Chapter 89: We Can't Meet Them
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Xi Mo subconsciously asked, "What cicada?”
"The cicada that chirps in summer.”
Modern farming is different from traditional practices. Depending on the economic benefits, it has created many different types of industries. There are farms for toads, silkworms, centipedes, scorpions, bamboo rats, and snakes. Some are even stranger. Raising cicadas is one of them, though it’s not common. They are mostly used in medicine, and a few places also have the habit of eating them.
Xi Mo became even more suspicious after hearing this.
The cicada breeder Ruan Yesheng mentioned was definitely different from “cicada breeder” in a general sense
"What do you mean?" Xi Mo frowned. "Why do you call her a cicada breeder?"
Ruan Yesheng shook her head. "Honestly, I don’t know either. Back then, I met Tinghuan, and after we got to know each other because of some events, she became a good friend of mine. Later, she told me she was a cicada breeder. That was what she called herself, and I only understood it halfway. She said I didn’t need to understand it too deeply, since everything she had gone through and the responsibilities she bore had nothing to do with me. She would always help me in the future, but I didn’t need to dig too much into her. That wasn’t a world I could understand, so I didn’t ask her anything more."
Xi Mo's expression became a little stiff. "I really can't understand it right now."
"I felt the same way as you at the time," Ruan Yesheng said with a smile as she sat down, slowly explaining, "Tinghuan once told me that there are many wondrous things in this world that we don't know. Our lives are peaceful, but in reality, there are many unknown places. They are hidden in areas that are beyond our reach. At that time, I didn't understand it either, but after meeting Tinghuan, I started to know a little, though just the surface."
She paused and continued, "Those places are ethereal, and only a very, very few people have the ability to go there. It's almost impossible to return once you go, and those who can enter are naturally people with extraordinary abilities. Their physical makeup is also different from ours. They can endure the kinds of hardships we can't even imagine and can venture into dangerous places to explore the magnificent worlds that we could never reach. But we are just ordinary people. We simply can't do it."
Xi Mo pondered for a moment and asked, "So, Yan Tinghuan is someone who can go to those kinds of places?"
"It should be," Ruan Yesheng continued. "It’s related to her ancestors. The Yan family has been breeding cicadas for generations, going back to ancient times. Tinghuan said that in ancient times, there were many mysterious tribes and strange professions. For example, her family breeds cicadas and is known as the cicada breeders, while others breed poison insects and are called poison masters, some are skilled in mechanisms and are called mechanics. Some could set up formations, shrink bones, make poisons, refine corpses, control corpses, and even raise evil creatures. It all sounds really terrifying. Fortunately, they have all been submerged in the river of history, hidden from the world, and it's very difficult for us to get in touch with them. Otherwise, we wouldn't have enough lives to die."
"Incredible." Even someone as calm as Xi Mo couldn't help but marvel after hearing this.
She was an actress and had acted in various types of films, including some with supernatural elements. But she had always thought those were just fictional parts of the script. Now, Ruan Yesheng told her that some of them might actually be real, and she found it difficult to digest them all at once.
Ruan Yesheng gave a bitter smile. "Don't you think that the fact that we swapped bodies is already something incredible? I think, to some extent, this really aligns with what Tinghuan said. There are so many things in this world that we can't understand, but they're just so far from us. Even though we've swapped bodies, maybe we've only touched the surface of it all."
"Fortunately, we're far from it," Xi Mo said. "People with such abilities often walk between reality and illusions. Their lives must be full of ups and downs, never peaceful."
"Mm." Ruan Yesheng nodded. "But Yan Tinghuan said that she's actually not that capable. The truly powerful people, she hasn't even seen them herself, she just heard a little about them from her family's ancestral books."
Xi Mo furrowed her brow and thought for a moment. "I suddenly have an idea."
"Go ahead."
Xi Mo sat down, interlocking her fingers and resting them on the table, her expression serious. "We need to switch back as soon as possible. Otherwise, like we suspected, we might die in the end. Time may not be on our side. But right now, we don't have any leads. For something so incredible, shouldn't we find experts who understand these things to solve it? At least they would know more than us, like those truly powerful people that Yan Tinghuan mentioned."
"Your idea makes a lot of sense, but where should we find them?" For these matters, Ruan Yesheng had mostly learned about them from Yan Tinghuan's stories, and she felt a little lost. "In her family's ancestral books, there are mentions of two people her ancestors encountered. They were especially noted, and they're incredibly powerful."
"What kind of people?" Xi Mo asked.
"They didn't mention names, just said they were two women." Ruan Yesheng tried to recall some of the details Yan Tinghuan had shared with her during their casual chats. "The two women were both owners of an antique shop, and they were always together. Back then, during the Yan family's ancestors' cicada festival, a terrifying disaster occurred. The Yan family lost many young and talented people because of it. Fortunately, the two women were there at the time, and in the end, they helped resolve the situation. The Yan family was deeply grateful to them and specifically recorded it in their books, hoping future generations would remember."
"From what you said, the Yan family's ancestors were already extraordinary. To receive such respect from them, those two women must have been incredibly capable." Xi Mo's tone grew heavy as she said, "If we could meet such people, maybe they would have an idea for a solution. But they lived in the distant past, and they can't live forever. They must have passed away long ago, so we can't meet them."
"Right now, we can only try to look for others." Ruan Yesheng also felt a sense of regret.
"Since Yan Tinghuan is not surprised by these things, have you considered telling her the truth and asking if she has any way to help us switch back?"
"You're not afraid of her finding out?" Ruan Yesheng was surprised by Xi Mo's suggestion and asked with some interest.
After switching bodies, she confessed to Yan Tinghuan, hoping to find a solution. But even Yan Tinghuan was at a loss.
"You trust her so much, I think she must be a trustworthy person." Xi Mo looked into Ruan Yesheng's eyes.
Ruan Yesheng blinked at her: "Do you trust me that much?"
Xi Mo didn't speak.
"Well then," Ruan Yesheng said, trying to tease her. She had a mischievous thought in her mind. "After tonight, when this is over, you go tell Tinghuan that we swapped bodies. I feel too embarrassed to bring it up myself, but I'll go with you."
Xi Mo: "..."
"You don't want to tell her?" Ruan Yesheng looked at her with a pitiful expression, as if sighing with concern. "Then let's just hide it from her and figure it out ourselves."
Xi Mo's face darkened. After a long pause, she finally said, "I will tell her."
Ruan Yesheng's eyes curled up with a smile.
By evening, Feng Tangtang delivered dinner for the two of them. She left after sitting for a while. The two of them had their meal and continued watching the surveillance videos in the room while waiting for Yan Tinghuan.
Cui Jiayu hadn't rested all day. She stayed in a van with several brothers near the hotel, also monitoring the surveillance.
She divided the team into two groups. One group kept an eye on the hotel room where the deceased, Zhang Yuning, had stayed, while the other group focused on the surveillance around the street where Zhang Yuning's body had been found.
There were no cameras near the spot where Zhang Yuning's body was located. No one had seen how she got there. Cui Jiayu checked the street layout and the direction in which Zhang Yuning's body had fallen. She deduced that before her death, Zhang Yuning must have come out of an alley behind her and walked to the roadside, where she eventually died.
Perhaps she had encountered something in that alley.
There were several alleys in that area, interconnected, some even leading to the main street. Although there were no cameras inside the alleys, some of the street corners were equipped with surveillance. The coroner had estimated Zhang Yuning's time of death to be around 5 a.m. when there weren't many people on the streets. Cui Jiayu planned to check the surveillance at nearby street corners, especially those connected to the alleys, to see if she could spot anyone acting suspiciously.
By 6:30, Cui Jiayu received a message, and her expression immediately changed.
She slapped the seat: "Everyone, wake up. The hotel front desk just sent a message. A new guest just checked into Zhang Yuning's room and is completing the check-in procedure."
"Boss, what's the name and occupation?"
Cui Jiayu sent the guest's information to the other officers and said: "Ding Qihong, female, 48 years old, a sanitation worker. Cheng Yu, go ask her supervisor what the situation is."
The officer named Cheng Yu immediately began to take action.
He was efficient. After a while, he returned with the information and said, "Ding Qihong's supervisor said she hasn't been to work since yesterday morning. We couldn't get through to her by phone; she was unreachable. Another thing worth noting is that Ding Qihong's assigned cleaning area is very close to where Zhang Yuning's body was found. People like her, who work very hard, are out on the streets cleaning as early as 4:30 a.m."
Cui Jiayu strapped on her service pistol and said, "Let's check the surveillance again around the area where Zhang Yuning's body was found to see if Ding Qihong's figure appears. Also, have the neighbors in the next room be on alert. I'll go over there soon. Listen to my orders—no one is to act without my command. Be discreet and avoid alerting the other hotel guests."
At the same time, there was a knock on the door outside Xi Mo's room.
Xi Mo walked over to the peephole and saw it was Yan Tinghuan, so she opened the door.
"Ruanruan." Yan Tinghuan smiled, her eyes squinting as she reached out to hug her.
Xi Mo knew she was always clingy and shameless, and she had gotten used to it. She let her give her a quick hug.
After closing the door, Yan Tinghuan walked in and looked at Ruan Yesheng, "Oh, the Goddess is also here."
She meaningfully added, "Recently, Goddess, you've been spending a lot of time with my Ruanruan."
Ruan Yesheng wanted to laugh inside but kept a serious face, "Director Lin asked us to go over the script more, so we definitely need to meet up more."
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
"Oh, so it's for the script," Yan Tinghuan said, and suddenly, with a click, she turned off the light.
The room was immediately plunged into darkness.
This sudden darkness startled Xi Mo a little, but she didn’t panic. She just asked, "Why turn off the light?"
"I'm this light bulb*, so bright here, do you still need the light on?" Yan Tinghuan said.
*Light bulb means third wheel in Chinese slang, nowadays many people believe it's because a light bulb can emit light, which affects the romantic atmosphere. But it was originally from a Cantonese pun of 不通气 [Bù tōngqì - no ventilation (characteristic of a light bulb since it's a vacuum)] and 唔通气 (Wú tōngqì - someone who lacks social awareness)
Xi Mo: "…"
Ruan Yesheng: "…"
Xi Mo thought for a moment. Although Yan Tinghuan was unreliable, she wouldn't suddenly make such a joke. There must have been a reason for her to turn off the light, so she didn't say anything and just waited.
"I'm going to release the cicada, I’m afraid it might scare you, so it's better to turn off the light." Yan Tinghuan's voice in the darkness sounded a bit chilly.
Author's Note:
Important Note: The two women mentioned in this chapter are the protagonists of another story I wrote, “Exploring the Empty Tombs - Modern Times”. This chapter also has a connection with “Exploring the Empty Tombs - Modern Times”, as the events involving “Swapped Movie Queens” and “Exploring the Empty Tombs - Modern Times” happen in the same world. Therefore, my two works are closely linked and feature guest appearances. As for the story about these two women encountering the Yan family in ancient times, I haven't written it yet. It is only briefly mentioned here and will be elaborated on in my “Exploring the Empty Tombs - Modern Times”.
You can read my “Exploring the Empty Tombs - Ancient Times” and “Exploring the Empty Tombs - Modern Times”. by visiting my author column on Jinjiang~ They are super sweet~
