(seven)
Zhou Ziqiu and Cui Yongle also jumped into the pit. Zhou Ziqiu squatted down and reached out to touch the mummified corpse, but found nothing. Cui Yongle's gaze, however, fell on the surrounding walls, which were covered with runes. As he looked at them, his expression changed.
Wen Su squatted near the head of the mummified corpse and used a dagger to open its mouth, revealing a fluorescent yellow transparent bead inside.
He reached out and took out the bead, looking at Zhou Ziqiu and Cui Yongle: "Is this it?"
Zhou Ziqiu was about to nod when he suddenly opened his eyes wide and exclaimed, "Watch out!"
The mummified corpse beside Wen Su suddenly opened its eyes and raised its hands to attack Wen Su. It must have been because Wen Su took the bead from its mouth and woke it up.
But Wen Su reacted extremely quickly, dodging the mummy's claws and then plunging the dagger into the mummy's forehead.
"Why won't you stop even after you're dead?"
Wen Su frowned, pulled out the dagger, and the mummified corpse turned into dust.
Zhou Ziqiu stood up, looking at the bead in Wen Su's hand, and for some reason felt that it had a familiar aura. Seeing that Zhou Ziqiu seemed very curious about the bead, Wen Su was about to hand it to Zhou Ziqiu when Cui Yongle intercepted it: "I'll keep it for now."
Wen Su, of course, wouldn't say anything, nor would Zhou Ziqiu. After the three of them came up from the bottom of the pit, they each prepared to finish their work.
In the crowd, Cui Yongle pulled Zhou Ziqiu to the small house where the crime scene was located. Perhaps because the feng shui problem here had been broken, Zhou Ziqiu no longer felt any pressure when he entered the room.
"Xiao Qiu, take a look." Cui Yongle handed his phone to Zhou Ziqiu, showing the words and runes on the wall that he had photographed at the bottom of the pit. "We did find it."
Zhou Ziqiu didn't speak, but looked through everything in the photo. After a long silence, he slowly said, "But I didn't find that person."
That person once told him that he would wait for someone, someone who could save him, but he has waited for so many years, and that person who could save him has never appeared.
“Maybe you don’t need that person to solve your problem.” Cui Yongle knew how long Zhou Ziqiu had been waiting, and he couldn’t bear to see Zhou Ziqiu wait any longer. “In any case, let’s take it one step at a time. Whether it was a coincidence or something else, since we’ve met this time, maybe we’ll meet again next time, or the time after that.”
"...Um."
"Here, take this." Cui Yongle handed the fluorite ball from the bottom of the pit to Zhou Ziqiu. He had just found a box, and the fluorite ball had already been put into the box. "I think this might be useful to you. Take it back and take a closer look when you get back."
Zhou Ziqiu understood Cui Yongle's concerns, nodded, and put the box away.
With the excavation of the eerie underground tomb, this mysterious case came to an end. Since the murderer was under control when he committed the killings, the police found a reason to explain the past. The missing persons who had been reported missing in the past were also officially confirmed dead after this incident. As for the missing murderer, he was found the day after Qingdeng and the others returned to Luoqi. He was found drowned in the river downstream of Changnan Village. That river was formed by the confluence of all the streams near Changnan Village. Several human skeletons were also found in the river, which were initially speculated to be those of the husbands who had been controlled and killed people in the past.
Zhou Ziqiu hung up the phone, looked out at the night sky, and let out a long sigh.
In addition to the living room used for entertaining guests, the second floor of Liaoyuan Pavilion also has a very small room with simple furnishings: a bed and a table.
Zhou Ziqiu got up, closed the window, and shut out the noisy street outside from the quiet room. The room was dark without any lights, except for the box on the table in front of Zhou Ziqiu, which emitted a dim, glowing light.
Then, that dark light was held in someone's palm.
Almost instantly, Zhou Ziqiu felt as if a thousand-pound boulder was pressing on his chest. The surrounding malevolent and yin energy was terrifyingly strong, almost condensing into a viscous substance in the darkness, enveloping Zhou Ziqiu like asphalt. Suddenly, a familiar, unforgettable call rang in his ears—
"Qinghe".
Yin energy and malevolent energy tightly bound Zhou Ziqiu, frantically drilling into his body, penetrating through his pores and hair, bringing sharp pain and excruciating agony. Zhou Ziqiu's consciousness was almost shattered, but a sincere call suddenly pulled him back. He abruptly opened his eyes and saw a luxurious palace with long corridors before him.
He was dressed in a magnificent purple robe, with a double dragon-patterned pendant hanging from his waist and black boots on his feet—a very noble outfit. He looked up at the man beside him, who resembled him but was much more mature, dressed in a bright yellow robe, wearing a jeweled crown and a white jade dragon-patterned pendant at his waist.
He and the other person seemed very close, walking side by side, their voices clear and melodious.
"Brother, will you take me with you on your campaign next year?"
The man smiled and affectionately patted his head.
"Of course not, the battlefield is dangerous, I'm afraid you'll get hurt."
“I’m already eighteen, I don’t need my elder brother to take care of me.” He pouted, as if complaining, “Xingzhou will be able to go to the battlefield next year.”
The man's smile widened: "Xingzhou will come of age next year and will be a vanguard general. He can naturally go to the battlefield, but you are too weak to go."
But he wouldn't listen to his elder brother. He pouted and said, "But I still want to go. A man's ambition is to protect his country. I also want to protect our Great Zhou."
——
The scene suddenly vanished, and Zhou Ziqiu stared blankly into the air. The excruciating pain in his body and mind was nothing compared to the heartache he had just experienced.
Why?
Why should we let him see these things again?
Overwhelmed by pain, Zhou Ziqiu collapsed inside the house.
...
......
......
"...Royal brother?"
There seemed to be a buzzing sound in his ears, and he couldn't hear clearly. His body was very hot, as if there was a heat source around him. In a daze, he seemed to have returned to the past, to the past when he was pampered. He unconsciously called out a name.
But when he opened his eyes in a half-dream state, he saw a handsome and young face.
That's not my elder brother.
"Okay...okay..."
Before he could finish speaking, he fainted again.
This time, he had a feeling.
As if he were falling into the ocean, as if he were sinking into darkness, as if he were falling from the sky, as if he were a falling leaf, the unreal feeling made him desperately grasp the only thing he could hold onto.
Standing by the bed, Wen Su stared thoughtfully at the pale-faced boy on the bed.
When Zhou Ziqiu woke up again, it was already the afternoon of the next day. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Wen Su sitting on the edge of the bed reading a book. He opened his mouth, but his voice was indescribably hoarse.
Upon hearing the sound, Wen Su put down his book and handed over a glass of warm water.
"Finally awake." Wen Su reached out and touched Zhou Ziqiu's forehead. "You didn't even know you had a fever. I really wonder how you grew up."
"...Fever?" Zhou Ziqiu stopped drinking water. His throat felt much better after being moistened by the water, and although his voice was hoarse, it was much better than before. "I have a fever?"
Didn't I take that glowstone ball?
Wen Su nodded: "Yes, you had a fever. I took you to the hospital for an IV drip."
Zhou Ziqiu looked down and indeed saw a small bluish dot on the back of his hand.
Thank you.
"You're welcome," Wen Su said with a smile, sitting back down at the table.
"Has anything happened while I was sick?"
As if he had heard something unbelievable, Wen Su turned his head and said, "Don't think about these things while you're sick. Focus on taking care of your health."
"......oh."
Zhou Ziqiu lowered his head to drink water and stopped talking.
Because Zhou Ziqiu had very fair skin and a slender build, Wen Su forbade him from visiting the Qingdeng website again after this incident. He didn't want the owner of Yuange to die of illness right after joining the site, so the task of checking the Qingdeng backend fell to him.
Zhou Ziqiu hung up the phone with Cui Yongle, looked up and met Wen Su's gaze, and asked with a chuckle, "What's wrong?"
"What did Chairman Cui say? Is there a new task?"
Zhou Ziqiu shook his head: "No, he called to tell me that Sun Junlie is dead."
Wen Su frowned: "Impossible, I guarantee he'll live for another six months."
"Someone must have solved it for him." There are countless capable people in the world, and it's no problem for the Sun family to find one. "This time, the Sun family should be completely finished."
With the passing of the family patriarch, Mr. Sun, the next patriarch hastily assumed the position and has to deal with the mess left by the previous patriarch and Sun Junlie. Although the Chu family is small, it is putting increasing pressure on the Sun family. There are also other families around waiting to take a share of the spoils when the Sun family falls on hard times. Presumably, the current patriarch of the Sun family must be extremely busy.
"That's not necessarily true." Wen Su shrugged. He knew that one should not be at a dead end until all hope was lost. "Even a centipede with a hundred legs does not die easily."
Zhou Ziqiu nodded, agreeing with what Wen Su said.
Days passed by like this. Wen Su said that no one asked for help at Qingdeng, so Zhou Ziqiu took it for granted and continued to close the shop at midnight every day.
But one evening, just as they were about to close the shop, an uninvited guest suddenly arrived.
After 11:30, there were no more people, and by midnight, there were even fewer. Wen Su tidied up the shop and prepared to return to his temporary rented house. Zhou Ziqiu was standing at the door, preparing to close the shop. He glanced casually at the door and saw someone running on the road not far away.
He frowned. Why was there someone here so late? But he didn't think much of it and was about to close the door when the person ran over and shouted, "Don't close it!"
Zhou Ziqiu straightened up, frowning as he looked at the panting boy in front of him. The boy was slightly chubby, wore glasses, and looked very honest.
What is he here for?
After catching his breath, the boy knelt down in front of Zhou Ziqiu and cried, "Master, Master, please save me! I'm so scared!"
Zhou Ziqiu rushed to help him up, but the boy just knelt on the ground and kept crying.
Hearing the sound, Wen Su also walked to the door and looked at the boy with a puzzled expression: "Get up and tell me what happened to you."
Zhou Ziqiu also said, "Tell me what happened to you first."
The boy immediately replied, "Master, masters, I'm being haunted by a ghost!"
18:56:31
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