Chapter 552: Chapter 480: The Fault of This Poor Monk
Lian Jinsun’s heartbeat stopped at that moment, and a few seconds later, he heard a "creak" as the outside door opened.
"Thud."
"Thud."
"Thud."
The dull sound of high heels stepping on the floor, the ghost had entered the room, and at this moment, Lian Jinsun stared intently at the door of the study he was in, daring not even to breathe heavily.
The study had a wooden door that had been there for so long that it couldn’t even be locked, not to mention stopping a ghost, it couldn’t even stop a person. Just as Lian Jinsun thought the ghost would rush into the study and kill him the next second, the sound of high heels suddenly changed direction.
Lian Jinsun heard the sound of a sliding door, followed by a rustling noise, and the ghost... seemed to have gone into the bathroom, and immediately after, he heard the sound of the toilet flushing.
Lian Jinsun was not one to sit idly by waiting for death, nor was he complacent. Since the ghost had come knocking, it was certainly there to kill him. The only way he could survive was to rely on himself.
He suddenly thought of a living person locked up in the next room. If he could use them to die in his place, perhaps after killing one person, the ghost might leave.
The likelihood of this plan succeeding was very small, but it was his only chance.
Lian Jinsun steeled his heart and set to work. First, he lightened his footsteps and slowly pulled open a crack in the study door. Sure enough, the bathroom door was ajar, and through the half-panel of frosted glass on the door, one could vaguely see a shadow moving inside.
The ghost was in the bathroom, and within that short half a minute, the sound of the toilet flushing came out again.
While the ghost was preoccupied with the toilet, Lian Jinsun slowly pulled the study door open wider, and then tiptoed to the bedroom door. He gently opened the bedroom door to find the man still tied to the chair, his back to him, appearing to have passed out.
Lian Jinsun approached, quietly cut the rope, and hoisted the unconscious man up, dragging him like a shield in front of him.
After listening behind the bedroom door for a while, with no flushing or footsteps, Lian Jinsun cautiously opened the bedroom door and saw no sign of the ghost. The room was dead silent.
The bathroom door was wide open, and there was no one inside.
"Gone?"
Lian Jinsun was skeptical. He had no plans to confront the ghost. He made his way to the room’s door and looked through the peephole. The corridor was also empty of the ghost’s figure, seemingly very safe, with a dim overhead light still on.
The ghost was gone, but what was eerie was that the cold presence in the room lingered. Lian Jinsun knew that the ghost was hiding in some corner of the room.
"Don’t kill me, I can leave him behind." Lian Jinsun silently prayed in his heart and slowly opened the door.
The moment the door opened, Lian Jinsun’s heart leapt into his throat. He was worried about a surprise attack upon opening the door, that the ghost might be squatting right outside the peephole’s blind spot, but as it turned out, he was overly concerned. The corridor was empty.
At this moment, the man began to come to in the midst of the shaking, his mouth, which was stuffed, emitting muffled "mmph mmph" sounds. Naturally, Lian Jinsun had no intention of taking him along. Worried that the ghost might chase after him, leaving one person behind could slow the ghost down.
"Brother, let me repay this kindness in my next life," Lian Jinsun muttered as he pushed the man toward the bathroom. However, the man was extraordinarily stubborn and managed to tightly grasp Lian Jinsun’s body with two arms as thin as bamboo poles, while the "uuuu" noise coming from his mouth grew even louder.
This scene sent Lian Jinsun into a panic. If the ghost were to notice, neither of them would be able to leave today. He tried to pry the man’s arms away, but the man, with the power of a poisonous creature, exploded with astonishing strength. Not only could Lian Jinsun not move the arms, he was almost suffocated by their grip.
By now, Lian Jinsun had realized something was wrong. The man in front of him seemed to have become someone else. With his back to him, the man’s arms were reversed around Lian Jinsun’s waist, with such force that it almost crushed his internal organs.
"Panting—"
The sound coming from the man’s blocked mouth gradually changed from pleading whimpers to a low and hoarse laugh, his mouth like a leaking bellows.
Lian Jinsun struggled to raise his head and his peripheral vision caught the open bedroom door. The next second, he was stunned because he saw someone tied to the chair in the bedroom, from behind it appeared to be the man, but the man was clearly in front of him!
At this moment, Lian Jinsun’s mind went blank. Accompanied by a "crackling" sound, the "man" in front of him twisted his neck 180 degrees, a crooked, shattered ghost face staring intently at him.
At the same time, the "man" tightened the grip on Lian Jinsun’s arms even more, and Lian Jinsun’s entire body made a "crackling" sound.
Spewing blood from his mouth, Lian Jinsun couldn’t even scream as a "gurgling" sound emanated from his throat. Finally, with a "snap," Lian Jinsun’s body broke backward from the waist, and the "man" still held him tight, without letting go.
...
The next morning, Yang Xiao met Monk Wukong outside the villa area’s gate. The latter still looked as relaxed and comfortable as ever, except for his left hand missing a little finger, which was slightly discomforting to look at. Monk Wukong brought his hands together in prayer, "Master Chu, let’s try a different place for steamed buns."
As the monk wished, they went to a different breakfast shop. Monk Wukong had a great appetite, devouring seven meat buns. The landlady kept glancing at him, and even the boss chopping meat in the kitchen was drawn over to take several more looks.
After waiting a long time with no phone calls, Yang Xiao called both Lian Jinsun and Che Xuexiang, but no one answered.
However, when he then called Wen Chongxian, the ringtone unexpectedly sounded from nearby. Holding his phone in one hand, Yang Xiao looked incredulously at Monk Wukong sitting across from him.
Monk Wukong was calm and composed, swallowing the porridge in his mouth before reaching into his pocket to pull out a phone. While answering, he uttered a "Hello?"
Yang Xiao was dumbfounded, and not just him; even the landlady watching the excitement couldn’t help but sigh that the young people really knew how to play—sitting right across from each other and still calling, perhaps to show off their phones?
"You..." Yang Xiao widened his eyes.
"The monk... took the wrong one," Monk Wukong said with a smile.
It was one thing to have taken his own phone by mistake last time, but to have taken Wen Chongxian’s phone this time? How could that be possible?
But before Yang Xiao could further inquire, he saw Monk Wukong stand up and chant a phrase of Buddha’s compassion before asking the boss to pack a cold beef salad and two beef buns to go.
Yang Xiao stood up too, asking, "Where are we going?"
"To the hotel. I think it’s the monk’s fault that Mr. Wen probably didn’t sleep a wink last night," Monk Wukong spoke calmly and serenely, "The packed food is not for me, but for Mr. Wen. Hopefully, he can enjoy a good appetite."
