Love in Cthulhu

Chapter 13 Don't Listen to Others' Nonsense

“Hello, panda!” Jian Xi said earnestly.

Zhou Nan, with dark circles under his eyes, stumbled into the living room. Jian Xi had already been up for a long time, wearing a retro-style woolen dress, curled up on the sofa watching TV, her slender fingertips pointing at his nose.

"I mean, can't you find a way to turn off this thing that supposedly has the ability to see ghosts?"

For the second night in a row, Zhou Nan also slept very poorly. He was not afraid of strange things coming to his door to ask if he could see him, but he simply could not ignore the fact that this thing was in his bed.

Imagine this: in the dead of winter, amidst the bleak winds and rain, you've just taken off your clothes, snuggled comfortably into your warm blankets, closed your eyes, and rolled over.

When you open your eyes again, a grotesque, black-smoked child's face is lying next to you. Even though the room is dimly lit, you can clearly see the cracked bone lines on its face. This wretched thing asks you with its trembling, mournful scream, "Can you see me? Can you see me?"

Even if Tang Sanzang came, he would have to recite Hinayana Buddhist teachings, right?

That's not all. This morning, I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. In the time it took to grab a handful of water, I couldn't see myself in the mirror anymore. Instead, a man in a suit appeared out of nowhere, a rather shrewd-looking fellow, top-heavy and neck-light, hanging in front of the mirror like a hanged ghost, saying, "I have to go to work! I have to go to work! Going to work makes me happy!"
With your brain so damaged, who else but you is going to die?

Fear and annoyance are often two different things. According to Jianxi, as long as you don't let them know that you can see them, then there's nothing to worry about.

But can't you really stand being attacked like this, with your eyes open and closed? What if one day you're caught off guard and startled so much that you jump three feet high and become a wronged ghost on the spot, reporting to the underworld?
"No." Jian Xi lay lazily on the sofa, like a cat building its own nest, her white cotton socks swaying behind her. "Have you ever heard of a martial arts master who opened up his Ren and Du meridians and then said, 'I don't want to learn martial arts anymore, please seal those meridians for me'?"

"Please, enlightenment is for learning martial arts secrets. What you're giving me is just something that makes me see supernatural things and scare myself. It's nothing to worry about if you can't see it. Seeing it is just asking for trouble."

"Who said it's useless? It's incredibly useful, isn't it? You just don't realize it at home." Jian Xi sat up abruptly. "Let me ask you a very philosophical question: a person is composed of a body and consciousness, that is, a soul. When we say a person dies, it means their body stops functioning. So where does the soul go?"

"Who knows, I've never really died."

The closest I've ever come to death in my life was yesterday morning when Jian Xi stabbed me in the back with her shadow. Thinking about it now, it still hurts a bit. It felt like being thrown into the middle of the ocean, unable to breathe, and sinking continuously. But even so, it was still far from real death.

"What I can consume is anything outside of a person's physical body, so emotions, memories, knowledge, and so on can all be my food," Jian Xi said.

Zhou Nan realized something: "So, those strange creatures emitting black mist are also of this type?"

"Yes, these things are the souls and thoughts forgotten in the corners of the world. Although they mostly look like twisted people, they actually have many other forms. Pack your things and go for a walk, and you'll see. Aren't we going to check out the back mountain?"

The sky was overcast and gray, and in Yunxiang County, nestled against the mountains and beside the water, the winter wind was always biting cold.

As the year draws to a close, there don't seem to be many more people around, but there are noticeably more cars on the streets, all with out-of-town license plates. Occasionally, a plastic bag is blown into the air, making the place seem even more deserted.

After I became able to see, I walked on the street for the first time and realized that there were actually so many things around me all along.

Even though they're long dead, the cats and dogs that still like to linger around the trash cans, even though they no longer need to eat, still follow the principle of "since we're here, let's have a fight," barking and jumping.

A hunched old man dressed in a Zhongshan suit stood in front of the tobacco and liquor store for a long time, staring at the neatly arranged cigarette boxes through the glass window. Inside, the store owner was putting out liquor and New Year's goods, almost blocking the aisle for pedestrians.

There are also those octopus-like creatures that cling to people's bodies. A boy walking is looking at his phone, and the strange creature clinging to him is also looking at his phone. If you ignore their ugly appearance, in a sense they are quite similar to Pokémon and their owner.

Without exception, these things forgotten in the corners of the world have bodies that are like mist composed of black particles, rising and falling like flames breathing.

They can still be identified as humanoid, but they are somewhat distorted, with limbs becoming thin and long, or skulls cracked and twisted, or they are simply walking meat mountain butchers, holding pig-slaughtering knives and chains in their hands.

Even if they look fierce, most of them aren't like last night, just wandering aimlessly. Only when they're really close to someone will they approach as if clinging to a sliver of hope and ask if you can see them.

So this is what the world is really like. Before we could see it, we were completely unaware and no one cared. Now that we can see it, we still have to pretend we can't.

I recall a supernatural tale I once read, where the protagonist always carried two jugs of water when he went tomb raiding for treasure: one filled with well water and the other with river water. They were placed together and called "well water doesn't interfere with river water," meaning that I was just passing by, and no matter what deep hatred or unfulfilled wishes you had, it was best if we ignored each other.

That's probably what it feels like.

"There really are a lot." Zhou Nan pushed his bicycle, his eyes subtly scanning the things that passed by him. After getting used to it, he didn't find them cold or unpleasant. They were more like the cold wind that made him shiver. The only annoying thing was that they would block his view if they passed by.

"Right?" Jian Xi looked quite smug. "Although being able to see things will cause trouble, I think it won't put any pressure on someone with your mental fortitude. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages."

"So what are the benefits?"

"Like over there." She winked and secretly pointed to a young couple holding hands across the street.

With just one glance, Zhou Nan understood her meaning. Seven or eight strange men and women followed the couple, practically a walking source of pollution. The female ghosts kept whispering in the man's ear, "I love you so much... live well," while the male ghosts were all fawning over the woman, saying things like, "I'll give you everything I have, I'll even hand over my work card, please don't leave me..."

When you don't notice them, you're completely unaware, but once you do, those whispers are like demonic noises, giving you a splitting headache.

"Those two...did they kill people?" Zhou Nan whispered. He could feel the overwhelming resentment emanating from them. When they spoke, the black mist around their bodies would occasionally rise into the sky. The male and female ghosts glared at each other, and it felt like they might fight at any moment. "I can't tell either. It's impossible for that woman to kill so many tall men," Jian Xi said. "But they must have died because of this couple, right? Romantic con artists, right? They took advantage of each other, squeezed out all the money, and then kicked them to the curb to move on to the next one."

"They are truly a pair of brilliant minds."

"But doesn't it sound interesting? A scumbag meets a scumbag woman, their love story is bound to be amazing!" Jian Xi clenched her fist excitedly. "Wouldn't that be a bloodbath, with sparks flying and rivers of blood flowing?"

Zhou Nan was speechless. Sure enough, girls all over the world have an innate love of gossip, and even the little monster was no exception.

They passed a roadside stall, where vendors were selling New Year's goods as the holiday approached. They sold couplets, door stickers, dried mushrooms, homemade sausages and cured meats. The county town had no shortage of agricultural products from the surrounding towns. Old men and women wrapped in military overcoats squatted on carrying poles and boxes, calling out their wares. Anyone passing by would be stopped and asked to come and take a look.

"Young man and young lady, would you like to have your fortune told?" As they passed a stall, the stall owner suddenly jumped out and stopped them.

Every year, these kinds of people pop up, especially around the end of the year when many people return to their hometowns in the county. All sorts of weirdos and monsters emerge, trying to make a quick buck. Fortune telling and metaphysics are simply timeless.

No matter how many years pass before we dispel scientific superstition, there will always be fortune tellers who put on a military overcoat, a small felt hat, a mustache, and sunglasses, and pretend to be masters of the I Ching.

Zhou Nan ignored him, tugged at Jian Xi, and tried to leave, but the old man in the military overcoat stepped forward and blocked his way, his eyes burning, "I don't want money!"

Free? That's even more of a scam!
Zhou Nan is familiar with this matter. He'll first give you a mystical fortune telling, and then, in a pretentious manner, present you with a prophetic saying.

What? You say you can't understand it because it's too profound? I already said it's free, so it's not my problem if you can't understand it. But since we're so lucky to have met today, I'll reluctantly pay you a small fee for tea to give you a proper reading. Is this small fee for a cup of tea too much to ask?

"You want to charge for tea, huh?" Zhou Nan said dismissively.

"Hey, I said it's free, and it's free. What tea fee? I'm just sitting here because I feel comfortable with whoever I like. I'll chat with whoever I feel comfortable with."

The old man approached, muttering to himself, glancing at Zhou Nan and then at Jian Xi, before chuckling, "I see a dark aura between you two; this means you're in for some bloodshed!"

Zhou Nan thought to himself, "I understand now. The lines are so standard. He probably learned them from some period drama. The old man is probably lonely staying in the county town all by himself. He set up a fortune-telling stall here to pretend to be a ghost. The real purpose of not charging money is to find people to talk to and have fun. Otherwise, why would he specifically target young people?"

But this equipment... is quite complete! It has everything: divination sticks, Bagua diagrams, I Ching, and incense burner. The banner hanging behind him shows that he offers a wide range of services: dental fillings, knife sharpening, cloth shoes, lock fitting, movie downloads, hair braiding, and even screen protector application. With these skills alone, the old man could never starve.

He already had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on. He glanced at Jian Xi with a playful attitude, thinking she would be interested in this kind of old man. But Jian Xi just stood there quietly, not saying a word or blinking, staring at the old man's sunglasses.

Suddenly, she seemed to transform into a lifelike statue, her gaze so profound that it seemed to see right through her glasses.

"Isn't this old man afraid of going out of business by offering free fortune telling?" Zhou Nan said. "He should probably change his wording; this isn't fooling anyone."

The old man brought over the divination box, but instead of handing it to Zhou Nan, he drew one for himself and handed it to him: "If you don't believe, it's just a hoax; if you do believe, then it's not. It's pointless to talk to someone who doesn't believe, but you only need one sentence to someone who does. The words don't have to be old-fashioned, as long as they're useful."

Zhou Nan stroked the bamboo stick; it was blank, and the old man had pulled out an empty one.

"Empty? How do you solve that?"

“You can eat clearly and see clearly, but your mind is confused.” The old man leaned closer and whispered, “Although the other world may open doors you’ve never heard of before, it’s ultimately not a place for you. If you stay there too long, you’ll become assimilated. How will you ever come back then? Don’t be so selfish. Think of your family.”

Zhou Nan's heart skipped a beat as he met the eyes of the person wearing sunglasses. He suddenly realized that there was a faint black mist swirling behind the sunglasses, but it was so fine that it was impossible to see unless you got very close.

Strange? No, he can touch the divination tube and hand it to him, which means he actually has a physical form.

"You...can you actually see it too?" For some inexplicable reason, Zhou Nan had this thought.

"Just a little." The old man slightly removed a corner of his sunglasses, revealing a pair of wrinkled, aged yet bright eyes. "But about you..."

He suddenly collapsed without warning, the last syllable stuck in his throat, knocking over his stall. The fortune-telling container he was holding rolled away, spilling all over the ground. Each fortune stick was blank, with no words on it.

"Old Li! Oh no! Old Li's heart condition has flared up again!" The stall owners who knew him exclaimed in alarm, and they jostled over to push Zhou Nan aside.

Some people were busy searching through Old Man Li's stall in a hurry to find medicine, while others quickly unbuttoned his collar, helped him lie down, pinched his philtrum and asked him questions. But Old Man Li remained motionless, as if suddenly, his body had lost its soul.

Amidst the cacophony of voices, no one noticed that in the continuous shadows beneath their feet, the unfathomable darkness was writhing, like an invisible mouth licking its tongue contentedly before quietly retreating.

Zhou Nan turned around and saw Jian Xi standing in a corner away from the crowd. The girl seemed to have been frightened by the old man who had suddenly collapsed. Her already porcelain-white cheeks were now even paler. She noticed Zhou Nan's gaze, smiled at him, and smiled like a cunning cat, her eyebrows and eyes full of disdain for foolish humans.

His heart skipped a beat. The old man wasn't having a heart attack at all; in front of so many people, Jian Xi still dared to eat people without anyone knowing!

(End of this chapter)