Translator: Exodus Tales
Editor: Exodus Tales
I knew my aunt was angry because she was worried about me.
But, I dared not tell her the truth. Even if she scolded and hit me, I would only grit my teeth and bear it.
Her anger soon disappeared, but then later she started to complain again. Then, she started nagging saying that she had to talk some sense into me to stop me from getting home so late again.
I, in return, nodded to whatever my aunt said.
After my aunt’s constant nagging, she patted my head lovingly seeing that I had come back in one piece. My aunt’s tone finally softened, “What if something happened to you, little child? How do I face your mother in the afterlife?”
I held back the tears in my eyes. My vision was blurry and I couldn’t see my aunt’s face clearly.
“I will be obedient. I will listen to aunt in the future.”
As I said this, I couldn’t help but cry out loud.
My aunt put me in her arms and coaxed me for a long time.
Lying in bed at night, I couldn’t help but think of Silly Er. Something was really amiss with Silly Er. I could feel that after coming out of the graveyard, Silly Er was no longer the Silly Er I knew.
I rolled over and stared at the dull window in a daze.
The nights were surprisingly not quiet. There were always dogs barking outside and one dog’s bark would cause all the village dogs to bark.
Listening to the dogs bark, I started to get sleepy and eventually closed my eyes
But before I went into deep sleep, there was something cold on my cheek, seemingly pinching my face.
In my half asleep state it almost felt like a hand.
A hand?
Was I dreaming?
I rolled over and opened my eyes slightly, as thin as a little seam.
At this time clear moonlight was spilling in through the window. With the low visibility in the room I could vaguely make out the outline of the room. I could not see anyone. However, the cold touch on the cheeks did not disappear even when I awoke.
It was not a dream!
Alert, I felt that there had to be something else besides me in this room.
“Sisi…” A slight noise sounded by my ear.
I felt a slight itching on my cheeks and my blindfold on the left eye suddenly loosened. Someone was undoing my blindfold!
I started to panic and my heart began thumping as loud as the drum.
There were tingly sensations creeping on my cheeks as the blindfold slowly moved away from my eye bit by bit.
I was at a loss. The moment the blindfold was completely removed from the left eye, I quickly shut my eyes as tightly as I could. But then, I heard a familiar sneer.
“It’s me.”
A low voice with a touch of huskiness.
Elder Brother Ming Si!
I gasped and opened my eyes, but there was nothing in front of me.
Moving my stiff body and slowly flipping over, I turned around only to find that Ming Si had been lying behind me the whole time.
I faced him and stopped moving, shocked. He was still wearing a black shirt and had short hair as dark as ink. He laid by my side enchantingly, propping his head up with one hand as he looked at me deeply.
There were statues of gods on the door. How did he get in?
“Why? Are you that surprised to see me?”
As he said, he raised his thin lips, then he reached out his hand and patted my head.
I backed down subconsciously. Even if I had married him, he was a ghost. Worse still, a malicious ghost. Although he did not hurt me yet, I was still afraid of him.
He chuckled at my response, and his long narrow eyes rose slightly. I could see bright serene lights flickering in his eyes.
“How did you come in?”
He stopped laughing and answered, “I walked in.”
“But…”
“Are you referring to the statues of gods on the door?” He hooked his lips and smiled enchantingly. His cold face was as if it was painted with clouds tinged with sunset hues. It was gentle but extremely dazzling.
I suddenly found out that he was really good-looking, and was even more intriguing than when I first saw him. More so, whenever he laughed, he had a charm of a bad boy that was written about in novels.
“Yeah, how did you come in?”
“I simply walked in.”
“How can that be?”
I couldn’t believe it. Wouldn’t the statues stop him?
“Those things are useless to me because… I am a malicious ghost.”
He had emphasized ‘malicious ghost’ deliberately, seemingly trying to frighten me. However, by this point, I somehow was no longer scared.
I, instead, looked at him calmly. His outline was almost perfect. Every inch was like it was drawn finely with a pen, delicate and profound.
I could not help but get enchanted.
Seeing that I did not have any particular reaction, he probably felt that his joke had become boring. His expression returned cold as it was always, “The statues on the door fell off, maybe it was blown off by the wind, or maybe it was torn off deliberately.”
“Torn off?”
If the door statues really fell on the floor, then… couldn’t a lot of scary entities just come in casually?
Thinking of this, the hair on the back of my neck stood up again.
“Don’t panic. I’m here.”
Ming Si said faintly. He held my hand gently, and stared at the skull ring in my hand, “This ring is not a decorative ornament. It is very useful.”
“What’s the use?”
“Didn’t you visit the cemetery today?”
Ji Sixi was shocked, “How did you know?”
“I saw it.”
“You were there the whole time?”
Ming Si started laughing again. I didn’t know what was so funny but he laughed for quite a while.
I watched him laughing, embarrassed. But, I could not help to find his laughing face much more enchanting than his cold face.
After a long time, he spoke gently while stifling his laughter, “I saw you squatting with your head facing the ground, shaking with fright.”
“…”
What was so funny about it?
As I recalled the situation at that time, I could feel cold sweat oozing out from my skin. He actually found it amusing?
He was so perverted! How could he be so happy to see others out in trouble!?
I withdrew my hand, took off the skull ring and threw it to him, “I don’t want it.”
Slightly stunned, he picked up the ring and looked at it. Then, he took my hand and put the ring back on by force.
“This is not an ordinary ring, it can prevent you from being possessed by a ghost.”
His voice was gentle but his tone was firm, hinting me that this ring saved me, or else I would have long been possessed by those ghosts in the cemetery.
I was a little surprised. I looked down on the skull ring in my hand, and remembered the situation in the graveyard. At that time, I was surrounded by so many ghosts but I could still leave in one piece. Most likely, it was really the ring that played a role.
I raised my head and looked at Ming Si. Coincidentally, his gaze also landed on me. Our eyes met and I lowered my gaze shyly.
Somehow, whenever I looked at Ming Si, I was always timid.
His eyebrows were too profound and charming. It was enchanting as though it could capture people’s souls.
“Don’t take off the ring. Also, this ring can also strike ghosts out of the people it possessed. I believe it will be of some use of it to you.”
His words made me immediately think of Silly Er. I wanted to ask him if Silly Er was possessed by a ghost, but he seemed to already know what I was thinking. He answered the doubts in my heart first.
“For example, your silly friend.”
I was so scared, my face had turned white. Sure enough, Silly Er had been possessed by a ghost.
I was so close to him at the time too…
“My guess is that the statues of gods on the door were torn off by that silly boy. You have to be careful,” Ming Si smiled back at me.
I was full of doubts. Why did Ming Si seem to know everything?
As I was thinking quietly at the side, Ming Si suddenly approached closer to me and I immediately retreated out of reflex. His smile grew wider and lifted my chin with his fingers and out of a sudden, kissed me.
At this moment, my brain turned blank. All I could see were Ming Si’s gentle yet hesitant brows and closed eyes. His eyelashes were dense and long.
He did not make any further abrupt movements, but just moved his lips slightly; they were icy and soft like marshmallows with no taste.