Chapter Thirty-Four: Midnight Message

On this piece of leather, what was drawn turned out to be the Soul Capturing Pearl.

At first, I thought I must have seen it wrong, so I examined it carefully several times.

No mistake—this was undoubtedly the Soul Capturing Pearl.

No matter how I tried, I couldn't understand why the Illusion Fiend would possess the image of the Soul Capturing Pearl.

Could it be that he was searching for it as well?

Perhaps only the Illusion Fiend himself knew the answer, but unfortunately, he was already dead.

Otherwise, I might have learned more about the Soul Capturing Pearl from him.

Just as I was regretting not letting the Illusion Fiend live a little longer, another thought struck me: Huang San was still alive.

He was the Illusion Fiend’s loyal servant; surely, he must know something about the Soul Capturing Pearl.

From a distance, I saw Sun Wenwen lying on the ground.

Though it was Sun Wenwen in appearance, her body was possessed by Huang San.

I walked over to Huang San, bent down, and said, “Wake up. Stop pretending. If you keep this up, don’t blame me for being rough.”

Huang San ignored me. He was faking it so well.

I slapped Huang San’s face and continued, “Still acting? Shall I count?”

“One…”

“Two…”

Even when I counted to three, Huang San didn’t react.

Now I was truly annoyed. “Smack… smack…” I gave him two forceful slaps, so hard that my hand stung.

Only then did Huang San slowly open his eyes, looking at me with confusion.

His gaze unsettled me; wasn’t Huang San supposed to fear me? Why was he looking at me like that?

Had I slapped him senseless?

As I puzzled over this, Huang San suddenly spoke to me.

“Chu Yun, why is it you? Where am I?”

His voice didn’t sound like Huang San’s at all.

Could it be…

“Are you Sun Wenwen?” I asked, uncertain.

“What’s wrong, Chu Yun? Don’t you recognize me? I’m Sun Wenwen.”

---

As she spoke, Sun Wenwen struggled to sit up from the ground.

Looking at her, I wondered where Huang San had gone. Could it be that, when the Illusion Fiend died, he took Huang San with him?

No matter what, as long as Sun Wenwen was alive, it would be fine.

So I quickly helped Sun Wenwen up and called Lin Weiyan and the others over.

Sun Wenwen gazed at the unfamiliar faces and surroundings, bewildered, and asked me, “How did I end up here? Who are they?”

About to make up a lie, I was interrupted by Su Wanyi, who stepped forward and said, “You’re Sun Wenwen, right? I’m a police officer. You were knocked out by a criminal. We received an emergency call and came to rescue you.”

Though Su Wanyi’s explanation was a bit muddled, the naïve Sun Wenwen believed her and quickly thanked Su Wanyi.

Su Wanyi replied calmly, “No need to thank me. It’s what we police officers are supposed to do. As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters.”

Listening to Su Wanyi speak so convincingly, I couldn’t help but admire her.

At this point, both the police car and the bus were out of commission.

Su Wanyi took out her phone and called the station, requesting a vehicle to pick us up. While we waited, I quietly asked Lin Weiyan, “Is this really Sun Wenwen? Could it be Huang San in disguise?”

Lin Weiyan assured me, “It shouldn’t be Huang San. Sun Wenwen has no trace of demonic aura.”

That put my mind at ease.

At least our efforts had not been wasted; we managed to save Sun Wenwen.

Twenty minutes later, two police cars arrived.

The officers driving were so surprised to see Sun Wenwen that their eyes nearly popped out.

“What are you staring at? Never seen a pretty woman before?”

Su Wanyi scolded the astonished officer.

He shrank back, clearly intimidated, and quietly went to drive.

We arrived at the police station and, for appearance’s sake, Sun Wenwen gave a statement.

Su Wanyi took the opportunity to issue a notice to the public, announcing that Sun Wenwen was not dead—the person who died was not her.

As for who had died, that depended on Su Wanyi’s mood; whoever she said it was, it would be.

After everything was settled, Su Wanyi arranged for a police car to take Sun Wenwen home.

After all this, it was already past one in the afternoon.

Su Wanyi insisted on treating us all to a meal as thanks.

---

I wanted to refuse, but her sincere invitation was impossible to resist.

Reluctantly, I agreed.

We dined in a five-star hotel, in a luxurious private room. The five of us sat around a large round table, surrounded by various delicacies that filled the air with tempting aromas.

There were also two bottles of imported red wine, though I didn’t know their names, as I couldn’t read English.

But if they appeared here, they must be expensive.

Su Wanyi poured each of us a glass of wine and raised hers, saying, “First, I’d like to dedicate this glass to Mr. Chu Yun, and offer a sincere apology for what happened in the interrogation room. I shouldn’t have acted so harshly and caused you distress. I’m sorry.”

With that, Su Wanyi looked at me and finished her wine in one gulp.

Honestly, I had never taken the matter to heart, but since she apologized so earnestly, I had no objection.

So I raised my glass and drank, replying, “It’s all in the past; I’ve long forgotten it.”

As the meal progressed, I started to feel tipsy and became increasingly talkative.

I rambled on about all sorts of nonsense, including embarrassing childhood stories, which made everyone laugh uncontrollably.

But I noticed that Feng Zimo seemed remarkably good at drinking—no matter how much he drank, he never got drunk.

Lin Weiyan, on the other hand, hadn’t drunk much, but her cheeks were flushed like ripe apples.

It made her look even more charming.

Then there was little Ling, who hadn’t touched a drop of wine, but her belly was round from all the food. She simply ate whatever she liked.

After the meal, Feng Zimo and Lin Weiyan helped me out of the hotel.

Su Wanyi called a car for us.

On the way, I vomited three times.

Feng Zimo was thoroughly disgusted, closing his eyes and pinching his nose, adamantly refusing to sit next to me.

Lin Weiyan, watching my state, gently patted my back, helped me use a disposal bag, and handed me mineral water to rinse my mouth.

By the time we reached home, I was utterly drunk and fell into a deep sleep.

I slept soundly, only waking in the middle of the night, around two or three in the morning.

The reason I woke was the thunderstorm outside.

I turned on the light in my bedroom and walked to the window; outside, rain and thunder raged.

In the southern region, where rain is plentiful, such weather had become routine.

I returned to bed and was about to sleep again when my phone suddenly vibrated.

Who could be sending a message in the dead of night?