Four hours later, Sun Fatty, Po Jun, and I left Qilin City and arrived at the provincial capital airport. The few people left in the Second Bureau were being protected at the Qilin City Police Station.
The Bureau of Paranormal Investigation had already notified Po Jun that the second team was taking the earliest flight to come. Since Qilin City had no airport, we had to drive for four hours to the provincial capital airport to pick them up.
The Provincial Police Department showed great respect by providing five Jeep Grand Cherokees, and even arranged for us to receive the flight on the tarmac.
We arrived a bit early; the plane wouldn't land for another twenty minutes. The three of us sat on the hood of a Grand Cherokee, watching the planes take off and land. Bored, Sun Fatty asked Po Jun, "Da Jun, did you get a clear answer? Which director is coming? Is it Director Hao?"
Po Jun yawned and said, "No matter who comes, Director Hao can't make it. He's on a business trip in Sichuan and won't be back anytime soon. I'm guessing it's probably Ouyang Pianzuo, or maybe that foreigner Hugo…"
While speaking, Po Jun suddenly raised his hand, pointing at a white dot in the sky. "Lazi, you have good eyesight, check if that's our Bureau of Paranormal Investigation's plane."
I looked up at the dot; the number on the wing was 581215—Gao Fatty's birthday. I said, "That's right, it really is the Bureau's special plane."
Po Jun said, "The Bureau's plane has always been used by the Second Bureau. It's probably Qiu Bulao coming. Their own kid got hurt, so the big shots are coming out."
After another ten minutes, the plane finally came to a stop. The cabin door had been open for a while before a young man walked down the boarding stairs.
He looked familiar, but I couldn't remember where I had seen him (unfortunately, I didn't notice Po Jun's face had already changed). He was in his twenties, not yet thirty, wearing a black Zhongshan suit with a standing collar, carrying a travel bag.
Sun Fatty and I squinted at him, trying to figure out who he was. He probably thought he looked familiar too but couldn't place him.
While Sun Fatty and I were still guessing, Po Jun had already gone up to greet the newcomer. "Director Wu, didn't expect you to come." He took the travel bag from him.
Director Wu? Wu Rendi? Sun Fatty and I exchanged glances. Looking carefully, if he had white hair and wore a white trench coat, who else could it be but Wu Rendi?
"Director Wu." Sun Fatty and I greeted him simultaneously. Wu Rendi nodded slightly in return.
No one else got off the plane besides Wu Rendi. Could he be the only one? Po Jun didn't ask, but Sun Fatty couldn't hold back, "Director Wu, are you coming alone?"
Wu Rendi glanced at him with a faint smile, "You think I want to come? They don't let me forget the little things."
Yes, I confirmed again, it was definitely White-Haired Wu Rendi. I hadn't seen him many times, but his words grew more and more cutting each time. Just hearing his tone, even with eyes closed, I could immediately recognize him.
When we entered Qilin City again, Po Jun asked Wu Rendi, "Director Wu, do we go to the crime scene first or check on the comatose victim at the hospital?"
Without hesitation, Wu Rendi said, "Go to the hospital and see Wang Ziheng first."
Though Wu Rendi was harsh, he still cared about his colleagues.
When we arrived at the hospital, Deputy Director Wang was still lying in the ICU and hadn't regained consciousness. I had thought Wu Rendi might have a way to wake Wang Ziheng, but to my surprise, he didn't intend to do so.
Wu Rendi neither examined Wang's injuries nor asked about the attack's details. He simply pried open Wang Ziheng's mouth (when Wang was found, his jaw was clenched so tightly that even the attending doctor couldn't open it. They had to perform a tracheotomy to insert the ventilator).
Wu Rendi casually pried open Wang's mouth, and a wisp of black gas drifted out. Wu Rendi reached out and caught the black gas in his hand. Sun Fatty and I held our breath, watching as Wu Rendi toyed with the black gas in his palm.
Po Jun, having some experience, found a plastic urine test tube in the ward and handed it to Wu Rendi. Director Wu stuffed the black gas into the tube, but that wasn't all. He rolled the tube over Wang Ziheng's face, and within a minute, several wisps of black gas drifted out from Wang's ears, nostrils, and eyes.
This time, not only Sun Fatty and I, even Po Jun were a bit flustered. The three of us searched the entire ward before we barely found some medicine bottles, test tubes, and plastic tubes that could hold the black aura.
I took a moment to quietly ask Po Jun, "Dajun, what exactly is this black aura?"
Po Jun shook his head lightly and nodded toward Wu Rendi with a smirk, "You better ask him."
Watching Wu Rendi carefully store the black aura containers, I finally asked him, "Director Wu, what is this? How did it get inside Deputy Director Wang's body?"
Wu Rendi put the containers with the black aura into his coat pocket, then turned to me and explained, "It's corpse aura. Wang Ziheng, that kid, was smart enough to lock up his three souls and seven spirits early on. The person who injured him didn't want to kill him, but couldn't take away his one soul and two spirits, so they polluted his seven orifices with corpse aura, leaving him in a coma."
Sun Fatty interrupted, "So, if the corpse aura is released, Wang Ziheng could wake up?"
"Not that fast," Wu Rendi said again, "He injured the back of his head. It'll take at least three to five days before he wakes."
Po Jun glanced at Wang Ziheng lying in the hospital bed, then asked Wu Rendi, "Director Wu, what do we do now?"
Wu Rendi yawned and said, "Nothing will happen in the short term. Let's find a place to rest first. We'll deal with the rest after we wake up."
After he said that, my fatigue caught up with me. Sun Fatty, Po Jun, and I hadn't slept for nearly two days straight. Since arriving at Qilin City, one investigator after another from the Bureau's second office had met with trouble. Our nerves had been taut, and sleepiness hadn't hit us until now when the Bureau's top treasure finally arrived. Once we relaxed, sleepiness immediately came over us.
One after another, the three of us began yawning. Wu Rendi looked at us and said, "No need to stay up any longer. Let's all sleep."
Sleep together? Could he not make it sound so ambiguous? I wasn't in the mood to critique his choice of words. After leaving the ward, I found the young cop assigned to protect us and asked him to arrange an empty hospital room for us, explaining that the bureau leaders needed to rest.
Lying on the bed, I lost consciousness in less than a minute. Just as I was drifting off, I heard a cold voice say, "Hey you, get up! The main character has arrived!"
I groggily opened my eyes to see a figure standing before me. The hospital room light was off, so I couldn't recognize who it was at first. I asked, "Who are you?"
"Get up and see for yourself!"
That voice was so familiar, no need to guess—it was Wu Rendi. I rubbed my eyes and looked again. Wu Rendi, dressed all in black, was staring at me.
I smiled bitterly, "Good morning, Director Wu."
Wu Rendi's tone turned impatient, "Morning? Get up and take a look first."
"Look at what?" I muttered, climbing out of bed. Outside the window, it was still pitch black; dawn hadn't broken yet. I glanced at my watch — 11:30 PM! I'd only slept less than four hours.
What was the meaning of this? Waking me up in the middle of the night like this—didn't seem like anything urgent. You're not rushing to the bathroom because you can't find it, right? Fine, you're the director, I can't argue. I said, "Director Wu, the bathroom is just down the hall. I won't bother you anymore. See you tomorrow morning."
Just as I was about to climb back into bed, I suddenly realized there was another person on the bed whom I hadn't noticed before. Cold sweat broke out on me. How had I not noticed another person on my bed?
Could it be the one who nearly crippled Wang Ziheng? Thinking this, I immediately darted behind Wu Rendi and quietly asked him, pointing at the person lying on the bed, "Director Wu, do you see him?"
Wu Rendi snapped back, "I'm not blind."
"Who is he? What's he doing in my bed at this hour?" Standing behind Wu Rendi, I suddenly felt a lot safer.
"Who he is? Look for yourself."
I gathered my courage and went to the head of the bed. Pulling back the blanket, I saw his face clearly. Hmm? So familiar? I seemed to have seen him somewhere before. The nose, the mouth, the eyes — the more I looked, the more familiar it became. Damn! That's me!
Was I dreaming? It must be. Not fully awake yet, it was all just a dream. I lay back on the other side of the bed. Even in dreams, it felt so real, like when I was lost in the desert after inhaling Soul Wandering Incense and saw the Blue-Faced King. It was just too vivid.
Since it was a dream, I might as well continue sleeping. Just as I closed my eyes, Wu Rendi suddenly grabbed my ear.
"Ouch, ouch! Director Wu, let go! My ear's coming off!"
Pain? I'm dreaming, so how can I feel pain? If this isn't a dream, who was the guy on the bed who looked exactly like me?
"Get up." Wu Rendi said coldly.
I glanced at my "twin brother." This must have something to do with Wu Rendi. I asked, "Director Wu, aren't you going to explain who he is?"
Wu Rendi glanced at me but said nothing. Instead, he reached his left hand into my body, moving it around inside before pulling it back.
Am I dead? I'm not willing to accept it — I've only lived twenty-four years, and now I'm dead?
Seeing my tearful expression, Wu Rendi snorted, "You think you're dead? Don't worry, you're far from it." Then he patted my shoulder again, but this time his hand didn't pass through me like before. He patted me firmly and said, "I just called your soul out to use it for a while. Don't worry, I'll return it to your body soon so you can be reunited."
"Won't there be any aftereffects?"
"Probably not."
"What do you mean 'probably not'? Director Wu, do you even have confidence? What if I can't return? What if I become a lost soul?"
"Enough nonsense. Call those two over. Let's go together."
Hmm? Not just me? Right, there's also Sun Fatty and Po Jun. I can feel better knowing two others are tied to this with me. But come to think of it, they were clearly sleeping in the beds across from me. Why aren't they here?
I looked at the two empty beds and asked, "Director Wu, where are they? Why aren't they in bed?"
"Do you think we're still in the ward?" Wu Rendi said to me. "You had to fall asleep first so I could call your souls out. Now, we're inside your dream."
"Inside a dream?" Is this Inception? I stared wide-eyed. "What about them? Do we need to enter their dreams to call their souls as well?"
Wu Rendi looked at me and said, "Let's go together. Let's see what's in their dreams." Then he turned and walked toward the bookshelf.
A door had appeared on the wall behind him. When I approached, I saw an antique bronze lock hanging on it.
"Director Wu, the door's locked. Do you have the key?"
Wu Rendi ignored me, twisted the lock off with his hand, pushed the door open, and stepped inside. I dared not hesitate and followed him in.
Behind the door was a study. Hundreds of bookshelves spread out like a fan, like entering a labyrinth.
In the center of the shelves was a faint light, and a tall man was sitting there reading a book and taking notes.
It was Po Jun! Reading a book in a dream? I'd known Po Jun for months. Besides Sun Fatty, he was the only one I was familiar with. He always gave me the impression of a muscular man, a tough guy. In the desert underground, he alone could push a petro-monument stone; Sun Fatty and I together would struggle. I admitted he was very calm and steady, and I looked up to him as a big brother. But I never thought he would be reading in a dream.
"Po Jun, get up." Wu Rendi patted Po Jun's head. Po Jun blinked, seemingly suddenly noticing me and Wu Rendi. After a few seconds, he closed his book, sighed, and said to Wu Rendi, "Is this the Soul Separation Technique again?"
Wu Rendi said nothing but silently nodded.
From Po Jun's tone, it seemed Wu Rendi had called out his soul like this before. Po Jun wasn't unfamiliar with this. He nodded at me, "You're here too."
"We'll be polite once everyone's here." Wu Rendi said, already walking toward the outer bookshelves. Po Jun and I followed behind.
Seeing Po Jun's calm demeanor, it seemed this Soul Separation Technique wasn't very dangerous. That reassured me a little, so I quietly asked him, "Dajun, why are you reading in your dream? I'm still just sleeping."
Po Jun smiled and said, "You're too tired, even in your dreams you think about sleeping. When I read, I relax the most. Maybe it's because Director Wu came; I feel lighter inside. Looks like the next stop is Fatty Sun's dream. Guess what he's doing there?"
I thought a moment and said, "Sun Fatty? Eating, drinking, gambling, and womanizing, probably."
As I spoke, Wu Rendi had already found the door again. Just like before, he twisted off the bronze lock and opened the door.
What we saw inside made all three of us freeze. Wu Rendi didn't expect Sun Fatty's dream to be like this either. He stepped inside and looked at the dreamscape, saying, "Little Fatty, I underestimated you."