"Lin Ziyang, what are you doing?"
Sitting on the edge of a flower bed, Lin Ziyang turned toward his friend Li Lei, who was running over.
"I'm upset."
"What's wrong?"
Li Lei sat beside Lin Ziyang and asked.
"My mom and dad are getting divorced."
"Divorced? What's that?"
"It means Mom and Dad are going to live apart."
"Oh, that's all? It's fine. My dad sleeps on the couch every day. Let them live apart. It's fine. Let's go play."
Lin Ziyang shook his head.
"Not apart like that. They won't live in the same house anymore. And when I go out to play, only one of them will come with me."
"Oh! Like that... It's okay, I have an idea!"
Lin Ziyang turned to look at Li Lei.
"You have an idea? What is it?"
"Hehe, whenever my dad wants to sleep in the bedroom, he buys Mom a present. Once she's happy, she lets him in."
"All he has to do is buy a present?"
Lin Ziyang asked, his eyes shining.
"Hmm..." Li Lei thought for a moment. "No, a few times, Dad bought presents and Mom still wouldn't let him in."
"I remember now! You have to buy a present, but it has to be a surprise!"
Li Lei looked at Lin Ziyang.
"Do you know what a surprise is? It's when Mom gets a present without knowing about it beforehand!"
Lin Ziyang thought for a moment, then said dejectedly, "But Mom and Dad are both really angry. Dad won't give Mom a surprise."
Li Lei patted Lin Ziyang's head.
"You're being silly. Why don't you buy the presents? Once your mom and dad are happy, tell them not to split up. They'll definitely listen to you!"
"If you don't have enough money, I have some!"
At those words, a smile finally appeared on Lin Ziyang's face. He sprang off the edge of the flower bed.
"I have money. Thank you, Li Lei! I'll go buy presents right now, one for Mom and one for Dad! I'll surprise them!"
"I'll go with you!"
"No need!"
Lin Ziyang waved and ran off.
When he got home, Lin Ziyang found only his dad there. After saying hello, he put his piggy bank on the bed, covered it with a quilt, and smashed it.
He was afraid it would be too loud and his dad would hear.
It was only a surprise if they didn't know. If they knew, it wasn't.
After gathering all the money from the piggy bank, Lin Ziyang was about to run outside again.
"Where are you going?"
His dad's voice stopped him. Nervous, he faltered and didn't dare speak.
But his dad didn't seem to notice his nervousness. He simply asked, "Are you going to live with Dad or Mom from now on?"
Lin Ziyang froze, then said, "I'll live with Dad and Mom!"
"No. You can only choose one!"
"No! I want both!"
"I said no!"
His dad's shout frightened Lin Ziyang into tears, and he turned and ran out of the house.
He stopped crying after a little while.
He still had to buy presents and surprise Mom and Dad.
Once they had their surprise, they wouldn't split up.
Wiping away his tears, Lin Ziyang ran out of the residential complex.
Soon, he picked out two presents.
A cosmetics set and a razor.
Mom puts on makeup and face masks every day. She's always saying Dad doesn't care about her and won't buy her any. She'll definitely like this!
Dad's razor keeps pulling on his beard. He's mentioned it several times, but Mom hasn't replaced it. I'll get him a new one!
Carrying the presents he had spent all his money on, Lin Ziyang excitedly went home.
As luck would have it, no one was home.
But looking at the presents in his hands, he found himself stumped.
He had the presents. How could he make them a surprise?
Lin Ziyang searched the rooms for a way to turn the presents into a surprise.
Soon, he found one!
The wardrobe in Mom and Dad's room!
While his parents were out, Lin Ziyang hid inside the wardrobe with the presents.
When Mom and Dad came home and opened the wardrobe, they'd see the surprise!
Then he could get them to listen to him.
With that thought in mind, Lin Ziyang waited quietly inside the wardrobe.
After an unknown amount of time, Lin Ziyang fell asleep.
Later, a noise woke him.
Mom and Dad were back, but they were arguing.
Lin Ziyang listened for a while and realized it was about him.
Mom's scolding Dad for shouting at me. They can't find me, and Mom's worried.
Secretly pleased, Lin Ziyang stayed obediently hidden in the wardrobe, waiting for the moment his parents opened it.
But the argument grew louder and louder. Suddenly, Lin Ziyang heard a scream.
He wanted to get out, but before his hand touched the wardrobe door, he stopped.
If he went out, there would be no surprise, and his mom and dad would split up.
So I can't go out!
Before long, however, Lin Ziyang smelled acrid smoke and felt the temperature rising.
He didn't know what had happened. He wanted to find his parents, but he was afraid of losing them.
He endured it until he saw flames outside through the gap in the wardrobe.
Thick smoke billowed into his face, and Lin Ziyang coughed violently.
Even so, he stifled his coughing, afraid his parents would hear him.
I have to wait for Mom and Dad to open the door!
Smoke kept entering his mouth and nose. Lin Ziyang felt a terrible heat inside his chest.
The edges of his vision began to darken, and everything gradually grew blurry.
He felt as though he couldn't breathe. He reached out, wanting to knock on the wardrobe door.
But in the end, he never did.
If he knocked, Mom and Dad would split up.
"I have to surprise Mom and Dad..."
His consciousness sank into darkness.
Lin Ziyang didn't know how much time had passed.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw a man with triangular eyes.
The man smiled at him and said, "Good boy. Do as you're told from now on."
Lin Ziyang didn't know who the man was, or who he himself was.
He remembered only that he still had something left to do. It was important, and he had to do it!
But no matter how he ran, he couldn't escape the man's house. Every time he was caught and brought back, the man whipped him with something wrapped in yellow paper.
He was afraid of pain, but he wanted even more to finish that task.
Seemingly noticing his obsession, the man told him, "Be good. Do as I say, and I'll help fulfill your wish."
Lin Ziyang understood. He chose to believe the man.
After that, Lin Ziyang did many things at the man's command.
He either scared people or did things even he didn't understand.
He didn't know how much longer he had to obey, but if he didn't, he would be beaten.
On one occasion, Lin Ziyang went out and frightened someone from beneath a bed. Not long after he returned, a sudden cloud of smoke engulfed him.
Lin Ziyang seemed to have experienced that feeling before, but he couldn't quite remember.
The smoke came quickly and disappeared just as quickly.
Afterward, he grew very weak, and the man kept helping him recover.
During this process, he sensed that the heat inside the man, which he hated, had diminished considerably.
Maybe I can escape?
Lin Ziyang considered it.
He didn't have to wait long for the opportunity.
Another time, when he saw the man stagger back into the room, he prepared to act.
He intended to knock over the jar that bound him and leave this place.
But before he could act, the smoke that had burned him before swept over him again.
This time, it was thick.
Enveloped in smoke, Lin Ziyang felt as though he had returned to that day.
Looking at the wardrobe door right in front of him, Lin Ziyang raised his hand and held it suspended in the air for a long time.
Even as his body vanished, that hand never came down.
"If I push it open, it won't be a surprise anymore."
When Chen Miao woke again, it was the following day.
Perhaps because he'd had the night to process it, Chen Miao wasn't as deeply affected this time.
Still, the burning sensation in his chest after inhaling thick smoke remained vivid in his memory.
"So Zhong Fa really did kill Wang Dong, then turn him into a zombie."
Through Lin Ziyang's memories, he confirmed that Wang Dong's death was connected to Zhong Fa.
Chen Miao also understood why the Emergency Affairs Administration had previously been concerned about whether Old Wang's death had anything to do with him.
If someone like him decided to do evil, how could ordinary people possibly stop him?
"Wang Dong and Lin Ziyang... Maybe the Grievance-Releasing Incantation would have been better."
The first five of the Six Jiangzhen Secrets addressed different situations, while the sixth, the Evil-Suppressing Incantation, was more of a general-purpose incantation.
The first five helped ghosts transcend, while the sixth simply destroyed them without distinction.
In theory, Chen Miao could use the sixth in any situation and save himself the trouble.
But Chen Miao still felt that, unless the situation was urgent, he should avoid using the sixth whenever possible.
For one thing, as a Funeral Rites Specialist, Chen Miao was meticulous in his treatment of the deceased. Otherwise, he wouldn't compose a different eulogy for each person he encountered.
For another, the Evil-Suppressing Incantation surely wasn't all-powerful. Otherwise, why were they called the "Six Jiangzhen Secrets" rather than simply the "Jiangzhen Evil-Suppressing Secret"?
Just as in his initial encounter with Qian Xiaomei, bringing incense ash had instead provoked her.
If he used the Evil-Suppressing Incantation in the future and failed to eliminate a ghost, instead provoking it into growing stronger, death might be his only remaining outcome.
He would have to pay closer attention to this.
After all, his life depended on it.
He didn't want to die yet.
Getting up, Chen Miao picked up the Notes on Achieving Divinity in the Mortal World and turned to the author information.
[Name: Chen Miao] [Age: 24] [Identity: Funeral Rites Specialist] [Yin Virtue: seven qian] [Current statuses: Iceheart, Heart-to-Heart, yin gathering, Hide-and-Seek]
The fourth status had appeared.
Hide-and-Seek: When you want to hide, your presence diminishes.
PS: Tomorrow is September 1. I'd like to ask for some monthly tickets.
This book isn't doing quite as well at attracting readers. Even though retention is decent, it's still hard to reach the top ranks of the new-book chart. If I want to climb that chart, I'll have to find ways in other areas.
If you've read this far and think the book is pretty good, remember to cast a vote after midnight or when you read tomorrow, and support 996~
I'd be endlessly grateful!
Before you continue