Yellow Springs Inn (Zhang Xiao Qi) Chapter 17

T/N: Yay, a fun new chapter after two whole months! Time for a warning!

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER GETS DARK(er) REAL FAST, SO BRING A FLASHLIGHT, AND A FRIEND (optional for those that don't have any), OR HEAD BACK. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

jk it's not that bad, just a little unnerving

Chapter 17: 诡梦 A Strange Dream

"Ding dong ding dong…"

"Luo Qian Qi, your phone is ringing!" I drawled as I lay on the bed.

Luo Qian Qi sounded his acknowledgement and picked up the phone. After he picked it up, I only heard him say two words, "h.e.l.lo!" and "Good!" before he hung up.

I looked at Luo Qian Qi and said, "Who was it?"

Luo Qian Qi looked at me and smiled, "The delivery man!"

In a flash, I was off the bed and standing, smiling, "Has my delivery arrived?"

Luo Qian Qi laughed and nodded, "It's already at the door!"

I laughed mischievously, then rushed out of the room running.

By the time I got to the door, I realized there was a little truck1 parked outside the door. On the truck there was a sign that said Zhong Tong Express delivery.

Standing by the truck was a young man in orange clothing, probably twenty-something years old.

I walked to the truck and smiled at the man, "You have my delivery?"

The man looked at me, smiling, "Your name?"

"Luo Qian Qi!" I laughed.

The reason I reported Luo Qian Qi's name was because when I was shopping, I put it under Luo Qian Qi's name.

The man chuckled a little, then handed me three packages.

I took the packages and smiled, then as swiftly as the wind ran back into Thousand Jade Hall.

I walked into Luo Qian Qi's room and impatiently sat down on the bed to open the packages.

A casual, knee-length-short white dress, a pair of ten-centimeter white heels, as well as a pair of ripped overalls.

Luo Qian Qi walked up to the side of the bed, looking at the clothes and shoes, "When did you buy all this?"

I laughed mischievously, "Guess!"

Luo Qian Qi picked up my white dress and laughed, "Go try it on!"

I laughed and nodded, then took the dress in Luo Qian Qi's hands and went to change.

"Luo Qian Qi, what do you think?" After changing I smiled at Luo Qian Qi and asked.

Luo Qian Qi had me spin in circles twice, stroking his chin smiling, "Dark black locks really do go pretty well with the short white dress, but the sandals on your feet are too unsightly."

I slapped Luo Qian Qi's shoulder unhappily, then walked back to the bed again and lay down.

The day gradually darkened, and that delivery guy still had not left the woods.

This was because his truck had broken down, and even now it still wasn't fixed.

The delivery guy kicked the delivery truck, looking at the near black sky, yelling angrily, "How could I have such bad luck today; not to mention to getting lost, even the truck is broken!"

With that, the delivery guy took out his phone and dialed the company's number. At this time, he found that there was no signal.

"What the h.e.l.l!" the delivery guy put away his phone and said moodily.2

"Hee hee!"

The delivery guy heard this laugh, and looked in all four directions but was unable to spot anyone near him.

"Hee hee!"

There was another sound. The delivery guy could feel his scalp almost going numb.

The delivery guy was prepared to turn around and look, when suddenly, he thought of a story his grandmother told him when he was little.

The human body has three lamps: the left and right shoulders each have one, and on the head there is one. When walking around at night, no matter what sound you hear, you cannot turn your head and look back.

Every time you suddenly turned your head, a lamp on your body will go out. When all three lamps on your body go out, the ghosts eyeing you would have their opportunity.

Thinking of this, the delivery guy did not dare turn his head, in fear that his rash decision to look around just before had already put out one of his lamps.

"Caw caw caw!"

The sky became darker and darker, moonlight filtering through the trees and spilling onto the dense woodland ground, a few crows crooning contentedly.

But for the delivery guy, the crows' caws were the soul-extracting melody straight from h.e.l.l.

The delivery guy hid inside the delivery truck, playing on his phone to distract himself, and thinking, just endure it until morning and it will be over.

But how could he have known, he got lost because he fell into a ghost illusion3; how could that ghost let him off so easily?

"Thud thud thud! Thud thud thud!"

Just when the delivery guy was getting into his phone game, he suddenly heard knocking on the truck door.

Very quickly the delivery guy's back was covered in sweat; how could this desolate wilderness have people?

The delivery guy didn't dare turn around and look outside, because he was afraid that the moment he looked out the window, he would see a mangled face.

"Thud thud thud!"

The person outside knocking on the truck door started using more and more force, like he wanted to smash open the truck door.

The truck door wasn't very st.u.r.dy from the start; with just a few smashes from the person outside, dents began to appear.

The delivery guy was so scared he dropped his phone.

The delivery guy hurriedly felt for his phone, but instead felt something cold yet soft.

He then felt it more attentively, finding that the surface also had a some kind of slimy liquid.

"What is this thing?" the delivery guy mumbled to himself.

It was a little strange; when the delivery guy touched that something, the person pounding on the door suddenly left.

The delivery guy, filled with curiosity, picked up that thing and glanced at it.

Ignorance is bliss; this glance almost scared the delivery guy to death. It turned out that the thing he felt was actually a b.l.o.o.d.y, mangled hand.

"Ah!"

The delivery guy screamed and threw the hand away, immediately opening the truck door and running out.

"Hee hee!"

Upon running out, the delivery guy realized that a person not far away was staring at him.

That person's hair was very long, and because it was very dark out, he couldn't see the person's face clearly, only hearing her incessant, mischievous laughter.

"Ah!"

The delivery guy screamed and ran back. While running, he didn't forget to look back for a moment to see whether that person had caught up to him.

"Ow!"

Because the delivery guy had been running too fast, not looking ahead in that moment, he crashed into something very hard. He held his head and cried out in pain.

The delivery guy initially thought he had crashed into a tree. As he prepared to raise his head for a look, he realized that a meter away from him was a pair of dark feet.

"Ah!"

The delivery guy didn't even raise his head, screaming as he backed away and ran in the other direction.

"Hee hee hee, you can't escape, hee hee hee!"

The delivery guy ran very quickly, but he felt like that voice was right by his ear.

Suddenly, the delivery guy stopped running, and instead slowly moved backwards, his expression full of terror.

Because he saw a pair of feet in front of him, blocking his path.

That's right, a pair of feet.

Immediately after, he felt like he had crashed into something. He looked at his shadow, and realized that it was probably a human head.

The delivery guy turned around little by little to look at what was behind him, but when his two eyes and the two eyes of the human head met, her eyes were completely white.

"Ah!"

The delivery guy screamed, his balance thrown off, and fell on his bottom.

"Hee hee hee!"

The head hovering in midair let out unending mischievous laughter, continuing to approach the delivery guy.

As the head continued to approach the delivery guy, the feet and the body and others also continually approached as well.

"Ah!"

The delivery guy continually backed up, but he already had no where else to back up into, because the head, body, and feet had already surrounded him on all sides.

Suddenly the delivery guy felt something latch onto his feet. He looked down and saw a hand.

"Ah!"

The delivery guy screamed and kicked off the hand clamped around his ankle.

With a "whoosh," he crawled up from the ground, his fist slamming into the female's head and sending it flying, before he ran away like the wind.

"Hee hee hee you can't escape, hee hee hee, you can't escape, give up, give up, hee hee hee!"

The delivery guy ran like the wind, but that voice was still by his ear, not fading away in the slightest.

The sky brightened up, the delivery guy suddenly had another glimpse of hope, and left the woods.

The delivery guy might have left the woods, but his delivery truck was still in the woods.

The truck didn't have merchandise anymore, but if his truck was lost, Boss would deduct the truck's cost from his pay. His monthly pay would quickly be reduced to nothing.

The delivery guy wanted to go back and get his truck, but once he thought of the events from last night, he immediately dashed that thought.

The delivery guy walked in the car lane. He was going to call his coworker to pick him up, but then remembered that he also dropped his phone in the truck.

There was no other option; the delivery guy could only walk.

The delivery guy had been on this road a couple of times, so it was not unfamiliar to him.

Just when the delivery guy followed the road to walk to the city, he saw that the intersection in front of him had parked a delivery truck.

The delivery guy felt like this truck was very familiar. When he walked closer for a look, he realized it was actually his own truck, and even his phone was still in there.

"You are the most beautiful cloud on my horizon, let me diligently keep you with me…"4

The sound of the song scared the delivery guy out of his pants. When he came back to his senses he realized it was the ringtone of his own phone.

The delivery guy opened the truck door and picked up his phone. The moment he accepted the call he heard the voice of his coworker, Xiao Li.

Xiao Li said, "Xiao Peng, how have you still not returned; when I was calling you yesterday your phone was always out of service!”

The delivery guy let out a sigh, "Wait for me to get back and I'll tell you, I'm going to hang up!"

Once a sound of agreement came from the other side, the delivery guy hung up the phone.

Seeing that he had not lost his truck, the delivery guy was happy beyond words, and joyfully drove the little truck back to the delivery company.

The delivery guy did not have work today; once he returned to the company he chatted a bit with his friend Xiao Li. Xiao Li was only older than the delivery guy by one or two years, so they got along very well.

The delivery guy and Xiao Li talked about yesterday evening's experience, but coworker Xiao Li clearly did not believe it.

Xiao Li laughed, "I say, Xiao Peng, last night you must have fallen asleep in your truck, it's a dream, right?"

The delivery guy retorted, "If I had woken up today in the truck I would also believe it was a dream, but I walked out of the woods, and it was by the intersection that I found my truck!"

Hearing the word "intersection," Xiao Li whispered to the delivery guy, "Xiao Peng, do you know? Stuff placed at intersections usually belong to dead people, hehe!"

The delivery guy froze, "Brother Xiao Li, stop scaring me!"

Xiao Li looked at the delivery guy and on his face formed a strange smile. The delivery guy was scared out of his pants.

Xiao Li smiled and said to the delivery guy, "Where was your truck parked, how about we go for a look!"

The delivery guy nodded, "I parked the truck in the garage, are we going now?"

Xiao Li nodded, then started to walk to the garage, while the delivery guy followed behind Xiao Li.

But the delivery guy felt like Xiao Li was acting a bit weird, though he couldn't figure out what it was.

The delivery guy thought inwardly, maybe he was just thinking too much!

When the delivery guy got to the garage, he saw Xiao Li standing in front of his truck, unmoving.

The delivery guy was a little confused; he walked over to Xiao Li and slapped his shoulder, "Brother Xiao Li, what's wrong?"

Xiao Li turned his head around and smiled slyly as he looked at the delivery guy. That's right; he turned his head around, but the rest of his body did not turn.

So Xiao Li's back was facing the delivery guy, but his head was also facing the delivery guy.

Xiao Li looked at the delivery guy and giggled. The delivery guy was so scared he fell and landed on his bottom.

On top of that, Xiao Li's face was beginning to rot little by little, and with every tremble of his face, bits of his rotten flesh fell onto the delivery guy's face.

The delivery guy called out in fright, "Don't come near me, don't come near me!"

"Xiao Peng, Xiao Peng, wake up Xiao Peng, Xiao Peng!" Xiao Li shook the delivery guy sprawled on the desk and called out.

The delivery guy opened his eyes, realizing that at the moment he was only seated in his office by the table.

The delivery guy glanced at Xiao Li, then reached out a hand and wiped his own sweat, thinking, could it all have been a dream? But why would I have such a strange dream?

Footnotes

1. Really random note: so I'm not exactly sure if the delivery vehicle is actually a truck or a car, or a mini-truck like the ones UPS have started using, but while Google Images is giving me a lot of the last one, that would mean that the strange body would not have to pound the door to get to the delivery guy, so I'm a bit confused. On the side is an example of what it might be. ↩

2. There was a nice pun (might have been an accident) right there: 真是见鬼 basically translates to “really, I've seen a ghost!” which is basically the equivalent of “d.a.m.n!” or other expletives. But with what follows, there's another meaning to it, so I translated it as “what the h.e.l.l” so that h.e.l.l could replace ghost, though it doesn't work as well as the original QAQ.↩

3. [ghost] illusion: I translated this from gui zhe yan (鬼遮眼) which directly translates to "ghost covering the eyes," meaning that the ghost is controlling their vision. There was an incidence of this in , where Zhang Xiao Qi had some ghosts manipulate Luo Cheng Guang's vision.↩

4. lyrics from a quirky mandopop song by Phoenix Legend called "最炫民族风" (Translated as "The Most Dazzling Folk Style" or "The Hottest Ethnic Trend" or "Coolest Ethnic" and other variations of that) that was very popular in China, probably because of its strange lyrics and upbeat music and popularity with aunties in public squares. You can listen to the song on YouTube below or just search for the song yourself; it's pretty catchy (in my opinion). Also, if you're wondering what part of the song it is, it's the chorus at 0:57 in the video below.  You can imagine how weird it is to hear this song after going through Xiao Peng's experience.↩

T/N: Okay, I'll try keep this short, but please leave feedback! Anonymous comments are fine! On NovelUpdates is fine! Flames and roasts are fine! I want to know: how bad am I doing at translating this? I really don't think I conveyed the creepy aspect quite right, so if you have any suggestions, I would really appreciate it! Even minor edits, like grammar or combining sentences is fine!

Also, the strange body in the woods is someone we've met before. Can you guess who it is?