Poupée de nuit

Chapitre 13

I suddenly thought, Ruan Xiuwen must not know of Su Ying's existence. What if I handed Su Ying over to Ruan Xiuwen as a condition for the truth? But doing so would be a betrayal of Su Ying, and Ruan Xiuwen might not agree. Besides, Su Ying's true identity has not yet been confirmed, so I decided against it.

Thinking this, I looked up at my watch and it was already eight o'clock. Su Ying had come to see me around this time two days ago. I thought I should take the initiative to go upstairs to see her today; perhaps she would say something. Today, I have a purpose and an intention... However, at that moment, my phone rang. It was Su Ying.

"Hey, Nado? I have to stay at school today, so it's a shame we can't chat. I'm so sorry!"

"Oh, it's alright. Let's talk again tomorrow." I sighed inwardly at my bad luck. But then again, it seemed a bit unnecessary for her to call and apologize for something like this. As a girl, could it be...? I started to have doubts again, but if she really had feelings for me, I should be able to easily get her to tell me. If necessary, I could sacrifice my charms—if I had any.

The situation is now quite clear. Although no conclusion has been reached yet, there's only one thing left to do: have a good talk with Su Ying tomorrow. With an optimistic attitude, I went to bed early.

I was woken up early in the morning by my phone ringing. I answered groggily, "Hello?" "Na Duo!" It was Su Ying again, and she sounded very excited.

"What's wrong?" I asked, trying to sound more alert.

"My classmate is in trouble again! And this time it's strange! Come and take a look!" "What happened? Tell me slowly and clearly!" I immediately woke up and quickly got dressed and got out of bed while speaking.

“This morning, my classmate inexplicably got lost at school. She was walking with us, but suddenly she was gone. She came back half an hour later, terrified. She said she didn’t remember anything, except that when she woke up she was lying on top of a well, and if it weren’t for the well cover, she would have fallen in. And… and another classmate did the same thing yesterday, it’s really scary!” She said, but her tone revealed a kind of eager anticipation.

"Okay, I'll be right there!" I hurriedly went out the door.

Su Ying was waiting for me at the main gate of Shanghai University. After we met, she said she would take me to see the well. Her classmate was resting in the dormitory because she couldn't bear the shock, so Su Ying asked for directions and took me to the well.

After walking for a while, we entered an alleyway. The houses in the alleyway were quite old. I thought to myself, based on the route we had just taken, this place shouldn't be too far from Zhidan Garden. There were quite a few sections of the route I had taken on my way here. I looked around and sure enough, I could see the buildings of Zhidan Garden not far away, just across a row of old houses.

At the end of the alley is that mysterious well.

Looking closely at the well, I saw it was an old, well-dwelled one, covered with a rusty iron lid and locked. Clearly, it was a well that had been abandoned for a long time. I examined it closely; there were no strange patterns, not even any signs of recent disturbance, nothing unusual at all.

I slowly approached the well, but felt nothing. I tried to touch it, but only felt rust.

"What did your classmates say?" I asked Su Ying.

"She just said that she seemed to be bewitched by something and didn't know anything. When she woke up, she was lying on this well, and there was nothing else."

"Did the person notice any changes?" "It doesn't seem like there's anything wrong, just that they're terrified."

I was at a loss. Seeing Su Ying's expectant face, I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. Every time she excitedly called me over, I couldn't help at all. There was nothing I could do; I wasn't part of Organization X.

I said helplessly to Su Ying, "Let's wait until we find some tools to lift the manhole cover and take a look. We can't see any problems right now."

"Great!" Su Ying said excitedly, "Call me when the time comes!"

Su Ying and I parted ways, and I went back to L University to prepare for class. I walked to the roadside intending to call a taxi directly to the newspaper office.

A car was approaching from the opposite direction. I raised my hand, but suddenly my mind went blank, as if I were in a fog. Then I snapped back to reality and found myself lying on the edge of the well, my clothes covered in rust. I checked my watch and realized that half an hour had passed. This was a real shock, and I broke out in a cold sweat.

I tried desperately to recall, but my mind was completely blank. This was terrifying. It felt like only a blink of an eye, yet I had been unconscious for a full half hour. I consider myself to have a fairly strong will; although I'm usually a bit lazy, I wouldn't be so easily swayed in a crucial moment. Just now, it felt like I suddenly entered a hypnotic, trance-like state—something I've never experienced before. Even... I thought of someone.

When it comes to techniques like mind control, hypnosis, and hallucinations, no one I know is more authoritative than her. I decided to seek her help. She's far more amazing than any of the X-organizations I know.

I finally mustered up the courage to make the call.

"Hi, is this Lu Yun? It's me, Na Duo. Do you remember me?"

Lu Yun's pleasant voice came from the other end of the phone. Ever since the "Murderous Man" incident, I have always believed that she can be considered a first-class illusion master in the world. Perhaps I am ignorant and do not know much about experts in this field, but she is definitely an authoritative expert in the fields of spirit, mind, and illusion. There is no doubt about that.

I explained it to her very simply, because it's not something that can be explained in just a few words; I just emphasized the importance of the matter. "Oh, I see. I'm nearby and can come over right away," she said with a laugh on the phone. "I'm really glad we'll see each other again, and that you still think of me when you need something."

Despite my many doubts, I was still stunned the moment I saw Lu Yun, captivated by her beauty and momentarily disoriented. Her attire was unremarkable—a purple dress adorned with several unique necklaces, exuding a surreal, mysterious aura. However, what truly made her breathtakingly beautiful were her eyes—bright, deep, seemingly containing all emotions… I quickly realized I had been staring at those eyes for too long and hastily averted my gaze.

Judging from her incredible beauty now, I'm convinced her illusions are far more refined than when I last saw her. My reason tells me that perhaps the way I first saw her was her true appearance, and what I see now is merely the effect of illusion.

Having experienced the "human cave" incident, I was confident I wouldn't be so easily captivated by her. I could still recall what she looked like before. Hypnosis and illusion, these techniques that attempt to control others' thoughts and manipulate their minds, must first create a breach in the person's willpower before they can invade their mind. The methods of the practitioner are nothing more than language, actions, and expressions. Someone like Lu Yun, possessing naturally stunning beauty, coupled with the highly skilled illusionist, could effortlessly manipulate any ordinary person with a mere gesture, a simple movement, or even subconscious control. However, for me, someone confident in having experienced many unbelievable events, being easily captivated wouldn't be so simple.

That's why the well puzzled me even more.

"Hi, long time no see, how have you been?" Lu Yun greeted me lightly and sat down opposite me.

"It's alright. Sigh, your skills are really getting more and more advanced, and you're becoming more and more beautiful, isn't that true?" I tried my best to ignore her beauty.

"That's so rude!" Lu Yun scolded. Her smile was truly captivating.

"Just kidding."

I recounted the events to her in detail again. Starting with Zhidan Garden, because I already believed that so many strange things happening at the same time were not just coincidences, and that these seemingly unrelated events were very likely related to the archaeological work at Zhidan Garden.

“That really sounds unusual. I’m quite interested in it,” Lu Yun said thoughtfully.

"Well then, without further ado, I'll take you to the well I mentioned."

Soon I led Lu Yun to the well. I approached cautiously step by step, while she strode to the edge of the well.

"What's the problem?" we asked each other almost simultaneously as we left the room.

"It's nothing!" she said, circling the well once, looking at the well for a long time, and then shaking her head.

"Really? But I was definitely affected just now." Seeing that nothing was wrong, I also walked to the well.

After waiting a while longer, nothing happened.

"Sigh, never mind." I sighed. "Let's find a place to sit down and rest for a bit, and I'll explain the whole thing to you in general."

She responded, and we walked together out of the alley.

However, after taking a few steps, Lu Yun suddenly stopped, his expression serious.

She turned sharply to look at the well. I realized something must have happened, but I couldn't feel anything. I turned my gaze to Lu Yun.

“There is definitely a problem,” she said, her gaze still fixed on the well.