Lu Mian felt a sudden chill run through her. Here it comes, here it comes!
Here we go again with the ghosts, isn’t it? In the month since she’d arrived, everyone had been telling her daily about this or that malevolent spirit or ghostly presence; at first, she’d actually thought she’d been targeted by some evil organisation.
Lu Mian turned to look at the boy.
He looked to be about thirteen or fourteen, and was dressed rather distinctively: a white training uniform, a knot of hair atop his small head. His childish features, paired with such attire, actually made him look rather cute.
The trouble was, that cute face was now brimming with anger.
Oh dear, wasn’t this world a bit too superstitious? Even a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old had been brainwashed.
“Hey! I’m talking to you!” The boy’s anger intensified.
“So, how do we deal with the curse?” Lu Mian adopted a look of earnest attention.
Although she was a materialist and had her reservations about this superstitious world, as an adult, there was little point in arguing too much with a child. She might as well play along with the boy’s interests.
Seeing that Lu Mian’s attitude was reasonably friendly, the boy’s demeanour softened. He gave her a once-over and said earnestly, “You must be an ordinary person, right? This sort of curse is very dangerous, and it goes against the natural order of things. The Way of Heaven does not permit it. The person who cast the curse wouldn’t just casually distribute it in a shopping centre like this; it would hinder their spiritual cultivation.”
Seeing how eloquently the boy spoke, Lu Mian grew even more concerned. For a lad of only thirteen or fourteen to speak so articulately—had his education in the occult gone a bit too far?
“This sort of curse uses resentment as its medium. Anyone who comes into contact with it faces a higher risk of a violent death. As the person handing out leaflets, you must have absorbed the most resentment. Have you been facing danger frequently of late?” the boy continued, his expression growing increasingly concerned as he spoke.
Lu Mian frowned in thought, hesitating for a moment between lying to protect the boy’s faith and being honest. In the end, he decided it was better to introduce the boy to a scientific worldview, so he shook his head honestly: “Not really.”
The boy choked on his words. “How is that possible?!”
Lu Mian offered a solemn, earnest reassurance: “We must believe in science. Take a look at this leaflet.”
Lu Mian held up a flyer for the boy to see. The top half of the front featured a dark blue background, with twisted lines sketching the outline of a house; a pale, ghostly hand reached out from the half-open door. The bottom half was dominated by red, with a winding trail of blood leading into the darkness.
It looked eerie and unsettling.
“You see, it does look a bit unsettling and evokes a sense of fear, but that’s standard fare for a successful haunted house flyer,” Lu Mian explained.
The boy instinctively took a step back, but realising what he’d done, he reached out to take the flyer. He had to get hold of this cursed flyer to show his master later.
But Lu Mian snatched the flyer back in an instant. “Minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.”
The boy’s face flushed with anger. “Are you messing with me?!”
“Minors shouldn’t be playing around with this sort of thing. Go back and study properly. Right, don’t hold me up from my work.” Lu Mian tucked the flyer away and continued handing them out to university students who were just as sincere and kind-hearted as she was.
“You can’t do that!” Seeing that Lu Mian was really turning on her heel without a second thought, the boy immediately gave chase, grabbing hold of her hand tightly.
Hey! You little rascal, getting a bit too bold, are you?
Lu Mian raised her hand, ready to shake the boy off.
“Xu Yangyang, what on earth are you doing!” A clear, resonant voice interrupted the boy and Lu Mian’s actions.
Both turned simultaneously towards the source of the voice. Before them stood a burly man of about fifty; his muscles looked like those of a gym instructor, yet he was dressed in a Taoist robe, a look that clashed completely with his demeanour.
“Master! You’ve finally arrived! There’s a curse on the leaflets she’s handing out!” Xu Yangyang excitedly recounted the events to his long-awaited master.
Xu Qinghe pulled his young apprentice away and fixed his gaze on the leaflet in Lu Mian’s hand; there was indeed a distinct aura of malevolence emanating from it.
“Miss, could I have one of those leaflets?”
Lu Mian handed over the leaflets with a sigh of exasperation. “Here, here! Take them all!”
Honestly, to have grabbed her like that was so rude! It was just a leaflet, wasn’t it? Now that the child’s parents had arrived, she’d give them all to them—that would be fine, and she could finish her work early.
Xu Qinghe took the leaflets, acting very politely. “My apprentice was in the wrong just now. I’m terribly sorry. How about this: I’ll treat you to a meal to make amends. Would that be alright?”
Instantly, Lu Mian’s internal radar went off. Something’s not right! Very, very wrong!
Suddenly, a thought struck Lu Mian. She realised: child trafficking!
She’d wondered why a perfectly normal child would be so superstitious. It turned out they were trying to provoke a confrontation with her, so the child’s parents would step in, luring her to some remote restaurant under the pretence of an apology, and then seize the opportunity to abduct her.
It all clicked in an instant. Lu Mian looked at the pair with utter contempt, then ran off at breakneck speed.
In the blink of an eye, the master and apprentice were left staring blankly at Lu Mian’s retreating figure.
“Master, why did she run off?” Xu Yangyang looked up at her master in bewilderment.
Xu Qinghe pulled out his phone and scrutinised his own face. It shouldn’t be like this; his face looked quite upright and righteous.
“Master, could it be that she really was deliberately distributing cursed leaflets, and she ran off when she saw you appear?” Seeing that his master was only preoccupied with examining his own face, Xu Yangyang couldn’t help but voice his suspicion.
Xu Qinghe put down his mobile phone, his gaze falling on the leaflet. A few seconds later, he handed the leaflet to his apprentice. “Do you see any curse on it now?”
Xu Yangyang took the leaflet and was astonished to discover that the curse had indeed vanished.
“She has a very special constitution. Someone used her to distribute cursed leaflets, but whoever exploited her didn’t realise her unique constitution would neutralise the curses. So although the leaflets were cursed, those distributed through her hands were safe.” ” Xu Qinghe didn’t hold back, explaining the situation to his young apprentice.
“What we need to find out is who created the curse and who is spreading it.” Xu Qinghe looked at the name on the back of the leaflet. “Come on, let’s head to the ‘Deserted Path’ mentioned on the leaflet.”
Xu Qinghe motioned for his apprentice to follow.
…………
Having put some distance between herself and the two strange individuals, Lu Mian breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she’d run fast; otherwise, what would have become of her if such a fresh-faced female university student had been abducted?
She had no relatives in this world; if she went missing, no one would even bother to look for her!
Lu Mian glanced at her watch again; it was nearly twelve o’clock. Having finished her task early today, she had just enough time for lunch before heading to the hospital to visit Su Qing. Her other dormmates had all gone this morning, so it was only right and proper that she should pay a visit too.
Having sorted out her plans, Lu Mian had a quick lunch nearby, then bought some fruit and took the bus to the hospital.
The hospital wasn’t far from the shopping centre—just two stops by bus.
Carrying the fruit, Lu Mian checked the room numbers one by one in the inpatient ward.
She soon found Su Qing’s room.
Inside, Su Qing hadn’t woken up yet, and the other beds were empty. As Su Qing was a local, her parents had rushed over as quickly as possible upon hearing of the accident; at that moment, her mother was sitting anxiously by her bedside.
“Auntie?” Lu Mian spoke cautiously. “I’m Su Qing’s dormmate. I’ve come to see her.”
Lu Mian placed the fruit on the table and looked down at the unconscious girl. She couldn’t help but feel worried. Su Qing was usually such a lively girl—though she could be a bit jumpy at times—but now she lay in the hospital bed, pale and with a look of terror on her face; she looked so pitiful.
“Thank you for coming to see Qingqing. You must be Lu Mian, right? This morning, Mr Li told me you were the first to notice something was wrong with Qingqing. I’d like to thank you here.” Su Qing’s mother stood up and thanked Lu Mian earnestly.
“It’s nothing, really—just a small favour. Did the doctor say what’s wrong with Su Qing?” Lu Mian waved her hands hurriedly; she wasn’t quite used to being thanked so earnestly by an elder, so she quickly changed the subject to ask about Su Qing’s condition.
“The doctor said it was a fainting spell caused by fright. It’s just that we don’t know when she’ll wake up. Lu Mian, could you tell me, has anything been going on in your dorm?” Su Qing’s mother looked at Lu Mian with a hopeful expression.
She suspected there might be some conflict in the dorm; otherwise, why would her daughter have been so frightened as to faint in the middle of the night?
“Auntie, Lu Mian?”
Xu Xia’s arrival interrupted their conversation.
“Xu Xia, didn’t you come to see Qingqing this morning?” Su Qing’s mother looked at Xu Xia with some confusion.
Xu Xia walked in, looking somewhat flustered; she didn’t know how to explain why she had come to the hospital again.