Lin Yuan lay on the ceiling, idly kicking his legs. Trapped in the building as a ghost, he'd spent days with nothing to do but listen in on people talking.
Just as he was feeling bored, the familiar sound of a key turning in a lock rang out, and the door to an apartment opened.
"Xiaojie, you're back!"
Lin Yuan tilted his head slightly and looked at the girl at the door.
Pan Jie, aged 21 and a college student, had her long black hair tied into a low ponytail. She was clad in a basic white T-shirt and jeans, with a well-used backpack in tow.
As soon as she took off her shoes, an elderly woman's voice came from the room, tired yet affectionate.
"Mom, I'm home." Pan Jie put down her bag and gave a gentle smile. Then, hesitatingly, she said, "Recently... I think I can see some blurry shadows again."
The room fell silent for a second.
"What?!" Her mother's face paled instantly. "Didn't you say your Yin-Yang eyes were sealed?!"
Pan Jie nodded, looking conflicted. "Mom, remember the old Taoist who sealed my eyes when I was little?"
Her mother paused, her expression growing even graver.
Of course she remembered.
Ever since she was a child, Pan Jie could see "those things." When she was in fifth grade, while playing at a classmate's house, she saw a group of "people" with no feet and twisted, terrifying faces. She almost fainted from fright.
After that, strange things happened one after another.
She began to hear strange whispers, and the feeling of being watched from behind never left her. Worst of all, at night, she'd see a row of shadowy figures standing in the corner of her room.
The Pan family sought help everywhere, visiting many Taoist priests and exorcists. They spent a lot of money, but Pan Jie's "condition" didn't improve at all.
One day, her mother took her to a temple to pray. At the temple entrance, they met a vendor selling peachwood swords and bells.
The vendor just glanced at Pan Jie, and his face immediately changed.
He whispered to Pan Jie's mom, "Your kid's in trouble. A bunch of ghosts are after her." Pan Jie's mom went weak in the knees with fear.
The vendor didn't say much more. Instead, he took them to meet his master, an old Taoist priest with white hair and beard.
After carefully examining Pan Jie's eyes, the old Taoist priest sighed. "In ancient times, you'd have been a great candidate for ghost cultivation. What a pity, such a pity."
Pan Jie remembered that, being young at the time, she didn't understand what those words meant. She was just scared and held her mother's hand tightly.
The old Taoist priest sighed, "Most of the Taoist techniques in my sect have been lost. All I can do is put a basic seal on her Yin-Yang eyes and block those strange senses. It'll probably hold for around ten years."
"Within these ten years..." He looked at Pan Jie's mother seriously. "You'd better find a real celestial master to solve the problem of these eyes once and for all."
Now that Pan Jie was 21, it had been exactly ten years since the sealing.
She closed her eyes, her voice a little hoarse. "Mom, I came back this time to deal with this."
"But... who should we go to?" Her mother's voice was tinged with fear. "The old Taoist priest is no longer alive, and we don't know any celestial masters..."
Pan Jie hesitated, took out her phone, and opened a short video.
On the phone screen, a man in a Taoist robe stood in front of a smoky temple. He looked serious and spoke in a deep voice:
"I am the 38th-generation descendant of Longhu Mountain, Master Lei. I'm proficient in Maoshan arts and specialize in handling all kinds of supernatural events. Whether it's a ghost haunting or evil spirits causing trouble, you can come to me!"
In the comment section below, a lot of people left messages:
"Master Lei is amazing! I just asked him to fix the problem in my old house yesterday!"
"My friend's sister was possessed, and after going to Master Lei, she got better in three days!"
"Master, please share your contact information!"
Pan Jie took a deep breath and said, "Mom, I've saved up quite a bit of money, and with my school scholarship, I'm gonna track down this Master Lei."
Her mother frowned. "Are you sure he's reliable?"
"Let's give it a try. It's better than doing nothing."
Meanwhile, Lin Yuan was eavesdropping beside the living room coffee table, the corner of his mouth twitching.
He asked Jiuchong, "In this world, Longhu Mountain specializes in Maoshan arts?"
Jiuchong replied, "The settings are different in each world. Don't take it too seriously. Besides, we don't know if this Master Lei really has any real skills."
Lin Yuan paused, then burst out laughing. "True. Maybe this Master Lei's a con artist. So many fakes around nowadays."
Jiuchong said, "Host, let's not worry about whether he's a fraud for now... But if he really dares to come, think about scaring the daylights out of him."
Lin Yuan laughed. "Exactly! I'll give him a good scare as an evil ghost when he shows up. Let's see if he can still act all high and mighty."
Just as Lin Yuan was talking to Jiuchong, Pan Jie suddenly froze.
Her heart raced, her hands gripping her phone tightly. She whipped her head around and stared straight at the living room corner. Her mother, picking up on her odd reaction, asked anxiously, "Xiaojie, what's going on?"
Pan Jie lowered her voice. "Mom... There seems to be something else in our house."
"Something else?" Her mother was taken aback, her face turning pale.
Pan Jie's palms started to sweat.
Since she got home a few days ago, she'd felt like something was wrong in the house. She kept telling herself it was all in her head. But this time, she knew she'd really seen something!
==================
林远躺在天花板上,悠哉地晃着腿.他现在作为一只鬼,这几天都被困在这栋建筑里,什么事也做不了,只能靠偷听住户聊天来打发时间.
就在他百无聊赖之际,一道熟悉的门锁旋转声响起,一间公寓的门被推开.
"小洁,你回来了啊?"
林远微微偏头,看向门口的女孩.
潘洁,21岁,大学生,黑色长发扎成低马尾,穿着简单的白T和牛仔裤,背着一个略显陈旧的双肩包.
她刚脱下鞋,房间里便传来一位年迈妇人的声音,带着几分疲惫和慈爱.
"妈,我回来了." 潘洁放下包,露出一抹温和的笑容,随即有些犹豫地说道:"最近... 我好像又能看到一些模糊的影子了."
房间瞬间安静了一秒.
"什么?!" 她母亲的脸色顿时变了,"你不是说,你的阴阳眼已经封了吗?!"
潘洁轻轻点头,神情复杂:"妈... 你记得小时候,那个帮我封印眼睛的老道士吗?"
母亲顿了顿,脸色更加凝重.
她当然记得.
潘洁从小就能看到 '那些东西' ,小学五年级时,在同学家里玩耍,看到了一群没有脚,面容扭曲狰狞的 "人" ,吓得差点晕过去.
那之后,怪事接二连三地发生.
她开始能听见莫名的耳语,感觉背后时常有东西在盯着她,甚至夜里能看到房间角落站着一排漆黑的影子.
潘家人四处求医问道,找过好几位道士,驱魔师,钱花了不少,可潘洁的 "病" 一点也没好.
直到有一天,母亲带她去庙里求神拜佛,在庙门口遇到了一位卖桃木剑和铃铛的商贩.
那商贩只是瞥了潘洁一眼,脸色便立刻变了.
他压低声音对潘母说:"你的孩子被东西盯上了,而且不止一个... 她身后跟着一堆小鬼和鬼灵."
潘母当场吓得腿都软了.
那位商贩没有多说什么,而是带着他们去见自己的师父,一位须发皆白的老道士.
老道士仔细看了潘洁的眼睛后,叹了口气:"在古代,你可是个鬼修的好苗子啊.可惜,真可惜."
潘洁记得,自己当时年纪小,听不懂这些话的意思.她只是害怕,拉着母亲的手不敢松开.
老道士又补充了一句:"我这一脉,很多道法已经失去传承,所以只能简单地封住她的阴阳眼,以及因它而带来的额外感应.大概能维持十年左右."
"这十年内..." 他看向潘母,语气郑重: "你们最好能找到一位真正的天师,彻底解决这双眼睛的问题."
如今潘洁21岁,距离当年封印的时间,刚好过去了十年.
她闭了闭眼,声音有些发涩:"妈,我这次回来,是想解决这件事的."
"可... 我们该去找谁?" 母亲的声音里带着一丝惶恐,"当年那位老道士已经不在了,我们又不认识什么天师..."
潘洁犹豫了一下,掏出手机,点开一条短视频.
屏幕里,一个穿着道袍的男人站在香火缭绕的庙宇前,神色端庄,声音低沉有力:
"我是龙虎山第38代传人,雷真人,精通茅山术,专治各种灵异事件,无论是鬼魂缠身,还是邪祟作乱,都可以找我!"
底下的评论区里,一堆人在留言:
"雷大师太厉害了,昨天才请他处理完我家老房子的问题!"
"我朋友的妹妹被附身,找雷大师,三天后就好了!"
"大师,求联系方式!"
潘洁深吸一口气,说道:"妈,我存了不少钱,加上学校给的奖学金,我打算找一找这位雷大师."
母亲皱起眉:"你确定靠谱吗?"
"试试吧,总比什么都不做好.
与此同时,林远正躺在客厅的茶几旁偷听,嘴角微微抽搐.
他问九重:"这个世界的龙虎山,居然是精通茅山术的?"
九重:"每个世界的设定不一样,别太较真,而且我们又不知这雷大师是否有真本事."
林远思索了一下,忽然笑了:"也对,这个雷大师,该不会真的是个骗子吧?这年头骗子特别多."
九重:"宿主,咱们先不管他是不是骗子... 但如果他真敢来的话,你考虑一下是否,把他吓得屁滚尿流."
林远:"哈哈哈,说得对!到时候直接给他个恶鬼开门杀,我倒要看看,他能不能秀起来."
就在林远和九重交谈的时候,潘洁忽然僵住了.
她心跳加速,双手攥紧手机,猛地转头,看向客厅的角落.
母亲察觉到她的异常,紧张地问道:"小洁?怎么了?"
潘洁压低声音:"妈... 我们家,似乎有别的东西."
"别的东西?" 母亲愣了一下,脸色瞬间煞白.
潘洁的手心冒出了冷汗.
自从她这几天回来,总感觉屋子里气氛不太对,但一直说服自己是错觉.可刚才,她分明看见了什么!