“Dear, I hadn’t noticed until you mentioned it, but now that you do, I truly feel his voice has changed. Before, his voice, while similar to Xuanzhu’s, was still distinctly a boy’s—not so shrill. But just now, it sounded exactly like hers.”
Melissa, seated nearby, chimed in with an affirmation.
“Who could possibly sound so much like him?”
From the back row, Chen Xuanzhu spoke with a hint of petulance.
“Stop always referring to ‘him, him, him.’ Can’t you just call him ‘Big Brother’?”
Chen Degao furrowed his brow.
“Is there really a need for that? We’re twins, after all.”
Chen Xuanzhu responded dismissively.
“Even though you’re twins, there’s still an elder and a younger. He’s older than you by a good few minutes.”
Melissa explained with utmost seriousness.
“Heh heh…”
Chen Xuanzhu offered an noncommittal smile, then meticulously countered, “Mom, you don’t understand this. Scientifically speaking, the ‘age’ of twins is determined by the time of embryo formation, not the order of birth.”
Chen Degao and his wife exchanged glances, a shared look of helplessness etched across their faces.
“I truly don’t understand you. Where does a girl like you get such a strong competitive spirit?”
Chen Degao shook his head, a wry smile playing on his lips.
“If I’m not the elder, how can I rightfully protect the younger one?”
Seeing her parents at a loss for words, Chen Xuanzhu’s lips curved into a slight, triumphant smile.
****
As night deepened and silence settled, Chen Xuanqiu lay bored on her bed. Had her parents not insisted she wait at the hospital, she would have vanished long ago.
Fang Jianbo diligently stood guard nearby. Noticing the girl’s distraction, he began recounting some of his case experiences to alleviate her boredom.
“Don’t let my youth fool you. In my years as a police officer, I’ve weathered every kind of storm. Especially when investigating the ‘suicide’ storm that swept through Dengtai City, I nearly met my glorious end.”
Fang Jianbo spoke with lingering trepidation.
“A suicide storm?”
Chen Xuanqiu’s spirits lifted slightly.
“Indeed. It was about two years ago. Our Dengtai City police department received dozens of suicide reports within three days. The leadership found it highly unusual, so they dispatched Captain Kong and me to investigate.
Yet, after all our efforts, we couldn’t even find a single trace of a perpetrator, let alone the culprit themselves. Every one of those suicides was so ‘flawless,’ showing absolutely no signs of foul play.”
Seeing that he had successfully captured the girl’s attention, Fang Jianbo continued his tale with relish.
“Oh? How exactly was it ‘flawless’?”
Chen Xuanqiu was genuinely intrigued now and promptly pressed for more details.
“For instance, some individuals were recorded on surveillance cameras, stabbing themselves to death. If that isn’t suicide, what is? With no one else around, how could it possibly be murder?”
Fang Jianbo countered with a question.
“True. So, how did you discover the anomaly?”
Chen Xuanqiu pondered for a moment before asking.
“Through our investigation, we found that the person had a happy marriage and an excellent family background, with absolutely no reason to commit suicide.”
Fang Jianbo clarified.
“What happened next?”
Chen Xuanqiu pressed, her bright, clear eyes filled with an insatiable curiosity.
“Later, while investigating a suicide scene, I found my hands losing control. I was about to shoot myself, as if clamped by an invisible, powerful hand, utterly unable to break free.
Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis? It was precisely that kind of helplessness.”
Fang Jianbo deliberately built suspense.
“And what happened after that?”
Chen Xuanqiu anxiously threw back her blanket, her fair, jade-like feet exposed, their delicate, pink toes exuding a soft, rosy glow.
“Fortunately, Captain Kong was quick. He snatched the gun from my hand, otherwise, it wouldn’t be me sitting here right now.”
Fang Jianbo glanced at her fair, delicate feet and sighed with emotion.
Chen Xuanqiu, however, didn’t press further. Instead, she calmly retreated back under her blanket, having realized the young officer was deliberately toying with her curiosity.
“What’s wrong? Don’t want to hear more?”
Fang Jianbo felt as though a basin of cold water had been thrown over him, and he asked cautiously.
“If you don’t want to tell it, then I naturally won’t listen.”
Chen Xuanqiu deliberately yawned.
“I do want to tell it! Who said I didn’t?”
Fang Jianbo grew anxious and quickly continued, “Afterward, I reported the incident to my superiors. The bureau’s leadership also noticed the anomaly, so they sent someone to invite a Daoist priest from Pan Yun Temple, hoping he could determine if any evil spirits were at work.”
“You police officers actually believe in these supernatural things?”
Chen Xuanqiu teased.
“Why shouldn’t police officers believe in spirits and ghosts?”
Fang Jianbo asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.
Chen Xuanqiu was momentarily stumped, realizing she had been careless. This wasn’t Earth, where materialism reigned supreme. How could she apply the common sense of Earthlings to measure police officers here?
“You might not believe it, but when that Daoist arrived at the police station, he pulled up the surveillance footage of me trying to shoot myself. Then, he sprinkled some strange liquid onto it, and that’s when the eerie things began to happen.”
Fang Jianbo let out a long breath, still visibly shaken. “In the video, a blood-soaked man inexplicably appeared. He stood directly behind me, his limbs wrapped around mine like a clinging snake, manipulating me as if I were a puppet on strings.”
“Such a thing happened?”
Chen Xuanqiu instantly sat upright again, her bright, clear eyes wide and round.
“Yes, indeed. At first, some people questioned if it was merely a trick of illusion performed by the Daoist. But after his intervention, our police station never received another suicide report.
Now, do you believe there are ghosts in this world?”
Fang Jianbo asked.
“Could there truly be ghosts in this world?”
Chen Xuanqiu’s expression immediately turned solemn, for she knew the young police officer had no reason to deceive her.
“My dear, this young officer isn’t fooling you. As someone who’s seen things, I can tell you plainly: there truly are ghosts in this world. A child from my relative’s family is a Daoist priest, and he’s shown me many strange things.”
The elderly man in the adjacent bed, having listened to the story for a while, couldn’t help but interject.
‘If there truly are ghosts in this world, and such powerful Daoist priests exist, wouldn’t it be incredibly dangerous if my usurpation of this body were discovered?’
The more Chen Xuanqiu pondered, the more terrified she became. She felt fortunate that she hadn’t resorted to crude excuses like amnesia or demonic possession to deal with her family in this world; otherwise, the consequences would have been truly unpredictable.
‘It seems I must be doubly cautious in my actions from now on, absolutely unable to reveal any flaws.’
Chen Xuanqiu secretly resolved.
“You wretched girl, get down from there!”
Just then, a woman’s shrill voice abruptly rang out in Chen Xuanqiu’s ear.
Chen Xuanqiu was already feeling unsettled, and with such a sudden shout, she instantly sprang from the bed. Trembling, she looked around in confusion, yet saw no sign of any woman.
“What’s wrong?”
Fang Jianbo was also startled and quickly rose to ask.
“Didn’t you hear a woman’s voice?”
Chen Xuanqiu asked, her eye twitching.
“What woman? Look closely again. Besides you, there’s no other woman in this ward.”
Fang Jianbo replied with a hint of a headache.
‘Could this be what they call a ghost?’
Chen Xuanqiu’s breathing grew heavy, her eyes warily scanning her surroundings. The previous two times, she could still comfort herself by attributing it to hallucinations, but this time, that wouldn’t work. She was wide awake.
“I want to change beds.”
Chen Xuanqiu thought for a moment, then told the young police officer.
“Why? Is this bed uncomfortable?”
Fang Jianbo asked instinctively.
“Oh, please don’t ask so many questions. Could you trouble the nurse sister to arrange it?”
Chen Xuanqiu could only plead, though her tone sounded more like a spoiled request.
Fang Jianbo, of course, couldn’t refuse. He scurried off to find a nurse.
Soon after, Chen Xuanqiu successfully moved to the adjacent hospital bed. Yet, the mere recollection of that shrill cursing made her hair stand on end.
Deep night had fallen, the lights in the ward were extinguished, and Fang Jianbo, guarding by the bed, had drifted into a hazy sleep.
Fear kept Chen Xuanqiu from sleep. She faced the bed she had previously occupied, her eyes fixed on it without a blink.
Time slowly slipped by, and before she knew it, it was dawn. Moonlight streamed through the window, casting a hazy glow over the bed Chen Xuanqiu had slept in earlier.
Though Chen Xuanqiu struggled to stay awake, she couldn’t resist the onslaught of exhaustion, and her eyelids gradually drooped. Just as she was about to fall asleep, her remaining sliver of vision suddenly caught sight of a dark shadow on the opposite bed.
Chen Xuanqiu’s hair immediately stood on end, all traces of sleep vanishing. She snapped her eyes open to see a woman in a hospital gown sitting on the opposite bed, her long hair obscuring her face, leaving only a pair of crimson eyes fixed intently on her, as if ready to devour her alive.
Chen Xuanqiu was scared out of her wits. She opened her mouth to scream, but the woman, like a phantom, lunged at her.
Chen Xuanqiu felt a blast of icy wind. It was as if she had been plunged into a world of ice and snow, her entire body frozen stiff. Not only could she not scream, but even breathing became difficult.
Chen Xuanqiu tried to struggle, yet she found herself unable to move even her fingertips. The sensation was strikingly similar to the sleep paralysis she had once experienced.
Due to her labored breathing, Chen Xuanqiu’s brain gradually suffered from oxygen deprivation, and her consciousness blurred.
‘I didn’t die in the lab, and now I’m going to die at the hands of some inexplicable female ghost.’
Chen Xuanqiu was filled with indignation. Driven by a powerful will to survive, she ‘gritted her teeth’ and struggled with all her might.
Just then, Chen Xuanqiu suddenly felt a surge of warmth within her, like a flame blossoming in a world of ice and snow, dispelling the chill that enveloped her.
“Ah!”
With a piercing shriek, Chen Xuanqiu saw the terrifying woman retreat from her body. The woman then thrashed frantically around the ward, desperately swatting at a small flame flickering on her chest.
Though the small flame appeared delicate, it clung like a maggot to bone, slowly and steadily consuming the woman’s body, its intensity gradually growing.
Chen Xuanqiu’s mouth fell open. She stared blankly at the bizarre scene unfolding before her, even forgetting to scream.
The woman howled wretchedly, but in the blink of an eye, she was engulfed by the flames, ultimately burned to ashes.
Chen Xuanqiu finally snapped back to reality. She yanked the blanket over her entire body, her heart pounding violently like muffled thunderclaps.