After I got home, Gu Yuan was no longer in the room. I didn't ask either.
I saw He Bi still waiting for me.
I asked him what Gu Yuan wanted from me. He Bi told me playfully that the second job had come.
I wasn't interested either. I listened listlessly as he told me what had happened.
This was about a haunted old mansion.
The client was Qi Lian, a local. A family of four bought an old mansion on the outskirts at a low price. The house was very big and the location wasn't far from the city center. They thought they had struck it rich. But unexpectedly, as soon as they moved in, strange things started to happen one after another.
After moving in, they couldn't get a good night's sleep. Every night, there would be mysterious knocking sounds from the attic. They thought there were rats upstairs.
Later, he took his youngest son to the attic to clean. As soon as the little boy went in, he pointed at the corner and called out "little brother". Qi Lian didn't pay much attention. After all, the child was only two years old and didn't know anything.
After the attic was cleaned, they also confirmed that there were no rats.
But that night, the sounds from the attic got louder and louder, and closer and closer.
It was as if someone was running barefoot on the wooden floor, which made one's hair stand on end. Already annoyed, he turned over and wanted to go upstairs to check.
As soon as he turned around and looked up at the ceiling, he saw his wife, Lihua, sticking to the ceiling. Her long black hair hung straight down. With venomous eyes, she asked him, "Why did you abandon me?"
Qi Lian was shocked. He quickly turned on the table lamp and looked at the ceiling, but there was nothing there. Lihua was still sound asleep in bed, as if nothing had happened.
"Was he dreaming?" I said.
"At first, Qi Lian thought so too. But he kept having these dreams. And what's even weirder is that Lihua is really pregnant, and she's getting thinner every day. She looks like a mummy with a big belly."
"And then?"
He Bi shrugged his shoulders and said disappointedly, "That's it. The client has found several fortune - tellers to help, but none of them could solve the problem. So he came to us."
It sounded really strange. To be honest, I wasn't in a good mood and didn't really want to take this job.
"Why don't you take this job and instead let me take it? Are you being lazy again?"
He Bi looked around to make sure there was no one around, then glanced at my shrine and said, "If that one takes it, which other immortal would dare to take it?"
"Ah? Do you mean Gu..." Before I could finish my sentence, He Bi hissed at me to shut up.
"What, do you have any objections?" a cold voice came from behind me. I didn't even need to listen to know it was Gu Yuan.
"No, Third Master is wise. How could I have any objections?"
"If you have no objections, why don't you turn around when you're talking?"
You're always right. It's impolite to talk with your back to the leader.
I turned around and forced a fake smile, then said, "When shall we set off?"
"Right away."
After he said that, he turned around and walked out.
I looked at He Bi reluctantly with a wronged look on my face.
He Bi was also helpless. He pouted and handed me the backpack and the car keys, saying, "Sister, you'd better pray for your own good luck."
I sighed heavily. I walked listlessly to the door. Afraid that Gu Yuan would be unhappy if he saw me like this, I immediately perked up, opened the door and got in the car.
"Third Master, where are we going?"
When Gu Yuan heard me call him Third Master, he frowned but didn't say anything.
He reached out his hand and gently tapped the address on the navigator. His slender fingers were like bamboo joints. Even the curves of his blood vessels were extremely good - looking.
It's okay for a man to be good - looking, but he also has such a good figure. It's okay for him to have a good figure, but his hands are so good - looking too. Thinking of this, I felt a pang of jealousy in my heart. No wonder he has so many love affairs.
"Go." Gu Yuan's single word pulled me back to reality.
Sure enough, God is fair. He gave him a good appearance but didn't give him a good temper.
...
When we arrived at the destination, Qi Lian was waiting for us at the village entrance. Since Gu Yuan had hidden his figure, Qi Lian couldn't see him.
He was overjoyed to welcome the immortal maiden. But as soon as he saw me, his smile disappeared immediately. His eyes kept drifting towards the back seat.
"Little girl, why are you alone? Where's the immortal maiden?"
"I'm the immortal maiden you invited."
"Nonsense. What can a little girl like you do? Don't make fun of me." Thinking he had been deceived, he quickly called He Bi.
I thought to myself that he must have never seen He Bi. He Bi looks even younger than me.
He Bi explained it to him, "Don't look at her as a little girl. Although she's young, the immortal on her body is one of the best in the whole of Northeast China. It's the same immortal who solved the problem of the snake demon in the temple. If she can't handle this, then replacing her with a hundred other mediums would be in vain."
After hearing He Bi's words, Qi Lian didn't say anything more.
Gu Yuan and I walked into his yard. There was really something strange here. Even I, who didn't know much about metaphysics, could feel it.
It was broad daylight with the sun shining brightly, but there was a cold and gloomy feeling in his house.
"I'll stop here, immortal maiden."
"Aren't you going in?" I asked.
"After what happened, how can I dare to go in?" As he was speaking, he kept backing away. He didn't dare to stay for another moment.
"I'll wait for you next door with the kids."
He was waiting next door with the kids. What about his wife?
Just as I was thinking about this, a shrill scream suddenly came from the room.
The door wasn't locked. I gently pushed it open. The room was in a complete mess. There were food scraps all over the floor, and a rotten smell rushed into my nose, making me want to vomit.
In the living room of the room, a bony pregnant woman was sitting on the floor, crying bitterly. She was extremely thin. Her face was so gaunt that it was out of shape. She was just a skeleton covered with skin. I guessed she must be Lihua.
One of her hands was chained to the heating pipe. She looked aggrieved and was crying hysterically.
"Qi Lian, you damned thing. Why did you lock me up here? What's your intention? I'm still pregnant. Do you want to starve me to death?"
As she was speaking, she suddenly felt hungry. She picked up the bread on the floor and gobbled it up.
She was crying so miserably. While crying, she didn't forget to stuff food into her mouth.
I felt sorry for her and wanted to help her up. I glanced at Gu Yuan beside me.
Seeing that he didn't object, I dared to step forward to unlock the iron chain on Lihua's arm and helped her sit on the sofa.
"You must be Lihua. My name is Lan Chiyu. You can just call me Xiaolan. Wait a moment. I'll get you some medicine."
Looking at the skin on Lihua's wrist that had been rubbed off, I felt really bad.
I thought Qi Lian was really too much. No matter what, they were husband and wife. How could he chain her up and run away by himself?
"Who are you? Why did you suddenly come to my house?" Lihua rubbed her wrist and asked.
"I was just passing by. I heard you crying, so I came in. I'm really sorry to bother you."
"No, I should thank you. If you hadn't come in, I'd still be chained up." As she was speaking, she grabbed another piece of bread and took a couple of bites.
I thought to myself that she must have been hungry for a long time.
I sat down beside her concernedly and asked, "What on earth did you do wrong that you were chained up?"
"My husband chained me up. He didn't give me any food. He insisted that I was possessed by a ghost, and then he chained me up here."
The angrier Lihua got as she spoke, the more she covered her face with both hands and cried loudly.
I turned to look at Gu Yuan, sighed, and then continued to ask, "Were you always this thin, or did you become so thin because he didn't give you any food?"
"I'm just so hungry. Since I'm having a baby, I need to eat more. But no matter how much I eat, I'm still hungry."
As she was speaking, her already gaunt face distorted. She tilted her head and stared at me, with a greedy glint in her eyes: "Can I eat you?"