Chapter 53
Chapter 53
There was a large bronze bell in the old town of Yunlan City that dated back over four hundred years. Even after the old town’s redevelopment, the bell remained hanging in the bell tower.
Every hour on the hour, it would toll to mark the time.
The sound of the bell intersecting with the noise of a mall promotion led to a single conclusion-the person carrying the Dream-Embracing Grass had passed through the old town exactly on the hour.
Qin Ying only wished she could have grown hands in her dream to tear away the black cloth covering her head and see what the bastard responsible for so many bloody crimes actually looked like.
She could only listen intently, trying her best to memorize every sound.
The man had only spoken one sentence and then remained silent, much to Qin Ying’s disappointment.
She swayed along with the movement of the vehicle until the dream suddenly tore apart, replaced by a cold mist and the distinct smell of hospital disinfectant.
Someone peeled back Qin Ying’s eyelids and shone a flashlight into her pupils.
Dean Tan asked anxiously, “Qin Ying, are you awake?”
Before Qin Ying had intentionally gone to sleep, she had made an agreement with Dean Tan and the others to wake her after thirty seconds of slumber.
She blinked and turned her head to avoid the blinding light. “I’m awake.”
Squinting, Qin Ying turned to look at Qin Zhiguo. “The Mastermind definitely didn’t burn all the Dream-Embracing Grass and Ghost-Shadow Vine.”
She clearly recounted everything from the dream.
The person fleeing with all the Dream-Embracing Grass and Ghost-Shadow Vine was a man.
He wasn’t driving a good car; the engine had been clattering and rattling.
He had passed through the old town just as the bell tolled eight times. At the same time, a certain mall was running a promotion; Qin Ying had heard an announcement for twenty percent off milk.
Combined with surveillance footage, this information was enough for Qin Zhiguo and his team to quickly narrow down the suspect’s vehicle.
Qin Zhiguo felt a surge of excitement. He turned to leave but stopped to look at Qin Ying, clearly still worried about her.
Qin Ying urged him, “Go quickly, Uncle. Catch him and bring back the leaves of the Dream-Embracing Grass.”
“The leaves?” Qin Zhiguo asked.
“I learned in the dream that to extract that thing from my body, I have to consume the leaves of the Dream-Embracing Grass.”
Qin Ying wasn’t lying. When Qin Zhiguo heard that there was a turn for the better and a hope for her life, his spirits instantly lifted.
He shouted a quick instruction and ran out the door.
Old Dao and Old Miao, who were also in the ward, looked at each other. Old Dao followed him out of his own accord.
Qin Ying underwent another physical examination. The bad news was that the parasite clinging to her internal organs had grown into another clump.
Old Miao sat silently beside her and said, “Minmin went to buy you some porridge. Do you want to eat something first?”
Qin Ying thought for a moment and said, “Have her bring me a pack of pickled tubers.”
Things had come to this; all she could do was wait for news from Qin Zhiguo.
She might as well eat and drink; Qin Ying’s mindset was relatively stable.
After eating the cooled white porridge, she was surrounded by cooling ice packs, making her lips turn purple from the cold.
Yin Minmin and Old Miao sat side-by-side by the hospital bed, looking less like they were nursing a patient and more like they were attending a funeral.
Qin Ying felt it was a bit of an ill omen and couldn’t help but say, “Why don’t you two play on your phones?”
She wanted them to stop staring at her as if they were paying their final respects to a corpse.
The wait felt exceptionally long. By the time the sky outside began to turn gray with dawn, Qin Ying’s eyes were incredibly dry.
She was exhausted, yet she forced herself to stay awake, her eyes straining with dryness.
Just then, the phone resting by her pillow rang.
Qin Zhiguo’s voice, filled with joy, came through the receiver: “We found the car!”
The Mastermind had acted cautiously; all the surveillance cameras near the research institute had been broken for unknown reasons.
But even the most meticulous plan has a flaw. The killer likely hadn’t expected someone like Qin Ying, who could enter a dream while remaining lucid and track him down through it.
“We’re moving in to make the arrest. You must hold on-don’t fall asleep again!”
Qin Zhiguo was likely driving; the sound of the wind was whistling through the phone.
Even over the call, she could tell how fast he was driving.
By noon, Qin Ying’s eyelids felt as heavy as lead weights. She forced herself to eat her hospital meal, nearly face-planting into the tray several times as she drifted off toward sleep.
Qin Zhiguo, Old Dao, and Wen Hao finally returned.
Old Miao was initially pleased to see them, but his expression soured when he noticed how grim all three of them looked.
He glanced back at the listless Qin Ying, and his heart sank. “Did he get away?”
Qin Zhiguo wiped his face and remained silent; the answer was self-evident.
Wen Hao adjusted his glasses. “We didn’t catch him.”
“The car was abandoned on the national highway. There’s no sign of him.”
Old Miao immediately smelled a rat. “Wait, how did the news leak?”
To be able to escape ahead of time twice-the killer must have received intelligence before the police even moved!
“We’ve already started an internal investigation,” Qin Zhiguo said, his voice raspy. He coughed several times, perhaps from smoking too much.
Old Miao paced in circles, agitated. “What about the grass?”
Old Dao caught his eye and silently shook his head.
A deathly silence fell over the hospital room.
It was Qin Ying who finally broke the heavy atmosphere.
She sat halfway up and rubbed her eyes. “I want to go home for a bit. I need to shower and change.”
She looked as though she had given up and was preparing for the end, but Qin Ying had her own plans. Since she couldn’t rely on the people here, she had to check on Han Lie’s side of the box.
She couldn’t explain herself, so she simply looked at Qin Zhiguo. “Uncle, I need to go home.”
Qin Zhiguo stood frozen for a long moment before finally nodding. “Alright. I’ll drive you back.”
***
The streets in the Old City District of Ancient City were narrow; Qin Zhiguo’s car took up half the road as he drove in. He didn’t follow her inside, instead sitting in the car and chain-smoking in silence.
Yin Minmin accompanied Qin Ying.
After pulling an all-nighter, the young girl also had dark circles under her eyes. As soon as they stepped through the door, her nose twitched. “Sister Ying, what kind of fragrance do you use at home? It smells wonderful and really wakes you up.”
Qin Ying’s mind was currently muddled and her reactions were slow. It was only after Yin Minmin spoke that she noticed the sweet scent permeating the room.
It was like fruit mixed with honey-a soft, cloying scent that was unexpectedly refreshing. The fog clouding Qin Ying’s brain seemed to clear instantly.
She realized then that the person in the box might have given her a new offering.
Her spirits lifted, and she casually brushed off Yin Minmin’s curiosity. There was nothing strange on the first floor that couldn’t be seen, so she told Yin Minmin to make herself at home and help herself to some juice. Then, she turned on the air conditioning to lower the temperature and headed up to the second floor.
The moment she opened her bedroom door, the thick fragrance hit her like a physical wave. Qin Ying hurried inside and locked the door behind her.
She was stunned when she looked at the box.
Lying quietly in front of the box were three small Red Flowers. Each one was about the length of Qin Ying’s thumb; if scaled up, they would be quite tall in the World in the Box. Two curled red petals clustered around a long, thick spike.
At first glance, the shape looked rather suggestive, and the floral scent was incredibly potent. This fragrance completely swept away the sleepiness that had been haunting Qin Ying.
Qin Ying opened the lid of the box. Looking down, she saw a vast wasteland. Large patches of moss and low-lying ferns grew across the landscape. The grey-green moss, protruding white rocks, and mirror-like puddles created a scene of immense beauty.
But where was Han Lie?
Before she could find him, as if some mechanism had been triggered, the quiet wilderness suddenly erupted into chaos.
Rocks flew everywhere as a mass of writhing, octopus-like limbs burst from the ground. Looking closer, they were actually countless Crimson Vines dancing in a violent frenzy, lashing out at the ground in every direction.