Chapter 027 Failure
Wang Yue didn't answer for a long time. I had a bad feeling, "Wang Yue, are you okay?"
"What time is it now?" she suddenly asked in a very gentle tone.
"It was already half past eleven when I came in . It was almost midnight," I said slowly.
Wang Yue's voice became increasingly ethereal, as if it was drifting away with the water waves. "Lin Cong, thank you for your help and dedication during this period. Our relationship ends here. Don't worry, the agreement that Meng Po and I signed to pledge your soul will be invalidated at this moment, and it will not affect your future life. Whether my father can be rescued, or I am trapped in the bardo forever, as long as there is a result, your soul will come back."
After hearing what she said, I breathed a sigh of relief, but I also felt a little bit unkind. I had been busy for several days, but in fact I didn't care about Wang Yue at all. I just wanted myself to be safe .
"Lin Cong, I'm sorry to trouble you." Wang Yue said softly, "Once the room is full of water, my soul will fly away. I have one last request."
"Go ahead."
Wang Yue said softly: "In the last half hour, please don't leave, okay? Stay here with me and send me off for the last time."
I feel bad. After all, I had a good time with Wang Yue, and it was quite happy. Although I can't say that I love her now, we still have friendship.
I murmured, "It should be."
We stopped talking. I stroked the wall with my hand, as if the wall was Wang Yue. Time passed by minute by minute, and Wang Yue, who was silent, suddenly said: "After midnight, take the bracelet I left for you. Consider it my last gift to you."
I said "hmm".
"This bracelet may be of no use to you in the future, just keep it as a souvenir, but." Wang Yue said: "You must keep it for yourself and don't give it to anyone else, including Uncle Zhong."
I was silent for a moment, then slowly explained what was going on.
"There's one more thing." Wang Yue said, "At the bottom of the closet in the living room outside is my business card. The money in it is not being used, so I'm leaving it to you. The password is your birthday."
Hearing this, I felt like thousands of arrows pierced my heart. I could feel Wang Yue’s love. She really loved me. But what about me?
Just as I was thinking about it, Wang Yue said, "After I die, you don't have to worry about my body, someone will take care of it. Tomorrow morning, you take Uncle Zhong away, and after you close the door, there is a small reset button under the combination lock. Press it and the combination will be reset. You don't have to come here anymore. I have already made arrangements for the rest, and I won't cause you any trouble."
"Wang Yue, you..." I was a little excited. This little girl really touched me.
"Okay, the water is almost full, time's up." Wang Yue's voice was sad: "Goodbye Lin Cong, see you in the next life. Oh, no, my soul has been scattered, there is no next life. Let my voice, appearance and smile remain in your memory, you must think of me in the future, don't forget me. I want to leave a trace of miss to this world for the last time..."
Having said this, the sound suddenly fell silent.
My hair stood on end: "Wang Yue, Wang Yue..."
There was no sound behind the wall, a sudden dead silence.
I felt dizzy and weak all over. Wang Yue was dead? She just died like that? A living person, someone I had a deep connection with, just disappeared like that.
I took the bracelet off the wall and slowly put it on my hand. My mind was a little confused and I didn't want to think too much. I would wait until tomorrow morning when my emotions were stable and I could sort out my thoughts.
After coming out of the mirror, Uncle Zhong looked at me and didn't ask any questions. He should have known the outcome of the matter from my expression.
We went out into the living room.
Uncle Zhong took out a cigarette and handed it to me. I took it. Uncle Zhong asked, "She didn't pass, did she?"
I nodded, my throat was bitter and I couldn't speak for a while.
"What about you?" he asked.
I sighed and said, "Wang Yue and Meng Po signed a pledge of my soul and spirit, and it is stuck at this point. Whether the mission is accomplished or not, my soul will come back."
Uncle Zhong patted my shoulder and stretched out on the sofa: "It's a blessing in disguise. By the way, did Wang Yue say what to do with her body?"
I said, "She said it has been arranged and someone will take care of it. We can just leave on our own tomorrow morning."
"What else did she say?" Uncle Zhong looked at me.
I just told the truth. "She left me this bracelet." I shook my wrist. "She also left me some money."
Uncle Zhong looked at the bracelet on my hand and said nothing.
"Wang Yue said that this bracelet cannot be given to anyone else and I have to wear it myself." I emphasized.
Uncle Zhong smiled, shook his head, closed his eyes and told me to turn off the lights. He wanted to have a good sleep and would leave tomorrow morning.
I walked to the wall and turned off the lights in the living room. Uncle Zhong's voice drifted out from the darkness: "I hope we won't forget each other."
I walked into the room and fell on the bed. My mind was a mess and I fell into a deep sleep.
When I was in the deepest sleep, I didn't know if it was a dream or a real thing, but I vaguely felt someone walk into the room and gesture above my head. It seemed to be Uncle Zhong, and I felt a force being drawn away. After a while, it seemed that someone else walked in. It was vaguely me. That "me" was staggering and lying on top of me, and we merged together.
The whole process was eerie and strange, and I seemed to understand what had happened. Uncle Zhong took away the soul he lent me, and my own soul was released by Meng Po and reattached to my body.
When I woke up, it was already bright outside. There were no curtains and the sun shone on my face. I sat up, still feeling groggy, and looked at the clock. It was only six in the morning.
I slept for six hours, but it was like I hadn't slept at all. I leaned against the head of the bed, lit a cigarette, and while smoking I recalled what happened yesterday. It seemed so vague and distant.
I thought about it for a long time, and when I realized that Wang Yue was dead, I felt like needles were stabbing my heart.
I went to the living room outside and saw that it was empty. Uncle Zhong was gone. There was a handwritten note on the coffee table. The handwriting was very vigorous and it was left by Uncle Zhong. There were only two words: Take care.
I walked around the room. It was too early to leave. I was very tired and wanted to rest for a while. After Uncle Zhong left, the atmosphere became more relaxed.
Last night, Wang Yue told me that she had left me some money. I thought about it and wondered whether I should take it. It seemed not right to take it out of friendship, but logically, I should take it. At least I should pay back the money that Li Daming helped me pay to Uncle Zhong. It was nearly 10,000 yuan in total.
If it weren't for Wang Yue's incident, I wouldn't have fallen to this point.
Just as I was thinking, there was a sound coming from the bedroom. I didn't pay attention to it at first, but when I realized something was wrong, I stood up. I was the only one in this room, how could there be a sound?
I looked towards the bedroom, where Wang Yue's body was. I was a little scared for no reason. It was quiet at the moment, but the atmosphere was very tense.
I hope Uncle Zhong doesn’t leave. After he leaves, I feel like I’ve lost my backbone.
At this moment, there was another sound in the bedroom, like something rubbing. This time it was real, not like it happened by chance, but someone was doing it deliberately, with a sense of rhythm.
I wiped the cold sweat off my head and suddenly thought of a possibility. Could it be that something in the bardo realm had escaped? That mirror was the passage connecting the world of the living and the bardo realm. If I could get in, then something would definitely be able to come out.
I wonder, could there be a ghost in the bedroom?
I was so scared that I wanted to leave, but I felt that if I left without clarifying everything, I would be too upset. No matter what, I had to clean up the place before leaving. Besides, Wang Yue's body was inside. No matter what, the dead were the most important, and I couldn't let the strange things inside mess it up.
I came to the bedroom door, but found that I didn't have anything handy, so I went to the bathroom to get a mop. I held the mop handle tightly, gritted my teeth, and kicked the bedroom door open.
The door opened and I was stunned.
The black smoke inside had disappeared, and the room was clear and transparent. I saw a person sitting in the coffin, wearing a mask, slowly turning his head to look at me.
My blood was boiling, and I seemed to have thought of something, but it felt wrong. Wang Yue's soul had already been scattered, and there was only her body in the coffin. Could it be that the evil spirit from the bardo realm had possessed her?
I could feel the person in the coffin looking at me. I stood at the door, holding the mop tightly, and my breathing almost stopped.
The person stood up from the coffin and slowly took off the mask, revealing a fair and delicate face. It was Wang Yue. She looked at me and said softly, "Lin Cong."
"You, you haven't already..." I could hardly speak.
Her body stumbled, and I subconsciously walked into the house, wanting to help her but not daring to. Wang Yue glanced at me angrily and said, "Come here."
She looked exactly like Wang Yue in this little look. I gritted my teeth, walked over to her and helped her out of the coffin.
"Lin Cong." She looked at me with a very happy expression on her face: "I'm still alive."
