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墨書 Inktalez
The bizarre nature of the disappearance case in the city center plaza reminded Ye Qiu of Old Wang's incident. The missing woman, named Linna, was a corporate professional. Surveillance footage showed her walking in the plaza when, suddenly, she vanished without a trace—no warning and no suspicious individuals in sight.
"I've reviewed the surveillance footage repeatedly, and there are no clues," Ye Qiu said, frustration evident in his voice. "It's as if she... evaporated into thin air."
Su Mu pondered for a moment. "Could it be related to some kind of supernatural event?"
Ye Qiu nodded. "I suspect so too, but there are no unusual energy fluctuations at the scene."
"Not necessarily," Su Mu replied. "Some supernatural events don't leave obvious energy traces. Let's go check out the place where Linna disappeared."
The two arrived at the city center plaza. Su Mu closed his eyes, sensing the surrounding energy. Suddenly, he frowned. "There's a heavy presence of yin energy here, and I can feel a strong sense of resentment."
"Resentment?" Ye Qiu felt a chill run down his spine. "Could it be... haunted?"
Su Mu didn't answer but instead took out a talisman from his medicine box. After igniting it, the talisman transformed into a butterfly that fluttered gracefully before landing in front of an old building.
"This is the place," Su Mu said, pointing at the aged structure.
The old building appeared to be quite ancient, with crumbling walls and broken windows, emanating an eerie aura. According to local residents, this building had long been rumored to be a haunted house, often associated with strange occurrences.
Upon entering the old building, Su Mu once again used divination to locate the source of the resentment. The readings indicated that the resentment originated from the basement of the building.
The basement was dark and damp, filled with a decaying odor. Su Mu and Ye Qiu cautiously stepped inside and discovered an ancient coffin placed in the center of the room.
The coffin's lid had rotted away, revealing skeletal remains inside. Su Mu examined the bones closely and found traces of lingering resentment.
"It seems that lingering resentment is at play," Su Mu said.
Using secret techniques from the Heavenly Secrets Medical Canon, Su Mu restored the memories of the deceased soul. It turned out that the owner of the bones was a woman from the late Qing Dynasty who had been wronged by a villain and buried here; her vengeful spirit could not find peace.
After understanding the truth of the matter, Su Mu took out a special herb recorded in the "Heavenly Secrets Medical Manual." He ignited it, and the herb emitted a peculiar fragrance that filled the basement.
As the scent spread, the resentment lingering on the bones gradually dissipated, and a phantom figure appeared before Su Mu and Ye Qiu.
It was a woman dressed in ancient attire, her face haggard, and her eyes filled with sorrow and resentment.
Su Mu spoke softly, "Miss, I have learned of your grievances. I will seek justice for you; please rest in peace."
As he spoke, Su Mu utilized the method for healing souls described in the "Heavenly Secrets Medical Manual," injecting a gentle energy into the woman's body.
The woman's gaze gradually became calm, and a faint smile appeared on her face. Eventually, her figure slowly faded away, transforming into specks of starlight that dispersed into the air.
"She... is gone?" Ye Qiu asked.
Su Mu nodded. "She has found peace."
After resolving the haunted house incident, Su Mu and Ye Qiu continued their investigation into Linna's disappearance. They discovered that Linna's vanishing was also connected to this old building and that woman from the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China...
Returning to the police station, Su Mu retrieved all of Linna's records. Linna, 28 years old, single, worked at a foreign company, led a regular life, had no enemies, and showed no signs of suicidal tendencies.
"Linna's disappearance is too strange," Ye Qiu said with a furrowed brow. "It's as if she evaporated into thin air."
Su Mu pondered for a moment. "We need to visit that old building again."
The two returned to the basement of the old building. Su Mu sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and silently recited incantations to begin divination.
"The heavens are represented by Qian, the earth by Kun, and Li represents fire..." Su Mu carefully observed the hexagram. "The hexagram indicates that Linna's disappearance is related to that woman's vengeful spirit."
"Could it be... that the vengeful spirit has taken Linna?" Ye Qiu asked in surprise.
Su Mu nodded, "It's very possible. Although the woman's restless spirit has found peace, her obsession still exists. She might have mistaken Linna for someone she knew in her past life, or perhaps... there is something about Linna that attracted her."
"What should we do then?" Ye Qiu asked. "How can we find Linna?"
Su Mu once again employed the secret techniques from the Celestial Medical Codex to communicate with the remnants of the woman's obsession.
"Linna... where is she?" Su Mu inquired.
A faint voice echoed in the void, "She... is my... sister..."
"Sister?" Su Mu and Ye Qiu exchanged surprised glances. How could Linna be the sister of that woman from the late Qing Dynasty?
Su Mu pressed on, "Your sister... who is she?"
"My sister... is named... Xiao Mei..." The voice from the void came through in intermittent bursts.
"Xiao Mei..." Su Mu repeated the name. "Linna's name is not Xiao Mei. Are you sure you have the right person?"
"No... she... is... Xiao Mei... she... has returned..." The voice of obsession grew weaker until it finally faded away.
"Xiao Mei..." Ye Qiu murmured. "Could it be that Linna is the reincarnation of that woman's sister?"
Su Mu nodded. "It's very likely. It seems we need to investigate Linna's past life."
Su Mu and Ye Qiu began to look into Linna's background. They visited Linna's parents, relatives, friends, and colleagues but found no information related to "Xiao Mei."
"It looks like we'll have to start with identifying that woman," Su Mu said.
Based on the style of the coffin in the basement and the woman's attire, Su Mu deduced that she must have lived during the late Qing Dynasty. The two went to the city archives and sifted through a vast amount of historical records until they finally uncovered a lead.
In an early Republic of China newspaper, there was a notice seeking a girl named "Xiao Mei." The photo accompanying the notice was somewhat blurry, but it vaguely resembled the woman found in the basement.
The notice stated that Xiao Mei's sister was named Liu Ru Yan, a wealthy young lady.
"Liu Ru Yan... Xiao Mei..." Ye Qiu murmured to himself. "Could it be that the woman in the basement is Liu Ru Yan?"
Su Mu nodded. "It's very possible. We need to find Liu Ru Yan's descendants; perhaps they can provide us with some clues."
After some investigation, Su Mu and Ye Qiu located a descendant of Liu Ru Yan, an elderly lady in her eighties. She shared that the story of Liu Ru Yan had been passed down through her family for generations.
Liu Ru Yan's sister, Xiao Mei, had gone missing when they were very young. Liu Ru Yan never gave up searching for her sister until her death.
"My grandmother once said that on the day Xiao Mei went missing, she was holding a jade pendant," the elderly lady recounted. "That pendant was a token between the two sisters; each had one."
"A jade pendant?" Su Mu and Ye Qiu exchanged glances, wondering if Linna also possessed such a pendant.
They immediately contacted Linna's parents to inquire whether Linna carried a jade pendant with her. Linna's mother confirmed that Linna indeed had a jade pendant, one she had worn since childhood, given to her when she was adopted from the orphanage.
Su Mu and Ye Qiu rushed to Linna's parents' home and saw the pendant. It looked exactly like the one described by the elderly lady!
"It seems that Linna is truly the reincarnation of Xiao Mei," Ye Qiu said.
Su Mu nodded. "Liu Ru Yan's obsession led her to find her sister in this new life. But she didn't realize that her sister had lost all memories of her past life, which is why she 'kidnapped' her."
"Then where is Linna now?" Ye Qiu asked anxiously.
Su Mu closed his eyes and once again communicated with Liu Ru Yan's lingering spirit. This time, he finally received an answer.
"In a place... very dark... very cold..."
Su Mu opened his eyes. "I know where Linna is."
"It's a dark and cold place..." Ye Qiu repeated Su Mu's words, "Where could it be?"
Su Mu pondered for a moment. "According to the direction indicated by Liu Ru Yan's obsession, it should be an abandoned mine on the outskirts of the city."
"An abandoned mine?" Ye Qiu's heart tightened. "That place is very dangerous!"
"I know," Su Mu replied, "but we must go to save Linna."
The two drove towards the abandoned mine on the outskirts of the city. The entrance was blocked by collapsed stones, and a chilling wind blew through, sending shivers down their spines.
Su Mu took out several talismans and placed them on the stones, chanting softly. The talismans emitted a golden light, and the stones began to move on their own, revealing a narrow passageway.
"Let's go," Su Mu said.
They cautiously entered the mine. It was pitch black inside, with no visibility at all; the air was thick with dampness and decay.
Su Mu lit a firecracker, its dim light illuminating the surroundings. The mine twisted and turned, and bats occasionally flew overhead, screeching loudly.
After walking for a long time, they arrived at a spacious cavern. In the center stood an ancient altar, upon which lay a black stone.
Linna was lying beside the altar, her face pale and unconscious.
Next to Linna stood an ethereal figure—Liu Ru Yan's obsession.
"Xiao Mei..." Liu Ru Yan's obsession gazed at Linna, his eyes filled with sorrow and affection.
"Liu Ru Yan," Su Mu said, "you have found peace; you should not cling to matters of your past life."
"I... I just wanted to... see my sister again..." the obsession of Liu Ru Yan said.
"She is no longer your sister," Su Mu replied. "She is Linna now, and she has her own life. You cannot keep her trapped here."
The obsession of Liu Ru Yan fell silent for a moment, and finally, she gently sighed, "I understand... I was wrong..."
Slowly, the obsession of Liu Ru Yan reached out and caressed Linna's cheek. "Xiao Mei... I'm sorry..."
As the obsession of Liu Ru Yan dissipated, Linna's body emitted a soft white light.
Linna slowly opened her eyes, confusion filling her gaze.
"Where... am I?"
"You are safe now," Su Mu said with a smile.
Ye Qiu hurried forward to help Linna up. "Let's go; it's too dangerous here."
The three of them left the cave and returned to the sunlight. The old journey had come to an end, but a new story was just beginning...
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