Chapter 79 - Have You Seen My Baba?

With a smile curling his lips, Tang Mingming went to close the door. He then turned to Liu Xiaodan who was in a deep thought on his bed. "It would be easy for Jun to find Song Qixi if he's here. If he's not, then… what are you planning to do?"

"Find someone else to ask. Someone who had a contact to the outside world." Liu Xiaodan sighed and massaged his forehead. "Li Feng was attacked again in the hospital, and I need to confirm this. Last night, she said…"

He then looked at his hand and subsequently at his stomach which was holed and then healed that very night.

Tang Mingming didn't care so much about Li Feng's case. He didn't know that man, and he seemed to be irrelevant to him after all. He was bound to the prison along with Jun, and so he was just keeping Liu Xiaodan as long as he's here. The ghost was more interested by the blood on the basin. When he tried to touch it…

It dyed his finger.

However, it was with a black substance.

"Guangru's miasma? No, this isn't Guangru's…" Tang Mingming turned to Liu Xiaodan and murmured to himself, "Is it possible? He's just a human…"

"Is something wrong?" Liu Xiaodan turned to take a look at Tang Mingming, and he caught the ghost holding his hand and his blackened finger. "I have a feeling you shouldn't be touching blood. You feed on the dead, right? That blood might be poisonous…"

"Poison? I have never heard of a miasma that could poison ghosts." Tang Mingming rubbed his finger against his clothes, but it wouldn't go away. He just walked to Liu Xiaodan and showed it to him. "Do you think you can corrode me?"

Liu Xiaodan only reached out and smiled as he rubbed his thumb against Tang Mingming's finger, erasing the black tint. "I don't know. You tell me so I can be extra careful towards you and Junhai."

Tang Mingming only nodded, but he was staring at Liu Xiaodan's hand that erased the black tint. "Xiaodan, are you… are you not human?"

By the way he spoke, it seemed like even a powerful ghost as him wasn't enough to diagnose what Liu Xiaodan—or Guangru—was. Then again, Liu Xiaodan had learned from Li Feng that Guangru seemed to be an ancient entity that was centuries old. Considering Tang Mingming's possible age, he couldn't be that old to find out a lot of things, right? Moreover, he was stuck in prison.

Liu Xiaodan only shook his head while reaching out to try to pet Tang Mingming's image. "I used to be so sure I was, but… I don't know what Guangru did to me. That time when I decided to accept his powers, I felt like I stopped being human. I may not be a ghost like you, but I certainly am not human like them all anymore.

"As for what I really am… maybe Guangru only knew."

"So bothersome." Tang Mingming chuckled nonetheless. He just got up and pulled on Liu Xiaodan's arm. "It's boring here on the first floor of the sick hall. Let's go to the top level. Do you know that someone did a mass murder here years ago?"

"Can I eat him?" Liu Xiaodan only said this as a joke, but Tang Mingming's playful and mischievous smile made him believe that it was the plan. "Does he bother you?"

"No… but he might bother you again. He came down here last night, and Jun had to negotiate with him. It seemed to be offended by your presence." Tang Mingming convinced Liu Xiaodan to leave the sick room in only his patient gown and b.a.r.e feet. "Maybe if you show him who's boss, he would back off and let you live in peace."

Liu Xiaodan s.u.c.k.e.d in cold air at the proposal. He didn't think he could kill a non-human without Guangru's help. However, he had already fully consumed that bird-like thing on the fourth floor of the cells. If the thing in the sick hall was less powerful, then he might be able to do something.

However, the magic one was not a person who would actively seek danger for fun.

"How about this? Let's wait for Junhai to return before going. He might have news of something more important to me than bullying other ghosts."

"Keh, Jun wouldn't let me deal with this guy. We should do it before he gets back."

"Naughty."

…

It was morning, but Fu Xing was already here. He applied to be placed on day schedule… along with that person from Control. Even until now, they still couldn't forget what happened that night. A ghost child was walking through the night in their cells, and the two didn't know how to express their fears properly. Fu Xing could have discussed it with Chu Youlan and Song Qixi, but he was too frightened to even believe everything.

One of their inmates, who was now dubbed Boss Liu, had a ghost child tailing him around. Fu Xing heard about this from Ruan Jin, but he didn't speak to Song Qixi about it. He was so scared that Liu Xiaodan would target him next. The Black Boss disappeared, and that was already impossible to everyone who didn't believe that he escaped.

Since Qin Rong was bowing down to this Boss Liu, they knew that he was responsible for Cheng Hei's death… or mere disappearance, whichever they believed.

Pei Bieli picked up his canned drink and struggled to get the lid open. He was also granted day schedule after hours of pleading. Looking at the cameras at night had already frightened him, and he failed to do his job well. He refused to attend to cameras in pitch-black darkness as he kept on recalling the image of the child.

"Man, I wished that child would just… leave…" Pei Bieli didn't like the morning traffic and getting up early for his job. However, he couldn't work in the night anymore. "He's driving me crazy…"

"You're not the only one…" Fu Xing almost cried, but he only let his back slouch. Wallowing in fear wasn't him, but he didn't have the courage to even be alone in a hallway in the prison. The thoughts of seeing the child at the corner of his eye.

Since it was lunchtime for workers, someone else had also walked into the canteen. He was on his phone, trying to buy some antique old films that had no more value to others. He was lucky to have a friend who had tons of reel movies, but he couldn't find appreciation for those.

Huo Taiyang passed them by when he heard them talking about a child. He stopped next to their table and remembered a certain hair-raising child. No matter how beautiful Guangru was, he was still a ghost that could send Huo Taiyang on his way. Then again, it has been a while since he last saw the man with his child or even read this child.

In his reverie, Pei Bieli noticed him standing there and frowned at him. When Huo Taiyang came to, he was already getting glares from the lonesome old men. He then waved his hand. "It's not my fault you were so loud in talking about a child. Even minors aren't allowed in this prison; what child are you talking about?"

"You won��t understand." Pei Bieli crumpled his face and tried to pop his drink again. In his inability to do so, Huo Taiyang sighed as if whining before taking a seat next to him. He took the can from Pei Bieli and opened it for him. "I have seen a lot of things here in the prison. Try me."

"Really?" Fu Xing got annoyed by this one. He's the librarian, right? What else could he possibly see aside from books and inmates trying to have fun behind the shelves? He then waved his hand as if beckoning Huo Taiyang. "Do you know… there's a ghost child in the prison? In the dead of the night, he walks around the cells and freaks out everyone he finds."

"A ghost child walking around in the dead of the night? Have you seen him?"

"Black hair, black eyes. Very pretty."

"Sounds like Guangru. When did you last see him?"

Pei Bieli and Fu Xing froze. The librarian was just very curious why the child who loved scaring the shit out of him was not in the prison. Liu Xiaodan was also behaving like Guangru was not around; he could tell from the way the inmate would look around from time to time as if looking for someone.

As for knowing the child's name, Huo Taiyang had seen writings on a concept scene drawing once. A small drawing of a cartoon horse was added into a scene, and it was obviously drawn over the previous artwork. On the back of the page, 'Guangru added Big Brother' was written on it. Fearing that someone defaced Liu Xiaodan's art, he asked him about this.

That was his answer though. Guangru was the child he was always with.

Huo Taiyang then frowned at the frozen men. "Aiya, I told you I'm immune to most things now. I've seen a lot. Come now, tell Grandpa where you last saw Guangru…"

"It was days ago. He was…" Fu Xing knew the child's name was Guangru, but he didn't think Huo Taiyang also knew. However, it didn't make it more believable to them that this old man could stand plainly speaking of a ghost child.

"You gotta be more—"

Tug. Huo Taiyang felt a small tug on his shirt. He was a meter next to a wall so he didn't think someone would squeeze in there just to ask a question. When he turned his head to check, he felt like his heart stopped in shock.

"Uncle, have you seen my Baba?"

He was there. Guangru was there, pulling on his shirt and asking for his Baba.

"Baba…?" Huo Taiyang mindlessly mouthed, and Liu Xiaodan's face came to his mind. Then again, he didn't know where Liu Xiaodan was as well. He didn't come to the library last night and this morning. He then shook his head discreetly and whispered, "No, I haven't seen him since last night."

"What are you whispering at?" Pei Bieli couldn't see as Huo Taiyang was blocking his view. However, Fu Xing was almost peeing in his pants. He could see Guangru properly… and more when the child turned to look at him.

"Uncle, you go around at night, right? Have you seen Baba?"

Ugh. Fu Xing blacked out just like that.