Poison (Twenty-six)
The hospital was brightly lit at midnight. The nurse on night shift was taking a nap at the nurses' station. She jumped up immediately when she heard the sound of footsteps.
Yu Shu followed Jiang Yu's instructions and pasted talismans around Wang Zhiyao's ward and hung five coins on the top of the door.
"You can just come in, no need to go through so much trouble."
Before Yu Shu touched the doorknob, Wang Zhiyao opened the door from the inside with a sunny and cheerful smile on his face.
Wang Zhiyao seemed to have anticipated their return. He was neatly dressed and in high spirits.
Yu Shu was slightly stunned, turned his head and made eye contact with Jiang Yu: What should we do now?
Jiang Yu turned his body and moved between the two men, blocking Shu Yan.
Wang Zhiyao's eyes darkened when he saw Jiang Yu's vigilant protective attitude. Yu Shu was the best person to him for so long without asking for anything in return, but Jiang Yu's vigilance made him feel tight in his chest. He had never thought of hurting either of them.
But Wang Zhiyao still stepped aside to let the two of them in: "If you don't sleep, Brother Yu will have to sleep anyway. If you have anything to say so late, just finish it quickly."
He knew that if he told Yu Shu the address, he would be traced back to him in no time, but even so, he told Yu Shu without reservation.
Yu Shu's gaze passed over Jiang Yu's shoulder and fell on Wang Zhiyao's smiling eyes.
Wang Zhiyao was clearly smiling, but Yu Shu saw a tangled thread of sadness and helplessness.
He patted Jiang Yu's wrist, stepped forward, and gently persuaded him, "Okay, since you are worried about my rest, can you tell us the whole story?"
Wang Zhiyao nodded in agreement.
"The teacher died accidentally, and the parents and students caught fire. It was all my fault." Wang Zhiyao sat in the dark ward, but his eyes were flashing with a strange light.
Jiang Yu pressed the button, and the bright light made Yu Shu unable to open his eyes. He subconsciously raised his palm to block the light.
Wang Zhiyao was much calmer. He didn't even blink, as if he didn't need to adapt to the change in light and darkness. He even looked up at the light.
Jiang Yumei's heart skipped a beat. He sat down to the left of Yu Shu, separating Yu Shu from Wang Zhiyao.
His little action hurt Wang Zhiyao again.
Wang Zhiyao's heart was twisted into a ball. He really didn't think of hurting his two brothers.
He maintained a cheerful smile on his face: "I just treated them the way they treat others. Why can't you stand this?"
"Physical wounds will heal, but inner wounds will become mental shackles, a lifelong prison. Mental damage is far more lasting than physical damage."
As he spoke, he turned his head to avoid Yu Shu's direct gaze.
He was afraid that his thoughts would be seen through by those gentle eyes.
Yu Shu took a deep breath. "We know you did it, but I don't want to know about them. I want to know about you. How did you become like this? Is there anything wrong? Jiang Yu and I will help you clear it out."
Wang Zhiyao was stunned. The movement of raising his neck was as if it was pressed at 0.5 times the speed and it was still stuttering. He looked at Yu Shu in disbelief. He thought Yu Shu was here to call him to account, but Yu Shu actually still cared about him.
The scene of Jiang Yu and Yu Shu carefully putting up talismans outside flashed through Wang Zhiyao's mind. At the same time, the idea that Yu Shu knew that he lacked care and therefore wanted to play a psychological game to lower his guard also flashed through his mind.
He hesitated briefly, but when he once again met Yu Shu's eyes that were as all-embracing as the clear waters of a lake, he instantly dropped all his mental armor and psychological defenses.
“He didn’t possess me.”
Wang Zhiyao turned his head to look at the night sky outside the window, which was sprinkled with tiny stars, and his thoughts drifted back to a year ago.
From the first day he transferred to No. 6 Middle School, Li Minghao would find ways to target him, no matter how big or small. Minor actions included knocking over his food tray and leaving him hungry in the afternoon and evening classes, and even bigger ones included blocking him in the bathroom, stripping him naked, and dragging him out.
He tried asking his teacher for help and telling his parents, but each one was less reliable than the last.
The teacher said that the classmates were just playing tricks on you, and his dad beat him in the street and said he deserved it. Why do others bully you instead of other classmates? Aren’t you just a jerk?
He even went to the police when he was desperate, but the police stopped him because they thought it was just a minor fight between high school students. They educated the teacher and let the matter go. Li Minghao became even more aggressive because of this. He not only bullied him but also threatened the classmates who played with him to stay away from him.
He had no choice but to endure it. The senior year of high school was neither long nor short, and he could get through it by gritting his teeth and persevering.
But Li Minghao obviously didn't think so.
Wang Zhiyao's tolerance and avoidance were rewarded with further encroachment.
Li Minghao and his companions stuck thumbtacks on the side of his desk, stuffed garbage into the pockets of his schoolbag and clothes, and threw his books into the泔水袋. These were all minor offenses. In more serious cases, they would directly push him into the urinal, block him in the toilet, slap him in the face, and pour tap water on him.
During the mock exam half a year ago, he and Li Minghao were assigned to the examination room on the first floor of the laboratory building, and they sat in the front and back seats.
Li Minghao was the last one to take the exam. Several times, when the papers were collected from the back to the front, his answers to the multiple-choice questions were erased with an eraser. Even if he told the invigilator, it was of no avail. All he got in return was the invigilator's carelessness. Don't be so unreasonable.
Everyone stood on Li Minghao's side, and Wang Zhiyao seemed like an orphan, and the scales of justice never tilted towards him.
The bullying that lasted for almost a semester finally broke out at that moment.
His slap stunned Li Minghao, and also stunned the students and teachers in the examination room.
However, when the teacher reacted, he indiscriminately put all the blame on him.
As expected, Wang Zhiyao was given a serious warning the next day.
The perpetrators are protected, while the victims' resistance is criminalized.
He hated this school and the faces of these teachers.
What he didn't know was that his anger and resentment attracted poison, so he, who always knew how to distinguish the importance of things and weigh the consequences, acted impulsively and confronted Li Minghao.
For quite a while, Wang Zhiyao didn't realize he was the one being poisoned. He only knew that everyone who had bullied him, led by Li Minghao, had fallen ill one after another, and their condition was quite serious. He thought that God had finally opened his eyes and punished those evil students.
He knew he had strange abilities, but it was only after Zhang Chaoling recorded the video that he found himself without help and was threatened by Ma Yongqi and Li Sheng. He hated them so much that when he finally realized what was happening, he automatically wrote down their names and their catchphrases in a notebook.
Turning to the previous pages, I found Li Minghao and his catchphrase, which were written at some unknown time.
At that time, Wang Zhiyao was a little panicked. The order of those names and catchphrases that he had no impression of corresponded to the order in which those people fell ill.
Later, after Ma Yongqi said, "Your class is the noisiest in the entire grade," he fell from the building, and Wang Zhiyao finally realized that something was wrong.
Then Li Sheng said her catchphrase: "If you can learn, learn it. If you can't, get out. Don't let one bad apple spoil the whole barrel." She drowned in the artificial lake that night.
He wrote Zhang Chaoling's name on his own initiative. He wanted to make this scum who violated him die a miserable death.
Later, he personally took action against Zhong Guanxi and Lin Wenxue.
Wang Zhiyao recounted his experience word for word. Every time he looked up, he met Yu Shu's gentle yet sad gaze. Jiang Yu next to him had no change in his expression, as if he was listening to a bizarre story.
"He and I are not in a relationship of possession and being possessed. Those talismans of yours are actually of no use at all." Wang Zhiyao smiled with relief.
"Mutual growth?" Jiang Yu reacted almost immediately.
Mutual growth is fusion, but the vast majority of resentful souls and evil spirits have absolute malice towards humans and will not sacrifice themselves to save humans.
Unexpectedly, Zhen chose to have a symbiotic relationship with Wang Zhiyao.
Perhaps because he had been caught in the rain before his death, he wanted to protect Wang Zhiyao.
Wang Zhiyao nodded.
He and the poison are mutually beneficial.
Before the gymnasium dressing room incident, he didn't know that he was poisoned and thought he had awakened super powers or obtained the Death Note.
The hot curling iron in the dressing room burned his skin, and ice water and salt fell on the wound. In a trance, he saw the revolving door of another person.
That person was humiliated and hurt just like him. After being tortured in every way, his face was smashed by a shovel and his fingers were broken. He was buried alive in the ground with his last breath.
When Wang Zhiyao woke up in the hospital, he knew clearly that his body had grown back. The poor people in the revolving lantern completed the soul that had collapsed and shattered in the torture in the dressing room.
That's why he changed his personality.
Yu Shu didn't know what mutual generation was, but after hearing Wang Zhiyao's complete account, he breathed a sigh of relief: "I'm glad you're okay. Jiang Yu and I were worried that you would be affected and suffer irreversible damage."
Wang Zhiyao pulled away from Yu Shu's concerned gaze and looked at Jiang Yu with a sober look. It was true that Yu Shu cared about him, but it was also true that he had other plans.
"You can just say it directly. It's so late now. Let's get back to sleep." Wang Zhiyao avoided Yu Shu's eyes and said sincerely, "If you want me to wake up those students normally, I can't do anything about it. I can only detoxify them, not summon their spirits."
"You try it, just in case it works?"
"Instead of letting them suffer retribution for being insane, it's better to see them suffer with their normal brains. But I've tried, and it doesn't work." Wang Zhiyao's eyes looked at Jiang Yu for help.
Jiang Yu understood, but the next words that came out of his mouth were something else: "The bumps on my hands are also your work."
Yu Shu was stunned when he heard this. Jiang Yu’s infection was not fungal, but caused by Wang Zhiyao.
"Well, I just want to remind you not to waste your time and energy in school. It's not worth it to help that group of people." Wang Zhiyao nodded and said bluntly.
"You must have a way to deal with Jiang Yu's hand, right?" Yu Shu lowered his head to look at Jiang Yu's fair and slender fingers. The densely packed small bumps on his fingertips were such an eyesore.
He continued, "Bureau 749 has already gotten involved, and we need to give an explanation to the authorities."
Wang Zhiyao shook his head in embarrassment: "Brother Jiang's hand, you can heal it, but I really can't do anything about those students. I'm not lying."
Jiang Yu spoke at the right time: "I have a way, but I still need your help later."
After a night's rest, Yu Shu took Wang Zhiyao out of the hospital the next day.
Yu Shu asked Jiang Yu what method he used last night but he didn't tell him. He also asked Wang Zhiyao how he treated Jiang Yu's hand but he didn't tell him either. The two of them, big and small, were playing a game of keeping things mysterious.
Jiang Yu took Yu Shu and Wang Zhiyao to the basement, then took the elevator up himself and brought down a bunch of strange things, including ornaments, calligraphy and paintings, and bottles and jars.
"What are you doing bringing down a bunch of...antiques?" Yu Shu took a closer look and saw that they were all vintage items. He took a step back, fearing that he wouldn't have the money to pay for any damages.
Jiang Yu's eyes fell on the Eternal Life Knot in front of Yu Shu's collarbone, and he smiled indifferently and raised his eyebrows.
Yu Shu suddenly realized that that pile of things must be home to a bunch of ghosts.
Jiang Yu had said before that ghosts possess people because they have no shadows, so they parasitize in people's shadows, and some special spiritual objects can replace people and become ghosts' hiding places.
"Liu Xu, call seven more people to stand in the correct position of the Bagua formation and make sure nothing goes wrong."
Yu Shu still didn't know what method Jiang Yu was talking about.
He was about to ask a question, but Jiang Yu happened to mutter a few words.
At the same time, all those things swayed gently, and even the knot of eternal life on Yu Shu's neck floated out, emitting a soft white light.
The room in the basement was also changing. The white walls gradually blurred into swaying gray and black, with a few tiny red spots floating in the distance.
The solid wood floor disappeared and turned into black mud, and everyone's feet were embedded in the mud.
Yu Shu's chest rose and fell. The sudden changes in front of his eyes were like holographic projection effects, and the touch on the soles of his feet was such real feedback.
As Jiang Yu chanted the spell in a low voice, the scene continued to change.
The wall disappeared, and the gray became long and thin shadows, black was the background color, and the reddish color gradually enlarged and became bunches of dancing flames.
The mud beneath my feet was softer and more rotten, and a cold, piercing liquid slid across my feet.
Jiang Yu stopped talking, and the surroundings stopped changing.
What appeared in front of Yu Shu was an old wooden bridge. White lanterns trapped red candlelight. Across the bridge stood a little girl with a childish face but a very mature expression. The big pot she was holding was taller than her.
"What...is this place?"
"Naihe Bridge." Jiang Yu said coldly with a serious face.
Yu Shu took a step back.
Is this true? I was just in Jiang Yu's basement, and now I'm at Naihe Bridge.
He looked around, but could no longer see Liu Xu and the other seven young Taoist priests.
Yu Shu's Adam's apple moved up and down, and he swallowed his saliva. He said in disbelief, "Really?"
"Really." Jiang Yu glanced at Yu Shu and said, "Listen, a living person can't cross the Naihe Bridge. Although you have a pure Yin constitution, to be on the safe side, I will let He Yuhua take the lead and lead the little ghosts I raised to build a bridge for you."
"Those students' incomplete souls are unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation and can only wander across the Naihe Bridge. You must use needle and thread to connect them together and drag them back here."
After saying that, Jiang Yu took out a glass bottle with a little water in it and no lid.
He continued, "This bottle contains a few drops of Wang Zhiyao's tears. They will come to us automatically. We have to be quick. If it takes more than two hours, it will be very dangerous. Besides, I can't set up the formation twice in the same day."
Before Yu Shu could fully digest what Jiang Yu said, the ghosts following them lined up and plunged into the dark and cold water one after another with their hands raised above their heads.
He Yuhua did not join the team, but floated in front of Yu Shu as a protector.
Jiang Yu couldn't get to the other side of the river, so He Yuya was the necessary means for Jiang Yu to protect Yu Shu's safety.
Before Yu Shu could ask any more questions, Jiang Yu pushed him onto the Ghost Bridge.
He had no choice but to quickly catch up with He Yuhua and rush to the opposite side.
No matter what, Yu Shu was a living person. As soon as he reached the other side, a pair of wandering ghosts surrounded him. They bared their teeth and looked like trapped beasts that had been hungry for decades.
When they were about to pounce on Yu Shu, He Yuhua lifted her veil, her red skirt fluttered without wind, and the invisible sharp blade instantly pierced through those ignorant little ghosts.
The young girl by the pot noticed the visitors and said, "You two look so kind. I can pretend not to see you. I'm doing this for Jiang's sake. The higher-ups are not easy to talk to, so you better act quickly."
The mature smile coupled with the old, frosted voice made Yu Shu feel a chill in his heart.
Fortunately, the bottle of tears was very effective, and the residual souls of five or six students rushed over. After all, their souls were incomplete and not as aggressive as wild ghosts. Yu Shu took out the jade needle and silver thread and took the opportunity to string them together.
The girl's eyes lit up. She hadn't seen anyone with such ability in years. She actually offered to help: "Dear guest, dear guest, but there may not be enough time. Let me help."
As soon as she finished speaking, the girl scooped up a ladle of medicine and poured it into the air. In the blink of an eye, the medicine fell to the ground and turned into countless gray-white butterflies, flying in all directions.
Yu Shu was surprised, and he had to avoid the attack under He Yuya's protection and sew up the student's soul.
With the help of more girls, the speed increased several levels, but the last one, Lin Wenxue, was still not showing up.
"It's different here than up there. It's almost time to leave, why don't you leave?" The girl poured the medicine into the mouth of the ghost who had just crossed the bridge.
"One more missing." Yu Shu was anxious.
He Yuhua floated around Yu Shu, guarding against wild ghosts attacking from all directions. Yu Shu looked around but did not see Lin Wenxue's soul.
Jiang Yu on the other side of the river frowned and waved at him.
At a distance of about ten meters, Yu Shu's ears were filled with low roars and howls, and he could not hear what Jiang Yu was shouting on the other side of the river.
He Yuhua also reminded: "The time is about to end, he called you back."
"Try again, there's only one left."
The candlelight of the white lantern flickered rapidly, and the scene on the other side began to blur.
Finally, Lin Wenxue floated over slowly from a long distance. Yu Shu gave He Yuhua a look and ran towards Lin Wenxue.
Fortunately, Lin Wenxue's soul was more dull than that of other students, and it only took a few stitches to sew it up.
However, when Yu Shu ran back, Jiang Yu was no longer on the other side of the river, and the ghost-built bridge was no longer visible in the water.
"It's too late." The girl's eyes were unpredictable.
Yu Shu felt cold all over.
He tried to run back across the bridge, but before he had gone five meters, the wooden bridge began to collapse.
"No living person can cross the Naihe Bridge. The higher-ups may send someone over soon." The girl glanced at He Yuhua behind Yu Shu and said meaningfully.
Yu Shu clenched the needle and thread in his hand: "Then I will go back by water."
The girl covered her mouth and laughed. Her hoarse voice and shy expression were extremely strange. "Do you know how many wronged souls there are underwater? If it weren't for the little ghost who endured the heart-wrenching pain for you just now, how could you have made it here safely?"
Yu Shu gritted his teeth and handed the needle and thread in his hand to He Yuhua. He wanted He Yuhua to float back with the student's soul, while he would swim back.
Yu Shu put one foot into the river. The icy coldness penetrated his heart, like liquid nitrogen that could freeze people to the point of stinging, as if it would freeze all the skin that came into contact with the river water to necrosis and ulceration.
Jiang Yu couldn't set up a second formation. No matter how uncomfortable or painful it was, Yu Shu now had only himself to rely on.
He endured the severe pain and put his other foot into the water. He tried to take half a step, but the water was as heavy as a thousand pounds. It took almost all his strength to lift his leg.
If he didn't return to the other side, he would have to stay here forever. He thought that no matter whether he advanced or retreated, this was the only way, so he gritted his teeth and held on. The distance of ten meters was quickly passed.
He closed his eyes and dived into the water.
Suddenly, sharp blades came from all directions, cutting his skin mercilessly, and then turned into fine needles that pierced into his flesh and blood through his pores and deep into his bone marrow. The severe pain broke down all his defenses and eroded his whole body. He felt a little weak and dizzy.
The pain was too much to move, as countless hands grabbed his legs and dragged them down, then pushed him down.
Every time the wronged souls at the bottom of the river touched his skin, it seemed as if they wanted to drill into his skin and cut it from the inside out.
He clearly didn't inhale, but the water seemed to have life, pouring into his body through his nasal cavity. It was as if his internal organs were stuffed into a quick-freeze layer, frozen into hard blocks, and then beaten violently, shattering in extreme pain.
"Are you crazy?!"
Warm and strong arms picked him up, and a familiar voice sounded above his head.
Yu Shu opened his eyes and Jiang Yu came out of the water holding him, all wet.
"I told you to come back earlier, but you didn't listen. Let's be flexible and just let it go without one." Jiang Yu looked calm, but his weak voice couldn't deceive anyone.
Yu Shu felt an inexplicable bitterness in his heart. He lowered his head and whispered, "I'm sorry."
He just touched the river water slightly and felt that it was even more frightening than the girl said. Jiang Yu came from the other side, and he had to endure severe physical and mental pain.
"Hold on tight." Jiang Yu said calmly.
Yu Shu saw Jiang Yu's purple lips and felt his slightly trembling body. The excitement and gratitude in his heart were blocked in his chest, making it impossible for him to organize his words properly.
Jiang Yu saved him again.
Jiang Yu carried Yu Shu and walked towards the other side of the river.
The water splashes on Yu Shu's body hurt like needles in the buttocks, while Jiang Yu, who was immersed in the river water, had veins bulging on his forehead but he still tried hard to maintain a calm expression.
He couldn't let Yu Shu come into contact with the river water, which was too yin and dirty, otherwise he would get seriously ill for a long time and would feel uncomfortable all over.
Jiang Yu steadily approached the shore, and the surroundings returned to the familiar basement, with a puddle of bleak gray water on the floor.
The two went upstairs to change clothes and returned to the first floor.
"So I just need to control their souls and return them to their bodies?" Wang Zhiyao said.
Jiang Yu nodded lightly.
Wang Zhiyao was puzzled: "We've been busy for so long just to get them some so-called ideological education and spend some time in a juvenile detention center?"
Yu Shu hadn't recovered yet, his eyes kept flicking to Jiang Yu. He took a breath and said, "Yeah."
But it's not that simple. Just now, when Jiang Yu was changing clothes, he told him, "The soul can only return for a moment. After claiming the crime, it will naturally dissipate after a while. However, the school director's wife held a press conference. She promised me that she would announce the names of all the students and teachers involved in the incident to restore the reputation of No. 6 Middle School."
Originally, after the incident with the school director of No. 6 Middle School, the contract should have been automatically terminated if the client was no longer around and the final payment was not received. However, Jiang Yu did not stop because of the change of heart of the school director's wife.
As for those students, there is no better retribution than for them to suffer while awake, then become fools, be cursed all their lives, and have their lives ruined.
In addition, when faced with supernatural events, most people in Bureau 749 will consider the overall situation and put aside their personal feelings. The more important thing is to protect Wang Zhiyao.
Those students have returned to normal. Even if Li Qingyan later finds Wang Zhiyao, the dead cannot be found and the living are living in peace. They cannot produce more substantial evidence, so there is no reason to take Wang Zhiyao back for research.
After everything was done, Jiang Yu and Yu Shu went to the private restaurant where they had been last time.
The school director's wife greeted them with a smile in the box: "Thank you for your hard work, this is the final payment." Then she pushed a bank card in front of Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu's cold, standard smile appeared on his face: "It's up to each of us."
It turned out that the school director's wife was the ultimate winner. Seeing her husband burning with fever in the ward, she suddenly came to her senses.
Good deeds will be rewarded and evil deeds will be punished. There must be a hidden story behind the series of strange events. She was deeply impressed by Jiang Yu's visits to her home, but her husband always sent her away and did not let her hear what he said.
She was cautious and asked someone to investigate her husband's past deeds, and Jiang Yu's words in the ward further confirmed her guess.
If her husband were to die, she would have to support the family. She didn't want to face any unforeseen risks in the future, so she decided to work with Jiang Yu to resolve the issue. If her husband's condition became irreparable, she could take over No. 6 Middle School and its subsidiaries and live in peace, transforming herself from a widow into a female entrepreneur.
Yu Shu froze for a moment, but quickly put on a businesslike smile: "You're welcome, Madam."
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