Chapter 132 - Do You Want to Snatch it First?

Qiao Shan got out of the family car as soon as it reached the house address given to her. She rang the bell and waited with her hands clutched at the edge of her skirt, head lowered. She didn't know if Ren Shanyue was only bluffing her. Then again, she spoke of the signed contracts.

The door opened, and Qiao Shan lifted her face to greet the homeowner with a smile. However, she froze when Li Feng greeted her first.

"Hey, Qiao Shan…"

"Aiya, he's really here…"

Li Feng raised his brows in confusion. What did Li Yunru do to this woman for her to react like this? Did she say something so inspiring that Qiao Shan decided to work with them? Was she aware that Ren Shanyue had other plans rather than surrendering the child to the Qiao family?

He only smiled at her. "Come inside. Was it a bother to call you out like this?"

"N-Not at all!" Qiao Shan tried to smile back, but she failed to keep eye contact for more than a second. She only lowered her head again and tried to squeeze between Li Feng and the path. Sizing from the width of the hallway, she could pass by just fine.

However, when she did, Li Feng conveniently reached out his hand to block Qiao Shan. He didn't trap her in place with both arms, but he still made her freeze with his action. Her eyes flew to his face.

"Qiao Shan, are you sure you can work with us? Did the Qiao family let you?" Li Feng had no idea she was shaken by his gesture. All he knew was that he was a little worried about the strange turn of events. The Qiao family controlled the situation for now, and two of the participants had no family shields.

"…we all want to do something about the dybbuk. Regardless of our current circ.u.mstances, we're all having difficulties in getting inside the facility." Qiao Shan sighed inwardly when she realized it was about the plan. "Xiaodan's friends want to see him, and I decided to help out.

"You don't have to consider our family backgrounds. It's not really important."

"You… don't know how to sound convincing, do you?" Li Feng laughed out, but he took his hand away from the wall. "Even if the Mian family is keeping out of trouble, the Ren family is trying to get their hands on something very dangerous. I don't know if even the Qiao family is enough to handle such a thing."

Qiao Shan turned to Li Feng and reached out a hand to plant her palm on top of his heart. Hop's innate ability to evaluate negativity made her want to calm him down. "You already signed the contract, Li Feng. It's a little too early to back out. Let's see the facility first, and then we evaluate the situation."

Li Feng only blinked and nodded after a while. He then reached out to collect her hand from his c.h.e.s.t. "Let's talk in the dining room some more. You need to know them at least."

A strange shiver came to Qiao Shan when Li Feng held her hand. However, she only pulled it away when Li Feng let her hand go. They walked to the dining room with Li Feng leading her. As soon as she was hit by the strange feel of the room, she was taken away from her reverie.

Her eyes landed on Chuan Nayi, who didn't even take a look at her, and on Ruan Jin, who seemed to be giving her a suspicious gaze. The ghost inside him continued to hide as Hop could easily tear her apart. A small smile curled Qiao Shan's lips as she walked into view.

"Qiao Shan, you came right in time." Ren Shanyue smiled professionally before presenting the other two. "You've met them before in the hospital. These are Chuan Nayi and Ruan Jin. He's the guy who would be in Project Noah with you."

"Hello." Ruan Jin scratched his head. "Do you remember the first time we saw each other? I haven't apologized for that yet. I must have scared you."

"Uhm, I'm okay." Qiao Shan nodded. What was an angry man compared to carnivorous entities?

Ren Shanyue then regarded everyone. "Let's have a little read, okay? If you're going into the facility, you should be familiar with everyone else. Remember, you can only trust Xiaodan and you guys so don't be too suspicious of each other. Qiao Shan here is going to help us get inside the facility."

However, she didn't say she would help them survive… and everyone else knew that without Ren Shanyue speaking about it.

…

The beeping heart machine continued its song while the Treatment Hall nurses were all making sure the patient was okay. Liu Xiaodan was by the door, watched over by the guard. They didn't leave him outside because that meant Ten would have to stand outside as well.

Liu Xiaodan only stared at the group while carrying the almost weightless Guangru. The child clung to his father's shoulders as he watched the nurses inject fluids and medicine into the patient. The nurses that came with them were also resting at the side, hoping that the patient would have no problems.

"He's waking up?" One of the nurses spoke with a trace of shock. However, he didn't have to be sedated if he didn't try to harm anyone in the place.

"…King…" The patient called out before moving his hand to hold his aching head. "My head… hurts…"

"Don't move." The nurse then took his hand to get his arm out of the way. "It'll be gone in a few seconds. Do you remember where you are?"

"…am I still in Cherry?"

The nurse nodded to another person, and she went on to ask the basic questions. It seemed that the patient had gained complete consciousness. Even if his body was feeling tattered, he could still answer logical questions. He just didn't know why he said 'king'.

"How long have you been here?" Liu Xiaodan sat on the edge of the bed.

"…is that a ghost?" The patient looked at Guangru, ignoring Liu Xiaodan's question. "Such a young and beautiful person to suffer so much…"

"Uncle, are you feeling better?" Guangru asked on Liu Xiaodan's behalf, but the patient didn't know what to say to the ghost. It was the first time he encountered a ghost who would ask such a human question. Guangru continued, "A non-sentient entity got inside you. Are you feeling better now?"

The patient's eyes then quivered. He had forgotten about the other thing inside him. "I don't feel it anymore. Did you ask it to leave?"

Guangru shook his head. "I killed it. It was bad."

"What?"

Liu Xiaodan wanted to interfere, but he was ignored by the man. Might as well leave Guangru to do all the talking for now. However, the patient slid his eyes to gaze at Liu Xiaodan. The father sighed. "Well, Guangru's very strong. What's your name? You have the blue slipper so you must be from my floor, too."

The patient tried to move his foot, but the slippers weren't there anymore. He only turned to the ground when Liu Xiaodan gestured to the pair. The man then smiled. "They call me Wuji in here. If you're from the fourth floor, you must be here for the treatment. Did they… put something inside you, too?"

Liu Xiaodan hummed. "Did they put that thing inside you?"

"No, they put some kind of red bead inside me. I don't know if it's actually inside my body or if I was just hallucinating. Then, that thing came and went inside my body to eat that red bead." The patient laughed out. "They said I was strong enough to fight it. Guess they were wrong."

"You were just overwhelmed." Liu Xiaodan smiled back. He then proceeded to introduce himself. "My name is Xiaodan. Are you Mister Ye's friend? The one who had seen the Mother as well?"

"…Brother Ye is still seeing the Mother?" Zhang Wuji chuckled. "I wondered why they were stalling so much. I remember them moving through the patients quickly. If only Wanwan didn't leave, they could have processed six patients in just one month. Brother Ye is just two numbers away from me. What's taking them so long?"

Liu Xiaodan hummed. "Are you… 4-18?"

Zhang Wuji nodded. He then closed his eyes. "Brother Ye is 4-20. What number are you now?"

"28."

"So many…" Zhang Wuji then looked up at him. "When it's your turn, don't even try to struggle. The things they will do to you will only make you feel that you are being torn away from your body. Before you know it, someone else was already controlling you, living your shadow.

"I'm just lucky that the monster that got me wasn't sentient enough to pose as me."

A somber look was on Liu Xiaodan's face. The ghosts in this facility would want to possess somebody… were they trying to gain more power from the person they possessed? However, Guangru had a different theory.

The child then looked up. "Baba, that Mopface cannot directly touch those who had a physical body. He needed to snatch the body first before killing the entity inside. It's normal for them to want a body. A live body lives longer than a dead one… if you're wondering."

Liu Xiaodan looked down at Guangru's glassy black eyes and had the urge to shudder for a moment. "And the facility is forcing the patients to become hosts?"

"A live soul is more delicious than any kind of entity. The red bead is condensed blood filled with souls. Guangru can produce one too and give it for others to consume." Guangru ignored the increasingly terrified expression on Zhang Wuji's face. "Baba, do you want Guangru to snatch the beads first?"

"…you can snatch those?"

"I can give them all to Old Xiong after. You're still grounded so I won't give you one."

"My son has just grounded me?"

Flicker. Flicker. The time freeze broke as soon as the lights overhead flickered. Liu Xiaodan lifted his face to look up while Zhang Wuji reached out to hold onto Liu Xiaodan in case the other ran off. Zhang Wuji didn't want to be left alone, and Liu Xiaodan wasn't going to do that anyway.

Ten and the other nurses had also noticed the lights. They even forgot to point out how Liu Xiaodan was already seated next to the other patient.

"Baba, someone else wants to greet you." Guangru smiled nonetheless, his red eyes glinting. "Should I greet them instead?"