Chapter 76 Although lanterns hung under the eaves, ...
Although lanterns hung under the eaves, they only emitted a dim and intermittent light, casting Lu Hun's entire tall and thin body in this dim light. Behind him were dark, twisted, and complex branches and leaves. Lu Hun glanced at Ji Jiayu, turned and left. Ji Jiayu paused for a moment, then immediately followed.
Lu Hun led Ji Jiayu away from the child's room and walked outside to the apricot tree where a tea table was placed.
In the dark night and the deserted garden, Ji Jiayu suddenly felt a sense of mystery. He asked Lu Hun, "Who exactly is that child? Why is he so strange?"
Lu Hun suddenly concealed himself in front of Ji Jiayu.
Caught off guard, Ji Jiayu was so startled that she almost fell down on the tea table behind her.
Before he could even wake up, Lu Hun's even more eerie voice appeared in his ear out of nowhere, "Young Master Ji, I know about that child, and I will tell you everything later."
"Lu... Lu Hun?" Ji Jiayu's heart nearly stopped. "What's wrong with you...? I can't see you anywhere! Where are you?"
“I am right in front of you, I haven’t moved.”
Ji Jiayu stared ahead, her pupils contracting sharply, her voice visibly trembling, "What exactly are you?"
Lu Hun regained his body and appeared before Ji Jiayu. This time, Ji Jiayu took several steps back, not daring to approach him again. Lu Hun didn't care and quietly said, "As you can see, that child, like me, is not human anymore."
Ji Jiayu felt like she was dreaming.
He stared at Lu Hun for a long time, rubbing his head in a daze. Fortunately, he had already seen Po Jun before, so he remained silent for a while before accepting the fact.
"So, if I'm not mistaken, that child is actually the younger brother of the siblings' remains, right?"
Lu Hun nodded and recounted the child's words to Ji Jiayu in their entirety. "That child has just become a ghost. He probably gained some kind of opportunity from the resurrection of his remains and became a ghost. He must have come to the Desolate State with you. However, since he has just become a ghost, his mind is unstable, and he is also young. He may not even know that he is dead. According to the culprit he mentioned, it is probably the old master of the He family."
“This…” Ji Jiayu frowned, “I can’t believe you just because of what you and that child say.”
Lu Hun countered, "Didn't Young Master Ji already take the gifts to see Old Master He?"
Ji Jiayu paused for a moment. Indeed, he also felt that Old Master He was not entirely as he appeared on the surface.
"Since the child doesn't even know who harmed them, why are you so insistent that it was Old Master He?" Ji Jiayu suddenly asked.
Lu Hun was taken aback, his face paling slightly. "I am a ghost, of course I can know."
Ji Jiayu didn't ask any more questions. "Alright, I'll keep an eye on Old Master He and see if I can get hold of anything from him. So much time has passed, I wonder if those people who were imprisoned with that child back then are still alive..."
Lu Hun's expression was inscrutable.
Remembering something, Ji Jiayu suddenly laughed, "Since Young Master Lu is a ghost, then he can't be with Yin'er, so I..."
For the first time, Lu Hun glanced at him unexpectedly.
Since that night, although Ji Jiayu did not completely believe Lu Hun's nonsense, his intuition from handling cases told him that Old Master He seemed to have some problems. So he used his men to keep an eye on Old Master He. These men were all experts in handling cases in the court. Therefore, no matter how careful Old Master He was, they still managed to find out something about him.
So on the third day, Ji Jiayu brought Lu Hun a message.
Grandpa He privately associated with some unscrupulous people.
After hearing this, Lu Hun said calmly, "He set up a magic array to imprison the victims back then, so naturally he has dealings with these people. Besides, if you do something wrong, you naturally need some means of protection to avoid being haunted and killed."
Ji Jiayu felt that Lu Hun's tone was strangely indifferent.
During this period, Wei Yin noticed that Lu Hun and Ji Jiayu seemed to have a lot of contact. The boy had been gloomy since childhood, but he was actually close to Ji Jiayu, which surprised Wei Yin a little. However, considering Ji Jiayu's bright and easy-going personality, it was not surprising.
It would be good if the boy could be less gloomy.
For some reason, Wei Yin sometimes thought of that night when he said he was in great pain, like a helpless and desperate child who had no hope and could only endure it all by himself. And then one day, this child said he was in so much pain that he wanted to cry.
That day, Wei Yin was sitting in her room watching Po Jun come over from time to time. He picked up a piece of jujube cake and gave it to the child. Lu Hun came over. He had just finished talking to Ji Jiayu about Old Master He and was in low spirits. When Wei Yin saw him like this, she couldn't help but recall the scene of him hanging himself in the Bodhisattva Temple that day. So she asked curiously, "Lu Hun, did you hang yourself because you couldn't think straight?"
Lu Hun shook his head.
"What is the reason for that?" Wei Yin asked.
Lu Hun pursed his lips and remained silent, seemingly unwilling to bring up those matters again.
Seeing that he was not feeling well, Wei Yin stopped asking. Lu Hun looked at her seriously and said, "Sister, I will tell you everything later."
Wei Yin was stunned.
On the night of the second day, a servant came to inform Lu Hun that a lady had arrived and wanted to see him. Lu Hun was silent for a moment, then asked.
"Which lady?"
"That lady refused to say who she was; she only said she wanted to meet you, Young Master Lu."
Lu Hun seemed to have guessed who it was, and said in a detached tone, "Tell them I'm not here."
Later, the maid came to tell Lu Hun that the lady kept asking her where he had gone since he wasn't in the mansion, and that she would come again tomorrow, so Lu Hun shouldn't go out tomorrow.
Lu Hun listened indifferently the whole time, ignoring her. Only after the maid finished speaking did he say, "Tell her I'm not here tomorrow. Go."
The maid was taken aback, seemingly not quite understanding why he said that.
The next day, the maidservant indeed replied to the other party as Lu Hun had instructed. It is said that the lady hesitated for a moment, then smiled, said nothing, and turned to leave. Lu Hun thought she would not come again, but to his surprise, she came again the next day.
This time, she told the maid who delivered the message that since she couldn't see him, she wanted to see Wei Yin instead.
Upon hearing this, Lu Hun remained silent for a long time before dismissing the maid. He stood up, his brows furrowed, and slowly walked outside the house.
Sure enough, a woman with an uneasy and solemn expression was standing by the door. It was undoubtedly Madam He. Lu Hun concealed his figure and came to Madam He. Madam He did not know that he had appeared. She kept looking inside from time to time, and seemed a little impatient. She wanted to send someone in to report again, but she held back in the end.
Just then, Lu Hun spoke up, "What are you doing here?"
When Madam He first heard the voice, and it was the voice of her youngest son who had been dead for many years, her face changed instantly. She clutched her chest and took a deep breath.
"Soul... Soul, is that you?"
Lu Hun remained silent.
Madam He said tremblingly, "It's you, isn't it? I've already heard from Wenqing that you've become... Wenqing, do you remember him? He's your elder brother."
Lu Hun's tone was flat and emotionless. "What are you doing here?"
"Of course I came to see you." Madam He sighed and said, "Back then, I watched you... pass away. You were so foolish. Your mother is getting old, and over the years, I often dream of you, especially these past few days. My soul, where are you? Why don't you show yourself so your mother can see you?"
When Madam He was young, she had no feelings for this illegitimate child. But as she got older, thinking about the child's past experiences, she began to care about him.
Lu Hun showed no intention of revealing himself. His voice sounded indifferent, as if the person standing in front of him was a complete stranger.
“I am already dead, and the physical body you gave me is gone. I have nothing to do with you anymore. Go back.”
Madam He's eyes widened. "Hun'er, how can you say that? I know I haven't treated you well in the past and have made you suffer a lot. But this time, I know that Wenqing brought people to deal with you last time, and I wanted to see if you were alright. I sincerely wanted to see you. Why are you talking to me like this? Don't you even recognize any motherly affection?"
Lu Hun said, "So you knew what he did last time..."
Madam He paused abruptly, looking somewhat awkward, and sighed, "At that time, I wasn't sure if it was you, and I didn't know what was going on."
Lu Hun said calmly, "Madam, there's no need to say anything more. I don't want to know what you're thinking. Madam, please go back. It's getting dark."
"Could you..." Madam He hesitated, "...could you let me see you even once?"
“Madam,” Lu Hun smiled silently, “Why bother? Don’t forget why I became like this in the first place. Since you made me like this, why do you still want to look at me? Even if you want to see me, Madam, I don’t want to see you. I never want to see you again.”
Madam He's body trembled, her face flushed, and she was speechless. She dared not say anything more, and only said absentmindedly, "It seems that my son and I are ultimately not destined to be together. Take care, my soul."
Lu Hun finally hummed in agreement.
Madam He continued, "I learned about your relationship with Wei Yin from Wen Qing. Since Wei Yin has already divorced Wen Qing, if you like her, then be with her. You've had a tough life since you were little."
Lu Hun did not respond, and it was unclear whether he had already left.
Madam He looked around with a sigh, but still couldn't see or hear Lu Hun. She thought he must have left, but Madam He still whispered her last words.
"Soul, take good care of yourself. This is the last time we will see each other. Take good care of yourself in the future. I will also tell Wenqing not to make things difficult for you anymore. I have never done anything for you before. As for Wenqing, this is the only thing I can do for you."
After Madam He finished speaking, she carefully glanced around again, but still couldn't see Lu Hun or hear his voice. She realized that he had probably left long ago, so she didn't linger and went back immediately.
After she left, Lu Hun's figure slowly appeared in the spot where Madam He had just stood. He raised his head and silently gazed at the woman's departing figure, which then gradually disappeared into the mountain path.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com