Chapter 161 The Ouija Board (38) [You male ghost, you...]
Xie Tan heard a deafening vibration.
The sounds are rhythmic, with consistent intervals, resembling the clicking of a machine.
It's the sound of clock hands ticking.
He felt as if he were trapped inside a heavy clock, and with each swing of the clock, he was forced to shake and rattle along with it.
He opened his eyes again and sat in the cool stone pavilion. A winter wind blew, and snow fell softly from the eaves.
Xie Tan was bewildered. How did he end up in Four Seasons Mountain?
And when did it snow so heavily? The fields are blindingly white, almost like the reflection of a mirror.
He remembered this stone pavilion; it was located in the Summer Garden, at the foot of the mountain peak.
Which way to go?
The mountain was completely silent, as if no birds or beasts had been seen. The crunching sound of footsteps in the snow seemed to echo, as if he were the only living being on the mountain.
As soon as cat number 7 appeared, it jumped into his arms out of nowhere, curled up to warm him up, and meowed.
Xie Tan hugged it, nuzzled against it, and suddenly realized that he was only wearing winter clothes, yet he didn't feel cold in the snowy weather.
Indeed, the view in front of him did not match the perceived temperature; it was as if someone had turned on the air conditioner on a mountainside.
He calmed down. The ceremony was ignited and sustained by the sun's fire. The ceremony 19 years ago was held when wildfires, which did not exist in the eyes of outsiders, covered the hillside.
This is the effect of solar fire on the weather.
He looked up and saw that the sky was indeed covered with dark clouds, just like the campus of Didi University yesterday, as if it were about to snow.
That's no problem. Xie Tan guessed that it wouldn't be snowing, but raining.
To be precise, it's fire.
Since the goal is to kill black goats, it would be more reasonable to do so in Four Seasons Mountain.
Xie Tan decided not to leave. He swept the snow off his hands, sat back down in the pavilion, and turned on his phone to check the latest comic update.
As for why he's here, perhaps comics and forums can provide him with answers or clues.
In the latest chapter, the ghosts are restless, and those shadows that he couldn't see clearly before are now clearly visible through the manga's detailed depiction.
Even he belatedly realized that he was somewhat intimidated.
He didn't really want to describe it that way, but it really looked like opening a fruit box or dessert box that had been left out for a long time and seeing swarms of fruit flies buzzing around the rotting food.
And he is the source of that sweetest feeling.
I feel a bit nauseous.
Xie Tan quickly slid backwards to his and Xue Hong's Ouija board.
The comic depicts the ghosts and monsters clearly, and it also depicts him clearly.
He remained aloof, startling Xue Hong at the dormitory entrance. His subsequent invitation to Xue Hong to consult the spirit of the Ouija board seemed more like a ghost trapping a living person, setting an inescapable snare.
Even so, it was clear that something was wrong with him; his eyes, expression, complexion, reactions, and the rhythm of his speech all seemed to be wandering off.
[Refund, refund, refund, refund]
[Goblins Take Over the Flute - Group Photo]
[It gave me goosebumps]
[I have gained a more intuitive understanding of the mysterious allure of the Pool God.]
[It's human nature to be supernatural. I don't care that this rabbit with the gaping maw is me, Ah Tan, let me kiss you!]
[Is Ah-Tan alright? He looks like he might faint at any moment.]
There's no way around it, the ceremony is almost over, and Atan's burden is getting heavier and heavier.
[Even this scared Uncle Hong!]
But Uncle Hong didn't fall for it; he even asked the Ouija board if everyone would be safe, sob sob sob.
[Uncle Hong only wanted to ask Ah Tan; as for the others, his trust in Ah Tan was written all over his face.]
[This veteran detective has seen it all, he sees it all too clearly [crying emoji]]
[Who knows? Wolf Dad asked the same question, but this cat stopped him.]
[I want to ask this question too! Since they used the old ritual to trick the family head, it means Atan didn't intend to follow in his mother's footsteps, right?]
In the comic, the boy seemed somewhat helpless, and finally, in the most ordinary tone, he said, "It'll be alright."
Just like in every story before, he is sure to be right when he speaks.
[Pinky promise, for a hundred years, never to change!!]
[Ah Tan, I took a photo with you. If you break your promise, I'll print out a hundred copies and burn them for you every day.]
[If Ah Tan smiled gently, I wouldn't believe it; such a pretty face is the easiest to deceive. But I believe Ah Tan's cold tone. I'll lie down peacefully.jpg]
Next, Xie Tan saw the situation clearly through the comics.
The first one to appear was, as expected, the IF line Su Shao, which had not yet been observed.
Then the mirror flashed, and just as he had sensed, it was Xiao Liu.
Xie Tan in the comic couldn't see anything clearly, but Xie Tan reading the comic now sees everything clearly.
This is yet another collision of distant times.
At this time, Xiao Liu was a young man, probably of college age. The time was the same as the story Xue Hong told her: she escaped into an abandoned shopping mall, but the mall was set on fire by the black goat that was chasing her.
"You dare to run away from observing a disused project? You and that woman from the One-Eye Five Project are both ungrateful! Get back here right now. Letting a piece of trash like you join Project Bi is giving you a chance to be reborn!"
The fleeing youth retorted, "When your head was growing back, did you bump into a telephone pole? It's bulging on the left and dented on the right. If you keep hitting it, it could be used as a helmet. No wonder you can say things like that. Did your brain get squeezed out? You're more suited to being a second-stage remodeler!"
The team leader who was chasing her was almost furious, but he held back and waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Stop her!"
Xiao Liu spoke arrogantly, but as the team leader said, his strength was nothing to fear, and he was quickly surrounded.
Her talent was too poor; even as an observer, she was only stronger than other ordinary people of her clan. She could hardly handle those of medium to high strength.
Each observation has a specific plan name, just like each month in the solar calendar has a specific name. This is the patriarch's different attempts to refine the Eye of Observation.
Her luck wasn't great either. She happened to be part of the Double Pupil Project, the only combined observation project that required two observers. But since the Seven Observers couldn't be caught, she was just a defective observation, meaningless.
They surrounded her and set a huge, pure-colored shard of mirror on fire.
The team leader shook his head: "We don't need this level of solar energy to capture you. It's enough for observation training. The patriarch thinks highly of you... Heh, it's a pity you've always disappointed him."
The fire roared up and spread towards her, climbing up her sleeves.
Her bad luck was that, due to deficiencies in her talent and plan, she lacked the necessary observational skills, yet, like other observers, she was freed from the Black Goat's immortality curse.
She's going to die here.
The fire engulfed her, and snaked its way into her eyes.
Surprisingly, the burning sensation was much milder than she had imagined. Her eyes were not burned or she lost her sight; instead, she saw a person.
An excessively handsome young man.
She had never met him, but for some reason, she felt an unusual closeness to him the moment she saw him, and a name she herself did not recognize occupied her mind.
Xiao Qi!
She was so shocked that she forgot to speak, staring blankly at him, while the boy remained calm with empty eyes, making her unsure whether he was actually looking at her.
The next second, her eyes seemed to have X-ray vision, and she could see things that ordinary people couldn't see.
The fire became transparent in her eyes, with distinct layers, its chaotic course resembling swirling mist.
She saw some eerie, hazy visions, which could be described as a collection of multiple possibilities for how the herd of black goats killed her here.
One of them has a flaw.
Not only that, there was also the abandoned world line where she met her own guardian spirit when she was a sacrifice...
Ah, I see. She remembered.
The overwhelming amount of information overwhelmed her senses, but she ignored it and immediately looked at the boy's figure.
Unfortunately, it has disappeared.
She said with annoyance, "That's right, the reason I read so many books, including those I didn't like, was for this. I collected so many beautiful, pleasant-sounding, and meaningful words. It wasn't a hobby; it was my subconscious mind that remembered them for me. I had a promise to myself."
I already chose a name for him!
She lunged forward, grabbing at the shard of mirror with her palm. But the flames were no longer enough to stop her; instead, they were absorbed by her, and more flames ignited, as if she were undergoing a refining process.
She broke through easily, like a nimble cat.
Next time we meet, I must call him by name.
She outmaneuvered the black goats, then used a spell to capture them all before leaving gracefully.
As she ran freely through the night, she suddenly stopped. The neon lights and crowds created more double images in her eyes, as if there was a fog behind them, telling another possibility, another story.
She could see some things clearly, but not others.
She suddenly realized that Xiao Qi had long since disappeared, but she could still "see" her.
This is……
Her eyes widened, and she understood.
She transformed an abandoned observation point into an eye of observation!
Returning to Xie Tan's timeline, after the younger version of Xiao Liu disappeared, Xie Tan's breathing instantly became heavy.
The facade of calm shattered. His face turned ashen, devoid of any human color, and he suddenly collapsed to the ground, as if he had used up his last bit of strength and could no longer hold on.
The world spun around.
【Mommy——】
So, Ah-Tan initially went to the office to retrieve the peach wood sword for this reason!
[She looks younger than Mommy did last time!]
[Like college students, and this place hasn't yet become an eye of observation.]
[So that was the third time we met at Four Seasons Mountain, and he immediately started talking about Tan Tan! This is the second time.]
Ah-Tan was surprisingly calm when he saw his mom this time.
There was no reaction at all. That's strange; this isn't like Ah Tan at all.
[It's probably because she was afraid of scaring her mother, since that timeline is gone and Mommy has never met Ah-Tan.]
[Holy crap! So Mommy developed an eye for observation because of Ah-Tan's reappearance?]
[The patriarch's high hopes were ultimately a result of his actions; using so much solar energy was an attempt to kill Sixth Sister, only to have it used by Ah Tan to benefit his mother. How satisfying!]
[The mirror fragments used for refining and observation are the purest, being the broken smoke mirror itself. So, is this yet another instance of Mommy's "unpredictability" before the mirror?]
Ah-Tan is always there.
[Mommy's really lucky!]
[It seems like good luck, but it was actually Ah Tan's carefully planned scheme, sob sob sob]
【!! Ah Tan is really putting on a brave face! Someone save him! Someone save him!】
So Ah-Tan is keeping quiet because he doesn't want Mommy to worry, waaaaah.
【Oh, baby!】
【Aaaaaah, these monsters! Back off! Back off! Don't come near my cat!】
[Calling the dog! Calling the dog! Besides the creepy old man, it must be Lu Lu here!]
[No, no, it's a demon dog now! Where is the angel dog?!]
[Don't think about it anymore. A-Tan is avoiding him because she definitely knows that it's not Lu Lu.]
【？？？】
【？？？】
【Ah Tan, what are you doing?!】
Wake up! I know you miss your boyfriend, but please don't call!
But the devilish dog is also handsome, doesn't it?
Everyone knows he's objectively too handsome.
[A completely different flavor [delicious]]
Holy crap!
Holy crap!
[You damn ghost, you've been here the whole time???]
Xie Tan was taken aback and flipped the page backward.
In the comic, he made that phone call in a daze, driven by both instinctive longing and yearning, yet he was also aware of what he was doing.
The camera slowly zooms out until it stops when the neighboring dormitory is visible.
Lu Jinzhao leaned against the wall, holding the phone, listening to the conversation with his eyes down.
Beep—beep beep—
Beep—beep beep—
He didn't listen carefully to the phone call.
He was listening to Xie Tan's disordered breathing.
He didn't know how long he had been standing there, listening to the sounds from next door. It was quiet, silent, and motionless, like a silently decaying statue in a corner.
They are separated by only one wall.
Until Xie Tan called out his name.
Lu Jinzhao, who had been staying next door, stood up straight. He was finally certain that A-Tan wanted to see him at this moment.
"I am here."
And then he appeared.
As soon as he pushed open the door, the corridor, crawling with monsters, fell silent. All the monsters retreated, their souls trembling, and dared not raise their eyes.
When the sun is far away, we can feel its warmth and draw energy from it; when it's too close, it's the end of the world, an instantaneous annihilation.
The sun itself has no shadow.
Like a ghost.
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