"What are you going to do? You said before that you came here to help your ghost fulfill his last wish, right?"
"You can tell me, maybe I can help you... This is also my hometown, and I am very familiar with it." Mieko Oda wiped away her tears, choked up a few times, and asked.
"You want to help me? That's great. I'm just worried about where to go to get information." Zhang Fan smiled and strode to Mieko Oda.
"Have you heard of the legend of Bai Jing?" Zhang Fan asked.
"Shirai?"
"this......"
Upon hearing the name Shirai, Oda Mieko was stunned for a moment, then her face suddenly changed, even her voice changed its pitch, and a trace of fear emerged in her eyes.
"Don't tell me that your evil ghost partner is Shirai..." Oda Mieko's scalp was numb and her face was pale as she continued to ask.
"Yes, you are so smart. My evil ghost partner is Shirai. I am here this time to help her fulfill her last wish." Zhang Fan said with a smile.
He didn't care about the fear on Mieko Oda's face, but instead breathed a sigh of relief.
Judging from the look on Mieko Oda's face, she should know some information about Shirai.
"The legend about Shirai is very scary in our town. Anyone who knows her name will almost certainly die. She is even scarier than Sadako from the movies and TV shows."
"It is said that her legend began to circulate as early as eighty years ago. She seemed to have been a teacher in a college during her lifetime, and later she fell in love with a handsome man who was also a teacher and a colleague of hers."
"But the man's family is very poor, while Shirai's family is very rich, extremely wealthy in the small town. However, the love between the two of them was not recognized by Shirai's family, and in the end they were forcibly separated."
"But Shirai... didn't give up. On a dark and windy night, the two of them chose to elope."
"They ran away to the city outside."
"Because they don't have much money, they can only live under the bridge."
"Later, Shirai's boyfriend cheated on him with another rich girl."
"At the same time, Shirai has become a stumbling block in the eyes of his boyfriend."
"so......"
Speaking of this, Mieko Oda paused and glanced at Zhang Fan.
"Your story is a bit outrageous... But it's okay. I've seen even more outrageous stories. Just keep telling it." Zhang Fan urged.
"Ah? Have you ever seen someone more cruel?" Mieko Oda was obviously stunned and blinked curiously.
"It's nothing. She was my cousin's wife. Because she couldn't have children, she pretended to have an affair and wanted to break up. It's funny to say it. I didn't expect that reality could be so cruel. Forget it, it's all in the past tense. , I’m too lazy to mention it. Counting the time, I haven’t been back to my hometown for more than a year.” Zhang Fan couldn’t help but smile bitterly as he recalled what happened at the time.
"Oh oh oh, that's really bloody..." Mieko Oda nodded thoughtfully, and then said: "Then I will continue."
"Later...it was another night. Her boyfriend pretended to take her out to play, and then killed her on the way."
"Before Shirai died, she refused to close her eyes and kept her eyes wide open. In the end, her boyfriend couldn't stand the hateful look, so he cruelly dug out her eyes with a knife. But he was afraid that she would not die thoroughly, so he Cut out her tongue too."
"After killing Shirai, the heartless man originally wanted to dig a hole and bury the body, but at this time, an inspector happened to be passing by on the roadside, which disrupted his plan. He ran away in a panic and had to throw Shirai's body away. Leave his body on the street and run away.”
"Not long after he killed Shirai, the man got together with the rich girl. Not afraid that Shirai would turn into a ghost and seek his life, the two of them quickly moved to another city."
"Eighty years ago, roadside surveillance was almost non-existent. Even if inspectors wanted to investigate, there was no trace."
"Because when Shirai died, her resentment was overwhelming, and she quickly turned into a terrifying evil ghost... In order to help her dispel her resentment, many mages came to the village, but... all these mages died......"
Mieko Oda seemed to know some inside information and explained to Zhang Fan.
"How do you know so much?" Zhang Fan scratched his head in surprise.
"Eighty years ago, my grandma was related to Shirai's parents, so we know a lot about things."
"You want to help Shirai fulfill his last wish. I should probably guess what you want to do."
"Her boyfriend's family all died violently shortly after Shirai's death. I heard that the death was extremely miserable. Two eyes seemed to have been crushed by something, and the brains were bleeding all over the floor."
"Later... even Shirai's ghost disappeared. Some people said that she chose to reincarnate because she wanted revenge..."
"So Shirai's return this time may not be for revenge, but most likely to visit relatives..."
"If she came to visit relatives, it means that she was not reincarnated back then, but was still wandering in the human world...
"It's just that her family members... eighty years have passed, and they should all be dead... The only family member alive now is an old man."
"This old man is Shirai's biological brother."
Mieko Oda said seriously.
"Then where is this old man now? Take me there quickly!" Zhang Fan also knew that Bai Jing must have come back to see his family.
In other words, as long as she is allowed to see her brother, her last wish will be successfully fulfilled.
"It's in the last old house at the back, but this old man usually goes to bed very early. As long as it gets dark in the afternoon, he will go to bed."
Mieko Oda pointed to a shabby old house in the distance that was simple and weathered with vicissitudes of time.
"Then you mean, if you want to see that old man, you can do it tomorrow?"
"Yes, in theory that's the case." Mieko Oda nodded.
"This...do I have to come here tomorrow morning? This is too troublesome." Zhang Fan frowned.
If he didn't rush back to the hotel tonight, Liu Keke might find out that he hadn't returned home all night early the next morning.
But it was a bit too troublesome to rush back tonight and come back tomorrow. Moreover, he was worried that his survivor's blood volume would not be fully restored normally.
If it cannot be restored to full capacity, Xiaoba cannot be summoned.
"Let me think about it..." Zhang Fan touched his chin and fell into deep thought.
He was thinking about what to do.
"Are you worried that you won't have a place to rest at night? Don't worry, you can go to my house, there is a place at my house."
"I can tell you very seriously that that old man got up very early in the morning and got up after five o'clock every day to exercise. Therefore, he lived for more than ninety years and is still in good health without any disease."
Mieko Oda smiled.
"You said that uncle would get up at five o'clock in the morning? That's great, thank you for telling me, then I won't worry about it." Upon hearing this, Zhang Fan frowned and thanked Oda Mieko .
If I can go back before six o'clock the next day, there will be no impact.
Zhang Fan asked Liu Keke during the day today if he had any plans for tomorrow. Liu Keke told him that he didn't. The women planned to go shopping the next day.
"Do you still have room at your house? Forget it, I'd better find a hotel nearby. It's a bit inconvenient to go to your house." Zhang Fan originally wanted to go to Oda Mieko's house for one night, but then he thought about it and it was really inconvenient, so he scratched his head in embarrassment. I scratched my head and chose to give up.
It's really not suitable for a man and a woman alone.
And Mieko Oda’s grandparents are here, so it’s definitely inappropriate.
"Don't worry, I have a place at home, so don't go looking for a hotel to stay. The surrounding areas are in the wilderness and there are no hotels at all. Even if you want to find a hotel, you have to go to the city." Mieko Oda said with a smile. Persuading Zhang Fan to let him stay.
Moreover, she really wanted Zhang Fan to stay.
...
Pushing open the glass door of the ramen restaurant, Mieko Oda took Zhang Fan and walked in.
Because it was already 12 o'clock in the morning, there were basically no people dining in the store at this time.
Her grandparents were busy cleaning up the store.
Restaurants that open for catering usually close very late.
"Grandpa, grandma, I brought a friend to meet you. He will stay at our house overnight." Mieko Oda introduced Zhang Fan to her grandparents with a smile.
Mieko Oda's grandfather is a bald old man with a white towel tied on his head. He has an old face and a stooped back.
And her grandma is the old woman wearing an apron from before.
After seeing Zhang Fan, the two old people showed a hint of surprise in their old eyes, but soon they laughed out loud in unison: "Keiko has finally grown up and is finally willing to find a boyfriend."
Zhang Fan: "???"
Forget it, this situation has long been expected, it doesn't matter.
Let it be a misunderstanding. Anyway, after this night, he went back.
Zhang Fan didn't open his mouth to explain, but just stepped forward to help clean up the chairs and stools, and started fighting.
"This junior is very polite. Keiko, you have very good taste."
The old woman came forward with a kind smile, tilted her head, and kept looking at Zhang Fan, while a trace of satisfaction appeared on her face.
It seemed that she felt recognized by Zhang Fan.
"Grandma, what are you talking about? We are just friends, not what you think." Mieko Oda blushed and stamped her foot fiercely.
"Okay, if grandma doesn't say anything, that's fine." The old woman laughed, staggered and walked into the kitchen.
...
Half an hour passed.
Zhang Fan was led to his place of residence by Mieko Oda.
The place where she lives is not in the same house as the ramen restaurant, but a loft house made of bamboo and wood stands in the forest a short distance away.
This attic house is the home where Mieko Oda lives with her grandparents.
As for the ramen restaurant, it's just a place where they work.
"You can sleep in the same room as me at night. Actually, my house is not big. The other room is where my grandparents live." Mieko Oda led Zhang Fan to her room.
Her room is very quiet, and the walls are covered with pink cartoon stickers, posters of the anime "Cardcaptor Sakura".
It seems that Oda Mieko still has a pink girl's heart in her daily life and likes to watch some comics.
"It's a bit inappropriate to be in the same room with you."
Zhang Fan stood in front of the door of the room and stopped, not daring to step forward.
It's really awkward for a man and a woman to live together in the same room. If something happens, I can't even jump into the Yellow River to clean it up.
"I don't even want to avoid being suspicious, but you still dislike me." Mieko Oda chuckled, and finally, under her push, Zhang Fan had no choice but to walk in with a bitter look on his face.
"Why don't you have a bed at home?" Zhang Fan looked around and found no so-called bed.
"Most people here make tatami mats directly on the ground. If you want to sleep on a bed, you have to go to a big city or a hotel."
Mieko Oda explained.
While explaining, the smile on her face became even brighter as if it was the first time she had seen such an interesting person like Zhang Fan.
"Okay then." Zhang Fan could only respond.
A few minutes later, Mieko Oda helped Zhang Fan lay out his tatami, and then got into her bed.
The distance between the two of them on the tatami is not that far, only half a meter apart.
But Zhang Fan tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. He just felt uncomfortable and awkward all over.
It's really uncomfortable to sleep in the same room with a woman of the opposite sex.
It would be fine if he slept with Bai Chenxi, Jiang Xiaohua, and Ma Ling'er. He could still accept it, after all, he was used to it, but sleeping in the same room as Oda Mieko was really uncomfortable.
Not only that, in addition to being awkward, the air in this room is also filled with a faint fragrance of bamboo, which makes people smell very comfortable, as if their soul, body and mind have been relaxed.
"Yaoyao, please give me a warning. I'm afraid Oda Mieko will secretly take advantage of me while I'm sleeping at night."
Zhang Fan shouted loudly in his heart.
"Are you still afraid that she will take advantage of you? If you were afraid, why would you sleep in the same room with her? I think you really enjoy this feeling, right?" Sai Yao mocked disapprovingly.
"It's up to you. I'm really sleepy. I didn't get much sleep last night."
Zhang Fan yelled and could no longer suppress the exhaustion in his heart. Soon his eyelids trembled and he fell into a deep sleep.
The night passed in a hurry without saying anything, until around five o'clock the next morning, Zhang Fan was woken up by the piercing alarm bell.
The first thing he did when he woke up, Zhang Fan quickly touched himself and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his clothes were still intact.
Fortunately, Oda Mieko didn't do anything untoward to him after he fell asleep last night.
No, it should be said that Mieko Oda might be killed by the terrible curse of Wishing Lake before she does anything evil.
Speaking of the curse of the Wishing Lake, Zhang Fan suddenly had an idea. Maybe he could sacrifice a devil's egg to let the Wishing Lake help him solve the curse of the Wishing Lake.
In this case, he can have normal intimacy with Bai Chenxi and the others in the future, without having to worry about the curse of Wishing Lake breaking out.
By then, it would probably be the end of his boyhood.
In short, don't rush now. Try to lift the curse of Wishing Lake. You should wait until you return to China to consider it.
Zhang Fan looked around, but did not see Mieko Oda, and did not know where she had gone.
Just when Zhang Fan was surprised, Mieko Oda's voice suddenly came from outside the room: "Come out quickly, that old man is going out."
