Ye Zhiqiu looked at the dilapidated courtyard in front of him. Hearing Song Yan's words, he frowned slightly. Although he hadn't been involved in the case of Jia Xing before, he had some understanding of it.
It had been less than three months since that case, but now the place they had traced turned out to be this secluded courtyard...
By now, the mastermind behind the scenes had clearly indicated that this was a trap, a situation that forced him to make a decision.
Should he knowingly walk into this carefully - set trap, or... run away like a coward?
Ye Zhiqiu knew well that he had no way back now. He wanted to know the truth behind his infinite resurrection ability and how to get rid of it.
He had no turning back, but Song Yan did. Song Yan didn't have to get involved in this.
Ye Zhiqiu looked in Song Yan's direction, looking hesitant to speak.
"I know what you want to say." Song Yan met his gaze. With just one look, he knew what Ye Zhiqiu was thinking. His expression was too easy to read.
Ye Zhiqiu would surely try to push him away, just like he had done countless times before.
But since Song Yan had decided to come here with Ye Zhiqiu, he had made up his mind. No matter what, he would never leave Ye Zhiqiu alone and run away by himself.
If he were a coward, he wouldn't have accompanied Ye Zhiqiu all the way here.
"I've said from the beginning that I won't leave." Song Yan spoke slowly, word by word, showing his determination.
Ye Zhiqiu looked into his eyes and swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
He had known Song Yan for quite a while and naturally knew what kind of person he was. Once he made up his mind, no one could change it.
He smiled faintly, nodded, and finally said nothing.
The two of them slowly walked towards the secluded courtyard. The mist gradually enveloped them. After they entered the house, the mist completely covered the courtyard.
It was as if the courtyard had never existed in the first place. The next moment, it disappeared from the spot instantly.
There was a thick layer of dust in the dilapidated courtyard. The tables and chairs inside were lying haphazardly on the ground. Although it was daytime, the inside of the house was extremely dark.
Song Yan took out a fire starter and lit the candles in the house. The dim light illuminated a small area in front of them. Ye Zhiqiu seemed to be drawn by something and walked towards the end of the house.
"Ye Zhiqiu, what's wrong with you?!" Song Yan turned around and saw Ye Zhiqiu walking blankly towards the end of the house. He looked a bit strange, so Song Yan quickly reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him from walking forward blindly.
He didn't dare to speak too loudly for fear of alerting something. His voice was a bit low, but Ye Zhiqiu seemed to be in a trance and ignored Song Yan's words. Instead, he took one step after another towards the front.
Song Yan had no choice. Since he couldn't stop Ye Zhiqiu, he finally decided to follow him towards the front.
To reach the end of the secluded courtyard, they had to pass through a long corridor. The sky outside was still dark. Song Yan held the candle and walked beside Ye Zhiqiu. The deeper they went, the more strange he felt.
The wind made the candle flame in his hand flicker constantly. To prevent the only source of light from going out, Song Yan raised his hand to shield the candle.
Ye Zhiqiu didn't stop walking forward. He seemed to hear a call in his ear. The voice came from afar but rang in his ear clearly.
"Come here. We've all been waiting for you."
This voice kept repeating the same words, ringing clearly in his ear one after another.
Ye Zhiqiu seemed to be bewitched by this voice. He walked towards the direction where the voice came from, although the rational part of his mind kept trying to make him wake up.
The place where the voice came from felt wrong. There might be danger inside, but no matter how much he fought against it in his heart, his feet didn't stop at all.
This body was no longer under his control!
The closer he got, the louder the voice became. The words were no longer just repeated blindly. It became more and more urgent. "Hurry up, hurry up. We've been waiting for you here for a long time, Zhiqiu... Ye Zhiqiu!"
The voice was strange and urgent. After hearing this voice, Ye Zhiqiu's steps subconsciously quickened. He almost ran all the way to the end of the corridor.
Seeing Ye Zhiqiu suddenly running beside him, Song Yan didn't care about the candle in his hand anymore. He also quickened his pace to keep up, and at the same time, he still tried desperately to wake Ye Zhiqiu up.
"Ye Zhiqiu! Do you know what you're doing?!"
Song Yan's words didn't make Ye Zhiqiu stop. He didn't even pause for a moment. He still walked forward in a hurry and only stopped when he reached a door at the end of the corridor.
The candle in Song Yan's hand had been blown out by the wind. The wind was blowing from all directions, carrying the musty smell of a long - uninhabited place and the dust from the window sills onto their bodies.
Ye Zhiqiu looked at the door in front of him and reached out to push it open. The door made a soft sound when it was pushed open. The dust falling made Song Yan couldn't help but cough a few times.
But Ye Zhiqiu seemed to feel nothing. He stepped into the room.
It was completely dark all around. Without a light source, they couldn't see what was in this room. When Ye Zhiqiu walked into this room, the voice in his ear disappeared.
He stood in the center of the room, staring blankly at the wall in the middle.
He stood still like a statue.
Song Yan took out the fire starter and relit the candle in his hand. He walked to Ye Zhiqiu's side and waved the candle forward.
The wall that Ye Zhiqiu was staring blankly at was illuminated.
After it was illuminated, even Song Yan himself was stunned.
In this room, there were people who looked exactly like Ye Zhiqiu hanging everywhere!
They were hanging on the wall, their eyes closed, but there was no sign of breathing. There were all kinds of wounds on their bodies, looking dead and lifeless.
Song Yan's hand holding the candle began to tremble. He looked back at Ye Zhiqiu standing beside him. Ye Zhiqiu's eyes were wide open. Looking at this wall, he covered his head as if he was extremely frightened.
"This... this isn't me..." Ye Zhiqiu covered his head and murmured, his eyes wide open, only knowing to repeat this sentence over and over again.
Although Song Yan was still a bit confused about the situation, after years of investigating cases in the investigation department, he quickly calmed down. He walked to Ye Zhiqiu's side and wanted to comfort him, but Ye Zhiqiu seemed not to feel his presence. No matter what Song Yan said or did, Ye Zhiqiu didn't respond at all.
At this moment, the voice that had finally stopped in Ye Zhiqiu's ear rang again. This time, it was louder than before, as if it was shouting something in his mind.
"Ye Zhiqiu, we've been waiting for you here for a long time."
"Do you see? These are all you. We've lain on this cold wall for countless days and nights. Now... it's time for you to join us."
"We took the death for you. We have no chance to open our eyes again. Why do you get to live? You should be like us, spending one long night after another in this dark room!"
"Come... come... Ye Zhiqiu... enjoy the endless night with us!"
Countless voices rang in his ear. Every time a voice rang, he felt a sharp pain in his head.
He covered his ears, trying to block out those voices, but no matter what he did, those voices seemed to ring in his mind.
He couldn't make those voices stop, and he couldn't stop himself from listening.
Ye Zhiqiu felt his consciousness gradually becoming blurred under the shouting of these voices.
He knelt on the ground, as if he had lost all his strength. If it weren't for his breathing, he might have been no different from the corpses on the wall at this moment.
Seeing Ye Zhiqiu like this, Song Yan was extremely panicked. But no matter what he said or did, Ye Zhiqiu didn't show any reaction. Instead, the corpses on the wall...
It seemed that the corners of their mouths had been curving upwards since just now.
This place was very strange, and Ye Zhiqiu's current state might also be affected by these corpses...
Song Yan stood up and waved the candle forward, illuminating the corpses in front. The people who looked exactly like Ye Zhiqiu on the wall ranged from his teenage years to his current appearance.
They had different wounds on their bodies. Song Yan looked carefully and found that he was familiar with some of the wounds.
It was the wound Ye Zhiqiu had when he first met him, a fatal stab from the murderer.
Realizing this, Song Yan felt that these corpses were extremely familiar. Not just one of them, but several of the following corpses had wounds that exactly matched the wounds Ye Zhiqiu had when he died that he had seen.
"These are all... what Ye Zhiqiu looked like after he died!"
Looking at these corpses, Song Yan felt extremely incredulous when he realized this conclusion. These were all what Ye Zhiqiu looked like after he died.
He counted. There were a total of sixty of them.
It was hard to imagine that Ye Zhiqiu had died so many times. Song Yan took a step back and looked at Ye Zhiqiu kneeling on the ground. His current state was very bad.
His eyes were empty, and the sparkle in them was disappearing little by little. Although he didn't know what Ye Zhiqiu was going through now, if he didn't wake him up, he might end up like the corpses on the wall.
No, he couldn't let this happen.
Song Yan calmed his mind. The most important thing now was to wake Ye Zhiqiu up. He thought carefully about what had happened from the beginning.
But in this situation, he simply couldn't stay calm. The corpses on the wall with various ways of dying seemed to be staring at him with countless pairs of eyes.
There was old blood on the ground. The wind kept blowing the corners of their clothes, and the rustling sound constantly disturbed his judgment.
Song Yan closed his eyes tightly, but he simply couldn't calm down.
No... he must find a way...
Where did the problem start... where exactly...