Chapter 20

What happened? What could have made Old Zhou scream like that? My first thought was that the cat demon wouldn't be coming back, would it? With that in mind, how could I stay seated? I put down the beer bottle and rushed towards Old Zhou's bedroom. Qin Hainian followed behind me, not slow at all. Her concern for Old Zhou was no less than mine.

Pushing open the bedroom door, I saw Old Zhou sitting on the bed, breathing heavily. When I turned on the light, I saw that his eyes were unfocused, his face pale, and his head was covered in cold sweat.

Could he have been scared out of his wits again? I frowned, thinking, "You can't be messing with me like this."

But the next moment, Old Zhou, seeing the light and me rushing into the bedroom, felt a bit more at ease and called out to me, "Old Three, I had a nightmare."

The fact that he could speak so clearly indicated that he hadn't lost his soul. I let out a slight sigh of relief. Then, when Old Zhou said he wanted water, a figure behind me darted out. As expected, there were sounds of bumping and clattering, indicating that she had hit something in her haste. This was a common occurrence, and neither Old Zhou nor I paid much attention.

"Did a nightmare really make you scream like that?" Qin Hainian was busy getting water for Old Zhou, and I couldn't help but tease Old Zhou, though I knew this nightmare might not be so simple.

"If it were just a regular nightmare, I wouldn't have reacted like this. If you hadn't come in just now, I wouldn't have known I was dreaming." Old Zhou was agitated, throwing off the thin blanket and jumping to my side, grabbing my arm. "Old Three, tell me, what's going on? I feel like I can't remember anything, but I feel so scared. I even feel like I was standing in the morgue all day, even though I don't remember it."

When Old Zhou said this, his eyes were full of helplessness. Clearly, the events of the past two days had been a major turning point in his life, challenging his long-held beliefs. He was completely unprepared and felt utterly helpless. No wonder he was so weak, and I, who seemed to understand these things a bit, became his only support.

I patted his shoulder and said, "Take your time. It's not as serious as you think."

At this point, Qin Hainian had brought a glass of water to Old Zhou. He drank it in one gulp and felt a bit better. I gestured for Old Zhou to go to the living room, and I went out first. I had intended to give Qin Hainian a chance to comfort Old Zhou, but she followed me out like a fool, leaving me speechless.

Once the three of us were seated in the living room, Old Zhou gradually returned to normal. He had a lot to say, but seeing Qin Hainian, he hesitated.

After all, he was a very proud person. In others' eyes, he was a staunch 'science enthusiast.' Now, he had to talk about something with a supernatural twist, especially in front of someone who was about to graduate from medical school and might become his colleague. It was difficult.

I weighed these things in my mind. The mysterious man I met in the basement tonight had reached some kind of 'understanding' with me, but I wasn't sure if that was the end of it.

Although my spiritual senses weren't outstanding, they were better than those of ordinary people. I couldn't predict good or bad luck in advance, but they helped me judge things to some extent.

Thinking about this, I suddenly said to Old Zhou, "Old Zhou, you don't need to hide anything from Hainian. This girl has been keeping a lot from us. She is actually—"

Hearing that I was about to reveal her identity, Qin Hainian panicked, making frantic gestures and blinking her eyes. In her haste, her blinking was so exaggerated that it looked like her face was twitching. Moreover, Old Zhou had already seen her, and it was clear she was trying to hide something.

"Qin Dafu, what are you up to?" Old Zhou, speechless, couldn't help but say to Hainian.

Qin Hainian froze, turned to Old Zhou, and smiled ingratiatingly. "My facial nerves have been a bit stiff lately. I'm doing some exercises."

"You're always so weird," Old Zhou muttered, not saying much more because Hainian was usually a very eccentric person.

I understood Hainian's meaning. She liked Old Zhou so much that she didn't want him to know she was a 'witch'—or a woman who practiced witchcraft, which should be called a 'witch,' right? I wasn't sure, but that was the general idea. There was already no hope for them, and saying this would only make it worse.

But thinking about it, I took a sip of the beer I hadn't finished and decided to be straightforward. "Hainian, you don't need to hide your identity from Old Zhou. Whatever Old Zhou has experienced before, nothing is as serious as this. To be precise, he encountered a cat demon."

"Spit!" Qin Hainian, who had been drinking beer while watching me, suddenly spat it out. Poor Old Zhou, sitting opposite her, couldn't avoid being sprayed in the face. He looked at Hainian with a sour expression, and she awkwardly handed him a few tissues.

Old Zhou took them and didn't bother to say anything because my straightforward words had shocked him. He looked at me with fear, waiting for me to continue.

I thought it was simple. Since the matter wasn't over, it was better to tell Old Zhou everything. After all, combining what I knew with what he knew, we could find more clues. Even if these clues were useless, they could at least prepare him mentally and help him guard against it.

So, I lit a cigarette and chose to explain the events from yesterday to today as simply as possible. I didn't intend to hide my background, even though I only mentioned it briefly, it was a statement.

There was a selfish part of me that had been lonely for too long, longing to interact and apply what I had learned. Meeting Qin Hainian, was this the first step? I no longer intended to hide anything.

After listening to me, Old Zhou looked at me as if he were hearing a fairy tale, somewhat dazed, as if he had just met me for the first time.

But Qin Hainian's expression became serious. She was knowledgeable and asked a key question, "Brother Three, how did you determine it was a cat demon? If it were a cat demon, it wouldn't be able to possess a human. You know, ordinary people can't withstand the soul of a demon. I think you understand what I mean."

I was surprised by Qin Hainian's serious demeanor. Usually, she was like 'Wu Junru' in movies, making me laugh just by looking at her. But now, she was so serious.

"That's my confusion too. Hainian, you must know about the existence of 'immortals.' These are spirits of animals that use human bodies to fulfill their wishes or enjoy offerings. The reasons are complex. In short, when these 'immortals' choose a proxy, they consider things like birth dates and other factors, similar to how a transplant requires a match to avoid rejection." I tried to explain.

Actually, I wasn't explaining to Qin Hainian; I was explaining to Old Zhou. After all, once it involves reality, it's different from what is portrayed in movies and novels.

Before I finished, Qin Hainian continued, "Right, transplants are between humans, but 'immortals' involve humans and animals. The rejection is much greater, and I can't describe it well. Simply put, look at those possessed by 'immortals'; they are all weak and listless. And that's under certain conditions, like having a karmic connection or a compatible birth date."

Qin Hainian was also explaining to Old Zhou, but his expression didn't improve; it got worse. He waved her off, rubbed his face wearily, and said, "I don't know about cat demons or that man who likes corpses. What I want to know is why they targeted me? And in my dream just now—" He looked at me, hesitated, and then said, "Old Three, I didn't feel anything related to a cat. I just felt like I was standing in the morgue, and two women were crying to me. I couldn't move and felt sad with them."

"And what did you dream about?" I felt I had caught a key point.

"I dreamed about a woman. I didn't know her. At first, she was a normal, young, and beautiful person. But for some reason, I knew she had a terminal illness that couldn't be cured and then died. Strangely, she donated her body. Then, I saw her being taken to the morgue. Next—" Old Zhou was also getting agitated, taking the beer from Qin Hainian and drinking it.

Qin Hainian looked pleased, sometimes lowering her head shyly, but neither Old Zhou nor I paid attention.

I was carefully thinking about Old Zhou's dream. I felt there was a key point, but I couldn't quite grasp it. I thought hard.

After taking a sip of beer, Old Zhou continued, "Being taken to the morgue means she's dead, right? But I saw her suddenly sit up and cry to me, very pitifully. She said she had a grievance and asked me to help her, and she had helped me too. But what grievance? I felt sad and asked her, and her body started to bleed, as if being torn apart. Then I woke up in fear."

"Is that so?" I replied, then lowered my head and fell into deep thought. I felt I might have misjudged something from the beginning.

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