Ba ethnic group's bewitching charm - the executioner

Chapter 27

The man in the wheelchair is the new leader of the Ba people after Batu's death.

His name was Baqi, and he was the son of the late chieftain Batu.

After the spasm subsided, Yang Zheng suddenly woke up and found himself in Yang Mei's arms.

Yangmei (Chinese bayberry)

Yang Zheng was momentarily confused, unable to recall where he was.

This was no longer the room he had been in before he fell asleep, although the air was still damp and smelled of earth. However, it was bright here, and he could not only see the bayberries clearly, but also some simple furniture in the room.

Yang Mei's face was still filled with sorrow, but when she saw Yang Zheng wake up, a hint of joy flashed across her face, though it was fleeting.

Yang Zheng sat up, stroking the soft bedding, suppressing his excitement, and asked in a trembling voice, "Where is this place? How did you get here?"

Yang Mei shook her head silently, but a hint of fear involuntarily showed in her eyes.

Yang Zheng looked around the room; the layout was the same as the room he had just been in, with a tightly closed iron door on one side. He rushed to the door and pushed and pulled hard, but the door wouldn't budge. Yang Zheng's body grew increasingly stiff. He realized that although he had changed locations, he was still in a predicament, and his fear was even greater than when he was in the dark.

Because at that moment, Yangmei was right beside him.

“I went to look for you once, but when I got to the entrance of your neighborhood, I realized I couldn’t find your house at all,” Yang Zheng said softly, sitting back down on the bed and gazing at Yang Mei.

“I didn’t go home at all during those days,” Yang Mei said.

"Why?" Yang Zheng immediately realized something. "Because of that household registration police officer?"

Yang Mei nodded: "I don't know how to avoid him. He seems to have become my shadow, always able to find me."

"Where did you go? You should at least have called me."

Yang Mei lowered her head and remained silent for a long time before finally saying with a sob in her voice, "Even if I tell you where I am, what can you do to help me? Can you get that police officer in charge of household registration to stop harassing me? Or can you take me away from this city?"

Yang Zheng was stunned for a moment, speechless.

“You know the police officer came to your office because of me. But you didn’t say anything to him, as if it had nothing to do with me. Even when I ran to you, you just took me home and then abandoned me without hesitation. In this situation, how could I expect you to help me get out of this predicament?” Yang Mei sobbed softly.

Yang Zheng stared at the girl in front of him, listening to her crying and seeing her sorrow, and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart.

He hesitated, wondering whether to tell Yang Mei that the harm in not getting too close to her was to protect her.

Yang Mei's next words dispelled his concerns.

“Actually, I know why you don’t want to face me.” Yang Mei raised her head, her gaze holding something that Yang Zheng dared not look directly at. “You’re sick, very sick. You’ve discovered that there’s another you lurking inside you. He’s evil, constantly coveting you, trying to break free of his cage and completely control your body. You’re careful to guard against him every day, but sometimes he’s like a wild horse, out of your control. At those times, you become him, and you do things you’re not even aware of.”

"But you don't know what those things really are!" Yang Zheng interrupted Yang Mei sharply. "Do you know why I came to this city alone, and why I never tell anyone about my past? If you want to know, I'll tell you now!"

Yang Mei suddenly grabbed his hand, so tightly: "If you don't want to talk, no one will force you."

“I have to tell you, I must let you know, that I fell in love with you the first time I saw you. But I can’t, I can’t openly express my feelings to you like others do. You’re right, I’m sick, very sick. My illness is that no matter how hard I try, one day I will hurt those who love me.”

Yang Mei's sadness deepened, and she gripped Yang Zheng's hand even tighter.

“A year ago, I was living in another city where I had a girlfriend. We were high school classmates and knew each other very well. Later, we fell in love and lived happily together.”

Those memories were long gone from Yang Zheng's past, so long that he seemed to have forgotten them. But looking back, he realized they were still so clearly imprinted on his life—

Yang Zheng felt very happy at that time, except for the nightmares that had been harassing him since childhood.

The nightmare stubbornly lingered in the warm ocean, both dark and bright. Yang Zheng was curled up, infinitely languid and content. Even in his dream, he knew it was the place that had nurtured him, somewhere within his mother's body. This dream couldn't really be considered a nightmare, unless he later discovered that in that ocean, besides himself, there existed other life.

Darkness engulfed him, and he awoke from his dream, drenched in sweat.

He had experienced this scenario many times before, so when he woke up from his dream again that winter night, he didn't seem to realize that his nightmare had become a reality.

He reached out and touched her; his girlfriend was still asleep beside him. But in the darkness, he couldn't hear her familiar breathing. Yang Zheng realized his hands and feet had turned icy cold, as if some terrifying force was surrounding him. Before he could even turn on the lamp, his body had already stiffened, and as soon as the light came on, he let out a piercing scream, then couldn't help but vomit, not even having time to go to the bathroom.

The vomiting continued for a long time until he felt his body become light and airy, like a shell with its internal organs removed.

My girlfriend was surrounded by blood; it was her own blood.

A knife was plunged straight into her chest. It was this knife that took her life.

But before that, his girlfriend had obviously suffered other injuries. Her body was covered in scars, and her once beautiful face was now distorted and deformed, with many swollen and bruised areas clearly visible.

The dream became clear again; in the warm ocean, another life form existed. It was a demon from hell, which finally devoured him as darkness fell. But Yang Zheng hadn't expected that it would actually step out of the dream and kill his girlfriend.

Yang Zheng's hands were covered in blood, and no matter how frustrated or angry he was, he couldn't change the reality.

He was like a madman, smashing the furniture around the room. He held his girlfriend's body and wept bitterly, like a lost child. He didn't know how much time had passed before he lay down beside her, utterly exhausted. He realized with a start that the one who had truly killed his girlfriend was himself, not someone else.

In his dream, he became the demon he was wary of.

The truth terrified him more than his girlfriend's death. He knew that from then on he would bear an even heavier burden, and there would never be a chance to let go of it.

Moreover, in reality, he became a murderer, and a long prison sentence awaited him. Or perhaps, even that was a pipe dream; a cold bullet would pierce his skull, and death was just around the corner.

Yang Zheng chose to flee.

He left the small town where he had lived for over twenty years and began wandering across the vast land of China. Later, seemingly summoned by a mysterious force, he came to this city and settled down in the backstreets and alleys.

At this point, he learned that his symptoms were diagnosed as dissociative identity disorder in psychiatry, and even with comprehensive treatment, the recovery process would be extremely long. He was a murderer; he couldn't possibly walk up to a doctor as easily as other patients. Therefore, he had to use all his mental energy to fight against the demons within him.

Such a life is torture, because you can never escape from the pain in your heart.

At this point, how could Yang Zheng dare to fall in love with any other girl? To love would only bring him deeper misfortune; he had to bury this love deep in his heart. Therefore, he gave himself the online name "Mantis," because after mating, the female mantis always eats her mate. He wasn't a female mantis, but like her, he was hurting those closest to him.

If he weren't in this predicament, perhaps he would rather Yang Mei see him as a heartless man than tell her about his past. It's better to hurt a girl than to let her die.