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"Ding Li said it was nothing, and Ye Chenfeng took her to see Shen Binghan.
In Ye Chenfeng's eyes, there was no way Shen Binghan would be in trouble because he knew how to catch ghosts. A person who could catch ghosts had a courage that was beyond the ordinary and possessed some skills; even ghosts would fear him to some extent.
They arrived at the door of Shen Binghan's small lodging.
Ding Li anxiously glanced at Ye Chenfeng, raised her hand, and nervously knocked twice on the door.
Ye Chenfeng looked at Ding Li, noticing the lace-trimmed nightgown she wore. The low-cut robe revealed about one-fifth of her chest, shimmering with an alluring golden glow under the dim light. A breeze swept past him, stirring his thoughts and causing a slight flutter in his heart, leading him into a moment of daydreaming that he found hard to resist.
Ding Li heard no response from inside. Growing anxious, she asked Ye Chenfeng what was going on.
Caught in his daydream, he was startled back to reality. Indeed, Ding Li knocked on the door, yet Shen Binghan did not open it.
Ye Chenfeng smiled awkwardly, trying to cover up his earlier inappropriate thoughts, and quickly reached out to push the door.
The door wouldn't budge.
This made him a bit nervous. Suddenly recalling the events that had occurred not long ago at Grandma's House and thinking about that blood-dripping cat with its drooping tail tightened his chest. He pushed again, this time kicking the door.
The door finally let out a harsh creak and slowly opened with great reluctance.
Inside was dark as if no one were home.
"Foolish boy."
"Ye Chenfeng" shouted, his voice echoing in the room. When he didn't hear a response from "Shen Binghan," he hurriedly pressed the light switch.
The light flickered on, and indeed, there was no one in the room.
"Shen Binghan" was nowhere to be found. The bed was a mess, with blankets piled up haphazardly. "Ye Chenfeng" stepped forward and reached out to touch the bedding; it was cold, indicating that he had left some time ago.
What was going on?
"Ye Chenfeng" felt lost and anxious, and with "Ding Li," he rushed to his grandmother's bedroom door.
"Are you sure this won't upset her?"
"Ding Li" whispered, as if afraid that "Ye Chenfeng's Grandmother" might overhear them. She lowered her voice even more.
"It's fine."
"Ye Chenfeng" stood at the door, recalling the dead cat, and noticed where "Ding Li" was standing—the tail of the cat hung down right there. He felt guilty and stole a glance at "Ding Li," who looked anxious, undoubtedly worried about "Shen Binghan." A pang of bitterness welled up inside him.
He had intended to knock on the door, but just as he raised his hand, the door swung open.
His grandmother seemed to have known they were coming; she had been waiting behind the door and opened it before "Ye Chenfeng's" fingers could even touch the door panel.
As the door opened, his grandmother, hunched over and appearing quite pained, said to "Ye Chenfeng," "Darling, my heart hurts. Please help me get some medicine."
Hearing that his grandmother was unwell, Ye Chenfeng was taken aback and hurriedly supported her, asking, "Grandma, what's wrong?"
"My heart hurts."
Ding Li felt helpless, anxious as she stood by. She was afraid of Ye Chenfeng's grandmother, yet also worried that Grandma wouldn't like her being too close to Ye Chenfeng. So, she awkwardly followed behind as they made their way to the living room sofa.
"Where's your medicine?" Ye Chenfeng asked, genuinely unsure where his grandmother kept her medication. He helped her onto the sofa and gestured for Ding Li to keep a close watch over her. Hearing that the medicine was in the cabinet, he rushed off to find it.
Ye Chenfeng rummaged through the medicine cabinet.
Ding Li mustered her courage and supported Ye Chenfeng's grandmother.
Suddenly, Grandma looked up. The wrinkles on her old face framed a pair of strange eyes that startled Ding Li, causing her to gasp and retreat quickly, nearly colliding with Ye Chenfeng, who was bringing back the medicine.
"What's wrong?" Ye Chenfeng quickly steadied Ding Li.
Ding Li trembled as she pointed at Ye Chenfeng's grandmother, stammering, "She..." But when she saw that Grandma's eyes were normal, she couldn't find the words. She simply stared blankly for a moment before weakly shaking her head and saying nothing was wrong.
After taking her medicine, Grandma felt a bit better and returned to the bedroom with Ye Chenfeng's assistance.
At this moment, it had already been half an hour since Shen Binghan went missing.
After settling Grandma in her bedroom, Ye Chenfeng finally remembered Shen Binghan's situation.
Grandma was in such a state that Ye Chenfeng felt it inappropriate to disturb her. He and Ding Li could only think of another way.
Ye Chenfeng wondered if Shen Binghan had gone to the river alone, as he had mentioned the story of the water ghost eating people. It was possible that he really had gone to the river by himself, but now it was almost midnight, and logically, he shouldn’t still be by the river!
He thought for a moment and recalled a dream he had before.
“Did you go anywhere else after your shower?”
“No.”
Ding Li didn’t understand why Ye Chenfeng was asking such questions.
“When you showered, were you wearing shoes?”
“Yes.”
That was strange. Ye Chenfeng stood up and walked back toward Shen Binghan’s small hut. He pondered how Ding Li had worn shoes after his shower, yet there were wet footprints on the ground. Now that he looked, the footprints had already dried up and disappeared, making it impossible to investigate from the wet marks.
He could only check inside Shen Binghan’s small hut.
Ye Chenfeng rummaged through the bedding that Shen Binghan had used before, casually flipping it over when something caught his eye—it was Shen Binghan's gourd, which he never parted with.
“His gourd?” Ding Li exclaimed. But then he hesitated, covering his mouth and looking around cautiously.
Ye Chenfeng picked up Shen Binghan's gourd. For a long time, he had wanted to find an opportunity to obtain this seemingly ugly gourd, but he never had the chance. He never expected to get it so easily this time.
The gourd appeared unremarkable, except for a circle of incomprehensible symbols around its mouth that looked like runes.
Is this Shen Binghan's Ghost-Collecting Gourd?
Ye Chenfeng shook the gourd; it felt light and weightless.
There was a talisman attached to the gourd.
Ding Li noticed Ye Chenfeng's intention to tear off the talisman and reminded him, "Aren't you afraid Little Monk will blame you?"
Indeed, this was Little Monk's possession. Ye Chenfeng couldn't just take it without permission. Besides, who knew what kind of strange things were sealed inside? After all, why else would it be covered with a talisman?
Ye Chenfeng had encountered strange occurrences before, like the Sanitation Worker Aunt in Gucheng County.
Thinking about it this way, he hesitated to touch the gourd.
With the gourd in hand but no one around, the situation became serious. Ye Chenfeng had no choice but to muster his courage and go outside to search.
People have two legs; who knows where he might have run off to?
He initially thought about asking his grandmother for help in locating Shen Binghan, but she was unwell and unable to assist.
Finally, Ye Chenfeng called Ding Li to go check out the Purple Bamboo Forest.
"Now? You want to go look for him?" Ding Li thought several times about telling Ye Chenfeng what she had seen earlier regarding his grandmother's strange behavior, but she hesitated. The darkness outside made her feel uneasy, and under Ye Chenfeng's lead, she reluctantly followed him.
As they stepped outside, the darkness enveloped them, and it felt as if the warmth from their bodies was instantly diluted by the coldness of the night. A chill ran through her as the cold wind hit her face.
Ding Li regretted it.
She regretted coming to this remote place and having to search for someone at this hour.
What was Little Monk thinking, running around in the middle of the night like this?
The purple bamboo, which looked graceful swaying in the daylight, now appeared like a series of three-dimensional green snakes standing upright, exuding a chilling aura that surrounded the two humans who were huddled together, shaking their flashlights.
"It's so cold," Ding Li said, stamping her feet.
Ye Chenfeng also felt the cold. When he heard Ding Li stamping her feet, he sensed something was off.
What troubled him was still that dog.
Why was Mao Mao silent? Did something happen? Ye Chenfeng quickly turned around and headed straight for Mao Mao's shelter with his flashlight.
In the past few days, whenever Ye Chenfeng approached the shelter, Mao Mao would have been barking fiercely in protest and warning him. But now, he heard nothing; it was eerily quiet all around.
The silence was so profound that it allowed the sound of Ding Li's breathing to resonate, mingling with the rhythmic thump of Ye Chenfeng's heart in his chest.
A sense of foreboding washed over Ye Chenfeng.
As the flashlight beam swept over Mao Mao's makeshift shelter, he was met with a horrifying sight.
Mao Mao was dead, and the scene was gruesome. Its fur was turned inside out, and its innards were strewn across the ground, as if a particularly sharp claw had ripped through its skin, spilling its insides.
Ye Chenfeng felt a chill run down his spine. Grabbing Ding Li, he turned and ran.
Deep within the Purple Bamboo Forest, a pair of green glowing eyes closely watched the two fleeing figures—meow—an eerie cat cry echoed, startling them into a shudder. They rushed through the door without a second thought for Shen Binghan, slamming it shut with a heavy thud that reverberated through the depths of the Purple Bamboo Forest.
Gasping for breath, they hurriedly turned on all the lights in the room.
Finally, they collapsed onto the sofa, feeling utterly drained.
"What did you see?" Ye Chenfeng asked urgently, noticing Ding Li's pale face and trembling body.
"The cat's eye."
"You saw Cat's Eye," Ye Chenfeng exclaimed.
"Yes." Ding Li glanced nervously at the door, including the entrance to Ye Chenfeng's grandmother's room.
"Did you see it in the Purple Bamboo Forest?"
"No," Ding Li said cautiously, moving closer to Ye Chenfeng. She leaned down and whispered, "It's not the Purple Bamboo Forest; it's... your grandmother."
"My grandmother?" Ye Chenfeng didn't understand what Ding Li meant. After thinking for a moment, he explained, "My grandmother is sick right now; she can't help us. Maybe that silly boy will come back tomorrow."
"That's not what I meant." Ding Li hesitated, unsure whether to speak up. If she didn't say anything, it would weigh heavily on her heart, but if she did, she feared Ye Chenfeng wouldn't believe her. Taking a deep breath and summoning her courage, she said, "I saw your grandmother as Cat's Eye."
Ye Chenfeng froze, then burst into a loud and deliberately harsh laugh. "Don't joke around! How could my grandmother possibly be Cat's Eye? Your imagination is even wilder than mine."
"I'm serious; I'm not lying."
Seeing Ding Li's earnest expression only frustrated Ye Chenfeng further. It was impossible; his grandmother was perfectly fine. There was no way she could be Cat's Eye; she must have misinterpreted something.
Ding Li knew Ye Chenfeng wouldn't believe her. There was nothing she could do about that; the only option left was to have him check if anyone was in the house.
If his grandmother really did have the Cat's Eye that Ding Li mentioned, then the cat sounds from the Purple Bamboo Forest must be related to her.
But would his grandmother actually be in the house?
The two exchanged tense glances. With lingering doubts, Ye Chenfeng led Ding Li toward his grandmother's bedroom.
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