Grudge Breaker

Chapter 348: Shadow of Terror
"To be exact, you were tricked by someone, and then an innocent little reincarnation like me was implicated!"

Song Weichen crossed his arms across his chest, leaned back in his chair, and looked as if he had lost all hope in life.

The shrill male voice sounded like the sound of a mouse gnawing - the information was so specific that she couldn't help but think of an unsolved mystery in recent cases.

"It seems that some things are not coincidences. The voice you are talking about may be familiar to me."

Song Weichen smacked his lips.

"Although the Master of Breaking Resentment is not allowed to disclose the case to irrelevant people, you are not an outsider either."

I still remember the Golden Immortal Lord who could predict everything he said when he solved the Ghost Husband Case in the Ghost Market. His verdict could predict major events in the Sleeping World within the next ten days. I originally thought that he was in collusion with the powerful and connected with the "Dark Cabinet", and that he had access to all kinds of information, and he intended to use this to create mystery and stir up trouble, but later I found out that it was not that simple.

He said that a shrill male voice like the gnaws of a mouse would appear in his head from time to time, telling him some plausible prophecies. It was true that Lord Jinxian was skilled in divination, but the "daily verdicts" that made him famous all came from that voice in his head. He was just a parrot.

There is also Grandma Huang. She was originally an ordinary country woman. The reason why she was able to use the art of Qimen Dunjia and the terrain of Pingyang to adapt to local conditions and design the Seven Evils Soul-Locking Formation in the Ghost Market that could trap the soul of her deceased husband for decades, as well as those various herbal medicines with different effects, were all secretly taught to her by someone, also a man with a shrill voice.

"Not only that, I have a colleague in Sichen Mansion, nicknamed 'Meng Meng Da', who has a special talent. He can infer the appearance of the murderer and the circumstances of the crime based on the murder weapon."

"Bingtuozi and I showed him a mask of the King of Corpses not long ago. He also said something similar, saying that he heard a voice when he touched the mask. The specific content was unclear, but the voice was as shrill as a mouse speaking human language."

Song Weichen was rarely serious. He leaned forward to the table and told Sang Pu everything.

"I think the people with high-pitched voices in these cases must be related in some way, or even the same person."

"Plus, you just said that you heard similar noises in this damn place. That means it's not accidental that Bingtuozi and I encountered those cases. It must be related to the person who trapped you here."

"It's a pity that the clues are broken."

"Grandma Huang is dead, Lord Jinxian is missing, and Mengmengda has never heard that voice again. If you hadn't mentioned it today, I would have almost forgotten about this person."

Song Weichen looked at Sang Pu with bright eyes.
"Sang Pu, you are a hundred times smarter than me. Analyze it quickly. Maybe if we can find this rat, we can get out of this half-dead, broken place!"

……

"Knock, knock."

Sang Pu didn't say anything, but his slender fingers tapped the table rhythmically. Mo Tingfeng also had this subconscious habit when thinking about a problem. Song Weichen felt inexplicably at ease listening to the tapping sound.

She did not make any more noise to disturb him, but just looked at the open door quietly - time and space showed strange folds here. Song Weichen sat at the table and looked outside the door, and saw the backs of her and Sang Pu sitting at the table.

It is difficult to describe this feeling. When a person can clearly see the back of his head without the help of a mirror, he becomes the most desperate trapped beast in the universe - both a prisoner and a guard.

"This damn place."

Song Weichen sighed helplessly. Damn it, who did this little girl Sang Pu offend that she, a transparent little reincarnation, was spared. She couldn't die, and she couldn't live well. Was she going to have to stare at her past life here for the rest of her life?

For others it’s Girls helping Girls, but for her it’s just, Me hurts Me?

Song Weichen gave a bitter smile and slumped back into his chair in frustration.

……

"You and Master Mo must be acquainted with this person."

Half an incense stick later, Sang Pu seemed to have figured out some key points and finally spoke.

Song Weichen was stunned. What? A man with a shrill voice? Did she know him?

Her mind raced, but she couldn't think of any shrill-voiced "East Factory eunuch" she knew. Moreover, if this person had set up a trap to trap her here when Sang Pu died a thousand years ago, then he must have lived for more than a thousand years. Tsk, she had only lived for twenty years. A thousand-year-old eunuch? She really didn't know him at all.

Seeing that Song Weichen didn't believe him, Sang Pu patiently explained,

"First, I've been here for so many years, and he's only spoken once. This shows that he's patient enough. It also shows that I'm not his target. If I were his target, he wouldn't have to wait so long."

"So his target is you. If there is another candidate, it must be Master Mo. This person is waiting for the opportunity for you and me to appear in the Mei Realm at the same time. There must be an important matter that requires you to meet so that he can have a chance to accomplish it."

"Secondly, this person has been planning for a thousand years, just waiting for you to meet again. This means that he knows a lot about my past with Master Mo, so he must be someone we know well."

"Third, because they are familiar with each other, he needs to disguise himself - using a high-pitched voice like a mouse's gnawing to hide his original voice. This is because you or Mr. Mo must be very familiar with this person's voice, and he doesn't want to reveal his identity."

"So, since we are talking about calculations, I am afraid you need to think carefully about who among the acquaintances you have met since arriving in the Mei Realm knows you best, and who also knows the past of Master Mo and I best."

"Then this person is the most suspicious."

When Sang Pu was speaking, he was looking outside the house, but at this moment he suddenly turned his head towards the wall behind him - so the gaze of Sang Pu outside the house suddenly fell directly on the face of Song Weichen inside the house. The scene was indescribably weird, and it made Song Weichen break out in a thin layer of sweat on his back.

"Hey, hey, hey, can you please stop looking at me like that? It's scary!"

Song Weichen waved his hand at Sang Pu outside the house as if swatting away a fly, signaling her to turn her head away.

"Sorry, I scared you."

Sang Pu withdrew his gaze and smiled faintly, somewhat apologetically.

"I've been here for too long, and I often do this when I'm thinking about something. I subconsciously feel that as long as I look back, I can find the truth hidden behind it."

She poured the cold tea into the teacup and poured another cup of hot tea for Song Weichen.
"Have you come up with any clues about this person?"

Song Weichen shook his head. "Your analysis makes sense, but I always feel that some of the logic doesn't make sense."

"First, I have only been in the Mei Realm for a short time. How could I possibly know a thousand-year-old demon who was intent on murdering me? It's more like you know Bing Tuozi, so this person would attack you and indirectly take me with him."

"Secondly, if he wanted to conceal his identity, why did he come up with such a unique and memorable voice to show off? Does he want to hide it or does he want to be discovered?"

"Third, if the high-pitched voice was intentional, is it possible that this person is not even a man? Rather, it is a woman with a high-pitched voice who deliberately twisted her voice to pretend to be a man? If we blindly look for the suspect among the men, wouldn't we be going in the wrong direction from the beginning?"

After helping Mo Tingfeng solve several cases, Song Weichen's logical thinking ability has indeed improved, and what she said makes sense.

Sang Pu nodded approvingly.

"You're right."

"It's just that I am the cause he planted, and you are the result he wanted. If not, he wouldn't have to wait for a thousand years, but had to wait for you to appear. So this person must have made many moves after you arrived in the Sleeping Realm, and you and Master Mo must have been familiar with him."

“And the reason why he deliberately disguised a certain tone and left a special mark was not because he was stupid, but because he was crazy.”

"This is a more blatant provocation - look, even if I leave you obvious clues, you can't find me."

"Oh!"

Song Weichen suddenly realized, how could she have forgotten, she had learned it in class before! There is a professional term in criminal psychology called "Signature Behavior". The perpetrator will leave the same mark every time he commits a crime. It can be a graphic object, or it can be a smell or sound. It is especially common in serial crimes. This "special marker" has nothing to do with the necessity of committing the crime process, it is simply a kind of psychological satisfaction.

This type of person usually has a very high IQ, is arrogant, has a strong desire for control, has a clear plan and rhythm for committing crimes, and the iconic traces they leave behind are mostly for showing off or warning.

So such people are usually unwilling to disguise or change their "biological advantages", such as gender.

So he must be a man!

……

Song Weichen's eyes became brighter and brighter, and she understood.

For a moment, Song Weichen's admiration for her increased. Sang Pu did not understand the difficult theories such as criminal psychological profiling or antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), but she was able to very keenly analyze so many details from a special voice - although she did not want to admit it, she was indeed a natural match for Mo Tingfeng.

……

"Who are you thinking of?"

Sang Pu's eyes were like mirrors, which made Song Weichen's heart beat faster - the person she thought of was so frightening that even the thought of him made people feel terrified.

"The Lord of the Mei Realm, Qin Huan."

"He is in a high position, conceited, and familiar with all of Bingtuozi's situations. Naturally, he also knows that he has a Millennium White Moonlight whom he cannot get. I have met her several times before, but I am not sure if he knows my true identity."

"With his status and position, it would be easy for him to do something to us."

Song Weichen frowned. If this was really the boss she was thinking of, what was it about her and Mo Tingfeng that he was so determined to get that he would spend a thousand years planning? She couldn't figure it out.

"But is there anyone else?"

Sang Pu's expression was indifferent. "The arrogance and pride in one's bones may not be shown on the face. It is very likely that one will show gentleness and courtesy."

When she said these words, Song Weichen's heart skipped a beat. Suddenly, a figure emerged. He was tall, dressed in jade-like green, with black hair in a bun. He was as elegant as a banished immortal - but on the other hand, he looked down on the world, unruly and eccentric.

"Could it be... Shukataki?"

If Song Weichen had not accidentally discovered the secret of Shu Tinglong and Gu Cangyue in Yunjian this time, it would have been difficult for him to be associated with them.

But now that he thought about it carefully, Shu Xinglong almost met all the criteria mentioned by Sang Pu - and as Gu Cangyue's auxiliary soul, as long as he wanted, he could naturally know everything about Mo Tingfeng's past.

But the motive remains a mystery. If it is really Shu Xinglong who is stirring up trouble behind the scenes, instructing Grandma Huang, manipulating Lord Jinxian, and sacrificing the Shita mask, what does he want to gain?
What is it that requires You Sang Pu to be trapped for thousands of years, waiting for the reincarnation of Song Weichen to appear, and then meet Mo Tingfeng before it can be realized for him?

……

"Sang Pu, I can't figure it out, please help me."

……

"Sangpu?"

There was no response. Song Weichen subconsciously looked around. There was no one sitting opposite the table. Even the teacup and tea stove had disappeared, as if the person who was drinking with her had never appeared.

"mulberry……"

The name got stuck in her throat halfway through calling out, and cold sweat broke out on Song Weichen's forehead. She forced herself to look outside the door, but her movements were stiff and difficult due to fear.

She finally mustered up the courage to look outside, and sure enough - she could only see her own back in the room, without any trace of Sang Pu at all.

Song Weichen was stunned - she had just finally accepted the reality that she was sitting and chatting with her past life.

A huge and inexplicable fear arose in her heart, and her mind was in a mess. She even inappropriately recalled a theory from a few years ago, trying to prove the scientific rationality of Sang Pu's existence.

She also remembers the "quantum consciousness" hypothesis proposed by Penrose, the 2020 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, which holds that brain microtubules can maintain "quantum state superposition" and become a carrier of consciousness across time and space.

In layman's terms, consciousness is not limited to the linear "present", but it is possible at a certain quantum level that allows different time versions of the self to appear in the same space.

So it’s not surprising that she and Sang Pu can sit together.

But where is she?

Song Weichen couldn't control his trembling.
Could it be... could it be that everything that just happened was false, and she was too frightened and had schizophrenia?
Even... everything in the dream world was just an illusion. She didn't travel through time at all. Was it possible that she was simply crazy? She was actually in a mental hospital? The so-called Shudi was just a ward with a large floor-to-ceiling observation mirror that she could never escape from?
……

All kinds of thoughts flooded into her mind at once, and Song Weichen had a splitting headache. She subconsciously pressed her temples, her nose felt warm, and blood flowed uncontrollably, dripping onto the table.

He took out a handkerchief and pressed it against his nose. He caught a glimpse of something on the table, and his pupils dilated unconsciously.

A moon-white ribbon, formed into a circle, lay there quietly.

Not an illusion!

Song Weichen curled the corner of his mouth slightly. Sang Pu was not an illusion, she really appeared.

It’s a pity...he disappeared suddenly without any warning.

……

The brocade handkerchief covering her nose exuded a strange fragrance. Song Weichen subconsciously moved it farther away to look at it - there was a lily of the valley embroidered on it, which was clearly not hers.

and many more……

This sleeve...

She looked at her sleeves in some confusion. The moon-white sleeves of her gauze skirt matched the ribbon on the table.

Take a closer look.
The bloodstained handkerchief fell silently on the table, and the slender fingers trembled slightly as they pressed against her lips.

What was in the sleeves was not her hand at all!

This, this is...

Song Weichen subconsciously touched his face, his long eyelashes could not hide the panic in his eyes.
"mulberry……"

He started to speak but then stopped, and his voice became familiar yet strange.

"I, I am..."

Song Weichen suddenly looked up towards the door, but she could no longer see herself clearly.

Outside the door, thick fog rose at some point.