Chapter 075: Piecing Together.

Chapter 075: Piecing Together.

"Hello."

In a soft voice, Chi Shen greeted.

Beside him, Zhong Yi gazed with a hint of puzzlement, seemingly not understanding the point of such a casual greeting. To him, saying "hello" to a fragmented spirit seemed like a futile endeavor.

Yuan Yiping, on the other hand, was intrigued. He knew of Chi Shen's ability to communicate with spirits. Yet this was the first time he'd witnessed such a direct approach, without the aid of any ritualistic tools.

Normally, when seeking answers from a spirit, especially a malicious one, they'd burn incense and call upon the guardians of the underworld, also preparing various artifacts to restrain the spirit. It was this precaution that Zhong Yi had stressed upon, cautioning against the entry of ordinary people. But to their astonishment, Chi Shen was communicating directly and casually, without any preparation.

A shared doubt lingered between the two: Could such an approach genuinely work?

Following the greeting, both attentively observed the paper effigy. As they anticipated, it remained unresponsive.

Zhong Yi glanced towards Yuan Yiping, his eyes questioning: Are you certain about him?

Yuan Yiping seemed to miss the insinuation, his focus predominantly on the effigy, filled with apprehension.

Chi Shen had anticipated the lack of response. Nonetheless, it was courtesy to greet first. He then extended a gentle hand, brushing the effigy's head as if caressing the finest silk.

This action made Zhong Yi's eyes widen in disbelief. It looked as if he was about to stand up, but Yuan Yiping restrained him. Unable to hold back, he voiced his concern, "Are you sure this is safe? That spirit was hard-won!"

Yuan Yiping, though concerned, firmly stated, "I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong."

Only then did Zhong Yi relinquish his objections.

Chi Shen could feel the anguish emanating from the spirit. Ordinary vengeful ghosts usually harbor violent and bloody desires, driven by the torment of their demise to slaughter and consume. However, this spirit felt different.

He sensed her fear. She wished to hide, to vanish to a place unreachable, to... disappear as if she had never existed.

Chi Shen "saw" the spirit fragments, his gaze deepening.

Memories fragmented like shards washed over Chi Shen, revealing faces among them – the face of Bai Ran.

Spirits are made of obsessions. Each grain-sized fragment contained her obsessions, and these faces of Bai Ran represented just that.

This time, instead of merely skimming the surface of the spirit's ocean of memories with "empathy", Chi Shen chose to delve deep, sifting through the painful recollections.

The paper effigy began to emanate a faint dark aura. To Zhong Yi's surprise, he pondered, could merely saying "hello" genuinely have made a difference?

Yuan Yiping grew more tense. Although unaware of Chi Shen's exact actions, he recognized that the initial communication was successful. What was uncertain was the smoothness of what was to come.

The fragmented scenes were all of Bai Ran: her smiling, silent, speaking, indifferent faces... Various facets of Bai Ran. In them, Chi Shen saw glimpses of her from high school to college.

Like assembling a puzzle, Chi Shen categorized these fragments related to Bai Ran, setting them aside and then resumed sifting through the larger pieces.

The first emotion he felt was the girl's terror. Amidst this fear, she opened her mouth, biting into a man named Lu Xiangyang.

Instinct drove her to consume Lu Xiangyang, yet her reason retreated deep within her soul, weeping. She closed her eyes and covered her ears, refusing to see or hear what was truly happening.

He placed this fragment separately and turned his attention to the other pieces.

These fragments sporadically chronicled her devouring humans or ghosts over the years. From her initial resistance and revulsion, driven by instinct to feed, she later became numb, hiding herself away to weep.

She never wished to harm anyone, but the innate drive to find her own remains led her to appear next to unsuspecting humans. Her bones would cause her to lose her sanity, controlled by the malevolent instincts of a restless ghost, consuming those around her remains.

Chi Shen's gaze lowered slightly, focusing on a rock within this sea of anguish – the most painful memory.

Reaching out, he touched the rock. Fear, sobbing, regret – a torrent of negative emotions engulfed him in an instant.

The first face that met his gaze, astonishingly, was Bai Ran's.

Simultaneously, the amulets throughout the room rustled as if stirred by an unseen wind. A painful scream erupted from the paper effigy. Ghostly energy, sharp as claws, stretched out from within, flailing about the room. Wherever it passed, the amulets ignited with a ghostly blue flame.

"What has he done?!" Zhong Yi, in shock, quickly stood up, intending to restrain Chi Shen.

Yuan Yiping didn't stop him this time. He hadn't anticipated this outcome. If the room that trapped the malevolent spirit was breached, releasing a ghost that had consumed countless souls, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Just as Zhong Yi took a step forward, a shadow from Chi Shen transformed into a bespectacled figure standing before them, stating, "You cannot help here."

A ghastly pale face also emerged from Chi Shen's back. Despite its weak voice, it positioned itself between Zhong Yi and Yuan Yiping, forcefully stating, "Stay back!"

Zhong Yi clearly wasn't planning to heed the warnings of two ghosts. He hesitated briefly, sizing up the two apparitions, gauging their strength.

Ji Xingchen didn't bother with Zhong Yi but looked towards Yuan Yiping, "You sought him out. Trust him."

Yuan Yiping looked uncertain. Glancing at the ghastly face, recalling the eerie aura it emitted that night, he finally halted Zhong Yi.

"Brother Yuan?" Zhong Yi called out, slightly puzzled.

"I'll take responsibility for any consequences," Yuan Yiping declared gravely.

After half a second of silence, Zhong Yi said, "I'll set up the formation first, just in case."

Yuan Yi nodded, "Alright."

The black claw, formed from the ghostly aura emerging from the paper figure, was still frantically scratching amidst its cries. Strangely enough, even though it had destroyed half of the talismans on the wall, it hadn't affected Chi Shen or what was behind him at all.

Seeing this, a hint of confusion appeared in Zhong Yi's eyes. Prioritizing safety, he didn't hesitate and quickly drew symbols around the room with cinnabar from his bag.

In the tumultuous sea of tormented souls, Chi Shen only felt a sense of calm. Amidst these memories, there were even joyful moments of a young girl.

She had feelings for Bai Ran.

Bai Ran was in the same class as her. Normally, she was quiet and gloomy, not popular amongst her peers, overlooked by teachers. But Bai Ran was different. He spoke to her with a smile, and even though their conversations were mundane and he spoke to her no differently than others, she couldn't help but fall for him.

She never voiced her feelings but silently observed him. Soon, she discovered some of Bai Ran's secrets.

Bai Ran, during his school years, had mastered the art of feigned smiles but hadn’t learned to hide his unique abilities. She found out that Bai Ran could see ghosts and even knew methods to exorcise them.

She treated this discovery as a shared secret and cautiously approached Bai Ran for confirmation.

At first, Bai Ran seemed surprised but then laughed, admitting she had found out. He asked her to keep it a secret and mentioned that if she came to the riverside on the weekend, he'd share more with her.

She went.

She died.

With cold eyes, Bai Ran watched as she was dragged into the river by a water ghost. She overheard a deal between Bai Ran and the water ghost: the ghost would help him in exchange for him providing suitable souls.

She became a new water ghost and also a new helper for his tasks.

The first thing he asked her to do was to devour the little dog that nuzzled her legs every day on her way to school.

She lost her mind.

The final fragment of this memory was Bai Ran's cruel laugh, "I always knew you, annoying as you look, would make a competent vengeful spirit. They cultivated Bai Wan, and I cultivated you. Didn’t you like me? Now, go and consume those I despise.”

Ghostly energy erupted within the confined room. All the talismans ignited instantly. Zhong Yi's brush strokes flowed like a dragon, drawing the boundary symbols. He had completed two directions and needed to finish all four before the ghost's full outburst.

The dispersed ghostly aura suddenly stilled, akin to clouds halting amidst a breeze. Zhong Yi once again turned to the paper figure, noticing that its expression, drawn in red ink, shifted slowly from agony to tranquility.

Chi Shen meticulously pieced together the retrieved fragments of memories, embedding each version of Bai Ran into those fragments, thus completing the puzzle.

Yet, something was still missing.

Chi Shen gazed towards the abyss of the Sea of Sorrow, where submerged memories lay.

He ventured into this ocean, searching amidst countless emotions of despair.

Pain, illness, beatings, and hunger.

A deluge of emotions surged towards him, but he remained unaffected, merely scouring the ocean floor. Soon enough, he found the remaining fragments.

Why had Bai Ran taken an interest in her?

Chi Shen positioned these new memory fragments at the forefront of all the memories.

Within these pieces, there was only a weeping little girl.

After her mother remarried, she was despised by her stepfather, often abused and even denied money for meals, facing hunger at school. The twisted family environment made her sensitive and self-conscious, leading her to be cautious, even fearful of interaction. This led to her becoming the introverted, somber character that peers disliked. She was further alienated at school and became the target of cruel pranks.

It was her harrowing past that had drawn Bai Ran's attention.

This was the life story of the malevolent spirit who aided Bai Ran in his wickedness.

Chi Shen looked at the little girl, whose reconstructed image was still ragged. Instead of his usual kind smile, he paused for a moment and posed a question, "What is your wish?"