“Is this… is this what he gave you? He wouldn’t be able to track us down with this, would he?”
I shivered, curled up my knees, dug my hands into my arms, and looked out the window. It was daytime, the sun was shining brightly. I glanced at the wall clock again. It was three o’clock in the afternoon. The sun sets early in the mountains in winter. In two hours, it will be dark.
I jumped off the bed and walked quickly out the door.
Since it is a tourist destination, there must be public telephones and bus stations.
I want to go back to the city before dark.
“Hey, wait for me, teacher!”
As soon as I stepped out the door, I felt my fear was relieved a lot.
Because it is a tourist destination, Mutu has a much larger flow of people than Kashag. Although it is off-season, there are still many tourists on the streets. The various stalls on both sides of the market have a wide variety of goods with local characteristics, including handicrafts, clothing, jewelry, Jiangsu knives, bows and arrows, etc. I saw masks on one of the stalls, so I grabbed one and turned around to ask Mo Wei, who was following closely behind me, “Do you have money?”
After putting the mask on my face, I borrowed money from him to buy clothes and changed my original clothes. After being disguised like this, I could completely blend in with the tourists. Then Mo Wei and I walked through the market and found the bus station in the town.
“Ai, there are no tickets available for today!” The station manager waved his hands with an impatient look on his face. “It’s going to snow heavily tonight, no one dares to take the risk of running a night train!”
“Is it not possible for you to take both of us away if I offer you ten times the price? I can hire a car, even if it’s a hundred times the price, as long as there is a driver willing to drive away now!” I said anxiously.
“The problem is that there are no drivers.” The station manager looked at Mo Wei and me. “Look, there is a narrow road around the mountain after going down the mountain. It’s snowing at night, so it’s very dangerous. No matter how much money you give, no one is willing to risk their life either! Besides, we have a festival tonight!”
I had nothing to say and turned to a nearby convenience store.
I dialed a familiar number, and an equally familiar female voice came over: “Hello?”
“Hello, Irene, I’m Qin Ran.”
The other end immediately exclaimed, “Young Master Ah Ran! Where have you been all this time? Your parents and I are so worried, do you know that?” Irene’s voice trembled, losing her usual elegance and sweetness. “We called the police. The police and all the bodyguards in your family looked for you everywhere but couldn’t find you. We thought you had…”
“Alright, there’s no time for nonsense. I’ll explain when I get back. Call the police right away and tell them that I’m in Mutu. Tell my parents too and ask them to send a helicopter to Mutu Town to pick me up. Remember to bring bodyguards with you. The sooner, the better. You must arrive before dark.”
After hanging up the phone, Mo Wei was dumbfounded: “Teacher, you have a helicopter at home?”
I nodded. Most people only know that I can make a lot of money by painting, but they don’t know that my adoptive parents are really rich. It’s just because I know that I have no blood relationship with them, so I didn’t want to get close to them since I was a child. I moved out after I became financially independent. But to be fair, they have always spoiled me. Irene is the personal assistant they found for me. She usually helps me with some chores. After Ming Luo died, she was entrusted to take care of my food and daily life, although I often refused to let her in.
I don’t know how worried they were during the time I lost contact.
This time when I go back, I should go home and spend time with them.
After buying a pack of cigarettes, I left the convenience store and went straight to the police station in town with Mo Wei.
But as soon as I saw the police station sign across the street, I noticed at a glance that there was a military green jeep parked at the door. Two men, one tall and one short, wearing jackets and goggles, were standing by the car and talking to the policeman at the door. The taller one was older and had a bun on his head, while the shorter one was younger and had a sharp profile.
I took a deep breath and turned around and left.
“What’s wrong, Teacher Qin Ran? Aren’t we going to the police station?”
“Those two men were in the same group with the gang of black-clothed men yesterday. Their boss is quite powerful. I’m afraid the small police station in this town can’t protect us.” I hurried into a narrow alley, found a local bar, went up to the second floor, found the innermost private room, and pulled the bamboo curtain before I dared to take off the mask. I couldn’t help but be glad for my foresight.
“Who are they?” Mo Wei asked in a low voice.
I shook my head, but my mind flashed with the familiar features of the old man who seemed to be of Southeast Asian descent, the son he mentioned, the Buddha amulet filled with what seemed to be bone ashes, Ming Luo’s ghost in the mirror before the divine marriage, and Tunshe Nalin’s vague words.
Could that old man be related to Ming Luo? Could he be his father?
Did he come to me because of Ming Luo? But Ming Lou’s death has nothing to do with me!
I remembered what that man, Gu Man, had said before—something about their boss wanting to find me for what? To find a man to be the “ghost marriage” partner? I took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag. “Mo Wei, do you know what being a ‘ghost marriage partner’ means?”
“Being a ghost marriage partner means participating in a ghost marriage!”
My fingers trembled, and I almost dropped the cigarette.
Another ghost marriage again… why does everyone keep…
No wonder that old man wanted me to wear the Buddha pendant and kneel before him…
The ironic part is, I couldn’t marry his son, but I ended up marrying something even more terrifying than a ghost.
I slammed my head onto the table, taking long drags from the cigarette, trying to force myself to calm down.
Then, my hand was weighed down by the warmth of rough, calloused fingers.
“Teacher Qin Ran, your… your hand…”
I raised my hand and saw a faint string of blood-red symbols appearing on the side of my wrist. I immediately got goosebumps, and a chilling coldness crawled up my spine.
What… what is this? I rubbed it vigorously several times, and the red symbols faded away.
I remembered that this seemed to have appeared when I dressed up as the goddess consort that day. A strong sense of unease surged in my heart, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that Tunshe Nalin was nearby. I pushed aside the bamboo curtain and glanced outside. I realized that the sky had darkened, and the market on the street had started closing down. Lanterns were lit on both sides of the street, and colorful banners hung from the lamp posts, making it seem like preparations were underway for some festival. It was then that I recalled what the station manager had said earlier.
I asked, “Is there a festival here tonight?”
“Ah, it seems so. I heard from the visitors at the clinic that tonight is the Exorcism Festival in Southern Jiangsu. There will be Nuo opera, which is why there are so many tourists in the town during this cold winter.”
‘Watch the Nuo opera, and all the ghosts will flee’, if tonight is the Exorcism Festival, does that mean I’ll be safer?
“By the way, Teacher Qin Ran, can I… leave you my contact information?”
Seeing me looking up at him, Mo Wei seemed to swallow nervously: “I was thinking, I have a friend who is a Taoist master. You have been touched by something unclean, he may be able to help. I can take you to the Taoist temple to hide for a while, maybe it will be better.”
“Okay… thank you.” I nodded and gave him my WeChat.
“Shall we eat something? I’ll get it. Wait.”
“En.” I responded uneasily, staring at the street outside the gap of the bamboo curtain. As the sky darkened, more and more people appeared on the street, wearing colorful traditional ethnic costumes from southern Jiangsu and masks of demons and ghosts. At first glance, it was like a hundred ghosts parading at night—if Tunshe Nalin was mixed in with them, I would not be able to recognize him.
As I was thinking this, I saw snow falling from the sky. At first it was small snowflakes, but soon it turned into heavy snow. There was cheering on the street, but I couldn’t help biting my fingers anxiously. With such heavy snow, could the helicopter still fly here smoothly?
My wrist suddenly tightened, and a hot cup was stuffed into my palm.
A warmth spread beside me as Mo Wei sat down next to me, pushing a plate of lamb skewers towards me with a smile. “Teacher Qin, don’t be too tense. Have some food first?”
I nodded and started eating mechanically. Suddenly, there was a loud “boom” outside, and I jumped up in shock, looking out. I saw a figure, wearing high stilts and luxurious clothing, with a hat adorned with tassels, surrounded by a crowd of people wearing demon and monster masks. The figure slowly walked down the street, holding a torch high, occasionally shooting out dazzling flames.
“The Nuo dance is starting!” Mo Wei sighed softly, then gritted his teeth, “Damn it, my camera got blown up. It’s all those bastards’ fault… the footage of the haunted house is gone too.”
“You’re still thinking about that? It’s a miracle that we’re still alive.” I scoffed at him, but my gaze froze as it landed on two figures across the street. Their bright-colored jackets stood out, and it seemed like they had just come out of the bar behind them, scanning the surroundings.
I turned my head and looked around, only to realize that the bar was now empty.
Staying seated any longer would be like sitting and waiting to die.
“Let’s go downstairs.” I put on my mask. “Quick, let’s blend into the group performing the Nuo dance. Those two are looking for me.”
Mo Wei hesitated for a moment, pressing his lips together as if making a firm decision. “I’ll go distract them for you. They know I know you, so they’ll definitely think we’re together. There are a lot of people in town—they won’t dare do anything to me.”
“What kind of terrible idea is that?” A warmth surged in my chest as I saw the kid actually about to take off. I quickly grabbed his wrist, pulling him along as I hurried downstairs, blending into the bustling crowd.
Seeing those two figures on the opposite side of the street moving against the crowd and crossing over, I was worried that Mo Wei might really act impulsively, so I didn’t dare let go, and kept a firm grip on his wrist.
“Teacher Qin Ran, after we go back, can we…”
With a loud “boom,” the dancers at the center of the street spewed out another burst of flames. The crowd erupted in cheers, drowning out his voice. I let out a ‘Huh!’ and then heard him shouting from behind me, his voice rising above the noise: “I said, after we go back, can we—”
“Huh?” I turned my head back, and my entire body froze abruptly.
Mo Wei’s eyes widened, his body stiffening in place as a pale, slender hand clamped tightly around his throat. Towering over him by a full head, a figure wearing a fox-demon mask and a wide-brimmed hat stood just behind him. Beneath the shadow of the hat’s brim, cascades of inky, curling hair tumbled down like a waterfall.
“What do you, want to, ask him?” A hoarse, icy voice, as if fire had scorched through solid ice, cracked and spilled out word by word from beneath the mask.
Blue veins bulged on Mo Wei’s temple as he could only let out muffled groans.
I shook my head, fearfully scanning the surroundings, but everyone around me was dressed in the same strange costumes, wearing the same masks, singing and laughing, completely oblivious to anything unusual.
“Don’t, don’t kill him, Tunshe Nalin…” I opened my mouth, wanting to scream, but I knew asking the people around us for help would be futile. He was not human; he had the power to take a life in the blink of an eye. Before any help could arrive, Mo Wei might already be dead.
Tunshe Nalin did not answer but slowly stretched out his other hand towards me, with his palm facing up.
The meaning is self-evident.
I was trembling all over and almost wanted to run away immediately, but Mo Wei’s forehead was bulging with veins, his eyes were bloodshot, and his eyeballs kept rolling upwards.
I stared at his palm and stretched out my hand.
The cold five fingers instantly tightened around me. As my body was violently pulled towards him, Mo Wei was pushed out fiercely and fell into a snowy field. The back of my neck was tightly held, forcing me to look up and meet a pair of blood-red eyes under the shadow of the bamboo hat.
“Ranran, have you ever thought about me, for a moment, during the whole day I was away?”
