Xie Hua greeted them. Luo Ying looked at her – she was pretty, but from a physiognomist’s perspective, her pointed face, narrow forehead, slightly protruding teeth, and narrow migration palace suggested a life of thin fortune, hardship, and overthinking, despite her loyal nature.
Luo Ying noticed her particularly sorrowful appearance and paid extra attention, while Xia Xian Ning merely glanced briefly before looking away.
Luo Yingbai quickly screened the questions, trying to collect the most effective information within three minutes: “What method would you use to come back? What method would she use to stop you from coming back?”
Liao Zhongdao: “There is one path, one path that has been blocked…”
His words began to become disjointed, a sign that time was running out.
Luo Yingbai accelerated his speech: “Why did you not want to leave before, but now want to come back? Speak quickly!”
The last two words were a light shout, helping Liao Zhongdao regain a bit of consciousness. He rasped: “She is a devil—”
Then his eyes closed, and his body fell back straight onto the bed. As soon as he touched the bed, he let out another miserable scream, returning to his previous state.
Xie Hua had been afraid of interrupting Luo Yingbai’s questioning. She rushed to the bedside, calling out several times: “Liao Zhongdao! Liao Zhongdao?”
Her worry was evident. Liao De anxiously said: “Master, what should we do?”
Luo Yingbai remained calm: “It’s fine. At least now we know where the incident occurred, which makes everything easier. I’ll go take a look first. In the meantime, don’t take any measures randomly, just wait.”
Although still worried, Liao De had no other option but to listen to him. To show his sincerity, he even transferred 500,000 to Luo Yingbai on the spot, as a fee for personally exploring the Ning New District.
Chapter 53: Shi Mei’s Heart Rises
Liao De drove the two to the university city. Before reaching the Ning New District, his driving speed gradually slowed down, presumably remembering Liao Zhongdao’s fate and feeling scared to approach.
Luo Yingbai understood and said: “We don’t know the situation ahead, Mr. Liao.”
Please stay here, we’ll go.”
Liao De was very grateful and repeatedly thanked him. In contrast, Xie Hua, who came along, was not hesitant and followed Xia Luo down from the car, saying: “Masters, can you take me along?”
Xia Jian Ning said: “No.”
His tone and expression were cold, preventing Xie Hua from saying anything further.
Luo Yingbai said: “Miss Xie, don’t mind. My junior brother is right. We don’t know the situation inside, and it would be dangerous for you to go.”
Xie Hua looked disappointed but understood and walked away, looking back several times.
Luo Yingbai and Xia Jian Ning walked shoulder to shoulder onto the ruins, sighing: “Waiting for four years, and her fiancé married and had children in another world. What a pity for this girl.”
Xia Jian Ning said calmly: “If you love someone, you’ll love them for a lifetime. No pity.”
Luo Yingbai asked: “Will you be like this in the future? Even if the person doesn’t like you?”
Xia Jian Ning replied: “If they don’t like me, I’ll work hard to make them like me. My love for him will not change.”
Luo Yingbai saw his seriousness, and his smile faded. For a moment, he felt an uncomfortable feeling.
But he and Xia Jian Ning had been walking here for quite a while, confirming that the people around them were not ghosts. Luo Yingbai glanced back at their original path and found it was obscured by mist.
He had a thought, pretending to want to buy something, and walked to a nearby stall, picking up a pair of hairpins to examine. He discreetly pinched them and immediately confirmed they were made of paper.
The female stallholder was enthusiastic, asking, “Young man, want these two for ten yuan?”
Luo Yingbai, preoccupied with his thoughts and not intending to buy two paper hairpins, was about to refuse when his words suddenly changed, and he said, “Okay.”
He reached for his pocket and realized he had no cash. Xia Xianning had already handed over ten yuan from behind, whispering, “I’ll buy them for you.”
Luo Yingbai took the money and handed it to the stallholder, his fingers intentionally or unintentionally brushing her wrist.
The female stallholder was stunned, then lightly pushed him, coyly saying, “Oh, you.”
Xia Xianning: “…”
Luo Yingbai stood up with the hairpins, smiling apologetically, “Sorry, my hand slipped.”
The stallholder swept back her hair and threw him a flirtatious glance.
As they walked away, Xia Xianning asked casually, “Felt good?”
Luo Yingbai pretended to rub his fingers, savoring the moment, “Not bad, a bit thicker than chicken wings.”
After he said this, Xia Xianning also realized: “Are the people also made of paper?”
Luo Yingbai nodded. Xia Xianning sensed for a moment and said, “This is still the human world.”
Master, I have an idea.”
Luo Yingbai played with the small floral clip in his hand, also having an idea and pondering how to implement it, casually said, “Speak.”
Xia Xianning said, “When I walked here earlier, there was a moment when I could sense a trace of ghostly energy, and then it suddenly disappeared. Now that I think about it, this strange place appeared after that.”
Luo Yingbai’s gaze involuntarily drifted to his hair, saying, “Hmm, you mean this is the boundary between yin and yang. Liao Zhong’s six lost souls might have attached themselves to these paper people.”
The boundary between yin and yang refers to the chaotic area where the underworld and the human world intersect. Here, souls reincarnated midway or accidentally lost in the human world, and items burned for the deceased by the living, might get stuck in between, preserved in this new space.
Each yin-yang boundary has a fixed form of existence. Luo Yingbai suspected that a paper mill or funeral supplies factory might have existed here before, leaving behind many paper items, so souls unable to enter the underworld exist by relying on these paper objects.
Xia Xianning inexplicably felt a chill down his back, said, “Hmm.”
When he left, he had taken a strand of Liao Zhong’s hair, burned it in a tracking talisman, and followed the trace inward.
Earlier was just the entrance to the yin-yang boundary with few people. The deeper they went, the more bustling it became, with men, women, old and young shuttling back and forth, their living state almost indistinguishable from the human world.
Soon, they arrived outside a bungalow. Even before approaching, they could hear crying, shouting, and cursing from inside. The yellow talisman’s tracking trace disappeared at the doorway, proving that the person they sought was inside.
Luo Yingbai stood still for a moment, surveying the small house, doubtfully saying, “Am I seeing this right? Yin Ming’s previous account was that Liao Zhong had returned to the human world because he was so successful here. Is this place really that good?”
Xia Xianning said, “Perhaps the paper people’s standards are different from ours.”
As he spoke, an old man happened to pass by, pausing his steps and asking, “Young man, are you looking for the owner of this house?”
Luo Yingbai turned his head. The man seemed to be made of rice paper, wrinkled and thin, floating ethereally. He involuntarily lowered his voice, “Yes, sir. I’m looking for someone named Liao Zhong. Is this his home?”
The old man looked around, lowering his voice mysteriously, “I advise you not to look for him. Leave quickly! I’m telling you, the Liao family is evil. They’re haunted!”
Luo Yingbai: “…”
Hearing the words “haunted” from his mouth was truly a subtle feeling.
He moved closer, curious, “Sir, can you be more specific? How are they haunted? I just heard what seemed like an argument inside?”
