Chapter 54
"Yesterday at 3:50 PM, citizens discovered three bodies in a deserted park on Qingshi Road. The scene has been completely cordoned off by police... Preliminary forensic analysis indicates the three deceased had been dead for over 48 hours... Police stated the case is under investigation..."
Luo Yuzheng was watching the news report on TV in a trance. When the mosaic picture of the three victims appeared, his pupils suddenly contracted and the soy milk in his hand fell to the ground, spilling all over the floor.
"Oh, are you okay?" Xu Xiaoxia was boiling eggs in the kitchen and hurried out when she heard the noise.
After seeing Luo Yu's condition, her heart suddenly tightened again. She followed his gaze and almost dropped the spoon in her hand.
The deserted small park with bluestone road where the three bodies were reported on TV was exactly the park where they went to digest their food after dinner two days ago but were caught in a heavy rain!
This world is becoming more and more terrifying.
"Mom, you go ahead and do your thing. I'll go to the bathroom first. I'll clean up myself later." As he said that, Luo Yu rushed to the toilet as if he couldn't hold it any longer. He walked just a few steps, but he walked as if his leg had just been broken.
Xu Xiaoxia was stunned for two seconds, then walked to the bathroom door and waited.
As soon as Luo Yu entered the bathroom, he fell to the ground, breathing heavily, burying his head in his knees with trembling body, and the fragmented fragments of memory in his mind were fighting against each other.
"Don't touch me! Give me back my wife and children!..."
"Impossible! Our whole family was watching TV at home, how could he suddenly die? It must be you! It must be you!"
"Give me back my wife and children! Give me back my wife and children!"
"I actually saw your list in the Life and Death Room..."
"The underworld is not good at all..."
"Luo Yu, you are all safe now. I have changed your fate..."
These chaotic sounds finally formed in Luo Yu's mind the image of his family of three lying on the lawn with their bodies crawling with white maggots, which he had dreamed of the night the Ghost King appeared in his dream.
The three bodies of their family in the picture are very similar to the blurred ones we just saw.
They were lying side by side on the lawn, two men and one woman.
"Luo Zhi... are you really changing your fate... why... is it such a coincidence..." Luo Yu murmured, holding his head. He felt like he was really going crazy.
All of this seemed to be related to him, but he had no solid evidence at all.
That kind of confusion, the facts are vaguely right in front of you, but you lack a witness to confirm it. The feeling of powerlessness surrounds every inch of skin, every pore, every drop of blood, every bone in his body, almost suffocating him to death.
Luo Yu clenched his fists and pounded them hard on the ground, once, twice, three times...
The banging sounds on the ground became louder and louder. Xu Xiaoxia, who was standing at the bathroom door, heard the noise and slammed the glass door of the bathroom.
Luo Yu then stopped and stared at the bathroom door in confusion.
Xu Xiaoxia's urgent voice reached his ears through the door: "Luo Yu, what are you doing in there? Why did Mom hear the sound of something being smashed?"
Luo Yuhuang came back to his senses in a daze, and after a long while he spoke: "I'm fine."
Xu Xiaoxia stopped knocking on the door and spoke in an almost pleading tone, "Then could you please come out first? Don't stay in there and scare Mom, okay?"
Luo Yuhou felt bitter and sad. He took a few deep breaths, adjusted himself, and tried to look normal. He stood up, but found that his legs were too numb to stand.
Finally, he supported himself on the ground with one hand and supported himself against the wall with the other, then he managed to stand up. He grabbed the door handle and pulled it, creating a palm-sized gap for Xu Xiaoxia to see him.
Luo Yu forced a smile and said to her, "Mom, I'm really fine. Don't worry about me. Look, I'm fine, aren't I?"
Xu Xiaoxia was still worried, "You'd better come out. I'm afraid of you staying alone."
Luo and Xiaoxiao responded with a "OK".
He didn't want to make his parents worry anymore, and as for the answer, he would leave it for the night.
Luo Yu opened the glass door completely, walked out, and started to clean up the soy milk he had spilled on the floor as if nothing had happened.
He first went to the kitchen to get a dry towel and squatted on the ground to wipe it back and forth. As he was wiping, he couldn't help shaking all over. The soy milk spilled in front of his eyes seemed not to be white soy milk, but bright red blood.
He suddenly stood up, rushed into the kitchen, took a basin of water, and poured it on the blood on the ground.
With a splash, the white soy milk was instantly washed away by the basin of water.
Seeing the water on the ground without any other colors, Luo Yu suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
He took the basin back to the kitchen and put it away. After leaving the kitchen, he sat down against the double doors of the kitchen, staring blankly at the water still shrinking on the floor tiles.
After sitting for a while, he got up, went to the balcony to get a mop, and started mopping the floor.
After mopping the floor, he did not put the mop back on the balcony, but just stared at the floor quietly.
I don't know how long he stared at her before he put the mop back on the balcony and then went into the kitchen to get a basin of water.
Crash.
He poured the water back on the floor that had just been mopped, then went to the balcony to get a mop and mopped the floor clean.
After mopping the floor clean this time, he took the paper towel on the coffee table, then lay on the floor and carefully wiped every seam between the floor tiles with the paper towel.
He did all this without saying a word and without any expression on his face, just like a robot working according to a program.
Xu Xiaoxia stood at the bathroom door and watched, without moving or saying anything, just silently wiping the tears that occasionally overflowed from the corners of her eyes.
"Take him to a psychiatrist."
In the coffee shop, Lao Hong and Luo Zeping sat face to face. After listening to Luo Zeping's narration of Luo Yu's behavior last night, Lao Hong just said this lightly.
Luo Zeping frowned, "You mean now Luo Yu has already..."
"It has nothing to do with that. I have performed a ritual at your house and the thing has been eliminated. Luo Yu's current condition is a psychological problem. He needs to overcome it on his own. You should take him to see a psychologist." Lao Hong said lightly after taking a sip of coffee.
"Then what does the word 'Zhi' mean? Is it a person's name or..." Luo Zeping asked.
Lao Hong took another sip of coffee, not wanting to explain too much. "It's not a person's name. Take him to see a psychiatrist. I believe he will slowly recover under his treatment."
"Then what did that gentleman mean last night when he said I gave him the horoscope of a dead person? There's no way I could have made a mistake with Luo Yu's horoscope." Luo Zeping said.
Lao Hong suddenly narrowed her eyes and looked at him, with an expression as if she had something important to tell him. Luo Zeping couldn't help but tense up and concentrate.
Lao Hong lowered his voice mysteriously and said, "Do you believe that exchanging lives exists in this world?"
This was a bit beyond Luo Zeping's tolerance. He picked up the coffee and took a sip. The bitter taste in his throat immediately sobered him up. "I believe you mean that people's lives change at a certain stage, like they've been reborn, but I don't think you mean that."
Lao Hong continued in a low voice, "Yes, I'm talking about exchanging the lives of others for the lives that are about to die."
Luo Zeping was startled and looked at him in disbelief. After a long while, he said, "You mean Luo and he were exchanged for their lives?" Luo Zeping obviously didn't believe it. "...How is this possible...this..."
"Not just him." Lao Hong pointed at his face, then at his chest, "but also you and your wife."
Luo Zeping suddenly laughed. This was even more ridiculous than seeing that thing.
"I don't quite believe it." Luo Zeping said.
Lao Hong stared into his eyes for a long time, then he raised the corners of his mouth and said, "You are not you."
In the following week, the psychologist came to Luo Yu's home every day to provide psychological counseling.
Luo Yu was resistant at first. He really didn't need a psychologist. He just had a question that he couldn't find the answer to. But as soon as he saw Xu Xiaoxia's face, he immediately did nothing and let them arrange it.
Today was the same as the previous few days, the psychologist came around 3 pm.
"How did you sleep last night?" the psychologist asked as he flipped through the documents.
"I went to bed around ten o'clock last night and didn't have any dreams." Luo Yu answered.
The psychiatrist closed the file and threw it on the coffee table. He pushed up his glasses and said, "You still don't want to tell the truth."
Falling and avoiding her gaze.
"When I pushed up my glasses just now, you were distracted for a moment." The psychologist took off his glasses and held them in his hand, thinking carefully.
She was very nearsighted and usually wore contact lenses. Today her eyes were very dry, so she found a pair of framed glasses, but she didn't expect that Luo Yu, who had been talking nonsense to her, would look at her strangely.
"He wears glasses too?" the psychiatrist suddenly said, shaking the glasses in front of his eyes twice.
Luo Yu shook his head. He had not cooperated with her well these days. What happened between him and Luo Zhi was a secret and could not be told.
The psychiatrist put his glasses back on and smiled. "You've been reluctant to talk about it. Do you not trust me?"
Luo Yu lowered his eyes and stared at his knees in a daze.
The psychiatrist went over and patted him on the shoulder. "Nothing is impossible, but if you keep holding it in, it will eventually break you down. Tell me, what kind of person is he?"
Luo Yu looked up at her for a long time before he simply said, "He... is very good to me."
The psychiatrist hummed: "Well, he is very good to you, but why do you hate him so much?"
Luo Yu was stunned for a long time before he said uncertainly: "Do I... hate him... I think so..."
After the psychologist left, the living room returned to its usual quietness. Everything was back to normal, as if nothing had happened. Luo Yu sat on the sofa and looked at every empty corner in the living room.
After watching for a while, he got up and walked towards his room. As usual, when he entered the room, he first lay on the ground and looked under the bed, then got up and sat on the swivel chair, staring at the table in a daze until 12:12 in the evening.
He has no appetite now and basically only eats one meal a day.
He lost a lot of weight this week. His face, which used to be a little chubby, now looked very thin and sharp. His friendly look was also worn away in just this one week.
Xu Xiaoxia tried to persuade him to eat for the first two days, and Luo Yu forced himself to eat, but he felt like vomiting as soon as the food entered his stomach, and finally had to give up.
When people are in a daze, they don’t feel how quickly time passes, and soon, night falls.
At around 12 o'clock, Luo Yucai moved in his chair, then lay on the ground and looked under the bed.
Seeing the empty space under the bed, he was disappointed as usual.
It was 12:12 midnight, and Luo Yu began to chant the spell.
After finishing reading, he returned to his bed and lay with his eyes closed, hoping as usual that when he opened his eyes again he would no longer see the white ceiling and shell-shaped chandelier.
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