Chapter 214 The Secret of the Alchemical Ritual

The phone screen went off.

Chu Zihang lowered his arms.

The footsteps chasing behind him all disappeared, leaving only the gurgling water in the pipes on the wall.

What to do now...

Chu Zihang raised his head.

He screwed up everything.

The woman was dead and the police were chasing him. He could no longer explain that he had killed a monster, and his current physical condition did not allow him to continue running away.

There is no good news.

It was a complete failure!
He just stared at the sky.

The gray stones splashed the condensed water droplets on my face.

The cold touch brought Chu Zihang back to his senses.

He lowered his head.

The black phone lay motionless in the palm of his hand.

Chu Zihang made a decision.

At least... leave behind this phone that can be used to contact the other party.

He supported himself against the wall, ready to complete this last task.

But when he reached the wellhead, Chu Zihang suddenly paused.

In the dim light, he found that the monster's head was very familiar.

Gray hair, wrinkled face, familiar bones under sagging skin...

——It was the old man who lent him his cell phone this morning and disappeared without a trace when he called the police!

Chu Zihang pursed his lips.

He felt he should be angry.

We should be like a vengeful wolf, crossing thousands of miles to bite the throat of the predator...

But he just looked away and stepped over the body with an expressionless face.

...There is no way.

He was dying.

A dying man can do nothing, not even the most bloodthirsty revenge.

Chu Zihang grabbed the metal ladder, lowered his head, took a last look at the upper body of the woman whose name he still didn't know, and slowly and numbly climbed out of the well.

……

And shortly after he disappeared.

A few ugly octopuses poked their tentacles out of the sewage and swept all the remaining body parts on the stone slab into the unobservable darkness.

……

It's almost dark.

The remaining light is gray, like a mist that shrouds a lost traveler, making it difficult for him to tell which direction is right.

Chu Zihang dragged his heavy feet across the path.

Can be sudden.

"stop!"

A small figure blocked his way.

Abbott held the stone he had picked up, looked at the vague shadow in the darkness, and shouted, "You are the bad guy the police want to catch, right? That's it! I will never let you leave here!"

As he said this, he threw the stone hard.

The stone, which barely made a sound of breaking through the air, hit Chu Zihang's chest, and then bounced back and forth on the ground with a rustling sound.

Chu Zihang looked at the child who was blocking the road expressionlessly. He didn't say anything and continued to move forward without stopping.

——This is a straight alley, the only remaining angle between two blocks, and he has no other choice.

The smell of blood in the air became stronger and stronger.

"I told you to stop!"

Abbott yelled.

He bent down to pick up the second stone, but suddenly stopped just as he was about to throw it.

That unclear shadow has crossed the boundary between dusk and night, exposing itself completely to the little remaining light.

Bright red blood soaked the background, and the right half of the body looked like it had been bitten off by a monster, with the edges messy like a pilled sweater.

His incomplete and asymmetrical body made him walk very strangely.

This……

What is it……

Abbott's eyes widened.

He felt his throat was blocked and he couldn't even utter a moan.

The impact of flesh, blood and bones was too stimulating for a 13-year-old child.

Abbott swallowed and his whole body stiffened.

puff~
The stone in his hand fell unconsciously.

But the sound finally brought him back to his senses, and he bent down hurriedly to feel for the stone.

But in panic he sat down on the ground.

"Wait...wait a minute!"

As Abbott watched the figure getting closer, he quickly placed his arms across his face and huddled against the wall.

"No... don't come over here..."

The brave boy smelled the sour smell of blood mixed with the stench, his stomach churned, and he finally knew what fear was.

He wanted to escape, but his legs and feet were not under his control.

In the end, I could only sit there with tears in my eyes, watching the other person approach little by little.

But soon.

He noticed that the bloody and horrible figure passed him and staggered towards the other corner.

After a long time.

Albert came back to his senses.

He opened his mouth and covered his heart, which was beating again, and breathed harder than after running a thousand meters.

What I just experienced was so scary!
He almost thought he would die here today!
But then.

Abbott suddenly felt excited again.

——He really wanted to jump to the next day and show off to Ryan about his magical encounter tonight.

Perhaps it was this thought that gave him strength.

Abbott propped up his weak legs, leaned against the wall and tried to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

But when he raised his hand, he found that there were a few drops of blood on the back of his hand, and red marks were flowing downwards with his movements.

Abbott felt a little uneasy and rubbed them against the wall in disgust, then quickly ran away in the direction where the strange man came from.

##
Chu Zihang was in no mood to care about the child who was blocking his way.

The blood in his body dripped into the soil, making him feel weaker and weaker.

The field of vision in the pupil gradually disappeared, the wide angle collapsed towards the center point, and everything seen became darker and duller.

finally.

He sat on the ground helplessly, clenched the phone in his hand, and threw it into someone's yard.

So be it.

He had no other choice.

Everything is left to fate.

Chu Zihang's thinking became increasingly slow.

——If I entrusted it to the previous child, he would definitely hand it over to the police station. But Chu Zihang was not sure if John had any problems.

Filled with worry, he finally closed his pupils.

Slowly fell asleep...

##
it's dark.

The last rays of sunlight were swallowed up by the horizon.

It is now 7:45 in the evening.

John frowned and looked at the boy leaning against the wall, feeling confused and uncertain.

This kind of wound... Is it possible that there are other subspecies of dragons in the sewers?
He subconsciously opened the [Blood Bond], but immediately realized that the expiration date of his blood that dripped into the sewer had expired.

John turned his head and asked, "Was he already like this when you found him?"

"...That's right."

The policeman from Devon behind him had a look of fear in his eyes, and his gaze was fixed on Adam's bitten shoulder.

"Damn it! What did you keep in the sewers? A great white shark?!"

"Oh! What a brilliant idea! I will definitely investigate according to your idea."

John shrugged. "But before that, could you provide me with more clues, wise sir? For example, did you find anything else during the pursuit?"

"Other discoveries..."

The police officer had no time to pay attention to the sarcastic words of his country colleague. He believed that as an elite in Devon County, he should show more professionalism than the other party when handling the case.

For example, controlling your emotions.

"If I must say... this guy killed three of our colleagues in a one-on-three situation. His marksmanship and psychological quality are clearly not in line with his age and experience."

He thought about it and continued.

"Also... we found a lot of blood at the wellhead... Although the child was seriously injured, the amount of bleeding still doesn't match up."

John frowned. "What do you mean? Are you saying that besides Adam, there were other people there who were injured and bleeding heavily?"

"It's possible... but we've been searching the area for quite a while and haven't found anyone else."

The officer shrugged, looked up and gave John a strange look, and joked.

"This damn place of yours is too magical! Even if you told me there was a chemical experiment center like the one in Deep Sea Shark, I would believe it. I can only tell you what I saw, and there is no way to make an accurate inference."

John said nothing.

To some extent, the other party's guess hit the mark!

The police officer saw that John was silent and felt bored, so he paused and then comforted him.

"But don't worry. We have asked someone to collect blood for testing. Combined with Adam's body, we should be able to find a lot of information from it."

"…I hope so."

John sighed, then remembered something and asked, "By the way, where's Ian? Did you find him?"

"You mean the body that was stolen?"

The officer nodded.

"We did find his body bag in the sewer. Also, to see if there was anything unusual about him, we've sent him... um, Ian, right... to the medical examiner."

John said he knew.

He ordered people to bring a stretcher over, covered Adam's body with a white cloth, and sent it back to the police station.

Then, he took out the report, leaned against the wall, and wrote two lines of cold handwriting on the white paper with ink:

Adam Wilson

【Confirmed dead.】

##
People's sorrows and joys are never the same.

While the police were still searching for clues in the smelly sewer, Lu Mingfei was drooling at the sumptuous dinner on the table.

The roasted chicken placed in the center, dripping fat onto the slightly charred pineapple slices, looked like a golden angel flying down from heaven.

"Is dinner ready?"

Lu Mingfei couldn't wait to pick up the knife and fork.

"Anytime, baby."

The woman with big blond waves picked up the plate and smiled at him: "But before we really enjoy it, could you please call Daniel over?"

Daniel?
Hearing the name again, Lu Mingfei paused: "Uh... me?"

"Of course, aren't you best friends?"

The woman touched his head and said, "Go ahead. He must really need you now."

The corner of Lu Mingfei's mouth twitched. He really said that Ryan was not the one Daniel needed, but given the current situation he could only stand up and leave.

Walking to the door, Lu Mingfei looked around.

One of his neighbors is a single-story building, which is now brightly lit and you can faintly hear laughter.

The other was a small building on the second floor with a sign for a pet shop hanging on it. It was dark and the gray rolling door was tightly closed.

Thinking of the murder case Abbott mentioned, he decisively chose the second one.

Pong~
Pong~
The iron sheet rang.

Lu Mingfei chose his words and said loudly: "Daniel, are you home? I'm Ryan, how about having dinner at our house?"

The dark building did not respond.

It felt like a cold wind was blowing through the gap between the rolling door and the ground, making the hair on my ankles stand up.

Lu Mingfei swallowed his saliva.

He couldn't help but imagine various murder scenes in his mind, and the details of the bloody corpses became more and more real the more he thought about them.

"No, no!"

Lu Mingfei shook off these pollutants from his head and mustered up the courage to knock for a while.

He looked around as he knocked.

There were no street lights and no other figures on the street.

The faint light coming from the house made his shadow appear long and large.

Just when Lu Mingfei was getting more and more annoyed and wanted to give up...

A hoarse voice suddenly floated down from above.

"No, you can eat it yourself."

!!!

Lu Mingfei’s face turned pale and he subconsciously stepped back and looked up.

In the unlit room on the second floor, there was a round head with an unclear face "hanging" under the glass.

"Dan... Daniel?"

Lu Mingfei called out to the head tentatively.

Daniel didn't answer, but just repeated, "Lian, go back. I'm not hungry, leave me alone for a while."

After saying that, he took his head back to the room.

Lu Mingfei rubbed his goosebumps, turned around quickly, and quickly returned home with big strides, slamming the wooden door shut.

"what happened, Babe?"

The woman sitting at the dining table was attracted by the sound and looked behind him, where no one was, “Daniel doesn’t want to come?”

"…Well, he said he wanted to be alone for a while."

Lu Mingfei explained.

"Well, it seems that Mr. Moore's death was too much for Daniel. Poor kid."

The woman sighed.

But she quickly revealed a gentle smile and beckoned Lu Mingfei to come over and sit down: "Come on, we've been waiting for you, baby."

Wait……

When Lu Mingfei heard this word, he was suddenly stunned.

Across the bright yellow light, he looked at his parents sitting at the dining table with the untouched food.

An indescribable emotion suddenly rose in my heart.

##
The full moon disappears.

The sun rises.

The white color of a fish belly gradually appeared in the sky.

There are no cocks crowing in Brixham, but there are always seabirds soaring at first light.

Inside the room, the clock was ticking.

The boy in the quilt was awakened by the noise, and immediately opened his eyes and sat up alertly.

Then he froze...

Similar scenes.

Similar plot.

Chu Zihang woke up in a strange room again.

But the second experience allowed him to quickly understand the current situation.

He's possessed again!

Chu Zihang first used the calendar on the desk to determine that the chase in the sewer happened yesterday.

Then he walked barefoot on the floor and searched the mirrors in the room.

soon.

Behind the closet door, he saw a full-length mirror attached to it.

The silver mirror reflected golden hair and ocean blue eyes, completely different from the previous Adam.

But this is not the point!

What really surprised Chu Zihang was that he had just seen this body not long ago!

Just before he died last night, there was that one-way path, and the boy holding a stone blocking his way!
Although he just glanced at it unintentionally, Chu Zihang was sure that he had not made a mistake!
【what happened? 】

[Will it be certain that after death, one will be possessed again? ]

【What about the possessed object? 】

【random?】

[Or does it contain some kind of law? ]

Chu Zihang quickly screened what happened yesterday in his mind, and he quickly formed a hypothesis -

If it is not random, then the last person seen before death will become the object of possession!

Although this cannot explain the first possession, it is very possible that the beginning of a ritual is different from the subsequent pattern.

Even though it is not rigorous, based on the information currently available, Chu Zihang can only choose to accept this guess.

Then he quickly thought of the mastermind behind the incident.

He believes that this rule also works for the other party!
Chu Zihang frowned and thought.

Even though the corpse opening its eyes in the morgue was an illusion he created, he still felt that Ian was the person the other party possessed last time!

According to the information he got when he became Adam, Ian jumped to his death from the police station the day before yesterday.

Although it is unclear exactly what happened.

But in that case, the last person the other person saw before he died...

Chu Zihang's eyes were a little dim.

But this time.

There was a sudden knock on the room door.

A very gentle voice called out from outside: "Abbott, it's time to get up. You'll be late for school."

Chu Zihang was a little dazed when he heard this, but he came back to his senses immediately and responded loudly: "I know! I'll be out right away!"

After saying that, he picked up the schoolbag that was hanging on his back, unfolded the dirty school uniform that was rolled into a ball, and put it on without changing his expression.

Then open the door.

Unlike Adam, the room of this child named Abbott is on the first floor, and the corridor outside leads directly to the living room.

The woman with a gentle expression smiled at him: "Come and eat, hamburgers and milk, they are your favorite things."

Chu Zihang pulled out a chair.

"By the way, I heard that someone jumped off the police station building the day before yesterday. Did you know about this?"

"Hmm... I think I heard... The one who died was the Jones kid, right? But I don't know much about the details."

The woman had finished her breakfast and was washing dishes in the kitchen sink, speaking casually with her head down.

"Why don't you ask your classmates? I remember you told me that your deskmates Ryan and Ian are good friends, right?"

Ryan?

Chu Zihang immediately remembered the news and made a quick decision -

[It seems that I need to go to school today. ]

He swallowed the food, stood up and opened the door.

"I am leaving."

"Be careful on the road."

The woman smiled and waved her wet hands at him.

……

After leaving home, Chu Zihang was not in a hurry to go to school.

He strolled to the place where Adam died, wanting to get the black phone back.

But not surprising.

He saw the clear cordon and the police officers who were searching and questioning around.

no way.

He had no choice but to pretend to be a curious onlooker and look around for a while, then returned the same way he came without success.

……

There is only one secondary school in Brixham, which is located not far from the seaside.

Behind it is a rocky beach, and from some classrooms you can directly see the blue sea.

When Chu Zihang arrived at the school through the map, he was late as expected.

There was no one outside the campus, and the sound of reading could be heard floating out from inside.

He found his class according to the notes in the textbook in his schoolbag.

When I knocked on the door and entered, a middle-aged man with Mediterranean features was reading from a textbook without any emotion.

He didn't care if the student was late, he just waved his hand casually and asked Chu Zihang to go back to his seat.

The only empty desk in the classroom was the one by the window. A boy with black hair and brown eyes was sitting next to it and waved at him.

Chu Zihang walked over and sat down naturally.

"I thought you weren't coming today."

Lu Mingfei complained and pulled out the chair for him.

Maybe he wasn't quite used to it when they first met yesterday, but after getting used to it he really liked the feeling of having someone to chat and gossip with him.

Chu Zihang nodded at him, then took out the corresponding textbook according to what the man was talking about and spread it on the table.

"Hey!"

After a while.

Lu Mingfei nudged him awkwardly with his elbow and whispered, "Why didn't you talk to me today?"

Chu Zihang immediately realized that Abbott was a lively person. But thinking about his behavior of intercepting Adam by himself yesterday, it seemed understandable.

Because I still want to get information...

So he turned his head and asked in a familiar tone: "What do you want to say?"

Lu Mingfei thought about it, stretched one hand under the table and made a gesture of shaking hands.

"How about pressing your fingers? Yesterday we were tied at 12-12, let's fight it out today!"

Chu Zihang was silent for a moment: "Okay."

He also stretched out a hand and shook hands with Lu Mingfei, with their thumbs raised and pressing each other.

five minutes later.

Lu Mingfei, who was pinned down for the fourth time, flexed his fingers and gritted his teeth: "Abbot, you must have practiced secretly yesterday! I despise you!"

Chu Zihang did not answer.

He began to seriously recall how he got along with other classmates when he was this age, and in the subsequent games he deliberately let Lu Mingfei win so that he could tie with him.

Lu Mingfei had no doubts and was enjoying himself playing the simple game.

Soon, the class time passed like this.

Teacher Mediterranean left the classroom with the textbook in his hand, and the surroundings suddenly became noisy.

Lu Mingfei stretched and stood up.

"Abbot, do you want to go to the bathroom?"

Chu Zihang wanted to refuse, but thinking that boys of this age like to do things in groups, he nodded and went out with him.

Many students were playing and fighting on the road. Two of them stood one in front and one behind, sticking to the wall to clear the middle aisle.

Chu Zihang looked at Lu Mingfei's back and suddenly asked, "Ryan, do you know why Ian jumped from the police station and committed suicide?"

"Ian?"

Lu Mingfei thought about it for a while before he remembered that John seemed to have mentioned this name. He asked tentatively, "Uh, should I know?"

Chu Zihang frowned: "Didn't you say Ian is your good friend?"

……Have it?
The corner of Lu Mingfei's mouth twitched.

He thought of Daniel, whose father died, and Ian, who Albert said committed suicide by jumping off a building, and kept saying to the original owner in his heart: It’s really not easy to be your good friend!

Lu Mingfei coughed dryly and shrugged his shoulders: "Well, I have heard about it, but I really don't know what happened."

Chu Zihang was a little disappointed, but he was prepared for this, so he asked, "Where is Ian's classroom?"

[Damn! How would I know! ]

Lu Mingfei yelled in his heart.

But in order not to arouse Abbott's suspicion, his expression quickly became serious.

Then he turned around, put his hands on Chu Zihang's shoulders, and said seriously: "Abbot! You are my best friend! So, I hope you can only be friends with me! Okay?"

???

Chu Zihang looked confused and stunned.

He looked at Lu Mingfei’s serious face… Is the possessiveness of a 13-year-old child so strong?

Or……

Chu Zihang couldn't help but think of Britain's long-standing traditions.

Fortunately, after Lu Mingfei finished speaking, he immediately turned around and continued walking towards the toilet. Chu Zihang put aside those wild thoughts and followed him silently.

【never mind. 】

He let out a breath.

[There should be someone else here who knows where Ian's class is. ]

……

I finished using the toilet in silence.

Chu Zihang found an excuse to separate from Lu Mingfei.

In the corridor, he stopped a boy passing by and said, "Excuse me, do you know Ian?"

"Ian?"

The man looked at him strangely, then understood: "Oh! You also heard about that incident and came here to inquire about it, right?"

Chu Zihang asked: "Do you know?"

"Of course I don't know."

The boy spread his hands and said, "I'm not familiar with him... I think only Ian's best friends know the inside story of this matter. But unfortunately, they haven't come to school these two days."

Didn't come to school...

Chu Zihang narrowed his eyes: "Who is his best friend?"

"Well, let me think about it..."

The boy counted on his fingers: "Andre, Daniel, and at most Ryan... But Ryan only plays with them occasionally because he is close to Daniel."

Chu Zihang memorized these names and then asked, "Which class are they in? Do you know their home addresses?"

"……what?"

The boy looked at him strangely. "How would I know their home address? But as for their class...the three of them are all in Class 2."

Chu Zihang nodded and thanked him. He wanted to ask something else, but the school bell suddenly rang from the radio in the corridor.

The boy waved at him and ran back to the classroom. Chu Zihang had no choice but to follow the crowd back to his seat.

……

"came back?"

Lu Mingfei greeted him.

Chu Zihang nodded in response, and after sitting down, he asked directly: "Ryan, you know where Daniel lives, right?"

"Daniel?"

Lu Mingfei was puzzled.

He thought it was a bit strange that Abbott asked so many questions today, but he did know the answer to this question, so he answered it.

"It's right next to my house, in a place called [Moore's Pet Shop]... Do you want to go play with him?"

Chu Zihang thought of his strange possessiveness and shook his head: "No, it's enough for me to have you as a friend. I'm just asking out of curiosity."

Lu Mingfei frowned.

Why does this sound weird?

But before he could think clearly, Chu Zihang asked again: "Where is Andre? Do you know where he lives?"

“…Uh, I don’t know.” Lu Mingfei said honestly.

Chu Zihang nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

……

The second class is grammar.

The teacher was a thin woman with a stern look.

Chu Zihang listened to her writing words on the board while dealing with Lu Mingfei's harassment, but his mind had already flown away.

Taking classes here is such a waste of time!

If Chu Zihang hadn't wanted to find out some information about Andre from the students in Class 2, he would have skipped school and run away long ago.

He still has a lot to do. In addition to the black mobile phone that he doesn't know whether it has been found by the police, investigating the person possessed by the mastermind is of utmost importance.

After anxious waiting, the second class finally ended.

Chu Zihang said hello to Lu Mingfei and headed straight back to Class 2 on the other side of the corridor.

Students aged thirteen or fourteen were not very vigilant. In response to Chu Zihang's inquiry, a girl who was familiar with Andre told him the exact address.

After receiving the news, Chu Zihang did not stay any longer. He thanked politely and left the school directly.

This middle school, like other public schools, implements happy education and the gate management is not strict.

Chu Zihang sneaked out easily.

After standing in front of the town map and thinking for a moment, he decided to look for Daniel first.

There is no particular reason.

But he felt that the death of Daniel's father involved deeper connections.

(End of this chapter)