In the surveillance footage, Wu Yinyu stumbled along, swaying left and right. She didn’t even need the lights on, skillfully avoiding the tables, chairs, and cabinets lurking in the darkness.
She pulled the door open and walked out, disappearing into the pitch-black corridor. The room was left empty.
Minutes later, a figure stumbled back into frame. It was her again.
Holding the calligraphy brush that should have been in the study, she walked slowly into the room and stood motionless before the wall.
The black-and-white footage looked like an aged photograph, some details blurred. It wasn’t until Wu Yinyu saw herself painting on the wall that she realized with horror that the brush tip was actually soaked in ink.
The ink seemed inexhaustible; she painted half the wall without needing to dip it again.
Her body movements were wildly exaggerated, somewhat like a drunken poet or painter from ancient times.
Each stroke was incredibly fluid, a true masterpiece. But she wasn’t painting landscapes or birds… she was painting… a Devil Buddha.
The figure was wearing a kasaya, a bead necklace around its neck, but its hair was loose and its feet were bare. It had three heads and six arms, and its visage was hideously ferocious.
Soon, all three walls were covered in Devil Buddhas with different expressions and postures. Some were tall, some short; some wore grotesque grins, some looked furious, and others were full of melancholy or twisted shyness, unwilling to show their faces.
A chill ran down Wu Yinyu’s spine. She had no memory of ever sleepwalking. Moreover, even when fully awake, she could never have painted a “Buddha” like this.
More accurately, she simply couldn’t paint this.
Her hands and feet were cold and trembling. She rubbed her palms together and let out a soft breath, only then noticing her palms were covered in jet-black ink, so thick she couldn’t even see her life lines.
Was it because she had identified the Devil Buddha in her dream that she drew such a thing?
No, she was more inclined to believe she had been possessed by some Evil Entity. What was strange was that she felt absolutely no trace of an Evil Spirit.
Wu Yinyu looked up, her eyes falling on the walls again. The Devil Buddhas filling the walls were immense, their condescending postures radiating an oppressive pressure that made it hard to breathe.
A sound of jade beads clinking together rang out. Her alarm had gone off suddenly.
The alarm rang at this time every day. She always needed a long afternoon nap, from noon until three-thirty. Otherwise, she’d feel completely drained of energy.
Snapping out of it, Wu Yinyu pulled open her bedside drawer and took out a Five Emperors Coin Bracelet, putting it on. With the bracelet on her wrist, she walked into the washroom, intending to wash the ink from her hands.
The water flowed over her palms. What trickled down was clean, but it carried nothing away.
The ink on her palms was fading, but clearly not being washed off… instead, it was… seeping back into her skin.
Wu Yinyu stared for a long time. The moment she looked up, there seemed to be a black shadow in the mirror, clinging terrifyingly close behind her. She instantly stiffened, but in that single second, the shadow vanished.
She couldn’t bear to stay any longer and turned to leave. The moment she stepped out of the washroom, a wet, squelching sound came from underfoot. She had clearly stepped in a puddle of liquid.
Looking down, she saw it was a fresh puddle of ink that hadn’t been there before.
Wu Yinyu immediately looked up, but the ceiling above was clean and spotless. The ink didn’t seem to have leaked from there.
The only explanation for the ink’s origin was that black shadow just now, though she had no idea where the thing was hiding.
Now, not only were the walls covered in paintings, but there was ink on the floor. This room was seemingly ruined.
Wu Yinyu packed a few simple things and left, locking the door behind her. She even tied a red cotton thread around the door handle.
The thread hung straight down, with a flat mirror tied to its end. The mirror was smeared with Black Dog Blood, positioned half in the corridor, half wedged into the door crack.
This was Wu Yinyu’s day for a routine medical check-up. While she was gone, she didn’t want anyone entering her room.
No matter who.
Springs in Wise City were long. Even in the afternoon, the sun wasn’t too scorching; it was even a bit cool.
On the way to the hospital, Yu Zezhi called.
Wu Yinyu hadn’t actually saved Yu Zezhi’s number, but her memory wasn’t bad. Seeing the string of digits, she guessed who was calling. She answered without hesitation, drawling lazily, “Good afternoon, Boss Yu. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Yu Zezhi, however, said, “Where is Ms. Wu rushing off to? I saw your car from quite a distance.”
Wu Yinyu was startled at first and instinctively looked out the window, but in those few seconds, the car had already driven a long way.
The Yu family line had few descendants, and their traditions had gone awry, causing many of their techniques to be lost.
While they might be at a dead end regarding this path, in business, the Yu family had many connections, their companies situated in the most prosperous areas of Wise City.
“To be spotted by you, perhaps it was fate,” Wu Yinyu said, gazing out the window.
Yu Zezhi asked, “How did things go yesterday? Did you encounter any more strange occurrences?”
Wu Yinyu lowered her eyes thoughtfully and laughed softly. “I slept until this afternoon. If anything happened, I wouldn’t know, would I?”
Her meandering tone was unintentional, so it wasn’t grating. It sounded more like she had weak breath, her words light as air.
“Seems you rested quite well.”
“There is something that’s rather perplexing,” Wu Yinyu said, deliberately vague.
“What?”
Wu Yinyu spread her palm open. Her hand was like flawless white jade; the ink had completely seeped away. She was certain her body was having some problems. And that Yu Zezhi… she also had problems.
She closed her five fingers and replied, “I’ll tell you after I come out from the hospital.”
“I’ll return the car to you later then.”
“No rush.” A weight of anxiety settled in Wu Yinyu’s heart. Every heartbeat made her uneasy.
The person on the other end didn’t seem in a hurry to hang up. Appearing heartless, yet somehow seemingly possessing a bodhisattva’s compassion, she actually asked, “Is Ms. Wu ill? Is it serious?”
“A minor issue. As you know, we from Five Gates often suffer from aching limbs and joints. Although I haven’t gone ‘down to the ground’ recently, the pain has gotten worse,” Wu Yinyu said.
“Then you should see a doctor.”
Wu Yinyu hummed lightly in response. Seeing that Yu Zezhi seemed to have nothing more to say, she suggested, “You hang up first, Boss Yu?”
The call ended immediately after.
After crossing the overpass, the car turned a corner and continued straight along the main road. Driving for about ten minutes, it finally stopped outside a private hospital.
This was practically a regular haunt for Wu Yinyu. In her schedule, visits to this hospital were as frequent as her trips to the Cuihui Eight Treasures Pavilion. Even the consulting doctor had become an old acquaintance.
Seeing the doctor, she went through the routine check-up first. Besides X-rays, they even used a psychological sand tray, followed by a session of relaxation under hypnosis.
On the reclining chair, Wu Yinyu suddenly jolted awake. Ever since the White Jade Capital had started invading her dreams, she found it difficult to truly relax. Now, the moment she closed her eyes, that ferocious visage of the Devil Buddha would flood her thoughts, leaving her drenched in cold sweat.
The cause of her joint pain still couldn’t be found. The doctor simply said that Wu Yinyu had been harboring more and more melancholy recently, advising her to get some rest.
Leaving the hospital, Wu Yinyu looked up and surprisingly saw a familiar car approaching from the distance.
Coincidentally, it was the very one Yu Zezhi had borrowed.
Wu Yinyu’s driver was also puzzled and specifically rolled down the window, craning his neck to look.
As soon as that car stopped, Yu Zezhi stepped out. This time, she wasn’t wearing the long robe that clashed so incongruously with modern transport. The Horse-Face Skirt was unchanged, still red, but on top, she wore a silk White Shirt.
Yu Zezhi opened the back door and tilted her chin slightly, gesturing for Wu Yinyu to get in.
“How did you know I was here?” Wu Yinyu’s hair was loose and messy from lying on the massage chair for so long, and she looked quite listless.
A very faint smile played on Yu Zezhi’s lips. “Would you believe me if I said I had someone follow you the entire way?”
