Chapter 69 The Sleeping Curse (33) "We await your esteemed response..."
At night, in apartment 702 of building 9 in Heshun residential area, the lights were off, but the current owner of the apartment was not resting.
Xie Tan sat on the single sofa in the living room, holding a videotape in his hand, somewhat lost in thought.
He has already made a copy of the video and is playing it on the TV.
The videotape was given to him by Xi Rui.
This story goes back to the day we left the shimmering scenic area.
Having heard that there was a long-lived shaman in the area who was skilled in divination, Lu Jinzhao and Chang Mingai were very interested and made plans to go together, also bringing along Xia Wujin and Sun Enze, who had no plans, so they could go shopping on the side.
Xue Hong, an elderly man, had been following them around for a whole day and night, but he couldn't take it anymore. He stopped joining the trendy fun of the young people and went downstairs to drink tea and play chess with other elderly men in the area.
Xie Tan wasn't interested and was very sleepy. He had been reading comics and browsing forums all night, and only fell asleep after being threatened by Cat No. 7 with a meow that would crash the system. So he didn't go with them.
He slept until the afternoon, and when he woke up and went downstairs to find something to eat, he ran into Xi Rui, who was returning to the villa.
Early in the morning, before dawn and before everyone else had gotten up, Xi Rui went out.
He said in the group that he had a pleasant chat with a netizen from Art Harbor and was invited to his home. He told everyone not to worry about him today and that he would be back before leaving in the evening.
He returned earlier than he had said, two or three hours before they were supposed to leave.
Xie Tan took a sip of hot tea and glanced at him. Xi Rui naturally leaned over and said, "Same as you, thank you, Xiao Tan!"
So the two of them sat in the villa’s small garden, each holding the same hot tea. Butterflies landed on the lifelike flower carvings on the dessert plate and then fluttered away.
“Your ‘believers’ send their greetings to you,” Xi Rui said jokingly in his first sentence.
Xie Tan paused for a moment, realizing they were talking about the freckled girl, and calmly asked, "Do you need me to pay some money for relaying messages?"
"That would be great, but may I ask about my reward?" Xi Rui chuckled. "If you're stuck for ideas, how about we draw lots? Each lot is different."
I must say, it really does have a bit of a "tea party" atmosphere now.
"I thought you wanted to make the selection yourself this time."
"I didn't mean that. It's about fairness and impartiality."
"That's too boring. Let me choose again," Xie Tan said listlessly. "I know why you came."
Xi Rui responded cooperatively, even enthusiastically: "That's right, the reason I came here is to investigate what the prophecy circulating about the Black Goat is, and what made them make such a big fuss and struggle to survive."
This time, Xie Tan glanced at him.
Xi Jinping was open and honest, without any intention of hiding anything or even testing anyone; he simply said it out loud.
This is a good strategic change, because even if he tries to test the waters, Xie Tan will point it out directly.
Xi Rui grinned, quite nonchalantly: "You probably wouldn't want to see me, the president, fail to deliver, right? The cult is incredibly cruel to its followers; I might be punished when I get back. You've heard of the ten most brutal tortures in ancient times—"
Xie Tan remained unmoved, his expression seeming to say, "What does this have to do with me?"
Xi Rui sighed, "Fine, it's because I'm not your good neighbor."
Xie Tan put down his teacup and said calmly, "You don't need to ask me, because you've already seen it; that's one of the 'observations'."
Xi Rui paused, realizing that the Eye Mountain was indeed part of the prophecy... an experiment to make the prophecy come true?
"Observation"?
That doesn't sound very good.
"That's 'Bi,' isn't it? The black goat refined it using Bi?"
Xie Tan did not reply.
Xi Rui couldn't get any more information, but he wasn't discouraged. Although he wasn't at the site of the blasting, he wasn't completely unable to deduce anything. Xie Tan had provided new intelligence, which also confirmed his own thoughts. That was enough. Xie Tan wasn't an enemy... at least not now.
Seeing that Xie Tan had finished his tea and seemed to be preparing to leave, he feigned innocence and said, "I see, but that's not what I wanted to ask."
Xie Tan watched him silently.
Xi Rui looked strangely shy: "Some family matters."
Xie Tan: "?"
"I'd like to know who helped you get through the mountain," Xi Rui said with a smile. "Or perhaps, another colleague of mine?"
He complained, "Honestly, for such an important mission, they should have said so earlier that they were sending two people so they could look out for each other. Instead, they're all doing their own thing. Who is the other person's partner? Isn't Xiao Tan going to give us an explanation?"
Listening to his seemingly genuine complaints, Xie Tan understood. Xi Rui had discovered another cult member in the town, who had apparently helped him open the mountain. He must have noticed the fragment of the mirror used by the cult leader... and Chang Mingai had the cult leader remind him of the town's fall.
Those four young men were definitely not among them; another believer was very likely in their group.
Clearly, as the culprit behind the blasting of the mountain, Xie Tan should know the most about everything that happened in Fushui Town.
Xie Tan sat back down, recalling the forum analysis he had stayed up all night reading, one of which was an analysis of the cult's recent actions.
The fact that Xi Rui and Chang Mingai sent these two people is too subtle.
As expected of a horror comic, the main characters are different from those in other genres; they not only have bonds, but also secrets.
Xi Rui was sent by the deputy leader to investigate the contents of the prophecy.
Chang Mingai joined the cult because she encountered the cult leader who was parasitizing the woman's mouth in a dream town while her main body was asleep. She planned to use this as a springboard to leave the dream world. Her request was probably that the cult leader wait for the opportunity to seize the fragments of the Observation Mirror II and make her obey his orders at that time.
But unexpectedly, Chang Mingai was awakened first. However, once on the pirate ship, it was not easy to get off, so she still came.
Given Chang Mingai's situation, she probably didn't formally join the cult; she was merely taken in by the cult leader and was essentially his private soldier.
But it's strange that a cult leader, whose entire order belongs to him, would have a private army.
Haven't you had time to enter the new employees into the Boss Zhipin system yet?
Or was the leader's infiltration of Fushui Town a private matter?
The strangest thing is that the cult leader is very familiar with Fushui Town, which may be information he obtained after living there for a long time.
But why did he initially infiltrate the town just to cause trouble for the Black Goat with the mirror shards? Did the cult leader really need to go to such lengths?
And then there's Xie Tan blowing up the mountain, and the cult leader's loud laughter... It always makes one feel that there's a deeper reason behind this, perhaps related to the long-standing entanglement between the two forces.
Xie Tan has a guess that aligns with a minority opinion on the forum: the leader knows about Observation Two and also about this part of the prophecy.
The cult leader knew, but didn't tell his own people; the vice-leader didn't know, and even sent followers to investigate...
To be honest, given the personality the cult leader has shown... he's too capricious and acts erratically. He flipped through the cult's intelligence posts and also checked the comics. The cult leader is often unreachable, running around everywhere and rarely seen. Most of the affairs within the cult are managed by the vice cult leader.
This combination is quite common in comics, isn't it?
A powerful and capricious boss who dumps all the work on his subordinates, and a capable, methodical, and rational adjutant who is constantly cleaning up messes and is also burdened with work.
The two leaders of the cult are quite interesting... Will the leader reveal his whereabouts to the deputy leader? Will the deputy leader realize that he has been to Floating Water Town?
Xie Tan snapped out of his thoughts. Although the mutual probing of the riddle-like figures helped him establish his image, he had no intention of letting Xi Rui cheat him and give away information for nothing.
Even if Xi Rui guessed the prophecy, the name "Observation" was still a new piece of intelligence. Even if Xi Rui knew that using it to confirm his own intelligence was also a piece of intelligence.
So he leaned back lazily: "New payment?"
"You're not so easy to fool. Are you still angry? Even though I ambushed you and kicked you out, in the end, didn't you outsmart me?" Xi Rui complained, but deftly pushed out a videotape.
“I’m being very sincere,” Xi Rui said, “but actually, I’m doing this on behalf of a lady who might need it.”
Does he need this? How come he doesn't know?
Xie Tan picked up the videotape. It was a recording of one of Pan Ling's solo concerts. The date... Xie Tan recalled the reports that Xue Hong had investigated. It was the one where she responded to the "crazy talk," and her outfit was the same white dress and veil that made headlines.
Hmm... it seems to be the source of that haunted camera video, from Pan Ling's most famous solo concert.
But similarly, it later became the biggest taboo, both of her singing and her personality.
Xie Tan searched online and found some old videos, but he couldn't find anything about this particular one online, and Xue Hong couldn't find it in the town either.
So Xi Rui went to find this? Judging from what he said... it's very likely that the woman herself gave him guidance when he was chasing her.
He recalled the scene in the comic where the girl thought he was her salvation... He lowered his eyes; he hadn't done anything for her, yet he had received her gratitude.
Hopefully, the fact that the hill was blown up and the town melted away in the fire will bring her some real solace.
Xi Rui said, "Although I have an overly capable colleague, I didn't slack off in my dreams. That's what I learned from enthusiastic residents and tourists in the past."
Xie Tan flipped through the videotape: "Don't you already have a guess about who it is?"
Xi Rui accused: "They confiscated all the videotapes!"
He naturally guessed that another colleague was among them.
That's terrifying... He wouldn't care if it were a stranger.
Xie Tan thought to himself, "That's true among us, but it's not just another colleague. Your boss is very down-to-earth; he gets involved himself and his words are always rife with criticism."
But he merely raised an eyebrow: "I thought this was a formal invitation?"
Xi Rui's exaggerated expression subsided slightly.
Xie Tan's words clearly conveyed the message that this mountain blasting was merely a result of a series of unfortunate coincidences and mutual exploitation between him and the religious group.
However, Xie Tan and the religious group did indeed share common interests regarding the Black Goat.
So whether he or the cult will accept this videotape as an "olive branch" from the cult depends on whether he, or the cult behind him, accepts it.
As a high-ranking member of the religious order, Xi Rui should naturally prioritize the interests of the order. He had no choice but to give up his "personal affairs" and facilitate a cooperative opportunity that would benefit the order.
He actually sighed out loud: "You're the one who's cheating, aren't you? You don't understand me at all..."
Xie Tan ignored all of that, picked up the videotape and left: "I look forward to your reply, President."
This was Xie Tan's result after careful consideration. After observing the second point, he had to admit that the comics and forums were right. Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. If he wanted to contend with the entire family, he couldn't rely on himself alone. It would be better to cooperate with the Black Goat's mortal enemy and have two storylines running at the same time.
Of course, the risks are also considerable; it's like asking a tiger for its skin.
But he didn't care. The result of following his heart was that, starting with the new series of stories, he never took the "safe" path.
Paranoiacs or madmen who blast mountains are both quite adaptable, aren't they?
The television was playing the contents of a videotape. The picture quality was outdated, and the woman's white dress and jeweled white veil made it even harder to see her face. All that could be seen was a flash of light, which connected with the theater's dazzling lights, like a starry sky.
Halfway through the show, Xie Tan was already drowsy. He propped his head up with one hand and closed his eyes. Her singing was soothing, and he was indeed sleepy.
In the pitch-black living room, the television light shone on him.
After finishing her song "Searching for the Soul," Pan Ling stood on the stage and chatted with her fans.
Dressed in a white dress, she smiled and lifted a corner of her shimmering veil, recounting an amusing anecdote: "...At first, there were no rhinestones, just a white veil. As soon as the look came out, my agent said it was too much. He wasn't commenting on fashion, but rather on me as a person, or rather, on how others viewed me. He was right. The day after returning from the art exchange event at Art Harbor, he started saying nasty things like I was dressed like a dead person, covered in a white sheet, ready for burial! I was really quite hurt."
"I told an old friend of mine, who is also a fan of mine, about this, hoping to hear some comforting words, but he just laughed and said you're going to wear it a second time! And preferably at your solo concert!"
"I didn't understand and was a little unhappy, so I asked what it meant. Guess what the other person said?"
“That guy said, ‘According to those people, wearing this to a solo concert is like having a grand funeral. Only legends can have a grand funeral. If it were me, I would have diamonds on the veil.’... So here I am.”
Xie Tan opened his eyes slightly at some point, without anyone noticing.
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