Four car doors opened, and with a whoosh, over a dozen people emerged. Some were in police uniforms, others in plainclothes, and three or four were armed with guns. It was quite a show of force.
But Shen Xingyue wasn't among them. She likely wouldn't have made it from Fucheng district this quickly.
The plainclothes officer who had been staking out the place exchanged a few words with this group. The uniformed police divided into two teams. One team entered the building's main entrance, while the other circled around to the north, no doubt heading for the window we had climbed out of.
Naturally, they found nothing. In just a minute, they regrouped in front of the building. The leader looked extremely annoyed and berated the plainclothes man a few times. The plainclothes man, however, was completely bewildered, unable to comprehend how we had vanished into thin air.
The leader pulled out his phone and made a call. The signal seemed weak, and he spoke loudly enough for me to mostly make out his words.
"Hello, Chief? They escaped! What should we do? ... Alright, we'll intensify the search, within a ten-mile radius... Okay, okay, don't worry, Chief. If they get away, it's on me!"
After declaring his resolve, the group got back into their vehicles, presumably to return and discuss the next steps of their search.
The plainclothes officer didn't get in the car; he was left behind, hoping to catch us if we returned.
Having seen enough, I pulled Zheng Bingbing away from the residential complex, crossed the small stream, and returned to our tent in the cornfield.
Nothing unexpected had happened. Mu Jige was still in the same spot, though she had changed positions. She had been lying stiffly like a mummy, but now she was in a more comfortable "spread-eagle" pose.
"Is that mask of hers made of gold?" Zheng Bingbing asked curiously, kneeling beside Mu Jige. After spending so much time together, she was no longer as scared of Mu Jige.
"Probably. If it were iron, it would likely be rusty by now," I reasoned, considering the damp conditions of the tomb.
The mask itself was quite plain, fitting snugly against his face with no patterns or carvings. I wondered if he had always worn a mask in battle, or if it had been placed on him after he was sealed.
I was also hungry. I ate some of the stir-fried bread I had and had a few cans of Red Bull left in my bag, but I couldn't drink any more; my heart wouldn't take it. I poured out two cans of Red Bull and quietly went back to the river. I filled two bottles with clear water and returned to share one with Zheng Bingbing. It was sweet and refreshing, quite delicious. It must have been spring water.
After eating and drinking our fill, the warm breeze, mixed with the scent of corn, made me drowsy.
"Bingbing, I'm going to take a nap. Will you stand guard? Or should we both sleep?" I asked.
"I'm not sleepy. Uncle, you sleep first. When I get sleepy, you can take my place."
I nodded and lay down next to Mu Jige, fully clothed. I closed my eyes, and about five minutes later, in a semi-conscious state, I saw Yaoyao floating above me, her face down, grinning at me!
For a moment, I couldn't tell if it was a dream or reality. Even in reality, I wouldn't be too surprised if Yaoyao were floating. Didn't she know magic!
But when I turned to try and wake Zheng Bingbing, I found that the person beside me wasn't Zheng Bingbing, but my aunt. That made it quite clear: it was a dream.
"Long time no see," I said to Yaoyao, ignoring my aunt, who was busy making dumplings.
"Long time no see," Yaoyao replied. "Chengfeng, thank you. You really saved me."
"You're welcome. Now that you're out, I'd like to know what to do next. Should I send you to the crematorium as you said, or...?"
Yaoyao's body slowly floated, turning a quarter of the way, to a horizontal position beside me, but still about a meter away. It was likely due to the residual power of the Taoist priest's golden talisman.
"Will you regret it?" Yaoyao asked, not answering my question.
"No," I said truthfully. Regret was pointless; I couldn't go back in time to change anything.
"I mean, if I truly become a rampaging killer after I'm resurrected, as Shen Xingyue claimed, wouldn't you regret it?" Yaoyao asked with a cold smile.
"I don't think you would," I said.
"Why do you believe that so strongly?"
"It's not that I believe *you*, it's that I believe in my judgment of a person," I paused. Even in a dream, my mind was relatively clear. "We've known each other for over a month now. Putting aside the embarrassing things, we've had quite a bit of contact in other ways. Through my interactions with you, I've judged that you are not the great demon that Shen Xingyue described. Moreover, I've checked the historical records. The reason you went on a killing spree, wasn't it because you were possessed by demonic energy?"
"No," Yaoyao answered simply.
"What?" I hadn't processed it.
"On Chrysanthemum Mountain, I personally killed over a hundred of my own people. I wasn't possessed by demonic energy. At that time, I was perfectly clear-headed." Yaoyao smiled, her body drifting towards me, getting closer and closer.
I couldn't help but feel nervous, swallowing repeatedly. What was she trying to convey...