Seeing Ghosts

Qin Yanan put down the kitchen knife, went to the tap to wash her hands, and splashed water. A few drops landed on her shoes, and four or five drops landed on her calves. The water was as clear and translucent as her skin.

She picked up her trench coat, which was hanging on the back of the chair Liu Chang'an was sitting on, and took out a jade Guanyin pendant from the pocket and hung it around her neck.

Liu Chang'an was washing vegetables when he glanced back. He didn't pay attention to why she suddenly took out a jade Guanyin pendant and hung it around her neck while chopping vegetables.

"I haven't been sleeping well lately, I feel like I've startled some kind of spirit or ghost. It turns out that I went to Miyin Temple with Zhu Juntang and got a jade Guanyin statue, I think it can ward off evil spirits." Qin Yanan explained to herself a little guiltyly, while unbuttoning two buttons on her blouse and putting the jade Guanyin statue inside.

"Your great-grandfather wrote an article titled 'The Guiding Role of Dialectical Materialism in the Construction of Modern Spiritual Civilization,' you can take a look," Liu Chang'an suggested.

"Of course I've seen it... but have you misunderstood something? Dialectical materialism is the foundation of all Marxist doctrines, the worldview and methodology of the proletariat, but it doesn't teach us to directly deny everything unknown," Qin Yanan said indignantly.

"What I mean is, you need to study and improve, strengthen your beliefs and will, which will help you sleep better. Also, studying Marxist theory will help you understand the objective world dialectically, so you won't be afraid of non-existent demons and monsters." Liu Chang'an glanced at the spot where Qin Yanan had placed the jade Guanyin statue and tentatively asked, "What's wrong? Did you really see a ghost?"

"No, it's just... I'm just worried about sleepwalking again." Qin Yanan turned her back and walked to the chopping board. "How could there really be ghosts? I just remembered some customs and traditions I saw when I was little, like calling back the soul, exorcising ghosts, the Ouija board..."

What kind of custom or tradition is the Ouija board?

"I was just saying, don't take my words too seriously."

Frustrated, Qin Yanan grabbed the chili peppers and started chopping them haphazardly.

"Are you on your period?"

You are my relative here.

Liu Chang'an brought over a pig's trotter, pointed it at Qin Yanan, and said, "Say that again? I'll shove the pig's trotter into your mouth."

Qin Yanan chuckled, realizing she had spoken without thinking. Her cheeks flushed slightly. "Sorry, sorry, who told you to say such things?"

Liu Chang'an wasn't really bothered by it; only feudal superstition would put a woman's menstrual blood and black dog blood together. He just wanted Qin Yanan to chop up the cleaned pig's trotters.

Since this topic has come up, Liu Chang'an couldn't help but turn his head to look at the armored transport vehicle not far away. Shangguan Dandan might have been in a state of complete cessation of physiological functions when she was in the Living Coffin, but now she's alive and looks like an innocent and lively... no, a withdrawn little girl.

Liu Chang'an thought for a moment, put down the pig's trotter in his hand, and went to Auntie Xie's shop to buy a pack of sanitary napkins.

"Why would a boy like you sell this?" Auntie Xie chuckled.

"We have guests at home," Liu Chang'an said, seemingly unconcerned.

While Auntie Xie was attending to other customers, Liu Chang'an went over and put the sanitary napkins into the delivery cart. He originally wanted to explain how to use them, but after opening his mouth for a while, he left without saying anything. Just like a remote control, you can use it as soon as you pick it up. Girls should know what this is for just by looking at it.

Does this kind of thing consume a lot of resources? Even Liu Chang'an had never been curious or concerned about this question. However, he had a wealth of knowledge. Taking a typical female role model, namely An Nuan, as an example, and considering the flow and duration of the consumption, Liu Chang'an felt that the increased cost of preparing small hens every day was not much, after all, there was income from selling rice noodles.

Seeing Liu Chang'an emerge from the armored personnel carrier, Qin Yanan asked, "What exactly is this thing for?"

Things are different now. After all, everyone is familiar with each other now, so Qin Yanan naturally couldn't help but be curious. Back then, she was just thinking that as long as the mission was completed, she wouldn't care how Liu Chang'an would handle this strange return gift.

"A coffin? What else can it be used for? To put living people in it, or to put dead people in it," Liu Chang'an said.

"Among the elderly..." Qin Yanan sighed, a complex and indescribable melancholy in her expression, "Perhaps only those of their age can so easily take life and death in stride, offering a coffin for their final moments."

"Do you think this coffin was a gift from your great-grandfather to Mr. Ye Chenyu?" Liu Chang'an asked with a smile.

"What are you laughing at? Your great-grandfather is getting old too; this is a very real issue," Qin Yanan said, displeased.

Liu Chang'an scrutinized Qin Yanan again. This girl was truly flawless; it was impossible for her to act so convincingly. That's right, she was Ye Sijin's great-granddaughter.

As people live longer, while they may not be able to see into people's hearts, their intuition becomes incredibly developed, making it extremely difficult to feign ignorance in front of them.

"That coffin does seem to be exceptionally well-made, but what's strange is, if it were an ordinary coffin, would it need such a escort? Even if it's extremely valuable, a security company would suffice," Qin Yanan, still somewhat puzzled.

"Do you want to go take another look?" Liu Chang'an always felt that Qin Peng's choice of Qin Yanan as his escort might have some deeper meaning. However, Qin Peng was always extremely stubborn. If there was something he was unwilling to reveal, there was no point in asking him specifically... Moreover, things had changed by now, and Qin Peng probably no longer cared about it, but he had said that he would only meet him before his death.

"Okay." Qin Yanan hesitated for a moment before saying, reaching out to touch the jade Guanyin pendant on her chest to calm herself down, since she was going to see the coffin. However, she couldn't feel the outline of the pendant through her clothes at all. Then she remembered that she always wore these pendants that were placed in a relatively low position, which was quite frustrating.

Liu Chang'an and Qin Yanan walked together to the armored transport vehicle. The morning sun already had the majesty of the blazing sun, but whether it was psychological or not, Qin Yanan still felt that when Liu Chang'an opened the vehicle door, a gloomy and cold atmosphere emanated from inside.

Qin Yanan shook her head, feeling that everything she saw lately was strange, and followed Liu Chang'an into the carriage.

Liu Chang'an closed the door, leaving himself and Qin Yanan in the carriage. Apart from Zhou Dongdong once trying to rush in but being dragged out by Liu Chang'an, no other neighbors had seen what was inside.

Liu Chang'an was taken aback for a moment. "Where are the sanitary napkins?"

They've really disappeared.

"What do you see?" Qin Yanan asked, somewhat startled, when she saw Liu Chang'an staring blankly at an empty space.

"That's a ghost," Liu Chang'an said instinctively.

"Don't scare me!" Qin Yanan nervously grabbed Liu Chang'an's arm; she truly believed in ghosts!

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