If you were walking down the street and suddenly a stranger said that youâre full of ghostly Qi and that your face looks like youâre about to die, anyone would want to beat that person to death.
âWhat do you mean?â Qin Cheng took a step forward and looked straight at the young man who just spoke to him.
There wasnât a need to say that what this person said concerned Qin Cheng, but even Zhang Jun, who was beside him, heard his words. Zhang Jun couldnât resist his temper and he started to curse: âAre you fucking crazy?!â
The young man, who just got scolded, wasnât angry, instead, he kept smiling at Qin Cheng: âWhether Iâm right or not depends on you. If Iâm not wrong, then you mustâve been in frequent contact with ghosts recently. Life and death, Yin and Yang, are both different from each other, after all. If you stay with the dead for a long time, you will be stained with ghostly qi. Most people associate the dead to be more or less infected with all kinds of diseases, so if you get close to the dead, youâll get infected too.â
These words made Qin Chengâs heart move. Although he wasnât sure whether he was stained with ghostly qi or not, some of his words were right. Itâs true that he has been in contact with ghosts recently, perhaps⌠this person is someone who truly understands âThe Art of Qi Huang <sup>1</sup> ââŚ
âLetâs go, letâs go, letâs go! Qin Cheng donât listen to this weird manâs nonsense.â Zhang Jun knew that Qin Cheng could see ghosts, but; â What does this have to do with being stained with ghostly qi? Isnât Qin Cheng looking very healthy and well now? How can he die? This young man is simply using this kind of trick to fool people. How could Qin Cheng have an air of someone whoâs about to die?â
Qin Cheng looked at the youth still smiling at him with more detail. Even though the youth was tall, his face was extremely pale; he looked like a patient who had been ill for a long time, but he also looked like a drug addict. Although there was a smile on his face, he didnât seem to have much vitality.
Qin Cheng, after indicating to Zhang Jun that there wasnât a need to rush away, said to the youth in front of him: âSince you said so, then I have something to ask you. Where does this ghostly qi come from, and where did it stick on me?â
âThe most cold and gloomy part of Xiâan is in the northwest, and it is said that thereâs a Village in that direction called Ninghua Village. Originally, 15 years ago, that piece of land was a Feng Shui treasure, in which the villagers had good harvests year after year. However, for some unknown reason, there has been something wrong with the land growing gradually over the years. Half a year ago, that precious land began to leak strong resentment Qi all over the place, that resentment is so thick and strong that it could even reach the Heavens. Even if I donât go there, I can still sense that the ghostly Qi in your body and the resentment coming from that place is, without a doubt, exactly the same.â
After he said this, Zhang Jun and Qin Cheng froze in place. Half a year ago⌠something out of the ordinary did happen half a year ago, at that time Jiang Bo had started to dig the tunnel on the main tomb in Ninghua Village.
It was hard to deny that the man in front of them knew something, but what does he really know?
â Iâm afraid this person is different from that old Taoist priest that Jiang Ping found last time. â Qin Cheng wanted to ask him some things, but when he looked at the frowning Zhang Jun beside him, he estimated that Zhang Jun also wanted to ask this youth about the ghosts in Ninghua Village, and he was even more scared that Zhang Jun would think of asking this youth for help in exterminating the fierce ghosts.
Qin Cheng, in fact, didnât care if those fierce ghosts were destroyed or extinguished. However, Su Jingmo was another story, Qin Cheng didnât want him to disappear, and even the thought of Su Jingmo disappearing made Qin Chengâs heart feel as if it was squeezed by an unpleasant sensation.
Qin Cheng wasnât sure to what extent this youth knew about the tomb, much less whether this youth would be especially against Su Jingmo or not. Before making sure that this youth actually knew something about the tomb, Qin Chengâs first thought was to ask why the ghosts were trapped inside the tomb⌠and if there was any way to let them out of it⌠because he wants to take Su Jingmo to the outside worldâŚ
Qin Cheng still remembers how he felt when he first stepped into the corridor leading towards the Underground Palace. It was like he had entered the Underworld; there was no sound and it was cold everywhere. Everything was carved in white marble and the Underground Palaceâs gates were closed tightly, announcing the fact that the owner of the tomb had died.
Getting along with Su Jingmo will always make him forget that this person has already died a long time ago, and what remained in front of him was simply a ghost⌠1600 years old. Qin Cheng cannot even imagine what it would be like for a soul to remain in the world of the living for 1600 years, without being able to reincarnate and being a soul that has already been dead for so long, merely floating in a specific part of the worldâŚ
â This isnât a Heavenly Blessing, but torture, isnât it? â
When he thought about it, Qin Chengâs heart felt even more upset.
On the other hand, Zhang Jun, who was still by Qin Chengâs side, didnât know what to do either. He cannot see ghosts, so he still has a hard time believing that there are ghosts in this world, and even after everything that has happened until now, Zhang Jun was someone who, if he doesnât see it with his own eyes, he wonât believe it.
When he looked at Qin Cheng, who seemed upset, Zhang Jun pulled him over and asked him in a low voice: âDo you think this manâs words are credible?â
However, before Qin Cheng could answer, the youth spoke up first.
âIt doesnât matter whether you believe me or not, I just wanted to give youâŚâ The youth then looked at Qin Cheng and continued: âTo give you a warning. Yin and Yang are different, and there are things that cannot be swayed by common sense or your own will. I donât care what those grave robbers will do, that tomb is too dangerous, and I wonât risk my own life over it.â
âYou know what those people want to do?â
âI donât.â The youth shook his head and replied with a smile: âBut I can guess, itâs very likely that theyâre trying to exorcise evil spirits and such.â
What the youth meant was that he wasnât willing to care about the affairs of the tomb. So Qin Cheng asked: âWhatâs your name?â
Although the youth didnât want to wade through the muddy waters of the tomb in Ninghua Village, he was still somewhat interested in Qin Cheng. That night, when he saw this man walking out of the tomb intact, he didnât observe him carefully, and just now when they collided with each other, he noticed that this man had the appearance of someone whoâs about to die. Of course, he shouldâve a long corporeal lifeâŚ. At this thought, he couldnât help but say: âMy name is Qu Zhiwen.â
âŚ
After they met such a person, their original drinking mood vanished. In the end, Zhang Jun and Qin Cheng didnât go for drinks and walked back to the dormitory. However, even after he came back to his room, Qin Cheng couldnât sleep until morning.
It wasnât that there was someone making noise outside his room, or that Qin Chengâs mind was in turmoil, but in his dream Qin Cheng seemed to be in a state of confusion. He was unable to see in front of him, and he heard a voice coming from somewhere, but he didnât know who was the one speaking. As countless fragments flashed by, there wasnât a consistent pattern nor a real ground. Qin Cheng was anxious to sort out everything in front of him, but he soon found that it was useless.
He didnât even know how long it took, or how many times the image in front of him switched, until the dream itself blurted out a clear sentence, but when Qin Cheng heard it, he suddenly woke up with a jolt.
When he woke up, the sun was slowly setting and the air felt extremely hot. The bright red light of the sunset poured on top of Qin Cheng through the window, giving his body a layer of a dark red color.
Qin Cheng, who had slept with sweat covering his body, put his hand on his chest as he gasped for breath. The corridor outside his bedroom was quiet, and he could no longer hear the chaotic sound of people speaking like in his dream. Occasionally, he could even hear the distant sound of car horns and the chirping of the birds at dusk coming from outside.
What shouldâve been a beautiful evening, didnât feel like it for Qin Cheng, whose heart was feeling a little bit uneasy for some reason.
It should be around 6 in the evening, and even though Qin Cheng slept for the whole day, this sleep didnât relieve the fatigue he felt for the last few days. On the contrary, it made his mind feel heavy and uncomfortable.
â What this a nightmare? A daydream? â
Qin Cheng, who wears a white shirt as his pajamas, took the Jade pendant with Su Jingmoâs name carved on it from the pocket near his heart.
As a child, Qin Cheng would always hear a saying that the old people used to say to their children: Donât put your hands on your chest when sleeping, otherwise, youâll have nightmares.
Qin Cheng has been quite regular in his sleep since childhood, but he never had experienced a nightmare after putting his hands on his chest.
In fact, he usually put the Jade pendant under his pillow, only last night, while changing clothes, did he conveniently put the Jade pendant on the chest pocket.
â Could it be, that the Jade pendant made me have such a strange dream?
At the end of the dream, he seemed to hear a sentence that made him wake up. But at the moment, Qin Cheng couldnât remember what he had heard.
With a sigh of relief, he thought that since he couldnât go to the tomb yesterday, today he could go and have a look. With this in mind, Qin Cheng hurriedly got up and dressed. He then went to a fast food restaurant not far away from the campus and ate something. Then, while carrying the backpack he bought yesterday, he went to Ninghua Village.
When he arrived at Ninghua Village, the night has already fallen, and just like some time ago, Qin Cheng, who went up the mountain from another road, found something unusual.
There were very few people walking up the mountain from this road, and two days ago, he remembered it was full of overgrown weeds, so every time Qin Cheng went up the mountain from here he had to cut the thorns in the way. However, today this road was obviously crushed by something heavy, and the weeds and thorns were all crushed in the mud.
Qin Cheng knew that there was a group of grave robbers trying to enter the tomb, but each time they appeared, they couldnât succeed. Could it be the group of grave robbers who made this road look like this? Qin Cheng wasnât sure, so he could only speed up the pace and get to the ancient tomb as fast as possible.
However, what he saw when he arrived at the tunnel excavated by the archeological team, made Qin Chengâs heart stop beatingâŚ..
Hello everyone~ Iâll be taking a week off _(:3 ăâ )_ so I wish yâall a Happy New Year in advance~ ((o(*>Ď<*)o))
Iâll be back in the first week of January~ (âżââĄâ)
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â(â â˘á´â˘â )â..° âĄ
Footnotes
<ol><b>ć§éťäšćŻ</b> <b>qĂ huĂĄng zhÄŤ shĂš</b> ; The art of Qi Huang, Huang refers to the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, and Qi is his subject, Qi Bo. According to legend, the Yellow Emperor used to sit and discuss medical issues with his ministers, including Qi Bo, asking questions and answering questions about the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases, much of which is recorded in the medical work âHuangdi Neijingâ (Yellow Emperorâs Classic of Internal Medicine). Later generations, out of reverence for the Yellow Emperor and Qi Bo, referred to the Qi Huang technique as Chinese medicine, and considered the âHuangdi Neijingâ to be the source of Chinese medicine theory and the most authoritative classic work of Chinese medicine.</ol>