Chapter 120: Night
“So far, there are two victims.”
“Li Mu, female, was harassed by the ghost and refused it. After that, she started seeing things and hurt her own eyes.”
“Zhang Yan, female, is dead. Cause of death: eyes destroyed, throat cut…”
“We’ll temporarily call this ghost the ‘self-harm ghost.’ The deaths might be related to self-harming, or maybe the victims were killed cruelly after refusing the ghost. Check case files for anyone who had their eyes gouged and throat cut in the past month.”
“Before killing, the ghost will try to bother the victim. If rejected, the victim will fall into a hallucination and start to hurt themselves. This can be stopped by someone else. It’s recommended to move in a group of two.”
…………………………………………………
When they got back to the hotel, it was already 5 a.m.
Li Mu lay on the hotel bed, completely exhausted. The image of the horrible dead body kept flashing in his mind.
If Yu Fan hadn’t noticed in time, maybe he would’ve ended up like that too.
“Don’t think about it. Get some sleep,” Yu Fan yawned as he lay on the bed. “Once we find out who the ghost is, things will get easier. There probably aren't many murders around Yingfeng Town in the last month, so it shouldn't take more than a few hours to find out."
“Aren’t you scared?”
“Scared of what? I actually think it’s kind of exciting.”
But after saying that, Yu Fan paused, and his voice got heavier. “Well… I am scared. What if you died right in front of me...”
He turned over and looked at Li Mu, who was lying on the other bed. “Once you sleep and get some rest, you should go back. I was born liking dangerous stuff, and my grandpa wanted me to do this kind of work too. But you’re different.”
“I’m just dragging you all down.”
“No, you're not. I'm also new at this. The ghost just happened to pick you. By the way, why didn’t Lin Xi take control of your body this time? Last time you were in danger, she helped you dodge it. Is she gone already?”
Li Mu shook his head. He had no idea either.
His body felt unbelievably tired. Even though he had slept a few hours earlier, he hadn’t stayed up this late in a long time.
He stretched on the bed, took off his jacket, and pulled the blanket over himself.
Suddenly, he thought of that gentle smile Yu Fan gave him earlier.
He shivered and pulled the blanket tighter around himself. That smile... felt kind of too gentle. There was something a little gay about Yu Fan's smile.
A moment later, he couldn’t help himself and turned to Yu Fan. “Hey, you…”
At the same time, Yu Fan also said, “Hey, you…”
Both of them were surprised. Then Yu Fan reacted first, “You go first.”
“......” Li Mu curled up in the blanket, thought for a second, and asked carefully, “You’re not… gay, right?”
“Nope!” Yu Fan replied without hesitation.
Li Mu let out a big sigh of relief.
Even though he still doubted whether Yu Fan was lying just to make him feel better, at least it gave him some peace of mind.
After all, he hadn’t been affected by the estrogen for that long, and he still hadn’t accepted being seen as a girl. The thought of being liked by another man still made his skin crawl a bit.
“What did you want to ask me?” Li Mu said, turning over and lying on his back.
He was super tired now. His eyelids felt heavy and were starting to close, but he still tried to stay awake and chat with Yu Fan.
He was worried that if he fell asleep too fast, all the scary things from tonight would show up in his dreams, like when you watch a horror movie and worry about having nightmares.
“Well…” Yu Fan gave an awkward smile. “Forget it. It’s nothing.”
“Weirdo.”
Yu Fan turned and pressed the button on the nightstand. “Let’s sleep with the lights off.”
The room went completely dark as the curtains blocked out the morning light. It was so dark you couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face.
Li Mu stayed quiet for a moment, then turned the light back on.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m going to sleep with the light on,” he said calmly, burying most of his face under the blanket, afraid Yu Fan would see the fear in his expression.
They were both guys, and he didn’t want to look weak in front of another man.
What happened tonight was too much. Last time, when they faced the "dismemberment ghost," it was just a quick encounter, and that ghost felt more like a crazy person with a knife. It was scary, but he got over it quickly.
But this time, they were up against a ghost with unknown powers that moved in secret. It really felt like being stuck in a horror movie.
He didn’t even dare to close his eyes. Every time he did, he would see everything happen all over again.
With the light on, Yu Fan was lying on his side, resting his head on his arm, watching Li Mu on the other bed.
Even though he couldn’t see clearly because of the angle and how Li Mu was hiding his face, he could still tell that there was fear in Li Mu’s eyes.
After thinking for a moment, Yu Fan spoke. “Want to stay up all night? Go to the internet café?”
“No.” Li Mu turned his head to look at him. “Why are you staring at me?”
Yu Fan quickly looked away. “Then let’s turn on the TV. A little noise might make it less scary.”
“Who said I was scared?”
“I am! I’m so scared after what happened tonight, I almost peed my pants,” Yu Fan said seriously, using the remote to turn on the TV and switch to a late-night movie channel.
Just then, a lighthearted and funny movie was playing.
Li Mu, still with a blank expression, muttered, “The ghost didn’t come after you. What are you scared of?”
“What if I hadn’t turned around in time…”
Both of them went quiet. Only the sound of laughter from the TV filled the room.
Yu Fan sat up and leaned against the headboard. “From now on, don’t leave my sight.”
“And you still say you’re not gay?”
“I meant, don’t follow me and Chen Yi anymore. And if you do come along, don’t leave our sight! Who wants someone to get hurt or die?” Yu Fan gave him a look. “Why do you always twist my words into something weird?”
Then he teased, “You’re not secretly into me, are you? Is that why you think I’m hinting at something?”
Li Mu snorted and turned his back to him. “I’d rather fall in love with a ghost than like you.”
“Xiao Jing would cry if she heard that.”
When Yu Fan mentioned Xiao Jing, Li Mu turned back around, a bit worried.
“Lately, Xiao Jing hasn't been willing to come out for anything other than singing lately. Maybe her time is up?”
“She’s already dead. What ‘time’ is there?” Yu Fan rolled his eyes. Then he mumbled, “Don’t tell me we have to feed her a ghost…”
Li Mu shook his head, clearly confused.
So many troubling things were happening one after another, but he was slowly getting used to it.
“Don’t overthink it. Just go to sleep,” Yu Fan said, stretching. “If you really can’t sleep, I don’t mind sleeping next to you. What do you say?”
“Get lost.”
Yu Fan laughed playfully. “Don’t be like that. You’ve already seen my body, you have to take responsibility.”
“You’ve seen mine too, but I’m not asking you to take responsibility.”
“Well, I want to take responsibility~”
As he spoke, he climbed onto the bed, and Li Mu kicked him off right away.
After joking around for a while, Li Mu felt even sleepier. The fear that had been lingering finally faded away.
With the room light on, the sound from the TV, and the clear presence of Yu Fan nearby, he closed his eyes and felt completely at peace.