Premier tome de la série Le Magicien Oolong Qui suis-je

Chapitre 29

"Going looking for inspiration, huh!" My older sister plopped down next to me, leaning against me. The top two buttons of her shirt were undone, and the loose neckline revealed a large expanse of snow-white skin and her high, firm breasts, which rose and fell with her breath, creating a beautiful wave of flesh.

I tried to look away from my older sister's chest. Although she was safe now, I couldn't guarantee that there wouldn't be other women born on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month who would be victimized. So I told her, "You should stay home and write these next few days. Don't go out and wander around!"

"Why?" My older sister's tone suddenly turned cold. This wasn't the tone she was used to when she spoke to me. I was taken aback and couldn't think of a good reason right away.

"Are you afraid I'll catch you with your girlfriend?" my older sister asked casually, but her eyes didn't look at me. Instead, she gazed into the distance. I had never seen my sister like this before—melancholy and distant, someone I couldn't reach.

"How...how did you know I have a girlfriend?" It took me a long time to finally ask, stunned.

"Silly boy!" My older sister patted my head affectionately and said, "I'm your older sister, we can communicate telepathically!"

"Oh, really?" I accepted her explanation, but I still had a strange feeling. My older sister knew about Yin Xue and me, and I wondered if my new relationship would make her think I was unfaithful to Yin Xue. I paused, but in the end, I didn't bring up Yin Xue again. Was that cowardice on my part?

"Men are such heartless creatures!" my older sister said coldly to me again. "Have you forgotten Yin Xue so quickly?"

Hearing her words, my blood seemed to freeze. It felt like I'd heard Yin Xue say the same thing to me in a hallucination. Could it be? Am I really such a heartless man? Looking at my older sister's beautiful face, I couldn't tell who she really was. Yin Xue's mournful yet disdainful face was gradually overlapping with my older sister's, and unease was gnawing at my heart like a rat.

"No matter how heartless you are, you must remember this," my older sister suddenly turned around and hugged me, saying, "I will always love you!"

Love me?! I smiled and hugged my older sister tightly. Yes, of course you love me, because I'm your only family, the closest blood siblings in the world! I patted her back knowingly and said, "I love you too, and forever!"

I don't know if it was because the room was too cold or because my older sister wasn't dressed warmly enough, but she was freezing cold and even shivering slightly, like a frightened little rabbit. I rubbed her back, stood up, and said, "Sis, you're so cold! Let me get you a coat!"

I turned to leave, but my older sister pounced on me from behind and hugged me tightly. Her hands gripped my clothes tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force. Her soft body pressed against my back, and even though I knew she was my sister, my damn physical reaction was so intense; all my desire seemed to gather in my lower abdomen in an instant. Taking a deep breath, I forcefully pulled my sister from behind me to face me, forcing myself to remain calm as I asked, "What's wrong, sister?"

"It's nothing!" My older sister shrugged, seemingly relaxed, but I knew something was off. Perhaps it was me who was acting strangely. My sister no longer seemed the same; she possessed an alluring charm. The faint fragrance emanating from her was both familiar and strange, like a flower field from a fragment of memory. Even worse, this scent acted like a potent aphrodisiac, reigniting the desire I had barely managed to suppress. It was so intense that I bit my tongue hard, enduring the pain as I said, "I have something to do. You go to sleep!" With that, I fled the house as if escaping.

********

Driving aimlessly through the night, I didn't know how to face my older sister. I was such a jerk that I even wanted my own sister. I should just kill myself!

"Damn it!" I slammed my fist on the steering wheel, not sure if I was cursing myself, and irritably stopped the car. Looking up, I realized I'd inexplicably driven right next to Heart Lake! Good heavens, looks like my brain's not just messed up today! I nervously glanced around; there was no one there. Heart Lake was dark and gloomy in the night, emanating a chilling aura. I pulled my coat tighter; I felt so cold, a chill creeping up from the depths of my being. The only sound was my breathing. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, I didn't even try to drive away. It was as if a voice from the depths of the forest was calling to me, begging me not to go!

From a purely medical perspective, fear can speed up a person's metabolism! And right now, my metabolism is probably several times faster! Because I actually got out of the car and slowly walked into the woods. In the end, I could only explain my behavior at that time with three words: possessed!

Without any lighting, I was essentially groping my way through the darkness. The surrounding branches formed blurry patterns in the shadows, like the gaping maw of a demon or the outline of a monster. These imagined visions filled my mind like a slideshow. Fear, in truth, originates from within. What truly terrifies us is our own speculation about the unknown. Various desires and greed prevent us from seeing our true selves, causing us to focus on the surface while neglecting the inner self.

My feet were stepping on the soft grass, fallen leaves returning to the earth, all leaves following their inevitable cycle, eventually rotting in the soil. The scent of death emanated from this leaf-strewn ground, spreading from my feet throughout my body. The soft, yielding sensation reminded me of corpses again, like stepping on a ground littered with them—cold, putrid, sticky, and nauseating. Yet my body moved straight forward, with no intention of turning back.

As I walked, I arrived at the lake's edge. Mist swirled around me, and the rising fog blurred my vision. Suddenly, my eyes began to twitch violently, and a strange feeling made my heart race. The lake water ahead churned, as if something was rising from the bottom, but it was too far away for me to see. Thinking this, my feet, as if possessed, began to move, walking straight towards the center of the lake.

The icy lake water surrounded me, its chilling touch stimulating my entire body. My capillaries all dilated instantly, and countless goosebumps immediately rose on my skin. I trembled slightly, and ripples spread across the lake.

Then I heard a faint breathing sound coming from beneath the surface of the lake.

Then came the mournful sighs and my own breathing...

I suddenly looked down, and beneath the lake's surface, blurry faces began to emerge. In my terror, they gradually became clearer: Yin Xue's, Cao Ying's, Fang Lei's, and my older sister Lin Yao's faces. They were all thin, pale faces, like props used by evil spirits to paint their faces. The ripples in the lake created a distorted, deathly white effect.

The eyes on every face, which had been tightly closed, suddenly opened and stared at me in unison. Each pair of eyes seemed to possess its own life, containing different thoughts, gazing at me with a chilling intensity. Whether it was the reflection of the moon or something else, each pair of eyes emitted a cold light, like a thousand knives cutting into my skin. This feeling was like an overwhelming grief compounded by a bone-chilling fear, making it hard for me to breathe.

I didn't know what to do. My body was completely stiff, and the icy lake water had reached my waist, but my feet seemed to heed the devil's call. At this moment, the lake water not only made me feel cold, but also intensely painful, as if it were corroding me with sulfuric acid.

The lake water was gradually rising, and I knew that I was steadily moving towards the center of the lake. If this continued, I would have to bathe in the lake in my heart, but my body wouldn't listen to me.

The feeling of choking on cold water is really unpleasant; the icy and stinging sensation throughout my body actually made me unusually clear-headed.

I resisted the sting of the water in my eyes and opened them underwater. The lake water was unusually clear, and my face, which had been covered by the water, was gone. Strangely, I thought I should be very close to the surface since I had just entered the lake, but when I looked up, I saw an unfathomable pool of water above me, incredibly deep, while looking down, everything was brightly lit. The light in the lake was emanating from beneath me.

It felt like... like I'd entered a completely upside-down world. What should have been the lake bottom was now the surface, and vice versa. Or perhaps it wasn't the world that was upside down, but myself? After struggling to shake my head in the water, I decided to swim towards the light. After all, human instinct is to repel darkness!

The further downstream I went, the brighter the light became, as if an incredibly powerful electric light had been installed at the bottom of the lake. The bright light gradually created a reddish halo in my vision, and my entire eyeball began to ache, as if something was pressing down on my temples. My eyes were sore from seeing things underwater for so long, and I strained with all my might, hoping to reach the end of the light as quickly as possible.

I've heard that people often see an unusually bright and dazzling white light before they die. So, am I about to die? I'm almost out of air in my lungs, my brain is starting to lack oxygen, but the sharp pain in my chest keeps me conscious.

Suddenly, an incredibly bright white light flashed before my eyes, followed by sudden darkness. But I felt a sense of relief because I had surfaced and was breathing air again.

There was no time for me to figure out how to sink to the bottom of the lake and find an exit. My eyes, accustomed to overly bright environments for so long, were terribly disoriented by the sudden darkness. I could only vaguely make out a red glow flickering before my eyes. I blinked, and my vision was filled with a bloody hue. A familiar yet nauseating smell of blood assaulted my nostrils. After a struggle to readjust my eyes to the darkness, I looked again and saw that familiar sewer door. Behind that door lay a pool of blood, formed from the blood of countless people, hidden like countless unspeakable secrets in the damp, dark abyss.

Book One: The Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Sixty-Four: The Beginning of the Truth

Book One: The Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Sixty-Four: The Beginning of the Truth

Struggling to climb out of the sewer, I looked back at the dark, narrow passage, then back at the door right in front of me. I really didn't know whether to go back or push the door open. The smell of blood seemed even stronger than last time, but I remembered that the blood pool was perfectly clear when I left last time. Had it reverted back to its original state? Thinking this, my foot involuntarily took a step forward, and my hand was already on the surface of the door.

With just a gentle push, creak~~~~~~~~, the door opened.

The blood pool before them was emitting an eerie red light, and right next to it stood a "person"—Yang Tianxing! His face was bluish-black, but the light in his eyes was unusually bright. His skin had dried out and turned brown, clinging dryly to his skeleton.

"Are you a human or a ghost?" My voice was dry and hoarse with fear.

"Haha~~~" His laughter was like a cassette tape stuck in a broken record player, giving me goosebumps.

"Lin Xiao, you've finally arrived!" Yang Tianxing said with a smug smile. "You should feel honored to witness my rebirth!"

Birth? I glanced at him curiously, but what I caught in the corner of my eye struck me like a thunderbolt: right there in the pool of blood, an infant floated silently on its surface, its body entirely crimson. Could this really be Cao Ying's child? Was the hallucination by the Heart Lake real? Cold sweat slowly trickled down my forehead and dripped onto the ground.

"What is this?" I asked.

"What?" Yang Tianxing looked into my eyes and said, word by word, "It is me!"

"Is it you?" My mind started racing. Wait a minute! Yang Tianxing was clearly dead, how could he be resurrected? If this baby is a reincarnated evil spirit, it couldn't be Yang Tianxing's ghost; it doesn't have that kind of power! Could it be…it's him?!

"You're not Yang Tianxing!" I shouted, pointing at him. "You're Song Tian!"

"Haha~~~~! You're not stupid after all!" Song Tian glanced at me smugly and said.

"You bastard, why did you take over someone else's body?" I don't know where I got the courage to yell at him.

"Someone else's body? Heh, do you even consider this a person?" Song Tian touched Yang Tianxing's body and asked me coldly.

Yes, this body can no longer be considered human; at best, it's just a corpse. But no matter what, using someone else's corpse as one's own body is a desecration of humanity! I suddenly felt a pang of sorrow for Song Tian. What good is his so-called immortality if he still ends up using a corpse as his vessel? What's the point of such eternal life? The best proof of a person's existence in this world is their own body. If the body is false, then one's existence is also false!

I sighed, then suddenly laughed and said, "How pathetic!"

"What did you say?" Song Tian was clearly confused by my actions and asked in confusion.

"I said I pity you! I pity you for clinging to this world even though you don't have a body anymore! Oh! Sorry!" I shrugged and said, "I forgot you don't actually have your own face!"

"You—!" Song Tian was so enraged that he was practically spitting fire. His face contorted with rage as he glared at me and said, "Isn't it all your fault that I lost my body?! If it weren't for that damned Lin Junxian, if he hadn't killed me, how could I have died? How could I have died before the experiment even succeeded?! That bastard Lin Junxian lied to me and said the experiment was a success, and then stabbed me in the back on the way to the lab!"

Listening to Song Tian's taunts, I finally understood the cause of his death. I think Lin Junxian must have killed him in a fit of rage after learning Song Tian's true identity and sinister intentions! That's why Yang Yi thought Lin Junxian wanted to sever ties with investor Song Tian, unaware that Lin Junxian had already killed him! And the subsequent fire at the hospital must have been something Lin Junxian never expected! His best friend and best partner would burn everything, even himself, in pursuit of immortality! Being killed by the person he trusted most must have been a very bitter death! But why did Yang Yi also perish in the fire? Thinking of this, I looked at Song Tian again and asked, "Did you kill Yang Yi?"

"Yang Yi? That despicable man?" Song Tian said contemptuously, "He's just a scoundrel who'd sell anything for immortality. A person who would betray and kill even his best friend has no value in this world! Haha~~~~ Chinese pigs! You spout all that benevolence and morality, and praise Confucius's teachings on benevolence, but so what? You're capable of any kind of shady business!"

I was momentarily speechless. Yes, we admire Confucius's benevolence and morality, saying that human nature is inherently good. But why is there so much darkness in our nation? Traitors and lackeys will always be among the most disgraceful aspects of this nation's history! Or perhaps, we should say that human nature is inherently evil? Each of us has a dark side that we ourselves are unaware of!

I gave a wry smile and calmly replied, "Yes, some of us are despicable! But what about you? What have you done in your quest for immortality? You've harmed countless lives, treating them like dirt! And of course, there's your father, Matsuda Tamanosuke! The doctor from Unit 731!"

When I mentioned Matsuda Tamanosuke, Song Tian visibly paused for a moment, then suddenly burst into wild laughter: "Looks like you know quite a lot! That's why I'm even less likely to let you leave alive!"

Are you going to kill me? It's come to this point, and I find that I'm no longer afraid. I calmly look at Song Tian in front of me. What's meant to happen will happen!

"Aren't you scared?" Song Tian asked in surprise, looking at my unusually calm demeanor.

"Afraid? Of course I'm afraid. Who isn't afraid of death? But I'm more curious about why you went to such lengths to bring me here." I'm really curious why Song Tian chose me, and why he wanted me to witness his rebirth.

"Because I need your help!" Song Tian grinned maliciously as he approached me.

"Help you? You're dreaming!" I said, taking a step back.

"Haha~~~ That's not up to you anymore!" Song Tian approached me triumphantly and said, "Do you know how much effort I put into this Ten Thousand Soul Locking Array back then? Unfortunately, before I could even use it, Lin Junxian killed my body, forcing me to gather ten thousand souls by manipulating the ghost of Yang Yi and Lin Junxian's daughter, Lin Yiyi! But I never expected that this damned woman, Lin Yuyan, would interfere again!"

"So!" I suddenly understood something and said, "So you possessed Zhu Zhenhua's body and conspired with Yu Zhongguo and Mao Aijun to rape and murder her! I think you were the one who invited her to Xinhu Lake alone, and the reason must have been to tell her that you knew the real cause of Lin Junxian's death!"

"Did you guess that? Hmph!" Song Tian said viciously, "Since the Myriad Souls Locking Spirit Array is supposed to suppress people with spiritual power, then I'll take advantage of it. I'll imprison her soul in that array, ensuring she'll never have the chance to be reincarnated again. I'll let her soul be tormented by sorrow, loneliness, fear, and resentment! Forever!!!"

Hearing Song Tian's words, a chill ran down my spine. Raped and murdered, then denied reincarnation, imprisoned in a dark, sunless formation, unable to escape, unable to die, day after day, year after year! If such suffering were to befall me, I would have gone mad long ago, perhaps even wishing to disappear from this world altogether. Yet Lin Yuyan, this seemingly fragile woman, was so incredibly strong! Even when she later had the chance to escape the formation, she was still focused on stopping Song Tian's plot, willing to bear the infamy of murdering several women to eliminate the Yin Maiden who could potentially reincarnate Song Tian?

"Then why?" I suddenly thought of Lin Yiyi, that poor little girl, and asked, "Why wouldn't you even spare a child like Lin Yiyi?"

"Lin Yiyi? Ha! Who told her to be Lin Junxian's daughter? Her father killed me. Don't you Chinese have a saying that children pay for their father's debts? Well, I'll make her pay!" Song Tian was getting closer and closer, and I had no way out.

"You even prey on such a young child, you devil!" I reached behind me and grabbed a laboratory bottle, then smashed it at Song Tian without a second thought.

"Ahhhhhh!" Song Tian screamed and took a few steps back. Several shards of glass were embedded in his arm, and a dark red liquid, much thicker than normal, slowly dripped from his cracked skin. The red blood had turned blackish-red, and a stench of death filled the air. However, Song Tian didn't seem to feel any pain. He just glared at me viciously before lunging at me again.

Looking back, I saw there was no way to turn back. Gritting my teeth, I ran towards the door. Just a few steps away, a sudden, sharp pain shot through my back, burning like a wound scalded with chili water. A flash of stars went through my vision, and I collapsed to the ground.

Ouch! Tears welled up in my eyes from the pain. Looking up, I saw that Song Tian's fingers were covered in blood, and his fingernails had grown incredibly long, like the claws of a wild animal. Struggling to get up, I braced my right hand against the ground. Instantly, a piercing pain shot through my palm; I could feel my skin being ripped open, and warm blood was flowing from the wound. Without time to examine the wound closely, I quickly stood up. A quick glance revealed it was caused by shards of glass from earlier.

Song Tian's hands, covered in sharp claws, were already right in front of me. I didn't dare confront those hands, which were as sharp as knives, and quickly took a large step back. Without magic, I was completely helpless against Song Tian. Should I resort to hand-to-hand combat? But the sight of those gleaming nails sent chills down my spine, and my already rusty Taekwondo skills were completely forgotten.

With a loud "thump," I was slammed against the iron gate. The burning pain in my back, upon contact with the cold metal, felt like lying on a bed of a thousand needles. My whole body trembled uncontrollably, a mixture of pain and the fear of death. At that moment, death seemed so close and real that I felt dizzy, and a bright light flashed before my eyes.

"No, you won't kill me?" I had no way out and no strength left to run away. Looking at Song Tian, who had stopped in his tracks, I asked weakly.

"Of course I'll kill you, but before that, I need your blood!" Song Tian stretched out his hand, and his already sharp fingernails suddenly grew by several centimeters, transforming into five sharp, gleaming knives. The feeling of having those five knives piercing my body must be unpleasant. I gave a bitter laugh, realizing I could still laugh even at this point.

"Is my blood valuable?" I clenched my injured hand, feeling my blood coming into contact with that strange ring. A wisp of heat flowed into my body from the ring, and the familiar feeling immediately filled my entire body.

"Because you were born on the seventh day of the seventh month, a pure Yin body, but you are a Yang man. The blood flowing from such a body is just right to be my first meal after my rebirth! Haha~~~!" Song Tian laughed triumphantly.

What?! My first meal?! I don't want my blood to become the "breast milk" of a reincarnated demon! That's disgusting. I frowned and said, "That depends on whether you have the ability!" After saying that, I punched Song Tian.

"What?" Song Tian didn't expect me to still have the ability to resist. While he was stunned, my blood-covered fist had already thrown out. The golden light emanating from the ring was so dazzling that it made his body sway. Perhaps the power of the ring had once deeply shocked him by the lakeside of his heart. Fear and despair immediately appeared in his eyes, and his whole body froze there.

The golden light shone on Song Tian like intense radiation, and just like last time, his entire body began to melt again, his long fingernails dissolving like candle wax. His face was particularly horrifying; his entire face was burned away, revealing the dark red muscle layer beneath, his nose was crooked to one side, and his eyeballs drooped into their sockets. Then he let out a violent scream and collapsed to the ground, and the golden light vanished. No matter how much I shook my hand, I couldn't make the ring glow again.

There was no other way but to escape now! Taking advantage of Song Tian being rendered unrecognizable by the golden light of the ring, I quickly turned around and smashed open the door. The cold, damp air from the sewer rushed in, sending a chill down my spine. Ignoring the pain in my back and hands, I dashed out as fast as I could. I hesitated, glancing at the water in the sewer, and decided not to jump in. Since Song Tian had deliberately lured me here tonight, it seemed I couldn't use my water escape technique anymore. I'd better follow the sewers and see if I could find a way out!

Looking back at Song Tian, who was still struggling, and then at the pitch-black tunnel in front of me, I took a deep breath, clenched my fists, and ran into the unknown depths of darkness.

Volume One: Three Ghost Stories of the City, Chapter Sixty-Five: The Lin Family

Volume One: Three Ghost Stories of the City, Chapter Sixty-Five: The Lin Family

In the darkness, only the sound of flowing water could be heard, only time flowed by, and I, stumbling and running, wandered through this underground labyrinth, without direction or end. I stopped to catch my breath; the pain in my back seemed to be getting worse, a numb, stinging pain that threatened to spread throughout my body.

Where's the exit? Where's the entrance from last time? I spun around in circles, the same scenery, the same flowing water—I was practically a mouse going in circles. What to do? I was almost ready to give up, but then I thought I heard footsteps behind me. Was it Song Tian? Thinking of this, I started running again, running down the narrow corridor I hated most.

After running for another ten minutes or so, my strength was almost completely exhausted. My legs felt heavier and heavier, as if they were filled with lead. The air in the sewer was unusually cold, causing my breath to condense into white vapor, forming strange patterns in the darkness. My whole body was shivering uncontrollably, and I felt a chill emanating from my very bones.

Suddenly, I lost my balance and fell hard to the ground with a thud, stars flashing before my eyes. Ouch! I grimaced as I pushed myself up from the ground, slightly raising my head, and a pair of small feet came into view.

"Yiyi?" I exclaimed in surprise. At that moment, Lin Yiyi was quietly standing in front of me, her face pale, her eyes filled with heartbreaking confusion and bewilderment.

"Big brother!" Lin Yiyi threw herself into my arms. Touching her cold, trembling, frail body, I was overcome with sorrow. Such a small child, yet she had to bear such immense hatred and loneliness. How could someone so small and weak bear such a burden?

I sighed, patted Lin Yiyi on the back, and said, "Brother is here, don't be afraid!"