Chapter 5: Expert
Another Update!! I translate 5 chapters in total at the time I wasn't updating. I need to reviewing them before publishing so I'll update daily those days then I'll update every two days. I need to finish translating this novel before starting the semester TT.
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Lin Yan wasn't expecting the calm that followed. Nothing else happened the rest of the night as the thing seemed to decide it had done enough torture. Lin Yan changed back into his clothes and unplugged the computer. Despite knowing this would never work, the screen was turned off and not turned back on in the night.
Perhaps a new storm was brewing in the silence, but Lin Yan was too exhausted to worry about it. The alcohol still in his system acted as a great tranquilizer, and he rolled over and fell asleep.
Lin Yan's lips were again pressed by something cold while he was sleeping, but he was too deep in sleep to notice it.
His room was clean when he awoke. The red paint was gone, the light gray printed wallpaper and the screen wall painted by students of the Academy of Fine Arts were intact, and the glass was spotless. Apart from the traces of liquid left on Lin Yan's body and clothes, there was no evidence that the absurdity of last night took place. The red clothes were thrown into the washbowl after he took a bath. In comparison with the invisible thing, he was clearly at a disadvantage. It was better to watch what happens as things unravel rather than rush around without a plan.
Lin Yan texted Yin Zhou about the meeting place after he had finished packing up. The reply came almost instantly: See you at the school gate in half an hour.
Lin Yan examined himself in the mirror. Within just two nights, he looked like he had been doing drugs for years, he had a scruffy stubble growing, and his eyes were red. After smelling the minty scent of his shaving foam for the first time, Lin Yan realized that his typically monotonous life was so much more beautiful. The blade was thin and sharp. Just one long stroke across his neck and there would be nothing left.
Humans were such fragile creatures.
"Shit..." Lin Yan hissed, sighing at his misfortune, and put his fingers under the water. Red blood flowed from his fingertip onto the blade after his hand had slipped. Putting a band aid on his finger, Lin Yan leaned against the wall, lamenting how unlucky it was to experience this pain.
Although he didn't know what kind of dye had been used on the funeral clothes, the dye had bled dramatically in the water. Within a short time, the entire basin of water had turned red. Lin Yan glanced at it in disgust as he slammed the door behind him.
At 8 o'clock, Lin Yan saw Yin Zhou holding a Scallion pancake and some fruit outside the school gate.
Both of them regretted trying to drive. There was so much morning rush hour traffic that they couldn't even see the end of the lines of cars. Who designed this kind of urban roundabout? Five ring roads were surrounding the main road, and they had to meet every morning and every night.
Lin Yan and Yin Zhou were approaching the third ring road and still did not have any temper, so all they could do was listen to the radio and eat the breakfast Yin Zhou brought.
"A 13-year-old boy was found hanged at home wearing a red coat in a remote village in Sichuan. Locals suspected it was probably cult-related. It is reported that the boy’s time of birth and time of death are both extremely negative times and very suitable for…"
Lin Yan snapped the radio off.
It seemed as though everything had gotten messed up overnight. Even unreliable news could be reported to the public.
Yin Zhou didn’t care. He hiccupped as he swallowed the last bite of his pancake.
He said with satisfaction: “I spent the rest of the night in the library. I was starving and I couldn’t buy anything. It’s great to feel full."
"There was no exam recently, what were you doing at the library?"
"I was studying the intelligence of the enemy. This enemy works in the dark. Is it possible to defeat it if we understand how it operates? What do you think, buddy?"
Lin Yan turned his face to look at the intense traffic outside the window. He stayed silent for a while before he said softly, "Do you believe that there are ghosts in this world? I feel like something is wrong with me. Maybe I should see a psychiatrist first."
Yin Zhou’s eyes widened in surprise: "You know, even if there is something wrong with you, I am normal, yet we both saw those clothes yesterday."
"…At your house the day before yesterday, I was the only one who thought it was cold, and I was the only one who could feel ‘it’ in the house."
After sorting out his thoughts, Lin Yan told Yin Zhou what happened last night when he was choked by someone.
Lin Yan wasn’t expecting it but Yin Zhou exploded after hearing this, and blurted out: "Fuck, that ghost was a rabbit master during his lifetime?" He scanned Lin Yan’s face over and over again: "Xiao Lin, don’t tell me… you can be considered a nice-looking guy if you look closely. He’s dead and maybe he’s lonely and wants to recruit you as his wife."
"Fuck you. If you aren't serious, get out of my car and leave. Don't forget to burn two boxes of condoms for me when I die." Lin Yan said quietly.
While Lin Yan was talking, the car behind him honked twice, and a 5-6 meter gap had cleared in front of him. He followed the traffic line hurriedly.
Furthermore, I saw in the middle of the night that the whole house was painted red, but in the morning there was nothing. I felt as if I had been dreaming."
Yin Zhou grabbed the backpack from the back seat and hugged it tightly. He said, "Hey, let me show you the results of this brother’s research." As he talked, he took out a dozen crumpled papers from his bag and spread them out on his knee. He flattened them with his hands and began going over them from top to bottom.
""You can't handle shit. I feel uncomfortable just looking at those.
"See, the attributes of a wife. This ghost has foresight."
Lin Yan felt a grass mud horse (1) running across his heart as he roared.
Sure enough, these geeks are something else.
Listen carefully.” Yin Zhou pushed up his glasses with his long fingers: "Ghosts generally fall into two categories nowadays. Dark matter is one of the factors responsible for this. Do you know the law of conservation of energy?"
"…Go on." Lin Yan gave him a blank look
""Every year, the universe expands at a certain rate. If the law of conservation of energy holds, where does the energy that supports the expansion of the universe come from? According to this question, modern physics implies the existence of dark matter and dark energy. Dark matter is invisible, does not radiate electromagnetic waves, and cannot be measured. According to the law of gravity, dark matter and energy account for 96% of the universe's mass, and 4% is what we can discern."
"Many unexplained phenomena are attributed to dark matter, such as meridians in traditional Chinese medicine, the power of the mind, and ghosts. There are many discussions on this subject abroad, but they are blocked in China and difficult to locate.” Yin Zhou spread out his hands."
Lin Yan nodded in agreement. It reminded him of a science fiction novel he had read once.
"What about the second one?"
"Electromagnetic waves are attributed to the second type. There was no attenuation of electromagnetic waves in the environment where the deceased died. A unique energy field is created when a powerful thought is expressed before death. When a person's frequency is similar to this, it will resonate when they come into contact. As a result, the waveform of the original ghost is greatly augmented, so the two can sense each other."
Lin Yan was stunned: “Do you mean...I resonate with the ghost?"
Yin Zhou said indifferently that it was possible. He turned and smiled mysteriously: "Can you explain the phenomenon of love at first sight with electromagnetic fields?"
Lin Yan’s heart stuttered
It’s just resonating. It's the same for both men and women.""
Yin Zhou sighed: "For the time being, I don't feel like falling in love. It’s boring, it’s like a ghost."
It took them three hours to get off the third road ring after they were stuck for three hours. As Lin Yan stepped on the accelerator, he turned on the navigation and hurried toward his destination.
His belief in love was like his belief in ghosts; he hadn't built a lasting relationship. He only understood the panic and anxiety he felt when he encountered it, but he has never imagined that ghosts were also like love, triggered by a specific reason in a specific environment and dragged forcibly into the abyss, unable to escape.
"Have you been in touch with anyone or anywhere special lately?"
Lin Yan thought about it for a moment and shook his head: "No. Every day I’m in the study room, tutor’s office, library, home, cafeteria, there’s nowhere else. However, I have come into contact with many things from several dynasties."
Yin Zhou clumped the pile of information in his hand, and put it back in his backpack despite Lin Yan’s contemptuous eyes, and clicked the buckle shut.
"That's impossible. Even if the Maoshan technique had been used, electromagnetic waves would have decayed quickly in a small object."
A thought suddenly flashed through Lin Yan’s mind.
"There was this place...Last month, my old man arranged for me to do an internship on an archaeological team. It was a small tomb. I was only there for a week."
Yin Zhou's eyes lit up instantly: "There’s this show, we should wait and check it… what the fuck!" Lin Yan hit the brakes. With a bang, Yin Zhou's head struck the windshield, and he cried in pain.
What are you doing?! Braking like that is going to kill you. What if we were rear-ended?!" Lin Yan stared at the empty windshield in shock. When he turned to Yin Zhou, his face changed.
"You… didn’t see that just now?"
"What!" Yin Zhou took off the glasses that had been knocked off-kilter, trying to push them into their original spot, and couldn’t help complaining in grief.
“"There was a hand… Stretching down from the roof of the car" Yin Zhou stared cautiously at the window glass in shock. From behind, a truck drove around their car and continued.
For a while, Lin Yan was too scared to speak. He recalled the white stiff hand that had just slapped the windshield from the roof of the car, but it disappeared in a blink of an eye. Everywhere you looked on the sixth ring road, there were speeding trucks and tankers. He opened his mouth and looked at Yin Zhou. The other party understood his thoughts immediately. Yin Zhou took a breath and hesitated: "Then this thing… it wants a human life."
Lin Yan shook his head. There was a motive behind everything that had happened, but he couldn't say what it was. In a blink of an eye, they were driving out of the city. In the suburbs, the endless rows of poplar trees and the green border fields relaxed the two people a lot. Upon rolling down the car window, Lin Yan inhaled the scent of flowers and plants that filled the car. The pancake smell dissipated inside the car.
Following the GPS's twists and turns, they came to a paved path surrounded by rocks. The surrounding buildings were replaced with bungalows and small farms. On the steps, a yellow dog squatted and stretched its neck. A few hens were gathered together lazily. Now and then, they would pass by a white goose. Lin Yan slowed down and stared at the map displayed on the GPS. He glanced at Yin Zhou distrustfully.
"If I keep going, I'll have to turn around to return to the village. Did your mother refer us to a reclusive expert?"
Yin Zhou leaned over to study the map then turned his head in confusion and looked out the window. Passing by a yellow mud house with a faded couplet on the door, he merely saw a yellow bungalow with a faded couplet. An elderly man in front of it had lost only two front teeth and was leaning back to watch the excitement. Yin Zhou scratched his head with a suspicious look: "The address my mother gave me is at the end of the village, and she said it was amazing. I can't do it alone, so let me buy some tributes to bring with me."
Thus, Lin Yan stopped his car when he passed the marketplace, and bought two gifts according to Yin Zhou’s suggestion....that bastard.
“Are you sure about all this?” Lin Yan looked embarrassedly left and right, carrying a living turtle in one hand and walking back, pointing to the turtle's head, Yin Zhou said happily, "What do you know? These kinds of Psychic masters depend upon this stuff to sustain their lifestyles. Trust me."
After Lin Yan threw the two bastards into the trunk, he took out a bottle of mineral water and gave it to Yin Zhou. Then he opened a bottle and drank a few sips for himself.
As the country cicadas cried one after another, and the wheat headed, there was a wonderful scene of peace and prosperity.
Several children wearing red and green were squatting on the ground playing fan cards not far away. Lin Yan asked Yin Zhou: "What was the name of the expert your mother saw? I’ll ask around."
The image of a bamboo hut with a mantle drooping in front of the porch couldn't escape his mind. An old man in white stroked his beard and smiled slightly. Yin Zhou and he knelt on one knee, clasping fists and saying, “Master, please guide me!"
Yin Zhou took a note from his pocket. He squinted at it, and said perplexedly: “Second Immortal Gu."
Before Lin Yan had enough time to swallow, all the water spewed back out
"Ahem… is that so?"
On the northeast end of the village, Lin Yan and Yin Zhou discovered the legendary Second Immortal Gu's house. Lin Yan's regret in his heart was like torrential rapids when he saw Second Immortal Gu's respectable face from outside the door. In an empty black room, there was an enclave; he didn't know what god was worshipped there. Cross-legged on the futon, an old woman in blue flower cloth closed her eyes and rested her mind.
The red cloth strip that was tied to her forehead was quite imposing.
The posture rivals that of many of the greatest dancers out there!” Yin Zhou pointed at the scene inside and couldn’t help muttering softly.
"Come on, this is the person your mother mentioned. Be respectful." Lin Yan said embarrassedly.
"What should we do?"
"Let’s take a look first. Maybe the real person hasn’t shown up."
Lin Yan and Yin Zhou walked through the door. Upon hearing the movement, the immortal woman lifted her eyelids and hummed aimlessly from her nose.
"Oh, ahem…" Yin Zhou couldn’t hold back his grin and quickly concealed it with a cough.
The events that followed were ridiculous. Having received the turtle and two hundred Yuan brought by Lin Yan, the woman suddenly became energetic. While muttering words, she offered incense to the gods and poured clear water on Lin Yan. After turning around Lin Yan more than ten times, she finally opened her eyes sharply. Lin Yan was so frightened by her that his body was shocked. His only response was to shout: “Aha! I saw it!"
"There is a little girl standing behind you!"
Lin Yan and Yin Zhou stared at each other, holding their breaths.
"Oh, this baby girl died horribly. She said she was locked up and couldn't be born. She had no money to buy clothes or to pay for her death. So, that’s why she’s getting involved with you….."
"Wait, I’ll ask her how to resolve this…."
The immortal woman closed her eyes and began to sing. Lin Yan pointed at the door to Yin Zhou and said: "Do you need someone to grease your feet, what are you waiting for?"
After reciting a long list of words, she opened her eyes, and there were no longer two other people in the room.
Seeing the two hundred Yuan in her hands, the immortal woman shook her head and complained about the impatience of young people nowadays.
Then she started packing up her belongings.
Taking the bastard turtle in her hands, she couldn't help but sighing heavily.
(1) 草泥马: there is a word play in Cǎonímǎ as it literary means "fuck your mother". The Caonima ( 草泥马), literally "Grass Mud Horse", is supposedly a species of alpaca. But there is a similarity in the pronunciation of the 2 words but with different tones. ( you can read about it in Wikipedia for more information). This why I regret studying Chinese TT.
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