I forced myself to hold back the nausea, pointed at Yang Xian'er, and said to Brother Rabbit: She feels like she's been watched lately, I suspect there's an evil spirit following her, you draw out the evil spirit for me.
"Okay, okay, hey, Li gege, you're so annoying, you talk so much, no one likes you." Brother Rabbit scolded me.
I was really burning with anger inside, I don't want your superficial liking.
Brother Rabbit walked up to Yang Xian'er, reaching out to touch her face.
Yang Xian'er quickly tilted her head, trying to avoid Brother Rabbit.
Brother Rabbit coquettishly said: Oh my, what are you afraid of, I'm not taking advantage of you.
After that, Brother Rabbit didn't go to touch Yang Xian'er's face, because Li Mu Zi was already holding an ashtray, and if he forced it, the ashtray might hit Brother Rabbit's head.
Brother Rabbit coughed and said to me: Li gege, you can't see clearly now, this isn't an 'evil' spirit, it's clearly a strong personal desire.
"Are you sure?" I hadn't thought about "strong personal desire" yet, so I asked Brother Rabbit.
Brother Rabbit said it's a hundred percent strong personal desire, not an 'evil' spirit.
Cheng Yan hesitated beside me.
I knew this girl wanted to ask "why".
In any case, the strong personal desire needs to be explained to Yang Xian'er, so I might as well say it in front of everyone.
I said a strong personal desire is a person's obsession. If a person is too deeply attached to a person or a thing, then after they die, it will form a "strong personal desire".
Now the strong personal desire is closely following Yang Xian'er, indicating that Yang Xian'er was the most obsessed person in the life of the deceased.
After explaining the strong personal desire, Yang Xian'er became visibly uneasy.
I ignored Yang Xian'er's emotions and asked Brother Rabbit: Can you draw it?
Brother Rabbit said no problem.
"Draw!"
"You can draw, I have to go change clothes." Brother Rabbit shrugged his shoulders and asked if he could use the bathroom, saying that he was afraid we, as big men, would peek at him while he changed.
Who's peeking at who, what a jerk?
Yang Xian'er nodded in agreement.
Brother Rabbit hummed a little tune and went into the bathroom to change clothes.
When he came out, the stockings, tight clothes, and high heels were all gone, replaced by a white wide robe.
Just like the witches of a long time ago.
I was bored anyway, so I told Cheng Yan: This is the attire of a priest, from a very long time ago, the shaman priests all wore this kind of clothing.
As a traditional descendant of the shamanistic religion, the old Golden Tooth disagreed, saying that this "Fu Zhan" had long been separated from the shamanistic religion and no longer belonged to them.
I don't know if it's because Old Golden Tooth is dissatisfied with "Fu Zhan", or dissatisfied with Brother Rabbit.
"Come, clear everything on the tea table." Brother Rabbit asked us to clear the tea table.
The few of us quickly cleared the tea table.
Brother Rabbit picked up an incense burner, placed it steadily in the center of the tea table, and then laid out a large sheet of Xuan paper, holding a brush in his hand.
He asked the old Golden Tooth to light the three sticks of incense in the incense burner.
Old Golden Tooth took out a lighter and lit them.
After lighting them, Brother Rabbit knelt in front of the tea table, closed his eyes, and held the pen with both hands, lightly tapping the surface of the Xuan paper.
Brother Rabbit softly called out: The soul returns, the soul comes.
These two sentences are the prelude to the witchcraft "Fu Zhan".
Next, Brother Rabbit softly recited the "Fu Zhan sacrificial text".
This sacrificial text is in "Manchu", which I couldn't understand, but the older Golden Tooth could.
He listened while shaking his head and body, seeming to enjoy it very much.
I asked the old Golden Tooth what he was reciting.
Dajinya said there is a part in this "Fu Zhan incantation" called the "Strong Man's Incantation," and there is a part written very well.
I asked Dajinya to translate it for me.
Dajinya again shook his head and spoke out this "Strong Man's Incantation" in a shaking and rocking manner: "On the river of my hometown, there is a bridge. That bridge is me. I have been a bridge for a thousand years. In this one thousand years, your nine lifetimes of reincarnation have all walked over the bridge. I smell your fragrance, bear your footsteps, and never want to leave. You are my obsession, the person I think about day and night. The person I long for, please paint your appearance for me, so I won't be lonely at night. The person I long for, please carve your appearance on the bridge, carve it on me, carve it in my heart. If you are willing, even if one day the stone bridge collapses, my broken body will still bear your image. Even if I sink into the dark, sunless river bottom, I will still look at your image and wait peacefully for another ten thousand years."
The rough meaning of the verse is as described above. As for Dajinya's translation, it is somewhat sentimental. At his age, he still does not shy away from being sentimental, and the translation is quite touching.
Cheng Yan and Huang Xin also understood the story in the "Strong Man's Incantation" and their eyes turned red from listening.
As Rabbit finished reciting the "Strong Man's Incantation," he suddenly spoke softly, "Do you agree?"
The end of the pen shook.
"Thank you," Rabbit said, and let go of his hands.
The pen stood firmly and then, the pen started moving on its own, beginning to paint a picture.
"This is Fu Zhan. Fu Zhan is to place the 'Yin' soul on the pen to answer your questions or help you. Nowadays, Fu Zhan has a new name, called Bi Xian," I whispered to Cheng Yan who was amazed.
Cheng Yan put her hands together and placed them on her chest, saying Rabbit was impressive.
"Well, well," I also thought Rabbit was quite impressive. Not many people know this Fu Zhan technique anymore.
However, if there were only a few people in the whole country willing to learn Fu Zhan, Rabbit's master would not have passed on this skill to Rabbit, who is not even a first chair.
The pen was still drawing on the paper, outlining the appearance of the person, starting slowly and then gradually speeding up. In less than ten minutes, a portrait of a person's head appeared on the paper.
After finishing painting the portrait, the pen did not stop but continued to draw. However, this time it was not a portrait, but a row of words that read: "I love you but..."
After only five characters, Yang Xian'er suddenly pounced on the table, opened the pen, and began to cry uncontrollably.
At that moment, the situation spiraled out of control.
Yang Xian'er's hands roamed over the portrait, her voice trembled as she said, "I already guessed it was you, but we haven't seen each other for a long time. Why can't you let go of me? Why..."
She went from sobbing to wailing, saying things like "Why did you hurt me?" "Why are you still following me?" "Are you still holding a grudge from the past?"
I felt there was a hidden story in this matter.
Li Mu-zi, on the other hand, had a pale face and angrily scolded, "Beast! Yang Xian'er once had a relationship with you, her first love. Now you are coming back to haunt her. You are truly a beast."
I hastily asked Li Mu-zi, "Did Yang Xian'er have a past relationship?"
"I don't want to say more to you," Li Mu-zi refused to answer my question.
I knew that celebrities keep their past relationships a secret because revealing them would affect their popularity in the audience's eyes. So, let's recall - how many current top celebrities have publicly announced their past relationships? There are almost none, except for those unearthed by magical netizens.
"I'll tell you," Yang Xian'er lifted her head and wiped the tears from her eyes.
Li Mu-zi scolded Yang Xian'er, "You are not allowed to say."
"I want to say. Since I became a star, I lost my freedom, I also lost my only lover and friend. Now, suppose my former lover is dead, and his spirit is still around me, can't I even talk about it? I want to speak!"
Since I met Yang Xian'er, I realized that this woman is actually very fragile and indecisive. However, now, her inner fortitude burst forth.
She said to me, "I admit, I let down my former lover. I want to tell the story so that you, and the soul of Xiao Tian in this room, can listen."
After that, with an extremely despondent tone, Yang Xian'er told her story.
In that thirty-fifth chapter, "The Spirit of My First Love Boyfriend," Yang Xian'er was fifteen years old...
In the year Yang Xian'er turned fifteen, she had her first romantic relationship with a boy from the same class.
The boy was Yang Xian'er's classmate.
At that time, despite being beautiful, Yang Xian'er was very insecure, afraid to talk to people, and didn't even dare to look at anyone. She had very severe psychological problems and no friends around her.
Going to school was a painful but necessary task for Yang Xian'er.
The first semester of her sophomore year passed, and in the second semester a new boy transferred to the class.
The teacher arranged for the boy to sit at the same table as Yang Xian'er.
The boy's name was Pu Dong.
According to Yang Xian'er, Pu Dong was like a gentle breeze that blew into her messy life, and was like the setting sun shining on her, bright but not hot, just warm.
With the help of Pu Dong, Yang Xian'er quickly overcame her self-doubts and became a cheerful and outgoing girl.
At the beginning of her junior year, Pu Dong confessed his feelings for Yang Xian'er.
His confession was successful.
The two naturally became boyfriend and girlfriend, studying together, looking forward to a beautiful future together, and spending time together in that pure and innocent era.
This life trajectory ended abruptly on the eve of the college entrance examination. The reason was that Yang Xian'er applied to the Beijing Film Academy.
Yang Xian'er's grades were not as outstanding as Pu Dong's, so it was almost impossible for her to rely on her grades to get into a good university.
Therefore, Yang Xian'er planned to take the route of a talented student and applied to the Beijing Film Academy.
During the arts examination, Yang Xian'er's performance was not outstanding and did not attract special attention from the film academy. However, her otherworldly appearance caught the attention of a director who excelled in filming period dramas.
At the time, the director said to his assistant that Yang Xian'er's modern makeup was not particularly outstanding, but she was exceptionally beautiful in ancient costumes, just like the Hong Kong actress Carina Lau. In modern attire, she was considered beautiful, but not stunning, yet when wearing ancient costumes, she transformed into an ethereal beauty.
He later had Yang Xian'er try on some costumes. As the director had said, Yang Xian'er wearing ancient costumes looked like a celestial being.
As a result, the director said to Yang Xian'er that he could train her, but she would need to find an agent at a talent agency and undergo comprehensive training, from body form to demeanor, and a rigorous training program from the inside out.
The director even assured Yang Xian'er that as long as she went through this hellish training, he guaranteed that she would become famous all over the country.
With this statement, Yang Xian'er's thoughts were swayed. She also yearned for fame, like all young people her age, to enjoy freshness, applause, praise, attention, flashing lights, and big stages.
After careful consideration for over a week, she finally decided to give up her studies and join a talent agency as a trainee under the agency.
Actually, it's not entirely Yang Xian'er's fault for being too selfish. The fact is that making money in our country's entertainment industry is too easy. I once asked a second-tier celebrity who could only do low-end advertisements how much she got for one ad, and she told me it was six hundred thousand.
The money comes too easily and has too much allure for young people.
On the day she left school, Yang Xian'er decisively said to Pu Dong, "I'm sorry, we can't be together anymore, let's break up."
Pu Dong asked her why.
Yang Xian'er bit her lip and told Pu Dong a story. She said, "Once upon a time, there were two eggs. One egg hatched into a bird, and the other hatched into a crocodile. They were good friends when they were young, but their lives changed. The crocodile liked to swim, and the bird liked to fly. Although they still appreciated each other, they no longer had common interests."
Yang Xian'er said that parting didn't mean not liking each other, it was just that people from different worlds could never come together.
Yang Xian'er left, leaving Pu Dong with a resolute figure.
Yang Xian'er said that when she reached the corner of the corridor, she felt that her words were too harsh and wanted to turn back to look at Pu Dong. But when she turned around, Pu Dong was already gone, it seemed that Pu Dong didn't love her deeply.
At that time, Yang Xian'er sighed and completely let go of this relationship, joining the entertainment company and slowly climbing the ladder, starting as a trainee, then taking small roles, and finally becoming a popular actress due to the success of a drama.
It had been six years since the day they parted ways.
Six years had passed, and Yang Xian'er said that she had even forgotten what Pu Dong looked like, until she saw this sketch drawn by Rabbit Lord, she remembered his appearance completely.
I asked Yang Xian'er, "Did you hear anything from Pu Dong after you left?"
Yang Xian'er tried hard to think and said, "Yes."
She said that when she and Pu Dong broke up, she was about to take the college entrance examination, and she was afraid that Pu Dong would be distracted by the breakup and affect his performance, which would be bad.
So Yang Xian'er asked her younger sister to visit Pu Dong once. Her sister told her that Pu Dong had been studying even harder, as if he didn't care at all about the breakup.
Yang Xian'er said, "Later my sister told me that Pu Dong got into Beijing Normal University."
You should know that during the mock examination, Pu Dong's score was predicted to barely reach the admission line for regular universities, but it was definitely not enough to get into a prestigious university like Beijing Normal University.
"I think he hates me, that's why he worked so hard to stand out," said Yang Xian'er in a disappointed, frustrated, and somewhat angry tone.
I nodded, "But why would Pu Dong pay such close attention to you?"
"Why do you even ask?" Li Muzi couldn't resist and interjected, "I think it's because Pu Dong, that idiot, couldn't find a job after graduating from a prestigious university. He's just lingering around aimlessly, and now he sees his ex-girlfriend, who has become famous all over the country. So he's jealous."
I had to admit that Li Muzi's explanation made sense, but I really didn't want to make baseless assumptions about Pu Dong like that.
Moreover, a former boyfriend who had been absent for six years, suddenly paying attention to Yang Xian'er, made the whole situation not that simple.
I changed the subject and asked Yang Xian'er, "By the way, you mentioned that something strange happened the day when you felt Pu Dong staring at your back. Could you tell me about it?"
"No," before it was Li Muzi's turn to speak, Yang Xian'er firmly refused. She said that the incident had nothing to do with Pu Dong, so there was no point in mentioning it.
Yang Xian'er added, "In fact, in the six years, I have not seen Pu Dong even once."
After saying that, she lowered her head and muttered, "Actually, if Pu Dong really came to find me, I would be willing to see him again, to say what I never said before. But why hasn't he come?"
In my heart, I thought, perhaps he is a very proud boy.
With everything said, Li Muzi couldn't hold back anymore and said to me, "Conjuring spirits, right? now you should be able to get rid of this damn ghost for Yang Xian'er, right? Flat rate, fifteen thousand!"
"Um... wait a minute," I felt that dealing with this strong spirit so crudely was not quite right. I left the big gold tooth to watch over here. If I hadn't returned after midnight, then he could take care of this strong spirit.
After saying that, I went out by myself, wanting to clarify the matter.
I always felt that Pu Dong had something to say, and I wanted to help him say it.
After leaving, I explained the situation to my hacker friend and asked him to find out information about Pu Dong for me.
My friend said that there were probably thousands, even tens of thousands of people named Pu Dong in the country, how could he find out?
I said that he was a classmate of the now famous Yang Xian'er.
Yang Xian'er is a celebrity, so it would be easy to find information about her. My hacker friend said it was no problem, and would get back to me within half an hour.
I agreed.
Thirty minutes later, I really received an email from my hacker friend.
Opening the email, I saw the information about Pu Dong.
Pu Dong: 24 years old this year, graduated from college two years ago, died in a car accident fifteen days ago, temporarily residing at 367 Taoli Zhuang in Tongcheng, Beijing.
So Pu Dong was living in Tongcheng?
I hurriedly hailed a taxi and went to the subway station, transferred at the subway station, and went to Taoli Zhuang in Tongcheng.
At "Taoli Zhuang", I found the landlord of 367.
The landlord was a plump old lady.
I asked the old lady if there was a young man named Pu Dong living here.
The old lady thought for a moment and said, "Yes!"
"Has he been in trouble recently?" I asked the old lady.
"Who knows, he always pays the rent half-yearly, and there are still three months left," the old lady said.
I was stunned. Could it be that the old lady didn't know about Pu Dong's death at all?
Generally speaking, if someone dies, their family should come to see where they lived, right? This is human nature. How could Pu Dong have been dead for fifteen days and his family didn't come to see where he lived?
If his family came to see where Pu Dong lived, then the landlord had no reason not to know that Pu Dong had passed away.
I remained calm and asked the old lady where Pu Dong lived.
The old lady said that Pu Dong lived in the first room on the third floor, right-hand side, and then asked who I was.
I said I was a policeman from Guangzhou.
After hearing that, the old lady quickly adopted a careful appearance and said she had long seen that Pu Dong was not a good person, always sneaking out at night, and asked me to be careful.
I said I understood and went upstairs.
Judging from the landlord's words, Pu Dong really doesn't seem to be a good person, does he?
When I arrived at the door of Pu Dong's room, an old-fashioned lock hung on his door.
Rents here are very cheap, so the door is not an anti-theft door but a traditional wooden door, with a lock hanging on it before going out.
I could open this old-fashioned lock. I walked around, bent a piece of wire into a "7" shape, stuck it into the lock, and gently opened the lock.
I was surprised. I always thought that Pu Dong, living alone, should have a messy room, but it was actually very clean and tidy.
"This guy is quite particular." I put the wooden sheath back on the door and prepared to search the room for anything strange.
Ding dong.
Just as I was about to search the room, my phone received a text message.
It was from my hacker friend.
The content was: Shui, I forgot to send another message just now. Pu Dong's parents died in a car accident fifteen years ago, and Pu Dong grew up with his grandfather. However, in the year when Pu Dong was fifteen, his grandfather passed away from a sudden heart attack.
After reading this message, I was almost shocked. So this very particular guy was actually an orphan since he was little?