Then, his legs were suspended in the air, both snapped off simultaneously at their roots, and in the end, only the torso remained. The next scene even made the seasoned police officers feel slightly uneasy. They saw that the warden's chest had split open irregularly, as if something had burrowed out from within.
In the afternoon, the police officers investigating the case had already left, and we were allowed out to get some fresh air and see the sun. Due to the somber atmosphere, the warden announced that there was no need for work today—just sunbathe and then return to our cells on our own.
Strangely, ever since the airing hour started, there had been no sight of Zhang Ye. After inquiring around, no one knew where he had gone.
Basking in the sun after lunch was splendid, and everyone greedily soaked up the sunlight. Zhang Ye's absence did not attract the concern of fellow inmates, including myself. Perhaps he was assigned to do something else.
At four o'clock, under the urging of the warden, we gradually made our way back to our cells. Zhang Ye was still missing, but that was not important. What was important was that the cloth doll had vanished into thin air.
During dinner time, Zhang Ye was still nowhere to be seen. After questioning the warden, we found out that during airing time, Zhang Ye had insisted on moving into cell number 107. When asked why, he said he wanted to be alone and calm. He even asked for leave during dinner, claiming he was not hungry.
What concerned me was the fact that the officer mentioned Zhang Ye seemed to be holding a cloth doll when he filed his request.
I had a bad feeling that he might be bewitched again. He probably didn't even realize he was now living in cell number 107.
I mulled over the situation and found it quite mysterious. It seemed this was not just a story, although I had no idea where Zhang Ye had heard it from.
In theory, if truly sealed, that red-dressed woman shouldn't be able to come out—maybe she had ceased to exist. But why then did she suddenly appear? Could it be because of the cloth doll? But I didn't see any trace of resentment on the doll. Was my power insufficient? Yet, I sealed the door with a Spirit Talisman—she shouldn't have been able to get in.
All the speculations led to no answers. It looked like I could only wait until the free time tomorrow to ask him about it.
At midnight, the anticipated clanking of chains arrived on schedule. I flipped out of bed, pressed my face against the window on the cell door to peer outside—just as I got there, I came face to face with a ghastly green visage. I recoiled in shock, thankful that the glass on the door was between us, or else I might have been sprayed with the disgusting mix of red and white.
The red-dressed woman gave me a strange smile with her mouth agape, then drifted toward cell number 107. The sound of chains scraping the floor accompanied her.
As the red-dressed woman turned and floated into cell number 107, I became extremely anxious. If I did nothing, Zhang Ye would no doubt be in grave danger.
I pounded on the cell door loudly, calling for the warden.
Just yesterday, a warden had died a horrible death, making the on-duty warden very fearful. He clutched the Buddha pendant hanging around his neck tightly, pretending he didn't hear.
My yelling woke my cellmates, who complained noisily, and I obediently shut my mouth. I helplessly returned to bed, all I could do was pray that Zhang Ye would somehow survive the ordeal.
Woken by the sound of the broadcast, I got out of bed, feeling dizzy from a sleepless night.
The moment the warden opened the door to our cell, I sprinted to the entrance of cell number 107. Seeing Zhang Ye sound asleep, I sighed deeply in relief—fortunately, nothing had happened.
After morning exercises, we lined up for breakfast, but I looked around and did not see Zhang Ye anywhere.
During study time, the Warden who was coaching me alone asked why I was distracted, wondering why a problem that usually took a minute to solve was taking me a full five minutes without an answer.
I voiced my concerns, and the Warden assured me that Zhang Ye was fine, just running a bit of a fever and had already taken some medicine; he would be all right after some sleep.
In my free time, I asked the Warden if he had heard the story of the woman in red. He said he seemed to recall hearing something about it, but that incident happened over a decade ago.
After asking for the details, the Warden even joked that I had the mind of a detective and could become a private investigator in the future. I nodded with a smile in response, a private investigator, huh? Maybe exorcising demons was actually my true calling.
I asked the Warden if he believed in the existence of ghosts and spirits, but he seemed not to, saying what era we were living in that still held such feudal superstitions, and that it was impossible for such things to exist; even if they did, they would find a deserted corner to hide and live out their residual lives.
After lunch, there was a half-hour rest period. With the instructor's permission, I entered cell number 107.
I sat beside Zhang Ye's bed and inquired about whether he was feeling any better.
Upon seeing me, he abruptly sat up, gripped my wrist tightly, and asked if I knew any spells.
I was somewhat surprised. How did he know? He seemed to have fainted by the time the woman in red appeared. I nodded, acknowledging it, and continued to listen to what he had to say.
His gaze was drifting and uncertain, and he sighed, confessing that he had released the female ghost. He knew well there was no cell number 309, but still couldn't help stepping in when he saw it, and ended up bringing out the culprit, the rag doll.
I was utterly bewildered by his story. What exactly was going on? First, he said he wanted to scare his cellmates; then he said I put the rag doll by his side; now, he was claiming he had released the ghost himself.
He seemed to realize my confusion and continued, explaining that after he stepped into cell 309, he was bewitched by the rag doll and, as if possessed, took it out. When he came to his senses, he threw the doll into the trash, but somehow, it mysteriously reappeared on his bed that night, held tightly in his arms.
I asked how he knew he had released the ghost and knew that I could cast spells.
He revealed that the rag doll told him everything—that its Primordial Spirit had been hurt by a kick, and before being sealed, it had released its Primordial Spirit. If it weren't for the fact that it could only kill one person a day, he would have died last night.
Today, as if under a spell, he had taken the rag doll out of the seal and had gone early in the morning to ask the Warden to change cells.
He said changing cells was partially his own wish too; he was afraid of dragging his cellmates into this.
At that moment, he suddenly gripped my hand tighter, looking at me with a hopeful expression, asking if I could destroy the female ghost since I had been able to harm it.
I was hesitant, as I had no confidence in doing so; I didn't have any Magic Artifacts, and without my master present, it was definitely not possible.
When I expressed that without a Magic Artifact, I had no confidence at all, Zhang Ye's previously drifting gaze seemed to dim a little...