Chapter 88 Yin Peach Blossom (18) He had nothing to say. ...
Then they also joined the Calabash Brothers lineup.
It wasn't that Xie Tan wanted to see them off; they were just lifting the sedan curtain to peek inside when they were suddenly bound inside and plunged into an abyss, making Xie Tan feel like he was back in an elevator rabbit hole.
No wonder the grand procession of ten miles of red bridal procession turned out to be just a single sedan chair for the groom's arrival.
Although it is a national treasure that surpasses even a princess's wedding, it is precisely because of this that it deserves a grand procession. Xie Tan had thought it would be a procession of terracotta figurines or paper figures.
It turns out there's no need to carry it away; there's a surprise inside the box, a self-service door-to-door experience.
Just before they were about to die, something pulled them up, and they sat up right there in the crypt.
Let's do it all at once.
Take a few more steps, but don't go to the bridal chamber, the female ghost is even more anxious than the male ghost.
Although the tomb is unclaimed, its decor clearly indicates it was built by locals of Diqiu. It is an underground labyrinth filled with mechanical traps.
They tentatively chose one path, only to be chased by moths from who-knows-which dynasty; they chose another path, only to be buried alive and then resurrected, their souls haunting them.
After several attempts, they hid behind the coffin. Xia Wujin fell into self-doubt. Unless every path was a trap, there was no right path. Otherwise, how could they be so unlucky?
Xie Tan: "..."
He felt guilty; those things must have come after him by smelling the pheromones.
Perhaps only Lu Jinzhao's luck can neutralize his pheromone magic.
Xia Wujin asked in his eyes: What should we do?
Xie Tan said coldly, "Alone and helpless, she has to leave on her own even after marriage. What can she do about her miserable life?"
Xia Wujin: "?"
This didn't sound like they were talking to her, and she watched with bated breath—the coffin they were leaning against was trembling, and there was a dense crawling sound of centipedes inside.
The centipede with a human face emerged, turned 180 degrees, and used Grandma Yao's face: "Isn't this it? Let's go."
Xie Tan: I knew he was there.
Su He manipulated the human-faced centipede to lead the way for them. Although they could still hear the sounds of other demons and monsters approaching in the shadows, they were always able to leave before being found.
"Several people have already died, are we still going in?" Su He said slowly.
“They’re dead, and you’re not even helping them? Do you think you can escape by just staying put?” Xie Tan said. “I’m not that self-deceiving. I’ll lead you the way.”
"You may not like deceiving yourself, but I think you love to die." Su He said this without stopping the operation. They entered a low-lying area, and slowly, fog rose from the tomb.
Watch your step... and your surroundings.
As soon as he finished speaking, a rope as thin as lotus root threads lashed out from the mist, heading straight for Xia Wujin's face, only to be caught by the sudden, surging ghost handprint.
The ghostly handprint instantly crawled across the rope, grabbed the holder's neck, and the mist was pushed aside a little, revealing a skeleton!
Judging from his physique, he was a hunched old man, but his movements were agile, indicating that he was a trained martial artist.
Xie Tan's expression shifted. "Grandma Yao?"
If what Xi Rui said is true, that Granny Yao was a member of the Su family, and that after her death... she didn't seem completely dead and could still attack, she would definitely be a troublesome case.
Sure enough, the next second, the bones shattered into pieces, forming a lotus-shaped cage that trapped the ghost's handprint. The rope retracted, wrapped around it a few more times, and then disappeared into the mist.
Everything happened too fast. Xia Wujin chased after her in vain, tripping over a stone: "...Mom!"
Xie Tan grabbed her to prevent her from disappearing into the fog as well, but he paused when he saw Xia Wujin's expression.
Those who know them say that he is similar to Xia Wujin, remaining calm even when Mount Tai collapses before him, and is born without the "intense" temperament.
But even dragons have their Achilles' heel, and snakes have their Achilles' heel. Even rats and ants will wail if they lose a leg. People like them are just people who don't care much about others and won't easily provoke them. But when their pain is touched, they will show such a panicked expression.
Trapped in a bloody coffin shop in a small town, this story is entangled with Yin Tao Hua and a deeper conspiracy. All the crises are aimed at her, but none of them make her feel as afraid as she does now, even though the ghost she is being taken away is a hundred times stronger than her.
But that was Mom first.
Mom... Mother.
Xie Tan lowered his eyes: "Su He."
Xia Wujin had been staring at Xie Tan holding her hand, almost resentful, but she knew Xie Tan was right. Chasing after him would be futile and would only give him another hostage, making the situation even more unfavorable.
So she couldn't stand still and slowly squatted down, wanting to escape for a while and calm her chaotic heart, but Xie Tan stopped her. She pursed her lips and was about to look up when she heard Xie Tan speak.
She was taken aback by his extremely cold expression, feeling that something was hidden beneath his indifference.
"You little brat, ordering me around?" The centipede with the human face reverted to Su He's own voice, indistinguishable between joy and sorrow, but tinged with danger, echoing eerily in the tomb.
Xie Tan clicked his tongue in annoyance: "Are you going or not?"
That's awful. The centipede with the human face scoffed, flicked its tail with an air of nonchalance, and crawled up to Xia Wujin: "Think more about your mother's affairs."
Xia Wujin was puzzled.
"In this fog, people's spirits become more sensitive, and they can sense things that are normally difficult to perceive. That's why the researchers who go into the tomb always encounter ghosts. Their dull senses are opened up a bit by the fog here, and they can 'see' and 'hear'."
Su He continued, "You are related to her by blood, and your karma is intertwined, even after death. Calm your mind, and you can find her. If your mind is in turmoil, just speak out. This little ghost is here too, and can be a listener."
His suggestion really hit the nail on the head. With a friend like Xie Tan, who was even more emotionally stable than her, around, Xia Wujin felt like she had found her anchor.
So, in Su He's eyes, the two children were like two mushrooms buried in the fog, squatting face to face.
But Xia Wujin had difficulty speaking at first, his emotions were too chaotic, and he didn't know what to say. Xie Tan was even more taciturn... well, two silent mushrooms.
Xie Tan said, "We really do look alike."
Xia Wujin realized what her friends had said and gave a fleeting smile: "I think you're more like Jinzhao."
Xie Tan's original intention was to start a conversation to help Xia Wujin relax, but he didn't expect her to say that.
Xia Wujin noticed the confusion in his eyes: "What do you think you are in my eyes?"
Xie Tan recalled that in the previous series, the young lady's evaluation of Lu Jinzhao was "a person who has no talent for negative emotions," so he said, "A person who has no talent for positive emotions?"
Xia Wujin chuckled: "I think you're someone who's forced to have a talent for hiding your emotions, and my assessment of Jinzhao is no longer accurate."
"Why?"
"Because he met you."
Xie Tan was taken aback, but probably because he didn't believe it, he didn't take it to heart and just smiled politely in response.
Xia Wujin smiled inwardly, but didn't bring it up again: "Seriously, don't you think you two are alike?"
Xie Tan found it unbelievable. He could think of something about anyone else who resembled him, but Lu Jinzhao was the only one...
They are like the sun and the moon, fire and ice, the equator and the polar regions; they represent the two extremes of the world and are the most unlike people.
“You are like the sun and the moon, fire and ice,” Xia Wujin said. “On the surface, you are the most repulsive poles, but only you are each other’s kind.”
She asked with a smile, "You know what? Although one of you is enthusiastic and the other is indifferent, you share the same attitude towards the world."
What is it?
"Stay out of it."
However, Xia Wujin thought it was fortunate that the sun and the moon met on the same dark night.
Then there's no way to stay out of it.
Xie Tan's heart was scalded, as if it had collided with the other pole from a great distance, and in just an instant, it showed a tendency to intensify.
He lowered his head slightly and felt a heat rising from the back of his neck, a fire that seemed to be burning from his heart.
Now it's him who needs peace of mind.
Fortunately, once Xia Wujin started talking, the rest of the conversation flowed much more smoothly. She found that she didn't need much rationality; her intense emotions were enough to replace her words.
“I…I haven’t actually seen my mother much. She passed away when I was very young, so my memories of her are always blurry, shrouded in a layer of light. She’s like…like a blank space in my life where I didn’t have time to write anything down.”
"My memory is hazy, but the feeling I had for her is still very deep and hasn't faded at all. I remember the sound of her laughter, with a slight upward inflection at the end. Her embrace was also warm... the most reassuring temperature I've ever felt. I remember her gently stroking my head and calling me 'Jinjin, my Jinjin'... When she called my name, her voice was the softest, yet it was filled with the deepest affection."
“I often feel that I have forgotten even her face, so why are these feelings still so clear? Later I thought that it must be a matter of the soul. So I began to understand her, her appearance, personality, hobbies, career, ideals and pursuits, important people, and choices along the way. I slowly sketched out what kind of person she was, and she became clear in my memory. How to describe this feeling is that it is like I am filling in this blank space stroke by stroke.”
"I think I know her." Xia Wujin said the last sentence in a low voice, then looked up as if sensing something, looking in a certain direction.
The centipede with the human face struck with lightning speed, and the sound of bones shattering echoed through the mist.
As the centipede crawled, it parted a bit of the mist, revealing the situation on the other side. The ghost handprint seized the opportunity, broke free of the cage, and was gnawing at the white bones.
Su He said lazily, "Go take a look, little girl."
"Mother!"
The mother and daughter, one ghost and one human, embraced and whispered their innermost thoughts. Xie Tan did not go forward to disturb them, but simply stood where he could see them clearly to prevent them from getting separated.
The centipede-faced creature slowly crawled back, circling Xie Tan twice. Su He deliberately moved closer, observing his expression with a hint of smugness: "What's wrong? Did you hurt me? Do you empathize with me? It's alright, young lady, you're busy. I can reluctantly be your listener. I'm practically your elder who saw you off at your wedding. Tell me, what's your family situation like? Should I offer you a shoulder to cry on? Oh... I don't have a shoulder right now, how about my tail?"
Xie Tan was indeed a little stunned, but upon hearing Su He's words, he merely frowned in annoyance and said, "There's nothing to say."
When asked about his father and mother, he always said "there's nothing to say," but there are actually differences between them.
My father's words were just the surface meaning.
From childhood to adulthood, his father never lacked for his food or clothing, gave him his own room, sent him to good schools, and covered all his living expenses.
He is simply invisible, as if he doesn't exist, like air or an invisible man.
They ate at the same table, but the father's gaze was always fixed on documents, his phone, the view outside the window, or anywhere else, but never on him. He would never ask him "Is it good?" or how school was.
When Xie Tan accidentally dropped his bowl and chopsticks at the dinner table for the first time, making a loud noise, he was completely stunned, but there was still a faint sense of anticipation.
He thought that even if his father scolded him, he would still see him. He even wondered if he could attract his father's attention in the future.
However, the man opposite him remained expressionless, as if he hadn't heard anything and showed no reaction whatsoever.
The man simply finished his meal politely and went back to his room to handle his work; the rest was handled by a housekeeping service that would come regularly.
Then Xie Tan realized, oh, this won't work either.
His father wouldn't notice that he had grown taller and his clothes were a bit too short. There were often peanuts on the table that he was allergic to. His father didn't remember when he went to and from school, what grade he was in, or what class he was in. He never took him out with him and never talked about him with anyone.
But when others asked, his father would not deny it, but would just nod calmly and then talk about other topics. Others would only be very understanding of him, feeling that he had a hard time raising such a monster... he had done everything he could.
They lived together, but led separate lives.
Xie Tan was once dragged away by the children in the neighborhood and locked in the underground warehouse. In the distance, her father was driving out. Xie Tan saw him and called out to him in fear.
However, the man didn't hear it. It was unclear whether he was too far away, genuinely didn't hear it, or... as always, "didn't hear it."
But there is no difference.
The man left without stopping. When his friend asked him what was making noise behind him, he simply said, "The kids are probably playing."
Xie Tan was locked up overnight, but he broke a window to escape. Unfortunately, he got caught in the rain and collapsed on the sofa when he got home, developing a high fever.
During that day, the father went in and out of the house three times, but did not find him.
Finally, as the man was about to leave again, he smelled the eerie odor that filled the living room after the inhibitor had worn off. It was so terrifying, sinister, and chilling, like being in hell.
The man stopped, but did not approach.
As a young boy, he lay behind the sofa, listening to the sound. In his feverish delirium, he suddenly felt an urgent need to know what his father's expression was like at that moment.
So he forced himself to crawl forward a little further and saw the expression on the man's face in front of the door.
Like everyone else, like everyone else, loathed and feared.
A hidden stubbornness in his heart suddenly eased. He thought, "So even my father is afraid of me."
He had thought that his father could so calmly ignore his existence, and that he was no different from anyone else...
At this moment, did his father share the same wish as everyone else? That he wished for his father to die?
The man opened the door and left.
Soon after, the private doctor arrived, administered medication and injections, and he did not die. When he left the bedroom, there was still food prepared by the nanny on the dining table.
At that moment, Xie Tan suddenly felt that he was like... he was like a ghost bound to this house. The homeowner had no way to get rid of him and dared not do so, so he worshipped him as a god or ghost, hoping to live in peace.
Then he finally understood that his father had never mistreated him.
He just doesn't love him.
He never treated him as his own child, so Xie Tan naturally couldn't be so self-aware as to treat him as his father.
They were two strangers forced to live under the same roof; once they were completely separated, they were both freed.
So there's nothing to say.
As for his mother... the most reckless request he made in his youth, he never got to see her. Their encounter was as fleeting as a breeze or rain, their lives intertwined, just like their fate in this life.
He wanted to say something, but couldn't say anything.
All things related to kinship and affection are too distant for him, as if separated by the divide between Yin and Yang, and he is a lonely ghost who has mistakenly entered the mortal world.
He had nothing to say.
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