Chapter Twenty-Seven

Huang Ying’s body is gradually recovering, with each improvement more significant than the last. I believe it won’t be long before she returns to her former self.

The next day, the driver’s family knocked on my door. His wife came to thank me, saying her husband had visited her in a dream and told her to express his gratitude. This was likely true; after all, he had been able to control me into sleepwalking, so sending a dream was no feat at all.

Every day, there are several periods when yin energy is particularly heavy, peaking between 10:00 PM and midnight. The peak of yang energy occurs at 11:45 AM, the time when executions were traditionally carried out in ancient times because it was believed that at that precise moment, the dead could not transform into ghosts. The driver happened to encounter that heavy yin period while carrying a coffin, which explains why his accident was not entirely unexpected.

In the long river of time, humans are nothing—not even as significant as ants. Throughout history, countless heroes have been swallowed by the passage of time. We are all ordinary people, sharing the same beginning and the same end; we arrive in this world naked and depart filled with sorrow. It is a choice we cannot escape.

Before his accident, that driver probably never expected to die that day. It is the same for me; perhaps I will die tomorrow, or perhaps in the next second. Since that is the case, I must cherish everyone around me so that when I finally pass, I will have fewer regrets.

I turned to look at the beautiful woman beside me, wondering how much longer I could keep her. I increasingly feel that one day Huang Ying will leave me, a growing intuition that she does not truly belong to me. In fact, even I feel that her being with me is like a fresh flower planted in a pile of cow dung. Although I’ve never wanted to admit it, it is the truth. But, let it be; I will take it one day at a time. It is a waste to worry about tomorrow when I have today.

Over the next few days, I kept Huang Ying with me. Being apart from her felt unbearable. Life was simple yet fulfilling. Back when I was in school, I was always alone; even living on campus, I only experienced friendship. But now, I have friendship, family, and even love. My daily routine consisted of classes, meals, watching movies, calling my grandfather, and then helping Huang Ying recover her soul.

After a few days, Huang Ying had mostly recovered. Although she wasn't as vibrant as before, she could now go out wearing a mask and a hat without being recognized.

Finally, the weekend arrived, and I had the time to take her out—not during the day, for fear of being discovered, but at night. Huang Ying and I strolled along the riverbank. Whenever we passed through crowds, people couldn't help but turn their heads to stare at her. She was just too dazzling.

"Look, those people are staring at you," I said to Huang Ying with a smile.

"Then let's go back," she said, sounding reluctant.

I thought for a moment, then looked at her face and said, "Uh... I'm not jealous! On the contrary, I feel incredibly proud!"

Huang Ying looked up at me. This young girl has become bolder lately; previously, if I looked at her for too long, she would blush, but now she dares to meet my gaze. Eyes are the most honest form of human communication. A physiological study suggests that if a man and woman gaze into each other’s eyes for less than a second, there is no mutual interest; two seconds indicate interest; three seconds may suggest budding feelings; four seconds show deep affection; and five seconds or more indicates a stage nearing marriage. So, eye contact is even more difficult than kissing.

Just as we were about to hit the five-second mark, my phone suddenly rang. Damn it, I had the urge to curse. Why call at a time like this? I had made up my mind that unless it was a matter of life and death, I would scold the caller until they wished they were dead.

Huang Ying looked away first, as she was still shy, and the ringtone snapped her out of that magical state. I answered the phone, feeling quite annoyed. The voice of my dorm head came through.

"Is that you, Old Six?" His voice was trembling.

"It's me."

"I need to ask you something."

"Go ahead," I said, wishing to end the conversation quickly.

"Is it true that ghosts exist in this world?" My heart skipped a beat. Why would he ask this? Did he find out something?

"If you believe, they exist; if you don't, they don't," I replied. I used to not believe in ghosts, and I never encountered any. Two months ago, I started to believe, and since then, I have met many.

"What's wrong with you?" In my memory, the dorm head was always a carefree person, even when facing expulsion from school, he remained smiling. But today, his voice sounded heavy.

"Nothing... nothing. I'm hanging up now!"

I sensed something was wrong and quickly said, "Wait!"

"That's it, I'm hanging up... Ah..." A crashing sound came from the other end, followed by the dial tone. I immediately called another roommate who lived closer to the dorm head’s home and asked him to check on him.

Ten minutes later, he called back to say the dorm head was not at home and had not returned. Things were serious; I wouldn't have felt this way if not for that final scream. I redialed, but no one answered. What did he mean by those questions? Had he encountered a ghost?

The more I thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. He was a dear friend, and our dorm was the most united in the class, largely thanks to him. If something happened to him, I would be devastated.

Seeing my expression grow tense, Huang Ying asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, let's go back. I need to find a classmate."

Just then, my phone rang. I saw it was the dorm head and quickly pressed the answer button.

"Dorm head..."

"Hehehehehehe..." A woman’s laughter came from the other side. My hair stood on end. The sound was bone-chilling.

"Who are you? Where is the dorm head?" I asked, on high alert.

"Hehehehe, die, all of you, die..." The voice was even more sinister this time. I froze, not out of fear, but because of what her words implied: the dorm head was already dead.

The call ended. I tried calling back, but no one answered. I frantically called the other four roommates and our teacher, urging them to help search. I didn't want him to be gone; it is hard to find a true soulmate in life, and I was lucky that he was that person. I even loved his sense of humor.

The world is so big; we had no idea where to look. A large group of us searched until two in the morning, but there was no news. The dorm head’s parents were divorced, and he lived with his mother; he was her entire world, so she was the most anxious. I and the police tried to persuade her to go home, but she kept searching.

I returned home and sat on my bed, pondering his last words. He asked if I believed in ghosts, which clearly meant he had encountered one. Why didn't he say it directly instead of just asking and hanging up? What could he have seen to react that way? I couldn't figure it out.

I had never imagined someone close to me would leave like this. With a heavy heart, I fell asleep. The next day, Huang Ying woke me up with breakfast. I only felt at ease when seeing her and the class monitor.

After breakfast, I gathered my classmates and the police to continue the search. We scoured everywhere he had been, but there was no trace. His mother hadn't slept all night. I recalled that mysterious woman's voice on the phone; it was highly likely he had been murdered, but I couldn't bear to tell his mother. I let her hold onto hope for a while longer.

We searched all day. As the police were wrapping up and we were about to leave, I suddenly remembered one place we hadn't checked.

"Chen Yuming, come with me!" I called out to him. He was the only other person who had seen a ghost, and I was afraid of scaring anyone else.

Chen Yuming walked over, looking puzzled. "What is it? Did you find something?"

"Come with me to the school!" It was the only place left. Because it was the weekend, the school was empty, so we had overlooked such an important location.

Upon hearing "school," Chen Yuming realized the situation and followed me. On the way, I told him about the situation from the other night. He had only ever seen Huang Ying, who wasn't scary, so as I finished my story, his pace slowed down.

Seeing his hesitation, I patted his shoulder. "It's fine, I know how to catch ghosts!"

He sneered disdainfully. "Forget it. If you can catch ghosts, then I'm the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord!" The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord was the head of the Three Pure Ones and the founder of Taoism, as ancient and revered as the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the Heavenly Lord of Numinous Treasure.