Astrology Hall with Flesh and Blood

Chapter 25

I went to find the gatekeeper again, and he looked at me and laughed, "Young man, you're growing flowers now?"

I nodded. Everyone knew that the gatekeeper was a notorious "flower fanatic" who would launch into a long tirade about flowers with anyone he could get his hands on, and you couldn't shake him off. I took the aerosol insecticide and ran, not even hearing what he was shouting after me.

Volume Two: The Beauty Bonsai of the Spider Lily and the Soul-Summoning Tree (Part Four)

"This product is a systemic organophosphate insecticide and acaricide with a broad insecticidal spectrum. It has strong contact and stomach poison effects on pests and mites, and is suitable for controlling piercing-sucking pests on various crops..." Goodness gracious, the instructions printed on the aluminum can of the insecticide were so complicated, they made my head spin. The instructions for use were simple, though: just spray it on, and those disgusting bugs should be dead. I steadied myself, spat twice into my palm, and braced myself for trying it:

"I've come, tears!"

Oh no! The insecticide mist had just sprayed onto Lei's hair when she screamed, "Ouch!" I hurriedly dropped the insecticide and asked her what was wrong.

"It hurts...it hurts so much..." Large beads of sweat dripped from her forehead, and her whole body trembled, as if endless pain was tormenting her. Was it...was it this insecticide? I quickly picked up the aluminum can and examined it carefully.

The words "Precautions" were crammed into a tiny corner in an extremely sleazy manner, next to an exaggerated skull pattern resembling a pirate symbol.

"1. Hops, plants of the Asteraceae family, some varieties of sorghum, as well as crops such as tobacco, jujube, peach, apricot, plum, olive, fig, and citrus are sensitive to this product. A phytotoxicity test should be conducted before use."

Oh dear, although Tears is said to be a spirit-summoning tree, completely different from the flowers and grasses of the mortal world, I never expected that she would be so sensitive to this pesticide, just like those hops, chrysanthemums, and sorghum plants… no, it's more like this pesticide is too toxic to her. I don't know what it's like for flower growers to conduct pesticide damage experiments, but just seeing Tears writhe in excruciating pain from even a tiny bit of pesticide, that tragic scene, I think no one would dare to use her for experiments again.

I filled a bottle with tap water from the washroom and slowly poured it over her head to rinse off the insecticide residue from her hair. "Does it still hurt, Tears?" I asked her.

"Hmm... much better." Her body was no longer burning hot, though her temperature was still a little high. The diluted medicine flowed down her body into the basin, seeping into the soil she depended on for survival. Even if the toxicity had decreased somewhat, it was still poisonous water, and she still needed to absorb nutrients from this soil and water. How could they leave her in such a dangerous environment?

No! I have to protect her from further harm!

I still had to find the gatekeeper, give him some insecticide, and borrow a shovel to dig up new soil. Tears silently watched me running in and out, busy with her. When I put her back in the basin to check if she was growing well, she suddenly reached out her hand, which startled me.

Her thin, pale fingers held my cheek and wiped away some of the sweat.

"It's all because of the tears..." Her eyes were gentle as water, flowing slightly in their deep sockets, "They made Tong Wei cry... It's all the tears' fault..."

I grabbed her wrist. “It’s not water,” I said, my heart rippled like a gentle breeze. “That’s called sweat.”

"sweat……?"

“Yes,” she really didn’t know anything, “when humans are tired or overly stressed or fearful, their skin often secretes some liquid, which is sweat.”

"Hmm..." She seemed thoughtful, then her eyes suddenly lit up, and she said to me, "So, is Tong Wei sweating because of fatigue? Or is it because of tension and fear?"

This girl really loves to pry. I poked her head with my finger and laughed, "Stop gossiping! Let's deal with those parasites first!"

We'd only been chatting for a short while, and the maggots in her hair had multiplied, grown larger, and were wriggling up and down around her head. Damn it, it made me so angry! They must be stealing a lot of nutrients from my tears! I made her sit with her back to me and warned her not to move no matter what. Seeing her obediently nod, I was relieved; she'd definitely listen.

So I felt reassured and acted boldly.

Taking a deep breath, I magically pulled a comb from my pocket. It was a wooden comb from a woodworking factory in Hengyang, Hunan, costing only two yuan—a common sight at roadside stalls, cheap and effective. This was my first piece of equipment when I entered school, having been with me for two whole years, forging a deep bond of camaraderie—and incidentally, two years' worth of thick scalp dandruff. Luckily, Tears was facing away from me, so she couldn't see my slightly embarrassed expression. I coughed casually and inserted the comb into her thick, long black hair.

The comb was like a small boat, sailing smoothly through her silky tidal wave of hair, cutting straight ahead. The black waves rippled in my palm, so smooth and silky, while those obstacles in my way were mercilessly swept away, shattered, and hurled straight into the abyss of despair. In fact, as those parasites were squeezed, expelled, and thrown to the ground by my comb, I distinctly felt that Tears' body also straightened up. Without the interference of those parasites, she would undoubtedly grow even more beautiful and healthy in the years to come.

Ah, those were the days… The sunlight shone on Lei’s head, each ray of light illuminating her hair, making it appear perfectly separated. At that moment, her silhouette looked like a golden-haired angel, pure and captivating. My mind drifted back to those forgotten times… When I was a little boy, the thing I hated most was washing my hair and taking a bath. But strangely enough, whenever my mother washed my hair, I would happily follow her, eagerly carrying the towel and soap. Her rough hands would gently caress my head, the pressure just right, and I would often swivel left and right, enjoying the sensation, even if she scolded me… How many years has it been? Since I grew up, no one has washed my hair or touched my head, except for the skilled, mechanical service in the barbershop—a service that's displayed on the counter, sold by weight… Even with Feng Lei, my closest person, we've never been this close. I've never combed anyone's hair in such a gentle and delicate way, except for myself…

"Mmm, that feels so good!" Lei stretched and yawned. "My head feels so much lighter now."

I snapped out of my daze and asked her with a smile, "Really? You're not kidding me, are you?"

"Really, really!" She shook her head from side to side, her beautiful hair cascading down like a waterfall in front of me. "Tears won't lie to Tong Wei! They won't!" She was almost crying out of desperation.

"Alright, alright," I gently stroked the bridge of her small, straight nose. "I believe you."

Volume Two: The Beauty Bonsai of the Spider Lily and the Soul-Summoning Tree (Part Five)

Tears and I shared a pleasant lunch together. I held the biodegradable paper lunchbox provided by the cafeteria, my white rice piled high with fragrant braised dishes, roast duck, and eggplant with minced meat. Tears, meanwhile, was also eating—no, photosynthesizing—with a sweet smile. Silently absorbing the carbon dioxide reeking of sweaty feet in the boys' dormitory, quietly releasing fresh, pure oxygen, all of which was inhaled deep into the bottom of my lungs. The sunlight streamed through the glass window, its angle shifting and its intensity growing softer, from the brilliant midday sky down to the hazy horizon. I didn't speak, and so did Tears. We both endured the glare of the light, watching the colorful curtain of Christmas Eve slowly rise before us.

What a load of bullshit Christmas… In the end, I'll still be spending it all alone… Just me, eating under the parasitic tree that's been infested with ghosts, while my roommates are out there having a good time! Just thinking about it makes me angry. People always say, "Brothers are like limbs, wives are like clothes," but those guys who value women over friendship are like that—cutting off their own limbs just to have clothes on! Damn it, not a single one of them is any good!

And Feng Lei too! She didn't even make a phone call for Christmas. She's really keeping her cool this time!

The waves of night slowly rolled towards the horizon, enveloping the student dormitory area in her silent black robe. A few distant, cold stars lit up the scene, but they couldn't illuminate the abyss of emptiness within my heart. I suddenly stood up, startling the tears beside me.

"I...I have something to do," I thought, realizing that Tears was right there and I felt bad for letting her see me bowing to my girlfriend, so I stammered, "I'll be right back."

"Tong Wei..." she whispered, "Alone... I'm scared..."

I steeled myself and gave her a smile first, saying, "It'll be over in a minute." I lied. Whenever I argued with Feng Lei, it would take at least an hour of apologies, comforting, and persuasion to resolve the situation. She seemed to be a born debater, able to find countless logical fallacies in any ordinary sentence I uttered, thereby deriving a series of absurd conclusions, and taking the opportunity to give me a positive lesson and a negative mockery, with endless tricks of ridicule. Having been fooled many times, I naturally learned my lesson. As long as I went along with her scolding, kept bowing my head and admitting my mistakes, saying things like "I'm not human, I'm an animal," and adding some special sound effects, such as the "thump" of kneeling down and the "slap" of slapping, she was guaranteed to soften her heart and then burst into tears, expressing her disappointment in me and her expectations for the future... Sigh, since I had decided to take the initiative to lower myself and beg for her forgiveness, I had to be prepared for a "protracted war." I deliberately picked up a copy of "World Football" from someone else's table, and with it tucked under my arm, I strode confidently toward the public phone booth, determined to succeed.

Strange, no one answered the phone in the dorm. I patiently kept dialing the number I knew by heart, my mind racing with wild guesses about Feng Lei's whereabouts. Maybe she just went to eat, either alone in the cafeteria or with her dorm mates; she shouldn't be out with other guys… After knowing her for so long, I know she's not that kind of fickle girl… But who knows! I gasped. What if she's deliberately trying to annoy me? What if, just what if, she's hit it off with someone?

Oh no! I rushed back to the dorm and pushed open the door to find Lei hiding behind the curtains. When I called her, she peeked out hesitantly, her eyes filled with fear. What happened to her? I just went out to make a phone call. What scared her?

"There...there's a sound..." Her lips were pale, and she trembled as she spoke, clearly terrified. "Tong Wei just left, and something suddenly made a sound...a really loud, really loud sound..."

I followed her gaze and looked up, my eyes landing on the telephone by the door. Someone called me? But why didn't they just call my cell phone? I instinctively reached into my pocket, only to find it was switched off. Sigh, after three years, the battery life is getting shorter and shorter. I plugged the phone into the desktop charger, and as soon as it turned on, the ringtone started. It was the anxious, dry voice of the vice-class monitor—Feng Lei's roommate.

"Tong Wei! Where have you been?! Why is your phone off and you're not answering the dorm phone?!" The vice class monitor immediately questioned me fiercely.

"Oh, sorry, my phone died, and I..." I glanced back at Lei, "I just got back from the street. What's up? Did you need something?"

"Something terrible has happened!" she shouted breathlessly. "And you're supposed to be Feng Lei's boyfriend, yet you don't care about her at all!"

"Something happened to her!"

Ever since that day we argued, Feng Lei went back to her dorm, collapsed onto her bed, and silently wept, clutching her pillow. "That damn Tong Wei! He has absolutely no sense of romance!" Even after an argument, as long as Feng Lei doesn't call first, I absolutely won't be the first to back down. Even if Feng Lei knows this, she can't possibly outlast me in patience. The cold war is the ultimate test of patience for both sides, and in this respect, how could Feng Lei, an air sign, possibly compare to my calm and experienced earth sign self?

Sure enough, I didn't utter a single word to her for several days. Little did she know, I was actually eagerly awaiting her first phone call to make up. Feng Lei gritted her teeth in anger. "You, Tong Wei, since you're so heartless, don't blame me for being ruthless!" On the afternoon before Christmas, as I was wandering the streets alone and encountered the man in black and the Summoning Tree, Feng Lei ignored everyone's objections and insisted on packing some luggage, saying she was going on a trip.

Her departure was a final farewell...

“The railway police at the train station initially thought she was sleeping in the waiting room, but they didn’t realize something was wrong until this morning,” the deputy squad leader continued, explaining, “She had been unconscious for almost twenty hours since Christmas Eve, and still showed no signs of waking up. So the railway police called 120 for emergency medical assistance and took her to the hospital. Luckily, Feng Lei had her student ID with her, and the hospital used that to find our school. Now, her homeroom teacher, class monitor, and academic representative are all on their way to the hospital.” Her questioning voice came through the phone line, “You really don’t know anything about Feng Lei’s illness?”

I glanced back discreetly, and there stood Lei behind me, her bright, innocent eyes gazing at me. "It can't be such a coincidence..." I reassured myself. Even though the Summoning Tree summons the spirits of the dead, Feng Lei wasn't dead, was she? Lei was so innocent and naive; she couldn't possibly be connected to Feng Lei's strange illness. So I replied:

“As far as I know, her health isn’t that bad, and I’ve never heard her mention this kind of sleeping sickness before. I’ll go see her right away,” I said, taking a pen from the table and pointing it at my palm. “Please tell me the hospital’s address.”

Volume Two: The Beauty Bonsai of the Spider Lily and the Soul-Summoning Tree (Part Six)

When I rushed to the hospital gate, I saw my homeroom teacher standing there, his travel-worn face unable to hide his anxiety. Before the taxi had even come to a complete stop, I jumped out and rushed to him. "How is Feng Lei?" I asked him silently with my eyes. He just patted my shoulder weakly, then turned away and sighed silently where I couldn't see him.

Her breathing was steady, and her heartbeat, pulse, and blood pressure were all strong and normal, just like a normal person's. The doctor told us that her body seemed to be fine, and she was just like a sleepyhead, reluctant to wake up. A terrifying thought flashed through my mind: Could Feng Lei have become a vegetable? I tentatively voiced this thought, only to be met with a helpless, bitter smile from the doctor.

So-called "vegetative state" patients are mostly caused by traumatic brain injury, cerebrovascular disease, or carbon monoxide poisoning. Due to severe damage to the cerebral cortex or a sudden state of inhibition, they fall into a coma. The patient may have spontaneous breathing, heartbeat, and brainstem responses. "However, after X-ray examination, there were no signs of brain damage in this patient," the doctor replied. "In my personal opinion, she seems to have narcolepsy and is immersed in her own dream."

"Syllosis?"

“That’s right, it’s a neurological disorder. In severe cases, it can cause uncontrollable sleep onset anytime, anywhere. As you probably know, human mental activity consists of two processes: excitation and inhibition. These two processes alternate and balance each other. When the cerebral cortex is in an excited state, a person is awake; when it is in an inhibited state, a person becomes drowsy and falls asleep. The cerebral cortex goes through the process of ‘excitation-inhibition-excitation’ repeatedly, which allows a person to sleep, rest, work, and study in a regular manner. This patient obviously cannot control these two processes, causing her to fall into a deep sleep.” He gently lifted Feng Lei’s eyelids, and he could clearly see her eyeballs rapidly rotating under her eyelids. “Look, REM sleep, which proves that she is dreaming.”

Psychologists divide sleep into two distinct phases: REM sleep and non-REM sleep. These two phases alternate during each night's sleep. Non-REM sleep occurs first upon falling asleep, followed by REM sleep after about 90 minutes, lasting a few minutes before returning to non-REM sleep. During REM sleep, the eyeballs can be observed rapidly rotating under the eyelids; dreams generally occur during this period. "Dreams are the result of activity in parts of the brain's nervous system during a very relaxed sleep state," the doctor summarized. "People in a vegetative state cannot dream."

"But..." Although I was still a little confused, I was still a little uneasy. "You mean, as long as she's still dreaming, it proves that her brain isn't damaged? She just simply wants to sleep?"

"From a professional perspective, that's true," the doctor said.

Was she dreaming? I sat by Feng Lei's hospital bed, gazing at her peaceful sleeping face wrapped in the pristine white sheets. The doctor was probably right; her expression was incredibly serene, her pink lips curving upwards into a slight smile… She must be having a beautiful dream. But I wonder if I'll be in her dream too?

Glucose dripped slowly into her veins through the IV tube; she hadn't eaten properly for at least two days. Poor thing… If I'd known our argument would turn out like this, even with a knife to my throat, I would have chased after her and brought her back, begging and pleading, even losing all my manly pride, to make her happy. What an idiot I was! I pounded my head, my heart gnawed by deep regret. If she were to remain unconscious forever, how could I face my conscience!

The icy, clear moonlight dappled the hospital room floor. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep beside Feng Lei's bed. When I shivered and jolted awake, everything in the room was exactly as it had been, completely still. Disappointed, I turned my gaze to Feng Lei on the bed. She remained motionless, her black hair scattered on the pillow, making her face appear even more radiant. I walked to her, lost in thought, and extended my hands. Her eyes trembled violently beneath my palms.

"Are you still dreaming, Feng Lei?" I whispered in her ear. "What kind of dream is it that makes you so reluctant to leave?"

"Please come back? Your friends and family need you." What was I even saying? This awful, cheesy dialogue, I must have learned it from Korean dramas, right? No wonder Feng Lei always complains that I'm bad at talking. Seeing that she didn't react at all, I added:

"Why don't you take me with you into the dream?"

It moved! I swear on my life, the moment I said those words, I clearly saw Feng Lei's eyelids twitch dramatically, her long, black eyelashes brushing across my palm like a brush, and a tingling, itchy sensation shot through my entire body like an electric current.

But problems arise one after another... How can I enter her dream?

The next day, several girls from the class came to visit her, bringing flowers, fruit, and other gifts as usual. I munched on a banana with a long face, trying my best to answer their tricky questions, especially Yan Wuyue's. Actually, she wasn't bad-looking, but I couldn't stand her "fierce" air. I really couldn't understand how a seemingly delicate girl could be so obsessed with murder and crime-solving, so incredibly curious, watching horror movies and playing horror games, so carefree and eccentric, and even more talkative than Feng Lei, never stopping for a moment… My goodness! I was secretly sweating for her future boyfriend; who knows what kind of tortures she'd suffer. Thanks to Yan Wuyue, the story of Feng Lei and me causing her to fall asleep had already spread like wildfire throughout our class, and naturally, the girls weren't looking at me with friendly eyes. "The only way now is to wait for Feng Lei to wake up on her own," I glanced back at my girlfriend on the hospital bed, feeling like I was holding a press conference surrounded by so many women. I coughed loudly, "Okay, is there anything else?"

Damn it, that Yan Wuyue raised her hand with ill intent. "Tong Wei, so you're just planning to wait passively instead of actively seeking a solution?"

My face flushed slightly. "Even the doctors can't help... what can I do on my own?"

"What if I could give you some advice?" Her bright eyes stared at me, gazing into the deepest recesses of my heart. "Maybe there's someone who really can help you!"

Volume Two: The Beauty Bonsai of the Spider Lily and the Soul-Summoning Tree (Part Seven)

Is it really that miraculous? Despite my skepticism, seeing Yan Wuyue's confident demeanor, I followed her out of the hospital. She's always acting strangely, doing who-knows-what. Sure enough, the taxi had only gone halfway when she suddenly stopped and told me to get out.

Oh no, she actually stopped right in front of a supermarket. Could it be that she's hungry? Humph, thinking about food at a crucial moment like this! I was getting a little impatient when, unexpectedly, she reached out and grabbed my shoulder.

"What are you doing?" I asked, a little annoyed.

“Go in and buy a carton of yogurt,” she replied with a fake smile, “Double Deer brand concentrated original flavor yogurt, the one-liter aseptic soft package kind, don’t get it wrong!”

Even though I was completely baffled, I still followed her instructions and specifically dug out this yogurt, since she claimed it was the "key to opening doors." Goodness, I wonder which pregnant woman wanted to drink that—a whole liter! She'd probably burst from overeating!

The taxi drove on, eventually turning back into the alley next to K University, Frozen Street. In an inconspicuous corner, Yan Wuyue stopped the car, then snatched the yogurt from my hand, winking at me, "Wait until I call you before you go in, okay?"

"Remember," she said, afraid I wouldn't listen, and repeatedly reminded me, "Stay outside quietly until I call you, and don't move at all!"

Okay, okay! Stop nagging! I'm not her three-year-old! I squatted listlessly at the entrance of that shabby alley, staring blankly around. The houses in this area were quite old and dilapidated—low, two-story buildings with courtyards, old-fashioned shop designs, and worn-out wooden doors… Oh, and there was a tattered piece of paper pasted on the door: something about an astrology shop?

A man's voice came from inside, seemingly filled with anger and disgust: "I said no, and that means no!"

"Please~ do me a favor~" Hearing that saccharine, cloying voice, clearly setting some kind of trap, such a seductive and alluring voice actually came from the tomboy Yan Wuyue? I couldn't help but get goosebumps. I never imagined that, if she wanted to, she could be as gentle and charming as an ordinary girl, although she had gone a little "overboard"... Even though this situation was clearly her doing, using both coercion and enticement, "She's my classmate, after all~ just consider it a favor, okay?"

"A male classmate, right?" the man retorted sharply. "Just standing at the entrance of the astrology shop, that kind of man's body stench permeates every alley of Frozen Street. Just thinking about how that stinking man would defile my house..." He exhaled sharply, as if using all his strength to expel the invisible stench, and then let out a desperate scream, "No, absolutely not!"

A surge of shame and anger instantly burned from my cheeks to the edges of my ears. Am I really that smelly?! Judging by that person's nose, I must smell like a stinking salted fish. I stubbornly raised my arm; I'd just showered three days ago, changed into new clothes, and hadn't sweated from playing football—I didn't smell at all. Besides, a man's true heroism lies in shedding youthful sweat on the green field. Even Lei had said it wasn't body odor, but rather my unique, distinctive smell…

It felt like I'd been punched hard in the chest. Tears! How could I have forgotten about her! Ever since I got the vice class monitor's call last night, I'd been so worried about Feng Lei's injuries that I stayed at the hospital all night, completely neglecting her. Did she get enough water to drink yesterday? Is she thirsty? Without me by her side, will she feel bored and lonely? And what about her, alone in the dangerous environment of the boys' dormitory? Will she be discovered and reported? My mind started racing again, letting wild thoughts run wild. Maybe she'd be sent to the biology lab in K University's biochemistry building, dissected live, dismembered, grafted into all sorts of strange shapes, and used to decorate the lawns everywhere at K University… Oh God! I groaned. I had to get back and save her!

“…There’s your favorite yogurt here~” Yan Wuyue finally unleashed her ultimate technique—the Human Cannon: Double Deer One-Liter Original Yogurt—launch! The man let out a brief shout, then fell silent.

That was the calm before the storm.

Then, a deep, cold, metallic voice rang out—a captivatingly magnetic voice:

"Then, please let the male guest in."

The voice sounded somewhat familiar. Since we're already here, we can't just leave empty-handed, right? As soon as this is over, I'll go back and see Lei. I smoothed my buzz cut against the wind, cleared my throat, and walked in with my head held high.

Black, really black. That was my first impression of this "astrology shop." The lighting was terrible, the illumination was terrible. Perhaps this was the mysterious atmosphere that the owner deliberately created? Two equally pale faces floated in the darkness, both so white they looked like ghosts, the only difference being that one was higher than the other. A pair of snow-white hands slowly floated up in mid-air. I noticed that the gloves were holding a plastic bag, which had already slumped down.

I was completely dumbfounded. A whole liter of yogurt! He'd finished it all in just a few words? I stared incredulously at the composed man; his well-tailored black clothes perfectly concealed his supposedly protruding stomach. Then, looking more closely at his face—I jumped up as if I'd been whipped.

It's him! There's no mistake! The strange man who gave me the seed of the Soul-Summoning Tree on Christmas Eve!

The man narrowed his eyes slightly, showing no surprise at my overreaction; it seemed he recognized me too. He slowly turned his face towards Yan Wuyue, a slight smile playing on his lips—not malicious, but certainly not benevolent either; more of a cynical, world-weary air.

"Is this your boyfriend?"

"My male friends!" Yan Wuyue glared with her bull-like eyes, waving her slender fists in front of him. "Looking for death, huh? Watch out, or I'll beat you to a pulp!"

"It's like this," I felt it necessary to take matters into my own hands, otherwise, if this continued, things would only get worse and more complicated. So I told him about Feng Lei's unconsciousness, hoping that the bag of yogurt would be of some help, but to my surprise, he sighed with feigned seriousness.

"There's an old Chinese saying, 'The one who tied the knot must untie it,'" his eyes were as cold as ice, devoid of any emotion. "You should reap what you sow. Why ask me?"