Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 55: Frozen Test Paper

"By the way, Aunt Liu, where's your daughter? She hasn't been home for so many days. Which school is she attending?"

On Tuesday afternoon, after dinner, Ran Qing suddenly asked this question.

After several days of applying medicine to remove the poison, the black and blue tooth marks on Ran Qing's body finally disappeared, and Ran Qing was also relieved from the torment of numbness, itching and stinging.

Although he didn't have to apply medicine in the next few days, Ran Qing still came on time after school to help Aunt Liu clean the house, tidy the room, and cook.

Aunt Liu was indeed as busy and tired as she said.

Although no one knew what she was busy with, the fatigue on her face became more and more severe, and the bloodshot in her eyes became more and more.

Every time Ran Qing came back, he would see Aunt Liu slumped in a rocking chair, puffing on leaf tobacco with a relaxed look on her face. She looked just like the uncles in the village who had just worked in the fields all day.

Ran Qing had no objection to doing odd jobs. In fact, he felt more at ease because his Sixth Aunt asked him to do odd jobs.

After all, I owe Aunt Liu such a big favor, so I want to do something for her to the best of my ability.

However, after spending more than a week together, Ran Qing never saw Aunt Six's daughter appear, which made him feel strange.

Judging from the supplementary teaching books in the room, Aunt Liu's daughter is the same age as him and should be in her second year of high school this year.

Is this a completely closed boarding school? Can't even go home on weekends?
Under the dim light, Aunt Liu, who had just finished her meal and was lying in a rocking chair smoking leaf tobacco, glanced at Ran Qing sideways after hearing his question.

Amidst the rising smoke, Sixth Auntie's sneer could be heard: "What? Are you interested in my daughter and want to steal my cabbage?"

"When you were alone in the room, you didn't do anything secretly to my daughter's photo, did you?"

Aunt Six is ​​worthy of being Aunt Six, she drops bombshells as soon as she opens her mouth.

Ran Qing was stunned for a moment and didn't react at first.

When I realized what Aunt Liu was saying, my face instantly turned red all the way to my neck.

"I...I..." Ran Qing had never been so panicked even when he saw a ghost.

What on earth is the structure of Aunt Six's brain? How can she say such horrible things so casually?
Aunt Liu seemed not to notice Ran Qing's panic. She lazily lay on the chair, leaning back and puffing out smoke leisurely: "Oh? Such a big reaction, it seems that you really care about my daughter's photo..."

"No, no, no! This is absolutely not true!" Ran Qing denied hurriedly in a hurried tone, fearing that if he spoke slowly, Aunt Liu would label him a hooligan.

Seeing his flustered and flustered look, Aunt Liu sneered a few times in the smoke.

Then she stopped smiling, lazily lying on the bamboo chair, and shook her head: "So, kid, this is the only thing you are unlike your father..."

"That son of a bitch, Ran Lao San, has a thicker skin than the corner of a city wall."

"You're so thin-skinned that you blush at the slightest teasing. How are you going to survive in the future?"

"We're in the underworld business, and in the end, we're just making a living by cheating and deceiving people, and we make money by using a little bit of real skills."

"When you can avoid taking real action, it's best not to. Scam and cheat as many people as you can. If you always rely on your real skills to make a living, how could there be so many evil spirits and monsters in the world for you to catch?"

"Besides, if you walk too much at night, you're likely to run into ghosts. Even the most skilled ghost walker will run into something they can't afford to mess with."

"At all times, you must prioritize your own life."

"With a face like yours, you can basically say goodbye to the business of walking on the sidewalks. You definitely can't be a con man."

"It's only good now that your child can still go to college. If it were a few decades ago, your child would probably starve to death."

Aunt Liu puffed out smoke lazily and lectured Ran Qing in a nagging manner.

She has been talking a lot lately. As they get to know each other better, Sixth Aunt's attitude towards Ran Qing has become much friendlier, and she is no longer as cold as she was at the beginning.

When faced with Aunt Six's admonitions, Ran Qing would always nod and accept. Whether he listened or not was another matter. "Then Aunt Six, I'm going to evening study first," Ran Qing said, clearing the table and preparing to leave.

Aunt Six looked at him strangely: "Didn't you ask me where my daughter went? I haven't finished talking yet, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

Ran Qing was stunned for a moment: "Uh..." He thought Sixth Aunt didn't want to say it.

Judging from my previous interactions with Aunt Liu, the relationship between Aunt Liu and her daughter didn't seem to be very good.

In the smoke, Aunt Six shook her head and said, "It's not something shameful."

"My daughter died two years ago."

"Now I am alone, childless, without relatives or friends."

Aunt Six described her situation indifferently, glanced at Ran Qing, and suddenly said, "So, kid, it's okay if you don't study well and can't get into a good university."

"Then come back and be Aunt Six's apprentice. Do some free labor for a few years, and maybe Aunt Six will teach you all the skills of housekeeping."

Ran Qing was a little surprised by Sixth Aunt's sudden and unrelated remarks.

Sixth Auntie didn't notice Ran Qing's surprise and continued to speak to herself, "When I was learning skills from my master, I worked as a maid for that old woman, doing laundry and cooking. I worked as a maid for ten years before I was able to exorcise the spirit and get the Ghost Eye Sheepskin Drum."

"I spent another ten years as an apprentice and ten years working for her for free before I learned nine out of ten of her skills."

"I finally tired her out, and only then did I learn her last secret skill by her bedside."

"If you want to learn skills from me, Sixth Aunt won't make it difficult for you. If you follow me and gain experience for three to five years, I will pass on my skills to you."

"Of course, it would be even better if you could get into a good university."

"These days, being a college student makes more money than being a charlatan."

Aunt Six happily took a puff of leaf tobacco and squinted at Ran Qing: "But your father, Ran Lao San, probably wouldn't be happy with you being a ghost walker."

"Our business is very treacherous. You've only just gotten started, so there's still a chance to get out."

"If you open the altar and light the incense like I did, there's no turning back for the rest of your life."

"If I'm unlucky and accidentally get into trouble while walking in the underworld, my life will be miserable for the rest of my life..."

Aunt Liu kept talking, and she was a little dazed.

It seemed like she was talking to Ran Qing, but it also seemed like she was talking to herself.

In the dim light, the two shadows behind her seemed to be close yet distant...

Ran Qing listened to the instruction silently and observed the two shadows of Aunt Liu calmly.

Ran Qing didn't feel relieved until the two shadows returned to their usual safe distance.

Then he muttered to himself.

Is Sixth Aunt's daughter dead?

Thinking of the dust in that empty room where no one has lived for a long time, and the real test papers and textbooks that were frozen in the sprint period of the high school entrance examination.

Ran Qing finally understood.

Why would a student leave exam papers from two years ago on the desk in his room?

(End of this chapter)