Chapter 61: Chang Gui
In less than a minute, the crowd of ghosts scattered like startled birds and beasts. Only Xiao Fengxian and Bai Qiniang remained, standing obediently against the wall to receive their lecture.
Jiang Si’s temples throbbed with anger. He brandished a half-finished mourning staff—a strip of tung wood—and paced back and forth. “Are you planning to claim my house as your own kingdom?”
“If I hadn’t come back, were you planning to throw parties here every single day?”
“Today was the first time,” Xiao Fengxian explained.
“And you think you’re in the right!” Jiang Si snapped, striking the wall in his fury.
With a crisp crack, a layer of dust shook loose and drifted down from the wall.
“…”
Xiao Fengxian and Bai Qiniang knew they were in the wrong and didn’t dare speak further.
Jiang Si closed his eyes and said irritably, “Restore my house to the way it was. For the next month, don’t even think about getting a single stick of incense or a shred of joss paper from me.”
He grabbed his suitcase and went to the bedroom to unpack. The two ghosts outside made a show of tidying up for a while. Seeing that he hadn’t come out, they huddled together and whispered.
“Sister, do you think he succeeded or not?”
“I don’t have experience in such matters, how should I know?” Xiao Fengxian toyed with her long, bright red fingernails and egged her on. “Why don’t you go ask?”
“Aren’t you usually the one with all the ideas?”
Bai Qiniang’s long brows arched; she didn’t think that sounded like a compliment.
“I’m not stupid. He just finished scolding us; why would I go looking for trouble? If I really annoy him and he kicks me out, where will I get incense? Are you going to provide for me?”
“…” Xiao Fengxian rolled her eyes. The revolutionary friendship they had managed to build over this period shattered instantly. She muttered inwardly that this little snake had actually grown a brain and could finally understand human speech.
Before Jiang Si could even rest, he heard a voice calling him and had to get up again to open the door. “Is something wrong?”
“Someone’s knocking.” Xiao Fengxian sat down on the sofa with a flourish. With a slight flick of her finger, the broom stood up on its own and began sweeping back and forth.
Her posture was the picture of leisure.
Jiang Si couldn’t help himself. “In front of my face, do you really not even want to pretend to put in some effort?”
Xiao Fengxian glanced at him, straightened her hem, sat upright, and reached out to continue manipulating the broom.
“Is this better?”
“…Forget it.” Jiang Si rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed to himself. “You’re not even human; why am I arguing with you?”
“?” Xiao Fengxian’s thin brows knitted together. Why did that sound so strange?
When he opened the door, Jiang Si was surprised to find Lin Nan’s parents standing there.
“What are you two doing here?” he asked, puzzled.
He rarely interacted with this family. Lin Nan’s father had always looked down on the things Jiang Si’s family did, often remarking privately that such “dross culture” should have been banned long ago as it was entirely rooted in feudal superstition.
Now, he had actually come seeking him out.
“Ahem, Xiao Jiang, your Uncle Lin and I heard some noise and realized you were back. We hurried over to see you,” Auntie Zhou said with a smile, peering inside.
Jiang Si blocked most of the doorway, so she could only retract her curious gaze and make polite small talk. “How was your trip to Ning City? You look like you’ve lost a bit of weight.”
“It was alright,” Jiang Si replied politely, not wanting to rebuff someone who was being kind. “Lin Nan should have told you everything when he got back, right?”
Uncle Lin’s expression turned somewhat unnatural, and he looked away, pretending not to hear.
“Xiao Nan told us. He said it was all thanks to you. Truly, thank you so much. Look, that’s twice now we’ve troubled you for help.” As she spoke, Auntie Zhou took out a thick red envelope and handed it to Jiang Si.
“I wanted to find a chance to give this to you last time, but you were busy and I didn’t want to disturb you. Now I’ve finally found the chance. I know the rules of your trade; you must accept this. It’s what we owe you.”
Jiang Si took it and felt the thickness. He knew the amount just by a pinch. He was surprised by the change in their attitude. “Auntie Zhou, this is…”
“We just wanted to thank you in person,” Auntie Zhou said sincerely. “It’s lucky you were there, otherwise, who knows what would have happened to Xiao Nan.”
“You’re too kind.”
“That child has been plagued by bad luck lately. We don’t know what’s going on, if he ran into some evil influence or what, but he keeps encountering unclean things. I actually wanted to ask if there’s a way to help change his fortune. After all, you’re the only reliable person we know in this field.”
Jiang Si understood then. He didn’t refuse, tucked the red envelope away, and gave serious advice.
“Just have Lin Nan spend more time in the sun when he has nothing to do. Have him go out and be around people more; that’ll be fine.”
“That’s it? He used to go out and play all the time, but he ended up playing some horror game… Xiao Jiang, the payment isn’t an issue. Your Uncle Lin and I just want a solution.”
Her point wasn’t without merit.
Jiang Si thought for a moment and added, “Go buy some mugwort and use it to smudge the house every day.”
“Will that drive away evil?”
“Not exactly. The scent of mugwort is refreshing; it might clear Lin Nan’s head so he stops courting death.” Jiang Si wasn’t joking with her. He said seriously, “If he doesn’t change himself, no amount of help from others will save him.”
Auntie Zhou, well aware of her son’s temperament, lowered her head in shame, unable to argue.
Seeing that the two had taken his words to heart, Jiang Si gripped the red envelope, thinking the matter was over. To his surprise, the very next day, he saw Lin Nan eagerly showing up to act as free labor.
Lin Nan claimed that being idle at home was boring, so he came to help Jiang Si at the shop. He didn’t care about a salary; he just wanted to kill time.
After hearing this, Jiang Si thought it would be a hassle and was about to refuse and tell him to stay home.
Then he suddenly remembered that he did indeed need someone to mind the shop for him.
So, he went along with it, gave Lin Nan a key, and told him to show up the next day to open the shop for business.
Lin Nan took this as an endorsement of his utility and purposely woke up early to run to the joss paper shop. However, after waiting for a long time, he didn’t see a sign of Jiang Si.
He called to ask where he was.
Jiang Si simply said that he had printed out the shop’s inventory list on A4 paper and told Lin Nan to check it himself. He could ask if there was something he didn’t understand.
“What about you?” Lin Nan was confused.
“Me?” Jiang Si’s voice through the receiver was a bit muffled. “I have other things to attend to. I’ll pay you the normal wage for your help; just look after the shop for me.”
As he spoke, he stepped into a block of abandoned residential buildings in Rongcheng.
This was a product of the last century when light industry flourished across the country. Various textile factories had blossomed in Rongcheng, and the government at the time had allocated a large piece of land to the owners who came to build factories.
Right next to the factories were the staff housing quarters, making it convenient for workers to live and commute.
It was said that during the peak years, over a hundred thousand people lived on this land.
Later, for environmental protection and industrial restructuring, these factory areas were restricted. They either moved away from Rongcheng or upgraded into other upstream industries.
Normally, as the saying goes, “when one actor leaves the stage, another enters,” but during twenty years of change, the surrounding areas had turned into commercial residential complexes or shopping malls. Only this dilapidated housing area remained without a proper plan for redevelopment.
Jiang Si figured he couldn’t build the scenes he wanted on his own, so it was better to find existing locations for filming.
When he first mentioned this idea, Luo Yan immediately thought of this place.
She gave him a suggestion: since the place was idle anyway, filming there wouldn’t be a problem.
Perhaps it could even serve as a form of promotion, giving certain people the idea to come and develop the area.
So, Jiang Si came to this residential area with the intention of doing some field research.
Standing by a crumbling wall, Jiang Si frowned as he looked around. Yellowish-green wild grass was mixed with blackish-green, damp moss everywhere.
He walked along a slightly wider dirt road. He had thought it was dilapidated enough, but when he actually arrived beneath the residential buildings, he realized he had reached his conclusion too early.
Two rows of tall buildings were separated by a path only a little over a meter wide. Before even entering, one could feel the cramped, damp gloom within.
The sunlight seemed to stop abruptly here.
The shadows split this place into two worlds. Jiang Si stood on the boundary line, peering inside.
A normal person standing here would definitely be thinking of all the horror legends and slasher films they had ever seen.
It was no wonder Luo Yan had recommended this place directly.
Jiang Si observed for a while and was quite satisfied.
This site was exactly what he wanted. Moreover, no one lived here, which avoided any misunderstandings that might arise if someone saw things they shouldn’t see during filming.
He stood for a moment and then walked inside. Only two or three buildings remained in the entire residential area; the rest was wasteland used for piling up junk.
Each building was a circular “tube building,” about fifteen or sixteen stories high.
Because it was an old-style construction, there was no elevator. Jiang Si walked for a while, his footsteps sounding exceptionally clear in the quiet, dim stairwell.
The handrails were covered in thick dust. He had wanted to lean against them for a moment, but seeing the state they were in, he immediately withdrew his hand.
He couldn’t help but think with a headache: the place is great, but how was he going to transport equipment here for filming?
Just going up and down the stairs repeatedly would be exhausting enough.
On the white wall at a turn, a chipped number ‘8’ was printed. Jiang Si realized he had climbed eight floors. He decided to rest on this floor for a bit and look around.
Each floor here was more or less the same. When he had looked up from the bottom earlier, Jiang Si had felt an indescribable sense of oppression. Now, looking out from this height, all he saw were dense rows of doors and windows like honeycomb cells. it was striking, but also very eerie. A few retired power lines still stretched across the air, as disorganized as the rest of this wasteland.
Many of the doors to the apartments were actually open. Some were completely empty, while others still held a few pieces of old furniture.
Through the doors and windows, Jiang Si peered into several households. Finally, he leaned against the railing and raised his phone, planning to take some photos first and then think about the set design when he got back.
Just as the phone’s viewfinder focused, a figure unexpectedly appeared on the screen. A white object flashed by in the distant corridor.
The finger about to press the shutter paused. He instinctively looked up toward that direction.
There wasn’t a soul there.
There were only a few piles of chipped red wooden boards, merging into the shadows along the empty corridor.
Was he seeing things?
This place was so desolate; besides him, what other crazy person would come here to look around?
His phone rang at that moment. Jiang Si was startled. Looking closer, he saw it was Hai Di.
The screen kept flashing a “poor signal” warning. Jiang Si held his phone up and walked toward an open space, hoping to find a spot with better reception.
“Mhm, I’m busy. I’m not at home.”
The line crackled with static for a while before he could clearly hear Hai Di’s words.
They were on a video call. The moment Hai Di saw him, he instinctively broke into a slight smile. Behind him was a bright, well-lit office, a stark contrast to the dim setting where Jiang Si was, where even his face was partially hidden in darkness.
He couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Why did you run off to such a dilapidated place?”
Jiang Si said, “I’m planning to film a horror-themed short film. After asking around, I found out there was such a treasure of a location here.”
As he spoke, he turned the camera toward the opposite side. “Doesn’t it have a great atmosphere? If I hadn’t been reminded, I wouldn’t have known that Rongcheng, where I’ve lived for over twenty years, had a place like this.”
“Except for me, there isn’t a single person in this entire building.”
Jiang Si couldn’t help but smile as he spoke. “I feel like just filming the scenery here is scary enough. Once I add my actors, the horror atmosphere will be perfectly set.”
“Jiang Si.”
Hai Di interrupted him.
Jiang Si was stunned. “What?”
“There’s someone behind you.”
Translator’s Note: Welcome back to Rongcheng! Our MC is scouting locations for his next big hit. But as we know, in this novel, “abandoned” rarely means “empty.” The term “Chang Gui” (Chāng Guǐ) refers to a ghost of someone eaten by a tiger who then helps the tiger lure more victims. It’s a classic Chinese idiom: Wèi hǔ zuò chāng (helping the tiger as a chang ghost). Keep that in mind as we head into the next chapter!
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