Chapter 18: The Purple Octopus
1052 Words
I awoke, drenched in cold sweat.
Checking my phone, I saw it was already past nine the next morning. It wasn’t the bizarre dream that had roused me, but rather Tang Yuan, the fat cat, who had woken me with his persistent meowing.
He was sprawled across my chest, meowing incessantly until he switched to human speech.
“Little Baici, I’m hungry, I want food…”
I got up reluctantly and opened a can of cat food for him. “Can’t you transform into a human yourself? Can’t you open it yourself?”
“Transforming into a human consumes spiritual energy. I’m so weak, it’s hard to maintain a human form!” Tang Yuan hopped onto the table, his mouth full of food.
Suddenly, it dawned on me that Leifan had been in human form all along. I had rarely seen his true form, which meant Leifan’s spiritual energy must be quite abundant.
“Then you need to work harder, little kitty. Look at Leifan, he’s always in human form, wandering around.” I said.
Tang Yuan munched happily. “Can I compare to him? He’s the best, he can transform into a human even when he’s half-dead…”
“Ah? Who did you say is half-dead?”
“I said…” Tang Yuan hesitated, finally finishing his sentence. “I said I can’t transform when I’m half-dead, but the Lord is different, he’s amazing.”
I rolled my eyes. Tang Yuan surely had many secrets. One day, I would get him drunk with two boxes of beer and extract the truth from him.
Then, I recalled the dream I had and decided to tell Tang Yuan about it, since Leifan wasn’t around to hear it.
“Ah? You dreamed of a wedding? Did you want to attend the feast?” Tang Yuan was distracted.
I sighed. “That’s not the point. The important thing is what the bride said to me.”
“Do you know her?” Tang Yuan asked.
“No.” I shook my head honestly.
I truly didn’t know her. The bride was stunning, a beauty that seemed celestial, but it wasn’t surprising I hadn’t seen her before.
“That’s right, you don’t know her, so don’t listen to her. Forget about who she wants you to kill. Let her do her own dirty work!” Tang Yuan jumped onto my lap. “Who is she to boss others around?”
Frankly, Tang Yuan could win any debate. His reasoning made perfect sense, and I found it particularly convincing.
Yet, the dream still lingered in my mind, leaving a shadow of doubt. I felt that the bride knew me, and the person she wanted me to kill was Leifan.
I sighed. Why do so many people want to kill him? Is he some sort of delicacy?
Tang Yuan finished his cat food and went back to sleep, explaining that he was weak and needed rest or he might die.
After eating, I took a taxi to the hospital to see Baizhi. In the corridor, I asked the nurse if she had called me last night.
The nurse furrowed her brows. “No, Miss Baici, nothing happened last night. Why would I call you?”
I smiled wryly. The call last night was clearly some ghost trying to lure me with false alarms.
Ha, how childish.
The nurse looked at me, puzzled, and I didn’t explain. I settled her payment and sent her on her way.
“Sister—sister, you’re here? I missed you so much, I thought I’d never see you again, woohoo!” Baizhi lunged towards me.
I pushed her aside. “Get away, are you feeling better?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine, really! I want to go eat spicy hotpot, I’m sick of hospital food!” Baizhi grinned, wiggling on the bed.
I could tell she was trying to trick me. I slapped her butt to push her aside.
“Alright, I have some serious questions for you.” I turned serious. “Where did you get that pendant on your bed?”
“The pendant?”
Baizhi sat up obediently, pondering for a moment before answering. “I found it at a night market. On the way back, I saw a stall where you could scan a code to get a gift. I wasn’t interested, but the woman insisted on coming over.”
“I was annoyed, so I pretended to scan the code, and she stuffed the jade pendant into my bag. I only found it later, I don’t know when she put it in…”
If it weren’t for that woman, Baizhi wouldn’t have been so unlucky and almost lost her life. It seemed the woman who scanned the code was a significant problem.
I quickly asked, “Do you remember what the woman who made you scan the code looked like?”
Baizhi thought for a long time and shook her head.
“I really can’t remember, Sister. She didn’t wear a mask, but I can’t recall her face. Every time I try to remember, her face is a blank.”
I was frustrated. That woman was definitely important, but Baizhi couldn’t remember.
I dared not venture to the night market alone. What if she had ill intentions? I might end up delivering myself to her. So, I decided to wait for Leifan’s return to consult him.
I obtained Baizhi’s discharge papers, ready to take her home for classes. As we stepped out of the hospital, she suddenly slapped her thigh, exclaiming she remembered what the woman looked like.
“Sister, although I can’t remember her face, I remember she had a tattoo on her neck!” Baizhi said excitedly. “She had a purple octopus tattoo! It was so ridiculous, I remember it clearly!”
Me:…
An octopus tattoo? A purple octopus tattoo? Was that woman out of her mind?
Baizhi is my sister; I can tell if she’s lying with one look. Her eyes were sincere now, so that woman who almost killed her really had a purple octopus tattoo on her neck?
What kind of quirky taste is that?
I spent the whole day at school, catching up on missed classes to avoid failing. It was around six in the evening when I finally returned home
- Writer
