Vengeful spirits? Let's get out of the dungeon first!

Chapter 1 Groundhog Day

Qingmu Hall is just an ordinary feng shui hall.

The incense sticks in the incense burner had just burned a little, and the white smoke slowly drifted away, swirling around the recliner.

Ma Ye sat down in the recliner, clutching a locust wood plaque, and then pulled out a dream-entering talisman from his pocket.

The talisman felt slightly cool to the touch when it was placed between Ma Ye's eyebrows. Before Ma Ye could even count to three, his body sank down.

It's like sitting on an old-fashioned green train, watching the roof beams above slowly disappear into the distance, and in the blink of an eye, he's already inside.

A gray Hyundai was parked on the side of the road, and Qin Qingyou saw the familiar young man through the car window.

With her hair in a bun and wearing a white shirt typical of chauffeured drivers, she stared blankly across the street.

It wasn't until Qin Qingyou gave the last few digits of his phone number that they remembered they needed to leave.

The driver's name is written on the operating license on the armrest box.

Ma Ye.

He has complained about this name more than once.

"Young man, have you seen Groundhog Day?"

"What, you've entered the loop too?"

cycle?

Qin Qing looked at the driver's seat with a puzzled expression.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm guessing. I watched some movie clips on my phone last night."

Sitting in the passenger seat, Qin Qing habitually pulled out a tissue from in front of the gear shift to wipe his eyes, but this time they were dry.

"That's true, who would believe something so outrageous?"

Would you like to hear my story?

In the rearview mirror, the young driver had a red string tied to the end of his hair, his eyes relaxed as he looked at the road, seemingly unwilling to pay attention to this strange passenger.

Qin Qingyou turned down the car radio volume, not caring whether the young man wanted to listen or not, and turned on the water bottle next to the passenger seat to moisten his throat.

"Brother, I was saving that for this afternoon!"

"It's okay, I'll give you the money back later. Let me finish my story first."

In my story, there is a pitiful middle-aged man whose daily life consists of going to work and coming home, a routine of going back and forth between two points.

I can still manage to spend a day each weekend with my wife and kids, so life is alright.

He slammed on the brakes, and the red light stopped the vehicle.

"Brother, hurry up and tell us, we'll be there soon."

"Okay, okay, you're still so impatient."

One weekend, the poor guy had some work to do at his company, so he had to rush there early in the morning to finish up a project.

It was just a small thing; it just so happened that those young people went out for dinner on Friday night and drank too much to get up.

The green light came on, and the vehicles continued driving towards the sun. There were already vendors selling balloons at the back gate of Labor Park.

Qin Qing could already smell the fragrance in the garden, but it didn't smell like flowers; it was more like the lingering scent of incense and candles.

"The poor man in this story could only have his wife and children wait for him at the park entrance."

Perhaps because of some trivial matter, a car accident occurred on the road.

A gray Hyundai swerved onto the sidewalk to avoid a large truck.

Three were dead and seven were injured; among the three dead was his wife and daughter.

The road gradually became congested with cars, and the young man in the driver's seat glanced at the slanted H logo on the steering wheel.

"Brother, don't curse me! If you say that, I'll let you get off here!"

"No, no, no, I'll tell you quickly."

After that day, this poor man lived in a world of sorrow.

Smoking, drinking, and even gambling are ways to forget the experience.

Before he died, he even threw his savings for his coffin into the gambling table.

Perhaps it was divine mercy that allowed this poor fellow to return to that day again, reliving everything from that day over and over again.

A total of 71 times, he saw his wife fall in front of him, his daughter lying under the car, and even his wife, daughter, and other people tangled together.

Qin Qing slowly pulled his fingernails out of his palm, leaving four bluish-white marks without any blood.

He placed his hands on his knees, paused for a few seconds, and then slowly clenched them.

"He didn't find a solution until the 72nd time."

"And then what? What's the solution?"

Your story is disjointed and poorly told!

The vehicle slowly came to a stop in the parking space on the east side of the park, which was a pre-arranged parking spot.

Qin Qing didn't continue telling the story; he casually tossed a hundred-yuan bill onto his seat.

The sun was shining brightly, but he didn't feel any warmth.

"The rest of the story hasn't happened yet; let me think about it some more."

"By the way, young man, just turn right here. There's a wedding banquet that just ended over there; you might be able to get some business there."

The car door closed, and the young man couldn't help but complain.

"I hate stories that leave people hanging."

Thanks anyway, I'll go check it out over there.

After driving out of the parking space, Qin Qingyou breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the vehicle turn into the right-turn lane.

The story isn't over yet; he has to keep going.

"Brother, watch where you're going!"

He ran at full speed, bumping into many people, but Qin Qing dared not stop for a moment.

He could already see the large truck he remembered driving to the park entrance.

"Comrade, there are too many cars stuck behind us. You need to keep an eye on them and make sure they don't try to overtake us."

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on it."

That gray pickup truck was following too closely!

And you, the front of your car is scraping the double solid lines! Stop right there! Don't you know you have to yield to pedestrians?

At the zebra crossing, traffic police directed pedestrians to cross in an orderly manner, and Qin Qingyou was relieved and walked to the other side of the road.

"How much did you buy these balloons?"

"Five yuan each, ten yuan for three."

"Buying it for my daughter or my son? My Monkey King and Snow Queen figurines are selling well."

"Here are over eight hundred, all of them are yours. That's enough to buy all your balloons."

After receiving a wad of banknotes, the vendor excitedly handed over a large bundle of balloons.

With his hair swaying, he stuffed the money into his pocket and excitedly went to a roadside stall to buy an ice cream.

Completely unaware, all the balloons behind them had already been released into the air.

Seventy-one balloons floated in the air, casting colorful patterns on the ground through the sunlight.

"Brother, why did you let them all go? My child still wants one!"

"Little friend, balloons aren't fun. There are monkey shows in the park."

The child who was just clinging to his parents' trouser legs stopped crying and didn't want to go across the street to buy sausages anymore.

"Daddy, I want to see the little monkeys!"

"Okay, okay, let's go in now."

The little boy, with snot running down his nose and supported by his armpits, was carried on his father's shoulder, while his mother wiped the snot off his clothes with a tissue.

"Mom, look, Dad's here!"

Qin Qin, who was eating grilled sausage by the roadside, waved happily, and the bamboo skewers were thrown aside.

The sun shining through the balloons overhead added a new color to the little girl's white dress.

"Xiaoqin, be good, you can't litter."

Qin Qingyou picked up the bamboo skewer and threw it into the trash can, squatting on the ground with a smile on his face.

"Look what this is!"

The hand behind her came out and revealed a sunflower balloon.

"It's a balloon! Daddy's the best!"

Qin Qin gave her father a big kiss on the cheek, and her mother, who was standing behind her, could hear the sound.

"Dad, why are your eyes watering? Did you get sand in your eyes?"

Large tears streamed down my face, trickling down my upturned lips and into my mouth; they tasted salty and bitter.

"No, Daddy, this is called 'tears of joy'!"

Tie the balloon to Qin Qin's wrist, and Qin Qingyou, like other parents, carried his daughter on his shoulders.

He took his wife's hand and they walked towards the park.

This time, there were no more sounds of car collisions behind me, no more chaotic commotion of people running away, and all I could see was my wife carefully wiping me clean.

Everything is wonderful; I wish it could stay this wonderful forever.

The surrounding breeze gradually disappeared, and the balloon on Qin Qin's wrist remained suspended in mid-air, motionless.

The daughter, who had just been giggling, put her hand on Qin Qingyou's hair and stopped talking.

"Xiaoqin, talk to Daddy! Don't stay still!"

Qin Qing wanted to continue pulling his wife forward, but found that his shoulders were hurting from the weight of his daughter's legs.

"Shiyu, let's go together! Don't leave me alone!"

His wife, standing to the side, froze, her smile frozen from a moment ago.

Knowing that nothing would change, the poor man in the story squatted down on the ground again.

Tears streamed down the corners of his mouth, dripping onto the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Can't you...can't you just give me one more day...I could at least put Xiaoqin to sleep!"

Painful screams echoed through the crowd.

A man with his hair tied in a bun and wearing a cartoon short-sleeved shirt walked out from the corner. He was the balloon vendor from before, and also the ride-hailing driver.

"If you can find a solution before the tenth cycle of reincarnation, I might give you another day."

But if you insist on venting your anger on the driver, your boss, or the street vendor, I don't have that much good karma for you to waste."

After finishing the last bite of ice cream, the wooden stick transformed into a willow hairpin, which he inserted into his hair bun with one hand.

I moved my shoulders, and there was still a fist mark on my shoulder line.

Hearing the voice behind him, Qin Qing wiped away his tears and knelt down to rush towards the young man.

"You must be the Lord of the Underworld! Please have pity on me!"

Let me spend just one more day with them, mother and daughter! Just one more day!

Tears mixed with snot, all smearing onto the young man's floral shorts in front of him.

He didn't seem to mind, and simply helped Qin Qingyou up with both hands.

"Brother, human desires are endless. You'll want tomorrow after today."

Tears continued to flow, Qin Qingyou's face was covered in ash, and two white streaks hung under his eyes.

"My name is Ma Ye, and I'm just an ordinary feng shui master."

As the radiance faded, the figures who had stood motionless were blown away by the wind and turned into a pile of white ash.

Qin Qingyou, lying on the ground, stopped crying; his obsession had long since vanished in his wife's hands.

He wanted to gain one more day, just to see the two of them one more time.

The black aura on Qin Qingyou's body had faded to the point of being undetectable.

"Alright, your resentment from your previous life has dissipated. You can now await your guidance in the underworld."

The figure kneeling in the void gradually became transparent, turning into two beams of white light.

A piece of wood jumped onto the table with the birth date and time engraved on it, and a hairpin went straight into Ma Ye's head.

The golden characters for "City God" flashed once.

Dealing with these wronged souls every day, Ma Ye felt like he was getting old.

I rubbed my face with my hands. It's still dark, so I guess I can sleep a little longer.

"Ma Ye, are you done with your work?"

A greeting suddenly appeared in the small house, but Ma Ye wasn't too surprised.

The man in the corner looked at Ma Ye on the recliner with a mocking expression, his right hand still tucked inside his black collar.

"Brother Qiao, why are you here so late at night instead of going out to work?"

"Isn't it because your yin energy is too strong? Why don't you hire a few more people normally? This job is so tiring."

After the talisman on his head lost its luster and became wrinkled, Ma Ye crumpled it up and threw it into the trash can. Only the black incense sticks remained in the incense burner.

"Why are you working for me at night instead of sleeping at home? No normal person would do that."

"Grab your things and hurry up, I still need to sleep."

The wooden plaque on the table was tossed aside and landed in the hands of the Night Wanderer.

Despite being scolded like that, Qiao Kun wasn't angry.

"Little Ma, why are you so temperamental after doing some work? You're accumulating merit!"

"After you die, Fan Bingbing's side can find a few little devils to carry you down to the underworld."

"Pah! I'm only 22, in the prime of my life, why are you talking about dying like that!"

The ginger tea on the induction cooker was still warm. Ma Ye poured himself a cup and drank it all in one gulp, with no intention of letting this night owl have a taste.

The teacup had barely been set down when two wooden planks were shoved onto the table.

"What's going on? Are there so many wronged spirits lately?"

"Qin Qingyou's lifespan hasn't ended yet, so there's no use for me taking it back."

The other piece was given to you by the City God; it should be useful.

He didn't take the wooden board Qiao Kun offered, but instead poured himself a cup of ginger tea that was warming on the induction cooker and drank it all in one gulp.

Then he reached out to take the willow plank.

It is 1.2 feet long and 8 inches wide, round at the top and square at the bottom, about the thickness of two fingers.

It was dark bluish-gray, and had a bitter, grassy smell.

"What? My lifespan is almost over, and the City God has already prepared my burial tablet?"

"What kind of ranking system is this? Is your ranking system made of willow wood?"

This is a letter from the City God. Read it yourself. I'm leaving.

Qiao Kun didn't laugh. Before leaving, he glanced at the empty teacup in Ma Ye's hand.

"Don't skimp on the ginger tea; you'll rely entirely on your yang energy to do this job."

A gust of cold wind blew by, and the candlelight in front of the window flickered.

The yellow envelope landed in Ma Ye's hand. He tore it open, and several yellow talismans and a piece of letter paper fell onto the table.

"Xiao Ma, once you see this letter, I guess Qiao Kun has already delivered the things to you."

Willow wood is a new treasure I've discovered. By carving those talismans on it, you can let anyone else accompany you into your dreams.

Don't worry, it works just as well during the day; you can fall asleep normally as long as you're not in direct sunlight.

After reading the contents of the letter, Ma Ye carefully examined the wooden board inside and out again.

It's just an ordinary willow plank, nothing to do with anything precious.

There were six talismans inside the envelope.

The Purple Star Talisman is at the very top, and the remaining five are the Golden Light Talisman, the Dream-Entering Talisman, the Dream-Breaking Talisman, the Harmony Talisman, and the Ghost-Connecting Talisman.

The yellow paper was just ordinary yellow paper, and the cinnabar used for drawing the talisman was nothing special, no different from what Ma Ye sold for five thousand yuan.

"Ooh ooh ooh!"

Outside the window, the rooster crows at dawn, and the first rays of sunlight stream in.

"Oh well, I'm not getting any sleep again."