茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

It wasn’t until the next morning, as Xiang Kun sat on the bus returning to Citong City, that he continued to recall the feedback he received when he sensed the wood carving the previous night.

At that time, Xiang Kun not only felt a clear fear that did not originate from him, but also saw some not very clear images.

In those images, he was lying on a hospital bed, wearing an oxygen mask, surrounded by various medical equipment. It was obviously a hospital room, and it seemed to be a very expensive one.

There was a guy in a white coat in the room, but the guy was…

Over two meters tall with eight arms, eight eyes. Wasn’t that the monster Xiang Kun had imagined under the influence of Guo Tianxiang’s ability to “project his own fears ?

Moreover, this was the original version of the monster image “seen” by Xiang Kun himself. It was covered in disgusting tumours and muscles that were even more explosive and ferocious, unlike the wood carving which has been “artistically” refined.

In those blurred images, the appearance of this monster was the clearest.

Xiang Kun was a little confused at the time; why would he see his imagined monster in this way?

Then he realized that this was not what he “saw”, but what he saw from the perspective of the person lying on the bed.

Even the fear he felt, which included fear and a touch of panic, didn’t seem to be due to the eight-armed monster in the white coat, but originated from the patient’s worry about their own situation.

Then Xiang Kun immediately understood that this was an old man, worried about his own health.

The perspective shifted, and Xiang Kun saw the automatically-opened hospital room door; outside of it, some people were walking around, revealing anxious expressions.

He couldn’t see the faces of those people very clearly, but one of them, judging by the silhouette and clothes, seemed to be Tang Baona?

Xiang Kun didn’t get to look at these images for very long; they completely disappeared quickly, and then the sense of the eight-armed, eight-eyed wood carving became just a simple ability to perceive existence without any other feedback.

Xiang Kun spent last night thinking about what he felt and saw; what were those things? They definitely weren’t real scenes because many details in the hospital room were blurry and vague, and even the places that could be seen were all strange and distorted.

Those images were probably imagined by someone.

Why was he able to see them when he sensed the wood carving?

Thinking of the figure that resembled Tang Baona outside the hospital room, Xiang Kun had a rough guess, so on the way back to Citong City the next day, he estimated that Tang Baona should also be on her way to work, and sent her a WeChat message: “Say, isn’t the buyer of that wood carving your grandfather?”

After a while, Tang Baona sent a confused-face emoji: “How did you know? Did I say so?”

Xiang Kun murmured to himself, “as expected,” and replied, “Didn’t you say in the group chat before that your grandfather wants to see me? I was thinking; there is no reason for your grandfather to suddenly want to see me for no reason. So, I guessed that you must’ve coerced your grandfather into buying that wood carving, and he wants to see who conned his granddaughter…”

Tang Baona sent a surprised minion emoji: “Impressive, Detective Xiang! But my grandfather really likes your wood carving! He said your carving work is impressive and that nowadays, not many young people are willing to spend time and effort to work on crafts like these. So, he wants to see you and probably wants to talk about wood carving with you.”

From what Tang Baona had said, her grandfather didn’t seem like someone who needed long-term hospitalization, and from her tone, it didn’t seem like he was suddenly hospitalized the night before.

Were the images he saw last night just imagined by her grandfather? Or was it not her grandfather? No, if the figure outside the hospital room was Tang Baona, then it was almost certainly her grandfather.

Could it be… a dream?

The eight-armed, eight-eyed monster was the image Xiang Kun initially feared he would become.

The images he saw when he sensed the wood carving that night might have been what Tang Baona’s grandfather was afraid he would become?

Yeah, what do the elderly fear the most? Isn’t it illness and death? A hospital room is their place of fear.

To confirm his guess, Xiang Kun replied on WeChat, “Alright, I also want to hear your grandfather’s evaluation and advice. The elderly have more insights into carving and calligraphy than we do.”

Tang Baona immediately replied, “Great, let’s arrange a time when you are back! By the way, have you seen Old Xia in Citong City yet?”

“Not yet. She sent me a WeChat asking me to buy her a meal, but I haven’t replied yet. I was wondering; if I sneak in and sneak out without seeing her, will she be angry about that?” Xiang Kun sent a hand-over-mouth laughing emoji, but of course, he wouldn’t really do it.

“What does Old Xia look like when she’s angry? Frankly, I’m looking forward to that… Why don’t you give it a try?” Tang Baona replied.

After casual chatting on WeChat until almost 11 0’clock, Xiang Kun returned to Citong City by bus.

He didn’t go home immediately but went to the supermarket to buy some

meat, vegetables and spices.

He planned to cook lunch for his parents at home today. Although the hasty dinner the day before hadn’t brought a great impact, at least it had already allowed him to adjust his judgment of his parents’ tastes a bit.

He had planned the menu on the way — in fact, he had planned it right after dinner the day before.

After paying the bill and carrying a few bags, he was about to walk straight home when he suddenly felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.

He initially thought it was probably a call from his mom, but when he took a look, it was an unfamiliar phone number.

Xiang Kun frowned slightly, his first reaction was that it could be an advertisement or a scam, but after thinking, he decided to pick it up anyway.

“Hello? Is this Mr. Xiang?”

Hearing this voice with a Tong Shi accent, Xiang Kun immediately knew who it was: “Yes, I am Xiang Kun, is this Director Liu?”

“Haha, I am Liu Caifu! I came to town today, but I didn’t expect Mr. Xiang to leave so soon!”

“Oh, I only planned to stay for a couple of days when I returned this time, is there anything Director Liu needs from me?” As Xiang Kun listened to Liu Caifu’s voice, it seemed that his mood was quite high?

“Well, after you guys left yesterday, I thought about it all night; the plan you proposed, there’re many questions…”

Having questions is a good thing. Xiang Kun quickly answered, “Yes, I also had some undue considerations earlier. I boasted a bit, haha, I made a fool of myself in front of Director Liu. Actually, after I came back, I also thought about it. That breeding farm is actually not really…”

But before he could finish his words, Director Liu on the other end already replied, “Mr.. Xiang, after thinking about it last night, I have an immature suggestion, what do you think?”