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墨書 Inktalez
When I woke up, the sky outside was already completely dark. After staring at the unfamiliar surroundings for a few seconds, I suddenly realized that I had fallen asleep in Qi Zhi's arms.
I had been in his room once before, so I recognized it. The masculine scent wafting from the blanket made my cheeks flush. Just as I was about to get out of bed and head home, I saw Qi Zhi enter through the door, carrying a bowl of something.
Seeing that I was awake, he placed the bowl on the bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed. "You're awake?" Qi Zhi reached out to check my forehead, then suddenly leaned closer. Startled, I instinctively recoiled, but our foreheads touched. He then said, "The fever has gone down; you're fine now."
My face turned red, and my heart raced as I avoided his gaze. "I had a fever?"
"Yes. After I brought you back, I noticed you were asleep and felt how hot you were. It was only then that I realized you had a fever, and your clothes were all wet—"
"Ah—You!"
It was only then that I realized I was wearing a man's pajamas, loose and hanging off my small frame. This was the first time I had ever worn a man's clothing; I hadn't even worn Jun Chong's before. My face turned so red it felt like it could drip water.
Qi Zhi watched my reaction and seemed to understand something. He smiled slightly but didn't tease me. Instead, he explained, "Lin You helped you change."
"Xiao You?" Hearing Lin You's name made me suddenly lift my head and grab Qi Zhi's hand. "Xiao You came by? Where is she?"
"It got late, and after seeing you sleep soundly, she went back." Qi Zhi paused for a moment before continuing, "She asked me to say sorry to you and mentioned that Aunt Flo came today and she couldn't control her temper, which is why she said those things to you. She hopes you won't take it to heart."
It's true that women can be in a bad mood when Aunt Flo arrives. Since Lin You could say this and even came to check on me while knowing I had a fever, my heart felt relieved.
Because it was too late and I had just recovered from my fever, I had no choice but to accept Qi Zhi's suggestion to stay at his place for the night. The next morning he had classes and also arranged for me to take a day off.
After having some breakfast, I hurried back home because Molin was staying there.
I had been away all night and was afraid he would ask too many questions and end up revealing everything to Jun Chong. My phone already had several missed calls and messages from him because it had run out of battery last night, and I only discovered it in the morning.
So on my way back, I contacted Lin You and asked her to help me cover up the story. To my surprise, Lin You readily agreed since she hadn't stayed at Chu Fan's villa last night, making it easy to explain my absence.
Listening to Lin You's cheerful tone as she reassured me made last night's sadness fade away. Happily, I bought some treats for Molin on my way home.
As soon as I stepped through the door, I heard the television blaring loudly. Molin lounged on the sofa, legs crossed, looking like a king in his domain. He had slowed down his eating, a sausage dangling from his mouth. When he saw me enter, he lazily glanced my way and said, "So you finally decided to come back? I called you so many times last night, and not one was answered. What’s that about?"
"Didn't Xiao You tell you I was staying at her place?" I replied.
"What?" Molin put down his food and looked at me as if I were an idiot. "Are you brain dead? I couldn't find you last night, so I went to her house looking for you. She said you two had a fight, so how could you possibly go to her?"
My head buzzed as I stared blankly at Molin. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely," he scratched his head.
"But just earlier she—"
"You smell like Blood Taste. What did you get yourself into this time?" Molin sniffed around me, pinching his nose in disgust. "Go wash up with some mugwort leaves; you look terrible."
I couldn't smell anything, but after what happened last night, using some mugwort for a bath seemed like a good idea. Mugwort not only wards off evil but also helps dispel cold and dampness, which would be very beneficial for me right now.
"Where am I supposed to get mugwort leaves?"
"I have some," Molin grinned mischievously. "You pay me, and I'll give them to you."
I shot him a glare. However, still shaken from yesterday's events, I didn't want to be difficult. The only reason I had for refusing to pay was that it felt fair for him to provide me with some mugwort after ten days of free food and drink. He clicked his tongue and ignored me.
While taking a bath, I stared at my phone for ages, wanting to ask Lin You why her stories didn’t match up. Yesterday she claimed she had come over, changed my clothes, and apologized to me; why did Molin say something completely different?
With too many thoughts swirling in my head, I eventually dozed off without realizing it. I don't know how long I slept, but there was a faint voice in my mind calling out "Help" intermittently.
The voice was too weak to make out clearly and indistinguishable in gender, so I simply dismissed it as part of a dream.
After resting at home for a day without hearing from Lin You, the next morning I marked another line on the calendar. The character "zheng" had already been drawn three times; once I finished two more strokes, Jun Chong would be back.
Looking at the rising sun outside, I found life to be quite strange sometimes. Initially entangled with Jun Chong, I felt scared and desperately wanted to escape. Yet after spending only a short time together, it became hard to part ways. Just three days had passed, but it felt like an eternity.
"Gu Anxin, your phone is ringing."
In the living room, Molin shouted my name. I opened the door, surprised to see him up so early, but I answered the phone first. To my surprise, it was Shizui calling.
"Miss Anxin, your photos are ready. If you have time, could you come by the shop to pick them up?"
"Sure, I'll come by this afternoon."
"Great, Miss Lin You will be coming too."
"Xiao You." I paused for a moment, not quite catching what Shizui said next. I only asked him, "When is Xiao You coming?"
"Probably around dusk."
"Then I'll come at that time too. Thank you, Mr. Shizui."
"No problem."
After hanging up, Molin walked out of the bathroom, his hair a mess. He glanced at me and said, "It's not safe to go out much during dusk and night lately."
"I'm just going to pick up some photos. Xiao You will be with me; it’ll be fine." I noticed he looked like he hadn’t slept all night and curiously asked, "What were you doing up all night?"
"Don't you know about the recent deaths?"
"I do. Isn't it just the Mummification Case?"
Molin pointed at my head in disbelief, looking frustrated. "I'm talking about the deaths that have happened in the last couple of days. The Mummification Case happens every year; it's usually caused by zombies. But this time, my master ordered me to investigate something else."
"What is it?"
"In the past two days, several parents have reported to the police that their children committed suicide at home. These kids had never shown any suicidal tendencies before. Some were found dead in various places and then reported to the police. Normally, this wouldn’t be too surprising, but the speed at which this is happening is alarming. I checked last night—ten students have died in just two days, ranging from middle school to university, both boys and girls."
I hadn’t been following the news lately because of Jun Chong's departure and Lin You's situation. Hearing him say this shocked me; such a rapid occurrence couldn’t possibly be natural.
"What kind of monster kills at such a fast pace? Revenge doesn’t work like that."
"I have no idea what the hell it is," Molin said, pouting. "Last night, I looked into some information about the victims. All I know is that before the incident, they all went to that abandoned alley behind the commercial street. I haven't found any other common points yet. I was too tired, so I came back first. Once I wake up, I'll go check it out. You should come with me to avoid going missing again; otherwise, when Jun Chong comes back, I won't know how to explain it."
"The alley?" I repeated, furrowing my brow.
Molin turned back, yawning. "You know about it?"
"Yeah."
So I told him about the day I accidentally followed Lin You into the alley. Molin frowned as he rested his chin on his hand. "On my way back this morning, I passed by one of the victim's houses and smelled something similar to what you encountered that day—the Blood Taste."
I chuckled lightly. "There's a way to distinguish Blood Taste?"
"Of course! I'm Howling Celestial Dog's nose."
I laughed. "Well, that's still a dog’s nose, haha!"
Molin didn't leave me alone. "I'm going to take a shower. Make me something to eat; after your class, we'll go check it out."
"Why do I have to make you breakfast?"
I was dissatisfied but ended up cooking anyway because I was hungry too. Just as I brought the bowl out, the doorbell rang.
"Who could it be this early?"
It was barely seven o'clock; who would come knocking at this hour? I shivered slightly. "Could it be Chu Fan's mother?"
With that thought in mind, I quietly approached the door and peered through the peephole, but there was nothing outside.
"No one?"
As soon as I turned around, the doorbell rang again. Looking again and still seeing no one, this time I thought someone was playing a prank on me. When I opened the door, there was still nothing outside.
Molin shouted as he walked out, "What are you doing?"
"Just now, someone rang the doorbell and opened the door, but there was no one there. I wonder who is playing tricks," I said as I prepared to close the door, only to notice a yellow envelope lying on the ground. "What is this?"
"Who cares what it is?"
Molin scratched his head, but I had already read the words on the envelope—Death Photo. Those who see it must die.
The eight characters were clearly written, not with an ordinary pen, but with a red liquid that hadn't dried yet. A faint taste of blood wafted through the air.
I flinched and dropped the envelope. "This is blood."
"Blood?" Molin picked it up and frowned. He dipped his finger into the liquid and brought it to his nose to sniff. "Yes."
I saw him about to open the envelope and quickly moved to stop him. "What are you doing?"
"What kind of strange thing have I not seen? Am I really afraid of a mere photo? Writing in blood is just a way to create an atmosphere, stirring up fear deep within people, thus taking control. Those who are timid might scare themselves to death."
While Molin spoke, he had already shaken off my hand and opened the string on the envelope. I knew I couldn't stop him, and I understood what he was saying, but things don't just appear for no reason; if it was here, there must be a purpose.
As he opened it, my heart raced uncontrollably, wondering whose photo was inside.
Molin's movements were slow, but I was completely focused, afraid of missing something. Just as he pulled out the photo, his hand suddenly trembled. "Ah!" he exclaimed, dropping the photo and stepping back in haste.
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