Ivy League Murder Game

Chapter 16

I looked closely and saw Xiaohui's left hand, clasped behind her back, gently stroking and waving like a lotus flower, or playing a zither, making various graceful hand gestures. Her steps were unsteady, following a strange pattern. It was indeed the style of casting spells described in many Taoist texts. Although she was uttering some incomprehensible words, her face was solemn as if she were facing a formidable enemy.

Looking at Hanako again, I was startled. There seemed to be a slight ripple in Hanako's deep, still eyes, and the corners of her mouth seemed to twitch slightly.

Ah Guai suddenly screamed, "You stinking old hag, talking nonsense! My mother won't listen to you, no, no!!!" His voice grew louder and louder, so shrill that it didn't sound like a child at all, but rather like an eighty-year-old woman, or like a sharp awl piercing my eardrum, making my vision go black for a moment.

Just then, Xiaohui let out a soft laugh and said gracefully, "Now you can't ignore it... Five Thunder Generals, Fire Chariot General, soaring through the sky and crashing to the ground, driving thunder and rushing clouds, subduing demons and banishing evil, without pause. So be it!"

Suddenly everything went black, followed by a burst of brilliant light. Everything around us vanished in an instant. We seemed to suddenly find ourselves in an extremely high and vast space, with dark clouds swirling overhead. Suddenly, thunder roared, and a thin, extremely bright white light pierced through the clouds, swiftly and incomparably striking down, penetrating straight into the top of Ah-Guai's head.

Another deafening crash shook me so badly that I saw stars before my eyes. I couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground. Everything I touched felt soft and yielding; I don't know who gave in first.

I felt both nervous and excited.

Looking around more closely, everything was completely different from what I had expected. Xiaohui crossed her hands, her left hand's five fingers intertwining with her right, forming an incredibly complex hand seal. Coincidentally, I had just recently seen an explanation of this hand seal online; it was called the "Supreme Supreme Mantra," said to be extremely effective in summoning gods and exorcising ghosts.

Xiaohui's expression was the same as mine, one of surprise and disbelief. Therefore, the very target of this incredibly powerful Earth-Shattering Thunder Spell, the infant spirit Ah Guai, was standing there perfectly fine, not even a twitch in her clothes, as if nothing had happened.

Ah Guai giggled: "The Earth-Breaking Thunder Spell is useless, you stinky old hag, you don't need to waste your energy, come and stay with Mommy!"

He suddenly raised his head, and his delicate face was instantly covered in blood. A huge, blood-red mouth, densely packed with sharp teeth, rapidly expanded in my field of vision. Before I could even scream, I was swallowed up by that huge mouth!

…………

I was jolted awake, my back already covered in cold sweat.

The elevator stopped, and the doors slowly opened to the sides. I stared blankly at the indicator light that said it was on the 22nd floor, not knowing why I had just walked out.

Before me was a passageway a little over a meter wide, with light blue walls on both sides and four exquisitely carved security doors scattered about, ending at a bright, large glass window. Everything felt both familiar and strange.

My feet led me involuntarily to an iron gate carved with images of Marshal Xuantan and Guan Yu, the God of War. Inside was a large oak door. I knew perfectly well that the large key in my left trouser pocket was for the iron gate, and the small one was for the wooden door.

Why am I here?

Recalling everything in my dream, cold sweat kept seeping out of my forehead. Something seemed to be subtly throbbing deep inside me, making me instinctively afraid to think about it.

My left hand reached into my pocket, clutching the keys, but I didn't have the courage to take them out. I leaned against the wall, panting, my head feeling like it was about to split open.

Countless fragmented details from my memory gradually surfaced. Yes, this is my home, Sarah's and my home. She was transferred from Hong Kong to the Guangzhou branch. We've been married for two years, and this 88-square-meter apartment was the result of a year and a half of saving up for the down payment. We've only been living here for less than six months.

The sound of a door opening came from inside the room, and a pretty young woman dressed in maternity clothes appeared in the doorway. She looked at me and chuckled, "Woof, are you stupid? How come you don't even recognize your own house after coming home from get off work?"

I was struck dumb, as if by lightning. It was her, there was no mistake! Even after a hundred years, her voice and smile are branded onto my heart like a hot iron, and I will not forget her with the passage of time.

My heart was filled with a mix of bitterness, joy, pain, and relief, and tears almost welled up in my eyes.

Even as I held her tightly, her soft body so familiar, and the familiar scent of SK-II perfume filling my nostrils, I still couldn't believe it was real.

Sarah wrapped her arms around my waist and said with a hint of reproach, "Be careful, don't hurt the child. Yan Yan has only been away on a business trip for a few days, but it feels like he hasn't been home for years."

Her words brought me back to reality. Yes, I've been working at NetEase in Guangzhou for two years now, and I just got back from a business trip to Shanghai for a conference related to online games. But the dream I just had was so terrifying; I had broken up with Sarah and was living a lonely and miserable life... Thank goodness I woke up, thank goodness it was just a dream.

It was just a dream.

Sarah reached into my left hand, grasped it tightly, and said with a smile, "Come in quickly, I just finished making some delicious soup, come and try it!"

I nodded frantically like a kowtowing worm. Life is so wonderful, I would be willing to taste molten iron, let alone soup!

My left hand was tightly clasped with Sarah's, and my right hand reached to close the iron gate, but I froze. Because I saw something that shouldn't have been there: a bell.

Yes, a tiny bell, a small and exquisite bell.

I was stunned for a moment, just as even the best dam cannot stop the surging tide. Tears welled up in my heart, breaching my defenses and streaming down my face. Who says men don't easily shed tears? It's only because they haven't reached the point of heartbreak.

Sarah panicked and threw herself into my arms, frantically wiping away my tears: "Honey, honey, what's wrong? What happened? Tell me, tell me!"

I choked back tears, struggling to open my eyes to see her clearly, but through my tears she was both blurry and so clear: "...Wife, do you...do you...love me?"

Even after being married for so long, her face still flushed when I asked her that, but she still nodded firmly and said, "I love you, my husband, I love you!"

I closed my eyes tightly, letting the tears flow uncontrollably. I heard myself say loudly, "Wife, I love you too, I will always love you!"

Without further hesitation, I shook the bell in my hand forcefully. Yes, I knew it was the Soul-Suppressing Bell, and it would call me back from this heavenly dream to the cold, cruel reality.

If dreams weren't dreams, and reality weren't reality, how wonderful that would be. But I can't fool myself; dreams are always dreams, and reality is always reality.

Suddenly, my arms felt lighter. When I opened my eyes, I was still standing on the streets of Fuzhou, in front of the Minsheng Bank. The warmth in my arms was still there, and the fragrance of her hair at my temples remained. The night sky, however, was still dark and gloomy, as if nothing had ever changed.

Sure enough, Xiaohui and her friends all looked like Hanako, their eyes losing their sparkle, lost in their own daydreams.

Perhaps everyone has their own most beautiful dream, one that cannot be realized in reality. The power of the spirits is so great that they can trap each person in their own beautiful dream, from which they can never wake up.

Then let me be the one to awaken this cruel dream!

Swallowing back bitter tears, I shook the soul-suppressing bell in my hand with all my might, letting the clear sound reach the ears of everyone lost in their sweet dreams.

Ah-Guai had already realized his tactic had failed, and he pulled Hanako towards the darkness. The people who had just regained consciousness were still looking at each other in bewilderment when I yelled, "Ah-Lei, Feng Zei, quick, grab her, grab Hanako!"

Yes, that's right. Only A Lei and Feng Zei, who have fulfilling love lives, recovered from their dreams the fastest. Since they have fewer regrets in their lives, even the most beautiful dreams have a shallower impact on them.

When we friends hang out together, these two always believe me without question, and this time was no exception. Reflexively, the two tall guys, both over 1.8 meters, rushed over and firmly grabbed Hanako as she turned around.

A miracle occurred. Hanako struggled desperately in the hands of the two strong young men, but naturally she couldn't break free. Ah-Guai rushed over and scratched and bit the two men, but every bite seemed to hit thin air, passing right through them, completely useless.

Ah Lei and Feng Zei were initially quite tense, but now they even had the leisure to joke around: "Haha... Go ahead and hit me, hit me... Ha, I'll dodge, you can't hit me!"

Xiaohui looked at me, her face still flushed. I wonder who she dreamed about in her dream.

I knew what she was thinking, so I smiled and said, "Xiao... Lady, I don't know if this is the right way to address you, but could you please break this, uh... is it called a barrier? I already know the whole story. Once I bring someone else out, you'll understand everything."

Unexpectedly, she glared at me angrily and said, "Call me Xiaohui! What kind of female knight-errant is that? It sounds awful." She tossed out a yellow talisman, which burst into flames as soon as it left her hand. She muttered a few incantations, and I only heard the last two lines, which seemed to be "May all ailments be dispelled, as the law commands."

With a pop, it was as if a giant balloon had suddenly burst in the air, and the sounds of cars and people outside rushed in. These things, which were usually so ordinary, suddenly gave us a feeling of being in another world.

Press the send button on your Nokia 8210, the screen flashes a few times, and a text message is sent out via radio waves.

Just five minutes later, a police car with its lights on roared up. The door opened, and Zhang Xiaojun got out first, followed by a short young woman who was holding a little boy's hand.

Afang gasped in surprise, covering her mouth in disbelief. Gu Datou's hawk-like gaze softened as it fell on the little boy, and he couldn't look away.

Zhang Xiaojun led them over, laughing heartily, "I haven't failed you! Xiao Wang, you guessed right. How's the situation here?" The key to getting to the bottom of things had been found, no wonder even the staid criminal police captain started using a classical accent.

I gave a wry smile, nodded, and looked at the young woman's face. Yes, I remembered that face: "You're Lan Ying? You used to be a nurse at Xusheng Clinic, right?"

The young woman nodded and said calmly, "Yes, I used to work there. But after Dr. Tan Hui's accident, I left the clinic and went back to my hometown." The little boy next to her probably shrank back behind her a bit, perhaps because he saw so many strangers.

I looked at Zhang Xiaojun, and he nodded: "I've already talked to her, and she agreed to help."

From the moment Lan Ying and the little boy appeared, Hanako, who had been struggling desperately, suddenly quieted down. I don't know why; perhaps there's a strange connection between people. Ah-Guai was even more sensitive. The moment the police car appeared, he seemed to have discovered the most terrifying thing in the world, and he hid in Hanako's arms, trembling all over.

I coughed, signaling to A Lei and Feng Zei to let go of Hua Zi.

"Hanako, this former nurse's name is Lan Ying. She used to work at Tan Hui's private clinic. Do you remember her? That's right, she's the one who had your induced labor with Tan Hui."

"I never understood why Tan Hui would appear in my dream to tell me about the time you had your induced abortion. It wasn't until I had a long talk with Gu Datou, ah, Brother Gu, that I suddenly realized! Tan Hui's purpose in appearing in my dream wasn't to tell me to go find you, but to tell me to go find Lan Ying. Why is that?"

I raised my voice so everyone present could hear: "Let's start from the beginning. Hanako, one day in 2001, you were working as a clerk at the Heaven on Earth Group when you unfortunately ran into a high-ranking government official who was visiting the group. This official was in a good mood that day and drank a few too many drinks. With Liu Huatian's help, he raped you. I regret that this was a tragedy that should never have happened."

"You originally hoped that Brother Gu would help you, because he was so strong, so honest, and loved you so much. But he didn't. In your disappointment and regret, you met Tan Hui. He was handsome, charming, had such a good background, and loved you deeply. What woman wouldn't like a man like that? So, the two of you got together."

"I'm certain that Tan Hui later fell deeply in love with you. Unfortunately, his initial intention to approach you was due to Liu Huatian's secret instigation. Even more unfortunate is that, Hua Zi, you had a tragic childhood, and apart from A Fang and your mother, everyone around you treated you with contempt, which caused you to develop an extremely extreme personality from a young age."

"The truth will eventually come out. One day, Tan Hui, drunk, revealed everything, and you two fell into a cold war. That day, you ran into Brother Gu at a bar, and out of revenge, you wanted to give yourself to him. However, Brother Gu could tell that you still deeply loved that unfaithful man. He didn't touch you."

"Not long after, you became pregnant. Because Tan Hui was born infertile, both you and he thought it was your child with Gu Datou. Tan Hui was a very possessive man, and he forced you to have an abortion, which you finally agreed to. The surgery went smoothly, but after the surgery, Tan Hui secretly went to buy your favorite Bai Bing Wu chocolate pancakes. Ironically, on the very day this playboy performed his first act of kindness to save someone, he drowned in the Jin'an River."

“Poor child, you were left alone in the rented room. Tan Hui disappeared without a trace, and no one cared about your life or death. You were plagued by illness and unbearable hunger and thirst, and you thought you were going to die. You hated the unfaithful man and those who bullied you. You wanted them to suffer a fate worse than death!! If it weren't for Afang coming to save you in time, you might be a vengeful ghost now. That would be better. Xiaohui can help you.”

I paused for a moment, and Xiaohui gently shook her head: "No, she is not a ghost, and neither is he. Although they are filled with resentment, they are different from real vengeful ghosts. No ghost can remain completely unharmed under the Earth-Breaking Thunder Spell, absolutely none."

I smiled and said to Gu Datou, "Brother Gu, when we were talking until three in the morning that night, I mentioned the experience of a high-ranking Tibetan Buddhist monk, do you remember?" The body wrapped in the military overcoat shuddered, and a long sigh came from it: "So that's how it is... I understand, I understand..."

Those around us looked on with astonishment, which was only natural. The whole story was so strange and mysterious that if I hadn't been involved, driven by my professional instincts to investigate, and with the help of my friends Zhang Xiaojun and Xingyun, I would never have been able to uncover its secrets.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in Tibetan Buddhism, there was once a highly accomplished monk who was skilled in the study of spiritual power. He once conducted an experiment, concentrating all his mental energy to imagine a person who did not exist. He spent three months sitting in his tent every day, meditating on every detail of this person, until he opened his eyes and could see the person's presence. Not only that, but later, even the herders who brought food to his tent were surprised to see a faceless man in black following behind this virtuous monk. This is what is known as the 'wish spirit.'"

I was only halfway through my explanation when Xingyun exclaimed "Ah!" By the time I was three-quarters of the way through, almost everyone had an "I see" expression, except for Xiaohui, who still looked a little confused.

"That day, Afang and Huazi happened to see on TV the story of a nouveau riche in Guangdong eating aborted babies. People with extreme personalities often have strong imaginations. Being raped by a high-ranking government official was one seed, Tan Hui's disappearance without saying goodbye was another seed, and the mother who made a living by pretending to be a shaman and swindling money from ignorant villagers was the third seed."

"Hanako fantasized that Tan Hui and Liu Huatian had a secret plan, and that after the child was aborted, they would make it into fetal soup and eat it to maintain their youth and vitality. The more she fantasized, the more she believed it was reality. She thought she had a premonition that the child was being eaten by evil people, and that these evil people were the accomplices who raped her that day!"

"Her intense desire for revenge drove her to the brink of madness. Coincidentally, to comfort her, Brother Gu saw a method online for summoning the dead using puppetry. He pretended it was a secret technique he had found in his hometown, hoping it would give her something to hold onto. Unexpectedly, with just a wooden doll, a lock of baby hair from who-knows-where, and a few pieces of bone, Hanako actually summoned her 'child,' Ah-Guai!"

My gaze suddenly fell on Ah-Guai, who was trembling in Hanako's arms. Ah-Guai jumped up as if burned, opened his big mouth full of fine teeth and screamed shrilly: "I am Ah-Guai, I am Ah-Guai! My mother is mine, no one can take her away! You will all die!!"

The crisp, continuous ringing of the bell emanated from my right hand, wave after wave, thin and coherent, even Ah-Guai's shrill cries couldn't be drowned out.

"If it weren't for the Soul-Suppressing Bell that Xiaohui gave me for protection, I wouldn't have been able to see your true face. Xingyun and I studied it for a long time and discovered that the true function of this Soul-Suppressing Bell is to soothe a person's mental fluctuations and prevent them from being troubled by hallucinations. Ah-Guai, you are actually Hanako, and Hanako is you!"

"But you're not Hanako. Because you're just one of her split personalities. If Brother Gu hadn't found the secret method of raising ghosts from Japanese puppetry online, there wouldn't have been a way to materialize you. Aren't you going to wake up now? Look at the child next to Lan Ying!"

The little boy had a pointed chin, soft, rosy skin, big eyes, and long eyelashes. He looked at me, his clear eyes full of curiosity.

"Hanako, this is your and Tan Hui's biological child. When Tan Hui induced labor that day, the feeling of being connected to your flesh and blood made him delirious, and he didn't strangle his own child with his own hands. Lan Ying took him home. Now, he's almost two years old."

Ah-Guai turned pale, took a few steps back, and sat down heavily on the ground, muttering, "Impossible...impossible, he's clearly infertile!"

Zhang Xiaojun shook his head and sighed, "Hua Zi, you come from a mountain village after all, so it's not surprising that you don't know. There are many types of infertility. Tan Hui's condition is simply due to a naturally low sperm count, meaning the chance of conception is only one in a million. What you've encountered is a one-in-a-million chance!"

Lan Ying squatted down, hesitated for a long time, and then stammered to the little boy, "Good boy... good boy... call me Mommy, look, that's your... real mommy..."

The little boy was too timid to speak, but after his adoptive mother's repeated urging, he finally whispered in his childish voice, "Mommy!"

It lacked the terrifying power of the Earth-Breaking Thunder Spell, but that soft, delicate cry of "Mama" caused the spirit "A-Guai," who had killed several people with illusions, to vanish without a trace, as if summoned by a divine decree. The light in Hanako's eyes slowly widened, and she slowly knelt down, unable to hold back her loud sobs.

I felt a sense of relief. Finally, I couldn't resist the exhaustion of the past few days, and my vision went black as I fell into a deep sleep.

Perhaps in my dreams, I can relive that long-lost tenderness.

(The End)

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