Courriels mortels

Chapitre 10

That's him!

As the tide of memories flowed to this bay, this face became more and more prominent. Ye Xiao immediately recalled this afternoon—the man in black who shot and killed the driver, was caught by Ye Xiao after a gunfight, and was finally released by Xiao Zhi.

No wonder I felt a sense of déjà vu when I faced him in the afternoon; it turns out we had met seven days ago.

Returning to the night of September 23rd, the true memories were just beginning to surface. On a quiet street next to the Chiang Mai night market, Ye Xiao asked a stranger in black, "Who are you?"

"I am your friend."

Ye Xiao furrowed his signature eyebrows. "Do you recognize me?"

"Yes, I've known you for a long time, through those novels about you."

"Thank you, but unfortunately those aren't true; they're just fictional stories."

"Can I buy you a drink?" Before Ye Xiao could answer, the man in black added, "I know a nice bar around here."

He hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded unconsciously. Ignoring his fellow tour group members, he followed the man in black around the corner and into a small, semi-basement bar.

The room was bathed in an ambiguous pink light, and only two or three Europeans were quietly drinking. The man in black led Ye Xiao to a seat in a corner. A waiter brought them red wine and poured it for them—looking at the blood-like liquid in the glass, Ye Xiao asked in confusion, "Why did you strike up a conversation with me?"

Why come to Chiang Mai?

Unexpectedly, the man in black asked a question in return, which annoyed Ye Xiao. "I'm asking you!"

"I'm asking you the same question, please answer mine first."

The man in black took a big gulp of wine, staring directly into Ye Xiao's eyes, showing no fear of his murderous gaze.

"Alright, here's why I came to Chiang Mai." Ye Xiao finally compromised, since he wouldn't lose out anyway. "You won't believe me, but it's because of a dream."

What did you dream about?

The image of Xue'er flashed before Ye Xiao's eyes, and he replied calmly, "A dead girl."

Do you love her?

"Yes, I love her."

How much do you love her?

Just then, a soft melody drifted through the bar—Teresa Teng's version of "Wishing We Last Forever." She sang softly through the speakers: "People have sorrow and joy, separation and reunion; the moon has its phases of waxing and waning, and nothing in this world is ever perfect. But wishing we may all live long and share the beauty of the moon, even from afar..."

Teresa Teng's voice drifted over, making Ye Xiao's nose tingle, but he remained calm on the surface: "I love her very, very much."

Do you still want to see her?

"Yes, but that's impossible."

"Anything is possible." The man in black smiled mysteriously, then raised his glass and said, "Let's have a drink!"

"Thanks!"

Ye Xiao raised his glass, looked at the blood-red wine, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

"good!"

"Okay?"

He sadly put down his glass, letting the alcohol assault his senses; tonight, all he wanted was to fill the void of years of unresolved sorrow.

"Very good, very powerful."

Under the approving gaze of the man in black, Ye Xiao poured himself another full glass and drank it down in one big gulp.

"Alright, now you should tell me who you are."

After downing two large glasses of red wine, Ye Xiao, who was usually not a heavy drinker, was already feeling a bit dizzy. He rested his chin on his hand, gasped for breath, and felt his face burning.

The man in black took another big gulp of alcohol, as if it were mineral water, shook his head and said, "Sorry, I didn't expect you to have such a low alcohol tolerance."

"Yes, very bad. I can't hold my liquor." Ye Xiao was already feeling a bit confused. He lowered his head on the table and shouted, "Tell me quickly, who are you?"

You'll find out!

These words reached Ye Xiao's ears like a spell, and he could no longer see anything. A pair of hands lifted his body, and he felt a deadly threat, wanting to struggle desperately but unable to muster any strength.

He felt himself being carried out of the bar and back onto the deserted street. His eyelids felt as heavy as lead; he could see nothing, his sense of touch was fading, and only his last vestige of hearing remained.

"Mr. Ye, you're drunk. Let me take you back to your hotel!"

Then, the man in black helped him into a car and drove him back to the hotel where the tour group was staying.

Ye Xiao was taken to a hotel room and lay unconscious on the bed, while Sun Zichu did not return until the middle of the night.

I woke up this morning with body aches, a very uncomfortable stomach, and an unpleasant odor in my mouth, but it definitely wasn't the smell of alcohol.

Then they boarded a tour bus and left Chiang Mai for the Lanna Royal Tombs. He slept on the bus the whole time, until that fatal coordinate—

September 24, 2006, 11:00 AM.

He finally awoke, marking the beginning of the story of the celestial secrets. However, the reversal of the travel group's fate occurred long before this. For they had already been chosen by destiny, for when the heavens shattered, when the stars fell, when the oceans mingled, and when the graves were opened, everyone knew everything they had done before and after.

"Is this all the memory you've lost?"

Xiaozhi interrupted his narration, causing him to raise his head with lingering fear, his forehead already covered in cold sweat.

"Yes, I remember everything now. It's incredible, maybe it's a conspiracy."

"You mean the man in black?"

"If I'm not mistaken, he must have put some kind of despicable anesthetic in the red wine he gave me!" Ye Xiao clenched his fists angrily, analyzing through gritted teeth, "And this kind of drug can cause a person to lose part of their memory. I wasn't drunk at all! I didn't fully wake up until the next morning, but I couldn't remember anything that happened in the previous two weeks. It's terrifying! Why would he do this to me?"

But yesterday he was still recalling Xue'er—with Dingding's hypnotic help, but it wasn't a real memory, just a chaotic hallucination after he lost his memory. Because when a person is immersed in fantasy, he will have an extremely strong desire to see the person he misses most.

Yes, Xue'er was his illusion, like the dream that urged him to come to the world of Tianji.

If the potion in the red wine were stronger, would it make him completely forget all his memories? Just like when we die and stand on the Bridge of Helplessness, drink the Meng Po soup, cross the River of Oblivion, and never remember this life again.

Ye Xiao smiled bitterly at this thought, "Since I've already lost my memory, why not forget it all completely and stop remembering the troubles of this life!"

“But when we turned around, we saw the Three Lives Stone again!” Xiaozhi was infected by his emotions. “Legend has it that the Three Lives Stone records everything about our past and present lives.”

This time she finally angered Ye Xiao, "But why did you ask me to let the man in black go?"

"sorry."

She finally felt scared and lowered her head to hide in a corner of the emergency room. The wolfhound "Tian Shen" also cautiously returned to its owner's feet.

"Stubborn fellow, I've lost faith in you." Ye Xiao sighed helplessly, pulling himself out of the painful memories. "Oh dear, why do I feel hungry?"

"Ah, I'll go out and find you some food. You stay here and don't move around. The 'God' will protect you."

She patted the wolfhound's head and, as she rushed out of the room, turned back to add, "You must wait for me! Be a good boy!"

The tone was like a nurse instructing a patient. Ye Xiao smiled wryly and said, "Yes, ma'am!"

He was the only one left in the emergency room, with the "god" squatting majestically at the door. Ye Xiao felt exhausted and hungry, so he lay down on the stretcher, as if he were a critically ill patient waiting for emergency treatment who would soon be sent to the morgue on the same floor.

But he didn't know that there was a living person waiting for him in the morgue.

Drowsiness slowly enveloped his eyes, and Ye Xiao once again lost consciousness, falling into a painful slumber alone.

Night is approaching.

The Greatest Fear in Life - Chapter 5 of the Complete Fourth Season of "The Secret"

Night fell.

This is their seventh night in the world of celestial secrets.

Seven days and seven nights.

Seven days are not the seven deadly sins.

Seven Nights is not a Seven Nights of Ghost Stories.

Headquarters.

"Yu Ling has disappeared!"

Lin Junru screamed in terror, her voice echoing throughout the sleeping villa and making Dingding and Elena's hearts race.

Just minutes ago, they were still sitting in front of the television, its screen filled with static, and by the bedside of their dying grandson, Chu. Yuling had been downstairs preparing dinner for a long time, and there had been no sign of her. Hungry, Lin Junru ran downstairs, only to find the kitchen empty. She searched every room in the house, including the small courtyard outside, but Yuling was nowhere to be found. The iron gate, which had been tightly closed, was ajar.

In the bedroom upstairs, Dingding's expression changed as well. "Where did she go?"

"I don't know! Could it be because of what happened on TV this afternoon? Yuling couldn't stand our stares and ran away by herself?"

Elena immediately shook her head and said, "Impossible, running out at night now would be suicide."

"Although she has a gentle personality, she must also have a stubborn side, who knows!"

“None of us insulted her,” Elena pouted and shrugged. “Besides, it’s no big deal for us Americans.”

Just as they were feeling anxious about Yu Ling's disappearance, the static on the television screen suddenly disappeared.

The screen shook violently a few times before transitioning to a long take showing many people against a backdrop of a modern city. Everyone gasped in surprise and turned their attention to the screen.

Dingding pressed the remote control and turned the TV volume to the maximum. Although the picture was normal, he still couldn't hear any sound.

The scene features Chinese people and traditional Chinese shop signs. Behind them is a street that looks like a place in Hong Kong or Taiwan.

"Taipei!"

Lin Junru suddenly shouted. The street that appeared on the TV was Zhongxiao East Road in Taipei, the place she knew best in Taipei, where her parents still lived.

The camera steadily pans along the sidewalk of Zhongxiao East Road, with many people hurrying past, until it reaches the base of a building. Then the scene shifts, clearly professionally edited, focusing on a couple in their fifties.

They were all very emotional and anxious in front of the camera. The woman, in particular, had red eyes and kept wiping her cheeks with a handkerchief, practically sobbing uncontrollably. Her husband spoke at length, as if he were accusing the camera, but the television remained silent.

"Oh my god!"

Lin Junru had already shrunk into the corner, covering her head.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Dingding went over and hugged her, while Lin Junru pointed to the TV and said, "These are my mom and dad!"

Elena and Dingding were both shocked to see Lin Junru's parents on TV. The two elderly people were on Zhongxiao East Road in Taipei, giving an interview to the camera, but they were very sad, as if they had encountered some major tragedy.

At the bottom of the screen, an English caption appeared: "Lin Junru's parents."

That's right, the location filmed on TV was downstairs at Lin Junru's home in Taipei. Her parents must be missing their daughter and hoping she could come home as soon as possible. Lin Junru could no longer hold back her sadness, and tears streamed down her face and onto the back of her hand. The last time she reunited with her parents was during the Lunar New Year. She then hurriedly left Taipei and took a chartered flight to Shanghai during the Spring Festival, which has been more than two hundred days! And the last time she spoke to her mother on the phone was exactly a week ago, when the tour group had just arrived in Chiang Mai.

The people at the Sleeping City headquarters were stunned by this subtitle—what kind of TV program was this?!

“I recognize this channel!” Elena pointed to a peculiar dragon-shaped logo in the upper left corner of the television screen. “It’s a very famous American satellite television station.”