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Zhong Kui's Diary
After confirming the location, the driver laughed and said, "Just like last time, as long as you get there early, this stack of cash in your hand is mine, right?"
I quickly put away the stack of bills. "You wish! This time it's a fixed amount, and the change has to be exact down to the cent!"
The driver laughed heartily, shifted gears, and stepped on the gas while chatting non-stop, mainly about the recent incident involving Chukai jumping off a building. "By the way, you probably didn't see the scene last time, did you?"
"Yeah! I was a bit late," I nodded.
"Then add me on WeChat. I have photos from the scene in my WeChat. Also, help me reach a round number; I already have 199 friends on WeChat, so adding you will make it an even 200," the driver said with a grin.
I initially thought I had already seen the photos from the scene, but since he asked so nicely, I didn't want to refuse. I asked for his WeChat ID and sent a friend request. After two beeps, he picked up his phone and accepted my request.
Entering his WeChat interface, the first message read, "Went out without taking my meds today; feeling like Mengmeng." The second message said, "Looking up at Jigong Mountain at a 45-degree angle, suddenly inspired to write poetry: Ah, Chicken! Chicken! Oh chicken, oh rooster." The third message recounted an encounter: "Yesterday a girl took my taxi; the meter was 63 yuan plus 2 yuan for fuel surcharge, totaling 65. When I asked her for money, she leaned back and spread her legs, saying she didn’t bring any cash. How about we have some fun instead and then you give me 35 back..."
After scrolling through dozens of messages, I finally found information about Chukai. It seemed this guy was a WeChat addict. I casually opened some photos and was about to close them when suddenly an idea struck me. I quickly flipped to one photo and zoomed in on Chukai's right arm—what the hell? There was no wound on his right arm.
I hurriedly called Fatty over to take a look. Fatty also exclaimed in surprise and pulled out his phone to compare with the photo where Chukai's arm was visible. After comparing both photos, we found that they were largely similar, but in Fatty's photo, there was indeed a wound on the arm.
"What the hell is going on?" I cursed out loud.
Fatty scratched his head and took a while before saying, "That's strange."
The taxi driver thought I was reacting to something in his WeChat and kept asking if something was wrong. I casually brushed him off with a few words and saved the photos from WeChat to my phone. Then I called Lingfeng, asking where Chukai's body was.
Lingfeng paused for a moment before replying, "His body is naturally in the coffin; are you suggesting it was cremated at the funeral home? He comes from a wealthy family; they have enough resources for this sort of thing. Yeah, they should be performing rituals right now."
I thought for a moment and asked the driver if he knew where the Chu Cang Hai family lived. The driver nodded, saying it was in Yuhua District. I quickly asked him to turn around, but he smiled and said, "If you want to see Chukai's body, you won't find it in Yuhua District."
"How do you know I want to see Chukai's body?" I frowned and asked, feeling suspicious.
"Come on, I'm not deaf. You were talking on the phone so loudly just now; how could I not hear?" The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror with a look of concern for my intelligence.
I chuckled lightly, "Then where should I go to see it?"
"Lingxu Temple."
...
The taxi dropped us off at the entrance of Lingxu Temple. The Lingxu Daoist Temple had been transformed into a white world by the Chu Family. On both sides of the main gate stood white flower columns, white veils hung from the surrounding walls, and even white cloth strips were draped over the trees. Not far away, there were strings of white lanterns hanging, each inscribed with the black character 'Dian'.
The driver clicked his tongue a few times, got out to take a couple of photos with his phone, and then drove away.
Fatty pointed at the entrance and said, "Ghost Brother, does the Chu Family have that many relatives? The people welcoming guests at the door are all wearing mourning attire."
Looking closely, I saw about ten welcoming guests at the entrance of the temple, all wearing black cloth on their left sleeves. I couldn't help but feel surprised.
The term "wearing mourning" refers to close relatives who wear white hemp cloth as a sign of grief. The closer the blood relationship, the more hemp they wear. For example, direct descendants like sons or daughters-in-law must wear white hemp clothing and pants and also have a white hemp cloth styled as a cape draped from their heads down to their waists. As for wearing mourning on sleeves, if the deceased is male, the mourning cloth is worn on the left sleeve; if female, it is worn on the right sleeve.
However, one thing is certain: only close relatives of the deceased should wear mourning attire. Yet now, those standing at the entrance welcoming guests were dressed in uniforms from Cang Hai Group with only a piece of black cloth pinned on their sleeves. What did that mean? There were even several middle-aged men in their forties or fifties—did they not know that elders should not wear mourning for juniors?
Thinking about it, perhaps this was just the allure of money. Not wanting to dwell on it further, I took out my phone and called Qingfeng Daozhang to ask him to come out and let us in.
Originally, Qingfeng Daozhang was just a Mahjong friend of mine. Later, we had further contact during the incident at Jin Manyuan where he pretended to be dead, and I even helped him out during the Ma Family incident in Moon City. By now, we could be considered old friends.
When I called him, Qingfeng Daozhang quickly came out and led us through the back door into the temple. He found a private room for us to sit down and asked with a smile, "So, are you here to play Mahjong Three Missing One?"
I took out a cigarette and handed one to Qingfeng Daozhang, lit it with my lighter, and said with a smile, "I see your temple business is doing well; I thought I'd come by for a temporary job."
Qingfeng Daozhang raised an eyebrow at me, leaned in to light his cigarette from mine, took a deep puff, and chuckled, "Are you guys going to pretend to be Taoists again?"
"Yes!"
"Since it involves business, let's get straight to the point: four hundred each, no negotiation." Qingfeng Daozhang squinted his eyes.
Wow, this guy is surprisingly generous, willing to give us four hundred each? Last time in Moon City, he only gave Fatty and me four hundred total. I couldn't help but laugh and say, "Isn't that a bit too much?"
"If you think that's too much, then just give me five hundred each," Qingfeng Daozhang replied after taking another puff of his cigarette.
"What? You're charging us four hundred each and still want me to pay you?" I exclaimed.
"Of course! What did you think?" Qingfeng Daozhang blew a smoke ring that surprisingly transformed into the shape of a coin in mid-air.
"Damn! Is this even reasonable?" Fatty immediately got angry.
"Business is business; one thing at a time. I can treat you both to a meal worth four thousand, but if you want to work as Taoists here, you have to pay me four hundred each. I can't break the rules," Qingfeng Daozhang said with an air of righteousness.
"Since you're so adamant about it, how about treating me to that four-thousand-dollar meal first?" I quickly took over the conversation.
"Come on, it was just an example. How could you take it seriously?" Qingfeng Daozhang denied on the spot.
"A gentleman's word is as good as a horse's gallop."
"I'm not a gentleman!"
...
In the end, we reached an agreement. I gave Qingfeng Daozhang a pack of snacks and two packs of Spicy Strips in exchange for the right to use a robe. After taking us to the Spirit Tent, Qingfeng Daozhang no longer paid us any attention and left without looking back.
Sitting cross-legged behind a few Taoists who were chanting scriptures, the two of us were babbling away, but secretly pulled out snacks and hid them in our robes to eat stealthily. Just as we were enjoying our food, Fatty leaned over to my ear and said mysteriously, "Ghost Brother, I need to talk to you about something."
"What is it?" I replied in a low voice.
"Don't you think there's something off about Qingfeng Daozhang?"
"What do you mean?"
"I feel like he's acting too much. How could someone be so greedy for money?" Fatty lowered his head and stuffed a piece of biscuit into his mouth, crunching loudly.
"Stop beating around the bush and just share your guess," I said as I took a sip through a straw inserted into a can of Red Bull energy drink hidden in my robe.
"I suspect he is the Judgment of Life and Death."
"Damn, Judgment of Life and Death with his character? To put it bluntly, any strong student could easily take him down!" I scoffed.
"Come on, you lost all your power after the Judgment of Life and Death fought against Yang Ding and Yin Jiu You. How strong can someone who has lost all their power be?" Fatty scoffed.
"That's true." I thought for a moment and realized that Fatty's doubts were not unfounded. I pretended to go to the restroom, found a secluded corner, and took out my phone to call Song Yuqing, asking him when the battle between Judgment of Life and Death and Yang Ding and Yin Jiu You took place.
Song Yuqing told me it was five years ago. I recalled carefully and confirmed that I didn't know Qingfeng Daozhang at that time, so I called Lingfeng to ask him to look into Qingfeng Daozhang's background, especially any unusual occurrences during that five-year period.
Lingfeng was also somewhat surprised. I shared Fatty's suspicions with him, and he gasped in shock before hanging up the phone without saying another word.
Just as I was about to head back, I suddenly felt the urge to urinate. Yo Xue, Red Bull is not bad; it's not just an aphrodisiac but also a diuretic. I vaguely remembered that the restroom at Lingxu Temple was quite far away. Looking around and seeing no one, I slipped behind a small green area to relieve myself.
After finishing up, just as I was about to come out, I heard footsteps approaching the green area. The footsteps stopped, and I couldn't help but chuckle. Surely this person outside isn't looking for a place to relieve themselves too. Although Lingxu Temple is large, there are only four or five squat toilets. With so many people from Cang Hai Group here, it's not surprising that the restrooms are congested.
The person outside rustled around for a while before speaking in a very low voice: "What's going on?"
I thought he had discovered me and was about to step out when it suddenly dawned on me—damn, this guy is just here to make a phone call.
The person outside lowered his voice for a few sentences, expressing how he missed your smile, your coat, your black stockings, and the scent after some intimate moments. After that, he exchanged several affectionate sounds with the other person. I couldn't help but speculate that this guy was definitely on the phone with his lover.
After a few more "ohs" and "ahs," he finally said, "I'll call you back," before hanging up. However, when he said that, he didn't lower his voice intentionally. It sounded very familiar to me; it seemed like I had heard this person's voice recently.
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