Back to modern times, at Lin Wanās house.
This time Lin Wan opened the door. Linās Mother had returned to her hometown to work since her holiday leave ended, and because Lin Wan was all better, there was no need to continue taking time off.
Entering the door, they kissed passionately.
"Iāve learned the first technique!" Lin Wan said excitedly.
After nearly a month of hands-on guidance from Lu Zheng, Lin Wan finally mastered the first technique of the "Eighteen Mountain-Carrying Techniques."
"Come on, put up the stance so I can see."
Lin Wan nodded repeatedly and went to the living room to assume the first stance of the "Eighteen Mountain-Carrying Techniques."
Lu Zheng started from Lin Wanās instep and worked his way up to her shoulder.
"Not bad," Lu Zheng nodded, though it wasnāt perfect, it met the standard. The rest could be perfected gradually.
"Does this mean I can develop Qi Sensitivity in the future?" Lin Wanās eyes sparkled.
Lu Zheng smacked his lips, "Itās not that easy! And it also depends on how well you practice the remaining seventeen techniques."
"Teach me the second one quickly!" Lin Wan said eagerly.
Lu Zheng lounged back on the sofa, "Whereās the tuition fee?"
Lin Wan bit her lip, "Iāll pay!"
Then the sofa wobbled for two hours.
...
"Oh dear, looks like the morning isnāt going to work, letās try the afternoon," Lu Zheng joked.
Lin Wanās eyes twinkled, "You free this afternoon?"
Lu Zheng shook his head, "Afternoonās free, Iām spending the whole day with you today."
A smile spread across Lin Wanās face as she put on her clothes and got up, "Then Iāll go make some food."
"Knock knock knock!" A knocking came at the door.
"Lin Wan! Iām here to see you! And I have good news!"
"Itās Xiumin, today is Saturday!" Lin Wan exclaimed softly.
"How much have you recovered?"
"Itās been over two months, Iāve already started walking with the aid of a walker."
Lu Zheng handed Lin Wan the walking aid, "Iāll get the door."
Lin Wan assumed a posture, and Lu Zheng went to open the door for Huang Xiumin.
"Xiumin."
"Lu Zheng! What are you doing here?"
"Are you kidding? Why wouldnāt I be here?"
"Hehe, slip of the tongue, itās just that you werenāt here the past few times I came," Huang Xiumin carried the fruits inside.
"Buying things again, didnāt I say thereās nothing lacking at home?" Lin Wan said as she navigated with the walking aid, appearing at the bedroom door.
Lu Zheng stood behind Huang Xiumin, giving Lin Wan an expressive eye of admiration for her acting.
Lin Wan rolled her eyes at Lu Zheng, this guy was really being cheeky after getting a good deal.
"Just some fruit," Huang Xiumin placed the fruit on the dining table and looked at Lin Wan, "Youāve recovered well."
Lin Wan nodded, "In another month or so, Iāll be able to abandon the aid and fully recover."
Huang Xiumin shook her head, "Thatās just being without the aid, full recovery is still quite some time away, right?"
"Basically about right."
"Is it now, thatās great, Iām the only woman in the group, sometimes I canāt even find someone to chat with."
Huang Xiumin circled around the living room with Lin Wan twice, Lin Wan feigned difficulty and soon sat back on the living room sofa.
She stuck her tongue out at Lu Zheng, luckily she had cleaned up the scene well.
"Oh, let me tell you some good news!"
"What good news?"
"Liu Yifan turned himself in!"
"Huh?" Lin Wan was a bit surprised, why would Liu Yifan turn himself in?
Huang Xiumin said with some dissatisfaction, "We had just found some evidence, and Liu Yifan turned himself in. It made us feel quite unrewarded!"
"What happened?"
"Itās about the two drowning cases and the car accident case." Mentioning the car accident, Huang Xiumin glanced at Lin Wan.
Seeing Lin Wanās expression remain calm, she continued, "We found some evidence related to that car accident case and were about to investigate further, but then Liu Yifan returned to the country and turned himself in. However, he didnāt confess to everything, only some minor cases. He didnāt confess to possibly hiring someone to kill Li Yanjie or the fatal drowning case."
"But why?" Lin Wan asked, puzzled.
She was familiar with the third groupās progress in gathering evidence against Liu Yifan and had planned to continue tracking it after returning.
Huang Xiumin said gleefully, "Couldnāt take being tormented by the Tai Sui God anymore, Iāve never seen someone go without deep sleep for two months, so now I have.
And it wasnāt just the lack of deep sleep, but anytime he entered deep sleep, heād be startled awake by nightmares.
As his physical health deteriorated, he actually got startled more frequently each day, it was no fun. Yesterday at the holding center, he kept causing a ruckus all night long."
Lin Wan couldnāt help but ask, "What happened? Didnāt he go abroad for treatment?"
Huang Xiumin sneered, "Yeah, went abroad for treatment, then traveled around the world, from the Lighthouse Country to Western Europe, from psychiatrists to priests and bishops, nothing worked even after a month.
Hypnosis, sleeping pills, even getting hit over the head to pass out didnāt work either.
Just entering deep sleep, that Ghost Infant appears in his dreams, kills him in all sorts of ways, saying heās a bad person before killing him."
Lin Wan was surprised, "Saying heās a bad person?"
Huang Xiumin looked twisted and nodded, "Yeah, it said heās a bad person, told him to go back to Hua Country and turn himself in or it would keep devouring his soul in dreams, making every day for him worse than death."
"Told him... to turn himself in?"
Lin Wan blinked, this... why did such a mystical story suddenly feel so grounded?
Huang Xiumin nodded, "Yeah, otherwise why would he turn himself in?"
"So he was forced by a ghost?" Lin Wan said incredulously.
Huang Xiumin also looked awkward, "Yes."
"Do you believe it?" Lin Wan asked.
"I donāt know." Huang Xiumin shook her head, "And he turned himself in yesterday, and last night was wailing in the holding cells, saying things like āI already turned myself in, why are you still comingā and such."
Lin Wan, "..."
Lu Zheng, "..."
When Lu Zheng cast the Nightmare Curse on Liu Yifan, he did it in the form of a Ghost Infant. Apart from the first few dream murders which Lu Zheng set up, the subsequent actions of the Ghost Infant were actually reflections of Liu Yifanās own psyche.
In other words, the more twisted his mentality and the more torture and killing methods he knew, the Ghost Infant reflected those back on him in his dreams.
Additionally, there was a small suggestion that before each killing that woke him from a nightmare, a phrase would be said, "You are a bad person, quickly go back to Hua Country and turn yourself in..."
Quite ingenious, isnāt it?
So after trying everything and finding nothing worked, the broken Liu Yifan had no choice but to return to the country and surrender.
However, hoping for a fluke, he selectively confessed to some lesser crimes.
He didnāt expect that Lu Zheng also didnāt design the Nightmare Curse with the capability to automatically lift the curse after meeting certain conditions!
Lu Zheng: (āā”ā)
Sorry, it was intentional!