“Is he truly as valuable a source of information as you claim?” Xia Luohua asked.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “But he’s the only lead we have right now. We can’t just let it slip away, can we?”
“Still… are you sure about wearing that outfit?”
“It’s fine,” I murmured. “Though my chest feels a bit constricted.”
After that, I requested leave from school and headed home, with Xia Luohua naturally accompanying me. Concerned about what strange things my sister might get up to, I decided to have her wait outside while I went in to change.
I wasn’t sure if it was a virtue or a quirk, but I always strove to be thoroughly prepared, learning whatever was necessary to adapt to my environment. This transformation into a girl was no different; even as I vowed to revert, I instinctively absorbed knowledge typically associated with girls, such as the art of makeup, one of Asia’s three ‘evil’ techniques.
Feeling a touch of apprehension, I pulled my sister from the computer room to guide me. With a light application of makeup, my chest bound by bandages, my hair tucked into a hat, and dressed in my usual clothes, I finally shed the guise of Luo Tianlian and temporarily reverted to Luo Tianchen after a day.
Though I rarely noticed it, my sister and I bore an uncanny resemblance. Otherwise, such a simple act of makeup wouldn’t allow us to freely swap identities.
“Ugh… watching myself slowly transform into you, Big Brother, is genuinely unpleasant,” Luo Tianlian grumbled, clicking her tongue.
‘I’m truly sorry to inconvenience you, then,’ I thought.
“But why haven’t you cut your hair?” Xia Luohua asked after we stepped out, complimenting my makeup skills. “Is it because you’ve grown accustomed to being a girl and can’t bear to part with your long hair?”
“Of course not! It’s simply that it grows back to its original length immediately after I cut it! I’ve tried it several times, and it’s always the same!” I retorted. ‘It couldn’t be… is this my special ability? And such a useless one at that?’
As if sensing my thoughts, Xia Luohua offered a comforting explanation: “Don’t worry, it’s just the Witch’s power at work. Perhaps in your subconscious, girls must have long hair, so since the Witch’s Seed transformed you into a girl, the change naturally had to be comprehensive.”
‘What a load of nonsense,’ I mused.
In any case, we eventually found the relatively secluded teahouse at the address The Driver had sent me. The moment we entered, a server appeared, leading us to a private room of moderate size. Inside sat the taxi driver Bingying and I had met two days prior.
“You’ve arrived,” The Driver said, looking up. His voice was hoarse as he asked, “And who is this girl with you?”
In the few days since we last met, The Driver appeared considerably more haggard, with a noticeable increase in white hair. It seemed he had made a significant decision to summon me here.
“This is my girlfriend,” I stated immediately, pulling out my pre-prepared explanation. “She’s also the person I mentioned who can contact Chenyue.”
“…Proof?”
Bingying silently stepped forward and, following my instructions, drew a symbol on the table with her finger. It was a secret code I had devised years ago for communication.
The Driver visibly relaxed, apparently satisfied with our identities.
“Please, have a seat,” The Driver said, warmly pulling out chairs for us. “But why are you wearing a mask? And your voice sounded quite high-pitched on the phone.”
“Mhm,” I replied curtly. To prevent him from detecting anything amiss, given the distinct differences in male and female voices, I added, “Just a slight cold. So, if you have anything to say, you can tell my girlfriend. She’ll record it for you and pass it on to Chenyue.”
“But wasn’t he retired three years ago? Why are you…”
“Well, how should I put it?” Xia Luohua interjected, seizing the opportunity to speak. “He retired because he’d earned enough money and wanted to enjoy himself. Now that the money’s gone, he naturally has to come back to work. I’m sure it won’t be long before news of Chenyue reappears in the world.” She shot me a triumphant glance, as if to say, ‘How’s that for a good excuse?’
‘Good for your head, alright! If I couldn’t beat you, I would’ve strangled you on the spot!’ I glared at her, but since I intended to remain a silent observer, I held my tongue.
“How to explain it… this matter is too bizarre. I truly don’t know where to begin,” The Driver admitted.
“Just tell us,” Xia Luohua said impatiently, her queenly aura fully unleashed. “Whether we believe you or not is our business. All you can do now is hope we do.”
“…My name is Yu Changxu,” The Driver began. “But I doubt you’d be interested in an old man’s name. I used to be a police officer, specifically a patrol car driver. I was fairly competent, so life was decent. I married once, but we divorced after a while because my wife cheated on me. I found her lover, beat him until he suffered full-body fractures, and then both of them fled in terror, never to be seen again. I was fired from the police force because of it and became a taxi driver.”
Both Xia Luohua and I listened in silence as the seasoned driver recounted his life story, searching for any potential breakthroughs.
“After that, I lived alone for a long time. But as you get older, loneliness can set in. I happened to see an orphanage looking for adoptive parents for its children, and on a whim, I went to see if I could adopt a child to raise…”
‘Good heavens, did you think you were adopting a pet?’ I scoffed internally.
“…Because of my history of violence and being single, I nearly failed the review process,” Yu Changxu continued. “But after I swore to treat the child well, I was still able to adopt a girl—my daughter. She was barely ten years old at the time, wasn’t she? According to the orphanage director, she had been frail and sickly since childhood, which was why no one else wanted to adopt her. She seemed afraid of everyone she met, yet her eyes sparkling whenever she looked at me. When I saw her, a flicker of emotion stirred in my long-dormant heart. At that moment, I decided: I would adopt no other child but her. Hey, what kind of looks are those? I meant it in a father-daughter way!”
“No, no, please continue,” Xia Luohua and I quickly said, retracting our judgmental expressions and feigning seriousness.
“So I brought her home and named her Yu Qianrou, caring for her with immense tenderness,” Yu Changxu recounted. “She suffered several serious illnesses during that time; once, I truly thought she wouldn’t make it. But ultimately, Qianrou grew safely to seventeen. Although her body remained weak, she no longer required constant care, allowing me more time to earn money. To be frank, I was already quite strapped for cash back then. I had borrowed from every friend and relative, as caring for her and treating her illnesses had cost a fortune. But I never told Qianrou any of this, wanting to spare her the worry.”
“…You truly are a good father,” Xia Luohua genuinely praised.
“But by chance, she still discovered our family’s struggles,” Yu Changxu continued. “She smiled through her tears and told me, ‘Don’t spend any more money on me, Father.’ How could I abandon her? She was my only daughter! For several days after that, she didn’t speak or eat anything, and then… she suddenly vanished.”
Xia Luohua and I exchanged glances, understanding that the crucial part of the story had arrived.
“I was practically insane then,” he recalled. “I spent days circling Xingjiang City, searching almost every corner, because I knew even if she ran, she couldn’t go far. But I couldn’t find her. After several days, just as I was on the verge of despair, my daughter returned to me, ragged and exhausted. She held out a stack of money, perhaps tens of thousands, and smiled, saying, ‘Dad, I can earn money now too.'”
‘Uh, that’s a bit…’ I thought, trailing off.
“Can you imagine how I felt then?” Yu Changxu asked, his voice raw. “If your daughter suddenly appeared before you, disheveled, pulling out a stack of cash, what would you think? That was the first time I’d ever lost my temper with her. I roared that I didn’t need her to earn money by selling her body, but mostly, it was self-reproach. If only I had been more capable, my daughter wouldn’t have had to…” His face flushed with embarrassment as he realized his slip of the tongue, and he awkwardly lowered his head, avoiding our curious gazes. He cleared his throat. “But my daughter swore through tears that she’d never done such a thing, even asking me to check… Ultimately, I believed her. After that, she disappeared several more times, each absence longer than the last, and the money she brought back increased. I don’t know if it was my imagination, but her health seemed to improve little by little. Because of this, I tacitly allowed her to go out, as I truly wished for her to have a normal body and live a normal life. However, after one such outing… my daughter never returned.”
“May I ask for a specific timeframe?” Xia Luohua interrupted him.
“It was probably around Christmas of 2009,” Yu Changxu replied. “She disappeared as usual… no, there was a difference. Before she left, she promised me, ‘This is the last time.’ But she never came back. I waited like that for over a month, when suddenly, police officers arrived at my house, claiming they needed to search my daughter’s room for a case. I found it strange and refused. Soon after, my house was burgled. Nothing valuable was stolen, but all of my daughter’s personal belongings vanished. That’s when I realized she must have been involved in something serious. Thanks to the money she brought home, I changed houses, clothes, and jobs, understanding that there was something deeply suspicious behind all of it. I dared not tell anyone, so I searched in secret. Six years passed, yet I found nothing. I had planned to seek out the internationally renowned Chenyue, but he too disappeared three years ago. Then you two appeared. If I had known such a thing would happen, I swear I would never have let her leave, even if it meant locking her in her room. This is my story. Believe it or not, as you wish. If you have any more questions, I’ll tell you everything I know.” He took a bitter sip of tea, his expression somber.
“In that case, I have a few questions for you as well,” I interjected, disregarding the risk of exposing my voice. “Where did you adopt your daughter from? And how did you come across the term ‘Witch’s Game’?”
“The orphanage was called Yuze Orphanage,” Yu Changxu replied. “As for the so-called ‘Witch’s Game’… although most of my daughter’s personal belongings were stolen, there was one item I only discovered when I moved houses. My daughter had hidden it in the lampshade of the chandelier, indicating its profound significance. I realized it might be connected to what happened to her, and I asked a few old friends for help, but none of them could find anything.”
“Did you bring it?” I asked, a faint suspicion forming about what it might be.
“Ah, yes, it’s right here,” The Driver said, fumbling inside his jacket before producing an envelope.
Xia Luohua took it, examined it carefully, and then nodded at me.
Indeed, it was identical to the one Yao Xinchang had received: an invitation from the Witch.
“You wouldn’t mind if we borrowed this for a while, would you?”
“No, anything you want, if it means finding my daughter,” Yu Changxu stated. “However, I don’t know why this envelope is sealed so tightly. I tried to force it open, but it seemed like I might damage the contents, so I gave up. Please be very careful when you examine it.”
“Understood,” Xia Luohua said, casually tucking the envelope away.
I hesitated for a moment, then spoke to The Driver. “So, have you prepared yourself for the possibility that your daughter might actually be… dead?”
The Driver’s entire body stiffened. After a long moment, he painfully lowered his head. “Perhaps. Six years have passed, after all. I’ve just been deceiving myself that my daughter might still be alive somewhere in the world… Even so…”
“Even so, what?”
“I still want to know the truth,” he finished, bowing his head deeply. “Even if it’s just to find my daughter’s remains. So, I beg of you.”
I sighed. “Is this truly your wish? Is it worth pursuing, even at the cost of your life?”
“Yes, it is my wish,” Yu Changxu affirmed resolutely. “I want to fulfill it, even if I die trying.”
“Very well, I’ve received your commission,” I said. “So, please… rest in peace.”