Chapter 50 Friends 1

Chang'an has never been one to put on airs, and as his friend, I consider myself to have a deep understanding of his personality.

He has a stubborn, or rather, awkward, side to his personality. If you directly ask him to do something, he might do it; but if you forbid him from doing something, he might become rebellious and insist on doing what is forbidden, making a big show of it, as if he's afraid no one will know he did it.

So I know very well that if I suddenly distance myself from him without saying anything, or tell him right here that I'm cutting ties, he definitely won't accept it. Not only that, he might even come and bother me every day. That's something I don't want to see. I don't want to pass on the trouble I've gotten from marijuana to him.

I already have a concrete plan in my mind to distance myself from Chang'an and other normal interpersonal relationships. This distance will not be achieved overnight, but will be a gradual process.

However, I had already prepared my words, but when I saw Chang'an's face, I suddenly didn't know what to say, and the words I had prepared so carefully vanished.

I can only try my best to get back to the state I should be in.

Maybe these are all excuses; I just wanted to talk to my best friend a little longer in my final moments. We could talk about anything.

Chang'an and I sat together at a long table in the fried chicken shop. He smiled and loosened his collar, telling me about his experiences over the past two days: "I've been staying at the military hospital. The food there is healthy, but it's really unpleasant to eat. Plus, no one keeps me company, and my mom can't talk either."

I awkwardly replied, "How is Auntie doing now?"

"Still the same as before, lying in bed unresponsive," he said.

Chang'an and Zhu Shi's mother is in a vegetative state. According to Chang'an, one day she suddenly and mysteriously fell into a coma and never regained consciousness. Although medical examinations showed that all her physical indicators were healthy, she just couldn't wake up. If it weren't for the fact that she was still having bodily functions, she would basically be considered a corpse.

Chang'an couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried, but Zhu Shi certainly did, and now I understand too.

This is "loss of soul".

The source of the infection is unknown, the mode of transmission is unknown, and the treatment is unknown... This doesn't even conform to the normal medical definition of a disease; it's more akin to a curse caused by some strange entity. Those afflicted have lost their souls; it's a bizarre phenomenon prevalent worldwide.

Ma was the only person in the world to have awakened, which was the fundamental motivation for Luo Shan to search the entire country for her.

If Ma Zao really is a time traveler from the apocalypse, then logically speaking, her awakening has nothing to do with amnesia, and studying her would not yield any results, let alone help Chang'an's mother.

But I have other thoughts on this. Why did she happen to transmigrate into the body of a person with amnesia, and why does this person have a body almost identical to hers? Is her transmigration really unrelated to amnesia?

From my perspective, if she refuses to continue our relationship, my only option is to imprison her and hide her away where no one can reach her. Conversely, as long as I can guarantee that we can continue our relationship, and she is willing, then it wouldn't be impossible for Luo Shan to use her to find a cure for his amnesia. This would certainly be something Chang'an would welcome.

However, a crucial issue arises here: the disregard shown by certain forces in Luoshan during the search for Ma Zao regarding Ma Zao's fundamental rights has given me a vague sense that they are not taking the proper path. While I myself am not qualified to accuse them of disregarding others' basic rights, that does not prevent me from being wary and cautious of those who engage in similar actions.

Chang'an continued to grumble: "My sister is the best. She usually visits Mom all the time, but when I go, she disappears, leaving me there alone. Isn't that strange?"

I knew Zhu Shi was busy with the Fallen Demon Hunter incident at the time and couldn't talk to Chang'an about it, so I just gave a perfunctory reply: "Maybe it's because you've been behaving improperly that she dislikes you."

He ignored this, only sighing, "When she was little, she was a lovely girl who loved music and loved playing with a guitar. Look, she still carries her guitar case around everywhere; she's probably playing in a band somewhere. But ever since she changed her name several years ago, she's been inexplicably cold towards me..."

What's inside Zhu Shi's guitar case now might not be a guitar; it's probably the sharp sword she took out in front of me last time.

As I was thinking this, I noticed the key information in Chang'an's words: "Changed your name?"

Chang'an seemed to have mentioned a similar topic to me before, but at the time I didn't know Zhu Shi's true identity and had little interest in him, so I missed the opportunity to discuss it.

“Yes, isn’t her name now ‘Zhu Shi’? Don’t you think that name doesn’t sound very girly?” Chang’an asked back.

"The name Zhu Shi sounds quite unisex, but it's not that strange to give a girl a unisex name."

“Let me tell you, this ‘Shi’ isn’t the ‘Shi’ in ‘picking up,’ but the ‘Shi’ in the capital number ‘ten.’” Chang’an gave me the answer from an unexpected angle. “Our Zhu family is a family with some strange traditions. For some reason, we always give our descendants numerical names. For example, my mother’s name is ‘Zhu Jiu,’ and before that, it’s ‘Zhu Ba,’ ‘Zhu Qi,’ ‘Zhu Lu…’”

This is quite a mysterious tradition.

The Zhu family is a local, low-profile wealthy family, and I had never associated them with anything strange before.

Previously, when Zhu Shi concealed the fact that he was a demon hunter from Chang'an, I assumed that Zhu Shi was a lone demon hunter whose family was unaware of it. Now, it seems possible that the Zhu family itself harbors some secrets that Chang'an is simply unaware of?

“What if you have other siblings?” I asked.

“Usually, we first give all the children a non-numerical name, and then select an heir from among the children and change that heir’s name separately,” he said. “For example, my sister used to be called ‘Zhu Jiuxing,’ but after she started junior high school, she started being called ‘Zhu Shi.’”

"Your name is Chang'an, and hers is Jiuxing; they are indeed a pair of sibling names," I commented.

“Although we’re not blood-related siblings,” he said wistfully. “You know, I’m just an illegitimate child born from my scoundrel father’s affair with another woman, and the woman lying in the hospital isn’t my biological mother either. Although in my heart she is my real mother, and she’s been very good to me, but…”

"Is this why you haven't visited your aunt?"

“I know I’m just being stubborn, but…you said Zhu Shi is distancing himself from me now, could it be because of this…” he said in a hollow voice, “My dad hasn’t come to see me, is that also because of…”

He always acts nonchalant in front of others, but at this moment he revealed his vulnerable side to me.

Because he is my friend, I had inquired about him before. His father was a high-ranking official in the government, but his whereabouts have been unknown for many years.

It wasn't that Chang'an's father had met with misfortune somewhere, but rather that he seemed to be secretly engaged in activities that couldn't be revealed to the public. Perhaps it was related to some confidential government projects. He still held his official position within the government, just not physically present at his post. Moreover, he seemed to be secretly watching Chang'an, sending people to handle any misdeeds that required his intervention.

He was the son-in-law of the Zhu family, so his position wasn't very solid to begin with. As their illegitimate son, Chang'an naturally didn't experience normal family warmth in the Zhu family. I had previously suspected that Chang'an's constant trouble-making outside, besides venting his negative emotions, might also be driven by a desire to attract his father's attention.

"He's probably just showing his concern for you in his own way, but he can't do it in public because of work," I comforted him.

"I hope so." He hastily ended the topic and turned his attention to another matter. "By the way, Cheng, about that cave... the cave in the room on the fifteenth floor, do you remember it?"

"Of course I won't forget."

“Actually… I regret it a little. I didn’t become interested in strange things after meeting you; I’ve always wanted to prove their existence. But… I ran away from that cave, I didn’t even dare to go in.” He gritted his teeth. “For the past two days, I’ve been having nightmares, dreaming that a giant hand reached out from the cave and pulled me down into the dark depths. Then the entrance disappeared, and I can’t find my way out… I think it’s better to…”

Towards the end, he suddenly became dejected and said self-deprecatingly, "Sorry... what nonsense was I talking about? I should just forget what I just said. It's just too crazy no matter how you look at it..."

"I'm sorry, but you might be disappointed by what I hear next," I said. "Regarding the cave you mentioned, it will never appear again."

“…Huh?” His eyes widened. “What!”

"Actually, the reason I asked you out was to tell you this." I said firmly, "I've already explored that cave, but due to some inconvenient details, the cave has now completely disappeared."

"Wait! Don't gloss over it. What exactly is the process that's inconvenient to explain clearly?" he pressed.

I took a breath, reaffirmed my resolve, and began to weave a lie: "The problem isn't there, it's what happens next."

He stared at me: "And then?"

"Perhaps I'm cursed by that cave. The reason I can't tell you the whole story is because I don't know if the information I share will harm you. You should know, right? Just knowing about strange things can be dangerous." I spoke in a serious tone.

“Ah, um, some newer ghost stories have that kind of setting, like memes or something…” He nodded at first, seemingly understanding, then exclaimed in surprise, “So you’re being haunted by one of those things!?”

“Yes. Just telling you over the phone might not feel real to you, so I’m telling you in person now.” I said solemnly, “It would be better if we didn’t continue to have contact for a while.”

(End of this chapter)