SCWP Chapter 31

Abandoned Melody

Abandoned Melody

The autumn wind was cool and leisurely, slowing down the pace of everything.

Lin Qichi stretched his fingers that had been constantly moving between paper and ink. His knuckles were distinct, and the skin on his fingertips was fair and clean, marked with red lines from prolonged use of the brush. The contrast between red and white was both striking and harmonious.

A young man in a cyan-ink outer robe leaned over the desk, his expression serious as he drew on the blueprint. His attire was simple, with only a bright accent at his waist, adorned with a white gardenia pendant.

Sitting on either side of him were a man and a woman, wearing training clothes bearing the Wen Ren family emblem. One was chugging cool tea on the table without any regard for appearances, while the other, though more elegant in demeanor, couldn’t hide the eagerness in his actions.

These two were Wen Ren Shu and En Sihan, who had come to Lin Qichi after finishing their martial arts training.

The matter of the Scrapyard was still too rushed. Chen Yan had been called away due to some unforeseen circumstances, forcing them to postpone the plan again and again.

En Sihan had just entered the Wen Ren family, and the family head had already recognized her special qualities.

Calling her the hope of the future, he spared Wen Ren Shu the effort of endless persuasion and directly agreed to let her stay temporarily in the Wen Ren family.

En Sihan’s situation was difficult to conceal. It was as if she had inherited the abilities of another version of herself. After coming out of Six Corner Tower, her ability to see Yin energy became even stronger, even bypassing all external disguises.

From the strange expression En Sihan had when she saw the gift from Meng Yu, Lin Qichi had guessed a thing or two.

Later, she confessed directly, possibly because the gardenia jade pendant Lin Qichi wore was too powerful.

Extremely Yin and evil things, whenever Lin Qichi went to accept tasks, the faint gardenia fragrance from the jade pendant alone was enough to ward off most ghosts.

As for the small portion that remained, they were left for Wen Ren Shu and En Sihan to practice on.

Wen Ren Shu’s soul had been replenished, reducing the obstacles he faced when participating in tasks.

However, the family head still refused to let Wen Ren Shu replace Lin Qichi’s position, especially after discovering that En Sihan’s ability grew with each task.

Meanwhile, the Ye family, using Ye Chenxi as an excuse, repeatedly and openly provoked the Wen Ren family. Naturally, the Wen Ren family could not accept his unfounded slander, and because En Sihan had a good impression within the Wen Ren family, everyone found the Ye family even more hateful. This feud was now set.

Even though the Meng family head requested to see them multiple times, the Wen Ren family didn’t even bother to acknowledge him.

“Old bro, when is Chen the Big Boss coming back? I’m withering away waiting,” Wen Ren Shu said listlessly as he fiddled with the tea set in front of him.

“Three days,” Lin Qichi replied, putting down his brush and picking up his phone, which had beeped once and then gone silent.

Wen Ren Shu excitedly propped his hands on the table, saying, “Bro, did you divine it with a hexagram?”

Lin Qichi calmly replied, “Tarot cards.”

Upon hearing this, Wen Ren Shu slumped back down again, “I’m done for.”

En Sihan gently smiled, using the teacup to hide her expression.

It was a message from Meng Yu, with only one word:

[Come]

Lin Qichi replied with a question mark, and the gardenia at his waist swayed with Lin Qichi’s movement, emitting a faint glow between the petals.

Meng Yu: [Drink tea.]

Lin Qichi looked at the tea set on the table and replied: [Indeed.]

Meng Yu: [Come out.]

Wen Ren Yi: [?]

Meng Yu sent a location share. The location was familiar—the Scrapyard.

At the same time, Chen Yan also sent a message: [Don’t come!]

In that instant, Lin Qichi seemed to hear the sound of the world line being pushed.

[Crack—Crack—]

“We can depart,” Lin Qichi said with a smile, closing the phone screen. Remembering something, he opened it again and replied to Meng Yu with [On my way].

This time, Lin Qichi finally remembered to find a driver and called Wen Ren Mu.

The Scrapyard’s location was remote, on the edge of the city but not quite in the suburbs.

Wen Ren Mu followed the address on the navigation. After turning in front of several houses, Lin Qichi finally couldn’t bear it anymore and tossed out two Hidden Tracking Charms, telling Wen Ren Mu to follow them.

As soon as the tracking charms were thrown out the car window, they transformed into large black dragonflies, a conspicuous and reasonable target.

Lin Qichi ignored the others’ reactions and instructed Wen Ren Mu to follow it before closing his eyes to rest.

He should have called Wen Ren Yan instead. Having to go over the same road twice to react—the terror of a poor sense of direction.

Despite using the fastest speed, it was still limited by the initial start. By the time they arrived, night had already fallen.

“First, protect yourselves. Second, stay close to me.”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

“Okay.”

The night was already deep. Lin Qichi steadily approached the entrance of the Scrapyard, which was shrouded in Yin energy. The moonlight shone down sadly, barely visible.

“Two Gods Play Chess, Filling the Middle Creates a Void?” Lin Qichi muttered, contemplating the situation of the Scrapyard.

When they first came, the upper and middle parts of the Scrapyard’s buildings had been mostly demolished. Now, dense Yin energy had reconstructed the upper-level structures.

The middle position formed a void, with the upper and lower levels being one illusory and one real, one false and one true.

This setup wasn’t particularly dangerous, but it also wouldn’t be easy to deal with.

To break this formation, one needed the right timing, location, and people—not a single one could be missing.

Wen Ren Mu had been on several practical missions with Wen Ren Yan and had developed the good habit of asking when he didn’t understand.

He looked around at Lin Qichi and Wen Ren Shu before finally locking his gaze on Wen Ren Shu and asking, “Two Gods Play Chess, Filling the Middle Creates a Void—what does it mean? Is there a method to break the formation?”

Wen Ren Shu frowned deeply as he explained, “Two Gods Play Chess means there are two equally strong and powerful ghosts currently fighting. Filling the Middle Creates a Void means that if someone inserts themselves between them, they can break this balance. Either both ghosts die, or the ghostly energy spreads, helping a more powerful vengeful spirit grow in the middle position, causing harm to this area.”

“Then now… is there a method to break the formation?”

“Yes, brother, there is, there is,” Wen Ren Shu said as he took out his phone.

Wen Ren Mu let out a sigh of relief. Although the Yin energy here was terrifying, if there was a method to break the formation, then it should be fine.

“Didn’t you say there was a method? What are you afraid of?” Lin Qichi slowly pressed down on Wen Ren Shu’s hand, preventing him from sending a message. How did he want to slack off again?

“Bro?” Wen Ren Shu looked at him in shock as he took his phone and casually pressed the exit button, as if he were seeing him for the first time. “Are you crazy?”

Lin Qichi calmly thought about it and said, “It’s okay.”

“Those ordinary situations are just fights between small ghosts, easy to resolve. This kind of situation is beyond our ability to handle.”

“Not necessarily. Wait until I can’t come out before you call. I’ll take the phone first.”

Lin Qichi calmly put Wen Ren Shu’s phone into his own storage bag.

This bag had been passed down through generations of the Wen Ren family, and no one could open it except with the owner’s permission.

En Sihan looked at them worriedly. Did Lin Qichi mean that he was going to handle it himself?

Lin Qichi tore off a few talismans, transforming them into a wave of golden light that enveloped the three unlucky kids from head to toe before nodding in satisfaction.

Lin Qichi walked into the Scrapyard first. The interior had been corroded by Yin energy beyond recognition. Although Lin Qichi didn’t have En Sihan’s eyes that could see through all illusions, he could still see the pitted ground covered behind that Yin energy with the Heavenly Eye that most Heavenly Masters opened.

The hollowed-out areas were jet black, all traces of Yin energy corrosion.

Ever since Chen Yan bought the Scrapyard, rumors of haunting had spread like wildfire, one wave after another.

Curious people and those seeking attention came to see if it was as evil as the legends said.

Lin Qichi remembered when they first came here, there was a team doing live outdoor horror broadcasts, falsely claiming that the Scrapyard was haunted by the souls of workers who had been forced to death by the heartless boss.

But in reality, even though there were many rumors about the Scrapyard, Chen Yan decided to take a gamble, firmly believing in science. Not only did he continue to operate, but he also strictly managed it.

Those guys couldn’t even get through the Scrapyard’s gates. The fabricated videos were just shots of the construction site’s outer perimeter, mixed with years of old footage, edited together.

As a result, the Scrapyard suddenly became popular because of this video with a blurry, full-screen watermark, and more and more people came by its name.

The Scrapyard also lived up to expectations. The wronged souls from the surrounding dumping grounds were attracted by the sudden surge in popularity, settling in the Scrapyard like raising venomous insects.

What was originally nonexistent became real due to the popularity.

What Lin Qichi saw now was the final battle of the venomous insect king.

Lin Qichi didn’t hear the expected sounds from behind for a long time. Looking back, En Sihan and the others were still stunned in place.

Wen Ren Shu’s mouth was opening and closing, saying something, but the protective shield not only isolated the life force but also isolated the sound.

En Sihan and Wen Ren Mu hadn’t learned lip reading, so only Lin Qichi could understand what he was saying.

“1735637” was Wen Ren Jin’s private phone number.

Lin Qichi couldn’t help but laugh. Wen Ren Shu saw that the two of them weren’t doing what he said, so he must have already known that the sound couldn’t be transmitted. Annoyed, he gesticulated wildly, adding body language, and slandering his brother while gesturing.

He still needed En Sihan for some things, so he couldn’t keep watching Wen Ren Shu’s jokes here.

Lin Qichi slightly hooked his finger, and the protective shield around En Sihan trembled.

The three of them looked over at the same time. Wen Ren Shu still looked angry.

Lin Qichi beckoned to En Sihan, signaling her to follow him.

En Sihan instantly understood his meaning and strode into the Scrapyard.

Not wanting to fall behind, Wen Ren Shu also followed.

Seeing Wen Ren Shu go, Wen Ren Mu hurriedly caught up.

Lin Qichi facepalmed. Actually, it would have been nice if the other two had been dancing outside to cheer him on, even though he didn’t need it. Maybe one of the venomous insect kings would have been seduced.

As the three people scrambled into the Scrapyard, the Yin energy inside became heavier. The balance… was finally about to be broken.

“The wind blows—the flowers smile—

The stars in the sky are talking nonsense,

The babies on the ground won’t cry—”

A shrill, childlike voice, with a sharp wail, echoed in the vast building.

Carrying extremely harmful Yin energy, it rushed towards everyone who had trespassed.

Considering that Wen Ren Shu and the others were isolated by the protective shield and couldn’t hear the outside sounds, Lin Qichi thought that since they had come, it wouldn’t hurt to give some live instruction.

“It’s a Ghost Crying Infant,” Lin Qichi thought, transmitting his thoughts to everyone through the protective shield without speaking.

“Be careful!”

A hasty, unfamiliar male voice came at the same time.