Chapter 144 – 1992-2020

Everyone was standing close to the walls and stood very far away. They couldn’t hear what Lian Qiao was saying at all.

Unexpectedly when the hungry ghost, who was close at hand, heard those words, it was as if someone had punched him on the head. The ghost’s entire froze in place and stopped moving.

Almost at the same time, a person jumped out of the locked door of the small bungalow!

It was Little Apple!

They saw Little Apple jumping out like a leopard, making a lightning strike and snatching the crowbar from the hungry ghost’s hand!

It turned out that the hungry ghost couldn’t touch the crowbar so he also couldn’t throw it away easily. That’s why he kept holding the scumbag’s severed wrist in his hand. The severed wrist remained in the same posture as was when it left the body, holding the crowbar tightly all the time. It’s not that anyone else didn’t think about snatching back the crowbar but the hungry ghost was quick and lethal, so no one dared to go head-to-head with it in order to snatch it.

Fortunately, there was blood on the severed wrist and the crowbar was slippery. Little Apple teleported through the gate and suddenly appeared in front of the hungry ghost. The hungry ghost couldn’t dodge in time and she immediately got the crowbar easily. {Remember trying to go out one side makes you ‘teleport’ inside again on the other side, which was established in the previous chapters. Just like a video game when you leave the designated area.}

It was not only the Hungry Ghost but also the other players were dumbfounded by this series of operations.

The hungry ghost was even more stunned. It turned its head slowly and. before it recovered from the upheaval, it saw a sharp cold light piercing through the air.

Bang!

A golden light flashed faintly in the cold light. The crowbar fell on his head and the head of the hungry ghost was smashed flat on the spot!

“Aaaaaaaaaaahhhh——’ this time, with a smashed head, it writhed frantically.

It was like a frightened long-legged spider, its hands and feet were dancing wildly but, because its head was smashed, it couldn’t see the direction clearly, so it could only run around.

Lian Qiao and Little Apple had already escaped. Seeing the hungry ghost wandering around in the courtyard, the rest of the people screamed and ran away.

Not long after, the hungry ghost’s head seemed to be boiling and a puff of white smoke came out. Soon, the hungry ghost foamed at the mouth and collapsed convulsively.

Its giant spider-like body quickly melted into blood, mixing with the puddle of flesh and blood on the ground, making it inseparable.

There was a disgusting sour smell in the air, as if a drunkard had vomited up what he ate last night and the smell was almost irritating even to the eyes. Everyone didn’t dare to approach it for a while, until the white smoke dissipated and the smell in the air became slightly lighter, then they boldly stepped forward to check.

“He, he should be dead, right?” The strong man pinched his nose and asked cautiously.

Lian Qiao stood far away holding little RenDong, showing no intention of going over. He frowned, still covering Little RenDong’s nose and mouth with one hand, but his attention was no longer in the yard.

“The principal is really..” Lian Qiao looked at the small western building, quite dissatisfied, “It’s not yet curfew time, why lock the door?”

Everyone: “..” Is it time to think about this? Boss, please, come here first to add an extra stab to make sure the corpse is dead, okay?

Everyone waited anxiously for a while but the pool of blood on the ground showed no intention of being resurrected. Only then did everyone heave a sigh of relief that their lives had been spared.

Lian Qiao knocked on the door a few times but no one came to answer the door. He couldn’t help muttering in a low voice, complaining about the principal’s handiwork and eldery people’s sleeping habits, why did she go to bed so early?

Little Apple smiled at him and admired sincerely: “You are really amazing.”

“Ah?” Lian Qiao glanced at her angrily, “What?”

Little Apple said, “I just walked to the gate of the courtyard and you figured out what I wanted to do. Thank you for cooperating with me.”

“You discovered the enchantment in the yard,” Lian Qiao said lightly, “Since you knew that you would be teleported back if you went out, you quietly ran to the gate of the yard at this time. You must be trying to use the portal.”

Little Apple covered her mouth and smiled, “I just didn’t expect that we have such tacit understanding.”

Before Lian Qiao could speak, Little RenDong in his arms suddenly spoke.

“Who has a tacit understanding with you?” The black eyes stared straight at her and the two little hands of little RenDong were tightly clutching the front of Lian Qiao’s chest, looking like a food protector. He stared at Little Apple and said word by word, “This is Just, Basic, Common, Sense!”

Little Apple: “..Pfft.”

What to do! Although she knew that this kid was eating vinegar, he was so serious when he spoke, so cute!

If even Little Apple found him cute, of course Lian Qiao was beaming with joy and his heart melted into water. He pecked RenDong’s forehead and then rubbed RenDong’s cheek in a fawning manner and said, “Okay, don’t be angry. She didn’t do it on purpose~”

Little Apple: “..” What do you mean “she didn’t do it on purpose”? Your kid is eating vinegar and you’re blaming me? Is your brain broken?

After seeing the mischief of these three people, the people who were originally in fear finally relaxed their tense mood. Everyone couldn’t help but think with peace of mind: Lian Qiao is still a big boss after all and so, when it’s time to make a move..

Cough,?although three people already died and it was a little bit late, but they still made a move after all!

“By the way, boss.” Little Apple turned her head and asked Lian Qiao as if remembering something, “What did you say to the ghost just now that frightened it so much?”

Lian Qiao smiled slightly: “The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra.”

Little Apple: “???” What are you talking about???

Lian Qiao: “It’s the Buddhist scripture that says: ‘form is emptiness and emptiness is form’.”

Everyone: “..”

Little Apple was stunned for a while and said angrily, “Since you know that chanting is useful, why didn’t you tell us earlier?”

Lian Qiao: “You tell me, can you memorize it? Come on, tell me, what else do you know in the Heart Sutra besides ‘form is emptiness and emptiness is form’?”

Everyone: “..” This question is beyond their capability!

Little Apple asked suspiciously: “Then why do you know how to recite it? Could it be that you are a lay disciple of Shaolin Temple?” Her weird eyes lingered on Little RenDong, “..Aren’t you gay? Buddhism allows homosexuality?”

Lian Qiao : “..Of course not, what are you thinking? I was just brainwashed by a monk who loves to sing rock and roll, and listened to the rock version of the Heart Sutra 180 times.” With a small nose and crooked eyebrows, he said: “Isn’t that so?”

The corner of Little RenDong’s mouth curled up and the face of Rock Monk appeared in the depths of his memory.

....wait.

At that moment, a flash of thought flashed through his mind. The thought flashed so fast that,? before he had time to catch it, he heard another scream from behind.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!”

.. Everyone’s expressions changed and they looked in unison towards the source of the screams. They saw a petite girl standing next to the grape arbor with her head tilted to one side, and a huge blood hole on her neck, bleeding madly!

The girl screamed and tried her best to block the hole. However, her neck was almost bitten off? and the veins gushed out a fountain of blood like a broken fire hydrant.

The blood loss was huge and she soon became exhausted and collapsed to the ground.

The upheaval happened suddenly and everyone was caught off guard. Lian Qiao was stunned.

Only Little RenDong was the first to react, pointing in the direction of the grape trellis, the child’s voice was sharp: “Lian Qiao! There is still another hungry ghost!”

There is still another one?!

Without hesitation, Lian Qiao grabbed the crowbar from Little Apple and rushed towards the grape arbor.

The characteristic of hungry ghosts is that, after killing someone, they will eat the corpse first. So without even thinking about it, Lian Qiao raised the crowbar high and smashed it down on the head of the dead woman.

Sure enough, with a bang, the crowbar burst into a burst of golden light out of thin air and slashed into what appeared to be an empty place!

“Woooooooooooo..!!.” A ghostly cry pierced the eardrums.

Lian Qiao frowned and immediately backed away.

Little RenDong pointed to the front right and said anxiously: “Over there!”

Although Lian Qiao couldn’t see the ghost, he followed the direction of RenDong’s finger and slashed the crowbar horizontally. This time, the crowbar hit something firmly again. There was another scream in the air, followed by a blunt bang, as if something soft fell to the ground.

Lian Qiao held the crowbar in front of him, not daring to relax his vigilance. Little RenDong stared at the front with wide eyes, looked for a while and then said: “It’s not moving.”

Gradually, a human figure gradually appeared on the ground in front of the two. The stench of rotting vomit floated in the air again, but this time the smell was much weaker than before.

Unlike the previous hungry ghost, this hungry ghost was obviously smaller in size and appeared somewhat closer to a normal person. It was wearing a thick winter coat and looked familiar.

Immediately someone screamed.

“Isn’t this the man with the scar?! How could he—”

Lian Qiao’s eyebrows jumped.

Little RenDong and him looked at each other with solemn expressions.

The man with the scar turned into blood little by little and soon the ghost corpse disappeared. There was only a puddle of rotten blood left on the ground.

Everyone was silent, walked forward slowly, and stood behind Lian Qiao.

Lian Qiao looked down at the pool of blood and it was unknown what he was thinking. A strange silence hung over everyone’s heads and the feeling of depression almost became a reality, making people breathless.

After a long time, Little Apple said: “People who are eaten by hungry ghosts.. will also become hungry ghosts, right?”

Lian Qiao didn’t answer.

It was Little RenDong in his arms, who glanced at everyone, and said two words slowly in a childish voice: “Not necessarily.”

When everyone heard it, they were all relieved. But then RenDong continued:

“But probably, in this dungeon, all the people killed by ghosts will become ghosts.”

Everyone: “..”

Everyone felt extremely suffocated after hearing this. Only Lian Qiao burst out laughing, rubbed RenDong’s little head helplessly, and said dotingly: “You, why are you setting up flags? Have you forgotten that your mouth is also ‘blessed’?”

Everyone: “?? ?” How is that everything in your family is consecrated? Do you really have a goddamn deal with the temple?!

Little RenDong knew that he was complaining about his crow’s mouth so he sighed and said in a heavy tone that didn’t match his childish voice: “Whether my guess is right or not, it’s always better to be careful.”

Everyone was silent.

The wind in late spring and early summer blew coolly behind everyone. A gust of wind blows the grass and the flowers, birds and cicadas sing. The sense of weirdness spread quietly in everyone’s hearts like vines.

Lying in Lian Qiao’s arms, Little RenDong took a deep breath, and said solemnly: “So, please try your best to live and don’t shit/die.” {RenDong’s childish lisp makes ‘die’/’si’ sound like shit/’shi’.}

The crowd: “..”

The originally weird and chilling atmosphere, under the influence of the child’s lisp, instantly became funny.

No tension at all— shit!

It’s still scary, okay?

Wanting to laugh but not daring to laugh makes everyone feel even more aggrieved!