Jie was interrupted and couldn't help but laugh. When he tried to speak again, he couldn't remember where to begin. So he just said whatever came to mind, "Since you say Uncle Duan is dead, that man in black must be A Liang. He must have come to find me, but he's afraid of this haunted house. Don't you believe me?"
"I don't disbelieve you." Bai Chenzhu sat back in his chair with his arms crossed, frowning in thought. "Is the air you're talking about really invisible and intangible?"
As he said this, he stared intently into Tang Jie's evasive eyes.
“There really wasn’t anything…” Tang Jie recalled, then shuddered. “I don’t remember.”
Humans naturally tend to preserve memories that are detrimental to them, and Tang Jie may be one such person.
The thought of ghosts made Bai Tao's face turn pale, Zhou Zhuohua was indignant, and Jiang Ye seemed to be deep in thought.
Bai Chenzhu looked around and suddenly realized that he was the only one talking to Tang Jie.
Bai Tao and Zhou Zhuohua would occasionally exchange a few words, but why was Jiang Ye completely silent? Bai Chenzhu looked at Jiang Ye, but Jiang Ye was only looking at Tang Jie.
"Ahem." Bai Chenzhu cleared his throat, reminding the other person to avert their gaze. "Since you said..."
"Tang Jie! Tang Jie, come out here!"
The shouts outside interrupted their conversation.
Are they here for revenge? Bai Chenzhu frowned, exchanged a glance with Jiang Ye, and stood up at the same time.
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