Chapter 00191: That Seems a Bit Extreme
# That Seems a Bit Extreme
Chapter 191
Novel: AFK Game: Portal to Another World
Chapter 191: That Seems a Bit Extreme
The child chewed on her milk candy and lowered her voice as she spoke.
It was clear she was trying to create a spooky atmosphere, but no matter how you looked at it, she just seemed adorable.
“This story starts twenty years ago. There was an actress named Ningning. She had a bitter fate, not knowing who her parents were. She was abandoned by the side of an official road with only the character for ‘Ning’ written on her swaddling clothes. She was adopted by an opera troupe that was passing by and learned to sing opera from a young age. Who would have thought that after growing up, the little abandoned baby would become so stunningly beautiful, and her opera singing was absolutely brilliant. She quickly became the lead actress of the opera troupe.”
Li Yingluo and Zheng Yinping exchanged a look upon hearing this.
They had also heard of this person named Ningning.
Whenever their families invited an opera troupe over to perform, they would always hear the elders say that if Ningning were there, the opera would surely be even better.
“What happened then?”
Yang Yiyi had never heard of her, so she asked with the same gentle attitude one uses with a child.
“Later on, this Ningning fell in love with a scholar who often came to watch the opera. It was a perfect match of a talented scholar and a beautiful lady, a true match made in heaven. But scholars since ancient times have never had much money. Just as the two were about to tie the knot, the opera troupe boss asked for a dowry of ten taels of silver, which the scholar simply could not produce.”
To ask for such a small dowry for a star actress was really just a token gesture.
The opera troupe boss was not trying to make things difficult.
But if he couldn't produce it, he couldn't produce it.
Ah, even a hero can be stumped by a single coin.
“Seeing the scholar was so poor, the opera troupe boss was also a bit reluctant to let Ningning marry him. After so many years, even if he didn't see Ningning as his own daughter, he saw her as a niece. Of course he wouldn't want Ningning to marry a poor devil.”
“So they eloped?”
“No, that scholar couldn't even afford to elope. What would he elope with?”
That was a bit too realistic.
“Having no money for a wedding didn't affect their relationship, and gradually, the two had a daughter. Since the child was born out of wedlock, they didn't dare tell anyone, so they had to raise her secretly in the opera troupe.”
Hearing this, Yang Yiyi stated very calmly:
“As long as they love each other, why care what outsiders think.”
She thought this way because her own parents couldn't afford a bride price or dowry when they got married.
They didn't even have a banquet.
Her father personally borrowed a suona and played a tune, then asked his brothers and cousins to help carry the sedan chair, and just like that, he brought Yang Yiyi's mother home.
The old couple has been loving and affectionate for decades, rarely even arguing.
Wasn't that also a good thing?
Zheng Yinping and Li Yingluo were also envious of this kind of free love, but it was hard to say if they were envious of the love itself, or the freedom.
After all, both were daughters of officials.
Whether they married or who they married was not for them to decide.
“Later still, the scholar said he was going to the capital to take the imperial exams. After he earned a title, he would come back and bring Ningning and their daughter home in grand style. Ningning did not doubt him and gave the scholar all the savings she had accumulated over the years to help him on his way.”
Hearing this, Li Yingluo and Zheng Yinping already had a bad feeling.
“But who knew, he was gone for three years without a single word. Everyone said that the scholar must have been robbed by bandits on the way, and that his bones might never be found. But Ningning always firmly believed that the scholar would definitely come back for her and their daughter. Until one day, hehe, a day much like today, the opera troupe was invited to Heavenly Water City to perform. On the way, Ningning saw that scholar, and her heart instantly shattered.”
Yang Yiyi was puzzled.
“Isn't that a good thing?”
“Good thing? That scholar had indeed earned a title, but by his side was an official's daughter to whom he was already engaged. He had no intention of ever coming back.”
“Huh? Such a person actually exists?”
“Ningning immediately went to confront the heartless man, but who would have thought that the heartless man would pretend not to know her, and wouldn't even see his own daughter.”
“And then this Ningning...?”
“Alas, of all the weapons that can harm a person, love is the sharpest. Ningning returned to her room, unable to see a way out, and took her own life with a crimson hairpin. Who knew that after death, she would transform into a fierce ghost, not only killing the heartless man and the official's daughter, but not even sparing the opera troupe or her own daughter. The next day, someone came to the inn and found it strange that the doors were closed during the day. They quietly pushed the door open to see a gust of sinister wind, and good heavens, the whole room was full of dead people.”
Li Yingluo and Zheng Yinping exchanged a look.
They had always heard their elders mention how well Ningning sang, but this was the first time they had heard how she had disappeared.
“This Ningning was a bit too extreme.”
“When a person turns into a ghost, how can there be anything like extreme or not extreme?”
The little girl let out a chuckle.
“The place where it happened back then was this very inn. When you go back to your room, you can still see talismans posted on the walls. It's a good thing, right?”
After saying this, the little girl grabbed the milk candies from the table and skipped back to the entrance to play hopscotch, leaving the three of them staring at each other.
Wait, are you really sure that counts as a good thing?
--‐‐——–‐‐——
After hearing a story that was hard to classify as either a ghost story or just a tragic tale, the three felt a bit awkward when they returned to their room after their meal.
As the saying goes, you may know a person's face, but not their heart.
Even with someone you share a bed with day and night, it's hard to say what's on their mind.
However, Yang Yiyi once again played to the strengths of her easygoing personality.
After mulling it over for a short while, she stopped纠结, lay down on the bed, and began to snore.
Since there were only two beds in the room, the three had to take turns sleeping.
Even though it was the middle of the night, they kept a lamp lit in their room.
Zheng Yinping, who was on watch for the first half of the night, took out a military manual to read and pass the time.
As the night grew deeper, Zheng Yinping got up to add oil to the lamp twice.
Feeling that the time was about right, she was just about to wake Li Yingluo when her ears twitched.
She seemed to have heard some movement outside.
This immediately put Zheng Yinping on alert.
She reached for her pack, attached the spearhead to the long spear that was stored inside in three sections, and listened intently.
The sound was a soft whoosh, very faint, like a gust of wind.
At first, Zheng Yinping thought she was being paranoid.
But soon after, she heard faint footsteps.
This was not a good sign.
The people in the inn should have all gone to sleep by now; it was impossible for someone to be pacing back and forth outside.
Zheng Yinping immediately woke up Li Yingluo and Yang Yiyi.
Li Yingluo was very alert.
She opened her eyes and saw Zheng Yinping make a shushing gesture, and immediately realized she had discovered something.
But Yang Yiyi, perhaps because she hadn't slept enough, was still in a dazed state, half-awake and half-asleep.
This girl's habit of sleeping and waking early was indeed good, but she would be like this if she didn't get enough sleep.
“There's someone outside. Don't make a sound.”
Zheng Yinping pointed towards the door, then crouched down and crept quietly to the door, holding the half-assembled short spear.
Li Yingluo also nervously took her sword, her fingers on the hilt.
Only Yang Yiyi was still swaying, looking like she could fall asleep again at any moment.
After waiting for a short while, Zheng Yinping caught a glimpse of a shadow on the paper window and immediately kicked the door open.
“What scoundrel is out there!”
The three rushed out of the room.
It was pitch black outside, with only the light of the oil lamp shining from behind them.
A figure ran down the corridor with a patter of footsteps, as if having been discovered and feeling guilty.
Just as Zheng Yinping was about to give chase, a gust of wind rushed in from the window and blew out the oil lamp with a whoosh.
In the darkness, a white object approached from the other end of the corridor as if it were floating, accompanied by a strange wailing sound that was extremely frightening.
Especially when they recalled the story the little girl had told them not long ago, even Li Yingluo, who had always wanted to see a ghost with her own eyes, felt her scalp tingle, and she stood frozen in place for a moment.
But Yang Yiyi, perhaps because she was still not fully awake, didn't process what was happening at all.
She just reflexively walked toward the approaching white shadow.
—Smack!
A single, massive slap sent the white shadow to the ground...
(End of this chapter)