"Um… have you heard of the Thousand Soul Road?" I asked, puzzled. The girl's body trembled again—clearly, she had heard of it, and she was quite wary of the place. "You're saying this is the Thousand Soul Road?" After she calmed down, she suddenly frowned at me. I nodded and said, "Yes, this is the Thousand Soul Road." "My name is Yu Mengxuan. What's yours?" The girl's expression completely settled, though it turned somewhat grim. I replied, "My name is Zhao Lianfan. You were probably kidnapped, but I can't take you home right now—I have things to do." Yu Mengxuan said flatly, "Shouldn't you be saying, 'I'm your savior, and now I'll take you back'?" I looked at her, somewhat confused, and said, "I'd like to take you back, but I really don't have the time right now—" "And then after you take me back, you'd ask my dad for a reward—isn't that how the script goes?" Yu Mengxuan cut me off directly. "What script?" Yu Mengxuan sneered and said, "Don't think I don't know—you're just trying to get close to me. If I'm not mistaken, those two people earlier were your accomplices, right? Using ghosts to fool people—your methods are too cheap. Do you think I'd be grateful to you for playing the hero saving the damsel in distress? Or even get together with you?" Only after she said all this did I fully understand—no wonder her attitude had shifted so quickly; so that was the reason. I shook my head helplessly and said, "If that's what you think, there's nothing I can do. Outside is a coffin shop, and those two might not have gone far. You'd better wait until dawn before going out. I'm leaving now." "Hey!" Seeing me turn to leave, Yu Mengxuan quickly stood up, hastily straightened her clothes, hurried over to my side, and grabbed my arm. "What is it?" I asked, puzzled. "What am I supposed to do if you leave?" Yu Mengxuan said. I said speechlessly, "Didn't you say I'm in league with them? I'd be leading you straight into a den of thieves—then what would you do?" "Isn't it just a reward you want? As long as you take me home, I'll have my dad give you a hundred thousand." Yu Mengxuan said directly, clearly not because she trusted me, but because she was afraid to stay here. "I'm not taking you home. I still need to find my third uncle—I don't have time." I shook my hand, breaking free from Yu Mengxuan's grip, and walked straight out. Yu Mengxuan quickly followed. When she saw the coffins scattered haphazardly outside and those paper effigies, she let out an "Ah!" and tightly hugged me from behind again. "What are you doing?" I stopped right there, feeling extremely helpless. I'm a married man, after all, and Zhao Yixian is right inside my jade pendant—hugging like this is hardly proper. "I… I want to go out with you!" Yu Mengxuan said softly, burying her head directly into my back, not daring to look around at all. I pried her hands apart and said, "Just follow behind me. How am I supposed to walk with you clinging to me like this?" "No way, I'm scared!" Yu Mengxuan practically shouted those words. I said in a low voice, "Keep yelling and those two will come back. Grab the hem of my clothes, close your eyes, and follow along!" Yu Mengxuan finally lost her nerve and said quietly, "Fine, but don't walk too fast." I nodded, glanced at the box in the other corner—there was a ghost sitting on top of it, I knew that well—and thought to myself that I'd just leave it here for now and come back for it once I found my third uncle.
But just a few steps out, the suitcase suddenly tilted and moved toward me. A wave of helplessness washed over me—it seemed this ghost was dead set on having me take it along. Given what was happening, how could I possibly dare not take the suitcase? Anyway, Grandfather said Third Uncle had studied real Xuanmen Fashu, so he should be able to help me sort this out. Seeing me turn back, the suitcase stopped moving. I walked over, picked it up, and headed out the door. The weight of the suitcase was still exactly as if a ghost were sitting on top of it.
"What's that sound?" Yu Mengxuan asked. At this point, she didn't dare open her eyes at all. I replied, "It's my luggage—I just came in from out of town." "Oh, then I might have misjudged you." After that one response, Yu Mengxuan fell silent.
Once we were out on the street, Yu Mengxuan still hadn't opened her eyes. She just followed timidly behind me, clutching her clothes so hard they were nearly torn to shreds. I didn't pay it much mind—if she knew there was such a disgusting and terrifying Lietougui sitting on top of my suitcase, it would probably scare her to death.
We made it all the way to shop number forty without incident, and I breathed a slight sigh of relief. Then Yu Mengxuan suddenly asked, "How long exactly has it been since you last took a bath?"
"Why?"
"I smell something strange—something really foul." Yu Mengxuan said in a low voice.
I could only reply helplessly, "Yeah, I haven't bathed in days."
"Have we left Qianhun Lu yet?"
"I told you I'm going to find my Third Uncle—why would I leave?"
"Your Third Uncle lives on Qianhun Lu?" Yu Mengxuan asked in surprise.
"Yeah, number forty-four Qianhun Lu. We're almost there."
"No way. I need to get out of here—you have to walk me out." Yu Mengxuan suddenly stopped. With a riiiip, my already flimsy clothes were torn open by her, and I immediately felt a chill on my back.
I turned around and glared at Yu Mengxuan in frustration, saying coldly, "You have two options: either come with me to my Third Uncle's place first and leave when it's light out, or go out on your own right now."
Yu Mengxuan said seriously, "Walk me out, and I'll really have my dad give you a hundred thousand."
"Boring." I rolled my eyes at her and kept walking.
Yu Mengxuan quickly caught up, saying, "Two hundred thousand…" Seeing that I continued to ignore her, she gritted her teeth and said, "Fine, how about five hundred thousand?"
"I told you—you only have two options." I said as I kept walking.
Yu Mengxuan finally gave in, saying, "Fine, I'll go to your Third Uncle's place with you. But you have to guarantee my safety."
I said nothing, which counted as tacit agreement. This Yu Mengxuan was somewhat annoying, but I couldn't bring myself to just leave her alone here. Soon we arrived at number forty-four. It wasn't a storefront but a three-story villa in the architectural style of the Republican era. The exterior was already quite dilapidated, just like everything else around here. Peering through the iron gate, there were no lights on inside either.
I pushed open the iron gate and walked in. The gate let out a sharp, grating screech that made Yu Mengxuan behind me flinch again. I was also puzzled—why was there no one here? Had Third Uncle already gone to bed? It couldn't be that Grandfather had given me the wrong address, could it? It shouldn't be, I reassured myself as I quickly crossed the courtyard outside and arrived at the front door of the villa's first floor.
The door was slightly ajar—a gentle push and it swung open. I walked straight in, took out my phone, turned on the flashlight, and shouted at the top of my lungs: "Third Uncle…"
The first floor lobby of this villa was very spacious, and my shout stirred up several echoes. After waiting for a long time, there was still no response. I turned on my phone's flashlight and shone it inside. It was clear that someone did live here, because the furniture was all neat and tidy, and had been wiped clean, unlike the dilapidation elsewhere. "Let's head out. Your third uncle isn't home," Yu Mengxuan said. "He's probably gone out. Let's just wait here," I said, setting the suitcase by the door and walking straight over to the combined sofa in the middle of the living room to sit down. Yu Mengxuan sat down right next to me, her two hands gripping my arm tightly, her nails nearly digging into my flesh, which was very painful. "Relax a bit, you're about to break my arm!" I said helplessly, leaning my head back against the sofa. To be honest, I had barely rested these past few days, and the moment I sat down on the sofa, a wave of drowsiness washed over me. Yu Mengxuan clearly realized she was gripping too hard, muttered a quiet apology, and let go. "I'm going to take a nap," I tossed out, lying straight down on the sofa, not caring how Yu Mengxuan might fuss. Soon I was drifting off, and in the end, she had no choice but to snuggle close against me, and she too gradually fell asleep……. The morning sunlight streamed in through the window, shining on my face, and the sensation of light roused me from my dream. The moment I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar face. Wasn't this the guy who drove that unlicensed black motorcycle taxi? The one called Zhuge Wu? Zhuge Wu was staring intently at Yu Mengxuan beside me, his tongue constantly licking his lips. Yu Mengxuan hadn't woken up yet; she wasn't wearing much, and her clothes were torn, and now that she was asleep, she had no inhibitions, with most of her body exposed. "Damn! Black taxi driver! You dare show your face in front of me again!" I sat up abruptly, and Yu Mengxuan woke up as well. Zhuge Wu was startled for a moment, then chuckled and said, "I should be asking you that. Why are you in my house?" "Your house?" Yu Mengxuan and I asked at the same time. Yu Mengxuan rubbed her eyes and looked at me with confusion, saying, "Didn't you say this was your third uncle's house?" I turned to Zhuge Wu and said, "Isn't this No. 44 Qianhun Lu my third uncle's house?" Zhuge Wu thought for a moment, then looked at me seriously and asked, "Third uncle? Where are you from? What's your grandfather's name?" "I'm from Yingfucun, and my grandfather's name is Zhao Xin," I answered directly. Zhuge Wu's expression changed, and he continued, "So you're the kid the old man adopted?" "You're my third uncle?" I was even more surprised now, because this Zhuge Wu didn't look much older than me. "Yeah, that's right, I'm your third uncle. Has the old man kicked the bucket already?" Zhuge Wu asked bluntly. My expression darkened again. Grandfather had only been dead for a few days; not mentioning it was fine, but bringing it up made my heart ache. Zhuge Wu chuckled and said, "Life and death are fated, wealth and rank are up to heaven. I knew the old man wouldn't dodge this calamity. So, tell me, what do you want from me?" "Third uncle, I need your help with something. It's like this, I have…" "Hold on. I can help, but first you need to tell me: how much money did you bring?" Zhuge Wu cut me off directly.