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Shen Tong immediately reached out and grasped Ruan Xiaoshuang's wrist, his fingertips gently resting on her pulse point. "How are you feeling now? Any dizziness, or perhaps nightmares or hallucinations?"
"Well... I didn't sleep well last night, and I can't remember if I had any nightmares," Ruan Xiaoshuang replied, blinking tiredly. "But maybe it's because I hardly slept at all; I do feel a bit lightheaded today..."
Seeing that Ruan Xiaoshuang didn't seem to be in any distress, Lin Mingchang glanced at his watch. "It's getting late. I need to head back to the police station. Let's meet at Yongtai Photography Studio tomorrow at ten in the morning. I have a feeling there might still be some clues at the scene."
Shen Tong nodded in agreement. "Miss Ruan, why don't you stay here tonight? I'd like to observe your condition."
Ruan Xiaoshuang was a bit surprised but quickly brightened up with a cheerful smile and nodded in agreement.
Before bed, Shen Tong brought Ruan Xiaoshuang a cup of hot tea that emitted a faint herbal fragrance. "This is a family recipe that can purify the negative energy within you. Drink it; it should help you sleep better."
Ruan Xiaoshuang thanked him with a smile, took the cup, and sipped it carefully; the taste was bitter yet slightly sweet. She cradled the cup in her hands and curiously asked, "Master Shen, how did you become a Wang Qi Master?"
Shen Tong rarely showed a hint of a smile. "Please don't call me Master; just call me Shen Tong. We will likely see each other often, so let's keep it simple."
Ruan Xiaoshuang giggled and pulled Shen Tong down to sit beside her. "Then you shouldn't call me Miss Ruan either; just call me Xiaoshuang!"
As night deepened, Shen Tong's courtyard fell into silence. After drinking Shen Tong's herbal tea, Ruan Xiaoshuang quickly fell asleep but remained restless, tossing and turning in bed.
At three in the morning, she groggily woke up to find that Shen Tong was still awake. He was sitting at the table with his back to her, poring over a thick notebook spread open before him.
"Shen Tong? Why are you still awake?" Ruan Xiaoshuang walked over and sat down across from him.
"At Yongtai Photography Studio yesterday, I saw an unusual cyan aura that I've never encountered before. Plus, there's that symbol Officer Lin discovered... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before. Since I can't sleep anyway, I thought I'd go through my grandmother's notes to see if I could find any clues."
"Did you find anything?" Xiaoshuang leaned in curiously to look at the notebook filled with dense writing and strange symbols and patterns.
Shen Tong looked out the window. "I found that symbol in my grandmother's notes. It relates to an ancient dark art—the Shadow Light Technique... Tai Xu Yi Qi, dividing into yin and yang realms... shadow as the medium, light as the guide... it's related to Gui Xu..."
Xiaoshuang felt her eyelids growing heavy and yawned. "Hmm... I don't understand..."
Shen Tong helplessly pulled her up. "If you don't understand, then go to sleep!"
The next morning, the three of them met outside Yongtai Photography Studio.
Entering the Yongtai Photography Studio, the three of them naturally began to split up and act independently without any discussion.
Shen Tong walked slowly through the studio, searching for the source of the suspicious azure aura. Ruan Xiaoshuang skillfully made her way to the shooting area, checking various equipment. "This camera is a Browning Kodak, top-notch German goods. The lens is quite strange..." Her words suddenly trailed off, and a look of surprise crossed her face. "This lens has a problem; its structure is different from a regular lens. It must have been modified."
Lin Mingchang approached, having no knowledge of these professional tools. "What's so special about it?"
"A normal lens is designed to focus light, but this one..." Ruan Xiaoshuang fiddled with the lens, her brow furrowing. "It seems designed to scatter a specific wavelength of light. I've never seen such a design before."
Lin Mingchang carefully detached the lens, wrapped it in a cloth, and placed it in his pocket, planning to show it to a technician later. He then went to Qi Songtao's study and searched meticulously until he finally found a strange letter among a large box of personal correspondence. The envelope was blank, and inside were only two short lines:
——————
Dear Brother Songtao:
The ghost gate is about to open; shadows as intermediaries, light as guides, souls as bait. The elder greatly appreciates your skill in baiting; I hope you will not disappoint and together we shall achieve great things.
Gui Xu Society, Kun Yi.
——————
At the end of the letter was a symbol—exactly like the Triple Spiral Pattern he had discovered in the account book.
"Gui Xu Society?" Lin Mingchang murmured to himself. "What is Qi Songtao involved in? Is this case related to some cult?"
Just then, Shen Tong's shout interrupted his thoughts.
"Officer Lin! Xiaoshuang! Come to the shooting room!"
Earlier, while searching here, Shen Tong had noticed that wisps of azure aura were converging towards the shooting room. Upon entering, he found that this gathering azure aura pointed towards a storage cabinet in the corner.
Inside the cabinet were several lenses and some photography accessories that appeared completely ordinary. However, to Shen Tong's eyes, those invisible azure wisps coiled around the cabinet like serpents.
Shen Tong took everything out of the cabinet and examined each item until he finally discovered the source of the azure aura. It was a glass bottle placed on the top shelf, sealed at the mouth, containing a transparent liquid. Shen Tong realized that this liquid was infused with an intense azure aura, radiating an eerie blue glow.
She carefully handed the glass bottle to Lin Mingchang, who had rushed in. "It seems this is what’s used to prepare that special developing solution."
Lin Mingchang noticed two inconspicuous words on the bottle—"Cui Hun."
At that moment, Ruan Xiaoshuang, who had followed closely behind, suddenly leaned against the wall. "I... I don't feel well..."
Shen Tong immediately went over to support her, feeling Ruan Xiaoshuang's temperature rising noticeably. "Xiaoshuang, what's wrong?"
"I... I think I saw something..." Ruan Xiaoshuang was drenched in cold sweat, her eyes half-closed, swaying unsteadily as her breathing quickened. "The people in the photo... they want to come out..."
Shen Tong quickly checked Ruan Xiaoshuang's eyes and noticed her pupils were unusually dilated, with wisps of greenish aura wrapping around her.
Lin Mingchang helped Ruan Xiaoshuang up. "Let's go, we need to take her to the hospital! I know an old professor!"
Shen Tong stayed close beside them, gripping Xiaoshuang's hand tightly. "Don't be afraid, Xiaoshuang. Focus. Remember, no matter what you see, those are just illusions; they aren't real."
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