UD | Chapter 24 - Is Mental Illness Contagious?

Although the police didn't believe a word Rong Leying said, she still told them everything Xu Fei had revealed about Chen Qiang murdering him. Whether they believed it or not was entirely up to them.

"How do you know about Xu Fei?" one of Li Yingzhe's colleagues asked in surprise.

Chen Qiang was practically a regular at their police station. They had long investigated his background and knew he used to be a street thug who frequently landed himself in trouble.

However, Chen Qiang had once had a relative working at the local police station back in his hometown. Thanks to that connection, every offense he'd committed had been handled with kid gloves, and he never received any real punishment.

After that relative was arrested for offending the wrong people, Chen Qiang finally toned things down and moved to Dongning to make a living as a taxi driver.

Back then, Chen Qiang had a close friend named Xu Fei.

Then Xu Fei vanished without a trace.

His parents had reported him missing, but the police never found him.

Rong Leying pointed beside her.

"He told me himself. He's been following Chen Qiang this whole time."

The officers all fell silent.

Here we go again...

"Brother, could you stand a little farther away? Your corpse smell is way too strong."

Pinching her nose, Rong Leying took two steps backward.

Seeing ghosts was one thing.

Being able to smell them too...

That was a whole different level of suffering.

Xu Fei looked aggrieved as he obediently backed away several steps.

"I was dumped into a cesspit. Of course I smell."

Watching Rong Leying seriously carrying on a conversation with empty air, the officers exchanged complicated looks.

They became even more convinced that something was wrong with the girl's mind.

Chen Qiang was rushed to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Rong Leying accompanied Li Yingzhe to the police station to give her statement.

On the way there, Li Yingzhe couldn't help messaging Tang Chengyun, venting about everything that had just happened—including Rong Leying's apparent mental instability.

He seriously suspected the girl was pretending to be mentally ill because she was afraid they'd rule her actions as excessive self-defense.

To be fair...

He had guessed part of the truth.

Not long after he sent the message, Tang Chengyun replied.

━━━━━━━━━━

[Chat]

Tang Chengyun:

She's perfectly fine.

She really can see ghosts.

I've seen one too.

[End Chat]

━━━━━━━━━━

Li Yingzhe: ???

Is mental illness contagious?

He immediately sent back a row of question marks.

A moment later, Tang Chengyun replied again, briefly explaining how Rong Leying had helped Old Master Guan find Shen Honglian.

Li Yingzhe had known Tang Chengyun for years.

He also knew the old man had been searching for his first love, and he'd even helped investigate the case before.

They had never uncovered a single clue.

Yet now...

She had been found.

As a ghost.

The little girl he'd thought was mentally unstable was actually a genuine master capable of drawing talismans that let people see ghosts!

Li Yingzhe stared blankly at Tang Chengyun's message.

Every single character made perfect sense.

But once they were put together...

He couldn't understand any of it.

Could ghosts actually exist in this world?

His mind went blank.

Swallowing hard, Li Yingzhe slowly turned his stiff neck toward the back seat.

"Little Ying..."

"You... you really can see ghosts?"

The officer driving the car looked bewildered.

"...?"

Rong Leying nodded.

"I really can."

Li Yingzhe hesitated before asking,

"...Xu Fei isn't in the car with us, is he?"

"No."

"He stayed behind."

"Then let's head back. Could you ask him exactly how he was murdered?"

Rong Leying blinked in surprise.

"You believe me now?"

"I do."

The officer behind the wheel couldn't help speaking up.

"Old Li... have all that overtime finally fried your brain?"

Li Yingzhe shot him a glare.

"Don't talk to the Master like that."

His colleague stared at him.

"...???"

Xu Fei remained standing where he was, watching the police cars and ambulance disappear into the distance.

Still shaken, he rubbed the spot where Rong Leying had beaten him.

"Hiss..."

"That woman is vicious..."

"It actually hurts when she beats ghosts..."

"If I ever run into her again, I'd better stay as far away as possible..."

He muttered to himself as he turned and headed in the opposite direction.

He hadn't gone far before someone blocked his path.

The figure was dressed entirely in black.

Tall and slender.

A black hat cast a deep shadow over most of the person's face, revealing only thin lips and a sharply defined jawline.

In his pale, elegant right hand was an old yellow leather notebook.

A tiny crimson mole rested near the base of his thumb, lending him an almost enchanting beauty.

"Xu Fei."

The voice was deep and magnetic.

Yet to Xu Fei's ears...

It sounded more terrifying than the roar of a malicious ghost.

Xu Fei's pupils contracted violently.

Fear filled his eyes.

His throat felt as though invisible fingers were squeezing it shut.

Not a single sound escaped his mouth.

A gust of wind swept across the empty road.

When it passed...

There was no one there.

Several minutes later, the police car returned.

Rong Leying got out alongside Li Yingzhe and the others.

The two officers searched the surrounding area.

During the drive back, Li Yingzhe had discreetly explained to his colleague that Rong Leying truly was a master capable of seeing ghosts.

His colleague had been utterly shocked.

The little girl wasn't mentally ill.

She was the real deal.

Ghosts actually existed.

In just a few short minutes, everything he thought he knew about the world had been overturned.

Li Yingzhe looked at Rong Leying expectantly.

"Master, do you see Xu Fei?"

She shook her head.

"He's gone."

She had already warned him on the way back that there was no guarantee they'd find Xu Fei.

After all, the ghost had been following Chen Qiang all along.

There was no reason for him to obediently wait where they'd left him.

Li Yingzhe nodded.

"Then he's probably at the hospital with Chen Qiang."

"Master, let's head to the hospital."

Coming back had only been a long shot anyway.

The three returned to the hospital.

When they arrived, Chen Qiang was still in surgery.

Rong Leying had broken several of his bones, damaged his internal organs, and completely destroyed his manhood.

Coincidentally, the surgeon performing the operation was Liao Jiamu.

Rong Leying first went upstairs to check on her grandfather.

Only after confirming he was fine did she return to the operating suite downstairs.

Not long afterward, the surgery ended.

Chen Qiang was transferred directly to the intensive care unit.

As Liao Jiamu stepped out of the operating room and spotted Rong Leying, he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Why is she here?

Standing nearby, Li Yingzhe lowered his voice.

"Master, is Xu Fei here?"

Rong Leying shook her head.

"No."

Liao Jiamu had excellent hearing.

He caught Li Yingzhe's question immediately and instantly understood why Rong Leying had appeared at the hospital.

Without asking further, he briefly updated Li Yingzhe on Chen Qiang's condition before leaving.

Unable to locate Xu Fei, Li Yingzhe could only question Rong Leying again in greater detail about everything the ghost had told her regarding the murder.

After finishing the interview, the officers hurried off.

Rong Leying returned upstairs to her grandfather's hospital room.

"Doctor Liao, what's the story with that patient?"

Back in the office, another physician on night duty looked up curiously.

"I heard from the nurses he's some kind of criminal who got beaten into that state."

As doctors, it didn't matter who the patient was.

As long as they were brought into the hospital, their duty was to save them.

Liao Jiamu dropped heavily into his chair and rubbed his sore shoulders.

"Then I'd say he's pretty lucky."

"The person who beat him was merciful enough to leave him alive."

The other doctor chuckled and turned back to his computer.

Liao Jiamu opened the drawer in front of him.

He'd been so busy during the day that he had completely forgotten about the talisman Rong Leying had given him.

Seeing her again had finally reminded him.

He wanted to take another look at it...

Maybe even use it to see whether there were any ghosts in the office.

Just thinking about the ghosts that might be wandering around the hospital late at night made him a little uneasy.

He rummaged through the drawer from top to bottom.

The talisman was nowhere to be found.

That's strange...

I clearly put it in here.

...Oh, right.

I think she mentioned that the talisman only lasted twenty-four hours...