Daomu Biji: A Thousand Faces

Ah Tou had been in a daze. During the twenty-four hours she spent in the hospital, all she did was lay on the bed. Except for the shower she took in the ward’s bathroom four hours after her examination, she spent the rest of the time staring off into space.

It turned out that in real life, taking risks wouldn’t necessarily mean there would be results. There weren’t only two options of “succeed” or “fail” when trying to save others, but also the option of failing because you got dragged out of the game partway through. 

Thinking about it further, it seemed that this was the essence of life. When pursuing a purpose in life, most people weren’t defeated by difficulties, obstacles, or rivals; rather, they were defeated by those who brought them down or admonished them to give up.

Maybe Black Glasses was right. In fact, if not for him, she’d probably be dead by now. Black Glasses didn’t show up at the hospital, so maybe he was still at the scene. The chauffeur who had sent her to the hospital had just gone home, probably also worn out by now. 

At the eighth hour, Ah Tou started panicking. Although she was expressionless, she clutched her arms and began trembling in fear. Thinking about it now, she knew she would never work up the courage again to do everything she had done since entering that village.

This kind of feeling wasn’t simply a post-traumatic response; she was scared to death. She remembered the ancestral temple, the basement, the tunnels, and Long Immortal. Every single one of them would make the current her give up immediately—why hadn’t she been afraid at that time?

Whether Liang Yanyan was dead now or Black Glasses had saved her, she didn’t dare seek confirmation.

Enormous pressure and fear could make people get close to each other in a very short amount of time. As a matter of fact, they had only known each other for a few days, but she felt as if they had already known each other for a long time.

Twenty-four hours later, she was discharged from the hospital. The chauffeur came to pick her up, and when she paid the fare, he handed her Liang Yanyan's bag. At that time, Liang Yanyan had asked the chauffeur to bring the bag back to the car along with the X-ray films and videotapes. 

"Well, I also had a checkup," the chauffeur told her. "Just like what Dr. Liang said, I did have a stomach problem. I don’t understand it. They said that I had stomach cancer, but I'm fine now."

“She’s a doctor?”

"You didn’t know that? I thought you guys were close. She is a doctor, and the person who performed my checkup is her colleague.”

"Do you believe the diagnosis?"

"I don't know," the chauffeur said. "Is it really true that the ghost of Long Immortal saved my life?”

"I have no idea."

"Where's Dr. Liang? No matter what, I still want to thank her. If I hadn't followed you guys, I would’ve become seriously ill and ended up dying."

"I don't know."

Is my own problem solved as well? Ah Tou wondered. If Liang Yanyan was dead but her problem hadn’t been solved, would Xie Yuchen send another person to help her, or did she need to deal with it herself?

She looked at the seat behind her, terrified that something would suddenly appear there.

But there was nothing there.

"What are you going to do next?” Ah Tou asked the chauffeur. He was also someone who had returned to normal life after experiencing a very strange event, so she wanted a reference. It wasn’t like she could figure what to do next on her own. Maybe she should move back in with her parents or find a boyfriend right away. It seemed impossible to return to a normal life if she was just by herself. She didn't think she'd be able to get over this for at least a few years.

A boyfriend…were there any options nearby? Her colleagues were definitely out, because someone who was into arts couldn’t win against a monster. Xie Yuchen? No, he probably didn't lack men and women around him. Black Glasses? To her, Black Glasses was an unreachable person. He and Long Immortal almost seemed to belong to the same dimension and weren’t even the same species as her. 

"I'm going to the temple to burn incense," the chauffeur said.

Ah Tou suddenly realized that this could be a way out. If she could return to her normal life, she should find someone to thank; and if things were still unresolved, then she could just go and pray. 

"Are you going?”

"No,” Ah Tou said. She wanted to go with all her heart, but a refusal somehow came out of her mouth instead. 

She returned to the hotel they had booked before. The room was overdue, but the deposit had been extended so she checked back in. It was a standard room with two beds. She went in, sat on one of the beds, and fell into a daze for a while before heading to the bathroom for a shower. 

The shower took a full forty minutes. She kept staring into space and ended up washing her hair four or five times. It wasn’t until her fingers became pruney after being soaked in the water for too long that she finally turned off the showerhead and left the bathroom. She wrapped towels around her body and hair and walked into the room dejectedly before she was met with a shocking scene—there was a person lying on the other bed in the room. 

It was a woman who was covered in mud and completely naked.

Ah Tou paused for a few seconds before realizing that it was Liang Yanyan. Then, she noticed that the balcony door was open.

Yes, this room had a balcony. She immediately went out onto the balcony and saw a lot of mud tracks leading all the way into the room.

She came back into the room and approached the bed. Liang Yanyan was very quiet, but she was still breathing and seemed to be sleeping very deeply. Ah Tou realized that Long Immortal was the one who had sent her back. Not only wasn’t Liang Yanyan dead, but she even looked very healthy.

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