Iron Bull fait son retour

Chapitre 28

Ling Li lay on the bed, pondering: The only two patients on the VIP floor both lived on the east side where there was good natural light. If it was the doctor making rounds, why would he deliberately take a longer route?

He was pondering when he suddenly heard the footsteps stop. Then came the sound of a doorknob being turned.

With a soft "creak," the door to the next ward opened, and footsteps slowly entered.

Ling Li was taken aback. It was an unoccupied hospital room, which should have been locked. How could it be opened with just a gentle twist?

He found it strange, so he quietly got out of bed and walked to the protruding windowsill. He lifted the curtain and looked to his right. Sure enough, the next ward was pitch black, with the windows and doors tightly closed and the curtains neatly tied up on both sides.

Everything seemed normal, and Ling Li began to doubt if he was hallucinating. Just as he was about to turn around, a bright shadow suddenly flashed through the window next door.

It turned out to be a sharp scalpel.

The knife was clearly in someone's hand, but in the darkness, Ling Li could only see the person's back. He or she was probably standing by the bedside in the hospital room, and then walked away after a moment.

Then Ling Li heard the faint sound of a door opening, footsteps, and the sound of another ward door opening.

Is he an assassin? Why is he carrying hospital equipment? Is he a doctor? That's even less likely. And that door opened silently—could someone really have such superb skills?

Perhaps, there is another possibility.

Ling Li didn't go back to bed. Instead, he went to the entrance and tried to open the door. However, as soon as he turned the handle, footsteps came from the ward. Ling Li quickly withdrew his hand and pressed it against the peephole to look outside.

The guide light at the bottom of the corridor emitted a yellow-green glow, reflecting the silhouette of a figure standing not far away. The figure was hunched over, holding two scalpels.

It turned out to be the old man guarding the underground palace!

Ling Li remembered that Hua Kai had said that the old man was also recuperating in the hospital, so it seemed that he had sneaked here under the cover of night.

Through the peephole, he saw the old man, dressed in a large hospital gown, stiffly walk to the door of the next ward, but instead of opening the door and going in, he slowly tiptoed and peered inside. He seemed to see something, then shook his head blankly and turned into the half of the room that Ling Li couldn't see.

It didn't seem to take long to swing around like that. Ling Li knew the old man was no match for him, but things might not be that simple. How could a gatekeeper open a locked door silently? Not to mention the willow-leaf knife in his hand, who knew where he got it from.

Perhaps… Ling Li pondered in his heart, the old man was also possessed. If that were the case, then even if he hid in the house, he would eventually be discovered.

After a moment's thought, he decided to leave the floor. He turned the doorknob again, and the wooden door, as he expected, made a very faint turning sound. He needed to get downstairs before the old man heard the sound and followed him.

However, things didn't go as planned. Just as he pushed open the door, the ward round record card in his hand fell to the marble floor with a "thud".

From the unseen end of the corridor, the old man's footsteps echoed from the empty hospital room.

Ling Li hurriedly went out the door and ran towards the elevator shaft. After pressing the buttons for a long time, he found that the elevator was not responding at all. Fortunately, there was a staircase behind him. As soon as he pushed open the door and slipped in, the gleaming willow leaf knife chased after him.

Ling Li squatted on the ground, motionless.

He knew that if he ran downstairs like that, the old man would definitely follow, and he didn't know if he could outrun the ghost. It was better to hide and wait for it to leave on its own.

Having made that decision, Lingli tightened the lever and gripped the handle tightly with his hand.

The old man's footsteps drew closer, bringing with them a familiar chill. Although the hospital wasn't filled with malevolent energy, the lingering resentment of someone on the verge of death made it all the more terrifying. Ling Li leaned against the door, the glass window less than a foot above his head. The entire door felt frozen solid.

He felt the handle turn slightly.

"Clatter..."

The lever automatically popped open.

Ling Li held his breath and gripped the cold handle tightly. The rotation stopped immediately, but as soon as he caught his breath, an almost flat face suddenly appeared above him, peering into the stairwell through the glass.

Ling Li remained motionless until he heard the old man let out a strange "oh," as if he were slowly pulling his head back.

The footsteps faded away little by little.

Ling Li breathed a sigh of relief and released the handle. Just as he was about to quietly move downstairs, the sound of shattering glass suddenly erupted above his head.

He hurriedly dodged, and the stairwell door was suddenly smashed open amidst the sound of shattering!

In the dim light, he saw that in the corridor not far away, the old man's slippers were jumping by themselves, making heavy footsteps; and the old man himself was standing between the open doors, grinning maliciously, holding two scalpels!

Ling Li understood that life and death hung in the balance, and he couldn't afford to act impulsively or panic. He calmed himself and noticed the old man's stiff movements, seemingly unable to bend over or kneel. So, he recklessly rammed into those stiff legs. Caught off guard, the old man was knocked to the ground, dropping one of his knives. However, the old man's free hand grabbed Ling Li's hair tightly. His other hand, holding a scalpel, was about to plunge it into Ling Li's eye. In desperation, Ling Li quickly grabbed another knife and shaved off his own hair, dodging the old man's attack, but was still stabbed in the shoulder by the sharp scalpel.

The excruciating pain and the warmth of his blood immediately ignited the man's rage. Unable to bear it any longer, he had no choice but to retaliate, even if he killed the possessed old man with his sword. It would still be considered self-defense.

Just as Ling Li was about to make a decision, the viewing window in the passageway was suddenly blown open by a huge gust of wind. The wind swirled and roared like a giant python opening its jaws. The old man was enveloped in this eerie wind and lifted off the ground. He struggled a few times at first, but then gradually became still.

Ling Li sat on the ground, watching the gust of wind sweep the old man's body out of the window. A few seconds later, a muffled sound like a water bag breaking came from the ground.

The wind rose again, and Dongli Bupo's figure slowly appeared on a piece of broken glass.

"The last one, his soul was scattered, and he couldn't even be reincarnated."

"Should I thank you..." Ling Li looked up and stared directly at the ghost, "or should I hate you for making a fool of me?"

Dongli Bupo's expression was equally indifferent: "I am your elder, so I naturally have the right to do anything to you." He slowly landed on the ground and walked in front of Ling Li. "Tao Rujiu's matter was entirely my doing. The reason why Huakai is only telling you the truth now is because his memories have been locked away by me before."

"Ha!" Ling Li looked up and sneered, "Didn't you always want me to take care of him? What? You can't bear to part with him now?"

Dongli Bupo said in a muffled voice, "Seeing how heartbroken he is, I realize that handing him over to you was not the right decision."

"To you, only Qin Huakai's tears count as tears?!" Ling Li slowly stood up.

"You heartless monster, you should have been reincarnated as a pig long ago. Maybe I'll buy that pig and let Huakai raise it."

Despite the harsh words, Dong Li was not provoked. The sea eagle on the mask, unchanged for a hundred years, looked especially eerie under the moonlight.

"As long as you're willing to be a descendant of pigs," he sneered. "Your heart is narrow, intolerant of even a speck of dust, and you won't even listen to Tao Rujiu's explanations. I'm willing to do anything for my lover, but what about you? What are Tao Rujiu's tears to you?"

Only then did Ling Li recall the news of Hua Kai's death, and a sharp pain shot through his heart, leaving him powerless to defend himself. Yet, deep down, he refused to believe it; perhaps it was just a lie fabricated by someone else at the young man's spite.

So he slowly stood up, leaning against the wall, and said, "I will definitely make up for this."

"Make amends?" Dongli Bupo sneered. "How can you make amends for a dead person?"

Ling Li gave a bitter laugh: "Don't lie to me anymore, Tao Rujiu isn't dead... You must be lying to me..."

By this time, someone downstairs had discovered the body, and a commotion slowly rose up. Dongli Bupo was about to leave immediately, but before leaving, his gaze fell back on Ling Li, and he simply said, "You'll know about his matter when you go back to Hailing City. Go back first thing tomorrow morning, or I won't be able to help you if you're late."

The hospital security guards discovered the old man's body and also found the scene of the incident on the VIP floor. However, what puzzled them was: the old man had actually suffered a sudden heart attack and died around 9 o'clock, so how could he have been carrying two scalpels and taking the elevator to the twelfth floor?

They questioned Ling Li and listened to him recount his experience, still finding it hard to believe. Finally, the hospital checked the surveillance footage in the corridor, which revealed a clearly stiff corpse slowly walking in the corridor.

Everyone was terrified, but fortunately the old man had no children, and his body was sent back to the morgue for cremation by Hailing City, thus bringing the matter to a temporary close.

By the time the incident subsided, it was already broad daylight. Ling Li remembered Dong Li Bu Po's words and immediately left the hospital to return to Hailing. Upon entering the city gate, he didn't even change carriages, but directly ordered someone to drive him to the back gate of Cuiying Pavilion.

As soon as he pushed open the door, he heard a commotion coming from the room where Tao Rujiu had stayed. Ling Li rushed over and saw a group of people crowding the doorway, saying they wanted to carry Tao Rujiu's body out, while only Hua Kai and Qi Mao Xian blocked the doorway, refusing to let anyone else in.

"Stop it, all of you!" Ling Li shouted loudly.

When everyone turned around and saw who it was, they immediately made way for him. Ling Li walked to the door, and Hua Kai, as if seeing a savior, burst into tears of joy.

"What's going on here?" Ling Li asked, frowning. "Why are you using a stretcher?"

Sun Zhendao, who was standing at the front, immediately replied: "Reporter Tao has unfortunately passed away. We have already contacted his uncle and are about to send his body to the funeral home today. However, Qin Huakai is blocking the door and won't let us in no matter what."

Ling Li's heart skipped a beat, realizing that Hua Kai must have his reasons for doing this, and he quickly lowered his head to ask, "Hua Kai, what's going on?"

Hua Kai hurriedly wiped away her tears and gestured, saying, "Although Tao Tao's soul has left her body and been collected in a ceramic jar by the Cat Fairy, if her soul can be returned to her body within seven days, she will come back to life. Otherwise... she will truly be dead."

Ling Li, both surprised and delighted, exclaimed, "Then why didn't you tell me yesterday!"

Qi Maoxian interjected at this moment: "The soul fragments were only collected last night. Didn't Dongli Bupo tell you that?"

At this point, Ling Li was no longer able to hear anything else; he just wanted to get into the house as soon as possible to see Tao Rujiu.

He looked around at the people and said to his secretary Han Fei, "Go and call Tao Rujiu's uncle. Tell him that Tao Rujiu still has a chance of being saved. In short, keep him stable first. Everyone else, leave now. There's no need to carry him out."

The crowd gradually dispersed as instructed, and Hua Kai then let Ling Li into the room.

Thick towels were draped over the windows in the dimly lit room. Tao Rujiu lay on the bed, still dressed in the same clothes he had worn in the woods that night. His eyes were closed, his face expressionless. Ling Li slowly approached and saw an oil lamp behind his feet and the pottery jar containing the soul beside his head.

“You can look at him,” Qi Maoxian said from the side, “but don’t let the lamp by his feet go out.”

Ling Li nodded absentmindedly and then squatted down in front of the bed.

Under the dim light, the young man seemed to be asleep, but his skin appeared paler than usual. His beautiful eyelashes drooped, his bloodless lips were pursed, and his bangs were disheveled on his forehead. Ling Li reached out to tidy him up, but when she brushed aside the messy hair, she noticed a patch of black ash on his forehead. She gently rubbed it with her fingertips, and after a while, she realized that it was a bruise, probably caused when he fell down the steps that day.

He recalled that night when Tao Rujiu was tied up in the rain, desperately pleading to explain himself, only to be kicked hard in the groin by himself; he recalled that night when Tao Rujiu struggled in bed, cried silently, and bled, only to be mocked and ridiculed by himself; and he recalled that day when the young man, dressed in tattered, muddy clothes, staggered up the steps under his merciless drive.

Then, it fell.

Ling Li carefully withdrew his hand, knelt on the ground, and buried his head in his curled-up arms. After nearly a quarter of an hour of silence, Qi Mao Xian suddenly asked from behind him, "Do you want to atone for your sins?"

"Atonement?"

Ling Li raised his head and asked, "If I atone for my sins, will he forgive me?"

Qi Maoxian answered very decisively: "It's not that easy, but it's better than always owing it."

The man gave a wry smile and nodded.

Although Tao Rujiu's soul has been found, placing it back into his body requires the blessing of a powerful being. In this regard, Dongli Bupo, who is also a ghost, is obviously of no help, while Qi Maoxian, in his current form and abilities, is not fully capable of doing so.

The only solution is to transform the Qi Mao Xian back into human form, and this requires Ling Li's help.

He entrusted Tao Rujiu's body to Huakai's care and instructed the opera troupe members to keep a close eye on him. The man and the cat left Cuiying Pavilion and headed towards Qianfo District.

"I was originally a Daoist disciple who cultivated in Xiyao during the reign of King Wu of Zhou."

As Qi Maoxian walked, he said, "Empress Wu promoted Buddhism and suppressed local Taoism. Many of my fellow practitioners were imprisoned one after another. I had no choice but to retreat into the deep mountains, but I unexpectedly mastered a spell that could seal the body while keeping the soul separate from the body. This allows me to keep most of my magic power in the body to prevent it from decaying. You will know the details when you go and see for yourself."

As they were talking, they arrived at the entrance to the Thousand Buddha District. The Cat Fairy led Ling Li along the main road, and after walking for about five minutes, they turned into a small alley on the right. At the very end was a locked moon gate. Several spider webs were tangled in front of the gate, and the phoenix tail grass had grown to nearly half a foot. Ling Li and the Cat Fairy climbed over the wall, and inside was a small cement courtyard with a neat white-walled brick house in the center.

"Wait a moment."

Qi Maoxian had Ling Li stand in front of the house, while she herself jumped onto the windowsill. The top pane of the window had long since fallen off, revealing two wide iron bars inside. The cat fairy squeezed her fluffy body behind the bars, then gently jumped to the ground and walked to the door. After gently scratching at the door with her paws for a while, she opened it.

Ling Li entered and found it to be an old tool shed, cluttered with shovels, brooms, rusty basins, and other items. In the corner lay half-mixed, hardened, and petrified building materials, next to several yellowed newspapers that looked like publications from the early 1990s. Everything seemed to have come to a sudden halt during construction.

"During the War of Resistance against Japan, there was an air-raid shelter dug by the militia down here."

Qi Maoxian said, “The excavation wasn’t very large, but it was already very close to where my body was kept. In the 1970s, the villagers expanded it further. I was afraid that my body would be discovered, so I used some methods to make them think it was haunted and stopped the project. However, in the early 1990s, the Ling family bought the land and actually planned to build an underground palace right next to the air-raid shelter. I made a big fuss about it, and as a result, they didn’t even dare to build a tool shed. There’s a stele forest above the air-raid shelter.”

When this incident occurred in Qianfo District, Ling Li was still overseas, but he had heard some of the strange things that happened. Unexpectedly, he heard the answer many years later, and couldn't help but sigh slightly. Following Qi Maoxian's instructions, he took an iron shovel and went into the inner room.

Compared to the chaos outside, the inner room was much emptier. In the center of the room, a one-meter square hole was exposed in the floor, half of which had been sealed with cement. Incense sticks and candles were placed around the hole, and upon closer inspection, the floor was covered with incense ash and black marks from burnt tinfoil.

Qi Mao Xian said, "The entrance from the Zhou and Tang dynasties has long been sealed off. We'll go down from here now. The air-raid shelter is only a few dozen centimeters away from my earthen dwelling."

Ling Li nodded, finally understanding the purpose of the shovel. He took out a flashlight he had prepared beforehand from his pocket and followed Qi Mao Xian into the underground palace.

Twenty-seven concrete steps descended gradually into the ground, steep and damp, reminiscent of old-fashioned architecture. Calling it an air-raid shelter was an understatement; it was more like a rudimentary underground corridor. The main structure was supported by horizontal and vertical wooden frames, with the soil layer held together by a special mesh material on the walls. Yet, the raw, damp smell of the soil had permeated the passage for over a decade, mixed with a faint stench of rotting wood, creating an unsettling atmosphere.

Ling Li, wielding a shovel in one hand and a flashlight in the other, moved through the winding tunnels. Every ten meters in the air-raid shelter, there was a slightly larger room, perhaps another exit, but all were completely sealed off. The further he went in, the lower the temperature became, but fortunately, breathing wasn't difficult.

Ling Li considered himself to have a keen sense of direction, but after wandering around in this tunnel for a while, he couldn't even tell which way was which. Luckily, Qi Mao Xian was leading the way, and she could perceive things very clearly even without sight.

The two walked underground for about fifteen minutes before they saw the end of the rammed earth road—a two-meter-high earthen wall with a few incense sticks stuck in the corner.