SES Chapter 161 Part 2

Luo Ren didn’t deny it. “Mm.”

“You’re trying to match them?”

“Feelings should be natural. I don’t matchmake. If anything, I’d rather match Yi Wan-san with Hongsand, but…”

How to explain it? The two got along well, but had no spark.

Like earlier, Hongsand had clung to Yi Wan-san’s leg, screaming for help, almost yanking his pants off.

Mu Dai nodded. “Same here. I asked Hongsand to help wash Yi Wan-san’s clothes just now. She agreed immediately and even asked Cao Yanhua if he had things to wash too. No sense of special treatment at all. Waste of my effort—I’m injured, too…”

She held up her injured finger. The doctor had told her not to touch water. She washed with one raised finger, awkwardly and painfully.

Luo Ren burst out laughing. Truly, birds of a feather flocked together—both of them secretly manipulating things in ridiculous directions. He pulled her close and whispered, “There’s something I need your help with. If you can do it, great. If not, don’t force it.”

“What is it?”

“Try… hypnotizing Yafeng.”

The lights went out. The room fell silent.

Yafeng reclined against the corner. Earlier, she’d heard the group chattering about going to sleep. Qingshan had been dragged to the bathroom and locked in. Hongsand had placed a cushion behind her. Mu Dai had borrowed a mechanical alarm clock and wound it up so they wouldn’t oversleep.

When the lights went off, she realized the clock’s face glowed in the dark—greenish, the second hand ticking in her line of sight, circle after circle, steady and rhythmic.

On the sofa, Luo Ren and Mu Dai whispered to each other—one low, one soft. It sounded like lovers’ pillow talk, but when Yafeng listened closely, she realized they were talking… about her.

—If nothing else works, we’ll have to release Yafeng and Qingshan.

—We can’t keep them tied up like this. It’s unreasonable, and as Cao Yanhua said, illegal.

—And they probably don’t know much.

—Yafeng talks tough, but she’s just someone who was possessed. Even if she had high compatibility with the vicious slip, how much could she really know?

—She’s a small character. We should focus on finding the next slip.

…

As expected, they had to let her go. You can guard someone for a while, but not forever. Yafeng felt relieved. The cushion behind her was soft and warm. Sleepiness crept in.

—Sleepy?

—So sleepy.

—If you want to fall asleep faster, you can count sheep.

—Or imagine walking down stairs…

—One step… two steps…

The voice was soft and lazy. Drowsiness washed over Yafeng. In her mind, an endless wooden staircase appeared. One step, two steps… floating, unsteady… the clock clicked softly, then suddenly stopped. Everything went silent.

Mu Dai exhaled quietly and sat up with Luo Ren, turning on the light.

Yafeng leaned peacefully against the corner, eyes half-open, a faint smile on her face, as if lightly drunk.

Mu Dai sat cross-legged in front of her and waved a hand. Yafeng glanced at her, unconcerned, then looked away.

Good. Dr. He had said hypnosis wasn’t sleep—it was a semi-awake, altered state.

Mu Dai smiled gently, talking as if chatting with a friend. “You actually don’t know that much, right?”

Yafeng’s eyes were hazy. She tilted her head and tugged one braid. “Not much.”

“A vicious slip needs one or two years to fully fuse with someone. But you haven’t known Qingshan long. Why did the slip attach to him so easily?”

Yafeng lifted her head, lips curving slightly. “Because he’s different. Many people in Cao Village are different.”

“How?”

She lowered her head, tapping her fingers on the carpet, like stirring water. “Born that way.”

No more details there. Mu Dai changed the question. “And you? Are you different?”

“I’m different.”

“How so?”

Yafeng giggled like a child, leaning forward to whisper a secret. “I’m wicked.”

“Where are the remaining vicious slips?”

“Don’t know. Hidden, probably.”

“Why did you go to Cao Village?”

“Because it went there before.”

“It? Who?”

“Star Slip…”

“You help the slips. For what purpose? What are you all trying to do?”

Yafeng suddenly froze.

The silence stretched. Then slowly, she lifted her head. Her eyes gleamed strangely—half-mad, half-deranged.

Luo Ren sensed danger and grabbed Mu Dai’s arm. When Yafeng lunged, he yanked Mu Dai behind him.

Fortunately, she didn’t attack. She only grabbed Luo Ren’s collar tightly, eyes rolling upward, wearing a meaningful, twisted smile.

Luo Ren frowned and tried to pry her hand off. At that moment, she whispered:

“You’ll end up the same as us. Everyone… becomes the same.”

The next day, they drove back to town.

After discussing it, they released Qingshan and Yafeng. They couldn’t keep detaining them—it was illegal, unreasonable, and exhausting. Without their slips, the two were far from dangerous. Exposure didn’t matter; they had to find the slips anyway.

Still, they were cautious—they contacted Wan Fenghuo’s side through Ma Tu-wen to have someone nearby keep an eye on Cao Village, especially Qingshan and Yafeng.

Yafeng strutted off triumphantly. Qingshan followed timidly like a submissive little wife, infuriating Cao Yanhua. He had planned to visit home during this trip, but now refused.

He also remembered Yafeng saying people in the village were “different.” In what way? The thought unsettled him. He also felt miserable knowing that Yi Wan-san had contributed to the mission while he had accomplished nothing. He felt everyone looked at him differently. A wave of loneliness washed over him.

Back in town, Mu Dai went to buy a new phone—hers had broken again. Yan Hongsand went to the supermarket. Yi Wan-san lay in the car with his arm propped up. Cao Yanhua, feeling unwanted, sat on the curb.

A rural man squatted nearby with two wild pheasants he’d hunted. One was flapping wildly, kicking up dust. The other lay calmly, amber eyes gazing at Cao Yanhua with surprising gentleness.

Cao Yanhua felt touched and whispered, “Are you lonely too?”

The pheasant lowered its head, radiating a “we are both lost souls wandering the world” sentiment…

Cao Yanhua asked the villager, “How much for the pheasant?”

…

Outside the phone store, Luo Ren waited for Mu Dai and called Shen-gun.

Shen-gun answered sluggishly. “Hello…”

Luo Ren imagined his droopy-shouldered, half-collapsed posture and had to hold back laughter. He described the trip’s progress.

Shen-gun replied with a weak, “Oh…”

“You don’t have to sound this defeated. Even if you don’t have leads, don’t be so discouraged.”

Shen-gun suddenly perked up. “Who says I don’t have progress? I do.”

“Then why do you sound half-dead?”

“Because I’ve been thinking. Deep… vast… profound thoughts.”

Luo Ren gritted his teeth but tried to stay patient. “So? What did you find?”

“Little Radish… do you believe ancient people were wiser than modern ones?”

As he said this, Shen-gun looked down at the seven bullet-shaped wooden pieces spread before him.

Each was round, dark, and glossy. They looked uniform at first glance, but the grain patterns were all different—and each piece, under magnification, had the carving of a tiny, lifelike wooden kite, with a character beside it.

Whatever Luo Ren replied, Shen-gun continued, “Do you know… the man named Luban?”

At that moment, Mu Dai finished setting up her new phone, inserted her old SIM card, and checked her missed calls.

To her surprise, there were many—just from the past day or two—and all from the same person.

Senior brother, Zheng Mingshan.

Her heart tightened. She bit her lip, hesitated, then called back urgently.

“Senior brother… did Master’s illness relapse?”