Chapter 144: You must come back within an hour
Chapter 144: You must come back within an hour
Translator-Rhapsodite
Editor- Koneko, Proofreader-Star
In fact, Bei Quan really didn’t originally intend to take Wei Fuyuan with him, but he couldn’t refuse after being teased in such a way by his little boyfriend.
Wei Fuyuan had no idea how dangerous the “going to hell” matter was, which prompted Jiang Nan’an’s reaction so fiercely. Nevertheless, rather than allowing Bei Quan to take the matter alone and for himself to stay behind and worry, it would be preferable to follow Bei Quan and have the other party under his nose at all times.
Moreover, Wei Fuyuan actually understood Bei Quan’s character- if it was only Bei Quan alone, he may inadvertently do a lot of risky behavior to achieve his goal. However, if he was by his side, Bei Quan would be much more cautious before making any decisions, ensuring that they were both well protected.
Although Wei Fuyuan has little knowledge about metaphysical matters, he is aware that he is a sort of safety rope that is tethered to Bei Quan- as long as he does not let go, Bei Quan will not be like a kite with a broken string that drifts out of sight.
“All right then, Xiao Wei, you come with me.”
Bei Quan thought for a moment before finally making a decision.
“However, since you are also joining me, then our preparations should be completed in detail.”
Bei Quan wrote a talisman for Wei Fuyuan, the birth date on the talisman was of a person who had died.
Bei Quan taught Jiang Nan’an to use this trick before.
At that time, Jiang Nan’an hid the yellow talisman written with Su Lan’s birth date in the body of the dummy made of tree branches, then found a way to cover the aura of the real Su Lan. With this practice, in the eyes of those underworld things, the wooden puppet would become ‘Su Lan’ who had died.
“Does it work?”
Wei Fuyuan roughly understood the principle of the talisman paper but still had some doubts.
“Don’t the ghosts in the netherworld have eyes? How can they still make mistakes?”
“Yes.”
Bei Qaun took a pinch of white powder and sprinkled it on the yellow talisman, then folded it into a small triangular bag, all whilst smiling and nodding.
“That is indeed correct.”
He explained:
“Because the people ‘below’ perceive things not with their eyes, but with their sense of the other person’s aura…If I had to describe it, the effect is probably similar to when you open your third eye.”
Bei Quan stuffed the talisman paper into the inside pocket of Wei Fuyuan’s jacket.
“This talisman paper contains the ashes of the person belonging to this birth date. There are also some extremely Yin objects such as Lapis Lazuli powder and tomb soil, so in the eyes of those ‘things’, you are a dead person.”
Although Wei Fuyuan knew that Bei Quan would often perform some strange spells, he still felt a chill when he knew that the small talisman bag was carrying the ashes of the dead.
“…… This ……”
He resisted the urge to take out the talisman bag and tried to make the tone of his speech sound calmer.
“Can… you tell me whose ashes these…… are?”
Bei Quan replied almost immediately, “Of course, they’re mine.”
Wei Fuyuan: “!!!”
His eyes opened wide, full of disbelief:
“What are you saying?”
“Didn’t you read my memories?”
Bei Quan replied:
“I died more than six hundred years ago in my last life, but because my remains were buried in a Yin gathering place, they didn’t decay. When I enter this physical body, my previous body is no longer useful, and naturally, dust returns to dust.”
He smiled:
“Of course, the grave soil is also taken from ‘my’ grave, so you can use it!”
His tone seemed? too carefree and easy, as if he just said that he had disposed of a piece of expired pork. Wei Fuyuan didn’t know how to react.
Originally, when Wei Fuyuan heard that the package of ashes upon his person was his lover’s, he felt goosebumps all over. But having learned that the ashes literally belong to Bei Quan, his mentality completely changed.
“You …… this person is really ……”
Wei Fuyuan held his hand out and pressed his chest, feeling the tiny talisman bag inside through his clothes, his thoughts were incomparably confused.
“How can someone use their own ashes as a material!?”
He made up his mind that when the ‘descending to Yin’ was over, he would never return the talisman packet to Bei Quan, but …… what to do? He hadn’t thought it through.
“As the saying goes, let bygones be reincarnated and thrown away.”
Bei Quan smiled and stroked Wei Fuyuan’s face, and intimately scratched his earlobe.
“Although I haven’t crossed the Naihe Bridge and drank Mengpo soup , I can still be regarded as a person who has died and been reborn. There is nothing I can’t leave behind.”
Wei Fuyuan opened his mouth as he pondered. He felt that there was something wrong with Bei Quan’s choice of words. He wanted to refute them, but then thought that since he had not experienced “death” himself, how could he pass comment to a person with such special experiences like Beiquan, from the standpoint of such an ordinary person?
So, he resentfully shut his mouth and said nothing, but silently pressed the hidden small charm bag? against his heart.
Bei Quan saw his flustered boyfriend suddenly become withered for some reason. Although slightly confused,he didn’t ask any more questions, just took a hold of Wei Fuyuan’s hand with a smile, “Well, let’s get ready to ‘go down’.”
——————
When Bei Quan brought Wei Fuyuan to the living room, Jiang Nan’an and Zhu Ling had already set the space up for the “Yin walking” ceremony.
The preparation for the ceremony was very simple- just an incense table covered in a yellow cloth and a candlestick.
Bei Quan asked Jiang Nan’an to open the front door and then took out his red thread, using the miscellaneous objects in the house as a fulcrum to tie a “road” from the incense table to the street.
After this preparation, Bei Quan asked Wei Fuyuan to sit down on a futon in front of the incense table, as he sat down on another futon next to it.
“Remember, you and I need to keep walking forwards, no matter what you see or hear on the way. Absolutely no turning back, understand?”
Bei Quan emphasized the precautions to Wei Fuyuan while pulling out another piece of red thread, tying it around the wrists of the two of them.
“Also, after reaching ‘below’, don’t speak so carefree. Stay firmly by my side and don’t fall a single step behind me.”
Wei Fuyuan looked down at the thin red rope on his wrists, and could not help but think of? “The Red String of Fate”. His heart was happy, his cheeks slightly red, and he secretly asked himself? why it was not? tied to the ring finger? That way, it would be more similar to being soulmates.
Seeing that Wei Fuyuan didn’t respond, Bei Quan couldn’t help asking again.
“Did you hear what I just said?”
Wei Fuyuan hurriedly drove out the untimely thoughts in his head and nodded vigorously:
“Yes, I heard, I promise not to speak or to leave you!”
Now satisfied, Bei Quan turned back towards Jiang Nan’an and waved.
Comrade Jiang carefully turned the lights off in the living room, and then walked to the incense table in the dark. He pulled out three columns of thick incense and lit it before inserting them into the incense burner.
“This incense can burn for an hour.”
Jiang Nan’an admonished:
“Within one hour, you must return.”
Bei Quan nodded, “I know.”
After saying that, he summoned the brush, cut his palm and used his blood as a medium to draw a talisman in mid-air.
After the talisman was completed, Bei Quan retracted the brush back into his dantian, then held Wei Fuyuan’s hand, his voice was not loud, but his tone was resolute.
“Are you ready for this?”
Wei Fuyuan turned his head to the side. In pitch black, his eyes were incredibly bright.
He forcefully grasped Bei Quan’s hand and replied, “Mhmm, I’m ready…”
Bei Quan curled his lips and smiled.
In the next second, the blood-red spell from the talisman that was mid-air landed on top of the two.
Wei Fuyuan felt the back of his head be hit hard by an invisible force, then all of a sudden, he felt his body? “fly” out of control.
——Damn it!
His heart was extremely broken. Although this feeling was so familiar, it did not feel the same as when Bei Quan “hit” him!
Wei Fuyuan stumbled forward two steps, then felt a tug on his wrist, pulling him back again.
He turned around, finding Bei Quan standing behind him. His wrist was extended forwards, along with the red rope on both of their wrists, keeping him from falling..
Bei Quan walked two steps faster, catching up with Wei Fuyuan and grabbed his hand.
“Let’s go.”
He lifted his chin towards the front.
Wei Fuyuan looked up following Bei Quan’s point and suddenly found that a winding road appeared in front of them.
——What’s going on here!?
Wei Fuyuan was stunned.
He clearly remembered that they were in the living room of the “Sāntúchuān” broadcasting company!
He had lived here for nearly four months, but he had never seen such a dark and winding path leading to nowhere!
Subconsciously, Wei Fuyuan wanted to turn around to see if he was familiar with the scenery behind him.
But, just as his face was about to turn around, Bei Quan squeezed his hand hard.
“Did you forget what I told you?”
Wei Fuyuan hurriedly turned his head back, not daring to move again.
“Let’s go, remember every word I explained to you.”
As he spoke, Bei Quan spread his legs and led Wei Fuyuan onto the long, deep and endless path in front of him.
——————
This is the strangest path Wei Fuyuan had taken from his? 21 years of life so far.
.
It was called a ‘desire path’ because at whatever point they set off at, to the naked eye, the path under their feet looked like winding and rugged, the perfect interpretation of the term “sheep intestine path”.
But, on closer inspection when he really walked up, Wei Fuyuan realized that the road was much wider than he first perceived.
This was from the many “people” coming and going around him.
To say that these were “people” was not technically correct..
This was because Wei Fuyuan was not quite sure whether those that passed by him were “people” or not.
Some of them had “human” forms, while others were more like a vague mist or thin shadow, some even had many jagged and crooked shapes. Wei Fuyuan couldn’t accurately describe their appearance: but no matter what, it is definitely not what ordinary humans looked like!
Some of these “things” seemed to carry a light source.
From the shape and brightness, it was a faint and ethereal glimmer, something similar to a lantern or candle.
Usually, those with a trace of “light” would move along the path at a slightly faster pace, and would attract those who were lurking in the dark, chasing after them eagerly. Soon after, they would all gather together and form a group until the “tails“, completely covering up that faint bit of glowing light.