Chapter 2: The Great Ming and Qing Dynasties

  I didn't dare turn back, I could only force myself to push open the curved willow door.

  The curved door was ajar, unlocked. Just like the night I saw it. When I pushed the door, I only felt my hand shake for a moment, and quickly withdrew to shake off the resentment. After that, I took seven steps forward and kicked the door open with one foot.

  But the moment I kicked it open, I was stunned. Because this room wasn't Liu Wanwan's room, but my own room. Whether it was the arrangement of things in the house or the decoration, it was completely my own room.

  I even saw someone sleeping on the bed, with their back facing me. Who else could it be but me?

  But I was only flustered for a moment, and then I came to my senses and immediately understood what was going on. What a fool I am!

  But why was I being blinded by a ghost? Just as I was stunned, my whole body suddenly shuddered, and before I could figure out what was happening, I felt a gust of wind behind my head, feeling like something was rushing towards me. I quickly crouched down, still feeling a bit dizzy, and when I stood up again, the scenery around me had completely changed.

  I'm sure many of you have had this experience - it's as if you're dazed for a moment, and the scenery in front of you changes. When you come to your senses again, you realize that nothing has actually changed. It's just that feeling.

  At that time, in front of me was a large courtyard. The surrounding walls were high and the entire courtyard looked very classical and elegant, and exceptionally large, with winding paths that couldn't be seen clearly. Moreover, looking at the decorations and the architectural style of the house, this was a Ming-Qing dynasty large courtyard. There were embroidered quilts hanging around, which should have been dried in the outer courtyard.

  My heart skipped a beat, and I felt something was off. Before I could even react, an old man came out of the inner gate. (In the past, those large courtyards all had multiple gates because they were so big, and I couldn't count how many there were. Let's just say it was like that.)

  The old man was dressed in bright and clean clothes, wearing a small hat, looking like a housekeeper. At this time, I had roughly figured out my situation, which was that my soul had left my body.

  Many times we think it's just a dream, but in fact, it's possible that the soul has left the body. Everything in dreams is colorless; if you don't believe me, recall your dreams and most of them only have black and white colors. If you're dreaming and the scene is so real that every detail is clear, and the colors in the dream are vivid and distinguishable, then eighty percent of the time, it's a case of the soul leaving the body.

  Let me continue, at that time the old man who looked like a butler came to my front, and actually bowed to me, making a deep bow. Then he smiled and called out: "Young master, may I ask... are you here for a wedding send-off or a wedding reception?"

  I thought it was strange at the time, and I also remembered Liu Wanwan. In my heart, I had some thoughts. Knowing this matter is anxious, but there's no use. This old man doesn't have any eerie aura on him, nor does he have a gloomy atmosphere. However, the five years spent on the mountain weren't wasted. Sometimes not having an eerie aura doesn't mean you're not a ghost.

  It depends on the location of the tomb and the burial site. If the position of the grave is correct, it's normal for there to be no resentful or eerie atmosphere in the grave. As I was sizing up the butler, he was also sizing me up. Just then, two house servants came over, and they gave me a couple of looks with expressions that seemed somewhat impatient.

  I suppose it's because I wasn't carrying anything. One of the servants then said, "Today is a grand wedding feast at our manor, whatever business you have can be dealt with another day."

  Just as I was about to speak, that Ding family was stopped by the steward. The old steward smiled faintly and said: "A guest from afar is a precious thing!"

  As soon as I heard this sentence, I suddenly felt a chill in my brain and sweat came down. I suddenly realized a problem. When I entered Liu Wanwan's house at that time, I was blinded by the ghost, and the house became my own room. It just so happened that at that time, there was something hitting me behind my back, and I instantly thought it through, the thing that hit me should be a mournful stick without a doubt.

  "Háo Sāng Bàng" is a bamboo stick cut to about one foot in length, with white paper strips wrapped around the top of the bamboo node to form a flower-shaped decoration. When someone dies, their filial sons and daughters-in-law must hold this thing while guarding the coffin. It's specially used for driving away lonely spirits and wild ghosts.

  A new mournful stick can beat out someone else's soul if it hits the head.

  If I started to suspect that my soul had escaped, then now I realize that the mournful stick must have hit my head, and I am no longer in this building. The old housekeeper's red face doesn't necessarily mean he's not a ghost. Then what does the sudden appearance of this Ming Qing courtyard represent? What kind of place is this? How did I end up here? However, it should undoubtedly belong to the underworld.

  "I was brought here by force after my soul left my body, which is to say I was dragged here with my neck pinched. From the world of light into darkness, isn't that 'far'?"

  The two most important things now are: First, Liu Wanwan. The matter originated from Liu Wanwan, and I suddenly thought of the classical red cloud cloak I saw that morning, so Liu Wanwan can't escape responsibility for this matter. Second, I must get rid of my physical body and return to the world of the living; if it's before dawn when the rooster crows, it's likely that I won't be able to come back at all.

  When others find me, it's just a sudden cardiac arrest. Thinking of this, I calmed down and soon thought of someone playing a trick on me with the "blind man's bluff". Why not imitate them? First go in and figure out what's going on before doing anything else.

  Thinking of this, I pinched a mouthful of living Qi (the soul of a living person also has living Qi) in my hand, and with the momentum, I pinched one behind me. When I took out my hand, there was already a gold brick stuck to it.

  The old steward looked very pleased, as the saying goes, "the older the ginger, the more spirited", actually I have a clear conscience, he also knows that I am playing tricks with him, but this thing has its own rhythm, you give me a ghostly cover, and I will return you a ghostly cover.

  I'm bringing a gold brick as a wedding gift, I've given you face and substance, now take the money and let me in, right?

  The old man's delight was fake, but the two family guards next to him were stunned, and the deterrent force of a gold brick is indeed great. The two family guards were both taken aback, I handed the gold brick to one of them, then gave another family guard a wink, that guard was also clever, and quickly smiled at me.

  After giving gifts, the old butler was quite proper

  "Master, this way please!" The butler made a "please" gesture with his hand, and I followed him through the front gate, then through the second gate. We entered the inner hall. As soon as I looked around, my eyes widened in surprise.

  Although I knew that all of this was not real, the old-fashioned mansion with lanterns and colorful decorations was truly not just for show. The surrounding silk and satin were tied up with auspicious flowers, and the pavilions and buildings were filled with joyful atmosphere everywhere. Many servants around wore black robes and red horse jackets, blowing, pulling, and singing, what a lively scene.

  I suddenly felt that the tune sounded particularly familiar, and I suddenly remembered that it was actually a nursery rhyme coming from Liu Wanwan's house. However, this time I listened to the whole thing, and the lyrics of the entire nursery rhyme made me feel eerie and chilled all over...

  The bridge has strange things happening under it

  Inside lives Blind Granny

  Little fatty, delicious

  Rushing home to marry his daughter-in-law

  Fat grandma, wipe away tears

  The big red flower has no fragrance

  Beating gongs and drums to see off the happy couple

  The little devil is laughing and having fun!

  This is clearly a case of mismatched marriage, how could a gentle girl like Liu Wanwan get involved in such a thing? I took another look at the groom, and oh my god, what a handsome groom! He's so handsome that he's almost bursting with it.

  The groom sat on the Taishi chair, with a big red flower knot in front of his chest, a red silk belt around his waist, and a landlord's hat on his head. The "top" on the hat was a piece of fine emerald jade. He wore red pants, white socks, and black shoes. Estimated to be over 300 pounds.

  At this moment, the groom is standing with his legs apart and his mouth wide open, fanning himself with his right hand. It's not hot outside but he's sweating profusely. The sweat dripping down from him could be used to fry two dishes.

  The housekeeper led me to the inner hall, and the groom glanced at me and asked, "Which family's young master is this?" I hadn't even had time to respond when suddenly the sound of drums and music came from outside. I knew that the bride was coming out. From a distance, I saw that the bride's movements seemed slightly stiff, as if her hands and feet were numb. She wore a bright red dress with a crimson veil, exactly like the one I had seen at Liu Wanwan's place.

  The bride wore a half-transparent red veil on her head.

  I took a glance, and the face under the hood was not Liu Wanwan, who else could it be? I knew my inference was correct, so I remained silent and still. Liu Wanwan seemed to ignore me as if she didn't see me, walking stiffly towards the groom, while that over 300-pound fatty hastily stood up to greet her.

  I asked the butler standing beside me, "Excuse me, where is it convenient?"

  The old steward's attention was apparently not on me, and he casually instructed the servant who had just come in to take me out for a break. The servant led me out of the inner hall with a smile. As I walked out of the inner hall, I had my first chance to take a good look at this courtyard. This courtyard is too big, and the walls are high, so the view is very narrow.

  I followed the housekeeper, mentally mapping out the route we took and calculating the layout of this large compound. As I walked, I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine - I had figured out what kind of place this was! This wasn't some Ming Qing mansion... it was a tomb!!!!!

  Because I recognized the tomb's layout, this is the "Zhu Long Ru Shui Ju" in the Yin Zhai.

  Although I was shocked in my heart, on the surface I remained calm and continued walking. As we walked, I suddenly stopped, and that servant also stopped immediately, with a smile on his face, saying: "Sir, do you have any orders?"

  I asked Jia Ding: "This house of ours is quite old, isn't it?"

  Hehe, a sly smile spread across Jia Ding's face: "Let me tell you, old master, this big house has been around for over 70 years, just think about the past..."

  Jia Ding is indeed a man who speaks without reserve, and his words are always to the point. He likes to boast and exaggerate. He says that in the past, this place was bustling with activity, but now it's a lawless land where no one is in charge. The king of hell doesn't care about the little devils, and they do whatever they want. He also said that some time ago, a Taoist priest came to occupy this place, but they were driven out by the locals.

  I listened roughly, my right hand patted the young man's shoulder, and I casually pinched a gold bar. The eyes of this family's youngest son widened, and his saliva flowed onto the gold bar. I directly asked: "How do we get out of this mansion?"

  Jia Ding was stunned and shook his head, saying: "We've never been out before, but the people who handle things for them always leave from the south gate."

  "Where is the South Gate?" I continued to ask

  "Grandfather, you go through the beam and cross the ridge. On that side, there is a horse path. Once on the horse path, walking forward will basically reveal it." The house servant spoke without taking his eyes off the gold bar.

  I thought I'd asked enough, so I handed over the gold bar to him. Suddenly, my mind went "buzz" and something didn't feel right - Liu Wanwan!!! As soon as I thought of this, I hastily returned to the inner chamber. But just as I entered, it was exactly the time for the wedding ceremony to begin. I knew in my heart that if we went through with the ceremony, Liu Wanwan would be completely finished.

  At this moment, the stiff-faced host shouted loudly with his neck stretched: "One bow to heaven and earth!"