El primer libro de la serie El mago del oolong ¿Quién soy yo

Capítulo 7

After Li Zu sat down again, Cheng Hai said, "Let's continue our previous topic."

Li Zu glanced at him and said softly, "I'm sorry."

Cheng Hai smiled understandingly, patted him on the shoulder, and continued, "I find it a little strange."

Li Zu looked at him with a questioning gaze.

"Think about it, Xiaoyuan has acted like that three times, right? The first two times she attacked you or He Se, which is the same as when you attacked me, and can also be analyzed as a violent tendency. But why did she choose to commit suicide the third time? Why would that strange possessing power do that? Why didn't it attack someone else?" Cheng Hai, as expected of a science student, analyzed the problem very logically.

“Hmm…” Li Zu pondered, “You’re right. I hadn’t thought about that. Another good thing is that this possession power isn’t actually very strong. When Xiao Yuan attacked me for the first time, I was able to stop her.”

"Another point is that this possession power seems to only occur at night, both for you and Xiaoyuan. Finally, it only happened to you once. Is it because this power transferred to Xiaoyuan, or because you inadvertently ran its decryption program?"

“That’s right, I also thought of the similarity that it only happens at night. As for whether I inadvertently ran its cracking program, I don’t know, that shouldn’t be the case. I didn’t do anything to this picture, you know I don’t understand these things. If we’re talking about transfer, hmm… that explanation seems more reasonable.” Li Zu nodded uncertainly.

"If that's the case, then after Xiaoyuan died, He Se received this letter. Does that mean it has been transferred to He Se?"

When Cheng Hai finished speaking, both of them were startled and glanced at the wall clock. It was already 8:45 p.m.

"What about He Se?" Li Zu exclaimed, his eyes quickly scanning the surroundings.

"She...she..." Cheng Hai's eyes were filled with panic, and his tongue stammered, "She just...said...said she was going downstairs to buy salt!!!"

The two of them jumped up from their chairs almost simultaneously and rushed out the door.

They ran downstairs to the department store, gesturing wildly and asking the shopkeeper if he had seen He Se. The shopkeeper was startled by their expressions, and after a long while, he remembered and pointed inexplicably to the stairwell, saying, "Yes, she bought a bag of salt and went up from there."

"How long have you been gone?" Li Zu asked hurriedly.

"It hasn't been long, who would remember?" the shop owner said, scratching his head.

Li Zu and Cheng Hai exchanged a glance, inwardly exclaiming "This is bad!", and both looked up at the rooftop.

Seeing no one on the rooftop, they took off running one after the other up the stairs and made their way to the rooftop in one breath.

The rooftop was piled high with construction debris that hadn't been cleared away, along with discarded plastic tarpaulins and bamboo frames. There was a small water tower on the right. Li Zu rushed up and immediately shouted, "He Se—He Se—Are you there?!"

Cheng Hai, panting, followed closely behind and immediately began searching inside the bamboo scaffold. Li Zu grabbed him and shook his head. At that moment, Li Zu recalled the scene before Wu Xiaoyuan jumped from the building. He worried that their presence had hastened He Se's suicidal impulse. He felt that since He Se hadn't attacked them, she might very well attempt suicide like Wu Xiaoyuan.

Li Zu put his finger to his lips in a shushing gesture and whispered to him, "He Se didn't attack us. I'm afraid she might commit suicide. Let's not disturb her for now. Let's search quietly and subdue her when we find her."

Cheng Hai nodded, and the two of them first surveyed the surroundings. Li Zu pointed to the water tower, indicating that they should start their search from there.

So the two of them crept stealthily toward the water tower. Reaching the water tower, they stopped. Li Zu slowly crouched down, cautiously poked his head out a little, and quickly glanced around; there was no one behind him. He turned and shook his head at Cheng Hai, and the two continued their search around the water tower.

Because the rooftop was completely cluttered with debris, they had to carefully walk along the edge. On one side was a seven-story-high open space, and on the other, a dark pile of junk. The two men desperately suppressed the creeps in their hearts, walking with complete focus, their eyes constantly scanning left and right, their ears perked up, afraid of missing any sound.

After circling the rooftop to no avail, they returned to their starting point at the stairwell, both looking disappointed. Cheng Hai, suppressing his pounding heart, asked, "Where is she?"

Li Zu remained silent, walked to the water tower, leaned against the wall, lit a cigarette, and looked at Cheng Hai, saying, "Think about it carefully again. Besides going home, where else does she usually go around this area?"

Cheng Hai thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "No, she usually doesn't go out after she comes back."

Li Zu sighed helplessly, looked up at the night sky. There was no moon tonight, no stars in sight, only clusters of dark clouds drifting slowly by.

Suddenly, Li Zu seemed to hear a sound. He froze, holding his breath. Just as Cheng Hai was about to ask, Li Zu quickly waved his hand at him and then beckoned him over. "Listen carefully and see what you hear?"

Cheng Hai approached the water tower, pricked up his ears, closed his breath, and listened carefully.

"I can hear breathing—" Cheng Hai exclaimed softly.

Li Zu looked at him and nodded, "That's right, it's that breathing sound, a very deep and rough breathing sound."

"Where is it?" Cheng Hai asked.

Li Zu pointed to the top of the tower.

Both of them tensed up instantly. Composing themselves, they slowly made their way to the iron ladder of the water tower. Li Zuxian began to climb quietly, trying not to make a sound and disturb He Se. The higher they climbed, the clearer the heavy breathing became.

Before long, Li Zu was standing on the water tower, and Cheng Hai came up as well. They all saw He Se. She was sitting on the ground with her back to them, motionless.

Li Zu looked around and saw that He Se was still some distance from the edge and didn't seem to be planning to jump down, so he called Cheng Hai to go around to her from a distance.

He Se seemed unaware of their arrival, her face lowered, her hair blowing in the wind, obscuring half of her face. At that moment, Li Zu and Cheng Hai were astonished to witness a shocking scene—

He Se's eyes gleamed with a bluish light. She was breathing heavily with her mouth slightly open. Her right hand held a sharp bamboo stick, which she was repeatedly slashing at her left wrist. Each slash pierced deep into the skin, and blood slowly flowed out. She had already slashed more than a dozen times on her left hand, but she felt no pain, as if she were slashing someone else's hand.

Beside her was an open bag of salt, the spilled salt scattered all over the floor. Every time she made a cut, she would pick up some salt from the ground, sprinkle it gently on the wound, and then grin and let out a soft, eerie laugh.

Cheng Hai and Li Zu stared at He Se in horror. Suddenly, Cheng Hai couldn't help but shout, "He Se—no—!" and rushed over.

At this moment, He Sexiang noticed them, suddenly raised his head, quickly pressed the bamboo strip in his hand against his throat, and stared intently at them with his blue, darting eyes.

Cheng Hai stopped in his tracks, his legs buckling as he knelt on the ground. Tears welled in his eyes as he looked at He Se, shaking his head violently and pleading in a trembling voice, "No... please don't do this... He Se... come back... come back... please..." Suddenly, he stretched out his hands, looking left and right, and shouted, "Who are you? Why are you doing this... please let her go... please let her go..."

He Se seemed not to hear Cheng Hai's voice at all, staring at them without moving, his face ashen and pale in the night.

Cheng Hai continued to plead desperately into the air, his voice growing softer and softer. He seemed to have exhausted all his strength, and finally his hands fell limply to the ground. His eyes, however, were still filled with tears as he painfully looked at the pitiful He Se, who was now helpless and unable to do anything.

Li Zu stood still, staring intently into He Se's eyes. The blue light danced like two flames in her pupils. He wanted to call her back and extinguish the blue flames in her eyes, the source of the curse. However, only He Se herself could extinguish it. He had to find a way to communicate with her, to let her sense it, and then use his power to put out the flames.

“Morning dew… white mist…” Li Zu took a step forward, his eyes fixed on hers, and softly recited these two lines of his poem, “There is a lone iris… rustling in the wind…”

Li Zu took another step towards He Se. At that moment, he seemed to see that morning again: on the lawn behind the library, He Se, wearing a white dress, stood gracefully under a large tree, holding a book in her arms. In the misty morning fog, the hem of her dress fluttered slightly in the morning breeze.

Li Zu stopped abruptly, looking at He Se under the tree. He hesitated, feeling timid. It was a path he always had to take, but today He Se was standing there. Why He Se of all people? He Se saw him too, perhaps she had seen him long ago, but she didn't come over, standing there just like Li Zu. In the white mist of the campus in the early morning, the two gazed at each other from afar for a long time.

Li Zu took another step forward, continuing to chant:

Morning dew

White mist

There is a lone iris.

rustling in the wind

Stop

pace

I want to take it home.

Inserted deep in the heart

...

Seeing the blue light in He Se's eyes begin to fade, Li Zu took another step forward. Cheng Hai looked up, surprised to see Li Zu approaching He Se step by step.

He Se's dilated pupils began to focus, slowly returning to their original blackness. At the same time, a layer of moisture enveloped her eyes. The bamboo strip in her hand slipped to the ground with a thud. Upon seeing this, Li Zu quickly stepped forward and scooped He Se up in his arms.

As Li Zu embraced her, He Se closed her eyes, her tense body softening. When her head was close to his ear, Li Zu heard He Se whisper, "Why did you turn away..."

After they helped He Qiang bandage her wound, they returned to Cheng Hai's house together. At this point, He Qiang began to feel waves of pain from her wound, a dull ache like a knife tearing at her flesh, causing her to occasionally let out soft cries. Cheng Hai found some painkillers for He Qiang, and exhausted, she fell into a deep sleep after taking the medicine.

However, neither of the two men felt sleepy. After helping He Qiang to sleep, Cheng Hai returned to the living room and said to Li Zu, "I just thought of a way to remove that image at the hospital. It may be the only way."

Upon hearing this, Li Zu stood up and quickly asked, "What method? Will it work?"

Cheng Hai nodded and said, "This is the most basic and simplest method, but it will definitely work."

"What method is it? Tell me quickly."

Cheng Hai gave a wry smile and said, "We need to parse the source code of the image and then look for suspicious parts one by one. However, this is a very long and arduous task. Parsing the source code is a huge undertaking. If I were to do it alone, it might take several months."

"What? Several months?" Li Zu's eyes widened, then immediately dimmed again. "Doesn't that mean there's no way out?"

"But it's better than being at a loss and unable to do anything, right?" Cheng Hai spread his hands.

Li Zu nodded helplessly in agreement. A moment later, an idea struck him, and he asked, "What if I hired a hundred people who know computers to work with you?"

Cheng Hai said, "That might be faster, but a hundred people are all working independently. Even if they find a suspicious place, they won't know that it's suspicious. Besides, finding people takes time, and it looks like we don't have much time." After saying that, he looked in the direction of He Qiang's room.

Li Zu sighed heavily and sat down. Helplessness and despair overwhelmed him, making him suddenly feel disheartened.

“Li Zu,” Cheng Hai called out to him, “I think no matter what, we should take whatever step we’re supposed to take, and see how things go. It’s better than just waiting around.”

“Alright,” Li Zu replied, leaning back weakly in his chair. In truth, he had no hope for Cheng Hai’s actions, but he had no choice but to let him be.

Although Cheng Hai didn't talk much, he was very efficient at his work. He had already sat down at the computer and started working while talking.

Li Zu stared blankly at the ceiling, his mind a void. His body felt weightless, as if all his energy had been drained away. He dared not think too much. He began to wait again, hoping he was truly waiting, because every wait eventually ends, and he hoped it would end as soon as possible.

Li Zu was suddenly awakened by Cheng Hai's shout while he was still half asleep.

"Li Zu, come quick, I found it, I found it—"

Li Zu's body seemed to be suddenly sprung up, and he took a step to Cheng Hai's side.

“Look,” Cheng Hai said to Li Zu, pointing to a line of symbols on the screen, “that’s him.”

Li Zu frowned and stared at it for a long time before saying, "What is this? It's just gibberish."

"No—" Cheng Hai said excitedly, "It's a signature. I'm very familiar with this signature. He was my classmate in college, the best student in our major. His name is Wan Shan. We co-wrote programs, so I remember his signature. Programmers always like to put their own unique combination of code in an inconspicuous place when they write a program. We call it a signature. I also have my own signature, but Wan Shan's signature is particularly special. It is composed of some seemingly random symbols."

"What does this garbled text mean?"

"Most signatures don't have any special meaning; they're just for fun. My signature is the abbreviation of my family's names."

"You mean, the person who sent us this letter is Wan Shan?" Li Zu asked.

Cheng Hai nodded and said, "It's very possible. Even if he didn't send the letter, he definitely wrote the program. That is to say, he also wrote the software that edits YHP format. Finding him will solve all the mysteries."

"But it's been two years since graduation, how can we find him?"

“We can start the investigation from the school. Graduates all have files left at the school. We can find out where his home is first, and once we find his home, it will be easy to find him,” Cheng Hai said.

“That’s right, how come I never thought of that? School is easy. Didn’t Wang Xiaomei from our class stay on as a faculty member? We even met up with her when she came to Shenzhen for a meeting half a year ago. I have her phone number. I’ll call her right now and ask her to help us check.” Li Zu also became excited, and his previous dejection was completely swept away.

"Tonight isn't a good time, it's too late. We won't be able to find out until tomorrow anyway, let's call tomorrow," Cheng Hai said, checking the time.

"That's fine then. I won't leave tonight. You go and get some sleep. I'll sleep on the sofa."

"I can't sleep yet. I suddenly feel really hungry. What about you?" Cheng Hai asked, looking at Li Zu.

As if in response to Cheng Hai's words, Li Zu's stomach rumbled twice, a loud protest. Both Cheng Hai and Li Zu heard it and burst into laughter.

twelve

Things went much more smoothly than Li Zu had imagined; Wang Xiaomei returned the call in just half an hour.

"Li Zu? We've found Wan Shan, the one you asked about. His registered home address is also in Guangdong, not far from you, in Pingzhen. The detailed address is... please write it down..."

Li Zu thanked Wang Xiaomei repeatedly and then hung up the phone. Looking at the address in his hand, he said to Cheng Hai, "He's actually so close to us. Pingzhen is only a little over 100 kilometers away. Let's drive there now."

Cheng Hai immediately stood up. "I'll go wake He Qiang up. We'll go together. I don't want to leave He Qiang for a second."

"Okay, I'll go down and check the car's radiator. Hurry up, you can still make it back tonight."