Chapter 60: Li Yun's Secret (1)

I stared blankly at Li Yun in front of me, completely devoid of any autonomy at this moment. In fact, ever since my path crossed with hers, I had lost all independence, always feeling as though I was being led around by the nose. In this regard, she was the exact opposite of Huang Ying.

"Who was that woman exuding such an ominous aura?" I thought for a moment and posed the question, as showering her with hollow pleasantries at this point felt entirely insincere.

Li Yun crossed her legs, shrugged, and said, "Oh, her? She's just a friend of mine!"

"You're lying!" I caught the movement she made while speaking and made my judgment. If Li Yun were telling the truth, she certainly wouldn't need to resort to such evasive gestures.

Li Yun said noncommittally, "And?"

"You didn't kill the dormitory manager at all, did you?"

Hearing this, Li Yun slammed her hand onto the bed, stood up, pointed right at my nose, and scolded, "Damn it, Wang Yun, I waited here for you not to be interrogated! If you ask any more of these bizarre things, I'm leaving right now."

Her expression said it all: there was definitely something fishy about the dormitory manager's death. Yet she was extremely guarded about the topic, brushing off the ominous woman as well with a few perfunctory remarks.

"The injury on your body... are you alright?" Everything else could wait; this was the question I wanted answered the most.

"Are you talking about that young Taoist priest..." The corners of Li Yun's eyes curved into crescent moons. "That little priest has decent martial arts skills, but he loves to put on airs. Haha, he got taught a lesson!"

Fine, she had dodged my question yet again.

"I asked if the injury on your body is alright!" I rolled my eyes at her and said. Talking to her was simply too exhausting; she always managed to pull you onto her train of thought.

Li Yun's laughter abruptly ceased, and she gazed at me with burning eyes. "Are you worrying about me?"

"Uh... Yes... Yes, I am!"

"Then did you miss me these past few days?" Li Yun asked with a flippant air.

I swallowed hard and replied, "I did!"

"Actually, I missed you too," Li Yun murmured in a voice no louder than a mosquito's buzz, though I still caught every word.

Slowly, I extended both arms and embraced Li Yun's back. She instantly melted limply into my arms.

When it comes to kissing, the second time is always easier than the first.

Li Yun and I kissed with reckless abandon. After several dozen seconds, she suddenly shoved me away.

"I have things to attend to right now, I'll come find you in a few days!" she said with an enchanting expression.

Li Yun glanced at her wristwatch and announced, "Time's up!"

I wore a defeated expression on my face. Surely I couldn't just force myself upon her!

Li Yun didn't even give me a chance to reply, turning and pushing open the door to leave immediately.

Sitting on the bed, I looked at the remaining half of the copper coin in my hand and let out a deep sigh. By stealthily planting the other half of the coin on Li Yun earlier, I would now be able to track her down.

Although this encounter had resolved a few matters, it had also given birth to several new questions.

Who was the woman in white that had appeared in my mind? She, too, seemed to harbor a deep story.

And Li Yun was still keeping many things from me.

That ominous woman, the man in the suit, and so on and so forth~

After Li Yun departed from the villa, I produced the half-copper coin. Since she refused to tell me anything, I would simply have to seek out the answers myself.

This half-coin was something I had snapped in two while kissing Li Yun just now; the other half remained with her.

All things in heaven and earth possess a spirit, even stubborn stones, and this half-coin would be my greatest reliance in finding Li Yun.

I placed the coin on the floor and arranged a red cord into the shape of a Taiji symbol.

The Taiji is the most wondrous of things. Ever since it appeared before the mortal world, people have continuously derived insights from it, and to this day, no one has ever fully comprehended it.

The defining characteristic of the Taiji lies in its dual forces of Yin and Yang. It divides all things in heaven and earth into Yin and Yang—not even the cosmos is an exception, with the clear heavens being Yang and the turbid earth being Yin.

Once the Taiji diagram was set up, I placed that half-copper coin upon the Yang eye while leaving the Yin eye empty. Everything prepared, my fingers danced across the Taiji diagram, tracing obscure patterns whose meanings even I could not decipher.

*Puff...*

After finishing the drawing, I retrieved a bottle of Moutai liquor from Li Yun's wine cabinet and sprayed it across the entire Taiji. This wine must have been worth quite a fortune now, considering it was aged over a decade.

Next, I found a red marker in Li Yun's room, drew an incantation upon a piece of paper, ignited the talisman, and tossed it into the center of the Taiji circle.

*Boom...*

The liquor ignited instantly, emitting a faint blue light. The surrounding red cords caught fire as well, casting a soft crimson glow. The red and blue flames fused on the ground to form yet another Taiji pattern.

The copper coin resting upon the Yang eye began to dance upon the floor. Once the fire burned out and the coin cooled, I picked it up and walked out of the villa.

Standing before the villa's entrance, I gazed around at the surroundings and muttered under my breath. The coin in my palm immediately began to pulse and twitch.

Wherever it jumped, I walked. After marching for a full hour or more, I arrived at a patch of woodland. I had never been here before; although I had lived in this city for quite some time, I rarely wandered around aimlessly, with the farthest place I had ever reached being just the mountain behind our school.

This woodland was man-made, planted entirely with cypress trees. Looking back from within the woods, I could still see the lights of the building where I lived, though the structure appeared minuscule.

I turned back and continued deeper inside. Li Yun was in there, and certain matters needed to be cleared up as soon as possible.

Before entering the woods, I had taken every possible precautionary measure, even keeping my phone ready in hand.

The deeper I went, the denser the trees grew, and the dimmer the light became, until I could barely make out the trunks right in front of me.

Quiet—a dead, absolute quiet.

People say that moods shift with changing environments, and that is certainly true. No matter how bold you might feel outside, place someone on a deserted island and terror will still grip them.

I sharpened all my senses to their absolute peak, acutely feeling even the steady thumping of my heart and the subtle vibrations it produced.

The coin's jumping grew more and more violent; Li Yun was somewhere nearby. Sweat was already beading up in my palms. That ominous woman was no benevolent soul, and I truly hoped I wouldn't run into her here.

"Hey." As I was groping my way forward in the dark, someone suddenly tapped me on the shoulder. My body jerked violently, and in less than a second, I was drenched in a cold sweat of pure terror.

I whipped my head around and met a familiar face.

"What are you doing here?" The person who had tapped my shoulder was none other than Li Yun.

"Looking for you!"

"Come with me!" Li Yun grabbed my hand, dragged me toward the outer edge of the woods, and simultaneously gestured for me to keep quiet.

After walking a short distance, just as we were about to emerge from the grove, Li Yun finally stopped.

"How on earth did you end up here?"

Standing before her, I said, "I need to figure some things out!"

"What on earth are you trying to figure out? I'll tell you later, just get out of here right now!" This time, Li Yun's demeanor carried a distinct trace of tension and urgency.

"Are you being threatened by someone?" I paused for two seconds before speaking.

Li Yun's body stiffened, and she fell silent.

"You are being threatened, aren't you?!"

"No, just leave already!" Li Yun shoved me lightly, not even daring to look me in the eye.

"What on earth are you all afraid of? Grandpa was like this, and now you're like this too. Is there some secret you all have to keep hidden from me?"

"You... Fine, I'll tell you everything. If I don't, there might not be a chance left later."