Chapter 14
The chauffeuse drove them back to the city; she brought them to a nice and classy bathhouse . Zhou Jingru showed the two of them in and proceeded to the counter . Then, she turned around to ask them, “You guys want massages?”
“A massage?” Ye Shaoyang answered with shock, as he imagined what this meant .
Zhou Jingru’s face flushed red, and she told him, “It’s a proper massage, you’ve worked so hard right? So, why not get a massage?”
“Forget it, forget it . I’m not used to people serving me . ”
Zhou Jingru giggled and did not pester him .
The building was very large and complex . It took Ye Shaoyang and Xiao Ma a while to find the lockers that matched their keys . Ye Shaoyang had no idea what was the normal thing to do, so he asked Xiao Ma, “So, do I take off my clothes off here, or wait till I get in?”
“I don’t know,” Xiao Ma answered, as he scratched his head .
Luckily, there was a worker there to guide them, so they were able to successfully navigate to the bathing area . The bathing area was steaming hot and had pools of all sizes . The sight stunned Ye Shaoyang . Ye Shaoyang finished up after a simple shower and a short soak in the hot tub . Then, he returned to his room . Xiao Ma only came back after a long while . He told Ye Shaoyang, “I tried everything down there, the massage chair, the sauna, and the pool that can blow out bubbles . What a good experience, I never knew that bathing could be so relaxing and fun!”
Ye Shaoyang was unimpressed, “What’s so good about those things? The water here is only slightly cleaner than Maoshan Mountain’s . Why do people have to create so many things for a simple shower?”
Xiao Ma looked at him and said, “Hillbilly!”
While they laid there and chatted, the phone rang . It was Zhou Jingru . She asked them to come down to the restaurant to have some supper . When they arrived, they saw that Zhou Jingru was in a pink robe . Her hair was tied up, and her complexion was much better .
“Why are wethe only customer here?” Ye Shaoyang asked curiously, as they sat down .
Zhou Jingru laughed, “It’s late, so the restaurant is already closed to the public . But I’m a VIP . ”
Ye Shaoyang scratched his head, as he wondered what a VIP was .
Zhou Jingru ordered a pot of tea and some snacks . When the food arrived, the snacks dumbfounded and shocked Ye Shaoyang . There were only a few small biscuit-type things . He thought, It would’ve been better to have some pork or seasoned duck . How can people eat these things?
“I am also a fourth-year student, but normally, I don’t stay in the school . Today, I went back to get some stuff,” Zhou Jingru explained how she had encountered the ghost, “As I was leaving the school, I bumped into my ex . We split up a long time ago, and I think we were only together for two weeks . ”
Xiao Ma nodded and said, “That’s right, there aren’t a lot of good men like me around anymore … . ”
Ye Shaoyang gave Xiao Ma a kick and told him to shut up .
Then, Zhou Jingru continued with her story, “After I got away from him, he texted me on Wechat . He told me that he wanted to have a meal with me to tell me how sorry he was . He told me he would wait for me at the front gate of the school . But I didn’t want to see him, so I used the small gate of the school to leave . I was going to call for a car home, but then, I saw a good friend of mine waving to me from afar . So, I walked in her direction, but as I got closer, I began to feel really dizzy . After that, I don’t know what happened . ”
Zhou Jingru shook her head in despair and looked at Ye Shaoyang, “I never thought I would encounter this kind of thing . At least I experienced an eye-opener . I saw a ghost, an undead, but the best thing is meeting you, a Daoist Master . Yet, you seem a lot younger than those Daoists I see on television and more … handsome . ”
After he heard all these praises, Ye Shaoyang was flying on cloud nine . He was so excited that he pulled out a necklace with a small piece of bloodstone embedded in it . Then, he gave it to her .
“This bloodstone has been made into a talisman . Wear it, and the average ghost will not be able to get close to you . ”
“Thank you so much big brother Shaoyang!” Zhou Jingru accepted it excitedly . Then, she suddenly thought of something . She pulled out her wallet and asked, “This talisman must be really expensive then?”
“Well, we usually sell them at 2000 a piece . But since fate brought you and I together . Hehe, I’ll give it to you for free . ”
At the side, Xiao Ma rolled his eyes and thought, Well he really doesn’t mind spending his money on girls .
“Aww, thank you big brother Shaoyang,” Zhou Jingru gave him a sweet smile . This enchanted Ye Shaoyang even more .
As they continued to chat, Ye Shaoyang told her all about himself . This young man deeply impressed Zhou Jingru . Since she came from a powerful and rich family, she has seen all sorts of characters . However, she had never seen a Daoist . Now, she finally met one that was young and handsome .
“Big brother Shaoyang, let’s exchange numbers . ”
“Sure, what’s your number?” as she told him her number, the phone that he used surprised her . What kind of phone is that? It\'s not even touchscreen … there’s even a crack on the display . Is that an antique?
When Xiao Ma saw the phone in Ye Shaoyang’s hand, he quickly grabbed it from Ye Shaoyang and asked, “Wow, did you steal this piece of antique from a museum?”
Ye Shaoyang was totally embarrassed, “Is this thing out of date? My display is at least a blue screen one . My master’s display is way worse . ”
“Well, it is better than a brick phone,” said Xiao Ma .
Suddenly, Zhou Jingru remembered something; she looked down with embarrassment and asked, “I heard you guys say that I took off my belt and was going to hang myself . Then, you guys said I dropped my pants, so I was wondering … who helped me put my pants back on?”
Finally, the important question came out! Ye Shaoyang was about to explain to her what had happened, but Xiao Ma took the initiative and said, “It was Shaoyang, it was a really embarrassing situation . At that time, your pants were hanging down your legs, but I didn’t see anything . I was far, far away and it was pitch black . It was Shaoyang who gently pulled your pants up and put your belt back on … . ”
Ye Shaoyang almost fell off his chair when he heard Xiao Ma’s explanation . He quickly intervened, “Don’t … don’t listen to his words; your pants didn’t drop down that much . it was just… a bit, a slight bit . ”
Of course, if he kept explaining, he would only dig a bigger hole for himself . Zhou Jingru was still very embarrassed about the whole thing, but she gave Ye Shaoyang a smile and said, “It’s okay, big brother Shaoyang saved my life . Even if he saw anything … it is okay . ”
“Erm… . ” Ye Shaoyang’s heart began to beat wildly . What did she mean when she said that it was okay?
“Oh yeah, big brother Shaoyang, what were those things that flew out from the tree? They’re called primordial spirits right? What are they?”
“After a person dies, he or she would become a spirit . But when a spirit is destroyed, it becomes a primordial spirit . The primordial spirit must wait 200 years to gather itself and become a whole spirit again, but they will still be the lowest ranking spirits . They must reincarnate as animals for 10 lives and suffer all sorts of pains and tortures in order to be eligible to reincarnate as a human . ”
These words stunned Zhou Jingru, “Those … those souls that were trapped there are really unfortunate then . They never did anything bad, but that female ghost killed them, and they were turned into primordial spirits . Isn’t that unlucky?”
“People who robbers kill are also unlucky . But, when they are able to reincarnate as a human, they are usually given some privileges . Like you, beautiful and wealthy . ”
Zhou Jingru laughed sweetly and asked Ye Shaoyang, “Do you know how to tell fortunes? Can you tell me what kind of a person I was in my previous life?”
“Best not,” Ye Shaoyang laughed and explained, “It would be fine if you were a good person, but what if you were a paraplegic, or even a prostitute … that wouldn’t be so nice, would it?”
After they chatted for a bit longer, they all went back to their respective rooms to rest .
As Ye Shaoyang laid on the soft and comfy bed, as he thought through what he had experienced today . It must have been fate that he would save his roommate and meet a beautiful lady on the first day of leaving Maoshan Mountain . Ye Shaoyang took out his old cell phone and was about to play snakes . Suddenly, someone knocked on the door . He was shocked, who could be looking for him at this late hour … could it be Zhou Jingru?
Ye Shaoyang went to open the door with excitement . But when he opened the door, he was totally disappointed . He gave Xiao Ma an annoyed look and asked, “Why did you knock on my door at this hour!”
Xiao Ma seemed very nervous . He explained, “No, Shaoyang, I think my room is haunted . ”
Ye Shaoyang was shocked … another haunted place?