I discovered a world bug.

What I am is...

Is he dead?

Where is this?

snake......

Tooth marks...

Lin Shu struggled to sit up from the ground, her vision blurred.

He looked in the direction of the desk, still shaken, and then realized that it was already broad daylight.

The sun is shining in...

What the hell is going on??

The confusion in her mind had not yet completely dissipated when Lin Shu cautiously looked around—there was no trace of a snake anywhere.

Similarly, there were no snake bite marks on his arm.

But I did faint—I fainted around 8:10 p.m., just after I sent the video to the editor-in-chief.

Even now, the editor-in-chief's reply is still flashing in the chat box—a series of thumbs-ups, along with statements praising his work and the solid content.

It is now 8 a.m.

In other words, I was unconscious for 12 hours...

This is unusual for a healthy person who has no underlying medical conditions, is not overly fatigued, and has never even had a history of fainting.

Do those "snakes" really exist?

Or is this some kind of clever psychological suggestion?

It should be the latter—to be precise, these two judgments are not actually contradictory.

I've heard before that some skilled hypnotists can make people see hallucinations; the principle is simply to use a series of powerful psychological suggestions.

During his conversation with Xu Changshun yesterday, he had too much time to plant such a seed in his mind.

No matter what, I still have to go see him today.

At the very least, we need to figure out whether this was a coincidence or whether he truly had the ability to "do it intentionally."

This is definitely going to be a... huge surprise!

Lin Shu relaxed a little—he sensed danger, but at the same time, he also sensed an opportunity.

Am I not dead yet?

Even if Xu Changshun did something to me, it was most likely not malicious...

He rubbed his temples and slowly sat down at the table.

The WeChat chat window was still flashing. When I opened it, I saw that in addition to the editor-in-chief, Xie Yuchi had also sent me a message.

The message was sent at 6 o'clock...

Two hours ago.

Lin Shu opened the chat box, and Xie Yuchi's series of exclamation marks immediately popped up.

"Xu Changshun is dead!!!!"

Xu Changshun...

died? !

Lin Shu was dumbfounded.

Just yesterday, Xu Changshun told himself that he might "leave".

He said he had done too many transgressions using magic rituals, and that heaven was going to punish him...

Subconsciously, Lin Shu wanted to type a question asking how Xu Changshun died, but when his gaze swept downwards, he found that Xie Yuchi had already answered his question with perfect understanding.

"He was taken to the hospital immediately after the accident yesterday, and we are keeping a close eye on him."

"Cardiac arrest, that's the current diagnosis."

"It's actually quite normal for someone his age to die suddenly, it's just that it's such a coincidence..."

Yes, what a coincidence.

Cardiac arrest is not a strange thing; what is strange is that he died immediately after saying that he would die.

Could he really see his own death?

He said he had predicted it...

How do you calculate this?!

The message from Xie Yuchi abruptly stopped, and Lin Shu typed:

Is there a chance for an autopsy? What did his family say?

A moment later, a message appeared above the chat box: "Typing..."

"An autopsy is impossible. He left a letter for his family requesting that no autopsy be performed and that he be buried directly."

"This matter... is settled."

He also left you a letter.

I?!

Lin Shuteng stood up abruptly from his chair.

Holy crap.

Could it be that they're really going to pass on their mantle to me?

Can I not answer?

This really feels like it was officially appointed...

Lin Shu's fingers were trembling slightly as he typed:

"What did the letter say?"

"I didn't see it."

Xie Yuchi answered decisively.

"I already sent it to you by courier this morning. He specifically asked me to deliver this letter; no one else has read it."

"Didn't the police check either?"

Lin Shu typed again.

Whether the police look at it or not is your business. You can leave it to the police; it's none of my concern.

"......clear."

"Go get it, it should have already been delivered to your door."

"it is good."

Lin Shu gave a brief reply, then got up and walked towards the door.

After opening the door, he saw a neatly wrapped document bag lying quietly on the carpet.

Opening the document bag, inside was a folded letter paper, sealed with easy-tear tape.

Lin Shu didn't know how Xu Changshun got these things in the mental hospital, but judging from the state of the tear-off tape, the letter had indeed not been opened.

What is written inside?

My curiosity was instantly piqued.

Lin Shu eagerly tore open the letter, and the first sentence that caught her eye was...

"Young man, I don't know if you understand what 'ritual' really is, but I believe you can comprehend it..."

Lin Shu walked to the table and sat down, reading the words on the paper word by word.

"A long time ago, I wasn't yet a master."

"In 1977, the national college entrance examination was reinstated, and I was admitted to the Capital University of Posts and Telecommunications from my hometown, where I studied ancient literature."

"The process of pursuing education is long and tedious, but of course, for someone like me who was born, it is also full of hope."

"If things continue along this trajectory, I will most likely work for a government agency after graduation. After more than 30 years of experience, I may have become an expert, and perhaps occasionally appear on television—that would also be a good path."

"But one day, one afternoon, something happened to me."

"This event completely changed the trajectory of my life and led me down a different path."

"I began to study the 'rituals' recorded in ancient books and started to practice and try those rituals in real life."

"To make my research more convenient, I became a master, and gradually accepted my identity and established myself in my role."

"I know rituals, can set up an altar, and can also perform some spells."

"Of course, so far, apart from 'Snake Raising,' almost all the other spells I've reconstructed are useless—because their rituals are wrong."

"As for what constitutes the correct ritual?"

"This is the goal of my life's research."

"Unfortunately, my life's work did not teach me how to compose a correct set of rituals; it only made me more convinced that some of the rituals that have been passed down were once correct."

"Now that I've said this, I think you probably understand what I'm trying to tell you."

"You must be wondering why I chose you—you'll find out the answer later."

"But before that, I must tell you what exactly changed the course of my life."

By this point in Xu Changshun's letter, the marks on the paper had become noticeably heavier.

He was very agitated—or perhaps his cardiac arrest had already begun?

Lin Shu continued reading; only three lines remained on the letter.

"On that day, by sheer chance, I discovered and established a set of rituals that were completely usable and reusable."

"This ritual can be used for divination. The procedure is as follows: using an adult Chinese pond turtle, golden turtle, or flower turtle, separate the plastron, scrape off the keratinous scales and polish them repeatedly to observe the texture."

"Then, use any kind of yarrow to start a fire and roast the tortoise shell while chanting the following incantation."

The incantation is transliterated as follows: xi cao tong leng, giu giap hien ziang; nga gim gien jieng, diao shi jit iang.

"This is a transliteration of ancient Chinese from the Zhou Dynasty. It means: Yarrow stalks are spiritual, tortoise shells reveal images; I am now devout, and the omens foretell good or bad fortune!"