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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 419: Ominous Signs
I was still staying at Gousi's house. Although Ma Ge looked at me with disdain, he had to put on a show for Gousi's sake.
After Gong Elder's demise, the Evil Sorcerer hidden among us seemed to have evaporated into thin air, not continuing his wicked deeds. Perhaps it was because I had been injured while eliminating Gong Elder and was now in seclusion to recover, leaving me temporarily unaware of the situation.
However, for someone as unfortunate as me, there was never a moment of peace.
While enjoying the comforts of Gousi's home, where meals were served and clothes were brought to me, Zhang Xian incessantly called me, claiming to have encountered a ghost.
I decided to visit Zhang Xian's place.
Suddenly, Qin Jian called to inform me of an urgent meeting at the bureau. Behind this emergency meeting, it seemed they had uncovered Gong Elder's accomplices.
I didn't ask him how he planned to handle it. I thought to myself that Gong Elder was cunning; even if he had accomplices, he wouldn't reveal who the Evil Sorcerer was.
Let's not forget who Gong Elder was—he could counter-detect. If the Evil Sorcerer was working for him, he would ensure that their identity remained hidden.
After hanging up, Qin Jian inquired about my insomnia and again mentioned that so-called wild ghost who could supposedly cure my sleeplessness. Fine, I agreed to Qin Jian's suggestion and planned to check on Zhang Xian first before meeting this so-called wild ghost, a particularly skilled hypnotist according to Qin Jian.
Zhang Xian's clinic wasn't doing well; she seemed to regret leaving her job to open her own practice.
What concerned me wasn't her decision to run a clinic alone but rather her recounting the events leading up to her long-standing nightmares. She dreamt of a woman with long hair covering her face, crying by her bedside, but she couldn't remember who this person was.
I took out my talisman and carefully examined Zhang Xian's clinic; there really didn't seem to be anything amiss.
Then I recommended Qin Jian's wild ghost.
To my surprise, Zhang Xian flatly refused when she heard that this wild ghost was a hypnotist. She insisted that there were unclean things in her clinic. Was this a sign of guilt? Everyone has a demon within them—what is known as the Heart Demon. With a Heart Demon comes rationality and self-control.
Occasionally, when a person's self-control falters and their rationality is immature, the Heart Demon can break free from its confines, suppressing reason and self-control, leading one to act irrationally. For instance, regarding Li Luwen's incident, it was a lack of self-control and immature reasoning that allowed the Heart Demon to wreak havoc and create unimaginable chaos.
Zhang Xian didn't even inquire about what the hypnotist would do after putting her under hypnosis; she outright rejected the idea. Her reaction truly reflected her inner turmoil.
I suspected that deep down in Zhang Xian's heart lay an unspeakable secret. It was this secret that caused her to refuse hypnosis without a second thought. Holding my compass, I meticulously checked every nook and cranny; indeed, there were no sinister entities present.
Zhang Xian wore a bitter face, her dark circles and haggard appearance making her look several years older. She listlessly watched me as I examined her, recounting the nightmare she had experienced.
In her dream, there was a swing and a large tree, with no one around. The atmosphere was foggy and desolate, leaving her alone on the swing, swaying back and forth without being able to get off. It felt as if invisible hands were continuously pushing the swing higher into the air.
Each time the swing reached a new height, she screamed in fear, yet she couldn't control it or make it stop.
I asked her if she had ever been on a swing before. She nodded, saying it was a long time ago, but she couldn't remember exactly when—perhaps during her school days or while studying abroad. I inquired further about who she had played on the swing with, but she shook her head, unable to recall.
There was also another matter: Zhang Xian had been in a car accident.
I believed that Zhang Xian was the one who truly needed to see a hypnotist because some memories could only be released through hypnosis. However, doing so might mean that the secrets buried deep within her would no longer exist and would be fully uncovered by the hypnotist.
I thought Zhang Xian was too tense and should take a walk outside, perhaps go on a trip. But Zhang Xian didn't like traveling; opening her clinic was her lifelong dream. Since there was nothing suspicious here and she couldn't remember much, I figured there was no reason for me to stay any longer.
Yet, Zhang Xian called out to me, "How about grabbing a cup of coffee?"
It wasn't that I disliked coffee; I just feared that it might remind me of things I didn't want to think about. The shadow of Mi lingered in my mind, and my busy schedule was an attempt to keep myself from being idle. Memories were painful; I preferred to imagine that Mi was still around, waiting for me somewhere.
In the end, Zhang Xian made a request: "If you're not going to leave, at least stay and chat with me."
"Zhang Da Mei Nu, I'm not someone who just chats with people. If you really want me to spend time with you, can you afford the five hundred yuan per hour chatting fee?"
"Cut it out..."
"Don't cut it out; I'm hungry. Want to grab something to eat?" I wasn't sure why I invited Zhang Xian to dinner—was it genuine hunger or just a whim? Perhaps I also needed some adjustment.
"Sure! Why wouldn't I go?" Zhang Xian immediately began tidying up to head out.
Having been so busy lately, I rarely spent time alone with women. Now walking alongside Zhang Xian made us appear like a couple to outsiders—one slightly older and the other more charming than most men.
I wasn't boasting; truly, as we walked together, many girls kept glancing our way.
"Master Ma, what do you think of Li Mingliang?"
To be honest, if Zhang Xian hadn't stopped me or mentioned Li Mingliang, I would have completely forgotten about her.
When I mention Li Mingliang, a figure immediately comes to mind. A woman dressed in black, with a sickly pale face. Her looks are neither unattractive nor particularly beautiful; if we were to turn back the clock ten years, she would have been considered quite delicate.
I don't know much about Li Mingliang.
Zhang Xian found her at the job placement agency on Old North Street. Initially, she wanted to hire an experienced nurse for assistance, but upon inquiry, she discovered that the salary demanded was double that of what hospitals offered. With no other options, she settled for hiring a lady who could keep watch at night and take out the trash.
The first time she interacted with Li Mingliang, it seemed fine; the woman spoke little and focused on her work, which she did quite well.
However, later on, Zhang Xian began to feel that something was off about Li Mingliang.
I asked Zhang Xian what she found strange about Li Mingliang.
Zhang Xian thought for a moment and recalled that she had forgotten her keys. She only had this one set of keys for her apartment, and forgetting them meant she had to return to the clinic to retrieve them. When she came back, it dawned on her that the keys were still on that same set; without them, she couldn't even open the clinic's rolling shutter door.
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