“Wei” was very enthusiastic.
Before Zhang Xianyu could say anything, he took the initiative to send her a message.
[Wei: Hello.]
Zhang Xianyu’s finger paused for a moment.
After thinking for two seconds, she decided to play along and see if she could trick the group owner into showing up.
[Lin Yuan Xianyu: Hello, are you the group owner of the club? Sun Han recommended me to add you, saying the club often organizes activities.]
[Wei: You know Sun Han?]
[Lin Yuan Xianyu: Yeah, I met her in another club. She recommended you to me before, said your club’s activities are really interesting.]
At the top of the chat window, it showed “The other party is typing.”
Zhang Xianyu waited patiently, and after about three minutes, a message came back.
[Wei: Do you want to join the club?]
[Lin Yuan Xianyu: I do.]
The other side was silent for a few more minutes, then sent over a group recommendation.
[Wei: Join this group, we’re organizing a club event soon.]
Zhang Xianyu didn’t hesitate to tap the group card and applied to join.
The group was called “Let’s Go Watch the Meteor Shower Together,” and there were only three members, including the group owner she just added.
Maybe the group owner had already told them, because her application was quickly approved.
As soon as Zhang Xianyu joined, she was warmly welcomed by the group members.
Zhang Xianyu replied with a shy emoji, then asked about the upcoming event.
Besides the group owner, the other two members were girls, both very lively, and they gave Zhang Xianyu a detailed introduction to the latest activity.
[Yiren Zhang: We’re planning to go camping at Jiuhuan Mountain. I heard the view at the top is great, and there’s going to be a meteor shower the day after tomorrow. We’re going to watch it from the summit. Do you want to join us, handsome?/shy]
Zhang Xianyu asked when they were going, and the other side said they’d be leaving the day after tomorrow.
“They seem a bit eager.”
Zhang Xianyu said to Xie Dingxin,
“I’m thinking of agreeing. Do you want to come?”
Xie Dingxin was feeling bored anyway, so he nodded—no reason not to go.
Zhang Xianyu replied: [I’ll go. Can I bring a friend?]
[Yiren Zhang: Is your friend a guy or a girl?]
Zhang Xianyu said it was a guy, a classmate of hers who had nothing to do during the holidays and wanted to come along.
The group went quiet for a while, probably discussing it, and sure enough, a few minutes later the chat came alive again.
[Wei: Your friend can come too. Just remember to prepare all the camping gear in advance. We’ll be staying in the mountains for at least two nights.]
After saying that, he really sent over a camping guide, and then set the meeting time and location.
Zhang Xianyu saved all the details, then excused herself, saying she had to go eat, and logged out of QQ.
“We’ll check it out the day after tomorrow.”
Zhang Xianyu said,
“We need to get the camping stuff ready and make it look convincing. I think these few are probably just Changgui following orders.”
These Changgui might be ghosts imprisoned by a mastermind, or perhaps victims who were lured to Jiuhuan Mountain and killed, their souls forced to help the murderer lure in more living people.
But she still didn’t know what their purpose was in luring people to Jiuhuan Mountain.
After discussing it, the two of them went to say hello to Sun Zheli and his wife.
Zhang Xianyu didn’t go into too much detail, just said they’d found a clue and would probably have results the day after tomorrow, telling them to be patient.
Zhao Youxiang thought of what had happened in the hospital room, and was still worried about Zhou Qian’s ghost.
After hesitating for a while, she said,
“That girl’s ghost…really won’t hurt Hanhan, right? If possible, I still hope you two Daoist can help her move on. After all, there’s a line between the living and the dead…”
“That girl is protecting Sun Han.”
Zhang Xianyu looked at her disapprovingly, and couldn’t help but feel a little regretful when she remembered how the girl had done everything to protect Sun Han.
So her tone toward Zhao Youxiang was a bit sharper.
“If that girl hadn’t been protecting him all this time, your son probably wouldn’t have survived his second suicide attempt.”
Zhao Youxiang’s face went pale and she looked a bit embarrassed.
“Before we figure things out, don’t act rashly,”
Zhang Xianyu sighed.
“There’s a difference between people and ghosts, but there are good and bad people, so there are good and bad ghosts too. I’ll find the real mastermind as soon as possible. If you want Sun Han to hold on a bit longer, burn a few more sticks of incense for that girl.”
Zhao Youxiang nodded, still pale.
Seeing his wife’s poor state, Sun Zheli personally escorted Zhang Xianyu and Xie Dingxin out.
Lin Wushui’s house was in the building next door, so the two went straight over after leaving the Sun family.
In the study, Lin Wushui was listening to Lin Ming report on the company’s latest situation.
Ever since his leg was injured, Lin Ming had been running back and forth to handle company matters and occasionally acting as a life assistant, buying breakfast to coax the boss.
“You’re back? I haven’t had anyone prepare lunch yet.”
Lin Wushui’s face instinctively lit up when he saw Zhang Xianyu, but when he noticed Xie Dingxin behind her, his brows furrowed in displeasure.
“Why are you here?”
Xie Dingxin: “…………”
Don’t think I can’t tell you’re playing favorites!
Zhang Xianyu didn’t notice the undercurrent between them.
Hearing that lunch wasn’t prepared, she said as she headed for the kitchen,
“Then I’ll make something.”
Lunch was made for four.
Not only did Xie Dingxin stay to freeload, but assistant Lin Ming also joined them.
Zhang Xianyu only made simple home-style dishes, nothing compared to a five-star chef, but to Lin Wushui, it looked far more appetizing than hotel takeout.
Of course, if it weren’t for the two eyesores across from him fighting for food, it would have been even better.
After lunch, Lin Wushui, looking very displeased, sent Xie Dingxin to the kitchen to wash dishes.
Lin Ming, wisely reading the atmosphere, followed along, not daring to stay alone—he felt that if he did, something bad might happen.
Once Lin Wushui had wiped his fingers clean with a wet napkin, Zhang Xianyu pushed him out to the balcony to sunbathe.
This was a routine she’d figured out over the past few days: after lunch, Lin Wushui liked to sit in the sun on the balcony.
Zhang Xianyu sat across from him.
The lighting on the balcony was excellent.
The sunlight, filtered softly through the windows, was warm and gentle, making people feel lazy and drowsy.
Lin Wushui took the chance to ask about the commission Xie Dingxin had mentioned.
“It’s kind of a coincidence,”
Zhang Xianyu said,
“It’s about that boy who tried to jump last time. Looks like he’s been entangled by a Changgui.”
She opened her eyes.
“His father went to Taiqing Temple for help. Since Xie Dingxin was injured and couldn’t go, I helped out.”
“Changgui?”
“Yeah. That’s my preliminary guess.”
Zhang Xianyu propped her chin on her hand, thinking of the three ‘groupmates’ in the chat, and told Lin Wushui with interest,
“I suspect everyone in that group except me is a Changgui.Just like those scam groups—dozens of members, but all of them are scammers except one victim. Sun Han and Zhou Qian probably encountered the same thing.But for now it’s just my guess; I’ll have to wait until we go to Jiuhuan Mountain to confirm.”
“So you’re going to Jiuhuan Mountain the day after tomorrow?” Lin Wushui asked.
Zhang Xianyu nodded,
“Xie Dingxin is coming too.”
“I’ll go as well.”
Lin Wushui tapped his finger lightly on his knee, slowly searching for an excuse.
“I’m curious too.”
“But your leg…”
Lin Wushui raised his eyebrows and smiled,
“I won’t bring my body with me.”
The words Zhang Xianyu was about to say got stuck in her throat.
She remembered that black mist in the air-raid shelter and fell silent for a moment.
“But if you go, won’t you scare those Changgui away?”
Lin Wushui said,
“I’ll hide my presence. They won’t notice me.”
Zhang Xianyu wanted to say more, but seeing his determined look, she had to give up.
“Fine, then.”
Once they dealt with the Changgui and their master, camping at Jiuhuan Mountain sounded pretty nice too.
On October 3rd, Zhang Xianyu and Xie Dingxin each carried a bulging hiking backpack to the Jiuhuan Mountain bus stop, where they’d agreed to meet.
To avoid alerting anyone, Zhang Xianyu hadn’t brought any Fulu or Magic Tools.
The high terrain of Jiuhuan Mountain made it perfect for setting up a Summoning Thunder Formation.
As for Xie Dingxin, ever since he learned Lin Wushui was coming too, he’d treated this outing as a vacation and packed his backpack full of camping snacks.
Meanwhile, Lin Wushui was staying inside the Red Jade Bead Bracelet on Zhang Xianyu’s wrist.
When they reached the meeting spot, Zhang Xianyu sent her location in the group, saying she and her friend had arrived.
The group owner, “Wei,” replied with an OK gesture and said they’d be there in five minutes.
Five minutes later, three people approached from the other end of the Jiuhuan Mountain bus stop: two women and one man.
The man looked about thirty, wearing a baseball cap and windbreaker, carrying a gray hiking backpack.
The two girls were a bit younger, probably friends, walking arm in arm in matching outfits, full of youthful energy.
When they saw Zhang Xianyu, they waved from afar.
Zhang Xianyu and Xie Dingxin exchanged a glance, composed themselves, and waved back.
The two girls were lively, and maybe because both Zhang Xianyu and Xie Dingxin were good-looking, they quickly gathered around them, chattering away.
Through their introductions, Zhang Xianyu learned the group owner was named Li Wei, a mountain climbing enthusiast and experienced hiker.
The two girls were students at Jiangcheng University of Commerce, here to watch the meteor shower on the mountain.
Group owner Li Wei led the way with a map, while the two girls handed out a bag of sunflower seeds to Zhang Xianyu and Xie Dingxin, munching as they hiked.
Zhang Xianyu glanced at the sunflower seeds in her palm but didn’t eat any.
Xie Dingxin, on the other hand, happily accepted and started snacking.
Zhang Xianyu wanted to say something, but seeing how much he enjoyed it, she swallowed her words.
Jiuhuan Mountain hadn’t been developed yet, and there was no main hiking trail.
The five of them could only follow a small path trampled out by previous hikers.
As they walked, Zhang Xianyu pretended to be curious and asked about the club—like when they usually held activities, and how many they’d organized before, and so on.
The two girls gave her a meaningful look and giggled,
“You’ll find out later.”
They laughed and refused to say more, so Zhang Xianyu gave up on that line of questioning and changed the subject.