Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 41: The Soul in the Painting
The woman in the painting was methodically combing her long, black hair, which contrasted sharply with the golden waves of wheat surrounding her. After a while, Gousi realized something; he felt it was night, and there were no lights in the bedroom. The painting hanging on the wall was not in the bedroom, so how could he see it so clearly?
Thinking this, he broke out in a cold sweat and suddenly jolted awake.
Once awake, Gousi nervously reached out beside him, his fingers brushing against a warm body, which eased his anxiety slightly. He turned on the light, sat up, and called out his wife's name.
Upon calling her name, he noticed something was wrong. His wife seemed to be in a deep sleep, unresponsive to his calls.
At such a close distance, he shouted several times without her waking up, which terrified him.
Gousi was drenched in sweat, shaking her vigorously, but she remained still. Panic set in as he recalled the scene from his dream. He hurriedly got out of bed and went to the collection room, where there were both counterfeit and genuine paintings, along with various antiques from the Zodiac collection.
Entering the collection room, he focused on a painting hanging on the wall titled "Wheat Field Woman."
In this painting, there had originally been only one woman combing her hair; now there were two. One was crouched down examining the sole of a shoe while the other continued to comb her hair.
The woman combing her hair was the true presence in the painting. The one looking at the shoe sole resembled his wife. Gousi felt a chill run down his spine as he raised his hand to touch the surface of the painting… muttering to himself in confusion about what was happening!
Then he felt that what he touched was not the cold canvas but rather something warm that felt like human skin.
Gousi was genuinely frightened and quickly called someone within his circle for help.
Someone suggested he seek out the Elder of Shili Temple.
Gousi was not a bad person at heart; he had once donated money obtained from tomb raiding to disaster victims and was always willing to lend a hand to those in need.
So he accumulated quite a few good connections, and it was in this way that he went to Ten-Mile Temple and saw the elder.
The elder enlightened him, advising him to do more good deeds. As for the situation depicted in the painting, it involved a ghost that needed help, which had followed his wife Yu.
The woman looking at the shoe soles in the canvas was Yu's soul, while the woman combing her hair was a temporary host for the ghost. This ghost meant no harm; it had died outside and, lacking family to honor it for a long time, wandered between the realms of the living and the dead, unable to be reborn. All he needed to do was relocate the ghost's Tomb and send the Corpse to Ten-Mile Temple for purification, and Yu would naturally be fine.
At that moment, the elder did not reveal that this ghost was his mother.
Following the elder's guidance, Gousi dreamed again that night.
In his dream, Yu returned to his side, and there was an additional person in the house.
This extra woman introduced herself as Qiu Shuang. She was named Qiu Shuang because she was born in autumn, coinciding with the first frost of the season.
When Gousi woke up, Yu had already gone to the kitchen. Seeing his wife well made him immensely relieved, and he tried hard to recall the woman named Qiu Shuang who appeared in his dream. He sought information about her family; initially a casual inquiry, but later he received news that there had once been a singer named Qiu Shuang near the Laos border who had gone missing. This Qiu Shuang had been a close confidante of a local big shot named Leng Shaofei.
Gousi chuckled bitterly as he recounted this to us: "I've only heard of Leng Shaofei; there have long been rumors in their circle. Leng Shaofei doesn’t seem like someone who just muddles through life in society; rather, he seems like an undercover agent because he possesses a kindness that is rare among people of his background."
Hearing Gousi speak like this made me emotional; my nose tinged with bitterness and my eyes grew warm. Thank you, Master quickly joked, " Gousi, if you make Qi cry again, you'll have to buy a dozen lollipops to cheer her up!"
Gousi laughed heartily and patted my shoulder: "It's all in the past now; after hardship comes happiness. Once we help you clear your parents' names from Black Cop's accusations, you'll be recognized as a legitimate martyr's orphan."
I struggled to suppress my painful emotions and said, "None of that matters; I just want my father and mother to be vindicated."
Thank you, Master nodded encouragingly: "Absolutely."
Feng heated the water and walked over to me, her face turning red as she accidentally spilled some outside the teacup, quickly forming a stream of water. She was afraid Gousi would scold her and hurriedly apologized, but I reassured her it was fine.
Gousi glanced at Feng and then at me, winking ambiguously. "You two don't need to be so polite. Feng is a wonderful girl; Qi, make sure to get to know her better." Feng was indeed beautiful, pure like a bowl of plain water, with long legs and a curvy figure. Her big, sparkling eyes radiated Spirit Energy, and she blushed easily, especially in front of a handsome guy like me, appearing particularly shy.
As Gousi finished speaking, Thank You, Master smiled knowingly. This made Feng so flustered that she took small steps away, leaving behind a fragrant breeze that lingered in the air longer than the scent of tea.
I withdrew my gaze from Feng as Thank You, Master shifted the topic to Gong Elder. "During the Cold Shaofei Incident, Gong Elder was already one of the higher-ups in the police department, responsible for criminal investigations. At that time, I was just an unknown figure—a Patrol Officer. Later, I was transferred to the City Bureau, which gave me the chance to meet Gong Elder. Perhaps he saw my honesty and quiet nature and decided to promote me as one of his subordinates. However, I only handled peripheral tasks and had no real access to him. The dark dealings he was involved in were things I uncovered secretly and reported using codes. Ironically, because of my honest and simple appearance, he never suspected me; instead, he eliminated one of his gambling-addicted subordinates. That’s when I realized what kind of unscrupulous person he truly was."
Gousi looked at me and said, "About that last incident—Qi initially wanted me to help find a friend. But by chance, I discovered Qi had also been kidnapped. That’s when I learned Gong Elder was involved in such activities. If Qi hadn’t found out during my search for his friend, it would have taken much longer. My relationship with Gong Elder isn’t deep; we met at a social gathering through mutual acquaintances. He expressed interest in collecting antiques and asked if I had anything special. Coincidentally, one of my subordinates had recently acquired a Skeleton Ring, which I gave him. Initially, he valued my ability to procure rare items due to my profession; I helped him find someone who could take his friend to a remote area and provided me with the address so I could take my chances. That’s how I ended up rescuing Qi from being taken by fake police while also saving his friend."
"Oh," Thank You, Master nodded and continued, "I think Gong Elder might be surrounded by good people; he could very well have built his own empire there. How can you hide dirt in such places? Moreover, you can know someone’s face but not their heart; bad people don’t have labels on their foreheads—who knows who is good and who is bad? All I want is for the Cold Shaofei Incident not to repeat itself."
"Yes," I replied. "The enemy is hidden while we are exposed; we must be cautious. This is why I asked Qi to stay here temporarily."
Comment 0 Comment Count