Feeling somewhat depressed, Song Zhuyu holed himself up in his house for the next few days, taking the chance to recuperate as per Chief Song's advice, though he couldn't shake off the feeling that nothing was wrong with him to begin with.
After sleeping for nearly twelve hours in the resting lounge that day, he had practically bounced back to his usual energetic self, his body brimming with youthful and explosive energy. However, he remained at home just in case Song Juwei decided to check up on him— but of course, it was all his wishful thinking. He received no visitors, not even a phone call.
By now, Song Zhuyu had grown so accustomed to this indifference that he could shrug it off without much thought.
On the fifth night of his self-imposed 'recuperation', his phone rang as he was munching on a bucket of fried chicken while binge-watching the third season of his favorite action series.
Peeking at the screen, he saw the name of one of his rare friends — Zhen Yan.
Wiping his oily hands with a napkin, he swiped the green button and put the call on speaker, "Hey."
"Hey, Lao[1] Song," the man greeted, his tone abnormally cheerful. From the background, Song Zhuyu could hear the faint rumbles of the engine and the sharp whistles of wind. "I heard you're being grounded? Hahahaha, the Great Song Zhuyu finally made a mistake, huh?"
Song Zhuyu's expression turned deadpan, and if Zhen Yan was standing in front of him, he would have hurled a chicken drumstick at the man's face. But alas, right now, he could only roll his eyes while chewing on the said drumstick with extra vigor. He understood now; this person was calling just to mock and laugh at him. What a good friend he was.
"Heh," Song Zhuyu released a fake laugh. "You're late, bastard. I've been grounded for five days already."
"For real??" Zhen Yan burst out into mad guffaws. "Fuck, I didn't expect this day to come so soon!"
Song Zhuyu was going to lose his appetite if he kept listening to this voice. "What d'ya want?" He directly asked, his voice muffled due to his bulging cheeks.
If the women in the Civil Security Bureau were to witness him eating in such a crude and inelegant manner, they would be disillusioned for sure. Either that, or the thick filter in their eyes would still render Song Zhuyu attractive no matter what he did.
"Let's hit the road!" Zhen Yan invited him enthusiastically. "You have been cooped up for the whole five days, haven't you? Your good buddy here is going to keep you company so that you don't die of boredom."
Song Zhuyu let out a disdainful harrumph. "Just say that you don't have anyone to come with you." Despite saying that, he swiftly polished off the rest of his fried chickens and threw the bucket to the trash can. "Ten minutes," he told the other.
Zhen Yan let out a wolf whistle, "I know I can count on you. I will be waiting at the usual spot!"
Hanging up on the call, Song Zhuyu went to scrub his hands clean before heading to his room to change his clothes. He reasoned that he must be feeling more bored than he expected, hence the reason why he accepted Zhen Yan's offer. Plus, it had been weeks since he'd last brought his wife out for a ride, so this was a good opportunity for some nighttime exercises.
As he mentioned earlier, Zhen Yan was one of his rare friends.
Song Zhuyu found it hard to make friends with others— women tended to harbor more expectations of him, while men claimed that he was too intense and intimidating, though he genuinely had no idea where such a notion came from. Zhen Yan, on the other hand, treated him like any other person, making him feel at ease.
Maybe it was because Zhen Yan was an Enlightened.
Enlightened— a term for people who could perceive dark energy with their own eyes, yet not trained to be an exorcist. People could either be born an Enlightened – which some might call a 'gift' – or they could become Enlightened after being polluted by dark energy.
Zhen Yan was included in the latter category. Four years ago, when Song Zhuyu was still going through training with Song Juwei, they came across a case of possession where the victim was none other than Zhen Yan. After performing an exorcism on him, Song Zhuyu visited the other person periodically in the hospital to make sure that he didn't suffer from any lingering sequelae. Since then, they got to know each other better, realized that they had more common ground than they'd thought, and unknowingly, they became friends.
As for Song Zhuyu himself, he had no idea whether he was included in the first or second category. As early as his young mind could form thoughts, he was already aware that he could see things other people couldn't — which he later learned from Song Juwei was called 'dark energy'.
Dark energy was formed from lingering negative sentiments like resentment, grief, envy, despair that was exhibited by humans. It could also accumulate in places of tragedy, such as mass graves. If Song Zhuyu had to describe it with words, it appeared more like black miasma that reeked of death, decay and despair.
Thin dark energy could usually be dispelled by simple prayers, but sometimes, when it manifested uncontrollably in the human mind, it made them more susceptible to the whispers of the demon's soldiers, increasing the likelihood of possession. In such cases, exorcism was needed as soon as possible to prevent the human from becoming a gateway for these obnoxious entities to enter this realm.
Zhen Yan, who had become an Enlightened due to possession, refused to walk on a path of exorcism and chose to remain living as an ordinary person.
Maybe that was the main reason why Song Zhuyu felt more comfortable around him. The man was never a part of the world he was living, yet he already had a foot inside, making it easier and burden-free for Song Zhuyu to talk about more sensitive topics.
For example, the weird event he had encountered five days ago.
As he slipped on his black leather jacket, his attention was drawn to his spirit artifact on the table.
Amidst the dim lighting, the crimson marble seemed to emit a pulsating scarlet ray, bathing the room in an almost otherworldly glow. With a sigh, Song Zhuyu lightly tapped it with the tip of his finger, causing it to roll away. Yet, despite its position, the black streak within always remained fixed in Song Zhuyu's direction… just like a thin slit pupil tracking his every move.
As soon as that thought flashed in Song Zhuyu's mind, he was stunned for a second before dismissing it with a shake of his head.
"Should I take you along?" He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "You're supposed to shield me from the repercussions, but look at you now— how useless."
The crimson light throbbed as if protesting.
Every exorcist who joined the Civil Security Bureau's Special Department got to access the warehouse where the spirit artifacts were kept. It could come in any form, including but limited to a blood-inking fountain pen, a broken teddy bear that could speak, while the most commonly found were weapons left behind by the previous generation exorcists and had been through countless battles.
They were supposed to be objects that resonated the most with the exorcist's soul, and could assist them in times of difficulty.
In Song Zhuyu's case, he was drawn to this seemingly ordinary red marble from the first time he laid his gaze upon it.
Amidst the space full of magical artifacts, he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the small marble. And when he reached out to pick it up, it stirred to life for the first time— or so he was told. Apparently, this marble had been holed up in the warehouse for decades, almost becoming a garbage for real.
At first, he had no idea what this marble could do and simply carried it everywhere it went. It took him three times of crossing over to realize that he had never suffered from any kind of severe aftereffects like Song Juwei did. He initially thought it was his own talent, only to realize later on that it was thanks to this little thing all along.
That's why, it was truly unprecedented of him to experience hallucination.
With a contemplative hum, Song Zhuyu twisted his crimson hair and tied it into a messy bun atop his head, grabbed his keys, phone and wallet before striding out of the room.
Left behind, the light emitted from the marble paused as if it was in great shock, and then, the black swirl within coalesced and distorted as though a powerful force was about to burst forth from within.
However, before anything could escalate, the door swung open once more and Song Zhuyu reappeared, swiftly grabbing the marble and tucking it into his pocket. "I've gotten so used to you that it feels weird not to carry you around," he admitted with a helpless sigh.
Once again, the marble seemed to freeze, and the black swirl within calmed, returning to an ordinary crimson marble, seemingly appeased.
.
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[1] Lao = Old. He's calling Song Zhuyu, Lao Song, to indicate closeness and familiarity.