Cataclysm Chapter 47: Play Till Death 3; Ghost Face Pimples

Chapter 47: Play Till Death 3; Ghost Face Pimples

Translated by Shiya of Exiled Rebels Scanlations 

Editor: Girl from the East

 

Zhang Qiudao said, “There will always be evidence left. I want to continue to investigate Mr. Qian. Find the evidence and at least send him to prison.”

Chen Yang didn’t object. Instead, he said to Ma Shanfeng, “Uncle Ma, it’s up to you to call the police about the mysterious organization that plays tricks on people.”

Ma Shanfeng nodded, “OK.” Then he said, “In October, the Main Dafu Office and the Branch Office will send several people to attend the Taoism Exchange Conference. In the past, only one quota was allocated to the Branch Office. This year, we should be able to win two or three places.”

Chen Yang: “The Taoism Exchange Conference?”

Ma Shanfeng: “it’s held every two years, and it was held the year before last year, so you just missed it. Last time, Zhang Qiudao represented the Branch Office and went to the meeting. If there are three places this year, then you, Kou Xuanling and Xiaoli can go together. There will be countless Tianshis participating in the meeting and Preaching there as well, which is beneficial to your practice.”

“If you only get two places this year, then let Director Chen and Mao Xiaoli go,” said Kou Xuanling. “I attended the meeting the year before last, so I don’t need to go there again.”

Ma Shanfeng nodded, “Sure.”

“Even if there is only one quota, I have a way to let all of you go to the meeting.” Zhang Qiudao said helplessly, “Did you guys forget my surname?”

Everyone except Chen Yang immediately understood, Mao Xiaoli jumped up happily and patted Zhang Qiudao on the shoulder, “That’s great.” Zhang Qiudao rejected Mao Xiaoli. The latter didn’t mind at all and said happily, “it’s so cool to have backing.”

Chen Yang asked: “The Taoism Exchange Conference is not held in Baiyun temple in the capital?” Baiyun temple was the ancestral hall of the Longmen sect of the Quanzhen faction. It was also the general headquarters of the Taoist Association and the place it was founded.

“Every year, the Taoism Exchange Conference will change venues in a cycle. More quotas will be given to the local and nearby establishments with preferential treatment. It was held in Baiyun temple the year before last, nearly 30 places were given to the establishments in the capital. Unfortunately, there were many Taoist establishments in the capital, and the number of places allocated to each was actually scarce. Besides, there are the main office and the branch office in the capital. Though most of the people in the Main Office are Taoist disciples of big families, some got their quotas from their Taoist temples and have more places than others.” Ma Shanfeng was used to speaking in circles. He always talked about a whole long paragraph, then talked about the key points at the very end, “This year’s Taoism Exchange Conference will be held in the Tianshi mansion.”

Located at the foot of Dragon Tiger Mountain, Tianshi mansion was the ancestral hall of the Zhengyi faction and the place where the descendants of Zhang Tianshi lived. It was essentially Zhang Qiudao’s home. It was not odd for him to invite some friends to visit and bring them along to the Taoism Exchange Conference.

Chen Yang laughed, “So, that’s it.” He was looking forward to his next trip, he found that he will be very busy for the next six months. “Is Xiaoli going to have a holiday soon?”

Mao Xiaoli: “Summer vacation is near.”

“Do you want to travel? It’s just July. How about a free tour? You can bring your family, and uncle Ma can bring your wife and children.”

Ma Shanfeng laughed and said, “Let me organize it then. Tell me when each of your free time is in July and where you want to go. In the end, we can choose a place to travel to.”

Mao Xiaoli’s and the others’ faces were full of happiness. After Chen Yang mentioned a trip, they were all in high spirits and they gathered together to discuss with each other about the trip. When Fatty came in, he noticed that his body didn’t attract them in the slightest. He was a little stunned, then he heard that they were traveling. He snorted in his throat and thrusted a piece of cardboard sign into the middle of them.

“Island Country?” ¹ Chen Yang shook his head and refused, “The place is too small. Shopping there is OK but it’s not fun to play in.” His eyes were fixed on Fatty’s paws, “Fatty, how do you write?”

Fatty turned a deaf ear and let them look at him curiously. When they had lost interest, he suddenly thrusted a new piece of cardboard across the board which said, “Nyan Nyan Nouveau.”

They didn’t understand. Chen Yang said, “Nyan Nyan Nouveau is a kind of wine invented by the Island Country. It can make a cat drunk, but will not harm their bodies. Fatty, can you get drunk and will you go crazy when you are drunk?”

“I know where to buy Nyan Nyan Nouveau.” Mao Xiaoli said.

Zhang Qiudao said calmly, “I know a purchasing route too and the merchandise will be delivered on the same day of purchase.” 

In silence, Kou Xuanling sent red packets ² to the two people, “Be sure to buy a whole box.” He turned his head to Fatty and said, “Don’t think about it. You can drink it as if it’s water.”

Fatty flicked his tail and left indifferently. Mao Xiaoli asked, “Should we still buy it?” Chen Yang replied, “Order it quickly, just two boxes are enough, not too much. Be more friendly to Fatty next time. Don’t go too far.”

Zhang Qiudao nodded his head to show his sincere niceness, and then they discussed with great interest how to see the meat mountain drunk and mad. Chen Yang reminded Mao Xiaoli, “Remember to take pictures and videos.”

In this harmonious and friendly atmosphere, Ma Shanfeng reported Dong Hong, Yang Hong, and the mysterious organization behind them to the Police. That team member of the police had frequent contact with the Tianshi community, so he took Ma Shanfeng’s report to heart and immediately launched an investigation. In less than two days, they had found some details.

As for Zhang Qiudao, he was still tracking down Mr. Qian’s affairs. It was reported that Mr. Qian began to shut down his wife’s e-commerce company and liquidate the money into the real estate industry. Moreover, he and his current girlfriend moved out of his original house and they were living together.

Ye Youyou, Mr. Qian’s current girlfriend, was already three months pregnant. Mr. Qian loved Ye Youyou very much. Not only because Ye Youyou was gentle and beautiful, which gave him confidence and dignity as a man, but also because of the baby. That was Mr. Qian’s first child, so naturally it was very important.

Worried that the evil spirits in the original house would disturb Ye Youyou, Mr. Qian gave Ye Youyou a high-grade duplex apartment, and hired a maid to take care of her. But recently, Ye Youyou always said to him, “There is always something in the house peeping at me. I feel scared.”

Mr. Qian comforted her, “We have a clear conscience and will not fear the invasion of ghosts and gods.”

“Well, I’m afraid of Miss Li’s revenge. When I was with you, she was your wife. I had a bad conscience. I feel even more uneasy with the news of her suicide. Some people say you killed Miss Li. I’m afraid Miss Li will believe it and harm our child.” Ye Youyou has a deep frown and a sad face.

Mr. Qian said with integrity and fearlessness, “I have never done anything I should be sorry for to her or her children. I loved her and her children very much. I just want a child of my own, but she never wanted to give birth to a child for me. I only knew what happiness is after I met you. I was going to divorce her and leave the house, but I didn’t expect an accident like that to happen…” Mr. Qian sighed for a moment and then said, “If she wants to hate someone, then come and hate me.”

Ye Youyou threw herself into Mr. Qian’s arms. Her face was red, and her expression full of bliss. During the embrace, she suddenly felt the gaze of someone behind her staring at her back. That kind of obvious feeling was very creepy, she abruptly turned back, only to find an empty wall behind her.

Mr. Qian asked her, “Youyou, what’s the matter?”

Ye Youyou hesitated and said, “I feel the gaze again. It’s coming from the wall.”

Mr. Qian looked at the wall with wallpaper stuck on it and laughed: “You idiot, it’s just a wall. How can there be a gaze? Well, if you’re afraid, you can go to the guest bedroom to sleep. I will be sleeping here tonight. If there’s anything, I’ll get rid of them. How about that?”

Ye Youyou nodded, worried and said, “You should be careful.”

Mr. Qian smiled and took her to the door. He called the maid to help her to the guest bedroom. Turning back, Mr. Qian closed the door, his cold sight swept across the wall. Suddenly he walked forward to tear the wallpaper, behind was a white wall. There was nothing.

Mr. Qian looked grim for a long time and found that it was indeed an ordinary wall so he was relieved. He wrote this off as the nervous tension of a pregnant woman. Maybe she was just thinking too much into it. How could there be ghosts haunting them?

He was not afraid of ghosts knocking on the door. How could those ghosts blame him for the things that even God didn’t know?

Mr. Qian turned his back in a relaxed mood and did not notice a face suddenly appearing on the white wall behind him. The face was very ferocious and roared as it tried to rush out of the wall. The next moment, fingerprints of some children landed on both his cheeks, which made him cry and leave quickly.

Therefore, Mr. Qian didn’t notice the two pale faces on his back either. They were the faces of two children, one male and one female. There were some resemblances between their appearances. Those two pale faces blended into Mr. Qian’s back. They will become Ghost Face Pimples soon.

The accumulated resentment and evil karma will not disappear. As revenge, Ghost Face Pimples will be formed.

The next afternoon, Ye Youyou woke up from a nap and felt hungry. After calling several times, she didn’t find the maid, so she had to go downstairs herself. When she arrived in the living room, she found that the apartment was very quiet. After drinking milk, she suddenly noticed the familiar and disgusting gaze reappearing.

Ye Youyou suddenly turned around and panicked, “Who is there?”

The house was empty. Ye Youyou try to move forward. When she was only facing the wall, then the disgusting gaze disappeared. Suddenly, children’s laughter came from upstairs. Ye Youyou looked up in surprise.

How could there be the laughter of children upstairs? Then came the sound of toy car motors, children’s music and the jingle toys. Ye Youyou gasped with fear and screamed, “Who are you?”

From the empty room came her own echoed voice, all the other sounds suddenly stopped. Then, the next moment, they suddenly sounded again. It was as if they were deliberately frightening Ye Youyou. Ye Youyou went upstairs and walked into the children’s room Mr. Qian had prepared for her son.

Holding the door handle, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened her eyes at the same time as she quickly opened the door. It was quiet, everything was in their rightful place. Ye Youyou went in and checked and found that nothing had moved. It seemed that what happened just now was her own auditory hallucination. She left after checking the children’s room. Before leaving, she took another glance of the room at the door, her steps going out stopped abruptly and she turned back at the room.

There was a doll at the door, hidden in the corner. If you didn’t look down, you wouldn’t notice it. Ye Youyou was stiff all over. This doll was originally placed in the innermost part of the room. Why was it here instead? The sounds weren’t illusions?

Ye Youyou took a few steps away from the room. She felt that the children’s room was like a monster, full of malice. She quickly turned around and rushed towards the exit. After exiting the room, the door behind her suddenly slammed shut, it made a loud racket.

Ye Youyou screamed, as she couldn’t take it anymore. As she screamed, she ran down the stairs and suddenly she felt a push behind her. She was in mid-air, with a whirl, she fell down the stairs. As she fell, she got a glimpse of a pair of children, one male and one female, standing at the stairway, looking at her coldly.

That was until she felt pain in her womb and hot liquid leaking out from her legs, their cold expressions turned to malicious smiles. They returned to the children’s room hand in hand. The sound of toys in the children’s room rang out again, and the children’s songs that were originally happy and fun became cold and creepy in the silent apartment.

Mr. Qian came back at night, he was furious, he yelled in the empty apartment. He rushed into the children’s room and smashed all the toys to pieces, “If you have the ability to do this, then come at me! You want me to have no offspring?” Mr. Qian laughed in a craze, “If one woman can’t give birth to a child for me, then I will find another one. You dare to harm my sons? I’ll hire Tianshis to beat you all out of your wits tomorrow!”

Mr. Qian picked up a children’s toy horse and smashed the baby bed with the other hand, “You want to take revenge on me? What reason do you have to take revenge?! Even God can’t judge me guilty. Even if I find people to scatter your souls, it is what you deserve! Those Tianshis, they are all on my side! You were killed by evil spirits and they committed suicide. It has nothing to do with me.”

He flung the children’s toy horse to the bed, it rebounded to the wall, making a thumping sound. Ye Youyou had a miscarriage and Mr. Qian’s first child was gone. He was very angry. After throwing a tantrum, he lit a cigarette and sat in the children’s room for a while before turning around and deciding to hire Tianshis immediately.

As he turned around, two faces were stuck behind his back, they had long melted through his clothes and into Mr. Qian’s back. They opened their eyes and saw the damaged children’s room, they wailed sadly. The voice was shrill and terrifying. Hearing the sound, Mr. Qian looked back in horror, and a spinning fidget spinner came flying at his face. The blades of the spinner were moderately sharp, coupled with its high-speed, it could easily cut through the skin.

Mr. Qian dodged in a panic, a ball then rolled to his foot, making him fall. He raised his head to face a crossbow in front of him. The toothpick was already loaded in the mini crossbow and was ready to fire. Before he could react, it hit Mr. Qian’s right eye. ³

“Ah!”

Mr. Qian screamed and rolled on the ground in pain.

In his ear, he heard two children’s eerie voices, “Dad, we saw–“

“I saw you talking to an annoying old lady and gave her money.”

“The annoying old lady told grandmother (Nainai) to raise a snake and the snake bit us.”

“It hurts, Dad.”

The two children were killed by the evil spirits fostered in the wood carving Bodhisattva. They saw Mr. Qian and an old lady together, the old lady was the one who told their grandmother how to bring the Bodhisattva to life. They didn’t understand why, they also didn’t know Mr. Qian only gave the old lady a verbal hint but not an explicit one. All they know is that they died very painfully, and it was all because of Mr. Qian.

Mr. Qian understood that the two children knew and he was afraid. He thought he had deceived the ghosts and Gods in the Underworld. He never expected to be seen by two children. Mr.Qian was disgusted hearing the kids call his mother-in-law their grandmother(Nainai). Clearly they should call her grandma(Popo), but they had to call her their grandmother(Nainai), ⁴ these treacherous white eyed wolves!

Mr. Qian struggled to climb out of the room, he only dared to faint when he heard the maid’s exclamation. When he fainted, he thought bitterly that he must hire Tianshis to beat the two little ghosts to pieces. Even if they went to hell, they would not be able to speak!

Ye Youyou in the hospital bed was pale and numb because of the miscarriage. The door of the ward was pushed open and a tall, red-lipped woman in a black windbreaker and sunglasses came in. The woman came inside and walked up to the bed. Then she took off her sunglasses to reveal a serious bruise at the corners of her eyes.

Ye Youyou saw that, and showed a distressed expression, “Sister, you went to see that personal trainer again? He always hits you.”

“No more,” The woman giggled.

“Is it solved?”

“Mn.” The woman picked up the porcelain bowl and fed the contents to Ye Youyou, she fed her chicken soup one spoon after another and said, “The child is gone?”

“It’s gone,” Ye Youyou looked normal, one could not see the slightest sadness from her: “The two little ghosts haunted him.”

The woman asked gently, “Mr. Qian must be very angry.”

“He was stabbed blind in the right eye, and the two little ghosts are still pestering him. He won’t have much time left alive. He thought he could hide from ghosts and Gods. The Phoenix man who thought too highly of himself was just their object of amusement,” Ye Youyou held the woman’s wrist, “Sister, let’s run away.”

The woman looked at her quietly until the light in Ye Youyou’s eyes went dim. She silently drank the soup. The woman patted her sister’s head and said, “There are so many people I hate. How can I get rid of them if I run away?”

Chen Yang and Zhang Qiudao came to the hospital after receiving the news of Mr. Qian’s accident. On the way, they ran into a red-lipped woman in black wearing sunglasses. As they passed, Chen Yang stopped and looked back at the woman.

Zhang Qiudao asked, “Does Director Chen know her?”

“She is the girl that Dong Hong attacked that day. Although her makeup and clothing are masking her, her facial bone structures are still the same. Cosmetics can change a person’s appearance, but not their bones.” When Chen Yang looked at people, he usually looked at the bone structure first and then the general appearance.

Chen Yang continued to walk forward, not paying too much attention to the red-lipped woman. Instead, he said, “Which ward is Mr. Qian in?”

“Up ahead.” Zhang Qiudao led the way and said, “he was stabbed in the right eye and called me while crying. He said that he met two evil spirits. When I asked him where he provoked the spirits, he said that he didn’t know.”

“The two children of the Li family?”

“I think so.”

They entered Mr. Qian’s ward. Mr. Qian was scratching his back. When he saw Zhang Qiudao, he immediately sat up straight. When he saw Chen Yang, his remaining left pupil was slightly constricted and his face got somewhat stiff. Chen Yang noticed that slight change and was sure that Mr. Qian somehow knew him. He just stood aside and didn’t talk for the moment.

Mr. Qian asked with a smile, “Zhang Tianshi, this is?”

“A friend.”

Chen Yang chuckled, “My surname is Chen, Mr. Qian.”

Zhang Qiudao: “Mr. Qian, please tell me the details.”

Mr. Qian recounted what happened that night, but omitted what the two kids said. He said with a wry smile, “It might be my two children who died. They must have envied their new brother and missed me so much that they wanted me to go down with them. They already killed their unborn brother, and now they want to kill me too. It doesn’t matter if I die. It’s just that the two children are not sensible. They can’t commit murder and be sent to hell just because of jealousy. I hope you can send them into reincarnation.”

Zhang Qiudao said, “When a child dies early, they have a lot of resentment. Jealousy is also a very serious emotion. If they would rather drag you down for a family reunion than enter reincarnation, what would you do?”

“That…” Mr. Qian’s smile was stiff, “I… I don’t know. I just hope that they shouldn’t kill innocent people. The child in Youyou’s womb was killed, and Youyou was almost killed as well. They have already killed once, I’m afraid they will kill again. If they don’t want to be reincarnated, I’d rather kill my family for justice.”

Chen Yang said, “Mr. Qian must be joking, the two children only want their father. They want a family reunion, naturally if you reunite with them, then their resentment will be dispelled. Then they will not do evil again.”

“Ah?”

Chen Yang burst out laughing: “I’m kidding. Don’t mind me.”

Mr. Qian grimaced and scratched his itchy back. Chen Yang asked, “Mr. Qian has been scratching his back a lot. Is it that itchy?”

“Yes. Two days ago, I suddenly felt itchy and occasionally felt pain in my back. The doctor checked and saw nothing wrong with it. I don’t know if it’s an allergic reaction or something.” Mr. Qian said as he scratched his back.

“Let me have a look. Perhaps it’s the evil spirits.” Chen Yang said with a smile as he stood up. Mr. Qian cooperated and turned his body around, letting them look at his back. Chen Yang and Zhang Qiudao looked at each other. Chen Yang said silently, “Ghost Face Pimples?”

Zhang Qiudao nodded.

Mr. Qian had two ghost faces on his back, which had the rudiments of facial features. Once the facial features are completely formed and protruded, it is not easy to remove them. Ghost Face Pimples are usually formed from revenge for their past lives. Unless the Samadhi Water Repentance Sutra is chanted to purify them, it is very difficult to resolve the resentment.

Once the Ghost Face Pimple grows it can talk and eat. You have to feed it for eternity, otherwise it will groan day and night, disturbing people restlessly. It will even gnaw at the host’s flesh and blood when in starvation, making the host miserable.

It can be called a very harsh way of revenge. Unless there is a deep hatred, this kind of evil spirit would not be formed. Mr. Qian had two children’s faces on his back. Chen Yang and Zhang Qiudao could guess who they were. They both remained silent. Chen Yang made a hand gesture, hiding the two Ghost Face Pimples for now. They will only show up again when they become mature and could not be removed anymore.

Chen Yang and Zhang Qiudao said they would go to Mr. Qian’s apartment and have a look. They will also go prepare the required Taoist instrument. Before they left, Chen Yang turned back and asked, “Mr. Qian, do you think a person should repent when he has done something wrong?”

“I don’t think it’s useful to repent. It’ll be better to make up for it.”

How to make up for something when you have not even repented?

Chen Yang nodded and left, not because he didn’t want to save Mr. Qian, but because Mr. Qian didn’t know how to repent at all. If you want to cure the Ghost Face Pimples, you need to chant the Samadhi Water Repentance Sutra to them yourself. Then you have to purify them with Samadhi Water. The sutra is originally a Buddhist ritual. The most important thing is that the person concerned needs to repent. Only by repenting sincerely can the resentment of the Ghost Face Pimples be resolved.

What’s more, he didn’t want to save Mr. Qian. Evil should be treated with evil and met with retribution. Their resentment was something even the Underworld cannot interfere with. Naturally, Chen Yang will not intervene willingly. He said to Zhang Qiudao, “Train or the bus?”

Zhang Qiudao, “The bus.” They didn’t plan on going to Mr. Qian’s apartment. The two little ghosts were at Mr. Qian’s side, so it was useless to go there.

Chen Yang: “No one in our branch office can drive except uncle Ma and Kou Xuanling.” He was rather sad. “It will be a lot of trouble every time we go out.” The Main Office assigned two cars to us. Unfortunately, no one else but Ma Shanfeng and Kou Xuanling could drive.

Zhang Qiudao: “I can drive.”

“You don’t have a license.”

Zhang Qiudao couldn’t stand it. He had taken the driver’s license test many times, but he always failed. “Why don’t you buy some presents or give a red envelope to the coach next time?” Chen Yang suggested.

Zhang Qiudao refused: “I can conquer driving with my own skills and get a driving license. It’s about the honor of a man. I won’t use back-handed methods.”

Chen Yang clapped his hands: “Good. Your state of mind is very noble, driving is a dangerous thing. Taking it seriously is responsible, as you need to think about the safety of yourself and others.”

That was what he thought with all his heart now. Later, after he had sat in a car driven by Zhang Qiudao on a Mandrill tracking mission, he felt that he would do anything to stop him from getting a driver’s license. He might even send gifts and red packets to the coach to prevent it from happening.

While waiting for the bus, Zhang Qiudao saw Du Shuo coming out of the opposite building. He asked Chen Yang to take a look. As soon as Chen Yang looked over, Du Shuo looked back and saw Chen Yang.

Chen Yang laughed and walked over. Du Shuo had just come out of the building. He didn’t know what Du Shuo had done, but the people behind him all looked at him respectfully. Beside him was a two meter tall man, his face was firm and serious. When Chen Yang saw him, the image of the Five Ghost Emperors popped up in his head. ⁵

Chen Yang and Du Shuo met up and said a few words. They quickly described the situation on both sides. When asked about the man beside Du Shuo, he said, “His name is Zhu Qi.” He didn’t introduce Chen Yang to him, but Zhu Qi seems to know already.

Chen Yang smiled politely at the man, Zhu Qi stared at Chen Yang and said in a loud voice, “Hello, Mrs. Du!”

Zhang Qiudao was almost choked by his own saliva. Chen Yang was silent. He smiled and glanced at Du Shuo. The latter did not change his expression as he said, “Underling.” Chen Yang then took out a piece of paper money and put it into Zhu Qi’s palm, “It’s a gift for our meeting.”

Zhu Qi hesitated to take it. Du Shuo said, “If Mrs. Du gives you gifts, then accept it.”

So Zhu Qi reached out to take the paper gold ingot. Chen Yang pinched a hand seal, then the paper gold immediately caught on fire. The next moment it appeared in Zhu Qi’s hand as a yellow gold ingot.

Zhu Qi said thanks to him, then said he had something to do so he said goodbye. Zhang Qiudao looked at the two people and said that he wanted to go to the e-sports City so he left them. Chen Yang and Du Shuo were left alone. Seeing that no one was near, Du Shuo pulled up Chen Yang’s hand and clasped his fingers. “My car is in the parking lot. Let’s go back together?”

“Sure. Why were you here?” As they were walking to the parking lot, Chen Yang suddenly thought of this and asked.

Du Shuo opened the car door and let Chen Yang get in first. Then he went to the driver’s seat and said, “Something happened in Fengdu recently. Fasten your seat belt.”

Chen Yang fastened his seat belt and said, “What’s the matter? Is it serious?”

“Some people had seemingly died in a normal way, but we had noticed some oddness in them. An investigation is already under way.” Du Shuo leaned over to kiss Chen Yang on the lip and said, “Let’s go.”

“Mn.”

 

The author has something to say:

As the arc title, ‘Play Till Death’ suggests, you shall play until you die. The one who toys with others is also played by others. 

Zhu Qi: One of the Five Ghost Emperors, he is one of the two Emperors of the Central Region, they govern Baodu mountain.

Shiya: According to wikipedia, the Five Ghost Emperors are actually more accurately called the Emperors of the Five Regions, namely East, South, West, North, and the Central area. There are two Emperors for each region except for the South with only one. I didn’t link the wikipedia page because it’s in Chinese.

 

 

 

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