Chapter 85 Yin Peach Blossom (15) He defeated the pursuers of his pheromones...
As Xie Tan flipped through the specimen album, he noticed the strange shifts in the light and shadow in the room. It wasn't the moonlight moving around, but rather some shadow spreading inward from the direction of the living room.
He didn't care that much. When he passed by the door of 602, the female ghost would grab him and stick to him. Under the influence of his pheromones, just as the female homeowner said, the ghost liked him, so she wouldn't do anything to him.
But Xia Wujin moved first, and the female ghost was immediately enraged. The big ace that had been lying in Xie Tan's chest pocket poked its head out a little, its clown-like eyes darting around, and the playing cards changing suits, trying to pop out, but Xie Tan pressed it back down.
Xie Tan, whose clothes were being held by another ghostly hand, heard a creaking sound coming from the connected hands, like an old door shaking, but it was actually a voice calling out... Jin Jin, Jin Jin.
Xia Wujin heard it more clearly, and for a moment he forgot to struggle, standing there stunned.
The ghostly handprint loosened its grip slightly.
Xu Jinbo was afraid of further enraging the ghost handprint, so he didn't dare to step forward easily, but his forehead was already sweating with anxiety as he stared intently.
The other ghostly hand, which had been reaching for Xie Tan, struggled to retract, then climbed onto Xia Wujin's body and wrapped tightly around her.
Moonlight painted the wall, and on Xia Wujin's endless shadow lay a long-haired woman; their shadows merged and intertwined.
Xie Tan pushed the Joker card back into his pocket and took a step out. The ghost handprint that had been sticking to him just moments before instinctively twitched, trying to meet him, but then froze, being torn apart and pulled back by another hand, as if by immense willpower.
He heard a sound like flesh tearing apart, and for a moment, those ghostly hands even felt an urge to attack him.
Ghost Handprint hurriedly pulled Xia Wujin away, as if trying to get her away from him.
Xie Tan stopped in his tracks, puzzled. What did this mean? Was he being manipulated?
The woman walked out of the kitchen, having already forgotten her fear of the female ghost, and stared intently at Xia Wujin: "You are Jinjin... that Jinjin?"
Xia Wujin was still surrounded by ghosts, with an extremely cold soul pressed against her. She instinctively felt a chill, but she couldn't muster any hostility in her heart.
The female ghost even knew her real birth date and time, and knew her nickname. It wasn't a big deal, but she just felt that it called her name in a way that was different and familiar, even though its voice was hoarse and unpleasant, as if it was born to bring fear.
As the female ghost led her outside, bewildered, she looked towards Xie Tan inside the door.
She had already transcended the realm of moonlight, but he remained within it, as if he were immersed in it. His cold expression blended with the moonlight, surfacing in the world, yet it seemed to touch Xia Wujin with a bit of that light, making him a little calmer.
A sudden flash of inspiration pierced through distant memories and emotions in his mind. Xia Wujin opened his eyes wide and finally remembered the familiar feeling of the female ghost. He trembled and murmured, "Mom?"
Xu Jinbo and the hostess were both stunned. The female ghost suddenly sprang up again because of this shout. As if she had made up her mind, she grabbed Xia Wujin and rushed out the door.
Xu Jinbo didn't care about anything else and immediately chased after them. Xie Tan, a step behind, came out of the bedroom and said to Lu Jinzhao, who had also gotten up, "You guys go after them."
Lu Jinzhao had no objection, but first came over and pressed his palm against him, his hot palm stroking his arm and the hem of his clothes.
"Rest if you're tired."
He chased after him.
The woman sat there silently: "So it was that girl. Xiao Lin's life was exchanged for hers... You brought her here on purpose."
She chuckled self-deprecatingly, "I thought I was the one using you, bewitching that female ghost, and hopefully making her follow you from now on."
She was too exhausted to say anything more.
Xie Tan was also confused. This was the first time he had been rejected by a ghost since he transmigrated, but judging from the female ghost's reaction, she didn't seem to be immune to his pheromones.
Xu Jinbo's mind was in complete chaos. Anyone would be stunned to see the female ghost who killed the client suddenly attacking their friend's innocent classmate, and the next second that classmate was calling the female ghost "Mom"...
But who knows if it's just the ghost's sweet talk? That ghost just killed a girl! And this is Lu's friend, sob sob. He should have stopped this girl from coming too!
What kind of mess is this? Dog company, dog boss, dog job!
He sprinted, soon becoming breathless, his tie and coat askew, easily overtaken by the young male college students. Lu Jinzhao, on the other hand, didn't even pant, running as lightly as walking.
But after Lu Jinzhao overtook him, or more precisely, after Xia Wujin remained in his sight, he did not immediately catch up.
Xu Jinbo knew that Lu Jinzhao could do it; Lu Jinzhao had carried him off a bridge like a sprint champion when he was almost pushed off by a ghost.
He understood; they wanted to see where the female ghost had gone.
He thought the female ghost was going to drag Xia Wujin into the mourning hall and kill them both as a form of burial. He was inwardly condemning the female ghost's cruelty when the dark shadow entangled Xia Wujin, swept past the mourning hall, and disappeared into the abandoned community service building.
As they stepped into the old building, the male resident of apartment 602 suddenly rushed out, brandishing a shovel with an agitated expression, trying to stop them from entering. He was then knocked down and knocked unconscious by Lu Jinzhao in one move.
They eventually found one...two girls in a cabinet in the second-floor office.
The inside of the cabinet was covered in black handprints, like a tightly sealed net. Two girls were trapped inside, one on each side.
One is Xia Wujin, and the other is... Xiao Lin.
When they stood together, Xu Jinbo was surprised to find that they did look somewhat alike.
This resemblance is not noticeable when viewed separately, nor is it a mere physical resemblance. Rather, it is a feeling emanating from the soul, hidden in the subtle gaps of the exterior, that is reflected on the face.
Xia Wujin was awake, the ghost handprint binding her, preventing her from leaving, while Xiao Lin, who should have been burned to ashes, had her eyes closed, as if she had stopped breathing.
Xia Wujin shook her head. She couldn't move freely right now. While gently touching the handprints, she gestured for them to take Xiao Lin away.
The ghost handprint still tried to stop them, but only retreated after confirming that Xu Jinbo had no ill intentions towards Xiao Lin.
Xu Jinbo's stiff body slowly relaxed as he checked Xiaolin's breathing.
Surprisingly, from nothing, a faint breath appeared.
He was not dead! He breathed a sigh of relief, but then looked worriedly at Xia Wujin, who was being imprisoned by the female ghost.
"What...what do we do now? What about Xia...?"
Lu Jinzhao thought for a moment and sent a message to Xie Tan asking if he was asleep. Xie Tan said no. He said he wanted to video chat, and Xie Tan agreed. So they had a video call, and Lu Jinzhao relayed the situation to Xie Tan.
Xia Wujin said first: "She has no ill intentions towards me. She is protecting me... Xiao Lin changed my birth chart, which fooled the ghost and her... and even my mother. Xiao Lin was probably being harassed by that male ghost before, so my mother is protecting her. My mother is good."
Lacking prior information, Xu Jinbo took a while to barely understand what was going on.
Xie Tan understood. When he saw the photo, he vaguely guessed that Xiao Lin might have confused the vengeful ghost, but he had a new question: why did the male ghost turn into a female ghost?
It turns out the ghost was male, while the female ghost was the deceased mother protecting her daughter.
He now knew why the female ghost was avoiding him.
Because his pheromones attract any ghost, female ghosts cannot escape him, and male ghosts who want to harm their daughters will naturally be attracted to him as well.
And wanting to hide its daughter from the male ghost, it naturally had to stay away from him... even overcoming its monstrous instinct to chase after his eerie pheromones.
Xia Wujin comforted his mother.
Even if Mom dies, even if Mom loses her human form and becomes a terrifying ghost, even if Mom can no longer speak, Mom still holds her and calls her name, like a spell, the spell that keeps Mom in this world.
The ghostly handprints were so cold, yet she felt warmth, as if she had returned to her distant childhood, to her mother's embrace.
Her mother passed away too early, and her memories of her are all blurry, but she always remembers the warmth of her embrace, which is the only warmth in the entire Summer Garden that will never fade with time.
She apologized to Xie Tan on the phone: "She was just too worried about me. She almost hurt you just now. I'm sorry, please don't come yet."
Xie Tan said softly, "It's okay, I understand her."
You could even say you respect her.
Breaking free from instincts that are like genetic code or biological iron laws, and holding fast to one's desires, is far more difficult than imagined; one cannot understand it without experiencing it.
When they found Xiao Lin, the woman stopped hiding the truth and told them that the female ghost had told them through Xiao Lin that Xiao Lin was in danger. So they cooperated and used a mannequin with the master's special qualities to fake her death, trying to fool the ghost again.
Xiao Lin will not wake up until after the seventh day after his death.
After a moment of contemplation, Xia Wujin tightened his grip on his mother's hand and said, "Mom, there's no need to hide anymore... It has already found me."
The ghost handprints flew into a rage, stretching out from the cabinet like seaweed, trying to engulf Xia Wujin, but Xia Wujin rushed in first and grabbed the swarm of ghost hands.
“Mom, running away is useless. That ghost has proven that I can’t hide forever. All these years of hiding have only dragged another innocent girl into this mess. Only by getting rid of that ghost can we live in peace. I know that’s what you want too… You love me as much as I love you.”
The volatile ghost handprints gradually calmed down and tightly embraced her.
Xia Wujin tentatively stepped out of the closet. The ghost handprint did not stop her, but followed her and remained attached to her body, just like it had done to protect another girl ten years ago.
They carried the unconscious father and daughter home, and after a whole day of effort, they made significant progress.
The ghost handprint accepted its daughter's explanation, so it no longer objected to Xie Tan being in the same room, but it also didn't get close... It remembered that it had almost hurt him, so it was embarrassed to get close. Only on instinct, its sharp fingertips would occasionally linger near him, as if satisfying its craving from afar.
For Xu Jinbo, the investigation of this case was over. After negotiating with the couple in apartment 602, he went upstairs to resign and prepared to leave.
Xie Tan went to get some water, and handed over his file bag as he did so: "Your documents."
"Thank you... Xie, I really owe you a lot for reminding me that there's something fishy going on in 602. Also, thank you Lu and Xia. I'll treat you to dinner after I finish my work."
Lu Jinzhao said, "Going back so late to work?"
"As for the other case, I'll finish it as soon as possible and submit it, which will make things easier for me."
A pair of ghostly hands groped around Xia Wujin, savoring the boy's fragrance in the air.
When Xu Jinbo took the folder, Ghost Handprint couldn't resist grabbing Xie Tan's arm again, but when he met Lu Jinzhao's smiling eyes, he shrank back in fear.
Xie Tan sensed it, but didn't take it seriously at first. However, the ghostly handprints suddenly retracted, which startled him and made him let go first. Xu Jinbo didn't catch it, and the papers in the folder scattered all over the floor.
"Feel sorry."
"Oh, sorry!" Xu Jinbo said at the same time, quickly squatting down to pick it up, and the others also helped.
Xia Wujin gathered a document and was about to hand it to Xu Jinbo when he suddenly opened his eyes wide as if he had seen an unbelievable scene, and tightly gripped the paper in his hand.
"What's wrong, Xia?" Xu Jinbo asked.
“It’s him…” Xia Wujin stared intently at the photo on the paper, “It’s him… that male ghost who’s been haunting me!”
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