20: The Yin Energy

Even ghosts bleed.

The color and smell were so realistic that he almost thought he had come back to life.

Zhou Shurong covered his ears, but it was useless. The sharp, piercing wails broke through his eardrums, swirling counterclockwise in his mind.

Since regaining consciousness, he had expected that he might be injured by Taoist priests, monks, or shamans. But he never imagined that he would first fall victim to the cries of a baby ghost.

The young parents were gently soothing their two crying children.

The baby ghost, ignored by everyone, cried even harder.

Zhou Shurong had to step back, leaving the doorway, before the sound’s power began to lessen.

He took another step back, and was completely unaffected now.

Zhou Shurong lowered his hands, confirming that the baby ghost’s cries were a form of area-of-effect harm. It wasn’t enough just to hear it for the damage to occur. Perhaps it wasn’t strong enough yet.

A pool of bright red blood was on the floor.

As Zhou Shurong looked down, a drop of blood plopped down. His eyes blinked, and a second drop immediately followed.

It hurt so much, his eyes felt like they were on fire.

He removed his glasses and pulled out a handkerchief from his chest pocket. But he suddenly noticed that his hands were fading, becoming translucent. Pressing his eyes to them, he could clearly see the scene on the other side.

In an instant, he realized he wasn’t bleeding—his Yin energy was leaking.

Zhou Shurong hazily lowered his half-transparent hands.

He was an adult, but he couldn’t withstand a baby ghost that hadn’t even learned to speak yet. That was simply because his ghost age hadn’t even reached ten days.

However, after using its power, the baby ghost also became weak. Its tears seemed to drain the moisture from its body, and it visibly shriveled up.

Zhou Shurong squatted at the door and said to the baby ghost, “Be good, don’t cry. Does your body hurt?”

The baby ghost paused for a moment, then looked over and saw a man with bloodshot eyes, scaring it so much that it hiccupped and cried even harder.

Zhou Shurong couldn’t understand. He had tried to console it in the same tone Qin Yan used, but why wasn’t it working?

The baby ghost, being so young and naive, kept using its power without restraint, causing its body to shrivel even more, turning into a “meat skeleton.”

It was a sight hard to look at—its flesh, blood, and fat seemed to have been sucked dry, leaving only wrinkled skin hanging from its skeleton.

The once cute face had aged to the point of resembling a centenarian.

Like a creature—perhaps a Shar Pei(breed of dog).

Zhou Shurong exhaled, not daring to imagine what he would look like if his own Yin energy dispersed in such a large amount.

He died in a car accident, his head severely struck, and he passed away on the spot.

He probably didn’t look ugly, did he? His face wasn’t disfigured, and he didn’t lose any body parts—he died quite swiftly.

Speaking of the car accident, he thought about the ghost who had dared to scam him the night before. That ghost’s body was shattered, with half of its head missing, but his body wasn’t even slightly ethereal. It was solid, very much like a living person.

That ghost must have been very powerful, with a certain number of years of ghost age. But why did it only scam and not rob?

Zhou Shurong suddenly felt the ghost was somewhat kind-hearted.

The baby ghost kept wailing.

Zhou Shurong remained standing at the door, too afraid to step inside.

He picked up the handkerchief and slowly wiped the dirt from his cheek. Thinking he was done, he checked with the mirror, only to find a layer of red blood grime on his eyelashes, sticking several together.

Zhou Shurong frowned slightly, disapproving.

He gently rubbed his eyelashes, and the sticky lashes parted, but they were still not clean. He needed water to wash them properly.

But where could he find water?

Should he cry?

Zhou Shurong’s history of crying went back to when he was fifteen, chasing Zhou Langxing down the street. Zhou Langxing was chasing a petty thief. When the thief saw he was being caught, he panicked and pulled out a knife. Zhou Langxing dodged, but Zhou Shurong, who was behind, got stabbed in the stomach. The pain made him cry.

At the time, Zhou Langxing was completely panicked, ignoring the fleeing thief and shaking Zhou Shurong’s shoulders, crying out, “Brother! Don’t die, brother!”

—He must have watched too many dramas!

Zhou Shurong thought. Weakly, he asked, “Is it raining?”

Zhou Langxing, tears and snot streaming down his face, responded, “No, no!”

“It should be raining, to express the protagonist’s sorrow.”

“Huh?”

“Also, are you sure you want to keep shaking?” Zhou Shurong grabbed Zhou Langxing’s hand, glaring fiercely. “I want an ambulance!”

In the end, fifteen-year-old Zhou Shurong received timely medical treatment and left with no lasting effects, just a scar on his abdomen.

…Outside the room, Zhou Shurong tentatively squeezed out a tear.

It was no use. He had long outgrown the age of crying for a little pain.

He regrettably put his glasses back on, folded his handkerchief, and returned it to its place. His gaze turned back to Room 802.

Inside, the young parents had calmed down their children and were giving them jelly.

Meanwhile, the guest, Ah Ling—the pale, thin woman—looked at them and seemed to sigh in envy, “Two boys at home, so lively.”

“Boys can be too naughty sometimes. Girls are more gentle. My husband and I were thinking of having a daughter, just to respond to the three-child policy!”

“Oh, that’s nice.” Ah Ling’s voice was strange, “If you want one, you can have one.”

Zhou’s mother didn’t catch the meaning, “What?”

Ah Ling replied, “Nothing.”

Hearing the woman’s voice, the baby ghost, who had been lying on the blocks, stopped crying. It raised its head, making a strange, whimpering sound, which was somewhat cute as it quickly crawled toward her.

It stretched out both arms, tightly hugging the woman’s calf.

Zhou Shurong saw a pinpoint of light, but it quickly disappeared. Before he could wonder, he was shocked by the next scene.

The baby ghost’s shriveled body suddenly expanded, becoming round and plump.

And Ah Ling… Upon a closer look, her cheeks had become thinner, the area around her eyes darker, and her complexion paler.

Was this… sucking Yang energy?

Ah Ling yawned, feeling very tired. She sensed a familiar heaviness.

Having experienced such strange situations before, she wasn’t afraid anymore. She thought to herself that she must be sick.

Perhaps it was a mental illness.

“Ah Ling, what’s…?” The young mother looked at the beautifully wrapped red gift box in the woman’s hands.

This guest, she didn’t know well, only that she had moved in last week, staying across the street. She was unwell, both physically and mentally, seemed to have been ill for a long time, and had no one to care for her. She had always been cautious with her, occasionally taking care of her by bringing her a bowl of homemade soup or some fresh fruit.

A Ling forced a smile and handed over the gift box, “Sister Zhou, thank you for taking care of me these past few days. This toy is for your two children.”

The twins, curious, stood on tiptoe, trying to see the gift box.

“We didn’t really do anything. Why spend money?” Mother Zhou quickly declined.

Ah Ling looked into her eyes. “Take it, okay?”

“But…” She didn’t know how to say something like returning the gift to save money for her illness. Ah Ling had never mentioned being sick.

At this point, the twins finally saw the gift box’s cover—it was a pink, blonde-haired Barbie doll.

“Doll! Mommy, dolls are for girls to play with!”

Zhou Mama found a reason, “Ah Ling, return it. The kids don’t need it. Although we wanted a daughter, we haven’t started trying for one yet.”

Ah Ling seemed a little dazed. “How could it be a Barbie doll? I clearly ordered a Transformer.”

Zhou Shurong glanced at the pink skirt on the baby ghost. This baby ghost was a girl.

Are they mother and daughter?

The mother mourns the loss of her daughter, and the daughter, reluctant to leave her mother, refuses to go?

Ah Ling wandered out of the neighbor’s door, passing right through Zhou Shurong without reacting, as if she had grown accustomed to this sudden coldness.

She held the Barbie doll gift box, opened the door to room 801 with one hand, and walked in, closing the door behind her with a sense of loneliness.

Zhou Shurong stared at the door to room 801. He had just felt that he could casually approach her without her consent, which was a very dangerous thing to do.

But there was an “evil beast” protecting her.

Is that protection?

It might also be a form of harm.

But children don’t understand; they just want to cling to their mothers. What’s wrong with that?

She doesn’t know she’s harming her; she might even think her mother is so powerful that a simple hug makes her feel better.

Zhou Shurong returned to Qin Yan’s house, not daring to go into room 801 to investigate, afraid that the baby ghost would cry again and scatter his soul.

In any case, he had already gotten an answer.

— Humans and ghosts cannot coexist peacefully!

Qin Yan hadn’t finished washing the clothes yet. He was sweating, his clothes drenched, but his face had a satisfied smile. All his tenderness was directed at the piece of clothing in his hands. It was such a simple concept, to express feelings through objects.

Zhou Shurong stood at the bathroom door for a long time, several times wanting to wipe away the glistening sweat on his face. That pale hand hovered in the air, wanting to approach but not daring to.

“I can’t get too close to you, Ah Yan.”

“You’ve lost weight, you have dark circles under your eyes, you’re always having trouble sleeping, often feeling down, and lacking energy… Is it because of me?”

“I should leave you, but I don’t want to.”

…

After Qin Yan finished washing the clothes, he also took a cold shower. He was planning to take a nap after lunch, as rehearsals were definitely exhausting, and he needed to recharge.

At 1:30 PM, Teacher Mi Zhou called, saying she had arrived at the community square.

“Wow, why can’t I see the security guard at your place? I looked and saw no one, didn’t know how to get in, and didn’t ask you for the code in advance, but I successfully followed someone else in. I’m not saying this, but it’s too easy for bad people to get in here, right?”

Indeed. Plus, the code was easy to find, and the delivery drivers who often came knew the code to the community gate—it was four zeros.

Qin Yan turned on the TV as usual, placed the incense burner in a spot where no sunlight could reach, then applied sunscreen, preparing to head out.

Zhou Shurong felt down, curling up on the sofa, and said to him, “Goodbye, have fun.”

But after Qin Yan put on a sun hat, he thought for a moment and switched to using a sun umbrella instead.

Zhou Shurong’s mind jolted, then quickly calmed. He couldn’t guarantee he’d always stay in dark, shadowy places. He couldn’t risk going out. He was already injured—better to lie down.

Before Qin Yan closed the door, he waved his hand, “Bye. I’ll be back around 5:30 PM!”