This celestial master cultivates both physical and magical arts; why did you provoke him?

It happened on a rainy afternoon.

Xia En sat by the window of Qingheju, staring blankly at the rain outside.

He was holding a lollipop in his hand, which he had already finished eating, but the stick was still in his mouth.

Fang Zijian squatted by the door scrolling through his phone, while Cuihua dozed off on the roof beam.

Life was as peaceful as a glass of plain water.

Then Liu Ruyan pushed the door open and came in.

She wasn't wearing a skirt today, but a white shirt and black trousers, with her hair tied in a high ponytail, making her look neat and capable.

But her expression was off.

Her eyes were red and her lips were pressed tightly together, as if she had just been crying.

"Why are you here?"

Shane threw the lollipop stick into the trash can.

Liu Ruyan sat down opposite him, remained silent for a few seconds, and then spoke:

"A friend of mine has had an accident."

"What friend?"

"My college classmate's name is Su Wanqing."

Liu Ruyan's voice was a little hoarse as she said:

"Her...her boyfriend died in a car accident two weeks ago."

"She started acting strangely after that."

Xia En raised an eyebrow:

"What's wrong with it?"

Liu Ruyan took a deep breath and recounted the whole story from beginning to end.

Su Wanqing is from the Performing Arts Department of Jiangzhou University. She is in the same year as Liu Ruyan but in a different class.

She is very pretty, has a good personality, and is popular at school.

Her boyfriend's name is Lin Yue, and he is a senior in the architecture department. They have been together for more than two years and have a very good relationship.

Two weeks ago, Lin Yue was hit by a truck that ran a red light while riding his motorcycle home.

Die on the spot.

Su Wanqing fainted upon hearing the news.

When she woke up, she was like a completely different person.

She didn't cry, didn't make a fuss, didn't eat, and didn't sleep. She just sat in Lin Yue's room, staring blankly at his photo.

No amount of persuasion could change anything.

"Isn't that normal?"

Fang Zijian chimed in from the side, "He's too heartbroken; he needs time."

Liu Ruyan shook her head:

"It wasn't just ordinary sadness. She...she started talking to Lin Yue."

Fang Zijian was taken aback:

"Talking to a dead person??? Holy crap!!"

"Not the kind of talking to a portrait of someone who has passed away."

Liu Ruyan's voice began to tremble, "She really believes Lin Yue is still alive. She sends Lin Yue WeChat messages, and Lin Yue replies to her."

"She calls, and Lin Yue answers. She said Lin Yue comes to her in her dreams every night and tells her that he is not dead, but has just gone to a very far place."

The room fell silent for a moment.

"That's impossible."

Fang Zijian said, "How can a dead person reply to WeChat messages?"

That's why I felt something was wrong.

Liu Ruyan looked at Xia En, "I suspect... there might be something causing this."

Xia En didn't say anything, she just looked at the rain outside the window.

"Your friend,"

He asked, "Where are we now?"

"At Lin Yue's house."

Liu Ruyan said, "Lin Yue's parents work away from home, and the house was empty, so she moved in. No one could persuade her to come out."

Xia En stood up.

"Walk."

Liu Ruyan's eyes lit up: "You're willing to help?"

"Um."

Xia En put on his coat. "Same as always, I charge a lot."

Liu Ruyan nodded:

"I know. I'll handle the money."

Xia En glanced at her:

"You're going to pay for it for her?"

"She's in such a state that she can't even talk about money."

Liu Ruyan said, "I'll cover it for now, and we'll talk about it after she's better."

Xia En didn't say anything, pushed open the door and walked into the rain.

Lin Yue's home is located in an alley in the old city of Jiangzhou, on the third floor of an old-style residential building.

The hallway was dark, and half of the motion-activated lights were broken; they creaked when you stepped on them.

The air was filled with a musty smell and the scent of old furniture.

Liu Ruyan led the way, Fang Zijian followed behind, and the female ghost Cuihua floated at the very back.

In broad daylight, she dared not approach the sunlight and could only hide in the shadows of the stairwell.

The second door on the right on the third floor.

A faded "福" (good fortune) character was pasted on the door, and a rusty mailbox was nailed next to it.

There was a thin layer of dust on the doorknob, but a faint light shone through the crack in the door.

Liu Ruyan knocked on the door.

No one answered.

She knocked a few more times, but there was still no response.

"Wanqing? It's me, Ruyan. Are you there?"

silence.

Xia En stepped forward and placed his hand on the door panel.

He closed his eyes and felt it for a few seconds.

Then I opened my eyes.

"She's inside."

"Then why don't you open the door?"

Xia En didn't answer, but simply reached out and turned the doorknob.

With a "click," the door opened.

It wasn't locked.

Liu Ruyan and Fang Zijian exchanged a glance, both seeing unease in each other's eyes.

Xia En pushed open the door and went in.

The room was dark, with the curtains drawn tightly, and only a table lamp was on, emitting a dim yellow light.

The living room wasn't big, but it was very tidy!

No, it's not about being neat, it's about keeping it as it is.

There were two cups on the coffee table, each half-filled with water.

A men's jacket was draped over the sofa, and a baseball cap hung on the rack next to it.

In the photo on the wall, a handsome young man is embracing a beautiful young woman, and the two are smiling happily.

Everything seemed as if the owner had just left and would be returning soon.

But a faint, eerie atmosphere permeated the air.

It's not the yin energy of evil spirits, it's...

Xia En frowned.

It's an obsession.

An extremely strong obsession.

"Wanqing?"

Liu Ruyan walked towards the bedroom.

The bedroom door was ajar. She pushed it open and saw a thin figure sitting on the edge of the bed.

It was a girl, in her early twenties, with long, loose hair, wearing a large men's shirt.

It should be Lin Yue's.

It should be Lin Yue's.

She was holding a phone in her hand, the screen lit up, displaying a WeChat chat interface.

She heard the sound and slowly turned her head.

Liu Ruyan gasped.

Su Wanqing has lost a lot of weight.

His cheeks were sunken, his eye sockets were deep, his lips were chapped, and there was a dark bluish-black under his eyes.

Her eyes were empty, like a dried-up well.

But what's most bizarre is her expression.

She was smiling.

A very gentle, happy smile, completely unlike the smile of someone who has just lost their boyfriend.

"Ruyan, you've arrived."

Her voice was soft and gentle, "Are you here to see Lin Yue? He's taking a shower, wait a moment."

Liu Ruyan felt a chill run through her body.

"Wanqing... Lin Yue has already..."

"I know."

Su Wanqing interrupted her, her tone as calm as if she were commenting on the weather, "He was in a car accident and died. But he came back."

"He told me he didn't die, he just went to a very far place. Now he's back."

She lowered her head, looked at her phone screen, and her smile deepened.

"He comes to see me every night. We chat, watch movies, and have late-night snacks. Just like before."

Liu Ruyan looked at Xia En.

Xia En stood at the door, looking at Su Wanqing, and remained silent for a long time.

Then he walked to the bedside, squatted down, and looked Su Wanqing in the eye.

"Can I see your phone?"

Su Wanqing looked at him, a hint of wariness flashing in her eyes.

"Who are you?"

"I am Ruyan's friend."

Shane said, "I came to see you."

Su Wanqing hesitated for a moment before handing over her phone.

Xia En took the phone and looked through the WeChat chat history.

The most recent contact person is listed as "Lin Yue?".

The chat history is very long, starting from half a month ago, with dozens of messages every day.

Lin Yue: "Wanqing, I've arrived. The weather here is great, don't worry."

Su Wanqing: "When are you coming back?"

Lin Yue: "Almost there. Wait for me."

Su Wanqing: "I miss you."

Lin Yue: "I miss you too. I come to see you every night, have you forgotten?"

Su Wanqing: "I know. But I want you to really come back."

Lin Yue: "I will. After I finish dealing with things here, I'll come back to you. We'll never be apart again."

Xia En flipped through the conversations, his expression unchanged.

But he noticed a few things.

First, all of these messages were sent between 3 and 4 a.m.

Second, each message ends with an emoji.

One eye.

Third, this WeChat account "Lin Yue" was newly registered three days ago.

Xia En returned the phone to Su Wanqing.

"He comes to see you every night?"

"Um."

Su Wanqing nodded, "Every night at three o'clock. He would come to me in my dreams, and sometimes he would chat with me on the phone."

Have you ever seen him? In real life?

Su Wanqing paused for a moment, then shook her head.

"No. He said he can't see me right now. He'll come back when the time is right."

Xia En stood up and looked at Liu Ruyan.

"Let's talk outside."

The three of them walked into the stairwell.

"How is it?" Liu Ruyan asked nervously.

Xia En paused for two seconds before speaking:

"It's not Lin Yue."

Liu Ruyan's face paled: "What is that?"

"Someone is contacting her using Lin Yue's identity."

Xia En said, "WeChat is fake, the messages are fake, and Lin Yue in my dream is also fake."

Liu Ruyan felt a chill run through her body: "Then who exactly is he?!"