FV CH 8

Ghost Baby

Chapter 8: The clouds are clearing away to reveal the fog, and the sun is rising.

“What happened? Tell me the address. I’ll come pick you up.” Mo Yunchu spoke faster, but still calmly enough to give people strength.

Mo Yunchu’s voice was so beautiful against the sharp and broken system sound.

Tang Ning’s tears were completely out of control. He cried while reporting the address. The surroundings were cold and dark, like a ferocious beast in the abyss that wanted to devour people, and he was about to be swallowed up skin and bones.

The cold body pressed down on him tightly, and the large palm pinched his waist, as if to break his waist.

Tang Ning was shaking with pain. Every second of the time was torture. He didn’t know how long he had held on. His body was shaky and he didn’t dare to open his eyes. Ghosts kept talking to him. Sometimes it was the system’s voice, sometimes it was the voice of Tang Ning’s real-life manager. There were so many voices switching back and forth. It seemed that countless heads were leaning on Tang Ning’s shoulders, shouting at Tang Ning in unison:
“Jump down!”
“Jump down!!”
“Jump down!!!”

Hands moved from his waist to his ankles. A huge force pulled Tang Ning down.

Tang Ning held his phone in one hand and grabbed the handrail with the other. He was exhausted. The heavy object tied to his foot seemed to be broken. In the darkness, Tang Ning struggled to resist. His whole body was shaky. His foot in the shoe suddenly stretched out a sad and beautiful arch, as if dancing a strange dance.

So painful.

So cold.

So tired.

A cold and soft touch came from Tang Ning’s neck. A small head pressed against Tang Ning’s ear and whispered, “Mom.”

It was a nightmare-like voice.

Tears flowed silently, and Tang Ning’s whole body was trembling. An irresistible force dragged one of his feet forward. The coldness rushed over him, and he fell into the abyss—

A slender and strong hand firmly grasped his wrist.

Warm.

The warm and powerful force pulled him out of the abyss. He fell backwards and fell into a broad and strong embrace. His whole world fell at this moment. Tang Ning smelled a deep and light woody scent at the tip of his nose. It was the unique scent of Mo Yunchu, a scent that was so reassuring that it could bewitch people.

“Xiao Ning!” Mo Yunchu’s tone was filled with fear. He seemed to have run up and was panting slightly as he spoke. “How could you be so careless? You almost fell down the stairs…”

His heart was still beating violently, as if he was immersed in the aftermath of fear. Tang Ning slowly opened his eyes. The light was on and there was a bright light in front of him, which made his brain go blank. His dark eyes were filled with tears, and they seemed to be on the verge of breaking under the light.

Under the glaring light, his pupils slowly focused. Crystal tears flowed out of his red eye sockets, winding down along his clear white skin, gathering at his delicate jaw, about to fall.

Mo Yunchu, who was muttering anxiously, stopped opening and closing his thin lips, and his narrow and long phoenix eyes slightly widened at this moment.

He looked at Tang Ning.

Tang Ning didn’t know how stunningly beautiful he was at this moment, dominated by fear. The red marks from crying, the graceful neck, the trembling lips… He looked like a delicate and fragile work of art, or a sacrifice waiting to be slaughtered.

“…”

“Mo Yunchu?”

“Mo Yunchu?”

The nasal^[1] call was a little soft, like a frightened kitten calling out pitifully one after another. Shrouded in fear, Tang Ning could only seek Mo Yunchu’s help.

After being called several times, Mo Yunchu suddenly came back to his senses, and his phoenix eyes showed apology, “Sorry, I was a little tired from filming today, and I was distracted. Xiao Ning, what did you say to me just now?”

Tang Ning heard what Mo Yunchu said, and hurriedly said, “It’s my fault. I didn’t let you rest well.”

He held Mo Yunchu’s clothes tightly with both hands while apologizing. He was so scared that he couldn’t bear it anymore, but he still cared about others besides himself, “I have something to trouble you.”

“What is it?” Mo Yunchu asked.

“Lu Yingxing came with me. Have you seen Lu Yingxing?” Tang Ning asked worriedly.

“What happened to Lu Yingxing?” Mo Yunchu asked with concern, like a good boyfriend who loves his partner and his family.

Tang Ning remembered that the system said not to tell Mo Yunchu about the ghost, so he thought quickly, “I wanted to find him to record the next episode of the supernatural channel, but I accidentally got separated from him.”

“Let’s call him?” Mo Yunchu suggested.

Tang Ning then remembered that his phone seemed to have a signal now, so he called Lu Yingxing and heard a hoarse man’s voice on the other end of the phone: “How are you? Are you injured?”

“I’m fine, how are you?” Tang Ning asked with concern.

“I seem to have fallen down the stairs. I just woke up and found that it was already 11pm. I’m now on the fourth floor.” Lu Yingxing cursed softly, “This place is really fucking weird. No matter how hard I knocked on the door of the driver Lao Liu, it wouldn’t open. I wonder if he fell asleep. Forget it, where are you? I’ll come find you first.”

“I’m at the stairs on the second floor.” Tang Ning added, “Mo Yunchu is next to me.”

Lu Yingxing, who was originally cursing, stopped and didn’t say anything. After a while, Tang Ning saw Lu Yingxing limping down. There was a big blood scar on Lu Yingxing’s forehead, and he looked very embarrassed.

In comparison, the already decent and elegant Mo Yunchu looked even more charming.

“Good evening.” Mo Yunchu smiled. “Thank you for taking care of Xiao Ning today. You don’t look well. Do you want me to call 120 for you?”

“Good evening, big star. I just have a lame leg. My hand is fine. No need to bother you.” Lu Yingxing leaned on the handrail of the stairs. “Taking care of Tang Ning is not a big deal. I’m not like you. I have plenty of time to spend with him.”

His words seemed to belittle himself and praise Mo Yunchu, but in fact, he was mocking Mo Yunchu for being too busy with work to spend time with Tang Ning, and for having to take care of Tang Ning as his ex-boyfriend.

Mo Yunchu’s smile remained unchanged, as if he didn’t understand the ridicule in Lu Yingxing’s words. “I feel relieved to have a friend like you to take care of Xiao Ning. I was really scared when I received a call from Xiao Ning crying and asking me to pick him up. I thought something happened to Xiao Ning.”

Mo Yunchu’s tone was gentle, and his expression was impeccable. It seemed that he was sincerely grateful for having someone like Lu Yingxing to take care of Tang Ning.

However, Lu Yingxing’s expression became very ugly.
Mo Yunchu’s words translated to mean that he had not taken good care of Tang Ning, and that he, the real boyfriend, had to step in.

Lu Yingxing had no way of refutation because that was the truth.

Tang Ning saw Lu Yingxing’s bad face and said worriedly, “Lu Yingxing, are you feeling unwell? Let’s stop talking and go to the hospital.”

The two men looked at Tang Ning at the same time, as if his words were a little inappropriate. Tang Ning blinked blankly, not realizing that he had broken up an invisible confrontation. After all, in his eyes, the two men had just been chatting very harmoniously.

“Xiao Ning is right. Can Mr. Lu go to the hospital alone? Do you need me to call an assistant to help?” Mo Yunchu asked.

Lu Yingxing said coldly, “No.”
He then hopped downstairs on one foot. Although his leg was crippled^[2], it did not affect his speed at all. He went downstairs very quickly.

“I have to accompany him to the hospital.” Tang Ning said and wanted to catch up, but Mo Yunchu grabbed his hand.

“It’s late, Xiao Ning, you need to have a good rest.” The deep phoenix eyes looked at him intently, “and it’s not safe for you to come back from the hospital alone at night.”

At night, alone, it’s not safe.

Tang Ning suddenly remembered the equation “leaving Mo Yunchu = ghost baby appears”. His face turned pale and both hands tightly grasped Mo Yunchu’s arms, “Okay, then, then let’s go home.”

That villa is also a terrifying existence, but there is Mo Yunchu in the villa.
Mo Yunchu, Mo Yunchu.
Tang Ning kept repeating this name in his mind, as if this name had a magical power that could help him gather up his courage again. Mo Yunchu, what a nice name, like the cloud that clears the fog, or the rising sun.

To him, home is not the villa, but Mo Yunchu, who is warm, considerate, and tolerant of him without limits, and gives him a sense of security. In this strange dungeon, Mo Yunchu is a safe haven^[3] for him, a beacon in the darkness, and his only trump card.

Mo Yunchu hugged him and said softly, “Okay, let’s go home.”

What a warm embrace.

When going down the stairs, Tang Ning always snuggled up to Mo Yunchu. Even though the corridor was narrow, he and Mo Yunchu would walk side by side, holding hands, like a pair of affectionate lovers.

The entire neighborhood was eerily quiet. When Mo Yunchu drove away from the neighborhood, Tang Ning secretly looked out the window. He saw that all the lights in the building were off. All the residents fell into a deep sleep after eleven o’clock. The dark high-rise building was like a dormant beast, and it should not be disturbed.

Tang Ning quickly retracted his gaze, and told himself that he didn’t think too much.

[System…]
He called carefully.

[What’s wrong?]
A cold male voice sounded in Tang Ning’s mind.

Tang Ning’s body trembled. He was now terrified when he heard the voice of the system.

[I seem to have been deceived by a ghost in the corridor. The ghost changed into your voice to seduce me. Does the ghost know your existence?]

[The ghost does not know the system and the game. It can only make up an existence that you trust based on your subconscious. During the game, I cannot interfere too much with the player’s behavior and cannot reveal too much information. You should not trust others casually.]

Tang Ning agreed obediently, and then asked: [System, I think it is safest to stay with Mo Yunchu. Can I always cling to Mo Yunchu until this instance^[4] is over?]

[Nothing is absolutely safe. What would you do if the ghost turned into Mo Yunchu one day?]

Tang Ning’s mind went blank for a moment.

[You can only be truly safe if you get rid of the ghost baby as soon as possible, leave the instance, and return to reality. The novice instance is the simplest world. If you only learn to rely on others in the novice instance, then who will you rely on in the next more difficult world without Mo Yunchu? ]
The system mercilessly punctured Tang Ning’s fantasy.

[Can’t I stay away from this game completely after I get out of this instance?]

[Yes.]
[Only dying people can enter this game. If you refuse to enter the next instance, you will face real death in reality, and dead people will no longer enter the game.]

Tang Ning sat in the car blankly, looking at the dark world outside the car window.

I don’t know if it was because he had received too much stimulation in the past two days, but he didn’t collapse when he heard the system’s words.

[Then how can I get rid of the ghost baby?]

[With your current ability, you can find a person who truly practices cultivation in this instance, and use their power to seal the ghost baby, or find the cause of the ghost baby, reduce the ghost baby’s resentment and save it.]

Tang Ning asked the system what it means to be a truly practiced person, but the system stopped answering. It seemed that the following information was not something the system could reveal.

[Thank you for telling me so much.]
Tang Ning said seriously, sniffing his nose and trying to force out a smile.

Like a stray kitten, licking its fur with all its strength, telling itself not to be afraid of difficulties.