Phantom Skeleton Painting

Maybe because Song Qingluo gave Ji Leshui hope that he could solve this matter, but Ji Leshui’s mental state suddenly improved a lot, and he became more energetic. He stared at Song Qingluo with bright eyes, wishing to stare at him, his eyes drilling a hole.

Facing Ji Leshui’s fiery eyes, Song Qingluo still acted very coldly. He said that it was okay for Ji Leshui to move in, but only Ji Leshui could live in this house, so while Ji Leshui was recovering mentally, he was going to live next door.

Ji Leshui said: “So what you mean is that we can swap, I come here, and you go next door?”

Song Qingluo: “Yes.”

Ji Leshui said: “But why will it be okay for me to live with you?” He asked cautiously, “If you don’t want to say it, I won’t force you…”

Song Qingluo glanced at him and uttered four words: “Fight poison with poison.”

Ji Leshui: “…” Although he didn’t understand, Song Qingluo seems to be very powerful.

Lin Banxia, ​​who was nearby, had gotten a taste of it. He looked around at the neat boxes placed in the living room and said cautiously: “Mr. Song… what if Le Shui accidentally opened the box…?”

Song Qingluo said: “Either he goes home for dinner, or the whole village comes to his house for dinner.”

Ji Leshui: “…”

Lin Banxia: “…” You really have little sense of humor.

Ji Leshui encountered such a thing that was beyond common sense. Although he didn’t know whether Song Qingluo’s method was effective, he could only treat it like a dead horse[1.]. He didn’t want to see those horrific scenes again, nor did he want to experience getting locked in a dark closet again.

Having said that, it would be a bit eerie for him to live alone in this house. So, Ji Leshui turned his attention to Lin Banxia for help. Lin Banxia wanted to ask Song Qingluo if he could accompany him, but he heard Song Qingluo say: “It won’t work if there are other people living here.”

“So that’s it.” Lin Banxia expressed regret.

Ji Leshui originally wanted to struggle but seeing that Song Qingluo didn’t seem to be easy to negotiate with, he had no choice but to agree.

Song Qingluo was a straightforward person. After confirming that Ji Leshui was going to move here, he explained the rules in the house. The rules were actually very simple. He was not to touch any movable objects in the house, he had to sleep properly every day, and go to work as well and it would be fine, but he still emphatically told Ji Leshui not to open the kitchen door or the wardrobe in the living room.

Ji Leshui asked weakly what would happen if he accidentally opened it.

Song Qingluo replied to him with five words expressionlessly: “Isn’t it good to be alive?”

Ji Leshui shut up instantly.

Lin Banxia knew that Ji Leshui was afraid of his own house, so he thoughtfully helped Ji Leshui pack his luggage. Ji Leshui was sitting in the living room at a loss and asked Song Qingluo in a low voice if he had anything to pack. Song Qingluo said calmly that he was not afraid of going home and could just come and get it if he needed anything, telling Ji Leshui not to worry.

Ji Leshui actually didn’t sleep much yesterday, so now he was a little sleepy, sitting on the sofa and yawning. Seeing this, Song Qingluo asked him to go directly to the guest room to sleep and said he could experience it in advance. Ji Leshui thought about it. There was still a chance to regret it during the day. If something happened again at night, he would not be able to escape. He went to the guest room, simply laid out the bedding, fell down and went to sleep.

After he went to bed, Lin Banxia took the initiative to invite Song Qingluo to his home in order to show his friendship as a landlord, and enthusiastically changed the sheets that had been slept on before, fearing that Song Qingluo would dislike him.

Fortunately, although Song Qingluo seemed cold, he was actually quite easy to get along with.

Lin Banxia went to make a cup of coffee and handed it to him. Song Qingluo raised his half-lidded eyes and saw what was in Lin Banxia’s hand. He shook his head and said, “I don’t drink this.”

“Oh, what would you like to drink? I have milk and tea at home.” Lin Banxia hesitated for a while, “And Coke.”

Song Qingluo said without hesitation: “Coke.”

Lin Banxia was stunned for a moment and thought to himself. Boss, Happy Fat Home Water[.2] does not go well with your mysterious temperament. But he still obediently poured a cup of Coke and handed it to Song Qingluo.

Song Qingluo took the cup and took a sip but frowned slightly.

Lin Banxia hurriedly asked: “What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?”

Song Qingluo put down the cup and said disgustedly: “Coke Zero.”

Lin Banxia: “…” Oh, it turns out you don’t think it’s sweet enough. He said helplessly, “Well… I don’t like things that are too sweet. I only have Coke Zero at home.”

“Forget it.” Song Qingluo looked at the cup with disgust, as if it contained not Coke but some monster juice.

 

Lin Banxia had a day off. He went to work yesterday and had a day off today. However, he didn’t sleep well after a hard night last night. He was already sleepy now. After letting Song Qingluo know, Lin Banxia went to the bedroom to take a nap. When he woke up, the sun was already setting in the west.

Lin Banxia walked out slowly and saw Song Qingluo sitting on the sofa in the living room watching TV. From this angle, Lin Banxia could see Song Qingluo’s profile completely.

He had to say that Song Qingluo’s appearance was really incredible. His facial features were very defined. The bridge of his nose was straight, and his lips were sharp and angular. Because his skin was too white, his lip color looked particularly red. There were also those long and curled eyelashes, which were lowered lazily at this time. It seemed as if the owner of the eyelashes was taking a nap.

Lin Banxia deliberately walked lightly, but still woke up Song Qingluo, who was resting. He turned to look at Lin Banxia, ​​and slowly moved his body to the end of the sofa. When Lin Banxia saw this, he walked over and sat on the other side of the sofa. He chatted casually with Song Qingluo, and Song Qingluo occasionally answered with a few words. The atmosphere between the two was quite harmonious until Lin Banxia asked what was in the box that he wanted Ji Leshui to open.

“You didn’t put anything dangerous in those boxes, right? I’m afraid that Leshui might be tempted…” Lin Banxia said. Human curiosity was a very fatal thing. The more you tell a person not to do something, the more he or she may be unable to resist it.

“It’s okay, he can’t open it.” Song Qingluo said, “Anything that can be opened may be opened.” He supported his chin with his hand and said softly with a lazy attitude, “I’m not reckless enough to kill people casually.”

“By the way, where’s the model I saw before?” Lin Banxia suddenly remembered this. Looking back later, the model was quite scary. Ji Leshui was already frightened to death. If he was frightened a few more times, Lin Banxia was really afraid that Ji Leshui would go directly to a mental hospital.

Song Qingluo hesitated obviously, and then whispered: “Is everything okay?”

Lin Banxia looked at him suspiciously.

Song Qingluo felt a little guilty because of Lin Banxia’s gaze, and his voice became softer, almost inaudible, but Lin Banxia still caught those erratic words, and Song Qingluo said in a small voice: “Can’t die.”

Lin Banxia: “…” Just can’t die?!!

Under Lin Banxia’s condemning gaze, Song Qingluo finally realized his conscience and said, “Forget it, let’s go over and have a look.”

He stood up and walked next door.

Lin Banxia hurriedly followed him and asked him where he hid the plastic female model. Song Qingluo was reluctant to tell him at first, but it wasn’t until Lin Banxia asked several questions that he finally said, “Under the bed.”

Lin Banxia: “…under the bed where you sleep?”

Song Qingluo looked innocent: “Are you kidding? I’m not a pervert. Why would I put it under the bed where I sleep? Of course, it’s the guest room.”

Oh, it turns out to be a guest room. That’s good. It’s so weird!!! Isn’t the guest room where Ji Leshui, that unlucky guy slept?! When he woke up and saw the female model’s head rolling out from under the bed, he would be so frightened that his soul would leave his body!!!

The more Lin Banxia thought about it, the more horrified he felt, and he quickly hastened his pace.

“Dong, dong, dong.” After knocking on the door several times, Ji Leshui did not respond. Lin Banxia hurriedly asked Song Qingluo to get the key.

Song Qingluo opened the door and said to Lin Banxia, ​​”He’s not that unlucky.”

Lin Banxia said in despair: “If he wasn’t unlucky, he wouldn’t be living here.”

Song Qingluo: “…Right.”

As soon as the door opened, Lin Banxia pushed the door open and hurriedly entered the house. He originally wanted to go straight to the bedroom, but as soon as he arrived in the living room, he saw a person sitting on the sofa in the living room with his back to them. The person was wearing the wedding dress Lin Banxia had seen that day, and her long hair was spread out on the sofa. She should be the plastic female model Lin Banxia had seen that day.

Sure enough, Ji Leshui, the unlucky one, saw the plastic model! Lin Banxia’s heart tightened, and he immediately rushed to the bedroom, calling Ji Leshui’s name.

However, when he entered the bedroom, he saw no one, only a messy bed. Lin Banxia was shocked and shouted: “It’s bad! Ji Leshui is missing!!!”

Song Qingluo stood outside and happened to meet Lin Banxia’s eyes. His eyes were very complicated. Before Lin Banxia could understand it, he heard him whisper: “He’s not missing.”

Lin Banxia: “Ah? Then where is he??”

Song Qingluo said: “Isn’t it right in front of you?”

Lin Banxia looked around, but saw no one, except the plastic model on the sofa wearing women’s wedding clothes with her back to them. Wait, a plastic model? Lin Banxia suddenly had an epiphany. He quickly walked to the front of the female model and looked down! Sure enough, the plastic female model’s face had turned into Ji Leshui’s face.

At this time, Ji Leshui was like a plastic model, staring straight ahead with an expressionless face. His body was upright, as if it had lost the unique softness of human limbs and turned into hard plastic.

Lin Banxia was shocked when he saw this scene. He even called Ji Leshui’s name several times, but Ji Leshui had no response. He reached out and grabbed Ji Leshui’s neck, shaking him heavily, trying to wake him up from this stiff state, but Ji Leshui remained motionless. His eyes open numbly, not even blinking. Lin Banxia stretched out his hand and pinched his face hard. Ji Leshui’s face had no warmth at all. It was frighteningly cold, but it was still human skin, not plastic.

“Mr. Song, what’s wrong with him?” Lin Banxia saw that he couldn’t wake Ji Leshui, so he hurriedly raised his head and looked to Song Qingluo for help.

“Don’t worry.” Song Qingluo said calmly, “Find where the plastic mannequin is first. She can’t get out of this room.”

So, the two started searching in the house.

Lin Banxia was anxious, so he went to the bedroom to search first, rummaged through the closet, but couldn’t find the plastic mannequin. He was lying on the ground with his butt sticking out to see if there was anything hidden under the bed. Suddenly his neck felt cold, and something fell on his shoulders and neck.

Lin Banxia stretched out his hand and touched a few strands of black hair. He suddenly realized something. He slowly raised his head and saw the plastic female model lying on the ceiling in a weird way, her body facing away. Her head twisted 180 degrees in a position that humans could not do, and her dark eyes stared at Lin Banxia coldly.

 

Translator’s comments:

1. To treat it like a dead horse, comes from the saying ‘to give medicine to a dead horse’ which means to try everything, even though it is unlikely to help.
2. Happy Fat Home Water is what the Chinese call Coke (or so I have heard.) This was a comment by BittersweetMoonshine which I found on Reddit regarding the Happy Fat Water… ”肥宅快乐水 (happy water for fat/otaku people) basically refers to any soft drinks, although I think it originally only referred to Coca Cola (快乐/kuaile which means happy sounds very similar to 可乐/kele which is Coca Cola)”

 

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