Chapter 144: 141 Obstacle

"Morning, Wang Daye. Cleaning up so much trash this early in the morning?"

Wang Daye dumped a large black plastic bag full of things into the trash station all at once. The heavy weight made his old waist groan. His face flushed red as he pounded his lower back, when suddenly he heard a male amusement park employee passing by call out to him.

Hearing someone call him, Wang Daye shuddered all over. He widened his eyes, staring fixedly at the man passing by, and responded stiffly: "Ah, yes. Woke up this morning, and plastic, leaves, and all sorts of things were everywhere..."

Facing Wang Daye's unblinking gaze, the employee felt a bit creeped out, but also found it strange. He muttered "this weird old man" and gave a dry laugh in response: "Anyway, I'm off to get breakfast. See ya."

Watching the employee's figure run off in a flustered manner, as if confirming the other party hadn't discovered anything, Wang Daye finally withdrew his nervous, vigilant gaze, then muttered to himself: "What... what have I done..."

Chen Xiaolin woke up with a start from the sofa, cold sweat dampening her hair. The shock of having survived a disaster remained on her pale face. She looked around at the devastation, certain that her experience last night was not just a nightmare. Those things, even more detestable and terrifying than a Dream Demon, actually existed. They lived in dark, sneaky corners where people didn't notice them. Perhaps even if we saw those corners, we humans would still act as if we hadn't noticed them, letting them squirm and breed there as if they didn't exist.

"Are you awake, young lady?" The young man wearing a plain T-shirt and jeans walked out of the kitchen, carrying a bowl of fresh meat porridge with a friendly smile on his face.

Looking at him, Chen Xiaolin felt as if she were seeing some immortal living in the world. Her bright eyes were wide open, and her gaze repeatedly reflected and replayed the true memories of last night.

The drive took a total of one hour, much later than expected. Many strange things happened along the way, such as encountering a car accident that blocked the road, or rarely running into a sudden downpour that reduced visibility and made the road slippery, forcing them to slow down.

Facing these strange phenomena, Chen Xiaolin only muttered "how unlucky," while Li Duojin, who had been resting with his eyes closed in the passenger seat, opened his eyes at some point. With a grave expression, he said to her, "This is fate not wanting us to go there. It seems the place you are taking me to really has problems."

Li Duojin's serious, matter-of-fact demeanor gripped Chen Xiaolin's heart. She couldn't help but feel a desire to retreat. Her courage was actually much greater than most people's, but when she saw those eyes of Li Duojin's that transcended his apparent age, it was as if she were talking to an elder. She believed that this strange, absurd feeling could only be understood by someone who had had the same personal experience as her.

"Perhaps it's just a coincidence." Instinctively, Chen Xiaolin still leaned toward these being mere accidental events.

Li Duojin, however, looked at the pouring rain outside the window and sighed: "Everything exists with cause and effect. Every accident is connected by necessity. Those caught within it will not know if they are a link in that necessity. Ring by ring, the whole world is able to operate."

Chen Xiaolin only felt that what he said was mysterious, and felt even more that Li Duojin fit the identity of a "Master."

But after this, Chen Xiaolin was once again shocked by a scene that appeared in reality, and her belief in "coincidence" began to waver.

She saw that on the only road to Zheng Yu's house, there appeared a road barrier sign she had never seen before, which read: "Landslide ahead, no entry."

Chen Xiaolin looked at Li Duojin in shock and found that Li Duojin was also looking at her. She suddenly couldn't find a reason to argue.

"Should we turn back then?" Chen Xiaolin let out a deep breath. She tried hard to view the series of strange events happening now from the perspective of ordinary phenomena. She was not a person stubborn enough to risk her life to seek the truth; she wasn't that great, nor that pure.

Now with the heavy rain and the landslide, these really did seem like some existence in the dark telling them not to continue forward. But from an ordinary perspective, accidents were frequent on rainy days, and finding another route would take time and energy. As far as today was concerned, there was really no need to persist.

"It's fine, let's just go. Taking a detour is also fine." However, Li Duojin gave Chen Xiaolin an unexpected answer.

The person who first suggested there was danger ahead and claimed that the series of strange phenomena preventing them from continuing were hints of fate, unexpectedly did not want to run away, but instead had an attitude of meeting the difficulty head-on.

"Are you serious?" Chen Xiaolin asked in surprise.

"Have you never been serious?" Li Duojin countered.

Chen Xiaolin was stunned, then knitted her brows and said seriously: "Of course I'm serious too. I was just worried you might feel dissatisfied, so I wanted to change the date. Since you are so insistent, I have no reason to give up. Fine, I'll take another road." As she spoke, she jerked the steering wheel, turned around, and drove toward a small forest path, taking a shortcut to the destination.

This time, the shortcut was smooth, and no strange things occurred again.

But precisely because of this, Chen Xiaolin felt even more uneasy, because it was as if the kind person who was blocking his progress and didn't want him to encounter danger had given up on their good intentions to save her.

Isn't there a saying? Curiosity killed the cat, and good words cannot persuade a ghost that is destined to die.

Chen Xiaolin took Li Duojin into a villa Zheng Yu owned in the suburbs. She remembered that only this house of Zheng Yu's had an attic; she had never seen or heard of his other properties in the Magic City having one.

Now the villa was empty, lacking any human presence, and the interior was dark.

"How do we get in?" Li Duojin asked, puzzled.

Hearing this, Chen Xiaolin didn't say much. She just went to the entrance security system, pressed her right thumbprint onto it, and the system made a sound. The red dot on it flashed a few times before turning into a yellow light, and the villa door opened.

Li Duojin narrowed his eyes, "It seems Miss Chen and the late Mr. Zheng Yu were really very close."

"Yes, very close. To the point where we almost ended up together." Chen Xiaolin didn't hide it anymore and simply laid her cards on the table. One of the reasons she was obsessed with investigating the truth behind Zheng Yu's death also surfaced.

Li Duojin said calmly: "Does Miss Chen like Mr. Zheng?"

Chen Xiaolin did not answer, but just led Li Duojin into the house.

"What about his child now?" Li Duojin entered the house, looking at the elegant and low-key luxurious decor of the villa. While praising it, he saw the family portrait on the wall and thought of the deceased's family situation.

"His parents are taking care of him for now. We can go see him later if there's a chance," Chen Xiaolin said. The child who was the first to discover the abnormality in the attic must also have something special about him.

"Don't talk about that. Master Li, haven't you had any special sensations since entering here?"

"I have. It's up top, right?" Li Duojin pointed above his head, to the place that was exactly the villa's attic.