Un vent glacial souffle, une aura fantomatique imprègne les lieux, des lys araignées fleurissent dans le monde souterrain, et l'on reste assis, seul

Chapitre 16

In that instant, Duan Lin seemed to see Mr. Jin Zi, his tall body falling straight down, a pistol in his hand, and Cheng Rui, who had been dead for a long time, lying beside him.

It was a kind of sorrow that almost tore through the chest!

Mu Zi later said that it was because of the thin rope she was holding.

That wasn't just any ordinary thin string; it was an umbilical cord, the first and only gift that the child named Xiaobao left for his father.

His father wore it on his body and never took it off.

At that moment, the sorrow in the heart of the child named Xiaobao was deeply transmitted to Duan Lin through the umbilical cord.

Mu Zi said that he later discovered that Mr. Jin Zi had not raised a corpse at all; at most, he had been raising his son's umbilical cord. Over time, the child learned about his father's anger.

Duan Lin felt like he had been having a long dream, a dream in which there was a real father and son.

The younger brother woke up and said that before he fainted, he saw the man's wrist. The bracelet on it was the same as Mr. Jin Zi's. He said that after the man saw his face, he let go.

"Ah Lin, you're finally awake! You scared me to death..." Suddenly remembering his father's expression when he woke up, Duan Lin realized that the worry in his father's eyes was genuine. For the first time, Duan Lin saw the essence of fatherly love in his father.

Duan Lin blinked.

"No matter what... you're my son!"

Then Duan Lin remembered Mr. Jin Zi's last words to him: "He must love you. What father in the world doesn't love his child?"

At Mr. Jin Zi's funeral, which was attended by almost no one, Duan Lin stood before the empty mourning hall and took out something he had been carrying in his pocket all day—a black, thin rope-like object. Duan Lin gently placed it in Mr. Jin Zi's hand.

This is his stuff.

And so, the last umbilical cord was sent out.

The curse is over.

Epilogue in the Name of the Father

Xiao Cao was looking at them casually when he saw one, and suddenly...

Tears welled up in the eyes of this young man who rarely shed tears.

"Xiao Cao, what are you doing? Stop playing computer games and come get to work!" His colleague said with a smile as he looked at Officer Cao sitting next to the computer.

"I wasn't playing with it, I was looking at photos. It's from my new digital camera. I've been so busy lately that the photos have been sitting on the camera. I need to take a look, and I'll delete the ones I don't like."

"Oh? Right! Didn't you take pictures of us drinking last time? Was I in them? I want to see!" His colleagues egged him on, surrounding Officer Cao.

Photographs are strange things; no matter how much time has passed, you still look the same in them. A photograph is a time freezer. Everyone looked at the photos excitedly, occasionally laughing at each other. Suddenly, when they saw a certain one, everyone fell silent.

"It's the boss."

"Um……"

The photo was poorly lit, with the surrounding scenery shrouded in shadow, highlighting only the man on the right side of the photo—that was Jin Zi.

Jin Zi's story is very bizarre. Jin Zi, who had a happy family in the eyes of everyone, was actually a pitiful man who lost his wife and unborn child more than a year ago due to hospital negligence.

Concealing his identity and his hatred, Jin Zi traveled a great distance to City C, determined to seek revenge. The newspapers portrayed him as a ruthless killer, a pathetic wretch suffering from schizophrenia, paranoia, and other mental illnesses…

Because of the serial murder case that shocked the whole country a while ago in City C, Jin Zi later confessed in his suicide note that he was the one who did it.

The roll of tape that was found hanging around Han Xinnuo's neck provided evidence for the suicide note.

Bo Xiaoxue was acquitted, and her mental health is gradually stabilizing under professional care.

The incident has passed, but the discussions sparked by it regarding hospital efficiency and the professional ethics of medical staff continue to intensify...

"I...I think Boss Jin Zi is a good person." After a pause, Xiao Cao said.

I was prepared to be criticized, but to my surprise, my colleagues all chimed in.

Jin Zi is a good person; at least, the Jin Zi they knew was always a good person.

Everyone thinks so, because his occasional smile is so gentle and pure, just like the one in this photo.

Looking at the man's slightly shy, happy smile magnified on the screen, Xiao Cao suddenly said, "This was taken at Mr. Jin Zi's house. It was the only time I went to his house."

It doesn't look like a bachelor's home at all; it's very cozy and warm.

"I don't believe what the newspapers say. Mr. Jin Zi is a good man... Does Xiao Bao really not exist? I don't believe it... I even bought him a navy hat..."

Hearing Xiao Cao say these words with a slight sob in his voice, everyone fell silent.

Xiao Cao decided to print out the only photo of Jin Zi in his camera. When he picked it up, the shopkeeper told him, "Young man, your lighting isn't good. Many of your photos are too dark. I've slightly overexposed them for you. Are you satisfied with the result?"

The boss smiled and waited for the young man to check the photos.

Xiao Cao was looking at them casually when he saw one, and suddenly...

Tears welled up in the eyes of this young man who rarely shed tears.

"Boss, your skills are amazing... truly amazing..."

Being praised is a good thing, but... Curious, the chubby boss, wearing reading glasses, peered at the photo that Xiao Cao was looking at from behind...

Above was a man with a gentle smile. Beside him, in a dark place before the light was revealed, stood a child with the same innocent smile as the man beside him.

The child was wearing a beautiful navy cap.

We will be happy to have a baby.

Give him a name and bless him

He called me "your mom" and "my dad".

I will be his best friend and play with him in the mud.

My dear, you just watch from the sidelines.

You will appreciate him

—The Complete Book of Corpse Raising

postscript--

Hearing the neighbor's child crying is very annoying, and if you hear it every night in the middle of the night, it feels very eerie.

The neighbor's children cry every night, both upstairs and downstairs. Lying in bed, I can't tell where the crying is coming from. I don't remember any of the neighborhoods having a new baby...

And that's how this story came about.

But now that I think about it, if my neighbors heard me listening to the background music of The Ring every night before going to sleep, they would probably find it very strange.

At least my dad once said as he walked past my bedroom door: "Which room is haunted? What kind of awful music is this?"

This story may not have started this way, but it naturally turned out this way as I wrote it. Mr. Jin Zi's photo was the last thing I thought of, because I had taken that kind of photo myself before.

It was just a photo of one person, but after exposure, you could vaguely see a white shadow next to me. At first, I was a little surprised, but then I realized it might be a friend standing next to me, and I understood.

This photo inspired my final ending.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the editors and friends who comforted me when I was stuck on the manuscript, to "Mr. Jin Zi" who lent me his name, and to everyone for their encouragement and guidance.