Red satin

Chapter 27

Shishi seemed to have given in again, raising the fruit fork. Lu Ziming closed his eyes, daring not to say anything more. If he said anything more that would remind Shishi of the past, then Shishi would be the one to suffer. But the fork didn't fall. Opening his eyes, he saw Shishi suddenly swing the fork and stab herself in the eye. The intense pain jolted him awake. He turned around and tightly hugged Lan Qi. Lan Qi was stunned by this unexpected turn of events. She struggled in Shishi's arms, trying to tear Shishi apart, but the curse's power was so strong that she couldn't escape. If he didn't get rid of Lan Qi, Lu Ziming would only face death.

Lu Ziming was terrified and kept saying, "Shishi, no, no."

He shouted in desperation, "Shishi, you idiot! Come and kill me! Don't do anything stupid! It doesn't matter. As long as Qin Jin and Ke Liang find you, you'll recover. Shishi, come and kill me!"

Shishi forcefully dragged Lanqi toward the edge of the rooftop, as if she were going to push her off. A fork was stuck in her face, making her look terrifying, yet also incredibly moving.

She looked up at Lu Ziming and said softly, "Tell Qin Jin I'm sorry, I can't stay with her anymore. Don't argue with Ke Liang anymore, he actually cares about you a lot."

I struggled to the edge of the rooftop, below which was a crowd of people as small as ants.

Shishi hugged Lan Qi, turned her head to look at the man she loved most in her life, and asked in the calmest tone, "Lu Ziming, did you ever like me? Actually, I don't necessarily need an answer, but I want to tell you that I like you very much, and that's enough."

After saying those words, her figure disappeared from the rooftop, soaring into the night sky like a graceful night bird. She may not have been perfect, nor had her life been flawless; she had a bad temper and was somewhat petty. But at the most crucial moment of her life, to save her beloved and to protect her friends, she chose death.

Lu Ziming remained silent for a long time, neither making a sound nor shouting, nor even moving.

He closed his eyes, thinking it was all just an illusion, and that Shishi would come back when he opened them, even if she killed him.

He heard himself shouting, "Shishi, I love you! I've always loved you. I don't know when I started liking you, but I only realized now how much I love you. Can you hear me? Why did you leave without listening to my answer? I will never forgive you. No matter where you are, I will find you. I want to tell you, I love you. Come back, please come back soon!"

Chapter Twenty-Five: Waiting (1)

At Shishi's funeral, none of the three shed a tear; they seemed to have become numb with grief. Lu Ziming mostly stayed beside the urn. A hand rested on his shoulder; he knew it was Ke Liang without turning around.

“If I had listened to you, perhaps Shishi wouldn’t have died. If I hadn’t gone to find her, she wouldn’t have died saving me,” Lu Ziming said in a hoarse voice.

“It’s none of your business. It was all the witch’s doing. First, the witch used the blood-stained ribbon to trick Shishi, then she used the clapper on the blood-stained ribbon to harm everyone. Finally, she forced our elder, Sixiang, to come forward. The timeline was shifted to that era. Once Sixiang was eliminated, she could do whatever she wanted,” Ke Liang said.

“We’re all just bait,” Lu Ziming sneered.

"Weren't we supposed to be the new Four Phases? Why did Shishi die? This must be just an illusion. Shishi will come back to life." Lu Ziming muttered to himself, overwhelmed with grief.

Qin Jin stood frozen to the side. If he hadn't been so alert and discovered the truth, Shishi wouldn't have died so quickly. The pain in his heart was indescribable; all three of them wished that they were the ones who had died, not someone else.

Grandpa appeared at the funeral, looking very sad. He suddenly said to the three of them, "I know how to get rid of the witch."

If the gazes of three people could kill a ghost, then Grandpa would surely have been utterly annihilated.

“Don’t look at me like that. I know this secret, but I can’t tell you unless absolutely necessary, because it would cost my grandson Ke Liang his life.”

The three of them were startled.

"Yes, this is the most vicious trick our family practiced to get rid of the ghost. It's called 'mutual destruction.' It turns your body into a trap to absorb the ghost. But if the Three Lives Stone isn't used to purify it, the person will be controlled by the ghost. However, the person will be very weak when the ghost first enters their body. You can kill them during this time."

Qin Jin stood up and yelled, "Bullshit! What kind of method is this?"

Lu Ziming immediately shook his head and said, "I won't let Ke Liang do such a foolish thing. Haven't we lost enough friends already?"

Ke Liang slowly said, "We can give it a try. Didn't you say there's still a way to save us?"

"Yes... however, there has never been a successful rescue before."

"Do you have the Three Lives Stone?" Ke Liang asked.

"Yes, the Three Lives Stone is not hard to find. It is just a kind of spiritual stone. Those who are destined will see their three lives on it."

Ke Liang said optimistically, "Then give it to me. When the time comes, I'll capture the witch inside my body, and you'll be purified immediately. Once the witch is purified, won't I be able to leave without any problems?"

“You are a member of the Ke family, and the Ke family’s mission is to catch ghosts. Your mission is extraordinary, otherwise I would not have used this trick to wipe out our Ke family line. I can give you the Three Lives Stone, but no one knows the method of purification. Or give me a little more time, and I will figure it out.”

Ke Liang stretched out his hand: "Grandpa, there's no time left. If this continues, we'll be killed by Wu Quan. If we have to sacrifice someone else, I'll be the only one."

"Haha, this is my good grandson." As he laughed, a stone fell from the sky, and the grandfather disappeared.

The three of them looked around at the ordinary-looking stone for a long time.

"Is Grandpa lying to us again?" Qin Jin couldn't help but wonder.

“Yes, this stone really doesn’t look like the Three Lives Stone. Why is it so ordinary?” Lu Ziming said.

"You don't understand. The more ordinary something is, the more useful it actually is. Alright, alright, let's go catch the witch and purify it."

Ke Liang seems to be about to take action.

Qin Jin snatched the stone from her hand: "You're not allowed to go, it's too dangerous. That's not ghost hunting, it's suicide." She then put the stone into her bag.

"How could I possibly die so easily?"

"You're not allowed to go, and that's final. Otherwise, I'll kill myself first." Qin Jin was unusually stubborn now.

Seeing that things were not going well, Ke Liang quickly nodded and said, "Okay, okay, I won't go, I won't go. Besides, I don't know where I'm going now. Heaven knows where the witch is!"

Just then, they heard a sharp meow. Qin Jin listened carefully and exclaimed, "It's Hei Bao! Oh no!"

Blackie is now Qin Jin's life. Having lost friends like Shishi, this cat is not only a talisman for her, but more importantly, she is emotionally inseparable from Blackie.

Running into the corridor, Qin Jin saw that Hei Bao had already been grabbed by a hand outside the window. Qin Jin didn't care about anything else and rushed forward recklessly. He saw another hand reach out and stab towards Qin Jin's eyes, with sharp nails like two knives.

If I take Blackie back now, my eyes will be injured; if I hesitate even for a moment, Blackie will disappear. I'd rather die than lose Blackie. This cat isn't just my pet, it's my savior.

Ordinary ghosts can't harm Hei Bao, so what made Hei Bao so afraid? And he was almost killed by that hand. The hand didn't seem big, and there was a trace of blood on the back of the hand, as if Hei Bao had cut it.

In that split second, Qin Jin leaned forward, no longer avoiding the hand. Her eyes stung, but she touched a furry kitten. The two men running behind her heard Qin Jin's scream and turned around. Two streams of blood slid down Qin Jin's face, and she was holding a frightened black cat in her arms.

Qin Jin's eyes were ruined, but she was willing to give them up to save Hei Bao.

The two men behind him were so frightened that they didn't dare to make a sound for a long time. Watching Qin Jin slowly grope his way over with two streams of blood flowing down his face, Ke Liang hurriedly ran up and said, "You really can't see it?"

Lu Ziming took out his phone and dialed the emergency center. The three of them stood in the corridor, speechless, their minds churning but unable to utter a word.

Qin Jin's eyes were only scratched, but strangely, the injury only damaged the nerves and the eyeball was not greatly damaged, but he could no longer see.

Ke Liang was making a scene in the doctor's office, demanding that the doctor cure Qin Jin's eyes no matter what. Meanwhile, Lu Ziming quietly retreated to the ward. There was no one in the ward. Through the bright glass window, he could see a person sitting on a bench in the hospital garden. It was Qin Jin. Her long hair was hanging down casually, and a black cat was obediently in her arms. She pressed her face against the cat, and her shadow looked so lonely.

She had always believed that as long as she worked hard, she could overcome anything, and that as long as everyone persevered, there would be hope. However, one blow after another struck. First, she lost Lan Qi, then Ying Qi, then her mother, then Shi Shi, and finally, she even lost her own eyes. She could no longer be strong. Holding Hei Bao, the warmth of that cat seemed to be able to keep her heart from freezing to the extreme. The cute little cat kept licking her palm, perhaps this was a kind of silent comfort.

She was completely blind. Ke Liang had argued with the doctor to no avail. He leaned against the window in the corridor and watched Qin Jin. The woman struggled to her feet, reached out and touched the guide can, and wandered aimlessly in the grass, not knowing which way to go, before bumping into a trash can.

Unable to contain his heartache, Ke Liang rushed to the doctor's office.

"Can I donate my retina to her? She's so pitiful, I can't leave her untreated."

The doctor shook his head indifferently: "Her case is different from the usual ones; even a retinal transplant won't restore her sight."

"At least there's a chance."

"But the chances are slim, and the cost is too high."

"The cost is not high. As long as she gets better, no cost is too high."

The doctor gave him a sympathetic look, then got up and left.

Ke Liang chased after him, but Lu Ziming came out and pulled him away.

"Alright, calm down, let's go see Qin Jin first!"

The two ran downstairs and found Qin Jin lying on the grass. They went to help her up, but she refused.

"Don't help me. I can't even disappear. The world is a dark place for me. I don't know where I can hide and avoid getting hurt."

Ke Liang looked at her; she could barely stand up anymore.

He suddenly rushed over and hugged her, saying, "You don't need to disappear. You won't be hurt in my arms. I swear I will protect you for the rest of my life."

Qin Jin finally burst into tears, her voice choked with sobs, revealing a look of despair.

"Are we all going to die? Is there no one who can escape?"

Lu Ziming said sternly, "No, even if we die, we will die together. I will never let anyone leave alone again."

"But in my current state, I'm just a burden. I can't see, and I'll only cause you trouble."

Ke Liang got angry: "How could you say that? You're not a problem at all. You're our backbone. Without your strength and hard work, we couldn't have persevered for so long. You and Hei Bao are our strength!"

The three of them clasped hands together, and Qin Jin said, "I don't know why, but I rarely go to that temple we used to visit. There were Abbot Xiaoqian's apprentices, the young monks, and that spiritual girl there. Do you remember? I want to go there to pray to Buddha."

Ke Liang nodded: "We should go and see them."

Lu Ziming said, "Okay, I'll go get the car now. You guys wait up ahead."

Ke Liang helped her carefully into the car, Lu Ziming drove, and Hei Bao curled up in Qin Jin's arms. The three of them went to the small temple again, partly to find peace of mind, as too many blows had exhausted them, and partly to ask the young monk if there was any other way to find out the witch's whereabouts.

The deaths of Shishi and the blindness of Qin Jin only fueled their hatred for the witch. They would do whatever it took, even if it meant mutual destruction, to eliminate the witch.

The car was driven very smoothly, and the road was familiar to us. We arrived at the small temple before dark.

The small temple was dark, without any lights. Once inside, there was only a small lamp flickering in front of the Buddha.

There was no one inside. The courtyard seemed to have been unswept for a long time, with many fallen leaves swirling around. The small temple was very dilapidated, even more so than when Abbot Xiaoqian was there.

The three stood in the middle of the temple, looking around but seeing no one. They had no choice but to walk into the temple, when suddenly they saw a girl running towards them. It was the same girl with the spiritual presence, and the three were overjoyed.

She noticed the three of them and said happily, "Big brother, big sister, what brings you here?"

The three of them couldn't say anything to the little child, so they simply asked, "Where's the monk brother?"

"Practice your skills in the backyard, I'll take you there."

"Okay, Qin Jin, let's go."

Standing in the darkness, Qin Jin felt an unusual, chilling current rushing towards her. For some reason, she was suddenly overcome with sadness, and memories flooded back like a torrent.

She wanted to stay quietly for a while, and after expressing her thoughts to Ke Liang, Ke Liang couldn't bear to leave her alone and wanted to stay with her in the main hall, but she refused.

The little girl suddenly said in a clear voice, "It's okay, I'll take care of my sister. No one will hurt her."

Ke Liang knew her abilities, and although he was a little worried, he still went with Lu Ziming to the backyard to find the little monk. The little monk was meditating, and everyone was very excited to see each other. When they talked about Shishi's death, the little monk couldn't help but feel deeply saddened.

Qin Jin led the little girl by the hand and knelt before the Buddha, beginning to sincerely worship. The little girl stood to the side, obediently remaining silent, with Hei Bao also nearby.

Feeling bad, Qin Jin reached out to touch the little girl's hand, saying, "I'm so sorry to have troubled you. I came in a hurry today and didn't bring anything. I should have brought you something nice to eat."

Reaching out, she found nothing; there was no one beside her. Qin Jin grew anxious. She stood up and began groping around the hall. The dark world was terrifying; she didn't know what lay ahead or what was there. All the fear lay in the unknown.

Had something happened to that little girl? Qin Jin was immediately terrified.

Reaching out to touch it, she felt a sense of peace upon touching its soft fur. It was Hei Bao. The existence of this cat brought Qin Jin true comfort. In that instant, she dared not make a sound, but quietly hugged the cat and hid in a corner.

Ke Liang and Lu Ziming will be back soon. She kept encouraging herself, telling herself not to imagine what might be in the darkness.

Suddenly, a voice was heard: "Sister, where are you?"

It was that girl! Qin Jin was overjoyed and almost burst into tears. She desperately answered, "Little sister, I'm here, I'm here."