Chapter 12: Illusion
“This is the first lesson I’ll teach you about being an Awakened One: never trust others easily, and never reveal your abilities readily.”
Ji Ying said calmly, “However, trust is reciprocal. Since you’ve told me about your ability, then I…”
As she spoke, Ji Ying’s form began to fade into thin air, her voice echoing from nowhere.
“This is my ability, ‘Hidden Kill,’ from the Judgment path. My first skill is ‘Illusion.’ All my actions are forcibly ignored by others.”
By using invisibility and illusion simultaneously, Ji Ying could become an omnipresent assassin on the battlefield. Her opponents wouldn’t even be able to raise their guard, making her the perfect assassin.
It was because of “Illusion” that the other customers in the milk tea shop had ignored Ji Ying and Luo Ling, oblivious to their shocking conversation.
“I… don’t seem to have a first skill yet,” Luo Ling said. “Just an innate ability…”
“I know,” Ji Ying said, picking up the pale strand of hair from her shoulder. “I’ve been tracking the Puppet Ballad for a few years now, so I know a thing or two about it.”
“Why… are you tracking the Puppet Ballad?” Luo Ling hesitated for a moment before asking.
A flicker of emotion crossed Ji Ying’s eyes.
She lowered her head slightly, as if looking at something, and whispered, “Just seeking revenge.”
Luo Ling wanted to ask more, but Ji Ying stood up.
“Let’s end it here for today. Don’t worry your sister too much. I’ll contact you later,” Ji Ying said, wrapping the Spore around her wrist. “Through this.”
Luo Ling could share senses with the Spore, showing that Ji Ying truly understood the Puppet Ballad.
“Oh, Officer Ji,” Luo Ling suddenly remembered something. “Li Tianming mentioned having an accomplice, something called ‘Forgotten River’…”
“Grotesquery Sequence Three Hundred and Eighty-Eight, ‘Forgotten River Child.’ I didn’t expect him to be raising a Grotesquery…”
Ji Ying frowned slightly, seeing Luo Ling’s confused expression, and explained, “Have you heard of the witchcraft of raising ghost children? The ghost children they raise are ‘Forgotten River Children.’ They are also a numerous type of Grotesquery.
“They are one of the few Grotesqueries that can be controlled by humans. While they are not extremely troublesome, they are still difficult to handle..”
Raising ghost children…
Luo Ling had seen it on TV. Recalling some of the details, she suddenly realized where “Forgotten River” was.
—The little monster in the arms of the mad woman at the hospital!
“But you don’t need to worry about this, I’ll handle it,” Ji Ying raised an eyebrow, her expression softening slightly. “You should go back now. Look at the time… Ms. Su must be getting anxious.”
Luo Ling hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Through the Spore she had left at home, she could sense her sister’s anxiety after she left. She shouldn’t keep her worried.
“I have other matters to attend to, so I can’t walk you back.”
Ji Ying stood at the entrance of the milk tea shop, looked back at Luo Ling, and smiled faintly. “Goodbye, Miss Puppet Ballad.”
“…”
Luo Ling remained silent. She didn’t dare to claim the title of Puppet Ballad.
However, her current situation was indeed troublesome. As Ji Ying had said, within Jiangcheng County alone, there could be countless of the Puppet Ballad’s agents.
She also didn’t know if the Puppet Ballad’s true form had noticed her…
After Ji Ying left, Luo Ling sat for a while longer.
She mulled over Ji Ying’s words and sighed softly.
“Things have come to this, I can only take it one step at a time…”
Luo Ling stood up, saw that Ji Ying had only taken a few sips of her milk tea before leaving it on the table. After a moment of hesitation, she picked it up.
“Can’t waste it…”
Luo Ling decided to give her own cup to her sister and drink the rest of Ji Ying’s.
For her sister, who pinched every penny, milk tea was an almost unattainable luxury. She probably hadn’t had it many times and would surely be happy.
Thinking of the smile that would bloom on her sister’s tired face, the little bit of melancholy in Luo Ling’s heart dissipated, and her steps as she left the milk tea shop were a little lighter.
Shortly after she left, a child in the shop finally couldn’t help but ask his mother,
“Mommy, why was that pretty lady with white hair at the next table talking to herself?”
“Shush! Don’t mind her, she’s crazy…”
…
When Luo Ling opened the door to her apartment, Su Wan practically pounced on her, checking her over for injuries before finally sighing in relief.
“They didn’t do anything to you, did they?” Su Wan asked nervously.
“No, they just took my statement and let me go,” Luo Ling replied with a smile, then handed Su Wan the milk tea. “Here, Officer Ji even gave me this.”
But Su Wan didn’t take the milk tea. She hesitated, seeming to think carefully before asking, “About yesterday…”
“Sister, I’ve confirmed with Officer Ji,” Luo Ling said softly, “Nothing happened yesterday.”
She was determined not to involve her sister in these dangerous matters.
“…Really?”
Su Wan’s face paled slightly, a look of uncertainty crossing her features.
Her mind was in turmoil. No matter how she tried to recall, the events of yesterday were incredibly vivid.
Even just standing in the upstairs room, she could smell a faint, terrifying scent of blood, a sickening stench lingering in the air.
But everything in the room was as it always was, unchanged.
Were these really just her delusions?
Just psychological effects?
Su Wan’s thoughts were a mess.
Seeing her sister’s pale face, a pang of guilt and distress shot through Luo Ling.
She knew she was deceiving her sister, but… it was better than letting her sister doubt her own sanity, better than letting her know the cruel truth.
“By the way, Sister, don’t mind what Officer Ji said,” Luo Ling took a deep breath and said softly, “You’re just tired. Get some more rest, and you’ll be fine.”
To pay for her medical expenses, her sister had been working overtime, her face looking increasingly haggard over the past few months.
Luo Ling was determined not to let her sister work so hard anymore.
Also, she said these things to prevent her sister from overthinking, lest she make herself sick with worry.
As for taking her sister to Qingshan Hospital for refuge, Luo Ling had considered it on her way back but decided against it.
Firstly, they probably couldn’t afford the hospitalization fees. Secondly, Luo Ling didn’t fully trust Ji Ying and was suspicious of this so-called Awakened One gathering place.
She wasn’t comfortable leaving her sister in an unknown place.
She would wait until she had investigated it herself…
“Mm…mm?” Hearing these words, Su Wan’s expression suddenly froze. She looked up in confusion. “Officer Ji? Which Officer Ji? Said… what?”
Luo Ling was taken aback. “Officer Ji Ying, the one who took me to the police station. Didn’t you meet her?”
“…”
Su Wan was silent for a moment, then slowly said,
“Xiao Ling, didn’t you turn yourself in?”
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