The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 312 Prayer List

"Who is this person?" Qi Fei asked hurriedly.

“Ge Ming, my classmate. When Wu Xingzhou participated in the Youth Oil Painting Competition, someone anonymously accused Wu Xingzhou of plagiarism. Fortunately, the organizing committee eventually found out it was a false accusation and saved Wu Xingzhou's gold medal. Once, I borrowed Ge Ming's computer and accidentally saw the contents of that accusation letter in the document's history. I confronted Ge Ming, and he admitted it, but begged me not to tell Wu Xingzhou, saying that he did it out of jealousy and didn't want to lose Wu Xingzhou as a friend. I naively agreed, and now, thinking back, I might have made a huge mistake.” Xu Ziheng held his head in his hands, his fingers sinking into his cotton candy-like afro, filled with regret.

“It seems we need to have a good talk with this Ge Ming,” Qi Fei said, taking notes in his notebook. Then he asked, “We understand that Wu Xingzhou went to India a month ago. Did you two arrange to go together?” Qi Fei asked.

"India?" Xu Ziheng looked at Qi Fei blankly. "Wu Xingzhou went to India? We didn't know that. When did he go?"

"Didn't any of your good friends go out with him?" Qi Fei asked, somewhat surprised.

“No, everyone was busy with the big event, except for Wu Xingzhou. We thought he was in seclusion preparing something big, but what happened? Did he go to India? To gather inspiration?” Xu Ziheng became more and more confused as he spoke.

"Has he mentioned anything about India to you before?" Qi Fei paused, then added, "Especially about religion, like Shiva?"

When Xu Ziheng heard "Shiva", he seemed thoughtful: "Come to think of it, at the end of last year, he did talk to me for a while about the story between Shiva and his wife, about love and reincarnation and stuff. I didn't take it seriously and thought he was just gathering material for his graduation project."

"Shiva has a wife?" Wu Shanqiu couldn't help but ask.

Seeing the interested expressions on the faces of the people in front of him, Xu Ziheng asked in bewilderment, "What? Is this related to Wu Xingzhou's death?"

Cai Ding, who was standing next to him, said, "When Wu Xingzhou died, he was holding a statue of a god. We found that it was the Indian god Shiva. Moreover, he went to India before the incident. We suspect that his death is related to his trip to India."

Xu Ziheng frowned as he listened: "I really can't remember. Who could remember such nonsensical words..."

Wu Shanqiu leaned close to Qi Fei's ear and said, "Brother Fei, it seems we need Xiao Kui's memory recovery technique."
-
Inside the Wong Tai Sin Temple, Qi Fei placed a prayer slip into the black donation box. As the folded paper fell into the dark box, his heart sank. He had once thought he and Zhong Kui would be together forever, to the point of being inseparable. But now, in the matter of finding her, he was no different from any other stranger in Sanwu Town. That burned yellow paper iris had so decisively caused Zhong Kui to be pulled from his world.

What a heartless woman… he thought bitterly, yet he couldn’t help but hope that she would appear as promised after receiving the prayer list.

Xu Ziheng, standing to the side, was dumbfounded and said with a face full of doubt, "The person you're looking for is Wong Tai Sin? Are you real police officers?"

Wu Shanqiu smiled and stood in front of him: "You'll find out when the time comes. Just cooperate and don't worry about anything else."
-
In the wooden house on Zizai Mountain, Granny Meng placed the donation box beside Zhong Kui's bed and said in an old voice, "Great Immortal, you are truly a diviner. They really did come looking for you."

Zhong Kui opened the donation box with her slender hands. All the wishes were bundled with money, except for one that was empty. She took out the solitary prayer slip, read the words on it, and couldn't help but smile slightly: "He must have been very depressed when he wrote these words. He must have said countless times in his heart that I am a heartless woman." Granny Meng observed her expression, and from her dry throat came a sound that was hard to tell whether it was a cough or a laugh: "It seems that you have forgiven him, Great Immortal."

Zhong Kui lazily looked at the words on the prayer list. The content did not involve any personal matters, but she read it with great interest: "I forgive him, but I like to see him at a loss when he sees me."

"Doesn't this guy have a temper? You've been so cold to him, how come he's not angry?" Granny Meng wondered as she wiped the incense ash off the coffee table.

“Because he is Qi Fei.” Zhong Kui nimbly got off the bed, looked down at Luo Sha who had just woken up, and said, “The weather is so nice, let’s go down the mountain for a walk.”
-
The old curtains in the rented room were half-drawn, and the oil paintings and sculptures in the room seemed even more vivid in the interplay of light and shadow. The self-portrait of Wu Xingzhou was placed directly in front of Xu Ziheng, and sitting next to the portrait was Zhong Kui, who was draped in a black veil.

She raised her hand, the silver pendant on her wrist swaying and leaving iridescent afterimages in the air, reflected in Xu Ziheng's eyes. With Zhong Kui's guiding words, Xu Ziheng's uneasy face relaxed, as if his soul had returned to the past.

As he recounted his story, everyone in the audience was transported back to that snowy dusk.

Wu Xingzhou returned to his rented room excitedly, humming a peculiar tune as he took off his snow-covered coat.

"Looks like you're in a good mood?" Xu Ziheng asked him with a smile.

"Yeah, I met a friend and heard an interesting story. I'm happy." Wu Xingzhou looked like he still hadn't had enough. "Hey! Ziheng, have you heard the story of Shiva and Parvati? My friend told me about it. Apparently, even the supreme gods of Hinduism have touching love stories. Parvati's previous incarnation, Sati, died by self-immolation to uphold Shiva's dignity. She was reincarnated as Parvati, the goddess of the Himalayas, and after three hundred million years of ascetic practice, she finally became Shiva's wife. Three hundred million years... that's quite an imagination..."

"What obscure stuff? Are you obsessed with your graduation project?" Xu Ziheng muttered.

Wu Xingzhou seemed not to hear Xu Ziheng's words and continued to ramble on: "Hey, this Parvati is also very interesting. She has 108 forms, the coolest of which is Kali, the bloodthirsty vengeful goddess. She said something really cool to Shiva, saying, 'Your dark side...'"

A sudden gust of cold wind blew into the room, interrupting Wu Xingzhou's narration, as another classmate returned from outside.

"Ge Ming!" Xu Ziheng took a deep breath, as if waking from a dream and regaining his senses.
-
Nancheng Academy of Fine Arts is located in the suburbs of Nancheng. Xu Ziheng was right. The distance from Sanwu Town is about the same as the travel time to downtown Nancheng. No wonder Wu Xingzhou rents a house in Sanwu Town. Given the similar distance, the rent in Sanwu Town is much lower.

In the huge studio, only one person was focused on painting.

Qi Fei knocked twice on the open door, and the person stopped painting and turned around.