茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

“The key is…” Li Peiye resumed with his mysterious tone, “those two self-confessed ‘car thieves’ disclosed to the police that they also witnessed strange things in the warehouse where they stored their stolen goods. They even warned the police to be careful when visiting the scene….”

Xiao Jie couldn’t help but laugh, “What bizarre things could they have seen? Did they see some ghosts?”

“The authorities didn’t find anything unusual in the abandoned factory, but those three did on that afternoon. Two of them turned themselves in while the third one developed paranoid delusions, even brandishing a knife when he went to the police office to report. This is truly strange, isn’t it?” said Li Peiye.

A student who hadn’t said much before suddenly piped up, “Is it the abandoned old brick factory on East Dadao?” Having received an affirmative response from Li Peiye, the student jumped in with, “There’s been a lot of similar rumors since the factory was abandoned. I heard…”

As he spoke, another student mentioned some incidents involving a derelict residential building in the city that were presumed to be haunted.

Soon enough, their table of old classmates began swapping stories of urban legends and supernatural events – some of them local tales, others gleaned from the internet or friends.

The discussion was very animated, even the more faint-hearted girls had an excited gleam in their eyes.

Considering it was broad daylight, and they were surrounded by friends in a crowded wedding reception, it felt like story time, which helped alleviate fear and cater to their curiosity.

Xiang Kun maintained an appearance of curiosity and attentiveness. From the beginning, he had recognised the two self-confessed car thieves and the paranoid knife-wielding man, who reported his paranoia to the Yun Gang Area Office, as the same individuals he and Old Xia experimented on in a warehouse within the abandoned factory area the previous afternoon. The trio had been subjected to a range test using the “Eight-armed, Eight-eyed Wood Carving’s” emotional projection system.

Even though Xiang Kun hadn’t been keeping tabs on the trio of car thieves since they left the abandoned factory, based on his observations from their encounter, Li Peiye’s account of the ordeal didn’t surprise him.

However, Xiang Kun had initially estimated that the chances of the skinny young man and the fat middle-aged man turning themselves in were slim. Instead, it seemed more likely that the Scar face would seek the police’s help.

Despite Scar face’s imposing appearance, he was actually the most timid of the three.

According to what Li Peiye said, all three of them went to the police that night. However, judging from the timeframe, they did not immediately go to the police station to turn themselves or “ask for help” after they left the abandoned factory. The effects of the “Eight-armed, Eight-eyed Wood Carving” didn’t lead to them ending up at the police.

Each of them made their decisions based on ongoing, self-induced emotional effects for different reasons.

These decisions were directly related to their lines of thought, cognitive habits, and personal experiences. Just like the “master” from the “consultation company,” who turned himself into the police after a dream. After being continuously tormented by fear and self-questioning, they all found seeking help from the police to be the most direct solution to alleviate their fears – even though ultimate problems they wanted to solve weren’t the same.

When people feel that their sins weigh too heavily on them to bear, turning to the police can provide a strong sense of atonement. While feeling threatened, with no one around to trust, turning to the police can provide a sense of security – even though they may be criminals themselves.

Although this doesn’t apply to everyone, it is the subconscious thinking pattern instilled in most people in our country.

By hearing about this incident today, Xiang Kun now had a better understanding of how people reacted differently to the “Eight-armed, Eight-eyed Wood Carving’s” range projection effect. Much like how Tang Baona’s grandfather and uncle and that Boss Qi from Tong Shi Town – each of who’d had a dream due to the influence of the “Eight-armed, Eight-eyed Wood Carving” – acted differently due to their different obsessions and fears. From Xiang Kun’s perspective, the emotional influence is continuous, stirring in their minds, influencing further random thoughts, until they find a way to alleviate or release their fears.

During a pause in the conversation, Li Peiye noticed Xiang Kun and smiled as he pushed a cigarette his way, “Brother, what’s your name?”

Except for the bespectacled bald-headed man, he seemed to know everyone else, figuring he was likely a relative of the groom.

As he said this, the table erupted in laughter. Wei Zhuo gestured to Xiang Kun not to answer and tapped Li Peiye’s shoulder, “I’ll give you three chances to say his name correctly. If you get it wrong all three times, you’ll have to drink three cups once the banquet starts.”

Li Peiye looked stunned, “Is it someone I know?” After gazing at Xiang Kun for a while, he suddenly shouted, “Holy Shit! Is it Xiang Kun?!”

Li Peiye, whose shock at Xiang Kun’s transformation continued unabated, hopped over to sit next to him, “Xiang Kun, I remember you were doing programming, something about coding? Did you… lose all your hair by overthinking things? Or did you shave it off intentionally for better heat dissipation, to show off your status?”

Xiang Kun remained taciturn, “It naturally fell out.”

“What kind of software does your company mainly make? Do you work on factory ERP or MES systems for the clothing and footwear industry?” Li Peiye asked.

Xiang Kun replied, “Actually, our company doesn’t do that. In fact, I no longer work in that field. I have turned my attention towards co-running a restaurant instead.”

“Ventured into the restaurant business? That sounds good, we’ll have to visit once it opens.” One of his classmates remarked.

“Not in Citong, but in Tongshi Town, Jianzhou City. We are currently doing up the place, and not entirely sure when it’s to be opened.” Xiang Kun responded.

“Why did you choose such a rural place as Tongshi Town to open a restaurant? Wouldn’t it have attracted more crowd if it were in Citong?” The classmate asked curiously.

Li Peiye, however, interjected, “Hey, don’t write off Tongshi Town yet. I heard some news recently that preparations are underway for major developments in Tongshi Town.”

Wei Zhuo looked confused, “Major developments in Tongshi Town? In which sector, tourism? Isn’t it close to Wushu Mountain Scenic Area?”

“I’m not quite sure about the specifics, but I do know that several big shots in the province have been keeping an eye on Tongshi Town. Those people are always in the know. If they’re watching Tongshi Town closely, then it must be for a reason.” Li Peiye shared mysteriously.

Wei Zhuo laughed, “Should we use this opportunity to invest in some real estate over there and make a big profit?”

Li Peiye shook his head, “I wouldn’t advise investing there just yet. We don’t know which sectors they’re going to promote and offer incentives to and when. Ordinary people like us don’t need to get involved; the risk is too high.”

One of them teasingly said, “Peiye, are you still an ordinary person? Aren’t you known as ‘Mr. Billion’?”

“Yeah, ‘Mr. Billion’! In Indonesian rupiah!” Li Peiye responded right before he noticed a slightly frail middle-aged man enter the wedding venue. He stood up to greet him, “I see an old client and elder entering. I’m going over for a chat.”

Xiang Kun’s seat was facing away from the entrance, but without needing to turn around, he noticed the lean middle-aged man who came in earlier than Li Peiye – it was Chu Xiuwen, who he’d bumped into at the hospital yesterday morning.

Unexpectedly, he was here for the wedding too.

From the conversation between Chu Xiuwen and the person accompanying him to the venue, Xiang Kun figured out he was likely invited by the groom’s father.

Xiang Kun chose not to take the initiative to greet him, unwilling to ruin the “persona” he had maintained so far. There was some distance between their tables and Chu Xiuwen might not be able to spot him, and given his seating position, not being able to see Chu Xiuwen was quite normal.

However, surprisingly, Li Peiye took the initiative to greet Chu Xiuwen, and even pointed at Xiang Kun’s seat, mentioning to Chu Xiuwen that an old classmate would also open a restaurant in Tongshi Town and asking him to take care of it.

Upon hearing this conversation, although Xiang Kun had his back to them, he immediately knew that Chu Xiuwen’s gaze must have fallen on his back and noticed his bald head.

Just as he expected, a few seconds later, he heard Chu Xiuwen ask, “Manager Li, is your classmate surnamed Xiang by any chance?”

“Huh? President Chu, you know Xiang Kun?” Li Peiye said in surprise.

“Xiang Kun is…er…we’ve had dinner together before.”

Then Chu Xiuwen, following Li Peiye, walked directly over to Xiang Kun, and with a face full of surprise and delight, said, “So it’s you, Brother Xiang. I didn’t expect to run into you here. Turns out you are classmates with the groom and Manager Li?”

Xiang Kun also had to stand up, expressing equal surprise and joy, “Yes, we are all classmates. I didn’t expect to run into you here either, Brother Chu. This is truly coincidental.”

“Let’s have a good drink later, although knowing you don’t drink alcohol, we could also have tea or a soft drink,” laughed Chu Xiuwen, standing there chatting with Xiang Kun for a while before returning to his own seat.

“Why does this ‘Brother Chu’ seem kind of eager to please Xiang Kun?” Xiao Jie whispered to her husband.

Wei Zhuo whispered back, “I wouldn’t say he’s trying to please him, but he clearly looks a bit nervous, almost fearful of Xiang Kun. Weird. Since he willingly came over to greet Li Peiye’s clients and elders, he should also be a higher-up executive, right? Strange…”

What surprised them even more was that not long after the newlyweds made their entrance and the banquet began, this “President Chu,” as referred to by Li Peiye, remarkably took the initiative to bring his wine glass over to toast Xiang Kun with his wine being a shot of liquor, and Xiang Kun’s, a glass of plain water requested from a waitress.

While others at the table were merely puzzled, Li Peiye, who knew a little about Chu Xiuwen’s usual demeanor and character, was stunned.

He clearly knew that although Chu Xiuwen did not hold any prominent titles and his companies were small, which made many people think he was just a minor wealthy man in Tongshi Town, he actually had very extensive connections and even held significant influence in the province capital.

And Chu Xiuwen always maintains an attitude of a “gentleman businessman”, a bit of pride in his bones. They have been to several social events together and he had never seen him lower his posture this much, regardless of whether dealing with people of higher or lower status than him.

After Chu Xiuwen returned to his seat after finishing his drink, Li Peiye couldn’t help but whisper, “Xiang Kun, what is your relationship with President Chu?”

Having heard Chu Xiuwen’s version earlier, Xiang Kun stuck to that narrative, “We had dinner together once when I was in Tongshi Town with a mutual friend.”

Li Peiye nodded thoughtfully, guessing that Xiang Kun’s friend must be someone very impressive, for Chu Xiuwen’s attitude was likely due to Xiang Kun’s friend.

Xiang Kun harbored slight doubts too. He knew Chu Xiuwen would treat him politely due to Liu Feibao and Liu Caifu but his behavior today was notably different from their casual encounter yesterday.

Although in part it might be Chu Xiuwen being tactful by deliberately trying to “save face” for him in front of his classmates, Xiang Kun’s perceptive observational and sensorial ability permitted him to keenly feel that Chu Xiuwen was, more or less, subtly afraid of him, or should we say, in awe?

What could have been the reason for this?

His first thought was the doctor who was performing first aid on the old man at the bus station, the one who was in Chu Xiuwen’s car. Could the doctor have recognized him and told Chu Xiuwen about it?

But even if Chu Xiuwen knew that he might have contributed to the revival of the old man who fell ill at the bus station, this should not have been his attitude, right? This factor alone wasn’t significant enough to provoke such a response.

After toasting Xiang Kun, Chu Xiuwen returned to his seat, wondering if he had overreacted presently, he should not have overdone it, right? Though, some reactions were truly instinctive.

When a guest nearby asked curiously who was the person he toasted, he just casually replied with, “a friend I know,” with no intention to make further introductions.

Having perceived Xiang Kun’s face, he was compelled to think back to the evening on the 29th when he went to visit his father with Guo Lin. Guo Lin recounted the few things his father, Mr. Guo, had spoken about when he woke up.

At that time, Mr. Guo had mentioned that when he was unconscious, he “saw” a “gatekeeper” with many arms; he “saw” the entrance of another world, and he had felt extreme fear, a fear he had never felt before.

Neither Chu Xiuwen nor Guo Lin gave serious thought to Mr. Guo’s words, naturally assuming that the older man had some hallucinations after suffering a near-death experience, which they thought was understandable.

After Dr. Zhou Yiqing recognized Xiang Kun’s coat at the hospital gate yesterday, and Chu Xiuwen figured out the timing of Xiang Kun’s return to Citong, which was consistent, and speculated that Xiang Kun might have been the one who saved Mr. Guo at the bus station, he couldn’t help but think about what Liu Feibao had whispered while drinking with him privately.

Apparently, when Boss Qi bumped into Xiang Kun, he seemed shaken by something.

Regarding both Mr. Guo and Qi Haoguo, they are distinguished individuals who have been through storms, not easily intimidated or scared off by anything ordinary.

Could it be that they indeed saw something?

Furthermore, could it be Xiang Kun who enabled them to see those things?