Chapter 148: Inverted Sanctuary
Chen Xiaolin was a determined woman who kept her word. The day after investigating Zheng Yu’s villa, she visited Zheng Yu’s hometown to find Zheng Yu’s orphaned daughter.
Facing Chen Xiaolin’s sudden visit, Zheng Yu’s parents were both somewhat stunned. Chen Xiaolin naturally greeted the two elders and stated her intention to offer condolences, after which the two elders warmly invited Chen Xiaolin into the home.
Clearly, Zheng Yu’s parents were acquainted with Chen Xiaolin.
“Thank you for coming to see us, Xiaolin.” Mother Zheng’s sadness was hard to conceal on her face.
“That hateful son…” Father Zheng said angrily in a raised voice, but he couldn’t finish the sentence and only gave Chen Xiaolin a complicated look.
Chen Xiaolin comforted the two elders: “Uncle and Aunt, I believe Brother Yu absolutely wasn’t that kind of person. He must have encountered some problem to do those things.”
“The matter has already happened. No matter how justified, it’s irreversible.” Father Zheng shook his head. They naturally hoped Zheng Yu was wronged, but the person was already dead and had done unforgivable things. The truth no longer mattered much.
Chen Xiaolin did not reply. That was the two elders’ view, but not hers. At least she felt it necessary to investigate what happened in Zheng Yu’s life.
“Is Xiao Peng here?” Chen Xiaolin asked.
Hearing this, Father Zheng and Mother Zheng exchanged a glance, sighed, and Mother Zheng led Chen Xiaolin to a bedroom. She gently pushed open the door and saw a petite figure sitting in a dim room with curtains drawn, painting by the light of a desk lamp that wasn’t too bright. She was quiet and focused, paying no attention to the people entering the room.
Mother Zheng said softly: “Since her father had the incident, she has been silent, trapping herself in the room painting every day with almost no other reactions. No matter how her grandfather and I call her, if we take her paintbrush and drawing paper, she freezes in place like a sculpture, motionless. I think her father’s matter must have impacted her too greatly.”
“Can I try talking to her? Alone.” Chen Xiaolin asked.
Mother Zheng nodded. “That’s fine too. After her mother left, she said she hoped most that you would become her mother. She likes you very much. I hope you can talk to her properly, persuade her, at least get her to eat well.”
Chen Xiaolin: “I will.”
Mother Zheng then created a private space for the two, closing the door when leaving the room.
Chen Xiaolin went to Zheng Xiaopeng’s side, watched Zheng Xiaopeng paint, and smiled: “Xiao Peng, I’m Sister Xiaolin. What are you painting?”
“Sister Xiaolin? You came to see me.” Zheng Xiaopeng paused her movements, but her body showed no obvious motion. Only her eyeball shifted eerily to the corner of her eye, glancing at Chen Xiaolin, then her gaze returned to the drawing paper as she continued painting nonchalantly, answering, “I’m painting heaven now.”
“Heaven?” Chen Xiaolin’s smile stiffened. She lowered her head to look closely at the painting and found that the other was indeed painting their attic again, and for a child her age, the skill was somewhat too advanced and impressive—not only was the image detailed but realistic, as if the other had drawn the scene from memory to scale.
However, Chen Xiaolin discovered that after Zheng Xiaopeng finished the scene, she later began adding line drawings of people, and in the image appeared one man and one woman—her parents.
“Are you painting Daddy and Mommy going to heaven together?” Chen Xiaolin took a deep breath and recovered her smile to ask.
Zheng Xiaopeng answered: “I hope so, but…”
“But what?” Chen Xiaolin pressed.
Zheng Xiaopeng: “The day before yesterday, Daddy told me not to go home anymore and to live with Grandfather and Grandmother from now on.”
“…Your daddy, the day before yesterday?” Chen Xiaolin couldn’t believe it. Your dad had been dead for days.
Zheng Xiaopeng said truthfully: “He told me in a dream.”
Hearing this, Chen Xiaolin breathed a sigh of relief. “I see. So what did you and he talk about?”
“Daddy told me he had failed and told me not to return to that home anymore. Even if I did, never to open the attic door.”
“What happens if it’s opened?”
“Opening it might release some terrifying things.” Zheng Xiaopeng said somewhat uncertainly. “Anyway, it’s something Daddy didn’t want Xiao Peng to approach.”
Chen Xiaolin’s expression stiffened. If that was true, then the door had long been opened. The law enforcement officers and mystic investigators who came to the villa to investigate must have gone in, meaning the terrifying things had already been released.
Chen Xiaolin wanted to know more about what happened in Zheng Yu’s life: “Xiao Peng, when your daddy sent you to Grandfather and Grandmother’s, did he tell you why?”
“Daddy told me he wanted to work seriously and didn’t have much time to take care of me well, but actually I know the real reason.” Xiao Peng giggled. “Daddy actually wanted to spend more time with Mommy. After all, our attic is heaven, our home is so close to heaven, so it’s easy for Daddy to see Mommy.”
Xiao Peng painted while recalling: “One night I suddenly needed to use the toilet urgently and found the light in Daddy’s study room still on, and I faintly heard Daddy talking to someone. So I sneaked close to the study room to look, and saw Daddy moving things into the attic, saying it was almost done, and then we could reunite, our family of three together again…”
Listening to Xiao Peng’s recounting, Chen Xiaolin widened her eyes in shock and muttered to herself: “What are you saying, Zheng Yu? What exactly… are you trying to do?”
“Rebirth ritual of summoning departed souls.” Li Duojin looked gravely at the results of his overnight translation. He never expected the incomplete ritual Zheng Yu left in the attic to have such an effect.
The function of this ritual was to summon departed souls, call the spirits, then let the summoned departed souls enter a shell prepared in advance for the ritual, allowing the departed souls to borrow the shell and return to life.
The person hosting this ritual needed to hunt continuously in a specific location. The killed departed souls would automatically transfer into the ritual’s operational energy, helping maintain the energy supply until the ritual succeeded, and the departed soul would be reborn through the shell.
After Li Duojin’s further investigation of this ritual, he found it indeed originated from an overseas region, but not in the New York region, rather on the Winter Peninsula.
People on the Winter Peninsula also used Kahn text and held such ritual of wishing activities.
The source that designed this ritual also involved a special abnormal organization called Inverted Sanctuary. It was people from this Inverted Sanctuary who created this unique ritual.
Happy New Year~~~
