Phantom Skeleton Painting

Chapter 75.1 Dream (End)

In fact, during the conversation just now, Lin Banxia felt strange that Song Qingluo had not contacted Bai Luze since the dream, so naturally there was no way to talk to him. Regarding the thing sealed in his body, even when he explained it to Li Su, he never said it was the companion rather than the heretical object itself. So theoretically speaking, Bai Luze had no way to know that what was sealed in Song Qingluo’s body was Cui Gaoyu and not the dream.

However, since the conversation between him and Bai Luze just now, Bai Luze has been calling Song Qingluo’s sealed heretical things “things”. Lin Banxia just found it strange at first, until Bai Luze took him to see Song Qingluo. After watching the video, he understood Bai Luze’s intention.

So how did Bai Luze know all this? After eliminating other options, there was only one answer left – he also entered the dreamland and even found out that Cui Gaoyu was the companion. Listening to Lin Banxia’s questioning, Bai Luze did not refute Lin Banxia’s words.

His silence was an acknowledgment of this statement.

Lin Banxia felt complicated: “Did you really go in?”

“Yes.” Bai Luze said slowly, “But it doesn’t seem to matter if I went in, because in my dream, he is no different from reality. He still looks crazy and irritable, and is still locked up in a mental hospital. I can’t get out of the base and can only see him once a week.”

Lin Banxia: “…”

Bai Luze laughed at himself: “Even a dream is too real.”

Lin Banxia said, “How did you know?” Li Su and the others were also in the dream, but after they came out, they still didn’t know anything and were easily deceived by Song Qingluo.

“He told me.” Bai Luze said, “The moment before I woke up, he stood by my bed and talked for a while.” His eyes were a little misty, looking towards the unknown distance against the backdrop of the bloodless face. His gaze looked blurry as if it was about to disappear from the world. “He said that he was saved by Song Qingluo and told me not to worry. He also said that the thing had completely disappeared… he was free…”

“But he is too stupid.” Bai Luze said, “He doesn’t know who Qingluo is, but don’t I? He is just a tool to seal heretics. What good ending the companions caught by him experience?”

Lin Banxia said: “You want to use my anger to rescue Cui Gaoyu?”

Bai Luze said: “No, I just want to see him once. I have been waiting for him for so long, and I just want to see him again.”

Lin Banxia didn’t know what to say. Song Qingluo on the screen had already covered himself with the quilt and was pushed out of the room. However, even when he was pushed out, he did not fall asleep. His eyes were half open, and those beautiful black eyes seemed to have lost their lustre and were extremely dim.

Lin Banxia just took one look and felt distressed. He couldn’t accept this, let alone the situation of Bai Luze and Cui Gaoyu.

Cui Gaoyu suffered all the torture and did not want Bai Luze to fall into the dream. In the last moments when he was about to leave the dreamland, they could only see each other once. They could not even speak a few words, and they separated in a hurry, never to meet again.

Bai Luze said: “Go back, it’s time for him to find you.”

Lin Banxia knew he was talking about Song Qingluo and nodded slowly.

Bai Luze watched Lin Banxia leave. As soon as the door closed, the room became dark. He opened his eyes and saw only darkness in his field of vision. Once, he was afraid of the night, just like he was afraid of rain. He was afraid that the night would take Cui Gaoyu away from him again, but it was not until this moment that he discovered that Cui Gaoyu had never returned.

The extremely violent lunatic in the mental hospital was just the body of Cui Gaoyu. The soul he was pursuing had already fallen into the endless abyss with the darkness.

He could never come back to him.

***

After Lin Banxia came out of Bai Luze’s place, he found that it started to rain again. It has to be said that after experiencing everything in the dream, the moment he saw the rain, his heart tightened reflexively. Fortunately, he soon realized that he was back and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Looking for the route he had taken, Lin Banxia returned to the room where he had been resting. Li Su and Li Ye were no longer there, but Song Qingluo was sitting on the sofa, with his head raised, seemingly taking a nap, but when he heard the sound of footsteps, he immediately opened his eyes and said softly: “You’re back?”

“Back.” Lin Banxia said with a smile.

He walked to Song Qingluo, sat down, and handed Song Qingluo the Coke he had been holding in his hand.

Song Qingluo’s expression softened a lot when he saw the Coke. He unscrewed the bottle cap and drank most of it, then muttered: “I’m a little sleepy.”

Lin Banxia said: “Just sleep when you feel sleepy. I just slept for a while.”

“Really?” Song Qingluo asked, “Did you dream?”

Lin Banxia said: “No.”

As he was speaking, he saw Song Qingluo tilting his head and leaning on his shoulder. Within a moment, his breathing became even and he fell into a deep sleep.

Lin Banxia sat motionless, his eyes following Song Qingluo’s cheek, to his neck, and then to his abdomen that was tightly covered by work clothes. He knew that there was once a hideous wound there. Although it had healed, he still couldn’t forget its appearance.

Lin Banxia’s nose was a little sore, and he rubbed Song Qingluo’s hair with his cheek to cover up the stinging in his eyes.

The two rested at the base for one night before setting off for home the next day.

When they returned, Bai Luze also came out to see them off, still wearing the overly large coat, smiling and waving to Lin Banxia.

Even though he knew that Bai Luze had bad intentions, Lin Banxia still sympathized with this person and waved back. Because his expression was not right, Li Su noticed the clues.

Li Su asked strangely: “Huh? What? When did Bai Luze offend you?”

Lin Banxia said: “No.”

“Then why do you have this expression?” Li Su asked.

“Does my expression look strange?” Lin Banxia said slowly, “Maybe it’s because I didn’t sleep.”

Li Su casually said something, without thinking much, and told Lin Banxia to go back and have a good rest.

“By the way.” Lin Banxia suddenly asked, “If you become the companion of a heretical thing, can you also become the companion of other heretical things?”

“Yes.” Li Su said, “Although such situations are rare, they do happen. Why do you suddenly think of asking this?”

“It’s okay.” Lin Banxia said, “Just asking.”

Li Su hesitated to speak.

The place they were heading back to was different, so Li Su and Li Ye didn’t go with them. Song Qingluo drove Lin Banxia home. Lin Banxia took out the box containing Xiaohua from his backpack, held it in his arms and thought about something.

Song Qingluo suddenly asked: “What happened?”

Lin Banxia said: “If the heresy disappears… what will happen to the companions?”

Song Qingluo pursed his lips slightly: “They exist for a period of time, and then disappear completely.”

Lin Banxia: “…”

Song Qingluo: “What?”

Lin Banxia said: “Then if it disappears, won’t the base find that the dream has not actually been sealed?”

Song Qingluo said: “So what if it is discovered. Anyway, now we can detect the heresy in the box. Even if it disappears, it has nothing to do with me.” He raised his eyebrows, “At most, they will call people to ask questions. What does that have to do with me?”

Lin Banxia said: “Then if Bai Luze wants to see Cui Gaoyu before he disappears… is it possible?”

Song Qingluo said: “Without the support of the dream, no one can see Cui Gaoyu in the box.”

Lin Banxia: “…”

Song Qingluo: “Did Bai Luze tell you something?”

Lin Banxia said no.

Song Qingluo sighed softly: “There are some things that can’t be helped. Even if you try hard, the best result is still unsatisfactory. The best ending now is that the dream has disappeared, and everyone who entered the dream has successfully survived. Other things, even if they want to change them… they are powerless. The reason why companions are called companions is that as the name suggests, they must die with the death of the heretical objects. No one dares to take the risk of letting Cui Gaoyu out of the box. No one knows what the consequences will be.

Lin Banxia stopped talking. What Song Qingluo said was indeed reasonable. In front of a huge organization, there were too few facts that he could change.

A few hours later, the two arrived at home.

In reality, they only slept briefly on the train for a few hours, but in their dreams, they slept for dozens of days. They were both a little tired when they got home. After a simple wash, they both went to bed. All in all, Lin Banxia had not slept well, so he was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. This time he did not dream at all, and slept directly from morning to evening.

In the haziness, he seemed to hear crackling and something making noise in the house. Lin Banxia said in a daze, “Stop it,” and the room became quiet again.

However, it was not quiet for long. A shrill scream woke Lin Banxia from his sleep. He opened his eyes and sat up from the bed reflexively. He heard a banging sound at the door, followed by Ji Leshui collapsed and cried: “Lin Banxia, ​​help me, there is a ghost in the house.”

Lin Banxia hurried over to open the door, and saw Ji Leshui screaming like a rubber chicken leaning against the door drenched with rain, shouting with a horrified face: “Where is the boss? Is the boss here? Banxia, ​​why is his house also haunted!?”

Lin Banxia said: “Ghost? Where is the ghost?”

Ji Leshui pointed to his home and collapsed: “Didn’t I just come back from work? After entering the house, I kept hearing a clicking in the bedroom. After entering, I saw Small Cave standing on tiptoe trying to open the drawer. I didn’t think much, I just thought there was something he wanted in the drawer, so I opened it for him. Who knew…?”

Lin Banxia had already guessed what he was going to say.

As expected, Ji Leshui roared: “Who knew there was a little girl in the drawer!!! She even smiled at me!!!”

Lin Banxia said: “Friend, please calm down.”

Ji Leshui: “Calm down? How can I calm down? Who can be calm when encountering such a thing?”

Lin Banxia had no choice but to explain: “She’s not a ghost! She’s a human being!”

Ji Leshui: “…”

Lin Banxia’s voice was a little softer, and sounded a bit unsure: “It’s my sister.”

Ji Leshui: “…”

He stared at Lin Banxia, ​​wanting to see from his expression that his beloved friend was joking, but no matter how he looked, he could only see the seriousness in Lin Banxia’s eyes, so Ji Leshui became even more desperate, his voice trembling with tears: “Lin Banxia, ​​this is the sister you have been talking to me about for several years…?”

Lin Banxia: “Isn’t she cute?”

 

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