Feng Chengyuan leaned back in his seat, his features cold and calm. "Has everything been okay during my absence?"
Chen Xian looked puzzled. "Boss, weren't you just on a business trip for three days?"
Feeling Feng Chengyuan's cold stare, Chen Xian quickly straightened up and reported in detail on the company's affairs.
Feng Chengyuan nodded absent - mindedly, then asked in a soft voice, "What about Qingxin Temple?"
Chen Xian twitched the corner of his mouth. He thought to himself that it would be better if the boss just asked directly how Yu Nian had been these days. But then he remembered that the young miss at Qingxin Temple rarely used her phone, and he felt a bit sorry for his boss. So he answered seriously, "Miss Yu has been eating well, dressed warmly, and in a good mood these days."
Feng Chengyuan's features relaxed. He let out a soft chuckle and shifted his gaze out of the window.
Out of the corner of his eye, Chen Xian accidentally glanced at the side window and was suddenly startled.
There was a pale face pressed against the car window.
Chen Xian slammed on the brakes. When he looked back, the face was gone.
Chen Xian said nervously to Feng Chengyuan, "Boss, I think I hit something."
The two got out of the car to check carefully. The road was empty, and there was nothing around.
Feng Chengyuan frowned tightly.
He knew Chen Xian well. Chen Xian was a cautious and reliable person. He couldn't have been seeing things.
Feng Chengyuan calmly got back into the car and quietly took out the talisman paper Yu Nian had given him. He said to Chen Xian, "Keep driving."
The car drove slowly.
After an unknown amount of time, a cold breath sprayed on Feng Chengyuan's ear.
The next moment, half of a bloody body hung upside - down from the car roof. It was a male ghost, his body tattered, with a strange and terrifying smile on his face.
Feng Chengyuan pursed his thin lips but showed no sign of panic.
The male ghost was a bit surprised. "Hey, you clearly saw me. Why aren't you afraid of me?"
This was the first person who wasn't afraid of him after scaring so many people. The male ghost felt quite embarrassed.
Feng Chengyuan hooked the corner of his mouth and pointed behind the male ghost.
The male ghost turned his head in confusion, but his neck suddenly felt hot. A yellow talisman hit him precisely.
The male ghost immediately froze and couldn't move.
Feng Chengyuan unbuckled his seat - belt, sat in the passenger seat, and said briskly, "Don't go to the company. Go to Qingxin Temple."
Chen Xian twitched the corner of his mouth. Boss, you're showing your excitement too obviously.
When the male ghost heard this, his alarm bells went off. "I was just bored and wanted to scare you. There's no need to send me to the temple, right?"
Feng Chengyuan was annoyed by the male ghost's noise. He glanced at him coldly through the rear - view mirror.
The male ghost immediately shut up. He regretted it so much. Why did he have to provoke such a person who even ghosts were afraid of?
...
Inside Qingxin Temple, the male ghost curled up in a chair and explained aggrievedly, "I was just too hungry and wanted to ask him for some food. I really didn't mean to harm anyone."
Hongxi was sitting beside him. Seeing that he was still wearing the burial clothes, she was a bit surprised. "Are you a new ghost?"
The male ghost touched his nose. "Coincidentally, I've been dead for over two years."
Hongxi was even more confused. "Then why are you still wearing the burial clothes? Didn't anyone burn paper money and clothes for you during the Cold Food Festival?"
The male ghost tugged at the corner of his clothes embarrassedly. "I was an orphan since birth and was raised by my adoptive parents. After I became an adult, they both passed away one after another. I'm used to being alone and have no friends."
Yu Nian took a look at him and knew that he wasn't lying.
Today was the Ghost Festival, when the gates of hell opened and all the ghosts came to the world to visit their relatives and friends. This ghost had no ancestors to take care of him and no descendants to offer sacrifices to him. No wonder he was wandering at the highway intersection.
Yu Nian reached out and removed the talisman paper from the male ghost's body. The male ghost took a deep breath. He felt that the sense of oppression and fear around him had dissipated a lot.
The male ghost rubbed his hands and looked at Yu Nian shyly. "Master, I'm really hungry. Can you spare me some food?"
Such a lonely ghost was really pitiful. Yu Nian lit an incense stick and then threw a few yellow papers into the porcelain basin. After two crackling sounds, a few wisps of ash rose in a straight line.
Only then did Yu Nian ask softly, "What's your name?"
The male ghost replied, "Stone."
Yu Nian raised her eyebrows. "Who gave you this name?"
"I was picked up by my adoptive parents beside a stone. They said a humble name was easier to raise, so they just named me Stone."
Yu Nian nodded. "How did you die?"
"I can't remember."
"Where's your body?"
"I forgot."
"How old were you?"
"Probably in my twenties."
Yu Nian: ...
She was a bit surprised. This male ghost was conscious and hadn't been muddled by the evil aura, but he had forgotten his cause of death and age completely.
Feng Chengyuan asked, "Do you still have anyone you're attached to in the world?"
The male ghost thought carefully for a while. "Does my ex - girlfriend count?"
Everyone: ...
Ming Mingzhong frowned. "Didn't you say you couldn't remember anything? Why do you still remember your ex - girlfriend?"
The male ghost scratched his head in confusion. "I only have a vague impression. I've forgotten what she looks like exactly."
As the male ghost moved, the clothes on his arm slipped, revealing dozens of hideous wounds. The turned - out flesh was constantly oozing bright red blood beads. They were overlapping and shocking.
Feng Chengyuan frowned and asked Yu Nian, "Were these wounds left on him before he died?"
Yu Nian walked closer to check and shook her head seriously. "He should have received severe punishment in the underworld after his death. That's why each wound has fallen on his soul and will never heal. Even if he is reincarnated in the future, these scars will still exist."
When the male ghost heard the word "punishment", extreme fear appeared on his face. His figure shook violently. Fortunately, Yu Nian managed to suppress him so that he didn't escape.
Yu Nian looked at the male ghost's face. His death was terrifying. Blood was constantly overflowing from every orifice on his face.
She frowned and whispered, "What on earth did you do before you died to receive such severe punishment?"
Yu Nian lightly tapped a talisman on the male ghost. The male ghost's movements gradually slowed down and finally calmed down.
She tied a red thread around the male ghost's middle finger. After muttering a few incantations, the red thread actually rose into the air. The other end seemed to be pulled by someone and floated towards the door. Soon, the end of the thread pointed straight to the southeast.
She followed the red thread with her eyes and said softly, "His body is in the southeast direction."
...
The car drove in the southeast direction. The red thread always stretched straight.
It wasn't until the car drove onto a deserted road that the red thread drooped limply and returned to Yu Nian's hand.
Yu Nian's eyes flashed. "This is the place."
Everyone looked out of the car window. On the other side of the road was a dense and gloomy forest. Grey mist filled the air, making it hard to see the surroundings clearly. Occasionally, a few crows flew over the sky. It was extremely cold and eerie.
He Zhiping shivered and checked the road sign with the light of his phone. "Isn't this forest a well - known haunted place? It's so inauspicious to come here on the Ghost Festival."
Yu Nian: "A haunted place?"
He Zhiping nodded and carefully observed the surroundings. "It is said that before, a company had a team - building activity. When they passed by this forest, they all got off the car to take a group photo. Everything was fine when they were taking the photo, but when the photos were developed, they found a strange woman in the crowd. Her face was hideous, and she was grinning at the camera..."
He Zhiping saw Yu Nian staring at him with a complex expression and was a bit unhappy. "What? Don't you believe me?"
Yu Nian didn't say a word. She just pointed behind him.