Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 341 Mo Li's Envy

At 2 p.m., Ran Qing woke up from her deep sleep.

He opened his eyes, stepped out of the room, and saw Mo Li sitting on a chair by the door reading a comic book.

The bright afternoon sun shone on the girl's face, making the edges of her hair gleam slightly.

This scene has a beautiful, oil painting-like quality.

Ran Qing's breath caught in her throat, and she instinctively stopped by the door, staring at it blankly for a long time.

The girl, who was sitting in a chair with her face turned to the side reading a comic book, seemed completely unaware of the stares directed at her.

She stared intently at the comic book in her hands, completely absorbed, without even blinking.

But the girl's ears turned red quickly and visibly in the sunlight.

Suddenly, Ran Jianfei's excited shouts rang out from inside the house.

"Yes! Bite it to death! Just like that!"

Ran Jianfei's excited shouts instantly shattered the tranquility of the concrete house.

Ran Qing suddenly came to her senses, quickly lowered her head, walked out of the house, and greeted Mo Li.

"Ah... good afternoon," Ran Qing felt inexplicably guilty and didn't dare to look Mo Li in the eye.

He actually stared blankly at Mo Li for so long...

Fortunately, Mo Li doesn't seem to have noticed...

Ran Qing felt guilty and uneasy, but she forced herself to remain calm and sat down to the side.

Mo Li finally raised her head, as if she had just noticed Ran Qing, and smiled sweetly as always: "Good afternoon."

But the girl who greeted him unconsciously twirled a strand of hair between her fingers, as if she were feeling uneasy.

After exchanging brief greetings, the two people sitting opposite each other suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

Ran Qing suddenly felt as if the chair under his buttocks was biting him, making him restless.

At times like these, you have to say something to liven things up and start a conversation.

But the moment Ran Qing opened her mouth, she found that her mind went completely blank and she couldn't find any topics to talk about.

Mo Li, who is usually lively and talkative, was strangely silent and didn't utter a word at this moment.

The silence made the atmosphere somewhat awkward.

A few seconds later, Ran Qing, whose brain was racing, finally thought of something and hurriedly spoke up as if grasping at a straw.

"Oh, right..." / "I just remembered something..."

The boy and girl spoke up almost simultaneously.

The moment they spoke, they both instinctively paused, then their eyes met.

After their eyes met, they suddenly looked away, feeling guilty.

At this moment, Ran Qing felt as if her toes were clenched tightly.

Did he sleep too long and get his brain foggy?

And Mo Li this afternoon, she seemed a bit strange... Did she notice me spying on her?

Ran Qing's heart skipped a beat, and she felt even more guilty.

I don't know what there is to feel guilty about, but I just... feel guilty...

An eerie silence descended once more.

Ran Qing was a little flustered. He was already very skilled at dealing with vengeful ghosts. He could calmly handle even the most ferocious and terrifying evil monsters.

But this situation... I've never encountered anything like it before.

Just as he was trying to say something, Ran Jianfei's voice suddenly rang out in the room again.

"I'm hungry!" Ran Jianfei, who had been watching TV for several hours, suddenly ran out of the house and said to the boy and girl at the door, "Mo Li, Ran Qing, I'm hungry."

Ran Jianfei was still in that dazed and confused state, but at least through Ran Qing and the other two's instructions, he remembered their names and also remembered to contact Ran Qing and the other two if he needed anything.

The middle-aged man who Ran Qing once loathed unexpectedly became Ran Qing's savior, rescuing him from that awkward atmosphere.

Ran Qing quickly got up and said, "I'll go buy you a bowl of mutton rice noodles."

There's a mutton rice noodle shop at the foot of the mountain. You can have your noodles delivered directly here. After you finish eating, just leave your bowl at the door, and the owner will come up to pick it up herself.

When Ran Jianfei heard that they wanted to eat mutton rice noodles, he nodded happily: "I want a big bowl! A big bowl with toppings!"

Although he's become forgetful about what to eat and has even forgotten his wife and kids, this guy still remembers that mutton rice noodles come in large bowls and you can add mutton offal...

Ran Qing glanced at Ran Jianfei speechlessly, then got up and left.

Shortly after, Ran Qing returned, but Ran Jianfei had already gone back inside and continued watching TV.

Mo Li didn't read the comic book. Instead, he sat by the door with his hands supporting his chin, staring blankly into the distance, lost in thought.

Ran Qing rarely saw this melancholy and thoughtful side of Mo Li.

Most of the time, Mo Li is lively, cheerful, and youthful.

Upon seeing Ran Qing return, Mo Li sighed and said, "Regarding Aunt's matter, I've actually thought of a possibility."

Mo Li recounted the various thrilling encounters he had in the ghost town of Laro last night.

She said, "Last night you felt a ghost trying to take your place and exploit your bloodline."

"And Auntie is also a member of the Ou family. Judging from what you saw in the haunted house, the first ghost in this ghost city was a woman from the Ou family decades ago."

"I wonder if it's possible that Auntie was targeted by that ghost for some reason and was eventually replaced?"

"And after Auntie, you were also targeted by that ghost."

"And didn't you say before that every time you get hurt, your aunt would appear in your dreams and heal you?"

"I'm wondering if there's a possibility that that kind of treatment wasn't actually well-intentioned..."

Mo Li spoke hesitantly, as if considering how to proceed in the gentlest way.

Ran Qing nodded calmly and finished the sentence for her: "You mean to say that I was actually being watched by that ghost a long time ago."

"It has already decided that I will be its next target, so whenever I get injured, it will appear to treat me. But this is not out of love for me, but out of fear that I will die prematurely."

"Just like growing vegetables, you have to fertilize and control pests before the vegetables are ripe, so that you can harvest them when they are ready..."

Ran Qing had actually already thought of Mo Li's conjecture.

And he thought even further ahead.

If my mother wasn't ill ten years ago, why would she suddenly hang herself?
After her death, she became a ghost in the ghost city of Laro Mine... Combined with the bloodline of the Ou family, and the fact that the ghost with her mother's appearance had long been eyeing Ran Qing.

Perhaps long ago, that ghost had already set its sights on the mother who had Ou family blood.

And in that cold winter ten years ago, the ghost felt it was ripe and ready to be harvested, so it killed Ran Qing's mother.

If this order is correct, then the ghost Ran Qing saw in the Raro mine ghost city last night was actually another evil ghost from decades ago, disguised as her mother.

Perhaps the mother's memories and consciousness still remain within it, but they are certainly no longer dominant.

That ghost harmed its descendants, using evil magic like that of the God of Longevity to prolong its own lifespan...

Mo Li was somewhat taken aback after hearing Ran Qing's analysis.

"...You think even further ahead than I do. No wonder you're a top student; your mind is so sharp."

Mo Li's eyes held a hint of envy.

Although she travels around and is free-spirited, Mo Li seems to vaguely envy Ran Qing's campus life.

I envy Ran Qing for being able to study.

(End of this chapter)