Chapter 20: Ghost Marriage (Part 3)
Just as Jiang Si expected, when he returned home after wandering around outside for over an hour, the Bagua mirror above the neighbor’s door remained firmly in place. Perhaps they simply hadn’t taken his words to heart.
Jiang Si felt he had done his neighborly duty and said no more. The footage was almost done, so the paper effigy shop had to reopen for business.
The seventh lunar month is also known as Ghost Month. It is the time of year when demons and monsters run rampant, and yin energy and evil spirits are at their peak.
With the 15th of the seventh month approaching, conscientious people would buy some paper effigies and spirit money to burn at crossroads as a way to comfort their ancestors.
Naturally, this was also the peak season for Jiang Si’s business.
The sales in a single day exceeded those of the entire previous month.
Jiang Si was very satisfied, feeling much more financially comfortable.
Hai Di, his hardworking and uncomplaining assistant, cleaned up the messy table and assumed Jiang Si would clock off as usual. Instead, he saw Jiang Si pack a pile of spirit money and gold ingots, take a small burning bucket to the side of the shop entrance, pour the items in, and start burning them.
“What is the meaning of this?” Hai Di didn’t understand.
Novels didn’t write about this kind of plot.
“From the 14th to the 16th of the seventh lunar month, I have to burn paper for three consecutive days to give money to the wandering ghosts nearby who have no descendants to make offerings. If you eat the rice of the underworld, you have to accumulate yin virtue,” Jiang Si explained. Seeing the fire showing signs of dying out, he tossed in a few more handfuls of yellow paper money.
“Consider it my contribution to achieving common prosperity down below as soon as possible,” Jiang Si affirmed to himself.
“I see.” Hai Di nodded, climbed up Jiang Si’s arm, and perched on his shoulder to look down. The firelight cast an orange glow on their faces.
As night fell, the lonely wandering ghosts nearby were attracted by the smell of paper ash and gathered around one after another.
Seeing this, Jiang Si shouted, “Everyone line up to get the money.”
They spontaneously formed a long line, stretching from across the road to the shop. Vehicles and pedestrians on the road passed through these ghostly figures unknowingly, driving safely along the street.
The intersection of yin and yang without mutual interference was fully embodied at this moment.
The long queue was quiet from beginning to end. Under Jiang Si’s watch, no ghost dared to be presumptuous and take more than their share. One human and many ghosts formed an eerie tacit understanding. Hai Di could faintly feel an indescribable emotion flowing constantly.
Jiang Si simply watched them line up and take the money themselves, adding more to the bucket when it ran low. With his hands free, he could chat with Hai Di: “You be careful. If you fall in, you’ll really be rushing to join Xu Lanyue in the grave.”
“…” Sometimes Hai Di really felt that it was a pity such a perfectly good person had been given a mouth.
It ruined the atmosphere too much.
Jiang Si was oblivious to his internal complaints. Seeing that it was about time, he cleaned up the paper ash that had drifted to the ground and closed the door. To the remaining ghosts, he said, “That’s it for today. If you want some, come line up earlier tomorrow.”
The crowd of ghosts, which had been dense just moments ago, immediately dispersed. The sound of their chatter erupted like a pot of boiling oil, coming from all directions.
“Thank you, Sir—”
“Late again.”
“Let’s go, let’s go, come back tomorrow.”
“What a wasted trip.”
Some ghosts complained, while others gave thanks. In a short while, they had all scattered completely.
Just as Jiang Si locked the door, he spotted a man sneaking glances at him from not far away. The figure looked familiar.
Realizing he had been spotted, the man simply walked out openly, standing under the streetlight so Jiang Si could see him clearly.
“Oh, it’s him.” Jiang Si realized, saying to Hai Di, “You know, once he cleaned his face up, he actually looks decent.”
“Brother Jiang,” Lin Nan called out timidly.
“How are you feeling?” Jiang Si asked, purely out of politeness. Unexpectedly, Lin Nan suddenly grabbed his hand and said with a sob, “Not good. I’m being tortured to death.”
“Speak properly.” Jiang Si forcefully pulled his hand back, a bit disgusted due to his germaphobia. “Didn’t your parents figure out a solution for you?”
“That’s useless! Completely useless!” Lin Nan growled in breakdown, suddenly thrusting his face in front of Jiang Si to let him see clearly. “Look at my dark circles, look at the bloodshot eyes! I don’t dare close my eyes at all now. I haven’t slept for two days!”
“Mm-hm.” Jiang Si put some distance between them. Sensing Hai Di’s impatience, he reached up and patted the puppet’s head to soothe him.
“Then pay attention to getting rest.”
After saying that, he turned to leave. Lin Nan, quick of eye and hand, grabbed him again. Jiang Si shook him off violently this time, unable to stop himself from frowning and scolding, “What exactly do you want? Can’t you speak properly?”
“I’m not…” Lin Nan couldn’t care less about his unfriendly attitude. Stomping his foot in anxiety, he finally blurted out, “Brother Jiang, I’m being haunted by something dirty!”
Now Jiang Si finally bothered to examine his complexion seriously. He made Lin Nan turn around in a circle but found nothing—not a trace of yin energy. The only thing wrong was that his yang energy was much weaker than a normal person’s.
But looking at those dark circles, having not slept for so long, weak yang energy was perfectly normal.
“Just rest more, go out and walk in the sun, and you’ll be fine. Don’t let your imagination run wild every day. Where would ‘those things’ come from in this world?” Jiang Si said.
“Impossible… absolutely impossible.” Lin Nan looked dazed, as if he would shatter the next second, his body trembling as he supported himself. “As soon as I dream, I find myself bowing to heaven and earth with a stranger at a wedding… The feeling is too real, and it’s the same dream over and over again.”
“Getting married?” Jiang Si was baffled. He asked Lin Nan to extend his hand. After personally examining the palm lines, he denied Lin Nan’s claim again.
“You don’t have a marriage destiny right now, so what marriage? Are you even twenty? If you have time to think about this, you might as well study hard.”
The “marriage destiny” Jiang Si referred to wasn’t just weddings in the living world, but also weddings in the underworld—ghost marriages.
“But… but I…” Lin Nan wanted to say more, but he suddenly saw the stray hairs by Jiang Si’s left ear move a few times.
That wasn’t the wind.
Something was fiddling behind him.
Lin Nan looked closely, staring unblinkingly. Suddenly, a tiny human head poked out from behind Jiang Si’s ear, its pitch-black eyeballs staring straight at him.
Holy sht.*
Holy sht.*
Lin Nan cursed repeatedly in his mind. He raised a finger, pointing behind Jiang Si’s head, stammering, “You… Brother Jiang… you, behind you—”
Jiang Si remained calm and interrupted him directly. “You’re seeing things.”
“How is that possible—” Lin Nan couldn’t believe it.
“You haven’t slept for so long; hallucinations are normal. Go back and catch up on sleep,” Jiang Si advised him.
His tone was so certain that Lin Nan couldn’t help but start doubting himself. Could it be… he really was hallucinating?
Jiang Si’s serious, deceptive expression broke instantly within a second of turning around. He plucked Hai Di from the back of his neck and said helplessly, “Why are you always scaring him?”
Hai Di kept a straight face and met his gaze, pretending not to understand and refusing to answer.
“Comrade Hai Di, try being human for once!” Jiang Si said earnestly.
“I’m not human anyway,” Hai Di responded quickly.
Jiang Si almost laughed in anger. “Look at you saying that. Who isn’t a pre-prepared ghost?”
“He’s just timid,” Hai Di complained dissatisfiedly. “Is this your attitude toward a six-figure investment?”
“…Young Master, you win.” Jiang Si closed his eyes, pinched Hai Di’s face, and warned viciously, “You better be worth it. Don’t make me lose my capital.”
Hai Di hung in the air, only able to move his hands and feet, flailing a few times to express his dissatisfaction as his cheeks were pulled into squishy arcs by Jiang Si. “Wu—wu—”
“Once I finish editing the video, I’ll definitely send you back into your body ASAP,” Jiang Si muttered to himself, patting Hai Di’s head and stuffing the puppet into his pocket.
Walking home under the dim streetlights, Jiang Si carried bubble tea in one hand and skewers in the other. As soon as he entered the residential complex gate, he saw several workers in fluorescent vests scattered along the roadside, poking around with forks. Many residents were watching the commotion, and even the elderly who should have been resting early were gathered in a circle, chattering away.
“What’s going on?” Jiang Si wondered, leaning in to check the situation.
“A lot of snakes have gotten into the complex recently. They just fumigated yesterday, but found another nest this afternoon. They say there are dozens of them!” The old man who answered gestured as he spoke, spittle flying, his exaggerated expression hiding a hint of excitement from watching the drama.
Jiang Si felt something was wrong and asked, “That many? It’s pitch black out here; what if they crawl into the residential buildings?”
“Exactly. That’s why property management called the fire department.” The old man patted his chest, still shaken. “Luckily I don’t live in this complex, or I definitely wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.”
“…” So he came specifically to watch the show.
Jiang Si silently turned to look at the workers. They were carrying bags, scattering powder as they walked. Handfuls of powder were thrown into the air and disappeared, leaving only a pungent smell dispersing in the night wind. Sniffing carefully, Jiang Si was certain it was lime powder mixed with sulfur.
Seeing the large quantity they were using for extermination, the number of snakes in the complex probably really was in the dozens, just as the old man said.
He could only hope the snakes wouldn’t surge into the residential buildings.
After staying for a short while, Jiang Si went upstairs. On the way, he noticed that lines of lime powder had been sprinkled at the corners of every floor in the stairwell. Jiang Si carefully stepped over the powder, unlocked his door, and returned home.
The room was shrouded in empty darkness; not a single light was on. Jiang Si was used to it. He turned on the lights naturally and put his things on the coffee table.
The 15th of the seventh lunar month was a busy time not just for humans, but for ghosts celebrating as well. Xiao Fengxian’s rule was to sing an opera at the end of every month, and during the seventh lunar month, she automatically added an extra show.
Looking at the time, she was probably still rehearsing with Xu Lanyue.
Jiang Si let them play by themselves while he enjoyed his skewers and bubble tea, happily scrolling through his phone.
“What was that ‘marriage destiny’ thing you mentioned to that guy just now?” Hai Di asked out of the blue.
Jiang Si snapped out of his phone trance, swallowed a pearl, and looked at him blankly. “What?”
“Marriage destiny… Can you see anyone’s relationship history?” Hai Di repeated patiently.
“I can see the general gist… Why, do you want to know?” Jiang Si put down his phone, his eyes curving mischievously, and reached for Hai Di’s hand. Hai Di didn’t resist, letting him hold it and examine it repeatedly.
Everyone’s palm lines generally fall into three categories: the life line, the head/career line, and the heart/marriage line. Those in the know can deduce a person’s fate from the length, curvature, and branching of these lines.
Jiang Si hadn’t actually studied palmistry, but his eyes could bridge yin and yang, so often he could tell just by looking. When he was younger, he became a famous little fortune teller in school using this trick. But no one expected him to run off and study art later. Perhaps under the guise of art, all his actions were labeled as rational.
Just like if an ordinary person pointed at the air on the street and said someone was there, passersby would think they were crazy.
But if an artist pointed at the air and said someone was there, passersby would think seriously about it, then decide the artist was struck by inspiration.
“Hmm…” Jiang Si pondered over Hai Di’s palm. The hand felt cool to the touch and was very pleasing to look at—well-defined knuckles, broad palm, slender fingers. The palm lines were just like Hai Di’s first impression: very clean, without any messy fine lines.
Of course, there was one downside: it was too clean, which meant Jiang Si couldn’t see the guy’s marriage line at all.
His silence lasted too long, so Hai Di assumed he couldn’t see anything. “Is it hard to say?”
“My condolences,” Jiang Si built up the emotion, trying not to show his schadenfreude. “You might not get married in this lifetime.”
“Oh.” Contrary to Jiang Si’s expectation, Hai Di’s reaction was exceptionally calm. “Very normal,” he added.
“Don’t tell me you’re celibate?” Jiang Si asked curiously.
“No,” Hai Di denied. Seeing Jiang Si was still curious, he changed the subject. “What about you? Have you ever looked at your own?”
“Can’t see it,” Jiang Si shrugged. “Doctors don’t treat themselves, I guess.”
“Have you never been in a relationship?”
“Relationship?” Jiang Si’s face twisted into an indescribable expression as the question triggered past memories. “You expect a corporate slave who works over ten hours a day, doing nothing but overtime and sleeping, to date?”
“Not even during school?”
Now Jiang Si’s expression became even more complicated. “You probably don’t understand the animation major. From the moment school starts, this major cultivates the spirit of a beast of burden. I started pulling all-nighters in my freshman year. I only survived until graduation thanks to being young and healthy.” He pointed to his hair. “I thank my parents for giving me such excellent genes. You don’t know, some of my classmates went for hair transplants right after graduation… Tsk tsk… too tragic.”
Now it was Hai Di’s turn to be silent. With a look that was hard to decipher as relief or sympathy, he glanced at the dozen or so snacks on the table, personally picked up the bubble tea, and held it to Jiang Si’s lips. “Thanks for your hard work.”
Jiang Si magnanimously forgave his offensive words, opened his mouth to take a sip, and let the sweet milk tea swirl between his lips and teeth, improving his mood significantly.
On the other side, Lin Nan, half-believing Jiang Si’s words, lay down in bed to sleep. His body, exhausted from two days without shutting his eyes, drifted into dreamland in the blink of an eye.
In the dream, the gongs and drums were still thundering, and red candles filled the walls.
A charming woman nestled in his arms, feeding him wine.
Perhaps the incense smoke was too strong; Lin Nan felt dizzy and mindless. He muddledly cooperated with the woman’s movements, opening his mouth to receive it. The sweet wine was held high and poured into his mouth, occasionally trickling down the corners of his lips, soaking both their clothes.
“Xu Lang—” The woman called him affectionately. Her fingers, slender as scallion roots, wiped the wine stains from Lin Nan’s lips, while her other hand threw the wine pot on the ground and went to embrace his neck.
Subconsciously, Lin Nan felt this shouldn’t be happening, yet he couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong. It wasn’t until the grip on his neck tightened more and more, suffocating him, that he jerked awake with a start.
“Phew—”
Cold sweat soaked his back. Lin Nan gasped for air, realizing it was a nightmare, and comforted himself. Just as his stiff body began to relax, he suddenly felt a cold, wet, slippery sensation on his neck.
Lin Nan looked down and met a pair of glowing, vertical pupils.
Hiss——hiss——
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