Зал астрологии с плотью и кровью

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“So for Bo, this book is a book full of evil, a book that can guide him to kill,” I said.

“That’s right!” Su Qiao nodded and said, “From Yu Bo’s perspective, all the women who borrow this book are unfaithful and promiscuous women who want to use it to seduce other men. Instead of waiting for them to do such things, it would be better to kill them as soon as they borrow the book, so that they will never have the chance to betray their husbands or seduce other men.”

An ordinary book became his murder manual? Unbelievable? Or perhaps a tragedy? No one can truly understand another person's thoughts, no matter how strange or bizarre they may seem. In the person's mind, it is the law, and no one can overturn it. I looked at Su Qiao before me. And what about her? Did she sometimes have strange and bizarre thoughts?

“That’s how I helped him analyze his mindset. For a patient with psychological problems, frankly analyzing the causes of the pathology is actually a good medicine, a good medicine to make him clear-headed,” Su Qiao said with a bit of pride.

To make him come to his senses? Sober enough to jump off a building and commit suicide? I didn't voice my questions. I just quietly watched Su Qiao for a while, then slowly took the necklace out of my pocket. I clearly saw a look of panic mixed with fear on Su Qiao's face. But it was only for a moment, fleeting.

"You said this was used for hypnosis in ancient times, right?" I stared intently at her. Her mental defenses seemed exceptionally strong; in just a moment, her face had transformed into a relaxed and calm expression.

“Yes, how come you have one too?” Su Qiao took her necklace off her neck.

"Exactly the same!" I held the round piece in my palm, feeling the slight burning heat emanating from its surface.

“We really are a couple!” Su Qiao seemingly casually pinched the round necklace and shook it, but I immediately felt a buzzing sound in my ears, as if someone had struck a large bell heavily next to my ear.

I'm dizzy!

I immediately gripped the disc tightly in my hand. The scorching heat instantly rose, as if it would burn my palm, and it also instantly cleared my mind.

A hint of surprise flashed in Su Qiao's eyes.

I tried to calm myself down, after all, I was in front of a psychology expert, and I, a novice, was naturally no match for her.

It felt like an eternity. Su Qiao seemed to be casually dangling the necklace around her neck, unaware that I had reached my limit. My clothes were soaked with sweat, and I could even feel the heat rising from the top of my head. I gripped the disc tightly in one hand, afraid that I might be completely captivated by Su Qiao's disc.

I could barely move my body. I felt that even moving my tongue was extremely difficult. A tremendous weight was pressing on my chest. I just wanted to sleep, I just wanted to rest...

no!

Open your eyes wide...!

I kept reminding myself in my mind...!

It's been so long... time has seemed to stand still...

"Sigh!" Su Qiao suddenly sighed, and I immediately felt the heavy pressure on my body ease. Had she given up? Why? She was so close to succeeding. Couldn't she see that I was about to give up?

"Looks like you're an expert too!" Su Qiao suddenly laughed, as if it were just the end of a small discussion with a colleague, showing no sign that we had just been competing with each other. The atmosphere eased with her relaxed smile.

"How can I compare to you?" I complimented.

"Your teacher, Zhao Xing, found this at a street stall and gave it to me. I didn't expect you to have one too." Su Qiao shook her round piece again, but this time nothing happened, and I felt no pressure at all.

Was it really given to her by Teacher Zhao Xing? And did Zhao Xing really just find it at a street stall? Is he lying? Who? Zhao Xing or Su Qiao? For some reason, I'd rather Zhao Xing was lying. Could it be just because she looks like Yin Xue? So I always subconsciously believe her? I turned my head away; I didn't want to look at her face anymore.

I slowly stood up, not even glancing at Su Qiao, and said, "I'm leaving." Asking any further questions would be pointless.

The door closed softly, but Su Qiao remained motionless, staring at it, toying with the round disc in her hand. A strange smile slowly crept onto her face…

"You like him..., don't you?"

"No...no..."

"Don't lie to me, how could you possibly lie to me?"

"No...no..."

Don't lie to me!

"..."

"You must remember, we... are one, forever..."

************

I turned around and looked at the closed door. What was she like behind that door? I didn't know her. Even though she looked so much like Yin Xue, she gave off an air of mystery.

I gently closed my eyes, exhaled softly, and felt the fluctuations around my body...

strangeness……

Two... fluctuations...?

They've overlapped again...?

What is that?

I opened my eyes, and the feeling suddenly disappeared. When I closed my eyes again, the strange fluctuations were long gone.

Volume 3: Delicacies of Hell, Chapter 43: The Heart

Volume 3: Delicacies of Hell, Chapter 43: The Heart

"Lin Xiao!" I had just opened the door when A Bao hopped towards me. Luckily, I dodged quickly, or she would have really bumped into me.

"What's all the fuss about? The Communist army is still far away!" I joked with A Bao, but then I saw Fang Lei and Li Yang looking serious. Had something happened again?

"What's wrong?" I asked with concern.

"A lawyer just called and said that Yu Bo's father, Yu Jian, is going to be sent to a nursing home, and they want you to go and pack up his belongings," Li Yang replied.

"Me? Why me?" I asked, puzzled. Did Yu Bo have no other relatives?

“Because Yu Bo’s will clearly states that it was for you to do it!” Li Yang replied, “It seems that Yu Bo has no other relatives, and his father, Yu Jian, suffers from Alzheimer’s.”

Packing his belongings? Why me? Is it just because I was the only person he ever contacted before he died? Since he made a will long ago, does that mean he already knew this would happen to him?

What would it feel like to have a heart ready to die?

I lowered my head. Senior, please allow me to call you that again, because no matter what, you will always be my senior. Your smile and voice still seem to echo in my ears. I vividly remember your first words to me: "Want to join a club?" It seemed only you noticed me. In that noisy afternoon, amidst countless students passing by, you only called out to me. You never minded my eccentricities and were always willing to listen to me. But why couldn't you tell me what was on your mind? If I had known this would happen, should I have talked to you properly sooner?

Sigh... There are no "what ifs" anymore. That's just how fate is. You only know how to cherish something when you lose it. I raised my head, trying hard not to let my tears fall. This was the first time I had felt sad because of Yu Bo's death. Perhaps it was only at this moment that I remembered he was my senior, not a deranged serial killer.

"Are you... going?" Abao asked cautiously from the side.

"Yes!" I nodded and said softly, "Of course I'll go." Since you've entrusted your funeral arrangements to me, senior, of course I'll go.

"Let's go then!" Fang Lei stood up, and our group headed towards Yu Bo's house.

When we arrived at Yu Bo's house, we found a middle-aged man wearing glasses waiting for us. He immediately came up to us with a professional smile and said, "Hello, I am Yu Bo's lawyer, Ma Xiao."

"Hello, I'm Lin Xiao," I introduced myself.

"This is something Yu Bo asked me to give you." Ma Xiao handed me an envelope. I weighed it in my hand and found it was very light. There seemed to be a small metal object inside, which should be a key.

“Yu Bo’s father, Yu Jian, will probably be picked up by people from the nursing home in a little while. Yu Bo has already entrusted the property rights of the house to us. As long as he dies, the house will be sold, and the money from the house will be used to pay for his father’s nursing home expenses.” Ma Xiao pushed up his glasses and said, “So after you have packed up his belongings, you should leave as soon as possible. Someone will come to take over the house.”

He had even considered the aftermath of his death so thoroughly; that was truly Yu Bo's style. We smiled at Ma Xiao and went into the room, while Ma Xiao said goodbye and left.

Upon opening the envelope, there was indeed a small key and a small note that read: "HSBC Bank, Safe Deposit Box, Password: 3425"

The key to the bank's safe? What was he hiding?

I carefully put the key away, puzzled. Yu Jian's father sat blankly on the edge of the bed. Did he know about his son's death? Perhaps not, because he had become demented. Sometimes, isn't dementia a blessing in disguise? At least you don't have to grieve for your son's passing?

"Uncle Yu." I tried calling him, but he didn't respond at all, as if he were deaf.

“He can’t hear,” Fang Lei said. “Patients with Alzheimer’s disease usually immerse themselves in their own world.”

Is it like this now? Lost in thought, daydreaming, that can be considered a kind of happiness.

I looked around the room; there was almost nothing of value inside. Of course, I wasn't there for the money. Looking at the many black and white photos on the wall, I said to Li Yang and the others, "Why don't we organize the photos and leave the rest here?"

“Okay, anyway, I don’t think the furniture here is worth much money.” Li Yang nodded in agreement. Next, Li Yang, Fang Lei, and I did a thorough cleaning of the entire house, while A Bao was responsible for watching over the old man.

Yu Bo once said that Yu Jian was a photography enthusiast, and indeed, his home was almost entirely filled with stacks of black and white photographs, encompassing almost everything Yu Jian had taken intermittently since adulthood. Judging from the photos, Yu Jian seemed to be a very sociable person, as most of his pictures were group photos of many people, mostly young people from the previous generation who are now our parents. Looking at their youthful and innocent faces, one can almost feel the poverty and purity of that era. And then there were the most numerous, naturally, photos of Yu Jian's wife, Zhuo Peici. The photography was excellent, making the already beautiful Zhuo Peici even more stunning, like a movie star.

Among this pile of photos, one stack seemed a bit different, catching my attention. It was a group photo of some young men, but one person's face was either obscured by reflections or mostly hidden by something else. Yet, I felt like I'd seen this face somewhere before—where? Yu Jian's photography skills are so good, how could it be overexposed? Moreover, this stack of photos didn't seem very old, a clear difference from the other, yellowed photos. They should have been carefully preserved, but recently they'd been carelessly placed away.

When we were only halfway through packing, the staff from the nursing home came to pick up Yu Jian. Watching him leave blankly with them, I suddenly felt a pang of sadness. We will all grow old, even to the point where we can no longer remember ourselves or our loved ones. At that time, what will be left? A lonely, aging, waiting-to-die, isolated, and desperate soul?

After packing up, we simply put all the seemingly important photos into a large box and left the house, leaving the huge but cold room behind forever.

Looking out the taxi window, the streets were bustling with people, no one seeming to notice the lonely, elderly man with dementia being taken to a nursing home, the place where he would soon die. The car was heading towards HSBC Bank, where Li Yang and A Bao were carefully examining a stack of somewhat strange photographs. I, on the other hand, was quietly lost in thought, holding Fang Lei's hand in mine. At that moment, I needed something to remind me that I still possessed something.

Entering the bank and following the staff into a series of lockers in a secluded room, I felt a bit cold. Even with central air conditioning, I still got goosebumps. I guess I'm not used to being in this kind of place. This place reminded me of the rows of freezers in a morgue, except here they store valuables, and there they store the bodies of the dead.

We arrived at a locker with a combination lock. The staff knew we had entered the password, and a small box, about the size of an urn, automatically emerged from the locker. The staff then told us that we could open it with a key and left, leaving the four of us huddled around the small box.

Use the key to open the box; inside is a smaller box, made of mahogany.

It really looks more like an urn...

Upon opening it, there was a white envelope on top, and underneath the white envelope was... a dried-up heart, a human heart!

"How disgusting!" Abao exclaimed from the side.

I opened the envelope. Inside was what appeared to be Yu Bo's handwriting. It read: "Junior Brother Lin Xiao, by the time you read this letter, you will likely never see me again. And you probably already know what happened to me. Killing them was merely for solace. I hate them, I hate all women who try to seduce other men. My father loved that woman so much, yet she betrayed him. Is this love? Is this what marriage is? My father was just a sociable man, so sometimes he neglected her, and she used this as an excuse for her infidelity! Therefore, I hate her, I want to kill her, I want to kill all women like her in the world. But a sliver of reason told me this was wrong, yet I couldn't control myself, I couldn't control my own hands."

Those photos in the house must be my father's favorites. If possible, please keep them safe until my father passes away, and then please burn them for me.

As for the other thing in the box, it belonged to my father. All I know is that he suddenly brought it home twenty years ago, and he never mentioned it to me. It must be one of my father's secrets. Everyone has secrets, so please burn it after my father dies!

Senior: Yu Bo

"Whose is this anyway?" Abao asked from the side.

I didn't speak for a long time before slowly uttering two words: "Jiang Mei?"

Jiang Mei? I suddenly thought of her, and her lost heart. But if it really is Jiang Mei's heart, then why is it in Yu Jian's hands? And why would he want to keep it?

Could it be... that he's the one who wants to break the seal on the Yana race? No, Bai Ling said he's at school, but Yu Jian isn't. It couldn't be him.

So... what does he need a heart for?

"Take the heart back." Fang Lei looked at the box in my hand and said, "I think this thing might be useful."

"What's it for?" Li Yang asked hurriedly.

"You'll find out when we get back." Fang Lei winked at us smugly.

***********

Back at school, they naturally skipped the academic conference. The four of them closed the door tightly, and Fang Lei drew the curtains shut, plunging the room into darkness.

"Give me the thing." Fang Lei took the mahogany box from my hand, gently opened it and placed it in front of her, then picked up the thermos on the table and poured water into the mahogany box!

"Ah, you~~~" I exclaimed.

“Water is the only thing that can freely travel between the realms of Yin and Yang,” Fang Lei explained. “A soul without a heart is incomplete and cannot be reincarnated. But if you use this heart to summon its former owner, it will definitely summon her soul, because she must also be searching for it!”

"Wow~~~ There's a ghost~~!" Abao screamed as she hid behind Li Yang. Li Yang immediately gave her a "you're such a coward" look and said, "If you're scared, don't follow us!"