FV CH 16

Ghost baby

Chapter 16: Falling headfirst^[1].

Inexplicably, Tang Ning felt that the other party had a noble aura. He quickly caught up and asked, “Senior, why did you choose the career of a tombkeeper? Are you able to handle those things^[2]?”

The tombkeeper said to him, “There are few things to do, the salary is high, the house is clean, and the house fee is covered.”

It sounds very attractive at first glance.

Tang Ning watched the other person leave blankly. He saw the tombkeeper walking towards the small house at the foot of the mountain and even raising chickens in front of the house.

If you ignore the cemetery on the mountain, this is indeed a paradise-like life.

Tang Ning didn’t dare to stay in the cemetery for too long. He took a taxi back to the villa, took out the soil from the grave of Lu Yingxing in the handbag, placed it in a guest room, and kowtowed carefully according to Taoist Hao’s instructions.

After doing this, Tang Ning felt relieved.

The handbag also contained cotton wool, cloth, and needle and thread. Now everything was ready, except for the rag doll that the ghost baby was possessed by to appear again. When the time came, he would sew the rag doll up and send the ghost baby away, solving his biggest worry.

However, Tang Ning was timid and he didn’t expect the doll to appear at all. He hoped that he could complete this task with Mo Yunchu’s company when he came back.

Speaking of Mo Yunchu, Tang Ning couldn’t help but recall the bus incident that Mo Yunchu had told him this morning. Mo Yunchu said that they were riding that bus that day. Since he was not riding a hearse, why did the driver Lao Liu react so strongly when he was asked what happened that night?

This incident made Tang Ning feel a little uneasy. He checked the time. It was now four o’clock in the afternoon and there was still some time before dark. He didn’t want to go out at night, which meant that the last bit of time he had in the afternoon was only enough to do one more thing.

Should I go find Lao Liu or investigate the bus?

Tang Ning did not hesitate for too long. He was still worried about the harsh words that Lao Liu said before he left, so it would be safer to investigate the bus…right?

Tang Ning called Mo Yunchu and asked him where the bus accident happened.

“The bus has been taken away and is waiting to be destroyed. If Xiao Ning goes there now, he can only see a mass grave, not the bus.” Mo Yunchu asked in confusion, “Why are you asking this, Xiao Ning?”

Mass grave.
Tang Ning felt scared just by hearing the name.

“Nothing. This incident sounds quite bizarre. I’m a little curious.” Tang Ning’s words were consistent with his personality as a psychic blogger. Mo Yunchu did not ask any more questions and they ended the call.

Tang Ning didn’t dare to go to the mass grave to investigate. He thought for a while and suddenly an idea flashed in his mind. He found that he could go to the bus company to ask for information about the driver. This idea came to him from the investigation of the driver Lao Liu.

Tang Ning still remembered the license plate number that Mo Yunchu had mentioned before. Tang Ning looked up their local bus company and then rushed to their destination without stopping.

Tang Ning was originally planning to take a taxi, but he happened to meet a bus on the way. Tang Ning thought he could ask the driver on the bus if he knew the colleague who had the accident. Thinking of this, Tang Ning waved his hand, and the bus stopped in front of him.

To be honest, Tang Ning was still a little scared of the bus due to the shock he received on the first day of the dungeon. However, it was broad daylight and the passengers on the bus looked normal. Tang Ning took a deep breath and got on the bus nervously.

In fact, the moment he got in the car and the cold air from the air conditioner blew towards him, Tang Ning regretted it a little.

Everyone looks for a seat when they get on the bus. Tang Ning looks at the familiar seating arrangement and style, and a scene of ghost babies constantly appearing in each row of seats seems to appear before his eyes.

“Xiao Tang, what are you doing standing there like an idiot?” the driver turned around and shouted to Tang Ning.

Tang Ning looked at the driver. He seemed to recognize the original “Tang Ning”. This was much better than Tang Ning had expected. After all, Tang Ning was not very good at chatting up strangers.

He inserted the coin and sat next to the driver. After a moment of deliberation, he said, “I was just thinking about something, so I stood there for a while.”

“Don’t think about those things all the time.” The driver’s expression was a little solemn, and he lowered his loud voice, “In the future, don’t shoot that kind of video again. If I hadn’t advised you, you would have taken that car.” His voice was as soft as a mosquito’s murmur at the end.

The driver did not specify what “that car” was, but Tang Ning immediately realized that he was talking about the bus that had the accident!

The other party must know something!
It’s really like searching for something without any effort!

Tang Ning used his lifelong acting skills and intelligence to try to get the point across, “Alas, I didn’t know that this would happen.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? You know it all. I explained the stakes to you, but you still insisted on giving it a try, saying that you need this kind of effect when shooting a video.” The driver couldn’t help but turn around and glared at Tang Ning.

The driver’s tone was fierce, but his expression did not show much real anger. Tang Ning quickly smiled ingratiatingly. He had a pair of droopy eyes, and his smile revealed a pitiful look, like a stray kitten on the side of the road. Even the most hard-hearted person would not be able to help but feel some sympathy for him.

Sure enough, the driver’s tone softened. He looked at the road and said, “You little bastard.”

Tang Ning then tried to hint at the issue, but the driver remained evasive and told them not to mention it in the car.

After driving for more than half an hour, they arrived at the terminal. Most of the people on the bus had left. The driver took Tang Ning out of the bus and squatted by a tree to smoke. He was a middle-aged man with a few white hairs. He looked to be in his fifties. While smoking, he asked, “Tell me, what is the reason you came to see me this time?”

“Regarding the incident with the car, I came here to look for some video footage,” Tang Ning said according to his character.

The driver was so angry that he threw away his cigarette. “Why are you so stubborn?! I saw that you were in a good mood today, and I thought you had turned over a new leaf! What on earth is going on in your head?! Would you be happiest if you risked your life by filming a video?!”

Tang Ning was scolded so harshly that he felt like crying but had no tears. He also wanted to know what the previous “Tang Ning” was thinking. How could he be so bold and courageous, while he was as timid as a mouse.

“Don’t worry about that bus. Don’t stop the last bus heading to that area! And don’t even think about getting off the bus. Once that bus gets on…” The driver lowered his voice again and said quickly, “You can never come back.”

After saying this, the driver didn’t say anything else. His face was gloomy as he warned Tang Ning, “If you continue to call me uncle, then stop fiddling with those videos and stop asking me questions.”

Tang Ning nodded immediately.

The driver’s expression relaxed for a moment, and then Tang Ning said softly, “Uncle, can you tell me why that car never came back after it got on—”

The driver turned around and walked away without paying any attention to Tang Ning. Before leaving, he even stomped on the cigarette butt on the ground. It can be said that he was very angry.

Tang Ning felt that he had asked as many questions as possible, and he thought that the driver would not reveal anything if he continued to chase him. He then went to the bus company to ask again, but the people there said they knew nothing. Finally, as it was getting dark, Tang Ning had no choice but to return home.

Tang Ning got a very important piece of information during this trip. If the driver was not lying, something would definitely happen to people if they got on that bus. It was unavoidable and they couldn’t even get off the bus.

If he and Mo Yunchu were on that bus at the time, why didn’t they get into trouble? Moreover, after the accident, only the driver’s body was found, but not the other five passengers. Could it be that those five passengers got off the bus after them?

Tang Ning remembered clearly that there were five passengers in the car at that time. He also remembered that the hearse driven by Lao Liu that night was carrying five bodies.

This series of information appeared in front of him. Tang Ning thought for a while——

But he didn’t figure out anything.

After mental activities, one should eat high-calorie desserts to replenish energy. Tang Ning pushed open the refrigerator door, picked up yesterday’s red velvet cake and placed it on the dining table. He also cut it into triangles with a sense of ceremony and placed it on the plate. Tang Ning has always been full of respect and love for food.

After putting the cake down, Tang Ning turned around to get a bottle of milk. When he walked towards the dining table again, his hand holding the knife and fork paused as he noticed a notch on the corner of the cake.

It looked like someone had taken a bite out of it.

As Tang Ning stared at the cake in confusion, there was a splash on the table. Tang Ning was startled to see that the milk had somehow spilled onto the table and splashed all over Tang Ning.

Tang Ning was now a little restless. He maintained his composure and left the table. The moment he turned around, he felt a tingling sensation in his cervical spine, as if someone was watching him from behind.

Tang Ning quickened his pace and walked to the hall. The feeling of being watched became stronger and stronger. Tang Ning’s shadow flashed across the dark TV screen. Tang Ning walked out of the house without looking around and quickly closed the door.

It was already dark at this time, and the dark shadows of the trees were swaying in the distance. Although Tang Ning turned on the lights outside the house, standing under the light, Tang Ning felt that the surrounding environment was even more eerie and terrifying.

He quickly called Boss Hao and informed him of what was happening at the table.

“You didn’t feed the sugar to the ghost baby right?” asked Boss Hao.

“I haven’t met it yet, so I haven’t taken the initiative to feed it.” Tang Ning covered his mouth and whispered, his eyes looking around panicking as he spoke.

“You invited Lu Yingxing to your home for worship, but you ignored him, so he’ll naturally make trouble.” Boss Hao said slowly, “Now go and worship him sincerely, and then sew up the rag doll he’s inhabiting, and he’ll stop bothering you.”

Tang Ning took Boss Hao’s words as his golden rule. His pockets were full of candies. Tang Ning took out a handful of candies, carefully pushed open the door, scattered the candies out, and then quickly closed the door.

Through the door, Tang Ning heard a teeth-grinding crunching sound, which was the sound of candy being crushed.

Tang Ning’s legs were shaking slightly. He felt like what he was biting was not the candy, but his own bones.

After a while, the chewing sound stopped, and Tang Ning asked Boss Hao in a trembling voice what to do next.

“Do you have any more candies?”

“Yes, one more.”

“Give all of the candies to it,” said Boss Hao.

Tang Ning took out the last candy tremblingly and then opened the door. This time, before he could throw the candy away, he felt a sharp pain in his fingertips.

Tang Ning did not turn on the lights in the hall. It was very dark inside the door and he could not see anything clearly. However, he could imagine a pale blue baby squatting by the door, opening its mouth ferociously to pounce on the candy. It pounced too fast and bit Tang Ning.

Tang Ning hastily withdrew his hand. The blood on his fingertips and the disappearing candy reminded Tang Ning that he was raising evil spirits. Tang Ning vaguely felt that there was something wrong with doing this, but he had already made this start and there was no turning back.

“I’ve fed it all the candy. What should I do next?” Tang Ning’s voice was a little dry.

“Have you ever heard of falling headfirst? Spread your legs apart, bend down, and look through the gap between your legs toward the coffin.”

“Looking at what?”

“Living people can see ghosts by falling headfirst.” Boss Hao said calmly, “If you can’t see the ghost, it means it’s full.”

A chill surged up from the soles of his feet. Tang Ning was about to cry after hearing what Boss Hao said. He didn’t want to do such a thing. It sounded horrible.

“You have to do this. If it’s not full, you can feed it some blood to appease it before it gets aggressive.” Boss Hao raised his voice: “If you keep dawdling like this, you won’t even have a chance to fall down!”

After hearing this, Tang Ning had no choice but to do as Boss Hao asked.

He spread his legs and slowly bent down. The cold night wind blew on his back. Tangning’s hands, which were holding the phone, began to tremble. Don’t show up… Don’t show up…

Tang Ning muttered to himself frantically, then he suppressed his inner fear and looked between his legs.

All he saw was a dark patch.

Tangning trembled and said, “I didn’t see anything.”

“Keep this posture and take a few steps back.”

Tang Ning followed Boss Hao’s instructions and moved back tremblingly bit by bit. He saw a bluish-white color appear on the outer edge of the black circle in his field of vision. After taking a few steps back, the bluish-white area became larger and larger.

What is that thing?

Tang Ning continued to move backwards in confusion and panic. He instinctively didn’t want to know the truth, so he moved his legs slowly. When he retreated far enough to see what it was clearly, his blood seemed to freeze into ice.

It turns out that the black mass was the ghost baby’s mouth that was opened to the maximum!

Due to Tang Ning’s head-falling posture, the ghost baby’s head was on the same parallel line as Tang Ning. When it retreated to this distance, it could just look Tang Ning in the eye.

With that cold hungry look.

Deep and cruel.

Faced with such a look, Tang Ning suddenly had an idea: no matter how much candy he had, he would not feed the ghost baby enough, because the thing the ghost baby wanted to eat the most was him.

The moment he realized it, the ghost baby pounced on him, its mouth so big that it could swallow an adult’s head. Huge fear and despair overwhelmed him——

“Xiao Ning.”

A gentle and attractive voice rang in Tang Ning’s ears. Tang Ning’s eyes went dark and his vision was filled with small black spots. His waist seemed to be about to break. His head was also severely congested. His throat was extremely dry, as if it was burning, and his entire esophagus^[3] was burning with pain.

A slender and strong hand wrapped around Tang Ning’s waist and helped him up. The world was spinning. As the black spots in front of his eyes slowly dissipated, Tang Ning saw Mo Yunchu’s concerned face.

“Xiao Ning, why did you eat so much candy?”