Chapter 64: The Girl Lili
“You’re here? Please, sit.”
Seeing the white-haired girl enter, Wang Lili closed the book in her hands and gave Luo Ling a polite smile.
If Luo Ling hadn’t seen the photo beforehand, it would be hard to imagine that this quiet, composed girl was the same person as the crazed Seer in the subterranean cavern.
Luo Ling nodded slightly and sat down on the chair beside the bed.
“Gypsy Girl told me you saved me. Thank you,” Wang Lili said, looking at Luo Ling with curiosity and admiration. “She said you were a very pretty little girl, but seeing you in person, you’re even more stunning.”
“…Thank you for the compliment.”
Luo Ling nodded stiffly, still not used to being praised so directly.
However… they should have met in the subterranean cavern. Although they hadn’t spoken, it shouldn’t be… their first meeting?
“You’re wondering if we’ve met before, right?” Wang Lili seemed to see through Luo Ling’s confusion and smiled. “For me… the memories of being the Seer are quite blurry. How should I describe it? It wasn’t like a dream, but more like… fragmented, surreal impressions.
“And, I’m not actually an Awakened One. I can’t see the Grotesqueries you talk about.”
“Eh…”
Luo Ling was taken aback, but Wang Lili continued,
“I can’t see them, but the Seer can. In short, my situation… if it were in the past, I would probably be considered mentally ill.”
…Actually, she still was considered mentally ill.
A normal Awakened One wouldn’t be so… eccentric.
“Do you have any questions for me? I’ll answer them as best I can,” Wang Lili said, pointing to her head.
“But I can’t guarantee I’ll remember everything. You know, crazy people, our memories and perceptions aren’t very clear.”
Hearing this familiar excuse, Luo Ling’s eye twitched. She seemed to have forgotten something as well.
Luo Ling took a deep breath and asked in a low voice,
“I want to know, how did you know there was a Grotesquery lurking in Baiyan Village? And what did you experience there?”
“Mm… let me think. I’ll try to describe what I saw,” Wang Lili pondered for a moment, then said slowly, “I… or rather, the Seer, saw a very tempting big mushroom, jumping and bouncing around. The Seer, inexplicably, chased after it.
“After running for a while, she saw the big mushroom take root in the ground and sprout more mushrooms. The Seer thought she would wait for more mushrooms to grow, for the big mushroom to become even bigger, before picking it, but then the big mushroom suddenly attacked… I don’t remember much after that.”
What happened after that was the Seer surviving for three months in the subterranean cavern by eating the Grotesquery.
Perhaps those memories were too gruesome to remain in Wang Lili’s mind.
Judging from her description… it perfectly matched the Puppet Ballad’s four stages: spread, proliferation, absorption, and control. It also confirmed that Baiyan Village had been affected when the Seer disappeared a few months ago.
A few months…
Even Li Tianming had become a Meat Puppet over a year ago. The white reishi she had destroyed couldn’t possibly be the Puppet Ballad’s true form.
It was likely a part of the Puppet Ballad that had parasitized the white reishi. Although more powerful than Li Tianming, there was no fundamental difference between them.
It seemed there were three types of puppets controlled by the Grotesquery Puppet Ballad. The first, like Li Tianming and the white reishi, were “eggs,” able to use some of the Puppet Ballad’s abilities, but completely replaced by it.
The second type, like the Bone Doctor, the Baiyan Village villagers, and Performer, were “Meat Puppets,” their bodies completely controlled by the “egg’s” power, their consciousness trapped within their souls.
The last type, and the most troublesome… were the “Lambs,” whose numbers were uncertain. The police officers who had chased Ji Ying were like this, their consciousness influenced by the Puppet Ballad, their perceptions slightly altered.
The first two types were easy to identify and had essentially become Grotesqueries.
One just needed to cut their skin and see if their flesh and blood had been replaced by white mycelia.
The last type… only seemed to be slightly affected, making them difficult to identify, but whether they were still human or had become Grotesqueries… remained unknown.
As for Luo Ling, she wasn’t sure about her own situation, but at least she wasn’t one of these three types.
While Luo Ling was lost in thought, Wang Lili simply looked at her quietly, her clear, earnest gaze not unsettling.
In fact, both in appearance and demeanor, Wang Lili was the epitome of a school beauty.
…If it weren’t for the “Seer” persona.
“Sister Wang, do you remember… where the big mushroom first appeared?” Luo Ling looked up and asked.
The white reishi was an “egg” level puppet spawned by the Puppet Ballad, and since it was relatively recent, the connection was clearer, making it easier to investigate than Li Tianming’s case.
Perhaps through this, she could determine the location of the Puppet Ballad’s true form.
“I’ll have to think about it and confirm with Gypsy Girl—because I was already the Seer before I saw the big mushroom,” Wang Lili said slowly after a moment of thought. “Tell you what, you go deal with your group’s matters first, and when I remember, I’ll let you know.”
“Okay, Sister Wang.”
Luo Ling stood up and bowed respectfully.
“Such a serious demeanor doesn’t quite suit your age,” Wang Lili said with a gentle smile. “Just call me Lili, White Witch.”
“…You can also call me Bai.”
Luo Ling felt a bit awkward being addressed by her codename.
“No, it’s different. If you are the White Witch, then you should be called White Witch.” For some reason, Wang Lili’s smile seemed to hold a hint of unreadable mystery. “Anyway, you should go back now. I won’t tell anyone about our conversation, and I won’t reveal this information to anyone… including Gypsy Girl.”
…Was it because of a premonition again?
A dull ache throbbed in Luo Ling’s temples, and she asked directly,
“Li… Sister Lili, did you see something about the future?”
“No, no, I didn’t see anything, and I can’t,” Wang Lili shook her head. “I’m just an ordinary person, not an Awakened One like you.”
Luo Ling looked at her intently, realizing she couldn’t quite see through this seemingly ordinary, quiet girl.
“In that case, thank you very much.”
Luo Ling bowed slightly and quickly left.
She remembered more details about the battle; there were still some problems she needed to address.
After Luo Ling left, Wang Lili picked up her phone, checked the date, and murmured,
“It won’t be long now…”
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