Free Web NovelChapter 126: Chapter 124: Gu Guotai
It was the same hospital room, but it felt completely different; the gloomy and chill atmosphere was gone, replaced by the warm and comforting light from the ceiling lamp above.
Yu Shu lay quietly on the nearby stretcher. Yang Xiao tried to sit up, but it took several attempts to succeed. His head felt heavy and foggy, as if he had overtaxed his brain.
After vacillating repeatedly between dreams and reality, Yang Xiao’s ability to distinguish the two worlds grew increasingly blurred. He now wasn’t even sure whether he had returned or failed.
He didn’t rashly reach out to Yu Shu; instead, he struggled to his feet and walked towards the door, which he pushed open to reveal a wide and brightly lit corridor filled with the smell of disinfectant.
"I really... came back."
Hurried footsteps approached from down the corridor. Yang Xiao turned his body, trying hard to see, but could only catch glimpses of several figures.
His steps felt unsteady, and his vision grew ever fuzzier. With a sudden sense of the world spinning, he collapsed onto the cold, hard marble floor, losing consciousness.
"Rustle, rustle..."
He didn’t know how much time had passed when he heard the sound of music, full of energy. Yang Xiao slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the pale ceiling. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
He was lying in a single bed with an IV stand beside him, and he was hooked up to a drip.
The music grew more distinct as if some female idol group was performing a dance routine. Turning his head with difficulty, Yang Xiao’s already foggy brain crashed.
Not far from him, in the wider space near the door, lay three pink yoga mats on the floor. Beibei, Da Xiong, and Ximenxiu were there, following along with an exercise dance.
"Cough... cough cough...!!"
Yang Xiao choked as he struggled for breath, erupting into severe coughing.
Hearing the coughing, Beibei and the others rushed over. The next second, Ximenxiu’s voice, filled with surprise, rang out, "He’s awake! The Captain is awake!!"
In less than two minutes, the doctors and nurses, having heard the news, hurried in and after a thorough examination confirmed that Yang Xiao was alright, but advised him to rest more, emphasizing the need for quiet recuperation.
Ximenxiu, very considerately, brought over two pillows, propped them up against each other, so Yang Xiao could sit up halfway and lean on them.
"Yu Shu... How is Yu Shu doing?" Yang Xiao caught his breath, and the dizziness in his mind slowly receded.
At that, Beibei’s expression livened up, "Don’t worry, Captain. Yu Shu woke up. The doctor said there’s no serious problem. She just has memory lapses because she was in a coma for a long time."
Yang Xiao nodded; his purpose for this mission was to save someone, and now that Yu Shu was awake, his task was complete.
As for the fact that Yu Shu could not remember many things, this wasn’t necessarily bad for Yang Xiao. After all, some things from the dream involved that big red coffin, which would be difficult to explain if someone asked.
"How long have I been unconscious?"
Beibei sighed, "Almost a whole day, but the doctor said there’s nothing wrong with you, probably just exhausted."
Nodding, Yang Xiao seemed to remember something and scanned the area, "My... our garment, where is it?"
"Don’t worry, Captain." Ximenxiu bent down and magically retrieved Yang Xiao’s backpack from under the bed, "Your Nether Garment is right here, all prepared for you!"
Beibei gave Ximenxiu a slap on the back of her head, "Can’t you speak properly? What do you mean ’prepared for the Captain’? That Nether Garment belongs to the Captain!"
Opening the backpack, Yang Xiao pulled out the Drama Robe, feeling the familiar texture. His tense heart gradually calmed down.
"Captain, we won’t disturb your rest. We’re going to get in touch with the bureau." Beibei led the others out of the room with one hand and closed the door behind them.
The Resentful Eye each Angel Envoy possessed was their biggest secret. Even among teammates, no one wanted to overly interfere with Yang Xiao’s secrets.
Looking at the Drama Robe in his hands, Yang Xiao’s feelings were mixed. Objectively speaking, it was indeed a powerful item, but as Director Nalan had put it, there was something sinister about it.
Even now, he couldn’t understand why Yu Shu, who had been rescued by a wedding procession, ended up in a funeral procession.
There was also the Headless Green Ghost; why had it appeared in Xi Mountain Town, killing so many people and even attracting the attention of the Patrol Defense Bureau’s investigators?
Thinking of the Headless Green Ghost, Yang Xiao picked up the Drama Robe to inspect the Nether Garment side, and that’s when something astonishing happened. The previously embroidered Nine-Eyed Skull was gone.
The skull had appeared on the Nether Garment side, replacing an embroidered coin, but now, not only was the skull gone, even the coin had vanished. That spot was... empty.
"What does this mean?" Yang Xiao turned the Nether Garment over to look at the Drama Robe side, searched for a while, but also failed to find the Nine-Eyed Skull.
The Nine-Eyed Skull had completely disappeared...
Yang Xiao was bewildered. The Nine-Eyed Skull had disappeared, along with the paper money. The paper money was equivalent to a method of sealing a fierce ghost and turning it into one’s own use, and there were only a little over 30 pieces. With each piece used, one less remained. Now that the paper money had been used and yet the Headless Green Ghost had escaped, it was a huge loss.
"Could this be the price of rashly entering the dream to save someone?" Yang Xiao wasn’t someone who would fuss over a single piece of paper money, but he had to get to the bottom of this.
Moreover, and most crucially, given that the Headless Green Ghost had escaped, where was it now?
The more Yang Xiao thought about it, the more frightened he became. He was afraid that the Headless Green Ghost had followed him back to this hospital, and he also feared that the tragedies he had seen in his dreams would become reality.
"Tap tap tap..."
A series of hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor. It wasn’t just one person--at least three or four people were approaching, including the sound of high heels.
Soon, the door was pushed open, and Director Nalan was the first to enter.
Behind him were Ms. Wen, Huang Qiang, and two doctors in white coats.
"Director, I..."
Nalan Shuo gave him a look that said to stay calm, then turned to the others and instructed, "I have something to discuss with Captain Yang alone. Huang Qiang, stand guard outside and ensure no one disturbs us."
After everyone else had left, Nalan Shuo pulled up a chair and sat down beside the hospital bed.
Without mincing words, Yang Xiao went straight to the point and recounted his experience in the dream in detail to Nalan Shuo. freёwebnoѵel.com
Of course, he omitted the parts about the red Blood Coffin and the bridal procession, focusing mainly on what he had witnessed in Xi Mountain Town.
"Is that so?" Even the composed Nalan Shuo was startled by Yang Xiao’s narrative, but after a moment, he shared a new piece of information with Yang Xiao.
"Just last night, while you were still unconscious, the technicians at the Dragon Head Mountain observation station reported that the signal that had disappeared deep within the Yin Soldiers’ Cave had appeared again." Nalan Shuo spoke in a low, grave voice.
"Appeared again..." Yang Xiao was momentarily stunned, "But... but since Yu Shu survived the Nightmare World, that means the Resentful Eye should have acknowledged her as its master, so why would it appear in the Yin Soldiers’ Cave? Even if it did, it should be with Yu Shu!"
Taking a deep breath, Nalan Shuo reached into his pocket, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and drew one out. Just as he was about to light it, he saw Yang Xiao in his hospital gown and put the cigarette back, sighing, "You’re right, the problem lies right there."
"So... how is Yu Shu now?"
"She’s fine. Don’t worry about her. It’s just that her memory has issues, and we can’t get much useful information from her for the time being," said Nalan Shuo with a look of regret.
"By the way, repeat the information about the man you saw in Xi Mountain Town, the one you suspect is from the Patrol Defense Bureau."
Nalan Shuo listened and recorded on his phone; a well-built man carrying a gun, wearing silver gloves, missing the little finger on his right hand, and with someone nicknamed Qiang in the phone contacts, possibly a teammate, or a direct superior.
Having organized the information, Nalan Shuo sent it to his secretary, the woman Yang Xiao and his colleagues called Ms. Wen, instructing her to verify it as quickly as possible.
The process was quick, and within about half an hour, Nalan Shuo received a reply. After reviewing it, his gaze turned weird as he looked back at Yang Xiao.
"Director, what happened?" Yang Xiao couldn’t help but feel nervous.
"We found the man you mentioned."
Nalan Shuo handed him the phone, and on the screen was a burly, bald man with a fierce demeanor, dressed in a uniform.
"His name is Gu Guotai, and he is one of our people, part of the Jiangmen City Patrol Bureau. Xi Mountain Town falls under the jurisdiction of their team."
"A few years ago, during an operation against an Evil Cultivator, his right little finger was chopped off by a criminal. Also, according to the records, the captain of the investigation team he is part of is named Lü Qiang, and the team members all refer to him as Qiang."
Hearing this information made Yang Xiao’s spine chill. The dream was intermingling with reality, "So... so everything I saw was real."
"We can’t say that for sure, at least not right now, since this Gu Guotai is still alive. I just asked, and currently, there are no reports of paranormal sightings in Xi Mountain Town. The street where the guesthouse you stayed in is located has also not experienced any incidents," Nalan Shuo assured.
"Then what did I see exactly? Was it a dream? But... but how could a dream portray someone I’ve never met before?" Too many questions crowded Yang Xiao’s mind, and since he had just woken up, his head throbbed with pain.
"Yang Xiao, did you really only see these things in your dream?" Nalan Shuo’s attitude became peculiar, "You didn’t see something else?"
Yang Xiao shivered. He clearly sensed that the director’s words were loaded with meaning, but he couldn’t reveal anything related to the big red coffin—it concerned his very life. Feigning a mixture of fear and ignorance, he said, "Director, do you have something else to tell me? Please, don’t keep anything from me!"
Looking into Yang Xiao’s frightened eyes, Nalan Shuo slowly said, "What you saw was definitely not just a simple dream. I suspect it is also a type of reality, just one that has not yet evolved."
"If, and I’m just saying if, Yu Shu were to die in her sleep, or if you died in Yu Shu’s dream, what would happen next? Would the Headless Green Ghost from the dream appear in reality, arriving at the last place Yu Shu stayed in the real world—that guesthouse?"
"Following that line of thought, if the Green Ghost did appear, it would surely trigger paranormal events on that street, and then the investigation team Gu Guotai is a part of would receive the news and be bound to go handle it. Then everything you saw would become reality."
