When Guan Sheng first arrived at the Qingxin Taoist Temple, he was a bit out of sorts. But after staying there for a few days, he found that everyone in the temple was very kind. Gradually, he let down his guard and got along well with everyone. Every day, he calmly practiced cultivation with Yu Nian.
After experiencing the incidents involving Bai Siyan and the old ghost, Jiang Jin had matured a great deal. When Yu Qinghe came to seek reconciliation with him again, he actually rejected her in front of everyone and said, "I think we both need some time to calm down."
Perhaps due to the evil thoughts in her heart, Yu Qinghe's face didn't heal as quickly as others. She just thought that Jiang Jin disliked her.
Moreover, the boys in school who used to fawn on Yu Qinghe all shied away when they saw her face.
How could Yu Qinghe ever have endured such humiliation?
On the surface, she calmly returned home. After locking the door, she broke down in tears and smashed all the things in the room to pieces.
After that day, she asked for a long - term leave from school and hadn't appeared on the campus of University A for a long time.
...............
After recuperating for a while, Professor Sun was basically in good health, and his appearance was gradually returning to normal. He specially invited everyone from the Qingxin Taoist Temple to dinner to express his gratitude.
People came and went in the restaurant. The waiter looked at the order of Professor Sun's table and couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth. "Sir, can you really finish all these?"
Professor Sun knew that Yu Nian was an outstanding figure in the Xuanmen, and most of his friends around were probably not ordinary people. It was normal for them to have a big appetite, so he just waved his hand casually at the waiter.
Before leaving, the waiter couldn't help muttering again, "They all look so thin, but they can eat more than one another..."
Halfway through the meal, Professor Sun's phone suddenly rang. He apologized and said, "I'll go answer the phone."
Not long after, Professor Sun came back, but the joy on his face had faded a lot.
Guan Sheng noticed something was wrong with Professor Sun. He put down his chopsticks with a straight face and turned to whisper to Yu Nian, "Did I eat too much?"
Professor Sun quickly shook his head when he heard this. Afraid that Guan Sheng would misunderstand, he explained, "Just now it was a call from my childhood friend's daughter. She said that my childhood friend was hospitalized and might not have much time left. She asked me to go and see him as soon as possible."
As soon as he said this, the originally cheerful atmosphere suddenly became silent. Deng Yang scratched his head and whispered, "What's wrong with your childhood friend?"
Professor Sun sighed, with a look of doubt on his face. "I saw him half a year ago, and he was fine. He and his daughter have been to many hospitals, but the doctors couldn't find out the specific cause of his illness. They just vaguely said that he was extremely thin due to excessive mental stress. I'm going to the hospital to see him later."
After listening for a while, Yu Nian suddenly said, "I'll go with you."
..............
A very young girl came towards them. She was Xiao Lin, the daughter of Professor Sun's childhood friend. At the moment, her fair face had huge dark circles under her eyes, and she stood at the entrance of the Taoist temple looking worried.
The hospital was filled with the smell of disinfectant. Xiao Lin walked silently in front. Yu Nian noticed that she hesitated for a moment when she pushed open the door of the ward.
As soon as the door opened, everyone saw a very thin middle - aged man. His hair was gray, and he stared blankly at the ceiling without blinking.
Professor Sun gasped. He never expected Jiao Qi to become like this.
Yu Nian walked to the man's side and found that his breathing was very shallow. He was clearly in a dying state.
Only then did Xiao Lin say, "My father became like this without any sign a month ago. He not only rambled incoherently but also sleepwalked all the time. In order to take care of my father, I quit the job I finally found, but he still didn't get better. I really don't know what to do."
As she was speaking, she suddenly burst into tears.
Professor Sun, who was originally comforting Xiao Lin, couldn't hold back his tears either when he heard this.
Yu Nian observed the man. There was a heavy black aura between his eyebrows. There should have been a funeral in his family recently.
So Yu Nian asked Xiao Lin, "Has an old person passed away in your family recently?"
Xiao Lin was shocked and couldn't believe it. "How do you know? My grandma passed away due to illness a month ago."
Yu Nian asked again, "Was the old person buried properly?"
This time, Xiao Lin nodded affirmatively. "I was brought up by my grandma since I was a child. My father and I helped her put on the shroud before she passed away, and we saw her off for the last time ourselves."
Yu Nian thought there was something strange about it. Seeing the black aura on the girl's body, he decided to stay in the hospital to observe.
The ward was not very big. Xiao Lin set up a small bed and stayed by her father's side.
The wall clock in the corridor ticked on and on. At noon, a sudden sound of footsteps came from the silent ward. Yu Nian suddenly opened his eyes.
A huge black shadow drifted in from the door and gradually approached the hospital bed.
When the black shadow completely covered the hospital bed, the dying man suddenly sat up and got out of bed like in a nightmare.
His figure was hunched. He didn't look like an adult man at all, but more like an old woman with bound feet.
The man wandered aimlessly in the room, rummaging through things from time to time, as if looking for something.
As he searched, he murmured to himself, "Where is it? Where did it go?"
The noise he made while rummaging through things was so loud that it woke up Xiao Lin who was guarding the hospital bed.
In the moonlight, her father's face looked extremely strange.
Xiao Lin's body was covered in goosebumps in an instant. She subconsciously wanted to call the doctor.
But before she could make a sound, a cold hand gently covered her mouth.
Yu Nian didn't know when he had come behind her. He said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Don't make a sound. If you startle him now, he won't wake up for real."
Xiao Lin was stunned for a moment, then quickly nodded and covered her mouth tightly, not allowing herself to make a single sound.
Just then, the man suddenly bent down and began to laugh wildly.
By the moonlight, everyone saw the slippers in his hand.
Yu Nian:...?
The man laughed more and more maniacally, as if he was about to faint the next second. Taking advantage of his carelessness, Yu Nian immediately stepped forward and slapped a talisman paper hard on the man's back.
A black mist suddenly drilled out of the man's body. In the void, Yu Nian seemed to see a wrinkled old face.
The black mist didn't seem to be ready to escape. It changed its course and suddenly rushed towards Yu Nian and Xiao Lin.
The two only felt a blackout in front of their eyes, and the scene in front of them suddenly changed.
The ward disappeared, and Xiao Lin found herself on a straight road.
The sky here was an unnatural yellowish - brown color, with sand and wind flying everywhere, almost blowing people away.
There were many groups of pedestrians on the road. Xiao Lin wanted to see their faces clearly, so she walked a little closer.
Someone in the group seemed to notice her gaze. He mischievously turned his head, his neck stretching out very long. Xiao Lin finally saw his face clearly.
A huge scar ran through his whole face, and one of his eyeballs was dangling in mid - air. Obviously, he was not a living person.
Xiao Lin suddenly let out a scream. Just as she was about to run away, she ran into a thick fog.
In the distance, someone was waving at Xiao Lin, as if calling her over.