Before falling asleep, Jing Minghe was still thinking about Chi Hao. He felt he must have misunderstood. It wasn't that Jing Minghe had become sentimental; rather, Chi Hao had been exuding a strange gentleness since entering this instance. And this gentleness seemed to be exclusively for him. When facing others, Chi Hao remained as indifferent and arrogant as ever.
"That guy Chi Hao," Jing Minghe fumbled for the sachet Chi Hao had given him, "What's going on?"
Staring at the sachet for a while, Jing Minghe had a guess. "Could it be related to my hallucinations?"
On the way back, Jing Minghe had asked Yue Yang and Guo Wei, and confirmed that neither of them had experienced any hallucinations.
Chi Hao hadn't either.
If You Mi and Shen Yue had also never experienced such things, then it was only happening to him. But he couldn't figure out the reason, nor could he be sure if Chi Hao's attitude towards him was related to his hallucinations.
But he was certain of one thing.
His hallucinations seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally revealing clues to the instance, and Chi Hao's different attitude towards him was precisely protecting him from danger when he experienced these hallucinations.
"Strange, very strange."
Putting away the sachet, Jing Minghe rolled over and closed his eyes. After not overthinking, he soon fell asleep.
Just as Jing Minghe fell into a deep sleep, the door was gently pushed open, and someone slowly entered the room. It was none other than Chi Hao, who had just parted ways with Jing Minghe.
Chi Hao walked to Jing Minghe's bed, lowered his gaze slightly to stare at Jing Minghe's face, a complex light appearing in his eyes: a mixture of doubt, inquiry, and a faint hint of hope.
After an unknown amount of time, upon hearing the footsteps of everyone returning, Chi Hao turned and left Jing Minghe's room. His gaze swept over the opera costume he had asked Jing Minghe to bring back, and his steps paused slightly.
You Mi said goodbye to everyone and was about to enter her room. She saw Chi Hao coming out of Jing Minghe's room. Recalling what Yue Yang had told her earlier, she stepped forward and asked, "Mr. Chi, how is Minghe?"
"He's sleeping. Don't worry."
"Oh," You Mi nodded. "Then I'll go rest. I'm a bit tired."
"You have clues."
Chi Hao stated this as a fact, not a question.
You Mi had already intended to tell everyone upon her return. She had told Yue Yang and the others on the way back, and had planned to tell both of them after Jing Minghe woke up. But since Chi Hao mentioned it, she felt it wouldn't hurt to tell him first.
"Let's talk about it after he wakes up."
You Mi's mouth was halfway open when she heard Chi Hao say this and then directly return to his room.
You Mi stood there, stunned for a moment, then muttered with a wry smile, "Minghe was right. He is indeed a strange person."
·
Jing Minghe wasn't woken by Chi Hao but by a nightmare. He dreamed of the woman who had begged him for help and of himself being chopped into pieces.
He wanted to see the faces of the executioners clearly, but no matter how hard he tried to open his eyes, he couldn't see anything. In the end, he only saw a bloody figure suddenly appear before him, questioning why he hadn't saved her.
Startled awake, Jing Minghe stared at the dark ceiling for a while before slowly sitting up and rubbing his face to clear his head.
"Awake?"
Jing Minghe, jolted awake by the nightmare, suddenly heard a voice. He nearly fell off the bed in fright. Seeing Chi Hao sitting by the table, he said speechlessly, "Big brother, big shot, you're my dad. Are you trying to scare me to death? When did you get in?"
"I don't take sons," Chi Hao stood up and walked over. "Is that all the vigilance you have?"
Jing Minghe touched his nose. "Didn't you tell me to rest assured?"
Chi Hao's steps paused at this. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "You trust me that much?"
"..." Jing Minghe got out of bed and moved closer to Chi Hao. "So, should I trust you or not?"
Chi Hao, too lazy to answer Jing Minghe's trivial question, turned and walked towards the door.
Jing Minghe followed closely. "Where are we going?"
"To consolidate the clues."
"Consolidate the clues? Where?"
"Mo Yun Tang."
Jing Minghe's expression immediately turned serious. "Is it time?"
"Still early."
"Have Sister You Mi and Shen Yue returned?"
"Yes."
The two arrived at Mo Yun Tang. Of the initial eleven people, only seven remained. Jing Minghe couldn't help but frown. The number of people was decreasing rather quickly.
As Jing Minghe and Chi Hao entered, everyone turned to look at them, except for Chen Yi, who was sitting in the corner.
He Duo hadn't returned since being taken away. There was no need for explicit explanation; everyone understood. Chen Yi was grieving and blaming himself, but he was powerless.
Seeing You Mi and the others sitting on the right side of the round table, Jing Minghe and Chi Hao walked over.
When You Mi saw them approach, she stood up and took two flatbreads from her cloth bag, handing them to them. "Shen Yue and I got these from the townspeople. You must be hungry."
Jing Minghe didn't stand on ceremony. He took them and casually handed one to Chi Hao. "Thanks."
The two pulled up chairs and sat down. Jing Minghe ate as he spoke, "So, let's summarize the existing clues."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Jing Minghe glanced at Chen Yi sitting on the other side of the round table, deciding to ignore him for the moment. "I'll go first then. Yesterday, or rather, yesterday, Chi Hao and I sneaked into the mayor's house. Although we didn't find the mayor's son, we learned from the mayor and his brother that they had once killed a woman, and her ashes were still in their possession. As for the exact location, it's unknown."
He paused and continued, "Besides that, I've had two hallucinations, which I believe are related to the clues for passing the instance. The first time, when Chi Hao and I were being chased by those two brutes, I fell into a hallucination and heard a woman asking for my help, saying a sentence to me."
"What sentence?" You Mi couldn't help but ask.
"Seven emotions tie the lamp, true heart is utterly betrayed."
Yue Yang's head shot up. "Isn't that the eight characters on those seven lanterns?" He then realized, "No wonder you said 'So it's these eight characters' when you saw the words on the lanterns. So, could those lanterns be related to the woman who asked for your help? Could this woman who asked for your help be the one killed by the mayor and his men?"
Before Jing Minghe could answer Yue Yang's question, Guo Wei spoke up next. He looked at Jing Minghe, his tone a mix of speculation and certainty. "The second hallucination was under those lanterns. You said you saw yourself being chopped into seven pieces."
Jing Minghe nodded. "Yes."
Guo Wei suddenly stood up and looked at Yue Yang. "We should have brought that thing back."
Yue Yang nodded. "Yes, it seems we have to go again."
"What thing?" Jing Minghe asked, swallowing the last bite of the flatbread.