Chapter 148: 145 Inverted Sanctuary

Chen Xiaolin is a persistent woman who keeps her word; the day after she finished investigating Zheng Yu's villa, she went to visit Zheng Yu's hometown with the goal of finding his orphaned daughter.

Faced with Chen Xiaolin's sudden visit, Zheng Yu's parents were both somewhat taken aback. Chen Xiaolin greeted the two elders very naturally and stated her intention to offer condolences, upon which the two elders very gently invited Chen Xiaolin into their home.

Clearly, Zheng Yu's parents and Chen Xiaolin were well-acquainted.

"Thank you for coming to see us, Xiaolin." The sorrow on Mother Zheng's face was hard to conceal.

"That unfilial son is hateful..." Father Zheng spoke up with slight anger, but he could not finish the sentence, only looking at Chen Xiaolin with a complex expression.

Chen Xiaolin comforted the two elders: "Uncle, Auntie, I believe Yu is definitely not that kind of person. He must have encountered some problem to have done those things."

"What's done is done; no matter the reason, it cannot be undone." Father Zheng shook his head. They naturally hoped that Zheng Yu had been wronged, but since the person was already dead and had committed unforgivable acts, the truth of what actually happened no longer held much significance.

Chen Xiaolin did not reply. This was the view of the two elders, but for her, it was not so; at least, she felt it necessary to investigate clearly what had happened to Zheng Yu before he died.

"Is Xiaopeng here?" Chen Xiaolin asked.

Upon hearing this, Father Zheng and Mother Zheng exchanged a look and sighed. Mother Zheng led Chen Xiaolin to a bedroom and gently pushed the door open. They saw a petite figure sitting in the dim room with the curtains drawn tight, drawing pictures with only a not-too-bright desk lamp on. She was quiet and absorbed, paying no attention to the people who had entered the room.

Mother Zheng whispered: "Ever since her father's incident, she has remained silent, trapping herself in the room to draw all the time. She barely has any other reaction. No matter how her grandfather and I call to her, if we take her paintbrush or drawing paper, she just freezes in place, motionless like a statue. I think her father's affair must have been too great a blow to her."

"May I try talking to her? Alone?" Chen Xiaolin asked.

Mother Zheng nodded, "That would be good. After her mother passed, she said that you were the person she most wanted to be her mother. She likes you very much. I hope you can have a good talk with her, persuade her, and at least get her to eat properly."

Chen Xiaolin: "I will."

Mother Zheng then created a private space for the two of them, closing the door as she left the room.

Chen Xiaolin came to Zheng Xiaopeng's side, watched her draw, and smiled: "Xiaopeng, I'm Sister Xiaolin. What are you drawing?"

"Sister Xiaolin? You've come to see me." Zheng Xiaopeng's movements paused, but her body made no obvious motion. Her eyeballs shifted eerily to the corner of her eyes to glance at Chen Xiaolin, then her gaze turned back to the drawing paper, and she continued drawing as if nothing had happened, replying, "I am drawing Heaven right now."

"Heaven?" Chen Xiaolin's smile stiffened. She lowered her head to look closely at the drawing and discovered that the other party was indeed drawing their own attic again. Moreover, the drawing skill was somewhat too advanced and impressive for a child of her age; not only was the image detailed, but it was also true to life, as if she had drawn the scene from her memory to scale.

Only, Chen Xiaolin noticed that after Zheng Xiaopeng finished the scene, she began to add lines to draw people. A man and a woman appeared in the picture—they were exactly her parents.

"Are you drawing Mom and Dad going to Heaven together?" Chen Xiaolin took a deep breath and asked with a restored smile.

Zheng Xiaopeng replied: "I hope so, but..."

"But what?" Chen Xiaolin pressed.

Zheng Xiaopeng: "The day before yesterday, Dad told me not to go home anymore and to live with Grandma and Grandpa from now on."

"... Your dad, the day before yesterday?" Chen Xiaolin could not believe it; your dad has been dead for several days.

Zheng Xiaopeng said truthfully: "He told me in a dream."

Hearing this, Chen Xiaolin breathed a slight sigh of relief, "So that's how it is. Then what did you and he talk about?"

"Dad told me he failed, and told me not to go back to that house anymore. Even if I go back, I must never open the door to the attic."

"What happens if you open it?"

"Opening it might release some terrible things," Zheng Xiaopeng said somewhat uncertainly, "In short, it's things Dad didn't want Xiaopeng to get close to."

Chen Xiaolin's expression went stiff. If that were really the case, then the door had long since been opened. The Enforcers and Mysterious Investigators who came to the villa to investigate must have already gone inside. That meant the terrible things had already been released.

Chen Xiaolin wanted to know more about what happened to Zheng Yu before he died: "Xiaopeng, when your dad sent you to Grandma and Grandpa's place, did he tell you why?"

"Although Dad told me he wanted to work seriously and didn't have enough time to take care of me, I actually know the real reason." Xiaopeng giggled, "Dad actually wanted to spend more time with Mom. After all, our attic is Heaven. Our house is very close to Heaven, and it's very simple for Dad to see Mom."

As she drew, Xiaopeng recalled: "One night I suddenly had to pee and went to the bathroom. I found the light in Dad's study was still on, and I could faintly hear the sound of Dad talking to someone. I peeked into the study to look, and then I saw Dad moving things into the attic, saying it was almost finished, and that when it was, we could meet again, and our family of three could be reunited..."

Listening to Xiaopeng's retelling, Chen Xiaolin opened her eyes wide in shock and muttered to herself: "What are you talking about, Zheng Yu? What on earth are you trying to do?"

"A resurrection and soul-summoning ritual." Li Duojin looked at the results of his night of translation with a grave expression. He never expected that the remnants of the ritual Zheng Yu left in the attic would be like this.

The purpose of this ritual was to summon souls, bring the spirits of the dead, and then have the summoned soul inhabit a Vessel prepared in advance for the ritual, allowing the soul to return to life through the Vessel.

And the person presiding over this ritual needed to carry out continuous hunting at a specific location. Those killed souls would automatically be absorbed into the ritual's operating energy, helping the ritual maintain its energy supply until the ritual succeeded and the soul was reborn through the Vessel.

After further investigation into this ritual by Li Duojin, he discovered that this ritual indeed originated from overseas regions, though not in the New York area, but on the Winter Peninsula.

People on the Winter Peninsula also use Kahn Script and also hold such Sacrificial Ritual activities.

And to mention the source that designed this ritual, one must mention a special Abnormal organization called the Inverted Sanctuary. It was the people of this Inverted Sanctuary who created this unique ritual.