Chapter 8: Mental Illness
“…Sorry, I need you to wait a little longer. I want to watch her finish this last meal.”
Su Wan spoke softly, her hands continuing to stir the food in the wok.
The sizzling of hot oil drowned out her voice.
“Mm.”
A flat reply came from beside her.
“Thank you for your trouble,” Su Wan sighed.
“It’s no trouble.”
Su Wan gave the other person a strained smile, then expertly plated the dish and brought it to the table in the small living room. She called towards the inner room,
“Dinner’s ready, Xiao Ling.”
“Mm.”
A reply came from inside, and the wooden door opened. A frail-looking girl with long, white hair that nearly reached the floor emerged. The color was almost blinding.
Seeing her sister’s sickly appearance, a pang of sympathy flashed through Su Wan’s eyes.
“Sister, the bodies upstairs…”
Luo Ling couldn’t help but ask after leaving her room.
She had used her “Spores” to search the entire room but found no trace of the bodies. She couldn’t believe her sister had disposed of them.
Her sister was always timid, screaming at the sight of a dead mouse, let alone dealing with two gruesome corpses on her own.
Luo Ling was worried about the Puppet Ballad’s lingering effects. What if Li Tianming and Wu Qin came back to life?
She didn’t want her sister to get hurt.
Hearing Luo Ling’s words, Su Wan’s movements faltered, but she quickly said in a low voice,
“Don’t worry, Xiao Ling, Sister has… taken care of everything.”
Luo Ling looked surprised, but Su Wan twitched the corners of her mouth, forcing a smile.
“It’s okay. They were bad people who wanted to harm Xiao Ling, weren’t they?”
“Mm…”
Luo Ling nodded noncommittally, but seeing Su Wan’s uneasy expression, she frowned slightly.
She hadn’t paid much attention to her sister’s demeanor yesterday, being close to unconsciousness.
Now, looking closely, her sister seemed… like she didn’t quite believe her explanation.
Well, it was normal for ordinary people to find talk of “Grotesqueries” and “Awakened Ones” absurd.
Even she herself… despite witnessing it firsthand, had suspected it was a hallucination until her life was threatened.
As Luo Ling thought about how to further explain to her sister, Su Wan quickly changed the subject.
“Come and eat, Xiao Ling. You haven’t eaten in two days, you must be starving. I made your favorite stuffed tofu, and there’s braised pork too. Eat more, don’t waste it.”
“…Okay.”
Luo Ling nodded in response.
Since her sister didn’t want to talk about it, she wouldn’t press the matter.
It would be better to explain clearly after things had settled down.
Luo Ling sat down and noticed there was only one set of bowls and chopsticks on the table.
Her sister sat opposite her, gazing at her with a loving expression.
“Sister, aren’t you eating?” Luo Ling asked.
She wasn’t actually hungry. The only time she had felt hungry recently was after killing Li Tianming and consuming his heart.
Otherwise, even after sleeping for three days and nights, she wouldn’t wake up feeling hungry.
Eating was just a habit for Luo Ling now.
“I already ate,” Su Wan said softly. “It’s okay, you eat. Sister will just watch.”
“Mm.”
Luo Ling nodded slightly and picked up her chopsticks.
Only the sound of Luo Ling silently eating filled the dining room as Su Wan watched her intently.
Finally, when Luo Ling had eaten almost everything, Su Wan spoke,
“Xiao Ling, listen to Sister. Although those two doctors were bad people who wanted to harm you, not all doctors are bad. You still need proper treatment for your illness.”
Luo Ling paused, then nodded hesitantly.
“I know.”
In fact, Luo Ling knew she wasn’t sick. These strange symptoms were because she was an Awakened One.
Special abilities came with a price. Everything in this world was an equivalent exchange. Trading sleep for immense power was reasonable.
But saying this now would only make her sister worry more, thinking she was resisting treatment.
So, Luo Ling decided to wait until she could prove everything before explaining clearly.
She didn’t want her sister to worry anymore.
“Remember to listen to the doctor. Also, it’s going to get cold soon, so be careful…”
Su Wan started rambling, and the more Luo Ling listened, the more it sounded like her sister was giving final instructions.
Before Su Wan could finish, Luo Ling put down her chopsticks and said seriously,
“Sister, what are you trying to say?”
Su Wan was momentarily speechless after being interrupted.
After a pause, she sighed deeply.
“Alright, I’ve said everything I needed to say, and things I shouldn’t have… Officer, you can come out now.”
As her voice fell, the slightly ajar door opened, and a short-haired woman in a police uniform entered.
She walked straight to them, showed her police ID, and said calmly,
“Officer Ji Ying. I apologize, but please cooperate with the investigation.”
“Sister, you… called the police?”
Luo Ling’s eyes widened. She had been thinking about how to avoid the police, but her sister had called them first.
Li Tianming and Wu Qin, whom she had killed, couldn’t even be called human. They were merely puppets controlled by the Puppet Ballad.
The moment they became puppets, they were already dead, only their bodies remained, controlled by another.
In a way, Luo Ling had freed them, so she didn’t feel guilty or that she deserved punishment.
“Xiao Ling, even if they were bad people, we should let the police handle it.” Su Wan looked at her with heartache. “Don’t worry, I’ve explained everything to the police. Given your cooperative attitude, they should be lenient.
“But, Sister still believes you did nothing wrong, truly… nothing wrong.”
To Luo Ling’s astonishment, Su Wan turned resolutely, held out her hands, and said,
“Officer Ji, I killed them. Arrest me.”
“Sister…”
“My sister has some mental problems. Don’t believe anything she says. Please send her to Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital afterward. I’ll pay the hospitalization fees after I’m released from prison.”
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