kingnovel Chapter 781 Making up a story
Chapter 781 Making up a story
After much persuasion from the crowd, Mr. Li finally calmed down and thanked them profusely before leaving with Xie Zhiyao by his side.
Watching them walk away, Da Mai turned his head thoughtfully to look at Lin Bufan, who had sat down again: "President Lin, Boss Li just said he wanted to thank you handsomely, so why did you just tell him to run the guesthouse well and specifically told him not to transfer it? That request... sounds a bit strange."
Chen Nanxing also recalled the previous situation: "Last time we had dinner at President Xie's house, you were also very strange, saying something about a very bad omen. What exactly happened?"
Lin Bufan picked up his cup, took a sip of tea, and slowly put it down. He glanced around at the girls' eager eyes and a mysterious smile appeared on his lips: "Want to know?"
Xu Hongdou nodded seriously: "I always felt that you were hiding something in this matter."
Chen Nanxing interjected, "Exactly! Tell us already, stop keeping us in suspense!"
Although Da Mai and Nana didn't say anything, the expectation in their eyes said it all.
Facing the curious gazes of the women, Lin Bufan sighed, "Alright, since you're so eager to know... then I won't hide it from you."
Lin Bufan's tone made Xu Hongdou, Chen Nanxing, and Da Mai at the table, as well as Nana not far away, instantly realize that there was a story behind it!
The women instinctively perked up their ears, leaned forward slightly, and looked on with anticipation for what was to come.
Lin Bufan put down his cup and spoke slowly, his voice lowered and carrying a hint of mystery: "Actually... it's because I did some calculations and found that the location of that guesthouse... isn't very clean, there are evil spirits lurking there."
"Evil spirits?" Chen Nanxing was the first to react, and burst out laughing: "Lin Bufan, can you be any more ridiculous? What era is this? Still sticking to feudal superstitions?"
Although Xu Hongdou didn't laugh, the doubt in her eyes was obvious, and she clearly didn't take it seriously.
"Don't rush, let me finish."
Lin Bufan's expression was extremely serious, causing the girls to slightly suppress their joking manner!
"This story begins more than three hundred years ago. Back then, the emperor was Kangxi."
The land that Mr. Li is now eyeing was once the mansion of a wealthy landowner. That landowner was incredibly rich, owning thousands of acres of fertile land, and was the wealthiest man in the surrounding area.
This man had no other faults, except... he was extremely lecherous, taking one concubine after another, his harem a lively and bustling place.
Upon hearing Lin Bufan say that the landlord was lecherous, Chen Nanxing couldn't help but burst out laughing: "That's quite similar to you! You know so much about it, could it be... you're the reincarnation of that landlord?"
Lin Bufan's face darkened: "Are you still going to listen to me? If you interrupt again, I won't say anything more!"
Chen Nanxing quickly waved his hand, a mischievous smile still on his face: "Alright, alright, I won't say anymore, you can continue."
Lin Bufan cleared his throat and continued in his storytelling tone, "It is said that although this landlord had many wives and concubines, he always felt it wasn't enough. One year, he took a fancy to a girl surnamed Liu from a neighboring village. The girl was only fifteen years old, and she was beautiful with delicate features, a well-known beauty in the surrounding area. The landlord spent a lot of money and forcibly married her, making her one of his countless concubines."
Xu Hongdou frowned slightly, and Da Mai listened attentively.
"But that's where the strange thing happens!"
On the very night that Miss Liu was carried into the house, the landlord drank a few too many drinks at the wedding banquet. On his way back to the bridal chamber, he slipped, hit his head on the steps, and died on the spot.
The landlord's sudden death threw his household into chaos. His other wives and concubines, already jealous of Miss Liu's youth and beauty, now had their pretext. They all called her a jinx, a curse on her husbands, and pinned the landlord's death on her.
Lin Bufan shook his head, looking sighing: "Miss Liu was speechless with fear and shock. That very night, she put on her red wedding dress and jumped into the ancient well in the backyard, committing suicide."
Because she died unjustly, her resentment lingered, and Miss Liu's soul remained trapped around that well, unable to be reincarnated.
Later dynasties changed, and wars raged. The landlord's mansion was long destroyed, and the well was filled in. But the wronged spirit of Miss Liu... never left that place.
Upon hearing this, Da Mai couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "President Lin, isn't your story a bit too cliché? If you publish it online as a novel, readers will definitely complain that it's outdated and predictable."
Xu Hongdou nodded in agreement: "It does resemble a scene from an old-fashioned supernatural tale."
Chen Nanxing bluntly stated, "Exactly, exactly, there's nothing original about it."
"Don't rush me, I haven't finished yet," Lin Bufan said nonchalantly, taking a leisurely sip of tea. "The reason why Miss Liu's wronged spirit lingers in the mortal world is not only because of her resentment, but also because of an obsession—she was only sixteen when she died, never having truly experienced love or its bitterness and sweetness, before being forcibly taken as a concubine. She was unwilling to accept this. So she has always wanted to possess a suitable woman to fulfill this wish."
Nana, who had somehow managed to sit down in the empty seat next to her, noticed the key point and immediately spoke up: "Wait, you mean... it's been over three hundred years, and she still hasn't found someone to possess? That's incredibly inefficient!"
"You think possessing a body is like buying groceries, where you can just pick any random one?" Lin Bufan rolled his eyes at Nana, annoyed. "Miss Liu was a renowned beauty in life, with high standards. Even after she died and became a ghost, she wanted to find a beautiful host. But this small place is sparsely populated, and the well where she died is filled with yin energy, so ordinary people don't want to go near it, let alone young and beautiful girls. That's why more than three hundred years have passed."
“Even if there really is such a female ghost, but… what does that have to do with your strange behavior before?” Xu Hongdou frowned, still feeling that Lin Bufan’s explanation was full of loopholes: “One minute you’re not letting Boss Li transfer the shares, and the next minute you’re talking about a bad omen. It sounds more like you’re just making a fuss.”
Da Mai listened intently, her notebook, which had been focused on jotting down inspirations, now lying untouched. She blinked, as if suddenly realizing something, and exclaimed softly, "Ah! President Lin, you...you wouldn't be thinking of...helping that female ghost, would you?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Nanxing, Nana, and Xu Hongdou were all stunned. They all looked at Damai with eyes full of "please explain!"
Da Mai did not disappoint everyone's expectations: "Think about it, if Boss Li really opens the guesthouse and business is good, there will definitely be a lot of tourists staying there, right? Among the tourists... there will definitely be quite a few young and beautiful girls! In that case, wouldn't that female ghost named Miss Liu have the opportunity to find a suitable and beautiful host, and then possess her to fulfill her wish to fall in love?"
This explanation... at first glance, actually seems somewhat logically consistent! The girls exchanged glances, all feeling that although Da Mai's reasoning was bizarre, it seemed... to barely match Lin Bufan's previous behavior? So, their gazes involuntarily turned to Lin Bufan again, the suspicion in their eyes almost solidifying into reality.
Nana was the first to be unable to hold back, asking with a mix of disbelief and teasing, "President Lin...you, you wouldn't...even go after female ghosts, would you? Such unique tastes?"
Chen Nanxing stroked his chin, his analysis of Da Mai going further and further astray: "In my opinion, it's not that simple."
Chen Nanxing successfully drew everyone's attention.
"Lin Bufan just said that the female ghost needs to possess a beautiful woman before she can start dating. Think about it... I mean, what if, after the female ghost successfully possesses someone, Lin Bufan goes and starts dating the girl he's possessed? What would that be like?"
Chen Nanxing paused deliberately, watching the astonishment gradually appear on the faces of the other three women, before answering his own question: "This is equivalent to this lecherous man being able to date two women at once! During the day, he can flirt with that beautiful girl herself; at night... tsk tsk, he can also be shameless with that three-hundred-year-old female ghost! I could hear the sound of his scheme from eight hundred miles away!"
"Alas--!"
"Oh my God……"
Xu Hongdou, Nana, and Da Mai gasped almost simultaneously, then let out a hushed gasp. Their gazes toward Lin Bufan changed completely, now filled with a complex mix of shock, disdain, and "You're such a pervert."
Lin Bufan was so angry at this barrage of wild imaginings that he almost choked. His face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. He slammed his hand on the table, controlling the force just enough not to scare anyone: "Chen Nanxing! And all of you! What kind of nonsense are you thinking about all day?! Don't you know that humans and ghosts are different? Dating a female ghost? Do you think this is a scene from 'A Chinese Ghost Story'? Do you think I'm Ning Caichen?! Am I that indiscriminate in my tastes... uh—I mean, even if a female ghost is incredibly beautiful, I would never date one!"
Chen Nanxing precisely caught Lin Bufan's hesitation halfway through his sentence.
Her eyes lit up, as if she had discovered some earth-shattering secret. She slammed her hand on the table, leaned forward, pointed at Lin Bufan's nose, and said with the excitement of having caught him red-handed, "You hesitated just now! You hesitated, didn't you?! Tell me! Were you thinking of Nie Xiaoqian from 'A Chinese Ghost Story'? Were you already wavering? Did you think that if that female ghost really looked like Nie Xiaoqian, with fair skin, a beautiful face, long legs, pitiful yet with a touch of resentment, then... it might not be so unacceptable?"
Lin Bufan's face turned pale and then red. It wasn't because he was angry at being wronged, but because Chen Nanxing had hit the nail on the head. After all, who would care whether Wang Zuxian's Nie Xiaoqian was a ghost or not?
"I didn't! Don't make false accusations! I was just... I was so shocked by your bizarre thought process that I was speechless for a moment!"
"Come on!" Chen Nanxing persisted, arms crossed, with an expression that said, "I see right through you." "An explanation is just a cover-up, and a cover-up means it's true. Mr. Lin, I didn't expect you to have such a wide range of tastes, even female ghosts are on your shortlist of potential partners?"
Although Xu Hongdou, Nana, and Damai thought Chen Nanxing's words were outrageous, they couldn't help but find it funny to see Lin Bufan's rare moment of frustration, and they all smiled.
Lin Bufan took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and decided to steer the conversation back on track: "Chen Nanxing, stop trying to confuse me and change the subject! Your analysis just now was illogical and absurd, so why are you turning around and blaming me?"
“My analysis is a bit far-fetched,” Chen Nanxing admitted readily, but then raised his chin and changed the subject: “But at least it can barely explain your inexplicable behavior! What about you? Give us a more reasonable and less far-fetched explanation!”
Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on him again, with curiosity and anticipation, Lin Bufan knew that he would have to make things even more outrageous today.
Meanwhile, in order to dispel Xu Hongdou's curiosity, Lin Bufan decided to take a drastic step!
Lin Bufan rubbed his temples, revealing a helpless expression that said, "I really can't do anything with you guys." Then, his gaze slowly turned to Xu Hongdou, who was sitting opposite him.
Xu Hongdou was taken aback by Lin Bufan's gaze, and her heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.
Lin Bufan spoke slowly, his tone even more serious than when he was telling the "female ghost story": "Alright, since you insist on asking... then I won't hide it from you anymore. Actually, after I discovered that the place was unclean and that Miss Liu's soul was lingering there, I specifically cast a divination for this matter."
Lin Bufan paused, his gaze still fixed on Xu Hongdou, with an indescribable complexity: "The divination indicates that if Boss Li ultimately chooses to transfer that guesthouse for various reasons... then, by chance, this guesthouse will very likely end up in... Hongdou's hands."
"Me?" Xu Hongdou was completely dumbfounded, pointing at herself with disbelief on her face: "This... how is this possible? How did I end up here taking over a guesthouse?"
“Life is unpredictable, and the law of cause and effect is sometimes so wondrous.” Lin Bufan’s voice lowered: “And the most dangerous part of the divination is that… if Hongdou really becomes the owner of that guesthouse and lives in that land tainted by yin energy and haunted by vengeful spirits for a long time… she may be possessed by that Miss Liu, and under the influence of her vengeful spirit, she may have a tragic love affair that should not belong to her…”
"A tragic fate?" Xu Hongdou's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.
“Yes.” Lin Bufan nodded, his eyes becoming extremely serious, even with a hint of lingering fear: “A relationship destined to end in tragedy. The divination was vague, I couldn’t see the specifics, but the ending… was very bad. That’s why I was determined to stop Boss Li from transferring the business, eliminating any possibility of Hongdou taking it over.”
Chen Nanxing completely failed to grasp Lin Bufan's good intentions in coming up with this excuse. Instead, she asked with a strangely clear mind, "You're only concerned with protecting Hongdou. What if Boss Li really opens the guesthouse and the business booms, attracting many beautiful girls? What if that female ghost possesses someone else? Does that mean other people's ill-fated relationships aren't considered ill-fated relationships? Don't you care about other people's tragedies? Aren't you... being a bit too selfish?"