Mo Chuan lowered his breathing to the barest minimum, his footsteps light as he slowly approached the bedside.
The thing stirred again, as if struggling against the confinement of being captured.
Just as Mo Chuan was about to lift the quilt, the door behind him suddenly burst open. He Danrui, holding her phone and filming, pointed into the room and exclaimed, "What are you doing in my room! I never imagined my cousin would be a geji (not really)... Huh? Where did he go?"
He Danrui looked at the empty room and, still unconvinced, scanned the area with her phone. At one point, she came so close she almost bumped into Mo Chuan's nose.
Yet, in He Danrui's eyes, no one was in the room. She sat on the bed with a puzzled expression. Seeing the thing still struggling inside the quilt, she unceremoniously pulled the quilt away, revealing a beautiful tabby cat. She then removed the small phonograph tied around its neck and murmured, "That's strange... I definitely heard a sound when I pressed it. I couldn't have misheard..."
Next, He Danrui picked up the tabby cat, fiddling with its paws, and muttered to herself, "What should I do... He's too unfairly attractive. I forgot his face after just one glance. How can I still claim to be my brother's true love..."
"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!—But he's so handsome!!! The moment I saw this cousin, I started craving his body!" He Danrui, in a fit of pique, casually flung the quilt aside, sending it towards the doorway. However, the sheet didn't fall to the ground as expected. Instead, it remained suspended in mid-air, oddly forming a human shape.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!——————————" (Shouted at the top of her lungs)
...
"A person dies three times in their life. The first time is when their life ends, when they die biologically. The second time is when they are buried, and people attend their funeral, remembering their life; they die socially. The third time is when the last person who remembers them forgets them. Only then do they truly die."
"Some people live, yet they are already dead."
After dinner, Mo Chuan, ignoring his aunt's pleas, returned to the hospital at the fastest speed he had ever achieved.
...
The next day, Zhang Henshui brought Zhang Hanshan to the ward and led him to a secluded stairwell. He lit a cigarette and began, "We followed the clues you provided and actually found some interesting things."
As he spoke, Zhang Henshui took out a report from his pocket and handed it to Mo Chuan. "We collaborated with the public security bureaus of Jianzhou, Yanzhou, and Jizhou to investigate this mobile haunted house called 'Zhongyuan Daji' and indeed found some issues."
"First, this haunted house has chain branches, but without exception, they are all mobile businesses, none of them permanent. All haunted houses are registered in Changbai Mountain City or Shengjing City in Jianzhou, in short, all in the southwestern region of Jianzhou. The earliest haunted house was registered ten years ago.
Second, all haunted houses return to Jianzhou every three months, and they always return to their starting point. If it were just for touring purposes, that would be fine, but we have investigated several times and found that they would rather not perform than miss their scheduled return to Jianzhou, which makes us suspicious.
Third, shortly after their performances, there are reports of disappearances or murders in the vicinity. However, these cases often become cold cases due to a lack of clues and any leads. We have only examined the case files within Qingzhou, and we can basically confirm that all victims of cases that occurred within three days of the haunted house's departure had visited the haunted house.
Therefore, we will proceed with further exploration to obtain more convincing clues and possibly even solve cold cases from several years ago."
After listening to Zhang Henshui, Mo Chuan flipped through the documents in his hand, his brow furrowing once again.
"Brother Zhang, did you forget something?"
"What is it?"
"Do you remember what I told you? King Wuguan might gain followers through idols and evil powers. These followers would then help him spread his teachings, and this idol would gradually evolve and expand in the shadows. So, the more people know, understand, and believe in King Wuguan, the stronger he becomes... And most importantly, we have no way of knowing how many people he has already controlled. These haunted houses, a total of... eight of them, the longest operating for ten years. How many people have they corrupted, who knows?"
Zhang Henshui and Zhang Hanshan exchanged a glance, seemingly realizing the most serious aspect of the problem.
After a long period of contemplation, Zhang Henshui tossed his cigarette butt into a nearby trash can and said to Zhang Hanshan, "Lao Wu, take Mo Chuan to Silimountain tonight."
...
In the afternoon, Zhang Hanshan took Mo Chuan to the Silimountain Cultural Market.
This was a famous local market for flowers, birds, antiques, and curios. On both sides of the road were stalls selling flowers and birds, small antiques, porcelain and wood carvings, Buddhist treasures and props, calligraphy and painting supplies, breakfast and lunch, exotic equipment, and even monster parts.
Mo Chuan rarely came here. He was dazzled by the bustling and lively scene before him. He turned to Zhang Hanshan and asked, "Why are you bringing me? Isn't your brother coming?"
"My brother and I have different responsibilities in our family. He handles the official, legitimate side, while I handle the unofficial, underground side like this."
Zhang Hanshan didn't lead Mo Chuan into the market to wander around randomly. Instead, he first found an old man selling tea at the market entrance.
"Grandpa Xun, business good lately?" Zhang Hanshan sat down unceremoniously on a small stool next to the old man who was guarding bicycles.
"Thanks to Fifth Master Zhang, I'm still alive," the old man said, glancing at Zhang Hanshan. He took out a delicate purple clay teapot and began to pour hot water into it.
"Heh heh heh, you say that, but I've brought you something good this time." Zhang Hanshan said, taking out a small silk pouch from his pocket. When he gently opened it, it revealed a packet of fine, green shredded leaves.
"Lotus Mountain Moss Green. Take a look and tell me when it was picked?" (When does the ghost market open?)
The old man took a look, picked up the teapot, and took a sip. "Between Hai Shi and Zi Shi, right? This tea looks ordinary." (People are allowed in from 10 to 11 PM. Today's ghost market is a small one, nothing special.)
"You are absolutely right. It is." Zhang Hanshan put the items away and pointed at Mo Chuan, saying, "This is my classmate. He also wants to buy some tea to take back and drink. See what the price is..." (I want to bring him tonight, how much is the entrance fee?)
"Is your friend... a tea drinker or a tea seller?" (Are you visiting the ghost market or planning to open a stall?)
"A tea drinker, just like me." (Visiting the ghost market.)
"You're an old customer, you know the regular price. Twenty gold beans per jin for entry tea." (Entrance fee is the usual price, twenty gold beans each.)
Zhang Hanshan nodded, stood up, and walked out with Mo Chuan, asking, "Brother Chuan, we have to wait a while. Would you like to browse around here or find a place to sit and eat?"