Chapter 32: It's Your Hallucination

Mrs. Zhao covered her mouth, her eyes were wide-opened, and almost screamed at that sight.

Xiao Cheng was beside her; he was trembling nervously as he clenched her wheelchair handle tightly.

Thump! Thump!

Thump! Thump!

There were creepy sounds of collison. It was unsure if they were heartbeats from the human heart or the wind chime hanging on the lintel.

However, Mr. Zhao, who was inside the dark house, did not seem to be conscious. He did not seem to be aware of the people who were hiding in the living room.

He walked slowly toward the memorial tablet that was placed in the living room.

As he walked, a trail of footprints appeared on the plant ashes that were scattered in the living room.

He got closer and closer. He stood before the memorial tablet and stared at it.

Through the dim lights of the two candles set up together with the memorial tablet, Mrs. Zhao could finally take a good look at his face.

Ah! No! That was no longer a normal face.

Blood was oozing out from his eyes, and it seemed that it might fall out anytime. His cheekbone was purplish green, and there were bloody bruises on his lips. His face was almost deformed and drained of color. There was no expression on his face. It was as if a dead man had just climbed out from the coffin, no different from the ghosts and zombies depicted in the movie films.

“Rev… Reverend…”

Mrs. Zhao’s teeth were chattering—she wished she could grab a corner of the eminent monk’s robes for reassurance.

The eminent monk closed his eyes mildly, giving her a “do not worry and calm down” look.

“Mrs. Zhao, it’s just an illusion.”

Illusion… so it’s non-existent?

However, their conversation obviously startled Mr. Zhao’s spirit.

His stiff shoulders twitched and twitched again. Slowly, he turned around, his pair of empty yet bloody eyes blood looked directly in Mrs. Zhao’s direction.

With a brief hesitation, he moved over.

One step, two steps, three steps.

On the ground, the trail of footprints was just like his grisly face, totally unlike of human.

“Wretch, is that you?”

It was a sound that seemed to be coming from the beyond the boundary of the living world. The voice was hoarse as if it came from a broken death knell, unpleasant to the bone. That also made Mrs. Zhao frozen on the spot like a statue together with her wheelchair.

It was as if time had come to a stop.

Mrs. Zhao thought she saw him smiling.

In that smile, their past seemed to flock to her like fog.

She felt a sharp stabbing pain in her heart, and her lips keep trembling.

“No… it’s not me. Don’t blame me, please… don’t blame me…”

…

“Wretch!”

“Wretch!”

“Wretch!!!”

Mr. Zhao seemed to be venting his anger, gnashing his teeth in agitation and pain.

“It’s you who killed her, it’s you who killed me…”

There was hatred, a lot of hatred, full of hatred, too much hatred.

His words were filled with deep sorrow and wrath, which were nearly out of control.

In addition, his feet was moving forward unnaturally, with each step he took as stiff as a corpse.

At last, he was about to go right in front of Mrs. Zhao as if he could see where she was. His face full of blood-curdling chill.

“Wretch, what do you have to say?”

Mrs. Zhao leaned backward, her head almost falling into the arms of Xiao Cheng. Her suppressed hissing sounded as sharp as a broken gong.

“I didn’t. You’re the one who forced me to kill her—the one who killed her is not me either, it’s you! It’s you!”

“Heheheh!”

With an unearthly laughter, Mr. Zhao took a step closer.

“Then you shall come with me… to explain to the King of Hell!”

Immediately, he reached out his hideous and horrendous hand where his five fingers looked like chicken claws. When he raised his hand toward Mrs. Zhao, some of the blood even splashed on her white veil.

“AHH!” she shrieked, “Reverend, save me!”

The eminent monk was sitting on the cattail cushion with his eyes closed, totally calm as if in peaceful meditation. “Mrs. Zhao, everything is your hallucination, your illusion. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Form is none other than emptiness, and emptiness is none other than form…”

“None of you can see him?”

Mrs. Zhao howled in a low tone and turned to stare at Xiao Cheng in disbelief. “Xiao Cheng, can you see him? Can you see him?”

Xiao Cheng looked at her in confusion.

After which, he shook his head, his eyes filled with trepidation.

“Madam… you, what did you see?”

“AHH! AHH!” Mrs. Zhao was terrified.

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Her bony hands covered her ears, then tried to cover her face in a panic.

In the living room, she heard a spine-chilling music from an unknown corner that went straight into her bones, making her break out in cold sweat.

“Impossible! There’s no ghosts in this world. No ghosts in this world!”

“I’m not a ghost.” Mr. Zhao was standing in the dark living room, the blood on his body slowly dripped onto the plant ashes. “Not a ghost… Then what am I?”

He was talking. His tone of voice seemed to be laughing, but his mouth was closed. Only blood flowed down from the corners of his mouth!

That scene was too appalling!

The horror on Mrs. Zhao’s face had reached an extreme that she slumped on her wheelchair, desperately rubbing her forehead while trying to calm herself down.

“No no no, don’t be like this. Jiahang, a day together as husband and wife means endless devotion for the rest of our life. I, I’ve never treated you shabbily. If it’s not for me, you might be a poor guy selling fish all your life…”

“Even if I’m a fishmonger, at least I would still be alive!”

“You’re the one who betrayed me first…”

“So, you can kill me off like that?”

“I didn’t kill you!” Mrs. Zhao gave a scream, then she hastily covered her mouth. “Tian Xiaoya is the one who killed you! She’s the one who wanted to kill you!”

“You’re the one who pressured me to get rid of them in a week! You’re also the one who told Tian Xiaoya that I’m going to kill her and the unborn child, right?!”

Mrs. Zhao looked straight at Mr. Zhao as if she had seen a ghost.

She looked as if she was relieved somewhat, yet she seemed to have entered another whirlpool as her eyes did not move for a long time.

The blood on Mr. Zhao’s face seemed as if it was almost dry, his eyes were now two blood holes. “… It’s you, you wicked woman! You’re the one who killed me through her hands, then you let us cut each other’s throats so you can reap advantages from our conflict!”

“Advantages? What are the advantages? What did I gain from it?”

Looking at the candlelight and nothing else, Mrs. Zhao looked as if she had gone crazy.

“Hahahahah! Why didn’t you think that it was your greed that killed you? Isn’t it because you couldn’t forgo money and fame that you killed your lover, as well as your unborn son? That child should be like a miniature newborn with arms and legs, right? And in another three months time, he would be able to call you dad, right? But Zhao Jiahang, you killed him… you’ve killed that child!”

She shouted very loudly.

That high-pitched shout frightened Xiao Cheng!

He took a step back and stayed beside the calm eminent monk who was “meditating”.

Mrs. Zhao was holding on to her wheelchair tightly. Her arms were shaking, and she seemed hysterical.

“You brought it upon yourself! I love you so much, yet you betrayed and made use of me! You married me because you wanted my money, but you’re unwilling to be controlled by my family. Zhao Jiahang, why did I get into the car accident years ago? You know what? I know that it was you who did that to me. That chauffeur was your cousin from your hometown. He had deliberately entered the bus lane. Isn’t he incited by you?”

“Heheheheh!” Mr. Zhao stared at her, laughing in a grotesque manner. “You’re wrong, it’s not me.”

Mrs. Zhao seemed to have been struck by lightning and was stunned.

“No amount of money could buy a life. Even if my cousin is poor, why would he want to throw away his life? You’re too silly! I’ve never lied to you besides my relationship with Tian Xiaoya… My love for you and all those words that I’ve said in the past are genuine and sincere.”

“You still want to defend yourself? If it weren’t for your greed, being black-hearted and vicious, we wouldn’t be in such a state today…”

“Today. What about today?” Mr. Zhao’s voice sounded faint, his laughter worse than his cries. “Today, I’ll be walking with my wife and child in the netherworld. But poor you… you’ll be all alone, and your days will wear on like years. You’ll wish that you’re better off dead, better off dead, better off dead…”

The three repeated “better off dead” infuriated Mrs. Zhao once again.

The whole of her seemed to be trembling in anger as she shouted angrily at Mr. Zhao.

“No matter what, I’m still better than you! At least I’m alive, my body is still breathing. Look at you, what are you now, you’re even worse than the dogs roaming in the streets…”

“Heheheheh!” Mr. Zhao sneered, “Very soon, you’ll be worse than the dogs.”

Mrs. Zhao was startled.

Mr. Zhao took another step nearer and laughed freakishly. “Do you think that the police are morons that you can make fun of? You forced me to kill Tian Xiaoya. Fearing that I’ll go softhearted, you poisoned her then bribed the doctor to issue a death certificate that she died of heart failure. Before that, you even abetted Tian Xiaoya to tamper with my car…”

“No! I didn’t want to kill you, I didn’t want to!”

Mrs. Zhao saw him approaching and covered her face, not wanting to face him.

“… I only wanted to let you know how malicious she is, that she’s a bad woman, and not like her again… and then, you’ll come back to me.”

“Do you think I’ll believe you?” Mr. Zhao smiled contemptuously. “If it’s not for you, why are you afraid of getting exposed and even made use of Wang Tongsheng’s sexual orientation that others doesn’t know of… forcing him to flee in the middle of the night, luring the police to notice him, and compelling him to plead guilty for murder?”

“Hahaha!” Mrs Zhao laughed hysterically. “Is he stupid? I force him and he’ll do what I say? So the shame of sexual orientation is more important than his life?”

“To everyone, life is indeed important,” Mr. Zhao’s voice was colder now, “what’s more, you’re such a smart person, of course, you’ll ensure everything is flawless. You pretended to be Tian Xiaoya, to make Wang Tongsheng think that she is still alive and let him believe… that if he doesn’t plead guilty, you’ll kill Tian Xiaoya and her unborn child. How could he not do your bidding? He loves me so much that he’ll die to protect my only flesh and blood left in the world. Shame on you for making use of his feelings, the feelings of a gay…”

The voice of Mr. Zhao appeared much calmer than before, totally unlike that of a “soul” speaking at all.

However, Mrs. Zhao’s brain was completely controlled by the psychological hint, unable to discern between reality and illusion.

Women who were swayed by emotion to the extent of becoming insane were pathetic.

She was gripped firmly by hatred. Her words were miserable and fierce, and she suddenly stood up from the wheelchair!

Yes, she was in such extreme anger that she stood up, pointing and shouting hysterically at Zhao Jiahang.

“Yes, everyone loves you. Even if they may not like you at first, they will love you in the end. What about you? Who do you love? Say it, who do you love? Who’s the man who desperately said that his love for me would be everlasting and unchanging? Who’s the man who told Tian Xiaoya that he would protect both her and the unborn child, that he would never abandon and never betray them? Who’s the man who obviously knows that Wang Tongsheng is in love with him yet shamelessly used him?”

“He, is, dead,” Mr. Zhao replied unhurriedly, “killed by you.”

Mrs. Zhao suddenly realized that his voice had become clear. She quivered and suddenly came to her senses.

“You…”

“Tian Xiaoya! Still not pleading guilty?”

D*ng! The lights at the living room were all lit up.

The supposed spirit—”Zhao Jiahang” suddenly removed his mask, smoothen his hair, and huffed in relief.

“This young lord has nearly suffocated! If this year’s Oscars won’t give me an award, even the Heavens will not tolerate it!”

…