stjorthotic Chapter 121 Is this the abandoned wooden house?
Chapter 121 Is this the abandoned wooden house?
Chapter 121 Is this the abandoned wooden house?
It was clear that Zhou Yiwen was filled with guilt at this moment, not only towards Li Jiuhe, but also towards his two students, Zhang Song and Hong Xiaojun.
Because at the time he could only be sure that the person who harmed him was among these four students, he also suspected Zhang Song and Hong Xiaojun.
I only just found out that Fang Yi and Guo Yunxi were behind it all, and that Zhang Song and the others almost died because of it.
Therefore, Zhou Yiwen decided to give Zhang Song and Hong Xiaojun the compensation he could afford afterward, and that he no longer needed to hide his own affairs from them.
The study on the second floor is quite large, about 80 square meters, with three walls lined with bookshelves.
These books look quite old, which means they're not just for show; Zhou Yiwen is a book lover.
There weren't enough chairs in the study, so Zhou Yiwen's daughter quickly went out and brought over a few more.
While waiting, Li Jiuhe checked the progress of the mission. Since the truth within the Boundary Stone had been found, the mission was successfully completed, and the reward had been delivered.
This time the rewards are greater than ever before. The total duration of the task has been extended to 4 hours, two time anchor points have been added, and the maximum number of reset points has been increased to 24.
There were two time reset anchor points left, and he just placed one outside the abandoned basketball court in the deserted city, so there are now three anchor points to be used.
As long as there are enough reset points and the total mission duration is long enough, Li Jiuhe will be able to use his abilities more freely.
However, he discovered that his mission ability had not improved.
As mentioned in the previous task description, there is a certain probability of advancing after completing this task, but it is not guaranteed.
This could be a key breakthrough. Once the ability is upgraded, it will bring about even greater changes for oneself, so there's no use rushing it now.
After everyone was seated, Li Jiuhe said to Zhou Yiwen, "Tell me something first."
"My benefactor, please speak."
Zhou Yiwen adopted a very humble attitude, even changing how he addressed people.
Li Jiuhe waved his hand: "No need to call me that. I'm really curious now, is Fang Yi really that capable? And how did he manage to harm you?"
In his view, although Fang Yi was a hidden sorcerer, Zhou Yiwen was an old sorcerer. His experience and application of curse techniques were much stronger than that of Fang Yi, a young man.
Therefore, the probability of being subtly dealt with by the other party is extremely low.
Zhou Yiwen said, "Investigator Li, you may not know this, but although I haven't seen it with my own eyes, I've heard people say that if our sequence capabilities are in a complete sequence diagram, the order of the capabilities is linear. There may be some overlap, but the vast majority is linear."
Li Jiuhe didn't know why he brought this up, but he was also very interested in this part.
Even Luo Shuo pricked up his ears and listened attentively. Clearly, he had never heard of this before, and he couldn't possibly be as knowledgeable as this ninety-year-old sequencer.
"It is said that your Investigation Bureau is currently studying the sequence diagram, but your secrecy is well maintained. Even some senior sequencers with connections do not know the progress. Therefore, some people say that the sequence line is from high to low. For example, I am a high-level curse master, and my sequence ability is at a higher position on the curse line. Zhang Song and Hong Xiaojun are low-level curse masters, at a lower position on this line."
"If I wanted to, and having fully grasped their sequence abilities, I could directly extract them through some method. This would mean that one day Zhang Song might find his abilities weakened, or even completely disappear. That's still an ideal scenario; there's also the possibility that he might suddenly die."
Zhang Song and Hong Xiaojun immediately looked terrified.
Zhou Yiwen continued, "Of course, I've only heard about it; I don't know this method, nor am I sure if there's any basis for this claim. Since this sequence line can extract abilities from top to bottom, it can also be manipulated in reverse. I suspect that Fang Yi has mastered the method of reverse manipulation. However, when he became my student, I'm certain he was only a beginner-level curse user, and his abilities were even inferior to Zhang Song's."
Li Jiuhe frowned: "Did he somehow manage to extract your sequence abilities?"
"Possibly," Zhou Yiwen nodded. "And this method might require some kind of incantation, but I've never seen it before."
My power was permanently diluted and flowed to the other end of his sequence line.
Li Jiuhe lowered his head in deep thought.
People including Luo Shuo are also thinking about this.
They had never heard of this claim before, and if it hadn't come from the old sorcerer's mouth, Luo Shuo would have even suspected that it was all made up.
But the facts seem to be right in front of us: Zhou Yiwen's sequence abilities have mostly disappeared, and his body has also collapsed.
His student, Fang Yi, whom he had personally certified as merely a novice curse user, suddenly transformed into a curse master.
It's obvious that the guy isn't very skilled at using spellcasting techniques, and his abilities are generally unstable.
However, for Zhou Yiwen, this is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. Although his strength has been greatly reduced, he has not lost his life immediately, and his family members have also been saved.
Most importantly, the boundary stone was also preserved.
At this moment, the boundary stone was being held tightly in his daughter's hand, because Zhou Yiwen had not yet given her any instructions.
After getting a general idea of what had happened between the old sorcerer and his disciple, Li Jiuhe glanced at the time on his phone.
Luo Shuo knew what he was thinking and gently reminded him, "That person hasn't moved; he's stayed where I just tracked him."
""
Li Jiuhe was worried that if they lingered here for too long, the person behind Fang Yi might escape.
He was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, wondering if that person had died again.
However, Zhou Wen's physical condition is also not good this week. Although he just absorbed some of the remaining curse power of the cursed incarnation, it looks like a last gasp before death.
Who knows when this old man's health will continue to deteriorate.
He was concerned with whether Li Jiuhe could still enter the deserted wooden house, so Li Jiuhe could not leave at this moment.
After a moment's thought, Li Jiuhe asked Zhou Yiwen, "If I were to send my curse into the abandoned wooden house now, the curse's mechanism would be that the person could never leave that house again, but the effect would be set for tonight or tomorrow, I wonder if that's possible?"
Upon hearing this, Luo Shuo and Ma Li knew that his mind was made up, and nothing they said would change anything; they could only look at him with worry.
Zhou Yiwen nodded and said, "Okay, I will use all the remaining magical power to curse you into the wooden house. The curse can be set to take effect at 10 p.m. tonight. If it goes past that time, I'm not sure if it will still be successful."
"Ten o'clock?" Li Jiuhe looked at his phone. "Okay, ten o'clock it is."
According to his plan, he should immediately go and capture the person that Fang Yi hadn't mentioned, and find out the truth behind this matter.
Then at 10 p.m., he could safely enter the deserted wooden house to search for his daughter.
"Then I'll begin."
Zhou Yiwen wheeled himself closer to Li Jiuhe and said, "Right now, just think about the four words 'abandoned wooden cabin.' You don't need to do anything; just relax."
This time, he didn't grab Li Jiuhe's wrist again. He just sat face to face with her, looking into her eyes.
Li Jiuhe was also watching Zhou Yiwen, and saw that Zhou Yiwen's cloudy eyes became much clearer at this moment. He seemed to be looking at himself, but in fact, he seemed to see something else in his eyes.
Those eyes grew increasingly profound, seeing through Li Jiuhe himself and understanding his heart.
Time passed, and before Li Jiuhe knew how much time had gone by, Zhou Yiwen suddenly disappeared from his sight, replaced by an ordinary-looking wooden house.
"This is the abandoned wooden house?!"
The moment Li Jiuhe saw the wooden house, his body trembled violently.
"Don't get excited, don't make any movements, breathe slowly—" Zhou Yiwen's voice suddenly rang in his ear.
Li Jiuhe quickly realized what was happening and immediately maintained a steady breathing rate, trying to calm his excited emotions.
At the same time, he opened his eyes wide and looked at the little wooden house.
He could sense that although the cabin was in Dragon Ridge Mountain, there were no trees around and not a single fallen leaf on the ground.
The backdrop of the wooden house is a black space.
The entire cabin appears to be made of pine wood, with the exterior walls showing a faded grayish-white color, thick moss pressing down on the roof, and the door being very low, requiring adults to duck to enter.
Even the wooden door had two fine cracks, and there was a window facing him, covered with coarse hemp paper.
It all felt so real, yet like an illusion.
Li Jiuhe dared not move an inch, for fear that if he moved even slightly, the scene would disappear and he would never see it again.
Just then, he heard a rustling sound, and a person came into his view.
The man walked briskly toward the wooden house with his back to me.
Although he couldn't see the man's face, Li Jiuhe recognized him just by looking at his back. It was Zhou Yiwen.
Zhou Yiwen appears to have recovered and no longer needs a wheelchair to move around.
He walked to the wooden house, but instead of knocking, he pushed the door open.
I pushed it once, but it wouldn't budge. I pulled it again, but it still wouldn't move.
Zhou Yiwen was somewhat taken aback. He turned around and glanced back, as if he knew that Li Jiuhe was watching him.
He stood in front of the door and tried several more times, but the wooden door didn't budge. Then he moved to the side and tried to open the window covered with coarse hemp paper.
But at that moment, a strange rumbling sound rang out, fast and frequent.
Zhou Yiwen sensed something was wrong and immediately stepped back. He saw the thick moss on the roof suddenly slide down, burying the spot where he had just been standing and piling up high.
Suddenly, a strange, eerie wind arose, blowing erratically from all directions.
Zhou Yiwen's expression changed slightly, and he turned and ran.
From Li Jiuhe's angle, he could only see him, but he couldn't get close, and the eerie winds wouldn't affect him.
Zhou Yiwen was seen running unsteadily. When the cold wind blew against him, his clothes and body were strangely distorted, as if space itself was about to be torn apart.
However, this guy ran very fast, and even with his body twisted, he managed to break free and escape from the area where the cabin was located.
Li Jiuhe's vision blurred, and the deserted wooden house vanished instantly. He found himself back in the study.
Zhou Yiwen's wrinkled face became clearer. The old man was still sitting in a wheelchair, panting heavily and covered in sweat.
After seeing Li Jiuhe recover, he waved his hand and said, "The cabin is sealed off. You should have seen that just now. It must have been because after Tong Cheng went in last time, the cabin discovered a loophole and intervened with its abilities. In other words, the method of entering through the curse has been patched."
"Interference with capabilities?" Li Jiuhe asked in surprise.
Zhou Yiwen took the thermos cup from his daughter, took a big gulp of water, and then nodded.
"Although I can't go in, I'm certain that the abandoned wooden house is a sequence item, a very powerful sequence item."
Judging by its level of danger, it's at least at the level of destroying a city. The sudden appearance of that eerie wind around it, if it were to appear in Xingtai City, would likely kill or injure a large number of ordinary people instantly; a single gust would wipe out a whole horde.
Li Jiuhe's heart sank.
He had indeed seen it just now; Zhou Yiwen was unable to open the door of the cabin, and when he tried to enter through the window, he was immediately met with resistance.
After using his curse this time, Zhou Yiwen's physical condition returned to the same state as when they visited him, and his energy and spirit plummeted.
He coughed for a while, then lowered his head, seemingly deep in thought.
After a moment, he spoke again: "However, based on my experience, this wooden house is located in a place between life and death. Without special methods, ordinary people simply cannot reach it."
"Between life and death?"
"Well, perhaps another more accurate term is 'the intermediate state between death and rebirth'," Zhou Yiwen said. "A person in a state of near-death, or just before actual death, has the opportunity to enter this place. This should be the most common way to enter the wooden hut. Otherwise, it requires some special means to enter."
Li Jiuhe looked puzzled; he only remembered the term "intermediate state".
However, the "intermediate state" refers to the period between a person's death and rebirth, and it seems to be divided into things like the intermediate state before death and the intermediate state of dharmakosa, but he doesn't really understand the specifics.
But this statement is somewhat similar to what he knows about his daughter's current situation.
In other words, the daughter Li Yi is currently in a state of intermediate state, or something similar, or there may be other interpretations.
Moreover, she was in this wooden house, but the Bardo was not a permanent place; it was just a place like a train station.
Perhaps at some point, everyone will set off from there and go to their rightful place.
"I'm sorry, Investigator Li, I've done my best!" Zhou Yiwen said with a face full of shame.
Li Jiuhe had witnessed everything he had done in front of the cabin, so she wouldn't blame him.
Perhaps, as Zhou Yiwen said, Tong Cheng's sudden success in entering through a curse made the wooden house realize the loophole, and now the path has been blocked.
If we want to get in, we'll have to find another way.
"In your experience, what other ways do you think we can connect with this wooden house?" Li Jiuhe asked.
Zhou Yiwen was clearly already thinking about this.
"I think we could try using dreams, find a sequence holder skilled in dreams, and see if we can establish a connection with the abandoned cabin. Investigator Li, you might not be aware, but there are the concepts of the 'intermediate state' (bardo) and the 'intermediate state of being.' The normal process of falling asleep is very similar to the 'intermediate state of being,' because a person's mind reaches a state of dissolution at that moment and enters sleep. Dreaming is similar to the 'intermediate state of being,' where you still retain awareness and experience various things."
"A sequencer specializing in dreams?"
At this moment, Zhou Yiwen's idea coincided with Li Jiuhe's previous idea, which was to go back to the General Administration and find Shao Gang, the Minister of the Equipment Department, because he was the Dream Master.
If anyone is the best candidate for this endeavor, it would undoubtedly be Shao Gang.
Moreover, Tong Cheng had also entered the wooden house. Shao Gang had a good relationship with him, so he felt obligated to help and readily agreed.
"Okay, I'll find someone to give it a try." Li Jiuhe nodded.
Since he still couldn't get into the deserted wooden house, he didn't linger any longer and immediately took his leave, preparing to go with Luo Shuo and the others to the location of the person behind Fang Yi.
Zhou Yiwen still had something to discuss with Zhang Song and Hong Xiaojun, so he made an appointment with Li Jiuhe to talk in detail after the matter was settled.
After all, although it was their first meeting, Zhou Yiwen had already revealed all his secrets and left nothing unsaid.
He was already a dying man. Although Li Jiuhe was somewhat annoyed just now, Zhou Yiwen knelt down at the age of ninety to beg for forgiveness and once again searched for a deserted wooden house for him, showing his sincere attitude.
This made it impossible for Li Jiuhe, Luo Shuo, and others to harbor any more hatred towards him.
The three left the villa, hailed a taxi, and Luo Shuo sat in the passenger seat, giving directions to the driver.
The taxi sped away quickly.
Because Luo Shuo drove very fast at his request, they arrived at their destination in twenty minutes.
This is an ordinary apartment building.
The three got out of the car, and Luo Shuo pointed to the first floor of the apartment building: "That person lives on the first floor, uh, that room!"
Li Jiuhe said to him and Ma Li, "Be careful and on guard. I'll lead the charge! If we make a move, don't kill the target; leave them alive for questioning."
Luo Shuo and Ma Li nodded at the same time.
The tail inside Ma Li's skirt was already slowly surging, and a large number of black ants crawled out, all surrounding her belly, densely packed, waiting for further instructions.
Li Jiuhe quickly approached the door of the apartment. He grabbed the doorknob and gently turned it, and to his surprise, the door opened easily.
The room was somewhat dim. Luo Shuo stood guard at the door while Li Jiuhe and Mary entered the room.
The moment she entered the room, Ma Li condensed the black ant larvae into a strangely shaped but extremely aggressive human form.
Li Jiuhe walked ahead, took out the silver-etched dagger in his hand, and looked around.
The room was silent. He quickly went to the door of a bedroom, peeked in, and saw an elderly woman lying on the bed.
The woman was lying motionless with her eyes closed, but she was still breathing, so she looked like she was sleeping.
Ma Li quickly finished searching the other rooms and returned to Li Jiuhe's side: "There's no one else in the room, only this."
Li Jiuhe deliberately made a noise and found that the old woman still had her eyes closed, seemingly unable to wake up.
He reached out and pressed on the old woman's carotid artery; her pulse was strong and slightly rapid. He then checked her breathing; it was slightly rapid.
This indicates that the person in the bed is conscious and aware that there are people around.
Li Jiuhe said to Ma Li, "It seems like she's in a vegetative state."