Double Happiness (IV)

The furniture in the dim room was very old-fashioned, a simple arrangement like that of a rural household in the Republican era: a bed, a table, and a few stools.

"Brother Leg, I kind of need to pee."

"Do it right outside the door. Don't leave the bounds of this house."

Yang Jian glanced at Ye Zhen, who was wandering around by the door with a sword in hand, then took out the Human Skin Paper and sat down in a corner of the room.

"Tell me how to save A Wei."

Strange, twisted writing soon emerged.

"My name is Yang Jian. By the time you read this, I am already dead..."

"To save A Wei, I came to an unfamiliar village. During the day, I tried to search the village for any useful clues, but I failed. Before night fell, I died..."

"My patience is limited. If you keep spouting this much nonsense, I don't mind locking you away permanently."

The scarlet Ghost Eye on Yang Jian's forehead stared fixedly at the Human Skin Paper. Ever since it had screwed him over at the tattoo parlor, his patience with it had dropped to rock bottom.

Then the writing on the Human Skin Paper rapidly vanished, and another passage swiftly emerged.

"My name is Yang Jian. By the time you read this, I am already dead..."

"To save A Wei, I came to an unfamiliar village. During the day, I searched the entire village, trying to find useful clues, but I discovered that certain places in the village had lethal rules that guaranteed death during the day. So I chose to act at night, trying to avoid those rules of certain death. At night, I found an object. I tried to use it to exchange the identity of the groom. I failed... no... I succeeded halfway. I died... but A Wei survived..."

The writing rapidly vanished, and the Human Skin Paper became shriveled and silent once more.

Putting away the Human Skin Paper, Yang Jian looked out the window at Zhang Wei, who was competing with Ye Zhen to see who could pee farther.

Yang Jian analyzed the information the Human Skin Paper had revealed, trying to find the dangers hidden within it.

...The village chief told us to stay indoors today and go to fetch the bride tomorrow. In other words, we're only safe inside the room. But the Human Skin Paper warned me that daytime is dangerous, and I can only act at night. The two pieces of information clearly contradict each other...

But if it counts as "the next day" once midnight passes... then these two pieces of information don't actually conflict.

The late hours after midnight are both nighttime and, by the calendar, "tomorrow." That fits the village chief's instruction to "set out tomorrow," while also following the Human Skin Paper's claim that "nighttime is safe."

The key lies in the wordplay hidden in the Human Skin Paper's information. If I choose to go out before midnight, it will be nighttime, but it won't be the "tomorrow" the village chief mentioned. That will trigger the killing rule, and the village will kill me outright...

Just then, Zhang Wei and Ye Zhen walked in.

"I never thought your prowess would be so profound, Brother Ye. You can actually pee thirty feet into the wind. But I can only call you the strongest after you beat Brother Leg. Brother Leg could pee the farthest in our school."

"Haha! You're not bad yourself. This is the first time I, Ye Zhen, have encountered a worthy opponent. But since someone questions me, I'll accept your challenge!"

Yang Jian spoke up, interrupting their mutual flattery.

"A Wei, stay here tonight. Wait in your assigned lodging until tomorrow morning, and act according to the killing rules currently in effect. You'll be fine for now."

Yang Jian took out a glass bottle filled with water.

"Keep this with you. If you encounter danger, pour out the water inside."

Zhang Wei's expression froze. Only then did he remember that he was going to marry a ghost tomorrow, and he turned to Ye Zhen.

"Brother Ye, didn't you say ghosts were forbidden to roam in Dahai City? Hurry up and unleash your divine powers to subdue this female ghost."

Ye Zhen waved a hand.

"Heh... do you know what the third power is?" As he spoke, Ye Zhen got up to leave.

"Wait..." Yang Jian stepped directly into his path. Ye Zhen raised an eyebrow.

"Little Yang, do you think I can't suppress that female ghost?"

"No... I should thank you for bringing A Wei here. I have my own method. Wait until tonight before going out."

Yang Jian stared expressionlessly at Ye Zhen, silently thinking.

After the loss-of-control incident in Dajing City, all the captains involved were close to revival. Only his condition was no different from an ordinary person's. The Substitute Ghost...?

"Little Yang, don't look at me like that. I'll wait until tonight, then. By the way, I like women..."

With that, Ye Zhen went back and sat down, though he seemed to deliberately choose a spot a little farther from Yang Jian...

Night.

The village was deathly silent, and the cold stench of corpses in the air had grown even stronger.

Yang Jian watched the time on his satellite phone. As soon as it struck twelve, he spoke.

"It's about time. Let's go."

With that, Yang Jian turned and left with an old billhook in hand. Ye Zhen followed behind, leaving Zhang Wei alone.

Zhang Wei wanted to call them back, but the silent village was utterly deserted, and he did not dare shout. In mere moments, their figures disappeared into the murky darkness.

The village fell utterly silent beneath the curtain of night. A stifling, oppressive atmosphere hung over everything, and the bright red "double happiness" characters all around looked even more glaring beneath the dim moonlight. An occasional breeze rustled past, as though countless corpses were moaning in the darkness.

Yang Jian and Ye Zhen walked down an alley, their feet treading a muddy dirt road as though stepping on a pile of rotting flesh.

"This village is too quiet. Little Yang, what can your Ghost Eye see?" Ye Zhen asked in a low voice. Though his tone was casual, his gaze had already sharpened. Clearly, even Ye Zhen found the current situation troublesome.

"Nothing unusual..." Yang Jian said coldly, but the Ghost Eye on his forehead swiveled uneasily. In an environment like this, the absence of anything unusual was the greatest abnormality of all.

The two passed through the dark alley and arrived at the entrance to a large courtyard. Two enormous "double happiness" characters were pasted on the wooden gates, which stood over two meters tall, their red color vivid and glaring.

A pair of long-weathered red lanterns hung on either side of the entrance. Their fabric was tattered beyond repair, like two sheets of long-dried human skin.

This was the most intact building they had searched so far. It was probably a venue the village used to hold certain events.

"Should we knock first?"

Yang Jian glanced at Ye Zhen, then kicked the gate open and walked straight inside. A strong stench of corpses rushed into his face, carrying an icy chill.

In the dim moonlight, a courtyard filled with round tables came into view. More than a dozen round rosewood tables stood in neat rows, all laden with bowls, chopsticks, and empty plates. Every table was surrounded by people, as though they were waiting for the wedding feast to begin.

What was eerie was that all these people sat with their heads lowered, their hands hanging stiffly beside the tables, giving off a pungent corpse stench.

The instant Ye Zhen and Yang Jian stepped into the courtyard, everyone raised their heads in unison to look at them. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, as stiff as marionettes on strings, their hollow, lifeless eyes fixed on the pair.

"I was wondering why there was nobody in the village. Turns out they're all here." Ye Zhen's hand was already resting on his sword sheath.

"Don't act rashly. Let's go inside and look."

Those "guests" made no other moves, and Yang Jian and Ye Zhen walked straight toward the building inside the courtyard.

Suddenly, all the "guests" turned their heads in unison, tracking the pair relentlessly, their necks making a series of scalp-prickling cracks.

As the two moved, some of the "guests" even turned their heads a full circle. Their joints gave off sharp, grating creaks, as though they were about to twist their heads clean off, yet their deathly still eyes remained fixed on the pair.

As they drew closer to the doorway emanating a dim red glow, a perfectly synchronized turning sound came from behind them, as though all the "guests" had turned their heads in a full circle to look at them together.

The two ignored it and stepped into a room whose doors stood wide open, with dim red light shining from within.

There was only a battered wooden table inside the room. A kerosene lamp flickering with dark red light sat on it, its glow faint and cold, illuminating a thick notebook and a bottle of dark red ink. The notebook's cover was yellowed and cracked, as though corroded by prolonged immersion in bloody water.

"A Marriage Certificate?"

Ye Zhen picked up the notebook. The words "Marriage Certificate" were written crookedly across its cover.

By the dim red light, they could just make out the contents recorded in the Marriage Certificate...

On the evening of March 22, Zhang Wei picked up a red cloth pouch outside his home... That night, he called the phone number on the red cloth pouch...

At noon on March 23, Zhang Wei got out of bed and ate two wife cakes...

On the afternoon of March 23, Zhang Wei went out and was chased by a dog...

The Marriage Certificate's records were detailed enough to make one's scalp prickle. Even when Zhang Wei went to the toilet and what he ate were recorded one by one. Whenever an incident involving Zhang Wei and a certain woman was mentioned, the writing turned vivid red, staining the paper.

Yang Jian stared at the eerie Marriage Certificate. Could this be the object the Human Skin Paper had referred to?

"This marriage contract was manipulating and controlling Brother Wei's actions until he eventually came here...?"

"Ghost Blood..."

"What?"

"Ghost Blood that can suppress ghosts. A friend of mine once controlled a portion of Ghost Blood. It has a suppression effect with a very high terror level. Unfortunately, he died in the end."

"So this Ghost Blood is the reason?"

"No... Ghost Blood can only suppress ghosts. Judging by the Marriage Certificate's records, this book can not only record events that have happened, but also interfere with the movements of living people and even ghosts."

Yang Jian stared at the eerie Marriage Certificate, thinking rapidly, as though he were born with this keen insight into ghosts.

"What's written in Ghost Blood might temporarily suppress a ghost. Then, with the help of this Marriage Certificate, perhaps the suppressed ghost could be made to act according to the revised contents..."

Ye Zhen's eyes lit up at that.

"Wouldn't that make it invincible? I'll just write that Ye Zhen deals with every ghost in the world."

Yang Jian swept a cold glance over Ye Zhen, his tone icy.

"That's impossible. Every ghost has a rule, and your Substitute Ghost is no exception. This book is more like a form of guidance, making a ghost or a living person take an action consistent with the circumstances at the time, toward an event that is highly likely to happen."

Yang Jian pointed at the red writing in the notebook.

"For example, A Wei could never have an online romance with a fifty-year-old auntie, and you could never deal with every ghost in the world."

Yang Jian paused before continuing.

"If I'm not mistaken, the revisions must fit the course of events at the time, and only minor changes can be made. For instance, if I write now that the Ghost Painting will crash in an hour, the Ghost Painting might immediately go out of control, and this book would kill me, because without human interference, the Ghost Painting couldn't crash for no reason."