Soul's expression didn't soften at all. He moved his fingers to the other edge of the photo, rubbing the faces of the man and the child. "Who should I start with?"
The woman ignored the burning pain in her arm and said resentfully, "You're threatening your relatives. Are you still human?"
Soul stated the facts: "In any case, you are not."
Unsure if anger would unleash the ghost's potential, he decided not to resort to excessive rhetoric and began a new round of questions: "What happened here?" He paused and shook his head: "Forget it, asking one question at a time is too much trouble."
Crash!
The sound of the flushing toilet rang out again, and Sur pressed it several times. The photo was hung by the string taken from the broom and was almost wet several times.
The culprit muttered to himself without mercy: "Water conservation is not a rule here. Also, you just asked me if I was human... I've always suspected that I have a tragic but amazing background."
"I know," the woman said, tears welling up in her eyes. "You crawled out of hell."
If he wasn't an evil ghost from the eighteen levels of hell, how could he do such a terrible thing!
Su Er looked down at the hanging photo from a high position, and with a melancholy and deep feeling of a young literary man, he said: "I have a flush toilet. Do you have a story?"
"...have."
Like most people's lives, the woman's name is Lin Juan. She once had a good job and successfully married her boyfriend of many years. However, her peaceful life began to change with the arrival of her child.
"He was very cute," the woman said, the resentment in her eyes fading a little as she lost herself in memories. "Unfortunately, he was born with severe asthma. I went to several hospitals, but they couldn't completely cure it."
Whenever we see our children struggling to breathe with their mouths wide open like goldfish when they are sick, our hearts as parents feel like they are in a knot.
"Until one day, I ran into an old classmate I hadn't seen in years when I was coming home from get off work. She enthusiastically pulled me aside to chat," the woman sighed. "Then I gradually realized something was wrong. She was intentionally or unintentionally promoting a sect called Nirvana."
As a highly educated person, my first reaction is naturally absurd.
"I was in a hurry to leave, saying I had to cook, but she insisted on adding me on WeChat," the woman said. "That very night, my child had an asthma attack and a high fever later in the night. No car on the road was willing to stop. Desperate, I was about to call an ambulance, but for some reason, I almost drove the file a classmate sent me that afternoon. Inside was a picture of the god Nirvana... I made a sincere wish that if a car would stop at that moment, I would worship it for the rest of my life..."
Soul raised an eyebrow: "Coincidentally, a car really did stop."
"It's not a coincidence!" the woman said excitedly. "It's the Nirvana God blessing me! Ever since we've been worshipping it, my husband and I have not only been promoted at work, but our child is also gradually getting better... Also, a relative passed away. He had no children, but he actually left his villa to us!"
Suer analyzed rationally: "You have found spiritual sustenance, so you have regained confidence in life and redoubled your efforts to gain recognition from your superiors. This makes sense."
As for relatives, if the two families had a good relationship during their lifetime, it is normal to leave an inheritance.
"If you slander the gods, God Nie Yan will punish you!"
"Chemistry teachers love doing experiments. Practice makes perfect." Su Er's arms drooped a little. "Why don't we try throwing you into the toilet and see if the Nirvana God will come to save you?"
"…"
Su Er didn't just talk about it, he actually immersed half of the photo in water, up and down in an endless loop.
"Are you there? Nie Yan Shen?"
"Are you there?"
"Are you there?"
He looked up at the ceiling and kept asking questions, like an emotionless voice machine.
A full quarter of an hour had passed before Su Er finally took the photo out and threw it into the sink. He turned on the tap and continued to rinse it with the string hanging from it. "It seems that the Nirvana God is not with you."
"…" There's a saying that goes, ghosts know how vicious people are, and she has seen it.
After being tortured for a long time, the photo has become somewhat distorted. The faces in it are like covered with a layer of mosaic, and the woman's face, distorted by resentment and hatred, is no longer clear.
Almost there.
Sur stared at the photo silently. The deceased's emotions fluctuated greatly, and he couldn't be very rational at the moment, so the answer he got would be more real.
"How did you die?"
"Mass suicide," the woman confided with hatred, "Someone reported us to the local government. In order to serve the Nirvana God forever, we chose to prove our loyalty with death!"
Su Er's eyes turned cold, and he listened to her patiently.
"It's a pity I'm still not pious enough," the woman said with regret. "I wasn't chosen as an apostle of the gods. Resentment and jealousy have trapped me here."
"What's going on with the kid downstairs?"
The woman said coldly, "That's not my child, it's just a demon that's taken over the baby's body!" Then, with a look of happiness, she said, "My child and husband have been taken away by the Nirvana God."
Su Er turned off the tap. "So you took your child with you when you committed suicide?"
The woman was silent for a few seconds, then insisted, "God Nie Yan will bless him."
This soul was obviously beyond redemption. Sur did not argue and asked, "What stories did he like to hear most when he was alive?"
"Stories?" The woman said, puzzled. "I don't particularly like them."
Suer wrapped the photo in a thick layer of paper, put it in his pocket, and asked where the storybook was stored.
A large box of books was found in the attic, bedroom, and basement, proving that the couple truly loved their child. Zhang He, who also had a few children's books in his hand, was shocked when he saw the box behind Su Er.
"There are a lot of them in the attic," Soul explained.
Zhang He: "Li Li found a statue of a deity in the study. I went to see it too. It's a bit weird."
"Worshipping evil heretics in the ocean of knowledge?" Soul mused. "Adults really do seek excitement."
Zhang He hesitated for a second before finally saying, "I see you're still in school."
The words are very sharp!
Soul nodded: "But I am an adult."
If he hadn't taken a leave of absence, he would be about to enter his sophomore year now.
The two walked towards the study, and Su Er suddenly asked, "Where is Xuanyuan Ao Yu?"
"He's a little nervous," Zhang He sighed. "If he fails again, he'll be in danger tonight."
This is a gamble with your life.
Li Li was staring at the statue, its eyes seemingly glued to her. She wanted to look away, but couldn't help but continue staring. The sudden sound of footsteps gave Li Li a shudder. She turned around and saw Su'er push the door open and enter.
Li Li came back to his senses and warned: "Don't look into its eyes."
Soul still looked up, but his hand in his pocket never left the stun gun. Fortunately, the statue's impact was far less pronounced than the photo. After a moment, he said, "I also found some leaflets proving this family believes in a cult."
"Fuck!" Zhang He cursed. "Someone actually believes this!"
He really hurts people when he is alive and when he is dead.
Su Er looked at Li Li: "Are there any other findings?"
The latter shook his head: "Are these fairy tales... going to be read to the kids downstairs?"
Soul said 'hmm'.
When I went downstairs, I happened to run into Xuanyuan Ao Yu walking out of his room. He looked a little anxious and also mentioned the cult: "They often gather here to pray."
The drawer is full of pamphlets promoting cult ideas, which are frightening to read.
The child lay motionless in the crib. Xuanyuan Ao Yu hesitated and asked, "Will it wake him up?"
Soul: "Maybe not very."
According to the pattern obtained over the past two days, the child only cries three times a day: morning, noon and evening.
Xuanyuan Ao Yu didn't delay any longer and casually pulled out a storybook, not daring to speak too loudly the entire time. It was fine at first, but as time went by, his throat gradually became hoarse and his tone became fierce.
Li Li brought him a glass of water, but Xuanyuan Ao Yu didn't drink it. He murmured, "Does it hurt when a wolf eats a person?"
Li Li didn't know how to comfort her and kept emphasizing that there must be a way.
Xuanyuan Ao Yu picked up the storybook again and read on almost numbly. The fairy tale that should have been heartwarming now brought people only despair.
Soul stood against the wall, flipping through the brochure. It mentioned that the beginner's field wasn't difficult. Throughout their journey, the pattern of death was easy to discern. And during their search, the only thing that had posed a threat was the photo he had come into contact with. There must have been something they'd overlooked...
His gaze fell on the child with his eyes closed, trying to see something.
The sun's orbit gradually shifted, and at noon the child cried again. Xuanyuan Ao Yu almost numbly told the story of the Big Bad Wolf again.
The child was forced to close his eyes again.
Suer found that he closed his eyes a few seconds later this time. During this time, the corner of his eye seemed to be paying attention to the fairy tale book in Xuanyuan Ao Yu's hand, with a somewhat sarcastic expression.
This was definitely not the look of a child. Soul suddenly remembered that the woman had emphasized that the child in the living room was not hers. At the time, he had just thought she was deceiving herself, but now it seemed that there might be something behind it.
Before night fell, a familiar cry sounded, and Xuanyuan Ao Yu suddenly threw away the storybook in his hand: "It's useless, useless... I want to leave here!"
Desperation made him stronger. Zhang He tried to hold him back, but was pushed against the corner of the table.
Xuanyuan Ao Yu rushed towards the door, but Zhang He reluctantly held him back: "It's written in the brochure that if you go out rashly, you will die!"
"Who can be sure what's written inside is true?" Xuanyuan Ao Yu turned his head and shouted, "Perhaps the easiest way to break out is to rush out!"
As they were talking, the door of the villa had been opened. The sky outside was like a sticky black fog, and the dark clouds had their mouths wide open, ready to swallow anything at any time.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Li Li said to Su Er, "Let's go help Zhang He arrest the man."
"Why should I pull it? What he said is not impossible." Under Li Li's surprised gaze, Su Er walked to Xuanyuan Ao Yu's side: "But there is one thing you haven't done yet."
Pointed to the crying child.
Xuanyuan Ao Yu gave a bleak smile and walked stiffly towards the child's bed: "To make the most of it?"
Because the child didn't hear the story in time, he kicked off the quilt, revealing sharp claws that could kill people at any time.
Xuanyuan Ao Yu stood in front of the bed with an expressionless face: "The big bad wolf is coming."
The child licked his bloody teeth regretfully and slowly closed his eyes.
The crying stopped abruptly, and the air instantly fell into deathly silence.
At that moment, Soul rushed forward, reached out and grabbed the child's crib. The next second, a perfect parabola was drawn in the air. With a click, Soul closed the door and locked it in one go.
He was so fast, it took only three seconds, so no one present could react.
teammate:"..."
Rose Gentleman: "..."
Xuanyuan Ao Yu was the first to come back to his senses and swallowed his saliva: "What did you just do?"
"Although the possibility is very small, maybe we can really be rescued if we rush out," Suer pointed out the window. "Practice makes perfect."
Just like the movie "The Mist", those who got out survived.
He'd considered it carefully. Children are prone to killing only when they don't get their bedtime stories. They become violent only when they're not told their bedtime stories. Sleep is when they're clearly at their most vulnerable. Risking a kill wasn't advisable, as who knew if the other party had a self-defense setup?
"Don't stand there." Su Er asked everyone to stand by the window: "Go find a flashlight and let us see what's going on outside."