Phantom Skeleton Painting

“Sit.” Song Qingluo pointed to the sofa.

Lin Banxia sat down on the sofa and motioned Ji Leshui to come over with his eyes. Ji Leshui hesitated and reluctantly sat next to Lin Banxia and whispered: “Mr. Song, what is in these boxes… Something…”

Song Qingluo gave him a cold look and did not answer.

Ji Leshui suddenly became embarrassed. He said sheepishly: “Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend, I just felt…” He just felt that the box made him uncomfortable. He originally wanted to say this, but before the words came out, he immediately realized that these words would offend people more than if he didn’t say anything at all, so he turned around abruptly and said, “It just feels like it’s a bit…it takes up a bit of space.”

Song Qingluo stood up, walked to the sofa, and took a box. The box was about the size of a human head. After Song Qingluo took it, he placed it on the table in front of them. He slightly raised his chin at Ji Leshui: “Don’t you want to know what’s inside? Open it and see?”

Ji Leshui’s expression froze.

Lin Banxia wanted to help Ji Leshui out of the siege, but before he could speak, Song Qingluo made a silent gesture.

The box was not big, and it was not locked. There was an easy-to-pull buckle, and the box could be opened by just reaching out. Ji Leshui was indeed curious about what was inside, but for some reason, when his hand touched the surface of the box, he felt a chill that penetrated his bones, as if he was being targeted by some terrifying beast.

Ji Leshui tried several times but was still unable to open the box. Some instinct drove him to stop. His fingertips slid across the soft surface of the box and touched it but did not dare to touch the buckle of the box. It was as if the box in front of him is not a box, but a Pandora’s box. As long as you open it, you would fall into a situation that is beyond redemption.

Unknowingly, Ji Leshui’s face was covered with cold sweat. He finally gave up and cast a look at Lin Banxia for help.

Lin Banxia asked doubtfully: “Leshui? Are you okay?”

Ji Leshui forced a smile and said: “This… I still won’t open it. After all, it is Mr. Song’s personal belongings, so I just can’t open it…”

Song Qingluo said: “Your name is Lin Banxia, ​​right? Do you dare to open it?”

Lin Banxia said: “Open? Just this box?” As he spoke, he stretched out his hand towards the box, but as soon as his hand touched the buckle, Ji Leshui’s frightened cry came from beside him, then Ji Leshui suddenly stretched out his hand, grabbed Lin Banxia’s finger that wanted to open the buckle, and said, “No, no, it can’t be opened, Banxia, ​​it can’t be opened.”

Lin Banxia was shocked by Ji Leshui’s reaction.

Song Qingluo’s expression did not change, as if Ji Leshui’s reaction was within his expectations. He took something out of his pocket and handed it to Ji Leshui: “Throw the dice once?”

Ji Leshui was already a little confused. After he took the things from Song Qingluo’s hand, he realized that they were two dice with a special texture. Different from the ordinary six-sided dice, this dice has ten sides in total, one black and one white, like two eyeballs, lying quietly in Ji Leshui’s hand.

Ji Leshui said: “Dice…how do you play this dice?”

Song Qingluo: “Throw it on the table.”

Ji Leshui swallowed, then carefully threw it on the table. The dice spun many times on the table, and finally stopped steadily in the middle of the table. The black die showed a 6, and the white die showed a 9.

Song Qingluo said: “Do it again.” After that, he handed the dice to Ji Leshui again.

Ji Leshui was a little confused, but he still followed what Song Qingluo said and rolled the dice again. What he didn’t expect was that when the two dice stopped spinning and rested on the table again, the numbers did not change at all. The black die was still 6 and the white die was 9.

Ji Leshui was dumbfounded and stammered: “Mr. Song, is there something wrong with your dice?”

Song Qingluo didn’t answer, pointed at Lin Banxia, ​​and motioned for him to try it too.

Lin Banxia said “Oh” and rolled the dice like Ji Leshui, but who would have thought that when the dice came into his hands, it became extremely strange. It seemed to have escaped the gravity of the earth’s center and kept spinning, but the dice never stopped.

Ji Leshui had goosebumps all over his body as he watched, and his gaze at Song Qingluo became a little more frightened.

Song Qingluo took the dice back and said to Ji Leshui, “Fortunately it’s not 100.”

“One hundred? What do you mean?” Ji Leshui naturally didn’t understand.

“The black dice are in single digits, and the white dice are in tens. This number is the current degree of mental pollution you have.” Song Qingluo threw the dice into his pocket and said, “A normal person cannot understand when he sees something.” After the phenomenon, mental disorder will occur. The higher the value, the more serious the disorder. You are 96, and you have four points left to reach full.”

Ji Leshui said: “What about him? What’s wrong with him?” He pointed to his friend Lin Banxia.

Lin Banxia sat obediently next to him, putting his hands on his knees, and looked innocent when Ji Leshui pointed at him.

Song Qingluo glanced at Lin Banxia and said: “There are also special people who cannot understand strange phenomena when they see them. In fact, there are many such people. We usually call them…”

Ji Leshui said: “What, what?”

Song Qingluo said: “People with intellectual disabilities.”

Ji Leshui: “…”

Song Qingluo: “Commonly known as mentally retarded.”

Ji Leshui: “…”

Lin Banxia: “…” This is too much. He just reacted a little slowly, so why was he mentally retarded?

“The higher your Imagination, the more strange phenomena you can see. The more you can see, the easier it is to go crazy.” The two dice rolled between Song Qingluo’s slender fingers, as if they had become a part of his body. “Imagination is normally linked to intelligence, so…” He glanced at Lin Banxia, ​​and for some reason, Lin Banxia actually saw a little pity and a narrow smile in his eyes.

Ji Leshui immediately looked at his friend cooperatively and said angrily: “Lin Banxia, ​​it’s so hard for you to hide this from me. I’ve lived with you for so many years, and you actually acted like a retard behind my back.”

Lin Banxia smiled softly: “That’s enough.”

Ji Leshui coughed a few times and suppressed his laughter.

Lin Banxia said: “Mr. Song, okay. Now that we know that my friend has been seriously contaminated, and my identity as a mentally retarded person has also been exposed. Can you tell us a solution?”

Song Qingluo said: “There are actually methods.”

Lin Banxia said: “For example?”

Song Qingluo said: “For example, moving.”

“But didn’t you say you couldn’t move out?” Lin Banxia asked strangely. He clearly remembered Song Qingluo’s advice during his first visit.

Song Qingluo said: “Of course you can’t move out casually.”

Lin Banxia said: “Where should we move to?”

Song Qingluo pointed to his room.

When Ji Leshui heard this, he lost his voice and said, “What? You want me to live with you? But I have a girlfriend.”

Lin Banxia: “What? You have a girlfriend?? When did that happen??”

Ji Leshui: “You are mentally retarded, but you don’t want me to have a girlfriend?”

Lin Banxia laughed angrily and rolled up his sleeves: “Ji Leshui, you are a bastard, I will blow your head off today.”

Ji Leshui immediately apologized sincerely, saying that it wasn’t that he didn’t want to say it, but that it happened suddenly, and he hadn’t found a chance to say it yet. Then he looked at Song Qingluo shyly and said, “Mr. Song, isn’t it too early to live together now?”

Song Qingluo said angrily: “Who wants to live with you? I just said that the way is to move in. Did I say that you can move in?”

Ji Leshui blurted: “Ah? Why is this like this?” However, he reacted quickly and immediately thought of something else, showing a sincere smile, “Mr. Song. Mr. Song, saving one life is better than building a seven-level pagoda. Look at me. I’ve been tortured for a few days and I’m almost going crazy. Just do it and save me. I will agree to whatever conditions you say. Look at my friend, he finally graduated and used all his savings to buy a house, yet he encountered such a thing. If a normal person works hard, they will get over it, but he can’t do it here.” He pointed to his head.

Lin Banxia: “…” Ji Leshui, why are you such a bastard and so skilled at selling your friends?

The author has something to say:

Ji Leshui: Boss, help me, I’m going to be scared to death!!

Song Qingluo: = =

Ji Leshui: I’m going to be scared to death!!!

Song Qingluo: = =

Ji Leshui: Your wife’s house is going to be taken away by the bank!!

Song Qingluo: Come on, let’s live in another house.

Ji Leshui: You two are b*stards!!!!

Lin Banxia: We are not dogs; we are just poor.

 

Translator’s Notes:

Hey guys, I’m the translator for this novel. If you have any questions or thoughts feel free to comment and I’ll do my best to answer everything. If you notice any inconsistencies or errors, drop a comment and I will fix it. I am new to this, but I want to learn and give the best translation that I can to the readers. Thanks so much for reading Phantom Skeleton Painting, I hope that everyone enjoys the novel.

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