Prisin: "I need your help."
"You deserve to die, you deserve to die! My only daughter, wuwuwu, my daughter, if your spirit is in heaven, you can rest in peace." The old man spoke crazily, completely unaware of Baili Xin's voice, and kept talking to himself.
Baili Xin: "It's not dead yet. I need your help."
The old man suddenly stiffened all over.
His pupils widened, and he looked at Baili Xin with a horrified expression: "What did you say?"
There was a pile of fallen leaves under the bench. The wind blew, and a few leaves were blown away and floated to Baili Xin's fingertips.
Baili Xin was slightly stunned, and after two seconds he regained his composure and said, "I suspect it didn't die at all, but changed into a new... container."
"What?" The old man looked at Baili Xin blankly and muttered to himself, "This is impossible. It's dead. It died in my daughter's body. It should be dead."
Baili Xin found a video of Luo Mei on his phone: "Look at this person, does he look familiar?"
The old man squinted his eyes and looked closely at Baili Xin's mobile phone. The video in the video was a personal interview of Luo Mei. The old man stared at Luo Mei for a long time. When the host finished the interview and Luo Mei started to speak, the old man's confused expression instantly turned into fear.
He stared at Luo Mei on the phone and asked, "Who is this? Who is this?!"
Baili Xin: "Her name is Luo Mei, and she is a popular movie star now. Do you think she looks like the monster that took over your daughter's body?"
"It's it, that's it!" Hatred gradually replaced the frightened face of the old man. "Even if it turns to ashes, I would recognize it! It's not dead, it's not dead. Not only is it not dead, it's still alive and well, and even younger? Did it steal someone else's body again!"
Baili Xin said, "Hmm," "Yes."
Then, Baili Xin found the photo of Miao Paner that he had taken from the Taoist's photo album and asked, "Can you identify this? Is this your daughter's... body?"
The old man just glanced at his phone and quickly turned his head away. His cloudy eyes were red. "It's my daughter's body."
Baili Xin hesitated for two seconds, then flipped through Ru Mian's photo: "What about this person? Is he also possessed by this monster?"
The old man squinted and looked carefully, "Is this Principal Ru? She is not this monster, but she is not a good person either."
Baili Xin frowned slightly.
The old man's answer made him confused again. Ru Mian, right? This was different from his previous inference.
"Are you sure?" Baili Xin enlarged Ru Mian's photo a little bit, "Take a closer look."
“No need to look,” the old man waved his hand in annoyance and pushed away Baili Xin’s phone. “I can be sure that Ru Mian is not that monster. When that monster occupied my daughter’s body, Ru Mian was still alive. How could it be that monster?”
Baili Xin frowned even more tightly, "You just said that Ru Mian is not a good person either, what's the matter?"
The old man's face showed rejection: "I am a cultured person and I don't like to talk about other people's private lives. It's very rude."
Baili Xin: "What if Rumian has something to do with this monster? You won't tell me either?"
The old man then looked at Baili Xin and asked, "Who are you?"
Baili Xin: "I want to catch this monster, but I don't know its weakness. I need your help. Maybe I can find something useful in your memory. You also want to kill this monster to avenge your daughter, right?"
The old man struggled for a moment, "Okay, I'll tell you."
"This university was founded in 1948 and completed in 1955, a construction period of seven years. Ru Mian is the president and one of the initiators of the university's construction. She majored in archaeology. She is very smart and excellent, and even more hardworking than others. She has a strong personality and can complete anything she is responsible for beautifully."
"In the beginning, everyone trusted her,"
"She graduated from university at the age of 18 and began her archaeological work. She achieved remarkable results at a young age and unearthed many cultural relics and monuments that made outstanding contributions to history."
“So even though she was very young when the school was founded, everyone respected her, and she took on the task of building the library.”
Baili Xin: "She is the principal? Why is the library only introducing her as 'Professor'?"
"Because of some things that happened later, she resigned from the position of 'Principal'," the old man said with regret, "You know we were all very traditional and conservative at that time, but she hooked up with several men at the same time. Among those men, the wife of one of them made a scene at the school, which caused quite a stir at the time."
"Such a serious private life chaos happened in the academic world, which caused a sensation at the time. Even if the school wanted to protect her, they didn't dare to do so, so Ru Mian changed from the principal's position to an ordinary teacher."
"The next year, people found Ru Mian dead in her bed at home. Everyone said that Ru Mian couldn't stand the pressure of public opinion and finally chose to commit suicide."
"Although Rumian had a chaotic private life, she made outstanding contributions to the construction of the school. It can even be said that without Rumian, there would be no school. When the school was built, there was a shortage of funds, and Rumian helped to raise the construction funds. In order to thank Rumian for her contribution to the school, the school still put her on the 'Celebrity List'."
"So that's how it is," Baili Xin looked at the old man, "What about your daughter? When did you find out that her body was taken over by someone else?"
"It was around 1958. This school cost a lot of money to build, especially the library, which was very expensive and had many excellent books. I always wanted my daughter to get into a good school, so I used my privilege as a teacher to force my daughter to study, repeat and prepare for the college entrance examination in the library every day."
"She was in a very low mood because of her poor test scores. Later, I suddenly noticed that she seemed to be getting happier and happier. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me that she had made a good friend in the library. I was worried that she was in a premature relationship, but I was relieved when she repeatedly said that the other person was a girl."
"As you know, teenage girls are very thoughtful. I know that constant reviewing has a great impact on her mental stress, so I pay special attention to her psychological counseling. Making friends can make her happy, and I think it will also help her adjust her mood. And she made friends in the library, and those who can go to the library are definitely not bad kids. So I didn't stop her from making friends, but the friends she made are not human beings at all."
Baili Xin: "..."
"I usually have classes, so I can't always be in the library to supervise her studies. That's why I later noticed that my daughter's behavior was becoming more and more strange, and I asked other students in the library to find out."
"My daughter didn't make any friends in the library. They said she was a loner and always kept to herself. Sometimes she would suddenly laugh and talk to herself while sitting in the library, and the words she spoke were like conversations, as if there was really an invisible person following her."
"They are all afraid of my daughter because of this and think she has schizophrenia."
"And they also said that my daughter keeps disappearing."
"That day, I secretly followed my daughter to the basement of the library and saw a scene that shocked me."
"I never knew that the library had a basement, let alone that there were so many stone statues enshrined in the basement. I secretly followed my daughter and found that she walked up to one of the stone statues and talked to it. What shocked me even more was that the stone statue could actually speak and respond to my daughter."
"That stone statue is what my daughter calls her 'friend'."
"That night, I scolded her after I got home. She ran away from home in anger. I looked for her for a long time and later found her here. Her face was pale and her body was wet. But fortunately, she was still breathing." The old man paused here and said, "If I had known that the soul occupying my daughter's body had been replaced by that monster, I should have drowned her directly!"
"I rushed her to the hospital overnight. She was in a coma for three days and three nights before she woke up. After she woke up, she was completely different."
Baili Xin: "Did you notice something was wrong with her at that time?"
The old man: "No, it was after she was discharged from the hospital. No matter how much a person changes, the preferences that are engraved in their bones will not change. She used to hate meat the most, but after waking up, she loves meat."
"She used to not like wearing red clothes, saying that red was scary, but after she woke up she bought a lot of red clothes."
"And the tone of her voice when she spoke to me was like a completely different person."
"She is full of curiosity about everything around her, as if she has never seen the world before."
"I tried it with cilantro, which she wouldn't eat, and found that she didn't mind it at all."
"I also discovered that she secretly lit incense at night and worshipped in the direction of the library."
"All this made me certain that the person in front of me was definitely not my daughter, but a monster that occupied my daughter's body. But no one believed me, and everyone thought I was crazy. Later, this monster used my daughter's body to do things that damaged my daughter's reputation. I was furious, but she laughed wildly. I couldn't do anything to her because she was using my daughter's body."
"Later, she ran away from home. It was not until more than ten years ago that I received her belongings."
"That's all I know."
Baili Xin: "Do you remember when she left?"
"It was around 1960. She irritated me so much during those years that I was exhausted. The only thing I remember is that her departure and Ru Mian's death happened at the same time."
Baili Xin: "Have you ever guessed that those stone statues in the basement of the library are related to Ru Mian? She is an archaeologist, so she should have unearthed a lot of cultural relics, right? And she is the designer and builder of the library, so it would be easy for her to put the stone statues in there. Didn't you report it to the school after you found the stone statues in the basement?"
"I did, but..." the old man sighed, "I later followed that road to look for the basement, but for some reason, I couldn't find the entrance to the basement. I reported this to the school, and they thought I was crazy and sent me away perfunctorily. They didn't believe what I said at all. Because in the original design drawings, there was no mention of an underground library at all."
"I've told you everything I know, I hope it helps. Is there anything else you want to ask?"
Baili Xin slowly digested this information. He looked up at the sky and found that the sun was already setting. Outside the willow tree was the beautiful sunset, but inside the willow tree was gradually shrouded in darkness.
"How about we talk while we walk? It's getting dark." Baili Xin stood up from the bench and looked around.
The riverside is already the center of the willow trees. In the gradually dimming light, the scene outside is becoming increasingly blurred.
"Okay, let's go. I'll walk with you for a while." The old man supported his legs and slowly stood up from the bench. "What else do you want to know?"
"Recently, a person's photo was replaced on the Wall of Fame. This person should be about the same age as you. Do you have any impression of him?"
Old man: "When the school was built, he was in charge of the construction of the surrounding parks. He was also one of Ru Mian's mistresses. It's just that his wife went to the countryside and disappeared, so this scandal was not exposed."
"Campus construction? Are you saying that he is responsible for this willow forest, including the fountain at the school gate?"
Old man: "Not only that, but he is also responsible for all the flowers, plants and buildings on campus."
Baili Xin: "..."
___________________________
Studio.
It was terrifying to think about it. If that was the case, Ru Mian could have used her connections to get that person to change the content of the park's construction to what she needed, right? For example, the willow tree outside the library, or the fountain that looked like three incense sticks.
Why do I feel like this coffin in the library was planned by Ru Mian
But she was already dead. And she wasn't Luo Mei, didn't the old man just say that? When the monster came out, Ru Mian was still alive.
Is it possible that Ru Mian is a tool? He was manipulated by someone to build this coffin, which contains so many stone statues of ancient gods. Maybe Ru Mian is a believer
This analysis is very likely.
___________________________
When they were halfway there, the willow forest had already gone completely dark. Baili Xin could not see the road clearly, but the old man beside him was very familiar with the forest and led him out with ease.
"Is the stone statue you just mentioned placed in the square secret room at the innermost part of the underground palace?"
In the darkness, the old man's footsteps stopped and his voice became excited: "You have been in there?! Did you see it too?"
"So I wasn't hallucinating at all. There really is an underground, right? You also saw the stone statue?!"
Baili Xin: "I don't think I saw the stone statue. I went in and there were only the fairy stone statues placed in the four corners of the room. But the room was empty and I always felt that there should be something in the middle."
Old man: "Huh? There's nothing in the middle? There should be a female stone statue in the middle. The light from above shines down and just hits the stone statue. I remember there were a few words written on the stone statue... It was the words 'Master Yuexian'."
Baili Xin frowned slightly. It was "Lord Yuexian" again.
He then shook his head: "I haven't seen it. When I went there, the statue was gone. When you left, did the statues around you move? Like chasing you or something?"
Old man: "No, they are just ordinary stone statues. You ask me this, could it be that when you were there, the stone statues moved?"
Baili Xin: "Yes, it can move. Not only can it move, but it can also move very flexibly and very quickly."
The old man gasped, "What on earth do they want to do! Isn't it enough for one stone statue to live? And so many of them have lived. Could it be that they all want to be reborn as humans one by one?!"
"These damn monsters!"
Baili Xin's eyes flickered in the darkness. He walked on the road silently without saying a word.
He couldn't judge the motives of those stone statues, and he didn't have the same strong disgust as the old man, but more of a sigh.
They came into being when humans needed the ancient gods.
When humans no longer need them, it seems to be intolerable if they still survive in the world.
Carrying the title of "God", its destiny is controlled by humans.
At this moment, Baili Xin felt unspeakable bitterness.
s419m: Why didn't the statues attack the old man back then, but now they attack you, host? Is it because the old man is the girl's father that they didn't attack
Baili Xin: Not necessarily. It has been several decades since the old man went underground. When the old man went underground, the school had just been built for two or three years, but the stone statues have been receiving offerings for decades. It may be because the power of the offerings is too strong, so these stone statues that should have died have life again. It's not that the stone statues didn't attack the old man, but that they had no way to attack.
Escape System: This explanation is very clear and makes sense to me.
s419m: If that's the case, then if the stone statue is Lord Yuexian, then no matter whether Miao Pan'er or Luo Mei is behind, they are all Lord Yuexian. The man in sunglasses is indeed the Lord Yuexian we prayed for, but she is not the murderer of the eyeball girl. If it's not her, who else could it be
Baili Xin: I used to fall into a misunderstanding.
s419m: What about now? Have you come out
Baili Xin: Haha, a clever misunderstanding.
Under the guidance of the old man, Baili Xin quickly found the way out of the willow forest. When they were almost at the edge of the forest, the old man stopped, clasped his fists and bowed to Baili Xin earnestly, "Little brother, I will accompany you here, you can go out by yourself. I hope you can help my daughter get revenge, thank you very much."
Baili Xin looked at the old man deeply, and finally he bowed like the old man, said "I'll do my best", and turned and left.
s419m was a little puzzled: "Master, are you comfortable with an old man like him staying in the woods alone? Aren't you afraid that he might get into danger?"
Baili Xin's eyebrows drooped slightly, and his thick and long eyelashes covered his flickering eyes. He was already dead and could not leave the forest.
s419m: What? Dead? But didn’t the librarian say…
Baili Xin: He must have died not long ago. There was a pile of fallen leaves under the bench where we were sitting just now. When I put my hand on the bench, I accidentally touched the pile of fallen leaves and felt a cold touch. He was alone, and even if the librarian could see him sometimes, he might not see him every day. If he hadn't seen him for a few days, he might not notice anything unusual.
s419m: Oh…