670 My Past Your Future
“There are three steps of the ghost marriage ritual. Problems at any of them will lead to a severe consequence.” Every ritual related to the dead had to be successful. The price to pay for failure could be death. Due to the dangers, many such rituals were banned in the city. People didn’t like hanging out with ritualists either.
“Han Fei, there’s still time to stop this.” Xiao Jia looked at Han Fei. The man tied his fingers to the paper doll at the sacrificial table.
“After the ritual starts, you and Xiao Yu should leave first. I’ll stay here alone. If I don’t return after half an hour, then you come back to check on me.” Han Fei wiped the sacrificial table clean. “Do you have a lighter with you? Bring these white candles and line them from the junction to the entrance of this ancestral home.”
“Are you sure you can be fine on your own?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” Han Fei placed the doll in his arms. They did look like a couple.
“Then, you need to be careful.” Xiao Jia put down the backpack. He grabbed the white candles and ran out. Only Han Fei remained on the second floor. He looked at the paper doll. “Now we’re the only ones left.” He held Company in his left hand and the paper doll in his right. Han Fei picked up the backpack and headed to the third floor. The sound of meat chopping came from upstairs. If Xiao Jia was here, Han Fei would have to split his attention to look after him. Now, Han Fei could explore the place freely. The cat obediently jumped on Han Fei’s shoulder and crawled into the backpack. It only had its head exposed. It became very reserved when they were inside the house. It was like the owner was very scary, and it needed to be obedient not to be punished.
Han Fei came to the third floor that was built later, and he was shocked. The first floor was a normal living space, the second floor was the mourning hall, and the third floor was a bridal suite. “What has happened here in the past?” It was unwise to have both funeral and wedding arrangements at the same time, but things were arranged like this here. The sound of meat-chopping became clearer. Han Fei’s vision blurred. Other than the chopping sound, he started to hear something else. It sounded like two men talking. “Are there other people here?” When the two men spoke, the paper doll in Han Fei’s arm opened its eyes.
Hiding beside a dresser with red decoration, Han Fei turned to the source of the voice. A man in branded sportswear sat on the living room couch. He was very tall and imposing. He looked like a man of justice.
“Xu Fei, the person is dead. If you don’t want to go to jail, follow my instructions.” It was hard to imagine the honest-looking man would say something so chilling.
“We said we wouldn’t kill anyone!” A lanky man stood beside the couch. His eyes were bloodshot, and veins popped around his neck. He was very agitated, but it was unclear whether it was due to fear or other reason.
“Stop screaming. Do you want to attract the other neighbors?” The man in the sportswear stretched lazily. The man’s face turned up with a sneer. “The woman died testing your big sister’s new drug. All you need to do now is to push everything to your sister.”
“But the toxicology report…”
“You don’t need to worry about that. All I need is for you to make sure your sister won’t come out to destroy the plan.” The man crossed his legs. His shoes knocked at the cup beside Xu Fei. “You spiked the drink. I was only invited here. Even if this became huge news, who do you think will be punished more?”
“Fu Dong, don’t push it.”
“I’m just telling you the truth. Although my family always has issues with my actions, they will help me to protect the company image.” The man smiled at Xu Fei. “My dad is losing his marbles. The company is eventually mine. Just follow me. I’ll make sure your life is smooth.” The lanky man was persuaded. He took out a raincoat from his black bag and put it on with difficulty. “You did the right thing. We’ve done so many experiments. Many people didn’t even know what had happened to them. The woman’s resistance was just an accident. As long as we deal with this, all the past mistakes will be rectified too.” The man called Fu Dong took out his wallet and handed a card to Xu Fei. “I know it’s hard for you to make this decision. Take this money and go relax.”
Xu Fei hesitated before he reached for the card. But at that moment, Fu Dong pulled the card back. “With this card, you can do anything you want, but once you’re inside, you won’t be able to do anything.”
“I’ll confirm with you one last time. Is there no other solution?” Xu Fei’s eyes were red. His conscience and his greed were having one last fight.
“Your sister is responsible for the treatment of all the female patients in Area A and testing of all the new drugs. She should have noticed this problem a long time ago. That female patient has a serious mental problem, and she was tormented by us during the deep consciousness treatment. The new drugs have no effect on her anymore.” Fu Dong said these horrible things calmly.
“You did those things on your own. Don’t drag me into it.”
“People won’t care about that. After all, you took my money.” The smile on Fu Dong’s face slowly disappeared. “I can correct the data and memory in the computer, but we need you to eliminate the memory in people’s brains. Hide all the medicine and syringes I’ve given you. Remember to feed them to your sister daily. Eventually, she’ll forget these things.”
“Are you sure the drugs are only used to create amnesia?” Xu Fei’s eyes flashed with worry. “After my sister had the drugs, her emotions became very frayed. Her personality changed too.”
“It’s normal for the drugs to have side effects.” Fu Dong shrugged. “Go and wake your sister. It’s time for her medication again.”
The sound of meat-chopping grew louder, but the two men didn’t seem to hear it. They continued to conspire. Han Fei hid beside the dresser and memorized everything. The female owner probably had the surname Xu too. She was Xu Fei’s older sister. She once held an important post at a medical company. She was responsible for new drug testing on female mental patients. Fu Dong was most likely the son of the company boss. While the company did the treatment on the female patients, he did horrible things to them. Now that the incident was exposed, Xu Fei and Fu Dong wanted to cover it up. To keep the sister silent, they planned to use drugs to turn her into a madwoman.
“Those two men have no yin or yang energy on them. They are not ghosts or humans. They feel more like a figment of my imagination. I’m probably under the influence of some ghost. I’ve been drawn into her despair.” Han Fei and the paper doll looked in the same place. In the living room, the event continued. Xu Fei opened the door and led a long-haired woman out of the room. The woman had a pretty face and a voluptuous figure. Even in the most normal attire, she was captivating.
“Big Sister, it’s time to eat.” Xu Fei expertly poured the drug into the water. Then he took out a new syringe from the locked drawer.
“I’ll do this. You should go and deal with the dead body.” Fu Dong suddenly became so kind. Xu Fei seemed to understand something. He stood there for a while before turning to leave. After Xu Fei left, Fu Dong’s expression changed drastically. “It’s quite tiring to keep on acting.” He took out the syringe and looked at the woman lustily. “You’re going mad soon. In the future, I’ll send you to the company as an experiment. I’ll personally treat you.” He removed his shirt and stared at the woman’s face. He leaned close. “I didn’t even dare to think about this in the past, but you insisted on going against me. You asked for this.”
He reached for the woman’s clothes. But at that moment, the woman suddenly raised her eyes. There were different female faces hidden in her pair of gentle eyes. The woman grabbed the dining knife from the table and stabbed it into Fu Dong’s left eye. Fu Dong was dragged into the blood-red world without warning. He screamed. He fell to the ground, but the woman didn’t plan to let him go.
The beautiful face was twisted by anger and curse. The woman found the truth after the victims’ consciousness filtered into her mind. She pounced on Fu Dong like a ghost. Fu Dong was much stronger than the woman, but at that moment, he was really afraid. He was cornered and jumped down from the third-floor balcony. The meat-chopping sound was like a rapid drumbeat. Destiny was coming together.
Xu Fei downstairs heard the commotion. He rushed upstairs. He charged toward his sister, but he was welcomed by a sharp table knife. The woman had always loved her little brother, but in her madness, she personally stabbed through her brother’s heart. She understood human anatomy very well. She knew that cut would kill.
She growled and cried. The woman with the dancing knife had lost her mind. The faces in her eyes kept changing. She stood on the table and cut at the sins. She moved faster and faster. The sound of stabbing overlapped with the sound of meat chopping. At that moment, the woman with the blood-dyed dress looked up. She held the table knife and looked at the stairwell entrance dully.
Han Fei stood there. Their eyes met.
“Xu Qin?” A soft call and the maddening chopping sound faded away.
The woman, the men, all the blood faded like bubbles. Han Fei with the paper doll remained.
Han Fei had no impression of the events he had just seen. They appeared to be related to that woman’s past. After Han Fei had forgotten everything, she showed herself without reservation to Han Fei.
