Chapter 56 It pressed against her neck; she knew it was that thing…
That gaze, that look, was inescapable, impossible to ignore, carrying a hint of stickiness and dampness, like a slippery, clinging snake, slowly climbing up her body, finally stopping at her neck.
In her dazed state, she could even hear the hissing of snakes and feel the coldness of their tongues brushing against her neck.
Han Shannan was on the first floor at that moment.
Although this guy respects his teachers and is hardworking and conscientious, he often can't control his strength when he's using his hands and feet. Although he won't break anything, he always makes some noise.
But now, she could not hear a sound from Han Shannan downstairs, as if he had been swallowed up by the boundless darkness, and that he would never exist again.
She immediately started walking downstairs, but the figure hiding in the darkness hadn't moved at all. She hadn't seen him retreat, yet he maintained a certain distance from her, allowing her to see him but not quite. It remained like that, and that...
"Hey! Why did you come down here? Weren't you going upstairs to rest? And besides, I've called you so many times, but you didn't answer me. I just accidentally broke a bowl, is it really that big of a deal? I'll just pay you ten or eight more later!"
Li Chen suddenly snapped back to her senses. The person who had been keeping a respectful distance from her had suddenly vanished, along with the gaze that had been haunting her and the surrounding darkness.
She looked at Han Shannan's face, which had suddenly appeared before her, and then subconsciously turned her head to look at the doors and windows.
The outside world was brightly lit, and because a window wasn't closed properly, a few snowflakes were even blown in by the cold wind.
She raised her hand to cover her eyes, pinched her brow, and then opened her eyes again. The world in front of her was still the same, as if what she had seen before was just a dream, an illusion.
Han Shannan noticed that Li Chenjin was not feeling well and quickly asked, "Hey, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Are you going to vomit blood again? I told you before, don't treat those people for now. You vomited blood from exhaustion just a couple of days ago. Right now, you should be treating yourself!"
Li Chen lowered her eyes, her heart, which had been racing because of what she had just seen, slowly returned to normal. She said in a light tone, "Oh, I was thinking about something and didn't hear you call me a few times?"
Han Shannan said, "Say it three times. What are you thinking about so intently? And if you're thinking about something, why did you have to go outside? I asked you what you were going to do, but you ignored me. Even when Jiu Niang Yuanzi called you, you didn't respond. I think you're angry."
Li Chen waved his hand dismissively, "Alright, alright, I was angry just now, but I've calmed down. You go and get ready. Oh, by the way, where are the sweet fermented rice balls?"
"So now you know to look for the sweet fermented rice balls?" Han Shannan said. "The sweet fermented rice balls turned around and went back to their nest for a nap when you ignored them. I said, why are you so stingy? It's just a bowl, it's not gold or silver, and I saw that it's chipped, it will have to be replaced sooner or later."
"I can't believe you'd actually get angry with me, a cultivator who works tirelessly here and is at your beck and call, over a broken bowl that needs replacing. Do you have any conscience at all? I even brewed medicine for you! I'm telling you..."
Li Chen rubbed his temples again, feeling a headache coming on from Han Shannan's string of words. He couldn't help but interrupt, "Han, can you please shut up? You're giving me a headache."
Upon hearing this, Han Shannan was speechless with astonishment. He glared at Li Chenjin and said, "Hey! Are you kidding me? You're in the wrong right now! How dare you complain about me when you're in the wrong?"
"Alright, alright, I apologize. I'm sorry, Cultivator Han," Li Chen said. "I have a headache right now, could you please say less?"
"Why do you have a headache again? Didn't you say you had a heart condition before? Shouldn't you be experiencing heart pain? Why do you have a headache?" Han Shannan asked.
"Oh, maybe my heart condition has worsened. I guess my time is coming to an end, so my head is hurting too. Who knows, I might see some ghost messengers to take me away someday."
Han Shannan put on a stern face and said, "Pah! Can't you say something auspicious? At least don't curse yourself like that!"
Li Chen sighed and said, "Birth, aging, sickness, and death are all part of life. What's there to be afraid of? You can't escape them anyway. The so-called 'great ghost of impermanence' arrives unexpectedly. The wandering spirits in the dark are unaware of their sins or blessings (1)..."
"You, you must stop talking!" Han Shannan said, nearly collapsing. "You should go and rest! I'll get a sign that says 'No consultations tomorrow' and hang it up. You can rest for a few days."
Li Chenjin smiled kindly and said, "Not bad, you've become sensible. Then I'll leave this matter to you. After you're done tidying up, remember to go out and practice your sword. I've given you the Sword God's sword manual, so you must practice it well. If you don't master one of the manuals, I won't give you a second one."
"I understand, I understand!" Han Shannan said. "Don't worry, this cultivator will definitely practice hard. What you need to do now is to go and rest. I'll come up to you after I've brewed the medicine. After you drink the medicine, I'll go out and practice my sword."
Li Chen nodded with great satisfaction, "Not bad, sensible. I really didn't take you on as my half-disciple in vain, I'm also benefiting from the Sword God's influence."
Han Shannan snorted, "You know that's good. This cultivator doesn't often serve people. You're the first person besides my parents to be served by me like this. No, I've never even served my parents like this!"
Li Chen said, "When you get home, remember to take good care of your parents."
"Understood!!" Han Shannan shouted.
When Li Chen reached the second floor, he deliberately stopped and observed his surroundings.
There was nothing amiss in the surroundings, and the sounds of Han Shannan tidying up the house could be heard downstairs. The gaze that had often accompanied her, though seemingly absent, had vanished completely at this moment, as if it had all been a hallucination she had been experiencing these past few days.
She lowered her head slightly, pinched the bridge of her nose, as if she was beginning to doubt whether her feelings over the past few days were real.
After pushing open the door, she slowly lay down on the bed, but didn't feel sleepy.
The drowsiness she felt while seeing patients earlier had completely disappeared because of what had just happened. She even felt very energetic now, so energetic that she could go downstairs and chop firewood for an hour straight.
She hesitated before taking her own pulse, as if trying to see what exactly was wrong with her body.
But as she continued, she suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness wash over her, and soon she was dragged into a dark dream by that drowsiness.
She opened her eyes in her dream and found herself in a gloomy and dark secret room, or rather, she seemed to be in a tomb.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a coffin made of mystic ice, and could vaguely see the figure of a person lying inside.
But what's most strange is that she has no recollection of this place, and most importantly, she can feel that she is dreaming, but she can't wake up no matter what she does, as if her soul is imprisoned here by some force she hasn't yet discovered.
But she could sense that this place was not like an ordinary dream, but rather like an illusion carefully set up for her by someone.
So when did she get infected?
Was it from the moment she began to feel gazes inexplicably watching her from all around, or from the moment she saw that figure?
Or perhaps it began when she, worried about Han Shannan, watched that figure as she walked down the stairs step by step.
But thinking about these things now is useless. Now that she's already in the illusion, she should find a way to locate the key to the illusion and get out of here.
Han Shannan doesn't know much about illusions and illusion arrays. He probably thought that if he went upstairs and couldn't wake her, he would just assume that she was sleeping too soundly and couldn't be relied on.
In addition, he has difficulty dealing with these things. The small illusion in Xicheng Town almost cost him his life, so it's best not to involve him.
With that in mind, she began to study the secret room. After groping around for a while, she happened to press a mechanism on the stone wall.
With a deep, muffled sound, the heavy stone door in front of us slowly opened to both sides, revealing a dark and deep secret passage.
As soon as she stepped out of the stone gate, the gate behind her suddenly closed, trapping her in endless darkness.
In that instant, the gaze that seemed to have disappeared for a long time reappeared, and was very close to her, as if...
The person who had been secretly watching her was now standing right behind her.
A slightly cool breath brushed past her ear, and she instinctively turned around and threw a punch, only to hit nothing but air.
There was no one there, or rather, the person seemed to have no physical form.
"This is really a ghost," Li Chen thought to himself. "Could it be that when I passed by a deserted graveyard earlier, I was haunted by some ghost in the graveyard?"
As if sensing that she had no way to deal with it, that gaze pressed even more firmly against her back. No matter how she tried to dodge or turn around, that thing stayed close to her, clinging to her. In a daze, she seemed to hear soft breathing and laughter in her ear, sometimes near, sometimes far.
Gradually, the thing was no longer satisfied with just sticking to her back. A slightly cool touch brushed against her neck, like the thing's breath, or like the thing's fingertips touching her neck.
But now she could only endure that strange and cold feeling and slowly move forward in this boundless darkness.
She pressed her hand against the cold stone wall, groping for a way forward, trying hard to find a way out.
During this time, the feeling of being spied on grew stronger, and even the cold sensation was tinged with warmth, as if the thing had gradually come to life after absorbing her body temperature and breath.
Gradually, she could feel something brushing against her neck, with a few soft strands of hair, making her neck feel a little itchy.
She knew that it was the head of that thing buried next to her neck.
The author's note: (1) From the Ksitigarbha Sutra
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