Chapter 15: Prank

Leikedun and Yilisha arrived at the third floor of the hospital where the explosion had just occurred; the doctors on this floor had already restored order, leaving only a few scattered people gathered together discussing something. At the doorway of the restroom at the end of the corridor lay a mess of streamers, paper scraps, and fragments of broken balloons.

Seeing the wreckage before him, Leikedun could guess what had just happened: the prankster thief had set up many balloons in the restroom, filled with air and packed with streamers and paper scraps; using a mechanism or extraordinary ability, the balloons would explode the moment someone pushed open the restroom door, which must have been the source of the explosion and screams that he and Yilisha heard downstairs.

The balloon staircase was not far from the restroom, and Leikedun could even see the characters written on the paper scraps on the floor. After painstakingly making out a few scattered words, his expression turned absurd: "That thief must have been a chronic failing student! With nothing to do, he stole my book just to tear it into scraps and scatter it everywhere?"

"Now you see how boring and despicable that thief is, right? Go ahead and see if you can divine anything from these paper scraps," Yilisha said.

"That's not my book; I borrowed it from the library! I still have to return it," Leikedun said wordlessly, but he silently walked to the floor in front of the restroom door and picked up some paper scraps.

While Leikedun was gathering the scraps, Yilisha turned and walked toward the other end of the corridor; for a bloodline with keen smell, the restroom area was not a good place.

After Leikedun finished collecting usable scraps, Yilisha had already vanished; Leikedun looked around but didn't see the Captain or the others, unsure whether they hadn't arrived yet or had already left, and he guessed the latter was more likely.

But Leikedun wasn't in a hurry to regroup with the Captain; since the Captain hadn't come looking for him right after he fell behind, it meant there must be a marker the Captain left on him, allowing the other side to roughly know his status within the hospital. He leaned against the wall by a window opposite the stairs.

"Fortunately, the occult knowledge I've mastered includes divination," he thought, then pressed the scraps against his forehead, closed his eyes, and meditated.

After a while, a scene appeared in Leikedun's mind: a figure in a linen-colored robe holding a book whose cover read "Hermes Language—From Beginner to Mastery," but the person's features were blurred, indistinguishable as male or female. The image then shifted to a gentleman in a formal suit, wearing a top hat and a bow tie, violently tearing a book into pieces.

The dream‑divination vision ended there; Leikedun opened his eyes and sighed, having gained little useful information. He learned only that his book had indeed been taken, then shredded by another person, whose attire was completely different, and the vision was too vague to discern physical details, so he could not tell whether it was a disguise.

"You're divining? Any results?" Captain Yikangdun's voice suddenly came from beside him.

Leikedun quickly turned and saw Captain Yikangdun standing nearby, silently watching him, while Qiaoxi and Mr. Kesi were nowhere to be seen.

"Captain! When did you arrive? I was delayed at the hospital entrance after colliding with someone, and then I found you all gone," Leikedun said, explaining why he had fallen behind after seeing Captain Yikangdun.

"As for the divination, I got a bit of information, but it's useless!" Leikedun added, shaking his head.

"Hmm, it's fine, I know. We originally planned to split up and each circle a floor of the hospital; moving together would be too big a target, so we didn't wait for you. I already left a marker on you, so as long as you stay inside this building, I'll know anything that happens instantly," Captain Yikangdun said, nodding, unconcerned about Leikedun's lag.

"By the way, Captain, the book I took from the library was stolen by that thief and torn into scraps, littering the floor," Leikedun spread his palm to show the paper bits, then looked toward the floor near the restroom doors a short distance away, where a hospital cleaning worker was already sweeping up the scattered scraps and streamers.

"I see! No wonder Kesi said the scraps on the floor looked familiar," Captain Yikangdun mused.

"Do you remember how the book was stolen?" Captain Yikangdun asked.

"I recall some," Leikedun nodded, and seeing the Captain didn't interrupt, he continued: "When I first entered the hospital and bumped into someone, the book I was holding fell to the floor, but I didn't notice it at the time. After getting up, I didn't think about having a book until the lady I collided with mentioned I'd brought a book, and that's when I remembered—but the book had already been taken."

"Hmm, I see," Captain Yikangdun's brows furrowed.

"Captain, is that a problem? I feel like I'm missing something," Leikedun hinted vaguely about a forgotten memory, prompting the Captain to think of a dream‑stealing thief.

"From now on stay by my side; we'll go find Qiaoxi and Kesi. This matter is more troublesome than I expected, and we can't split up. The opponent is a strangely powerful high‑ranked individual," Captain Yikangdun said, his tone turning serious.

Having said that, Captain Yikangdun turned and stepped onto the stairs, heading upward.

"Understood, Captain," Leikedun replied, quickening his pace to keep up.

Following Captain Yikangdun to the fourth floor, they found Qiaoxi chatting with a doctor about recent hospital gossip; the doctor, who was of similar age but with a receding hairline and a weary expression, was engaged in a heated conversation.

"Hey, let's catch up next time; my friend is coming to see me. Don't stress too much, the authorities will definitely sort this out. At worst it's just a shameful thing—if everyone gets embarrassed together, then no one is embarrassed," Qiaoxi said, patting the weary doctor's shoulder.

After saying goodbye, Qiaoxi hurried over to reunite with the Captain and Leikedun, who were waiting a short distance away.

"Hey! Captain, did you find any clues?" Qiaoxi asked as soon as he arrived.

According to the prior agreement, they were supposed to regroup only after finding a clue or after touring the whole hospital, but they had just entered and the Captain had already come looking for him, indicating a fairly important clue had been found.

Captain Yikangdun said nothing more, gave a soft hum, and headed downstairs. Qiaoxi and Leikedun exchanged a glance, then followed the Captain down.

On the first floor, the three saw Mr. Kesi at the hospital reception asking for information; as they approached, Kesi also noticed them.

"Captain? Why did you all come down?" Kesi asked, puzzled.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Yueshuya?" the receptionist suddenly asked Leikedun.

Leikedun's spiritual intuition was triggered, and he instinctively asked the staff member, "Did someone leave something for me?"

"Yes, a book," the staff member nodded.

Then, from a drawer on the desk, they produced a book Leikedun knew well, "Hermes Language—From Beginner to Mastery." Leikedun reached out to take it, but the Captain beside him stopped him, saying to leave it on the desk.

"But the gentleman said it must be delivered to Mr. Yueshuya's hands," the staff member said, a bit flustered.

"It's fine, leave it there; I'll just take it when I leave the hospital later," Leikedun said, not knowing why the Captain prevented him from handling the book but choosing to follow the suggestion.

"But—" the staff member tried to continue persuading.

"Swish!"

Captain Yikangdun suddenly flicked a paper figure from his coat pocket; the paper figure stuck directly onto the staff member, silencing the words the staff was about to say, leaving the person frozen in a stunned stare.

Then Yikangdun tossed another paper figure from the other pocket; in mid‑air it expanded and reshaped into the form of a real person.

"Go fetch that book," Yikangdun ordered quickly.

Obeying Yikangdun's command, the paper‑person‑turned‑human reached for the book in the staff member's hand and took it. Before taking any further action, the figure suddenly lunged at the staff, twisted, and turned into a cloud of paper scraps that floated mid‑air, ignited before touching the ground, and burned away into ash.

The incident unfolded too abruptly; although Leikedun had considered that the paper figure might cause trouble after taking the book, he didn't expect the paper‑person‑turned‑human to lunge at the hospital staff within a heartbeat, leaving no time to stop it. Fortunately, the figure then disintegrated into paper scraps and self‑ignited.

"No, that's not good either; if the Captain hadn't used the paper figure to get the book, I would have been the one caught," Leikedun thought, secretly relieved to be by the Captain's side.

The four stood in place, each silent for a moment; Captain Yikangdun reached out, tore the paper figure off the staff member, crumpled it into a ball, and slipped it into his coat pocket.

"Let's go. The paper figure carries a mental suggestion; in a while she'll wake up and forget what just happened," Captain Yikangdun explained.

"Alright, Captain, what should we do with the book?" Leikedun asked, pointing at the book the paper figure had dropped.

"Take it back to the church!" Yikangdun said.

"Got it!" Leikedun, seeing the Captain had said nothing more and assuming the book was fine, immediately bent down and picked it up.

The book was much lighter than Leikedun expected; he opened it and, unsurprisingly, only the outer cover and edge pages remained, the interior content having been hollowed out and torn to pieces scattered at the restroom doorway on the third floor.

(End of Chapter)