Astrology Hall with Flesh and Blood

Chapter 6

"Thank you, astrologer."

The instant she finished speaking, a thick fog suddenly enveloped us, plunging us into an unpredictable unknown.

...That happened the morning before yesterday. I haven't seen Anya since. She seemed to have recovered, and her spirits were much better, which made me feel relieved. Although the memory of that strange shop that morning still gave me the creeps, I naturally assumed it was just a hallucination. Until the night before last, when I came out of the library after studying, I heard girls screaming. Then, peeking through the gaps in the crowd of onlookers, I saw her—her mangled body spread out on a large pool of crimson blood, twisted into a horrifying "S".

Yes, at that time, I was wearing a pair of size 36 red sheepskin high-heeled sandals—in my dream, I saw myself, the one who witnessed her death, through Anya's eyes, the eyes of the deceased—how terrifying!

I pondered deeply. Anya certainly had her troubles, but in my opinion, someone with consistently excellent grades who had already secured a place in graduate school shouldn't be troubled by academic issues. Student suicides usually stem from academic failure or relationship setbacks. Aside from her relationship, I couldn't see any other source of distress for her. Perhaps her relationship with her boyfriend wasn't as perfect as we imagined, even though they were considered one of the most exemplary couples in our class. Could it be that he abandoned her?

Unfortunately, her suicide note, found beside her, contained not a single word about this. She simply wrote:

"I can't find a reason to live. I'm sorry."

However, in my dream, I could clearly feel her gaze lingering on me for the last time, as if she had a lot on her mind to tell me. Alright, Anya, I secretly vowed in my heart that since you appeared to me in my dream, I would definitely find out the truth and clear your name!

I went to find Anya's boyfriend, Jiang Wei, first. Surprisingly, he wasn't in the dorm. His roommate, Xu Fang, told me that he hadn't come back last night.

“Anya’s parents are here,” Xu Fang said to me in a low voice after glancing around to make sure no one was around. “I heard they’re going to cremate her today, and Jiang Wei went with them… It’s so tragic…” He sighed softly.

I finally caught up with Jiang Wei at dinner. It had only been two days, but his cheeks were noticeably sunken, and he looked terrible. I initially thought it was because he had abandoned Anya that this tragedy had occurred, and I couldn't help but feel some resentment. However, seeing his dazed expression, it seemed he was genuinely saddened for Anya.

Was he grieving the death of his lover, or merely feeling guilty? I couldn't tell. So I reached out and stopped him.

His eyes widened in an instant, "Xia Qing?"

"There's something I wanted to ask you..." I looked around, thankfully there were no acquaintances nearby. "Is this a convenient time?"

“If you want to ask me…” His expression suddenly stiffened, a sign of wariness, “Ask what?”

I hesitated for a moment, considering where to begin my question, when he spoke coldly.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I have anything to say to you."

"Jiang Wei!" I was enraged by his attitude and my anger flared up. "You stop right there! Don't you want to know how Anya died?!"

Perhaps my shouting had an effect, because he stopped. So I pressed my advantage, "The day before the incident, Anya suddenly became strange, both sad and upset... You are her boyfriend, her closest person, and besides you, perhaps no one else knows... Tell me, what exactly happened to her that day?"

He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "Which day?"

"It was the day our graduating class had their final competition!" Seeing that he seemed to be reminiscing, I couldn't help but take it seriously. "That night, Anya drank a lot of alcohol and secretly hid in the bathroom crying... Do you know why?"

"..."

"You should know! Tell me!"

"Enough!" he suddenly growled, then turned and left without looking back.

"That's all in the past! It has nothing to do with you!"

Damn it!!! What kind of attitude is that?! His girlfriend died under mysterious circumstances, and he acts like it's none of his business. It's infuriating! But speaking of which, Jiang Wei has definitely been acting strange lately. Xu Fang told me that for the past month or so, Jiang Wei has been online until 1 a.m. every night, chatting with someone all night long. And that person definitely isn't Anya, because I'm the one who watches Anya go to sleep first every night.

Jiang Wei is indeed suspicious! Could it be that Jiang Wei fell in love with someone else, and as a result, Anya died in despair...?

However, there's one thing that still haunts me. It's that shop shrouded in morning mist. I secretly searched for it afterward, but when I finally found it by memory, it turned out to be a thriving bookstore. Readers were bustling about, and the owner was busy taking payments, completely ignoring me. I checked the signboard again: "First Technology Bookstore"—the six large characters on the plaque were clear and unmistakable.

Am I remembering things wrong? Or was my experience that morning just a figment of my imagination? In fact, Anya didn't come to any astrology shop that morning, nor did she talk to any thin air. She was just sleeping peacefully in her room. Did all of this happen in my dream? Could it be that, along with her death, it was all just a dream?

No, impossible! The sight of her mangled body was so vivid it made me horrified. The excruciating pain of her shattered body relentlessly tormented my senses, as if it were me, not her, who had died. Anya was really dead! Her bloodshot eyes glanced at me one last time in her dying moments.

The only thing I can do is find out the truth for her!

Book One: The Seven Deadly Sins - Envy: The Eyes of the Dead (Part 3)

Tonight, Anya's parents carried her ashes home. I didn't dare go to the train station to see them off, because I was afraid that seeing those two faces so similar to the deceased would make me cry. I hung my head, wandering aimlessly through the streets, my mind in turmoil.

"Big sister, want to buy flowers?" A clear, childlike voice suddenly rang out. I shook my head blankly, but the girl persisted, continuing her sales pitch: "These aren't ordinary flowers!" Her tone suddenly turned sinister, "Blood lotuses, as red as human blood, are said to summon the spirits of the dead!"

What?! I looked up abruptly, but then I froze. There was no little girl anywhere. Suddenly, all around me was silent; I couldn't even hear the roar of cars on the road. There were no streetlights, not a single pedestrian. I felt as if the world had abandoned me, standing alone on the sidewalk.

Before my feet was a bright red lotus flower. The dim yellow light around me illuminated it, making it appear so vibrant and luscious that it looked almost like the blood-red flower that Anya had bloomed for me.

I looked towards the light, where eight large characters shone: "An Astrology Hall with Flesh and Blood." A dirty piece of paper was pasted onto the yellowed door panel; I knew the words on it by heart:

He is proficient in astrology and tarot.

There was no ecstatic joy as I had expected. Instead, I felt as if it were my destiny's arrangement—I swaggered in, as if I knew this place intimately, and walked through the short, winding corridor. The corridor was bright, the light soft, almost like the early spring sunshine. Then, I saw him.

In my imagination, astrologers were either blind fortune tellers on the street or old men in Western legends, draped in black robes and holding crystal balls. However, "he" was completely different. I couldn't say exactly how old he was; he seemed to be under 30, but his pale face seemed etched with the marks of time. Not wrinkles, but a sense of world-weariness. Strangely, no matter how hard I tried to recall it afterward, I couldn't remember his exact appearance. I only vaguely remembered that he gave me a very comfortable and reassuring feeling. When he spoke, his deep, resonant voice soothing me, my agitated emotions finally calmed down.

"How have you been, Miss?" He narrowed his eyes slightly. "It's nice to see you again."

I was about to reply when I suddenly realized something was off. Why did he say "again"?

“I am a ‘flesh-and-blood’ astrologer,” he said, offering a smile so gentle it could melt ice and snow, yet it sent chills down my spine. “Is there any place where I may serve you, sir?”

Like a sleepwalker, I felt warm all over, languid and listless, as if bathed in a spring breeze. I opened my mouth in a daze, and as if acting out of control, told him:

"In fact, I have been troubled lately."

I don't know how I got back to the dorm. When I came to my senses, I was standing in front of the bathroom tap, my hands soaking in a basin full of soap bubbles. The tap was running, and the basin was filled with sticky white foam—it seemed I had been distracted for a long time. I quickly wrung out my clothes, and a scene kept replaying in my mind.

That was the astrologer's revelation to me. He seemed to sneer, "Instead of worrying about the dead, you should worry about yourself."

Even he thinks what I'm doing is meaningless? I looked up with a wry smile, and suddenly, my smile froze, and I let out a strange, shrill scream.

In the mirror on the bathroom wall, I could clearly see Anya's pale face!

I had another dream tonight. I dreamt of my own face, Xia Qing's delicately beautiful face, which appeared deathly pale in my vision. My gaze, like a bloodstained hand, slowly crept down the curves of her body, from top to bottom, finally settling on a pair of size 36 red sheepskin high-heeled sandals, each toenail painted with a black lotus flower pattern.

Then, I dreamt that I was flying. White clouds were falling rapidly downwards, and the wind was whistling in my ears. The wind billowed and filled my sleeves, carrying me all the way to the top of a cliff. Then, I turned around and saw myself again.

Xia Jing.

I saw tears welling up in her eyes. She screamed and rushed towards me. Her mouth was moving; she was saying something to me. Her expression was so urgent. She reached out her hand—and then, I fell…

Did Xia Qing kill me?

Or should I kill Anya?

I woke up from the nightmare drenched in sweat. I didn't know who I was, or who was in whose dream. I got out of bed and wiped the cold sweat from my body with a towel. Then I noticed that the computer's power light was still on.

I turned on the monitor, and a chat box gradually brightened from dark to light, appearing in front of me. It was so bright it was blinding.

Qingqing Zijin: It's alright, I don't care. I'll wait, until the day you break up.

My heart is filled with longing: No, you can't sacrifice so much for me.

Qingqing Zijin: No! I really don't want to hurt her...

My heart aches: I know, and I don't want this either. But there's nothing I can do about matters of the heart.

My heart is filled with longing: You are the one I love now.

My heart is filled with longing: I will handle her matter.

The chat history abruptly ended. I checked the date; it was the day before Anya's accident. "Qingqing Zijin" was of course me, and "Youyou Woxin" was Jiang Wei. It was him, there was no mistake.

Why do I have no memory of this at all? I should have known long ago that only Anya and I knew Jiang Wei's every preference, and only I could approach Jiang Wei discreetly as "Anya's friend." Every night, after Anya went to bed, I would go on QQ and chat with Jiang Wei as an online friend. On the other hand, when Anya was sad, I would pretend to comfort her and gain her trust.

I'm the one who killed her!

So, Anya, the lingering ghost, has returned for revenge! Every night she sneaks into my dreams, using her last strength to accuse me. When she jumped from the library rooftop, she cast one last, hateful glance at me. It was the look of despair from being betrayed and deceived by both her lover and her best friend.

"I can't find a reason to live. I'm sorry."

Her life fell like autumn leaves, turning to dust.

But this isn't the ending I wanted...!

Book One: The Seven Deadly Sins - Envy: The Eyes of the Dead (Part Four)

If, if I could have been just one step faster, just one step, to say what was in my heart… if only she had hesitated a little longer, not been so resolute… when her sleeves fluttered in the wind, when I rushed towards her, just one step away from grasping her only remaining bond in this world…

"Jiang Wei is not what I want!"

She jumped.

"But it's you..."

When did it all begin? I saw Anya and Jiang Wei walking hand in hand, completely forgetting our vow to "never have a man, to remain a virgin until old age." I knew that for her, it was probably just a childish joke from her youth, so I forced myself to have several boyfriends too. However, deep down, I always unconsciously compared them to Anya. None of them were as considerate as her, as obedient as her… Under Anya's glow, every boyfriend paled in comparison. I was tired of this pointless game, yet Anya and Jiang Wei were always so sweet, even I, as an observer, couldn't help but feel happy. As long as I could stay by Anya's side and see her happy… wasn't that what happiness was?

But then, devastating news arrived! They were getting married! Anya would leave me!

So, I seduced Jiang Wei… I knew this would hurt Anya, and I knew that even so, Anya wouldn't like me the way I "liked" her. Ultimately, she's just a normal girl who will one day be held in a man's arms and become his possession.

However, as long as I have a breath left, I will try my best to postpone this day...

“Xia Qing’s diary ends here,” the girl said, looking down as she flipped through the pages. “She never appeared again after that.”

Opposite her stood a man whose hair was more striking than his sharply defined face and emerald eyes: the left side of his hair was darker than the deepest night, while the right side was a silvery hue like shattered moonlight. This was the so-called yin-yang hair, not a genetic trait, but rather a result of acquired factors, making it unique in the world.

“Miss Xia, please forgive me for not understanding your meaning,” the astrologer said, leisurely stroking the SD doll on his lap. The doll had jet-black hair and a pair of extremely lively golden cat-like eyes, almost like a miniature child. “Aren’t you sitting right in front of me?”

The girl smiled; a sharp glint shot from Xia Qing's beautiful eyes. "I'm not quite used to this new body yet... By the way, does my body taste good?" she asked casually.

The astrologer subtly licked his lips. “Delicious,” he replied.

"That's good," Xia Qing breathed a sigh of relief. "When you devoured my body and extracted my soul, I was terrified. Several times I tried to force my way into Xia Qing's body while she was asleep, but she woke up in time... Luckily, you helped me."

“It is only right that I serve you,” the astrologer replied respectfully. “Moreover, Xia Qing’s soul is one of the targets I have been collecting recently.”

"Collecting souls?" Xia Qing suddenly became interested and giggled. "What is that? Homosexuality, lasbien?"

The astrologer remained silent, watching the girl continue talking to herself.

"I knew she liked me a long time ago. How should I put it? It's a shame that someone as beautiful as her is more interested in spending time with me than in handsome guys. She looks at me with a creepy gaze, and she likes to stick close to me and take care of me... I think even the most oblivious person could guess what was going on. But I don't dislike her. The fact that a beauty like her likes me means I'm quite charming, doesn't it?"

"But I never expected her to do something like this...! And what angers me even more is that Jiang Wei betrayed me too! All for that woman with a heterosexual orientation!" The girl gradually became angry.

The astrologer slowly began to speak, “That is a preordained arrangement, determined by the stars from the moment of your birth,” he said. “Your birth charts are both trine (also called a trine, where planets meet at a 120-degree angle, which is a harmonious aspect) and square (also called a square, where planets meet at a 90-degree angle, which is an unfavorable aspect), thus, your lives are destined to be intertwined.”

The girl fell silent for a moment, but then she brightened up again.

“By the way, Mr. Astrologer,” she said with a fawning smile, “would you like any other food?”

"I know a guy named Jiang Wei. He's great in every way. If you're interested..."

"Miss Anya." The astrologer called the girl's name coldly, a name that the person parasitizing "Xia Qing" had deliberately forgotten.

“I am also a man, and I have no interest in my own kind, whether in body or soul,” he said.

"Xia Qing," or rather, to be precise, Anya, who possessed Xia Qing's body, sighed helplessly. "What a pity," she murmured to herself, standing up to take her leave. As she walked out of the "flesh and blood" astrology shop, she suddenly turned back and asked:

"By the way, Mr. Astrologer, why are you collecting Xia Qing's soul?"

The astrologer gave a gentle smile and softly stroked the doll's hair.

“Jealousy,” he replied. “I am collecting the seven souls that have committed the seven deadly sins.”