Legendary Captain

Chapter 196 A Chilling Fate (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

"You must be mistaken! Isn't there a theory about memory distortion? Some seemingly certain memories are actually fabricated by oneself and not real. Could this be your case?" Wen Jingshu felt a chill run down her spine after Xu Xian's words and involuntarily moved closer to him. She was also trying to find a seemingly reasonable explanation to prove that what Xu Xian said was not mystical, but simply that Xu Xian had misremembered.

Memory distortions are not uncommon, especially among adults who often have seemingly clear but actually false memories of their childhood. For example, many years after a foreign leader's death, many people firmly believe that the leader must have died even earlier. This is the collective effect of memory distortions.

However, by the time most people reach the age of ten, they can already form correct and relatively clear memories, so it is quite rare for Xu Xian to make a mistake.

But even if a ten-year-old misremembered something, it's still easier to accept than what Xu Xian said.

"Is there such a thing? Memory delusion?" Xu Xian was probably scaring himself too much. Regardless of whether Wen Jingshu's words made sense or not, he decided to believe them anyway. Otherwise, the thought of the person who saved his life when he was ten years old was enough to make him shudder.

Wen Jingshu felt very uncomfortable under Xu Xianxi's expectant gaze, and there was a hint of resentment in her eyes. He said some nonsense to scare people, and now he's seeking comfort from her.

"What era are we living in? Always thinking about feudal superstitions, it's one thing to scare yourself, but it also makes me anxious. What kind of thoughts are you having?" Wen Jingshu pinched Xu Xian hard: "You must have remembered it wrong. Come on, come on! Don't talk about this anymore, it's scary."

"Could it be that I remembered it wrong?" Xu Xian muttered to himself, but it wasn't a memory from when he was three or five years old, so how could he have remembered it wrong?

When I got home, it was already completely dark. Xu Jingyang had also returned from his shift and was lying in bed watching TV.

"You seem quite comfortable here!" Xu Xian took off his clothes, leaving only his underwear, yawned, and sprawled on his bed, looking like he was about to go to sleep.

Xu Jingyang raised his eyelids slightly: "I'm not taking a shower. Don't you always shower before bed? By the way, where were you just now?"

Xu Xian lay sprawled on his bed, not answering Xu Jingyang's question, but instead asking Xu Jingyang, "Dad, let me ask you something! Do you remember when I was ten years old and almost drowned?"

"How could I not remember? I was taking a nap that day, and you little rascal ran off to play by yourself. If it weren't for the GPS watch alarming, I wouldn't have known you were in trouble. When your mom found out, she almost broke my bones."

When Xu Xian was a child, he wore a special watch with location tracking and alarm functions. However, Xu Jingyang and Huang Ying were worried about the radiation from the location tracking, so they always turned off the location tracking function on Xu Xian's watch when they were at home. Otherwise, if Xu Xian left Xu Jingyang's side for too long, Xu Jingyang's phone would alert him.

"When you came looking for me back then, do you remember what the person who saved me looked like? Did you have any way to contact them?"

"Didn't I tell you already? Why are you asking again? Everyone said he was a pilot in uniform. When I got there, he handed me over to you and left without even saying his name. As for his appearance, it's been so many years, I don't remember clearly anymore. Anyway, he looked average, maybe in his thirties." Xu Jingyang said, "By the way, why are you suddenly bringing this up?"

"Just asking." Xu Xian replied casually, there were some things he didn't want to tell Xu Jingyang.

"However, there's something I still don't understand."

"Hmm?" Is there more to the story?

"More than a decade ago, GPS watches were still very rare. They weren't even sold much in China, let alone the limited-edition beta model I bought for you from overseas. It's not that I look down on pilots, but back then, even if they were willing to spend that much money, they wouldn't have had a way to get their hands on a limited-edition beta version. The key is that the watch's operation was extremely complicated, and it was all in English. Your mother and I spent a long time figuring out how to use it. But when I found you, the GPS watch was already turned on and set to alarm mode. You didn't do that, did you? Because none of us know how to set up that kind of active alarm mode. Now everyone probably knows how to operate it, but back then, very few people knew how. If you didn't know how, then the only explanation is that the person who rescued you turned it on. But back then, it was extremely rare to find someone who knew how to operate that model of GPS watch."

These words didn't faze Xu Xian at all: "What's the big deal? What if flying is just a side job for them? What if they're a big boss experiencing life in commercial aviation? Does that mean you're allowed to have money?"

Xu Xian launched into a tirade of sarcasm at Xu Jingyang, who didn't refute it. To be fair, Xu Xian's words made sense. Back then, very few people knew how to operate a GPS watch, let alone those limited-edition beta models from overseas. But that could be explained by low probability; what's so strange about that?

"I know, the world is vast and full of wonders. It's not impossible that you just happened to meet someone who knows how to operate a GPS watch. But what's really strange is what happened next!"

As he spoke, Xu Jingyang fiddled with his phone and played an audio clip on speaker.

The audio starts with a meaningless noise, but soon after, human conversation begins. Whether it's a problem with the equipment or the audio source, the conversation is presented in very poor quality, almost indistinguishable.

"Thank you."

In this short audio clip, Xu Xian could only make out one or two words, and even those one or two words he could roughly make out were not enough for him to be sure.

It sounds like Xu Xian, thank you! However, the sound quality is really not good. In situations where it's hard to hear clearly, the listener's psychological suggestion can easily lead to misinterpretation. Therefore, this audio clip isn't very useful for reference.

Xu Xian had been full of expectations, but this thing was a huge disappointment to him.

"What is this thing?!"

"This is the watch's recording function. Once the alarm mode is activated, the watch automatically records the sound of the scene and sends it to the linked phone. This recording is the sound of the scene at that time! I transfer this recording to the new phone every time I change phones; it's been over ten years."

Xu Xian sprang to his feet on the bed with a somersault, spreading his hands in dissatisfaction with his father Xu Jingyang's overreaction: "No way! What can you possibly hear from this thing! I can only roughly make out one or two syllables! What's the point?"

Xu Xian thought Xu Jingyang would come up with some earth-shattering news, but after hearing it, Xu Xian's reaction was just, "That's all?"

What utter nonsense! It's just a bunch of noise, completely useless.

Xu Jingyang, unable to save face after being mocked by Xu Xian, said, "Your old man did try his best, okay? After you fell into the water, your watch must have gotten wet, causing equipment problems and recording quality issues. What could I do? Later, I found some people to try to recover the recording, and we managed to recover about half of it."

"There's more to it?" Xu Xian was taken aback. "Why aren't you releasing it yet!"

Listen carefully.

Xu Jingyang pressed play with feigned mystery, and sure enough, after a brief period of blank noise, a relatively clear male voice finally appeared. He seemed to be whispering, or perhaps sighing: "How much longer do I have to stay? Can you tell me, Xu Xian?"

His words were filled with endless sorrow and bewilderment, like the powerless struggle of a lost person.

"Don't you think that sentence is strange? It sounds creepy, doesn't it, Xu Xian? Huh? What's wrong with you?" Xu Jingyang looked up and found that Xu Xian was trembling uncontrollably, his face covered with visible fear, as if he was suffocating.

"He said it on purpose with the watch; he knew the watch could record audio!" Xu Xian's trembling lips revealed his completely unsettled state of mind. A sense of destiny washed over him, which had a violent impact on Xu Xian, who had received a materialistic education. His worldview was shaken at this moment.

He didn't remember hearing those words, which means the person who saved him didn't say them directly to him, but rather whispered them into the watch. He knew the watch would record audio when the alarm was activated; it was intentional!

What does that sentence mean?

The question is, when will Xu Xian's parents be able to come and pick up their child? Or is there some other underlying meaning?

Xu Xian didn't dare to think any further!

If it were just that sentence alone, it would only seem somewhat eerie, and Xu Xian might not have made so many connections or reacted so strongly. His current, as if struck by a heavy blow, stems from the fact that he recognizes the voice!

Yes, he recognized the voice!

He never imagined why that person's voice would appear here. It was as unreal as a dream, and as terrifying as a nightmare!

He had actually seen this person when he was ten years old! However, that person should have had nothing to do with this matter!

At this moment, Xu Xian's mind was in turmoil! He couldn't make sense of anything anymore. He realized that from the moment Qin Yue grabbed his hand and said those words, he felt a deep sense of powerlessness, trapped in the cycle of fate.

He couldn't believe that such a thing could exist in this scientific age! It was so abrupt, so chilling!

"Xu Xian! Xu Xian! Son!"

Even if Xu Jingyang was slow to react, he noticed Xu Xian's unusual behavior at this moment. Xu Xian looked like someone who was overly surprised, and even the color drained from his face.

Xu Jingyang immediately jumped out of bed, grabbed Xu Xian, and shouted, "Xu Xian, Xu Xian, what the hell happened to you?! Don't scare me! Are you...you're out of your mind?"

In Xu Jingyang's hometown, some people become mentally impaired and unresponsive to external stimuli after experiencing certain misfortunes. In their hometown, this is commonly referred to as "losing one's soul" or "being soulless."

In such cases, several Taoist priestesses are usually called over to chant scriptures, which is called "calling back the soul."

Of course, these are all superstitious beliefs, and Xu Jingyang naturally wouldn't believe them. But isn't Xu Xian's current state exactly like that of someone who has lost their soul?

What could possibly scare Xu Xian like this? Could it be that recording?

Xu Jingyang wanted to slap himself. He'd almost forgotten about it if Xu Xian hadn't brought it up. But hearing Xu Xian bring it up again immediately made him feel smug, and Xu Xian's reaction was so strong.

No wonder, he almost drowned as a child, he must have been traumatized. Even if his son brought it up himself, he, as the father, should have brushed it off. But instead, he sent his son some strange recordings. If he scares the child to death, he'll spend the rest of his life in regret.

"Xu Xian, Xu Xian!" After calling Xu Xian several times to no avail, Xu Jingyang gritted his teeth, put Xu Xian on the bed, and prepared to get dressed so that he could take Xu Xian to the hospital.

But Xu Jingyang was stopped by Xu Xian as soon as he got up. When he turned around, he found that Xu Xian had already sat up and was pulling him, not letting him leave.

"I'm fine!" Xu Xian slowly uttered these three words.

Xu Jingyang carefully examined Xu Xian's complexion and saw that Xu Xian's complexion was only slightly better than before, but it still looked pale.

"Are you really alright?"

Xu Xian released his grip, looking somewhat tired, and said, "It's alright! Don't worry."

"It's really nothing!" Xu Jingyang cried tears of joy. "If I had known you were so sensitive about that, I would never have played that recording. I was so impulsive! I'll delete it right now!"

Xu Jingyang then prepared to pick up his phone from his bed and delete the recording.

At that critical moment, Xu Xian suddenly shouted, "Don't delete it!"

The sudden shout nearly gave Xu Jingyang a heart attack, as he was already terrified by Xu Xian's strange behavior. He patted his chest and said, "Can you please stop yelling? It was really scary! I have a heart condition! But why aren't you deleting the recording? You don't want to listen to it again, do you? Forget it, don't torture yourself!"

"Don't delete it yet! Send me the recording!" Xu Xian suddenly said.

"Pass it on to you? You're not going to keep it to yourself, are you? Son, I have a heart condition, and who knows if yours is any better? Let's not play with our hearts, okay?" Xu Jingyang earnestly advised. He was afraid that curiosity would kill the cat. Xu Xian was at that age and fearless; who knew if he just wanted to push his limits?

However, it wouldn't be worth it if you ended up scaring yourself while you were choosing. Recalling Xu Xian's appearance just now, Xu Jingyang refused to send the recording to Xu Xian's phone no matter what he said.

Xu Xiancheng thought to himself, "Dad, I have something important to investigate! I'm not looking for trouble!"

"Important things? What could be important?" Xu Jingyang was still clearly a little shaken. "Don't try to fool me, kid. I'm telling you, I'm definitely not giving you this recording."

"dad"

"Stop talking, there's no room for negotiation!"

"Dad, Xu Jingyang!" Xu Xian shouted suddenly, calling out his father's life, which startled Xu Jingyang.

This was the first time Xu Xian had ever addressed his father by his full name. It's extremely impolite for a son to call his father by his full name, and given Xu Xian's generally filial nature, this behavior was indeed very unusual. It was clear that Xu Xian was getting anxious.

"Dad, could you tell I was scared just now?" Xu Xian's eyes were red. "That's why I need to figure out exactly what I'm afraid of!"

Xu Jingyang froze, sensing the deep-seated fear in Xu Xian's heart. He gently stroked Xu Xian's face: "Son, what's wrong? What's the matter? Tell Dad. What are you afraid of? Dad's right here."

"You don't understand! You don't understand!" Xu Xian ran his hands through his hair. His mind was a complete mess. He didn't even know what was real and what was fake.

Just then, Xu Xian's phone rang, but he didn't answer it immediately. Instead, he waited a while, perhaps to calm down, before picking up the phone.

Xu Jingyang, who was standing next to him, saw the caller ID and realized it was Wen Jingshu calling.

Xu Xian took a deep breath to calm himself before answering the phone: "What's wrong?"

"Xu Xian, are you asleep?"

"You're not asleep? What's wrong?"

A slightly resentful voice came from the other end of the phone: "It's all because of what you said before, now I'm afraid to sleep alone. Can you come over and keep me company?"

Despite Wen Jingshu's explanation of Xu Xian's memory lapses, she herself didn't believe it. Back home, facing the empty house, her mind involuntarily drifted back to what Xu Xian had said not long ago.

There was no way around it; Xu Xian's story was filled with eerie undertones, and the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, to the point that he was even afraid to go to the bathroom.

Having no other choice, Wen Jingshu had to swallow her pride and call Xu Xian. She knew this was inappropriate, but she couldn't care less at the moment. Her mind was filled with all sorts of strange and chaotic thoughts that she couldn't control.

Fortunately, Xu Xian was still her ex-fiancé, so he wasn't considered to be too promiscuous.

"Now?" Xu Xian hesitated for a moment. What kind of situation was this, a man and a woman alone together?

"Xu Xian, I'm so scared! Please, please." Wen Jingshu was probably really terrified; her voice even sounded like she was about to cry.

Xu Xian thought for a moment, then said, "Wait a minute! I'll get dressed!"

"When you're dressed and at the door, give me a call and I'll open it for you." There's a button in Wen Jingshu's bedroom that opens the front door directly. Given Wen Jingshu's current state, she definitely wouldn't dare leave her bedroom.

"Okay, wait a minute." Xu Xian hung up the phone and sighed wearily. "I'm going next door. Don't worry about me, just go to sleep."

"Next door?" Xu Jingyang was taken aback. "What happened to Jing Shu? What happened to her?"

As Xu Xian put on his clothes, he said, "She's fine, don't worry! I'll go check on her and be right back."

Xu Xian's plan was to go over there and keep Wen Jingshu company until she fell asleep, then he would return. Otherwise, a man and a woman alone in a room together wouldn't be good for Wen Jingshu's reputation.

Although the world is much more open now, Xu Xian doesn't want anyone to gossip about Wen Jingshu.

"Oh, oh!" Although he didn't understand why Xu Xian would go to see Wen Jingshu in the middle of the night, Xu Jingyang wasn't worried because Xu Xian, as the man, wouldn't be the one who suffered a loss.

Xu Xian quickly dressed, paused at the door, and turned to Xu Jingyang, instructing, "Don't delete the recording!"

Because Xu Xian's residence actually included a garage in Wen Jingshu's villa, it was only a few steps from Wen Jingshu's door. When he arrived at the door, Xu Xian dialed Wen Jingshu's cell phone, and before the call connected, the door automatically opened a crack.

Seeing the door open, Xu Xian pushed it open and entered, hanging up the phone at the same time.

Xu Xian had cleaned the house before, so he knew which room Wen Jingshu had placed in her bedroom. After entering, he went straight to the master bedroom on the second floor.

Upon arriving at the master bedroom door, Xu Xian knocked a few times before the door slowly opened, revealing Wen Jingshu's small head.

"You're here!" Wen Jingshu, dressed in pink pajamas, pulled Xu Xian in with a smile.

Upon entering the room, Xu Xian was immediately forced to squint by the glaring light. Wen Jingshu had turned on all the lights in the bedroom and set them to maximum brightness.

As soon as Xu Xian arrived, Wen Jingshu felt no fear at all and skipped and jumped onto the bed.

"Where do you sleep?" Wen Jingshu asked with a smile.

"Where are we going to sleep?" Xu Xianqian chuckled. "There's only one bed here. Are we going to sleep together?"

Wen Jingshu wrinkled her nose slightly: "It's not like we haven't slept together before!"

"It's not like before!" Xu Xian sighed and sat down on a small sofa. "You go to sleep, I'll sit for a while."

"Aren't you going to sit here all night? Won't you feel uncomfortable?"

Xu Xian was taken aback: "One night? I'll leave as soon as you fall asleep! Why would I stay all night?"

"What if I wake up again in the middle of the night after you leave? Will you come back?" Wen Jingshu said with a smile.

"You..." Xu Xian was somewhat helpless.

"Coming!" Wen Jingshu waved to Xu Xian cutely, "I know you're a gentleman, I won't do anything reckless."

Xu Xian gave a wry smile. For some reason, he didn't refuse this time. He slowly walked to Wen Jingshu's bedside, lifted a corner of the quilt, and crawled in, still fully clothed, to sleep.

Wen Jingshu knew that this was already Xu Xian's limit, and she didn't even expect Xu Xian to come.

With Xu Xian by her side, Wen Jingshu was no longer afraid. She turned off the lights, kept a certain distance from Xu Xian, and finally fell asleep.

Even from a distance, Wen Jingshu could feel Xu Xian's somewhat heavy breathing.

Suddenly, Xu Xian's somewhat deep voice rang out in the pitch-black silence: "Jing Shu, are you scared?"

"Huh?" Wen Jingshu was taken aback. "Aren't you here? What am I afraid of?"

Then came a long silence.

Wen Jingshu thought Xu Xian was asleep, so she relaxed her thoughts and wanted to fall asleep peacefully as well.

But just as Wen Jingshu relaxed, Xu Xian's voice rang out again, this time with a noticeable tremor: "But... I'm scared."

"Xu Xian?" Wen Jingshu's eyes snapped open. "You're still thinking about the hospital?"

Wen Jingshu held Xu Xian in her arms with a pang of heartache. Even through their clothes, she could feel the trembling body in her embrace.

"It's not real, you're just scaring yourself. Stop thinking about it." Although Wen Jingshu was scared, she didn't think Xu Xian was telling the truth. It's like watching a horror movie and feeling scared, but not believing that the movie is real.

"But what if it's true?" Xu Xian curled up in Wen Jingshu's arms, revealing an undisguised despair: "I just talked to my dad about that. It turns out that the watch I was wearing back then had a recording function, and my voice was recorded."

"What? You recorded it? You listened to it?" Wen Jingshu exclaimed in surprise, "Is it as you remember it?"

"The watch got wet at the time, so the audio quality of the recording was poor. In the end, my dad had someone recover the latter part, a part that I didn't remember." Xu Xian's body trembled even more as he said this: "I think that person said it specifically to the watch."

Wen Jingshu's heart began to pound wildly: "What did you say?"

"He said... he said how much longer I have to stay? Can you tell me, Xu Xian?"

Boom!

Wen Jingshu's scalp tingled! Xu Xian had deliberately imitated the tone of the person in the recording, that tone of bewilderment, helplessness, and sorrow.

This tone, combined with the circumstances, seemed incredibly eerie. Coupled with what Xu Xian had told her that evening, a chill ran through Wen Jingshu again, and she involuntarily hugged Xu Xian tighter.

Xu Xian originally didn't want to say it, but he really couldn't control himself.

Confucius said, "I do not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits," but when something beyond our comprehension assails us, the feeling is truly unbearable for one person.

Moreover, when he recounted that recording, he thought of that person again, that familiar voice.

"Jing Shu, I recognize that person's voice!" Xu Xian's teeth were chattering.

"Hmm?" Wen Jingshu's heart tightened. "Who is it?"

Xu Xian, who had been nestled in Wen Jingshu's arms with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them, his eyes filled with utter horror: "That's Han Qi! That's Han Qi's voice!"

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(End of this chapter)