Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Both parties expressed extreme fear.

Li Hao and his friends huddled together on the sofa, shivering. Strictly speaking, this was their first time seeing a ghost, and they saw the female ghost's appearance so clearly.

No wonder! No wonder Black Hair Number Two was gossiping this morning about whether Dr. Wu had misdiagnosed them. After the secret characters on their palms disappeared, they started sneezing inexplicably again.

So, yesterday's sneezing was cured, but damn, they got hit again today!

"Ahhhh, help! Stay away from me! I'm calling the police to arrest you!" Tang Xueshan screamed in panic, fumbling for her phone, only to realize belatedly, "Wuwuwu, you're all ghosts, the police can't do anything about this!"

"What did I do to deserve this? Why are you haunting me? Someone, save me!"

Li Hao and his friends: "..."

Damn, this is something you don't see every day. Ghosts calling for the capture of ghosts!

This is complete madness!

"Damn, this girl is so unlucky. Others might encounter one ghost when renting, but she ran into five male ghosts at once? Her luck is out of this world."

"Look at this new patient, her face is deathly pale, while these five male ghosts look quite healthy. They must have been draining her yang energy. Why target just one girl? Even when shearing sheep, you don't do it like this!"

"So, this is what ghosts look like? Not that scary after all. They're even wearing school uniforms. Are they student ghosts? With so many male ghosts, no wonder this female patient is having trouble breathing."

"Dr. Wu, please help quickly. I can't bear to see a beautiful girl suffer. Can you get rid of these five male ghosts? Or maybe capture them and use them as medicinal ingredients."

"These five look somewhat familiar..."

Administrator He Yunxiao looked at the shivering group inside and then at the comments in the chat: "..."

Ha, I knew Li Hao and his gang were a bunch of dogs and not quite human, but I didn't expect they had already turned into ghosts.

So, I told them earlier that living on campus would be better. These guys complained about the poor conditions of the school dormitories and the long, tiring commute, insisting on renting a place near the school. Now, they've hit the jackpot, haven't they?

I'm so smart and clever.

Li Hao and his friends kept a five-meter distance from Tang Xueshan, who was hiding behind the curtains with a broom in hand, only her terrified eyes visible.

This drama queen ghost, was she an actress in her past life?

Li Hao and his friends huddled together, scared and quickly seeking help from Dr. Wu, but when they saw the comments in the chat, they were so angry their heads were buzzing.

"Bullshit! We are living, breathing men, full of yang energy! She's the ghost! Achoo—"

Tang Xueshan screamed in horror, "You're the ones talking nonsense! I'm a heroine among women, I never suffer from menstrual pain, and my hands and feet are like little stoves in winter! Before calling yourselves alive, remember to wipe your snot first!"

Now it's a case of each sticking to their own story.

Even the onlookers Han Ye and Fan Xuan couldn't stand it anymore and casually threw a "Carnival" gift in the live stream, commenting:

"Yesterday, we met these juniors and Dr. Wu at Beijing University of Science and Technology."

There were also many students in the live stream who were happy about Professor Zhao Qingyun's gradual recovery. They recalled that they had indeed seen these guys at the entrance of the professor's apartment building yesterday and started agreeing in the chat.

Tang Xueshan looked at the chat comments and gradually became incredulous: "No way, I'm the living one, how could I be a ghost? I don't believe it!"

Wang Dong was on the verge of tears, never expecting to be accused by ghosts of not being alive in this day and age.

Wang Dong raised his hands above his head and shouted towards Dr. Wu, who was watching the commotion, "Dr. Wu, let the heavens judge the loyal and the treacherous! Achoo—"

So let it be judged.

Dr. Wu said, "Black Hair No. 3 took a few candles from my backpack earlier, right? Take out a white candle, stand around it, turn off the lights, and light one."

Dr. Wu glanced at the bustling live stream and said, "I just mentioned that viewers with weak horoscopes or conflicting zodiac signs should go to sleep immediately."

Black Hair No. 3 gave an awkward smile and hurried back to his room to grab a white candle. Wang Dong forced himself to turn off the lights and then stumbled back.

They huddled around the candle, and Li Hao pulled out a lighter to light it. The faint candlelight lit up the small space, but the normal flame shifted into an eerie black-green glow.

Dr. Wu instructed, "Look at the shadows."

They quickly looked down and saw their own shadows under the candlelight.

Li Hao was thrilled and looked up triumphantly, "See? We’re... Ahhh—"

Li Hao and the others were so terrified their hearts nearly stopped, and they instantly collapsed to the ground.

In front of them, Tang Xueshan’s head appeared to have a gash, with thick blood gushing out. The blood trickled down her forehead, leaving a long streak on her deathly pale face.

"OMG, this is straight out of a horror movie—what a terrifying twist!"

"Is she really a female ghost? Ugh, I was wrong. I always ship the wrong couples in novels too!"

"My bad, guys, I shouldn’t have scolded you earlier."

"...I’m out. Going to sleep now."

"Is this what ghosts are like? Seriously, why do they always connect with Dr. Wu? Who’s calling Hengheng a scammer now? Step up and take the heat."

Countless viewers were terrified, clutching their racing hearts and quickly flipping their phones face down on the table.

OMG, we’ve actually seen a ghost.

This is even scarier than the last time we saw the coach’s ghost bride handing out wedding red envelopes. I wonder if eating nothing but ginger these days will help me cope with this.

Tang Xueshan reached up to touch her face and felt blood on her palm. She whispered in horror, "Am I dead? How did I die?"

Dr. Wu’s gentle voice softly guided her, "Do you remember now?"

Dr. Wu also messaged the administrator, He Yunxiao, asking him to turn on the special effects and beauty filters to make Tang Xueshan look less horrifying.

Tang Xueshan’s face was filled with confusion. She lowered her head, blood still dripping, as hidden memories slowly returned. "I... I remember I was supposed to meet my boyfriend to go to the supermarket. When we were outside the mall, I was... hit on the head by something falling from above."

So, she really died?

"Another falling object? That’s illegal! Can’t people stop throwing things? This girl died for nothing."

"I’m curious—why didn’t she realize she was dead? And it seems like she never noticed those guys."

"+1, same curiosity. Shouldn’t she be reincarnating?"

"Found out, it’s not someone throwing things from above, it was a flower pot blown down by the wind that hit her head."

"LOL, Hengheng’s special effects are adorable. The female ghost with bunny ears doesn’t look scary anymore—Hengheng is such a sweetheart."

Wu Heng added, "Someone’s set up a formation in this house, that’s why you can’t see each other."

Wu Heng was at a loss for words with Li Hao and the others. He’d already warned them not to rent the west-facing house because their birth signs clashed, but they went ahead and did it anyway. It’s their bad luck.

When they heard the word "formation," Li Hao and the others got goosebumps. Following Wu Heng’s lead, they tiptoed around the house with the eerie green candlelight, keeping the lights off.

"Holy crap, Li, there’s incense and paper money here."

"What the heck is this creepy scribble? I can’t make sense of it."

"Is this peach wood? Damn it, the landlord’s a total jerk for renting us this place."

Li Hao and the others felt like their world was crashing down. Holding the candle, they actually saw things they had never noticed before in the house. They had been living here for several days! They were really lucky to be alive.

Tang Xueshan was freaked out, wondering what the hell was going on.

Li Hao couldn’t help but turn back and ask, "Hey, we didn’t notice, but how about you? Don’t you ever go out, go to school, or work?"

Tang Xueshan scratched her head and said, "Huh? I work from home. I used to be a web author before I died, and I’m a total homebody. As long as I have food and drink, I can stay indoors for months without a problem."

While others felt stuck at home, counting the days, Tang Xueshan was different—she was totally content.

Just then, Fan Tu popped in, sent a gift, and blurted out:

"Newbie, are you the ‘Muyu Yimian’ from Jinjiang’s Pure Love Channel?"

She’d been scared of running into a ghost and was about to ditch the stream and sleep, but she got hyped when she saw Tu Tu’s comment.

"Wait, you’re the author of ‘Retrograde’? Damn, I’m a huge fan—I’ve thrown so many deep waters. So, this is what you look like?"

"Is it really her? I saw the obituary her boyfriend posted on the book page."

"Ugh, I was devastated when I saw the obituary. ‘Retrograde’ was at chapter 127, right at the peak, and then the author just… died. I’m losing it."

"Author, please, what happens to the main couple after the big fight? Do they get back together?"

Wu Heng watched as the live stream, which was supposed to be a medical consultation, turned into Tang Xueshan’s fan meetup.

The other viewers who didn’t read novels were quiet. Are these fans that obsessed? Don’t they realize the girl’s dead?

Tang Xueshan was also confused: "Huh? I didn’t know I got killed by a falling flowerpot. After I finished grocery shopping that day, I just kept updating daily until the end. Didn’t you guys see the last twenty chapters?"

Seeing the screen flooded with ‘No,’ Tang Xueshan, forgetting she was supposed to be consulting Wu Heng, pinched her stuffy nose, kept her distance from Li Hao and the others, and headed to the study with her phone.

Wang Dong, seeing where she was headed, yelled in despair, "That’s my bedroom!!!"

No wonder he was sneezing the most. Turns out, the girl had been working in his bedroom.

She must’ve been a night owl too—no wonder he kept hearing keyboard tapping at night.

Tang Xueshan went to the study, fired up the old black-and-white computer, and logged into the bloody Green River—wait, no, Blood River.

"I was so confused—I thought I nailed the climax, but then the readers’ comments were all weirdly asking why I didn’t kill off the main couple."

"And inexplicably, no one read the later chapters. I thought I had messed up the writing!"

The fans in the live stream, seeing the twenty chapters and the last chapter clearly marked "The End," were trembling with excitement.

All this talk about ghosts, weak birth signs, and zodiac clashes is total BS!

Tang Xueshan opened chapter 128, slowly scrolling through the page while saying, 'I thought Green River's moderation system had a glitch, so I wrote a bit more risqué.'

Seeing this, Wu Heng also joined the excited fans in reading. When he saw the two men in the book kissing intensely, with even wilder content in the next chapter, he coughed uncomfortably.

This... this is...

So bold? So intimate?

Wu Heng felt like he’d just had an education!

"Holy crap, this is amazing, the story is so juicy! Rolling around in excitement!"

"Your favorite author, even in death, is still feeding you content. My author keeps taking breaks and recently ghosted the story, QAQ. Is this just how the world works?"

"I never thought I’d see such spicy paid content on Green River in my lifetime. Maybe Green River should just launch an underworld edition."

"My friend keeps asking why she can't get into the Chengde Medical Hall live stream, and I can't take screenshots or record. She’s so frantic, scratching her head, hahaha."

Li Hao and the other straight guys weren’t into BL novels and just didn’t get it. They just watched the excited netizens and couldn't help but say, "Dr. Wu, do you think Cao Xueqin had any serious illnesses? Can we video call him for a consultation? Maybe he can share the last 40 chapters of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' with us."

'Dream of the Red Chamber' is a must-read for the college entrance exam in Chinese, so Li Hao and the others had read it and could clearly feel the difference between the first 80 chapters and the last 40 chapters, hence their comment.

The chat blew up even more, and even Tang Xueshan herself expressed her desire to see it.

Wu Heng: "...He’s probably been reincarnated a bunch of times by now."

Tang Xueshan finished releasing all the remaining chapters, giving her fans one last treat before shutting down.

'Dr. Wu, what’s going on with me? Do I need meds?' Tang Xueshan asked, touching her throat. She was really uncomfortable and didn't want to go out, so she decided to seek consultation online.

Wu Heng said, "It’s because you don’t realize you’re dead, so your yin energy is weak. Plus, these young men have too much yang energy, which is overpowering your yin energy, making you feel uncomfortable and unable to breathe."

"Li, you’ve been sneezing because her yin energy’s messing with you."

Li Hao and the others exchanged glances, feeling like total badasses.

In horror movies, female ghosts are so powerful, toying with people like puppets, but they actually made a female ghost sick with their insane yang energy!

Li Hao and the others couldn't stop laughing: "Hahaha, it's all thanks to us!"

Until Wu Heng's next sentence completely froze their smiles—

"I’ll whip up a prescription later. One for Li Hao and the guys to boost their yang energy, and another for them to burn for you, then use yin fire to chill it. After drinking the decoction, it will increase your yin energy. In short, each replenishes their own. Whether human or ghost, when the energy is sufficient, the body won't have problems."

Li Hao pointed at Tang Xueshan, "She’s not leaving? She’s still hanging around?"

Tang Xueshan said irritably, 'This is my house!'

Seeing the young men shrinking like turtles, Tang Xueshan noticed their school uniforms and realized they were just high school students. Seeing they were younger than her, she thought of her younger boyfriend and snorted, 'I didn't know I was a ghost before, but I'll leave now.'

Li Hao and the others instinctively wanted to stop her, but Tang Xueshan had already floated towards the door. As soon as she opened the door and stepped out, she let out a scream: 'Ah—'

Tang Xueshan collapsed on the ground, staring in shock at the thick black mist rising from her foot, her already weak yin energy dissipating into the surroundings.

She felt even worse than when she was connected with Wu Heng, completely weak and unable to move, lying on the ground.

"Hey, miss, author, are you okay?" Li Hao and the others frowned, looking at the ghost on the ground, afraid she might jump up and attack them.

"Author! Author, are you okay? I’m heading back to your page to drop some thunder, thank you for the selfless sharing, it was really amazing."

"Why can't I get out? Wah wah, my wife still provides for me even after her death. I hope she's doing well."

"I heard that Muyu Yimian, the lady, is an orphan, and the money from donations and rewards has no family to benefit from it. It's better to buy some spirit money and burn it for her, as long as we know her real name."

Wu Heng stared at the panting ghost on the ground and said, "She's imprisoned here, unable to escape."

Seeing the fans in the live stream getting anxious, Wu Heng smiled and said, "Don't worry, everyone. I'll look after my patient. I'm logging off to get the medicine ready."

Wu Heng clicked to end the live stream, picked up his phone, and walked towards the pharmacy of Chengde Medical Hall.

While getting the medicine ready, he sent a message in the group.

"Sweet Heng Heng: @Group Leader-Li Hao, the closest well to your rented place should be the one behind your school's back mountain. I'll have Xi Xi deliver the medicine. Arrange for someone to fetch it from the well."

The little white snake was extremely indignant. Although it was said that Xi Xi would go, it couldn't stand the thought of Xi Xi doing child labor, so it always ended up doing the work itself.

Li Hao and his friends turned pale. The area behind their school was said to be haunted. It was said that Shi Xuan used to stay there, and perhaps influenced by him, it felt like there were evil spirits.

It was almost ten at night, and they were supposed to go to the back mountain to fetch medicine for a ghost...

They could still endure the sneezing; a runny nose for a few more days was no big deal. But the female ghost Tang Xueshan seemed to lack yin energy, and without the medicine, she probably wouldn't make it.

Li Hao stomped his foot and encouraged himself, "I'm going to join the Party and become a Party member in the future. Think of this as serving the ghost community early!"

Li Hao picked up the flashlight at the door and called Wang Dong to go out with him, leaving the other three trembling and staring at Tang Xueshan.

Ugh, going or not, it's terrifying!

Wu Heng quickly prepared the two sets of medicine, wrapped them in yellow paper, and placed them on the little white snake's head. "Off you go."

The little white snake: '?'

Wu Heng didn't even bother asking if it would help Xi Xi out anymore, just placed it on its head directly?

Wu Heng: "I'll say something nice about you to Uncle He."

Hearing this, the little white snake bit a leaf, carried the medicine package, and immediately ran off.

That was all the motivation it needed!

Li Hao and Wang Dong huddled like scared dogs by the well behind the school, feeling like everything around them was strange.

So scary!

"Comrade Li, brother comrade, what's that over there? *sneeze*—" Wang Dong waved his flashlight, swallowing his saliva as he pointed at the black mist not far away.

Li Hao didn't dare to look. When he saw the little white snake bringing the two packages of medicine with a grim face, he let out a scream and bolted.

The little white snake lay by the well, its red eyes fixed on the unclear black mist: '?'

The little white snake quickly dived into the well and returned, too scared to say anything else, and didn't care about the black mist spreading around.

Li Hao and his friends soon returned home, rubbing their noses that were sneezing wildly, and glanced at the female ghost sister curled up on the floor.

"Time to brew the medicine."

The medicine for the living was easy to brew; they had learned it from Wu Heng at Chengde Medical Hall. But they had never prepared medicine for a ghost before.

Following Wu Heng's instructions, they placed the burnt herbs in a bowl made of yellow paper and filled it with a bowl of mineral water.

They lit the remaining half of the white candle again. The black-green flame lit the stove, and they placed the paper bowl on top to steam.

Two burners: one for their herbal medicine, and one for Tang Xueshan.

As both pots started boiling, steam rose from one, while the other emitted a gas that drifted downward.

Li Hao couldn't help but reach out to test it.

His fingers touched the white vapor, but instead of the expected heat, an icy chill shot through his bones, making him shiver.

No wonder Dr. Wu said to use yin fire for cold—it was freezing.

"Hey, writer girl, time for your medicine." Li Hao and the others each ladled out a bowl of the hot medicine, then took the paper bowl and pushed it in front of Tang Xueshan.

Tang Xueshan: '...Are you treating me like a dog?!'

Tang Xueshan took a deep breath as she got up from the floor. She held the paper bowl with both hands and downed the entire bowl of medicine, letting out a long sigh: 'This medicine really hits the spot.'

She didn't feel as worn out as before, and she could breathe more easily.

Even after Li Hao and the others turned on the lights, she noticed some subtle changes in the house's decor since these teenage boys moved in.

Tang Xueshan stood at the door, looking a bit down: 'I'm a homebody, but choosing not to go out and being forced to stay in are two different things.'

She hadn't wronged anyone, so why was she being treated this way even after death?

'Why are you looking at me like that?' Tang Xueshan noticed the changes in Li Hao and the others' faces and asked in surprise.

Li Hao checked his phone and said, "Dr. Wu says to pour the leftover medicine on the wall."

Tang Xueshan looked at the paper bowl; there was still a bit of medicine left, with some dregs. It was too bitter, so she usually left some. She followed the instructions and poured the medicine onto the white wall by the door handle.

Under the brown medicine, faint red words, like blood, appeared:

"Xueshan, I will always love you."

Each word looked carved into the wall, sharp and final, like a goodbye.

Tang Xueshan froze: 'That's my boyfriend's writing.'

As an orphan, she cherished this relationship. Being a homebody, she didn't start dating until she was twenty-five. Her boyfriend was a sophomore five years younger than her, and they had met by chance online, never expecting to actually get together.

Tang Xueshan wasn't very outgoing, even somewhat avoiding social interactions, but her boyfriend was a little sunbeam—enthusiastic and proactive, with stars in his eyes when he looked at her, bringing her a lot of positive energy.

Since she was financially stronger, she had wondered if her younger boyfriend was after her money. In her memory, he hadn't visited since her death a few months ago.

Writing a few words on the wall to show loyalty is useless.

Empty words are no match for a big sum of money!

Tang Xueshan felt a pang of sadness and cursed inwardly: 'He was definitely after my money. Not coming to see me is one thing, but after all the money I spent on him, couldn't he even burn some paper money for me?'

What kind of day is this? I didn't check the almanac.

Being a ghost is bad enough, but now I'm heartbroken too!

Tang Xueshan felt quite depressed; after all, it was her first love, and it was hard to forget.

She looked up at Li Hao and the others, who were scared like startled birds, huddling together.

"Miss, you... even if you're heartbroken, don't come after us. We're high school students, and humans and ghosts are different. Please spare the future of our country." Li Hao and the others, thinking of Coach Guo Jiang's misfortune, were terrified that the female ghost might grab them for a ghost marriage.

Tang Xueshan looked them up and down, then floated towards the master bedroom, muttering: 'I'm a ghost, not blind.'