Chapter Twenty-One: Scissors
d*mn! Isn’t that Miss Zhu already dead? Why is she still in the scene?
Even if she was killed by someone, victims have their grievances and killers need to be found—why are you coming after me? If you have the guts, go find Mr. Rabbit!
Luxianbei’s expression was calm, but deep down he was in despair, his mind racing with thoughts of grabbing the Ming King statue and unleashing a chaotic whirlwind attack, but in his panic, he reached out and grasped nothing.
Right! The guitar case had been left on the single bed in An Qing’s office!
d*mn! I was so careless! Even though I’m at the Siye Association Headquarters, I shouldn’t have let the Ming King statue stray from my side!
I unilaterally declare that from now on, I will be like a sworn brother to it, as long as I’m alive, as long as I’m not dead!
Luxianbei thought, half-heartedly, as if this would alleviate the immense psychological pressure brought by the surrounding upheaval, and then closed his eyes expressionlessly.
These are all illusions, they are fake, they do not exist; as long as I don’t look at them, they will disappear! In the pitch-black environment, Luxianbei continuously comforted himself.
Time flowed slowly, and Luxianbei stood there rigidly.
One minute… two minutes… three minutes…
Amid the irritating creaking of the crystal chandelier and the uncomfortable musty smell, Luxianbei peacefully endured ten minutes, just as he felt the scene before his eyes might have vanished and was about to open his eyes, a strange sound entered his ears.
“Creak—!” The wardrobe door seemed to be pushed open by someone from inside, making a soft noise.
Hearing the sound of the wardrobe door opening, Luxianbei’s muscles suddenly tensed up.
Absolute darkness, as if the world consisted only of himself, sinking constantly, absolute silence, he could only hear the sounds from his own body, his heart beating.
Though he couldn’t see it, Luxianbei felt that something was coming out of the wardrobe, bringing with it a suffocating chill, and in an instant, the temperature of the entire room dropped to freezing.
The uncomfortable feeling gradually intensified, as if a pair of hands reached from behind, slowly pressing on his neck, tightening bit by bit.
Soon, in the darkness, it seemed as though some eerie creature had become active; he could hear sounds of crawling, howling, jumping around, and knocking over furniture from every corner of the room.
“Rustle—!”
“Bang—bang bang—!”
Hearing those sounds, Luxianbei immediately began to regret closing his eyes and putting himself in this “Schrödinger’s urban legend” predicament.
Opening his eyes meant confronting his fears, witnessing those twisted, grotesque, or bloody images firsthand.
Not opening his eyes meant enduring the torment of the unknown; he felt its existence but had no idea what it looked like or where it was. It could be quietly watching him from the corner, or it could suddenly pounce on him the next second.
“Slap—!”
A light sound suddenly came from the direction of the wardrobe, something fell to the ground, and Luxianbei felt that whatever it was was right at his feet.
In the darkness, a strange and cold aura stretched out like a hand reaching towards him, penetrating the fabric of his pants and gripping his ankle tightly, an oppressive chill creeping up from his ankle to engulf his entire body.
The sudden turn of events made Luxianbei’s heart race, his body trembling slightly as a fine sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Urban legends don’t disappear just because you don’t look at them—they still exist; I can’t go on like this; it’s too passive!
Running away must have some basic rules; running around like a headless fly and crashing into the lair of the urban legend is just asking for trouble!
Thinking this, Luxianbei finally mustered a bit of courage, cracked his eyes open a slit, and carefully surveyed his surroundings.
There were no sudden terrifying figures, no visible bl**d, but after opening his eyes, his inner turmoil only intensified.
The wardrobe door was open, revealing an empty space inside; furniture had been knocked about, scattered all over the floor.
Luxianbei was convinced that something had indeed been in the room, but at the moment he opened his eyes, it had left, or perhaps it had never left but was hiding, concealed within his blind spots.
Maybe it was lurking in some inconspicuous corner, or maybe it was right behind him!
Though he subconsciously knew that what he saw was merely a dream-like illusion, he couldn’t suppress his fear.
Luxianbei felt his legs trembling a bit and inadvertently kicked something with the tip of his foot, producing a light “click” sound. After hesitating for a few seconds, he stiffly bent his neck down, and there he saw the scissors.
They were a very ordinary-looking pair of scissors, something nearly any stationery store could have, but what was unusual was that they were covered in dried bl**d and bits of flesh.
“Zzzz—zzzz—!”
A static-like noise, akin to that from an old tape recorder, echoed in Luxianbei’s ears, and quickly afterwards, he heard Zhu Linglong’s father’s voice from an interview, suddenly replaying in his mind.
“She had a large cut on her belly, and no surgical tools were found at the scene…”
“No surgical tools were found at the scene…”
The voice became sharper, morphing from the deep, rich voice of a middle-aged man into more and more like a girl’s wail, ultimately transforming into a series of chilling, high-pitched screams, and all that could be made out was—
—“Surgical tools! Surgical tools! Surgical tools!”
The maddening and chaotic shrieks seemed to transmit the pain she must have felt at the moment of her d*ath, making Luxianbei anxious to the point that he could scarcely bear it.
He covered his ears and suddenly turned around, wanting to escape. A fleeting glimpse across the room caught the reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror; in the mirror, a pair of pale, slender arms was draped over his shoulders.
“d*mn!”
Luxianbei couldn’t help but curse as he ran faster. On the carpet, something viscous and slippery oozed out beneath his feet; running on it felt like he was trudging through a swamp, his steps heavy and slow.
It’s all fake, all fake! Luxianbei continuously reminded himself, and finally, he simply closed his eyes. Just then, he collided with something.
The soft body brought a delicate and smooth touch but was ice-cold, chilling as if…
A corpse!
……
In a clean, refreshing room decorated much like a school infirmary.
An Qing glanced at the Luxianbei who was pressed up against her, her red lips curling slightly, showing a tender yet helpless smile.
“Giggle! Dear Agent Luxianbei, your way of welcoming me back is a bit too enthusiastic, don’t you think? But I must say, this method isn’t all that unpleasant.”
Hearing An Qing’s voice, Luxianbei froze for a moment, hesitating before finally opening his eyes.
In an instant, the abandoned room seemed to crumple like a ball of paper in front of him, twisting and deforming, quickly shrinking.
As the room was about to disappear from his sight, he caught a glimpse of a figure in a red dress.
The swaying hem of the dress, that unsettling red, grew darker as it approached the abdomen, the deepest part revealing a narrow dark red seam, like a belly that had been split open.
“Why are you all sweaty? You didn’t do anything weird in my office while I was gone, did you? Oh, by the way, I think I remember seeing a few spare pieces of underwear and stockings in my room! You didn’t… do something like that, did you? Be careful or I might turn you into a specimen!”
An Qing quirked her eyebrows, teasingly saying, her words carrying real provocative intent, and the idea of turning Luxianbei into a specimen was genuine!
Hearing An Qing’s voice again, Luxianbei finally saw her delicate features with clarity.
Everything that had just happened dissipated like a nightmare at midnight, fading into silence with the arrival of sunlight.
But that coldness akin to a corpse still lingered, emanating from An Qing.
Luxianbei took a few steps back in a panic, expressionless as he sized An Qing up, weakly saying, “Wh-why are you here? You came back so quickly?” His tone held a hint of suspicion.
Why is she so cold? It feels like… no, colder than a corpse, like ice! Luxianbei wondered in confusion.
An Qing raised her eyebrows, puzzled, “So quick? I’ve been gone for more than two hours.” As she spoke, she glanced out the window.
Following An Qing’s gaze, Luxianbei looked outside and couldn’t help but be taken aback.
He clearly remembered that when he took the file, the sunlight outside was still bright, but at this moment, it was already casting the glow of a sunset.
Did I really stay in that strange illusion for over two hours!? Luxianbei thought.
An Qing observed the dazed Luxianbei, gently shaking her head as she asked, “I went to that frozen food shop you mentioned, and there was no one inside, nor any signs of spirit energy, let alone any human flesh frozen in the fridge.”
“I visited a few nearby stores, and they all said in unison that that shop hadn’t been open for over half a year. Are you sure you really saw something strange there?”
“How is that possible?” Luxianbei exclaimed in disbelief, “I clearly saw…”
“Maybe you misidentified it?” An Qing shrugged.
It’s not possible that his sense of spirit energy is higher than mine, seeing things I can’t see, right? If someone without any spirit ability has a sense of energy higher than mine, they’d probably be driven insane! An Qing thought.
“But what if…”
“You mean, what if there really is an urban legend?” An Qing interrupted.
Luxianbei nodded.
“It’s good to think that way since urban legends are hard to explain, right?” She twirled a finger around a strand of hair hanging by her ear, conceding, “So, I’ve already assigned someone to keep an eye on that shop, and I’ll take time to check it out while I’m on break.”
Hearing An Qing say this, Luxianbei relaxed slightly, but then he remembered the anomalies in his old house.
“Did you… go check on my house?” Luxianbei inquired.
“You’re asking about your house, right? I’ve already been there; nothing unusual there either. That little chubby embroiderer might have been fooling you.”
“However, even if there were something, you don’t need to worry. I’ve been here all day, so if you feel lonely tonight and can’t sleep, feel free to come find me!” An Qing said, winking playfully at Luxianbei.
“I don’t need anyone to keep an eye on my house?”
“Of course there is!” An Qing smiled brightly.
“Who? Uh, I was thinking, could I get to know in advance? In case something happens, it wouldn’t be good to accidentally harm allies.”
“You silly boy, that person is you! You’re also one of our agents, aren’t you?”
“Huh? Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Of course it is!” An Qing said, smiling sweetly.
“What if I d*e?”
“Then I…” An Qing hesitated, her smile deepening.
Help me take revenge? Luxianbei thought expressionlessly.
“I’ll make you into the prettiest specimen!”
Luxianbei, “…”
Σ(￣Д￣；)！！！
This is not what we agreed on! Aren’t I just supposed to wander around and see if anything strange is happening?
You all… you all…
This is going to cost extra!
