Flowers of the Departed Souls - Chapter 42

Luo Yifu woke from her sleep, feeling as if a century had passed. She hadn’t slept so well in a long time. But when she opened her eyes, she saw Luo Jialiang looking at her with such concern. She shrieked, “Get away from me, you liar, you utterly wicked person!”

“Daughter, please let Dad explain. Didn’t I do everything for you all? I know I’ve done many bad things in my life and deserve to die, but I truly didn’t want to become like this.”

“Then tell me, what’s going on with this Taotie? And where’s my brother? Is he still alive? And what about the murders at the inn? Was it all you? Was it?!”

Luo Jialiang lowered his voice, trying to calm Luo Yifu, but the result was counterproductive. “Yifu, things are far more complicated than you imagine. You know, some things, even I am powerless to change.”

Luo Yifu sneered. “Even you are powerless? Then what about the Divine Bird Cult? What about that large grandfather clock in the village? I’ve always felt it was very strange; every time that bell chimed, something would happen in the village. And ever since you built the inn and that clock, the villagers have become like walking dead, lifeless. Did you control them with the bell? Tell me! And you only spared me and Luo Xiaofeng because you couldn’t bear to harm me, and Luo Xiaofeng had to manage the inn, so you had to keep her clear-headed. That’s why you didn’t lay a hand on us, isn’t it? I will no longer acknowledge you as my father, and I will never forgive you.”

Luo Jialiang covered his face. His expression was sorrowful and pained, as if these matters had nothing to do with him, yet he bore all the blame. Luo Yifu, meanwhile, grew increasingly furious the more she thought. She felt a fire raging in her heart, impossible to extinguish. That resentment made her suddenly pull out the dagger from Luo Jialiang’s body. Luo Jialiang’s face at this moment became even paler. “Tell me, did you kill my brother?”

“No, I didn’t—” Luo Jialiang roared. He suddenly grabbed Luo Yifu’s hand holding the dagger and fiercely plunged it into his own chest. Blood gushed out like a fountain. Luo Yifu, at this moment, was completely stunned by the sudden turn of events. After a long, long time, her tears gushed out, and she screamed, “Dad—!”

At this moment, Luo Jialiang’s expression suddenly became incredibly peaceful. Perhaps, for him, death was a true release. He stroked Luo Yifu’s hair. “Yifu, Dad has never done anything to betray you, truly. What I regret most is, twenty-five years ago, I stole this Taotie. At that time, it was purely out of curiosity for it, but that entire family died tragically because of it. For that, I’ve lived my whole life in self-reproach. Remember, whatever you do, don’t let Xiaojie snatch this Taotie… you absolutely must not…”

“What? You said Xiaojie…” Luo Jialiang nodded, but he no longer had the strength to speak. His lips moved, but nothing came out. His eyes were wide open, but he had already stopped breathing.

“Dad—!” Luo Yifu cried out, but he could no longer hear her calls. At this moment, Luo Yifu’s mother walked over. Her gaze was vacant, staring blankly at them, like a person in a dream. Even though her eyes were on her husband, Luo Jialiang, she didn’t realize he was already dead.

Luo Yifu desperately shook her mother, hoping to rouse her. These past few days, she felt she had been constantly dreaming. What on earth happened to all of this? Why did it turn out like this?

She threw herself into her mother’s arms and cried. Her mother merely stood there, blankly, as if she were already one of the walking dead. Luo Yifu could no longer bear it. She felt as if her entire being was a balloon inflated by pain, on the verge of bursting. She pushed her mother away and rushed out, running wildly. She didn’t know where she was going, just running frantically. She truly wished she could just run endlessly, running, leaving everything behind her, as if that way, she could return to her original self, a transparent and clear person.

After running for an unknown duration, she felt all her strength was exhausted. She finally couldn’t run anymore. As she gasped loudly, facing the sea, she realized she had almost run around the entire village. Now, she was by the sea, vomiting into the ocean, as if she could vomit out all the filth and evil in this world.

After a long while, Luo Yifu finally calmed down. Her sanity also returned, but the events in her mind still haunted her like a nightmare. She looked at the sea and the sky. The sky was azure and clear. A few cotton-like white clouds stuck to it like chewing gum, but with a clean meaning, reflected on the calm sea. The seawater also looked unusually blue. She suddenly remembered that it hadn’t rained for a while. For a time, Luo Yifu almost felt that this world was boundless darkness. She felt she hadn’t seen such sunlight in a long time. It was always that, even if the sun shone on her, her heart was still cold. But at this moment, looking at the unified color of the sea and sky, her heart felt a faint hint of comfort.

However, this feeling quickly vanished, because of the Departed Soul Flowers. These ghostly flowers emerged from the seawater near a cliff. This time, Luo Yifu saw their appearance clearly for the first time. That direction must be very close to Illusion Cliff. More precisely, it must be at the bottom of Illusion Cliff. Are they crazy, or has the whole world gone mad? Now, they were no longer appearing only when someone was about to die, as they usually did. Now they were appearing anytime, anywhere, with no rules whatsoever. This made Luo Yifu uneasy again. She thought carefully: that day, Ge Jianliang was sucked dry by the Departed Soul Flowers. And before that, these flowers never harmed people and were said to carry the souls of the departed to heaven. How could such a sacred thing become so evil? Yes, from the death of the first guest, everything became unpredictable; everything became malicious and mad.

Luo Yifu crouched behind the rocks, watching the flowers with a cold eye. The flowers were slowly spreading from the cliff’s edge in all directions, but this spread was not aimless; it was moving in one direction. Only then did Luo Yifu notice splashing water in the sea. It was two puppies playing in the water. They were completely unaware of the hauntingly beautiful danger lurking nearby. When they realized they were surrounded by these seemingly beautiful flowers, or when that chilling and frantic aura intimidated them, making them feel weak, and they frantically swam towards the shore, it was already too late. The Departed Soul Flowers, with a sudden, swift speed, pierced their petals into the puppies’ bodies like sharp swords. In just a few seconds, the two puppies, which had been lively moments ago, floated on the water like furry pelts.

Luo Yifu watched, terrified. Her forehead was covered in sweat. Just then, someone suddenly clutched her shoulder. She jumped, and extreme tension left her mind blank. After a long while, her dilated pupils returned to normal, and she recognized the person. “It’s you? Uncle Luo?”

Yes, it was indeed Luo Bozi, who had been out of sight these past few days.

“Yes, what are you doing here? What’s wrong, child?” Luo Yifu turned to look at the sea. The mysteriously appearing and disappearing flowers were gone. The sea was calm as before: blue sky, white clouds, the great sea, sunlight. Everything looked so beautiful, peaceful, and warm, except for the two dog corpses.

She suddenly burst into tears. “My dad, he died…”

Luo Bozi stared at her, his eyes filled with shock, though he still appeared expressionless.

“He, he committed suicide. He… wasn’t a good person…” Luo Yifu threw herself into Luo Bozi’s arms, crying loudly. At this moment, the depression in her heart finally found full release. She didn’t notice Luo Bozi mumbling as if in a dream, “Dead, dead, dead…”

Luo Yifu cried enough, then remembered something and said, “Uncle Luo, where have you been recently?”

Luo Bozi’s gaze flickered a bit. “I went to the city for a trip, saw my grandson, and just got back.”

“Oh?” Luo Bozi had descendants? She had never heard him mention it, or heard anyone else talk about it. But Luo Yifu wasn’t in the mood to ask these questions now, so she told him everything that had happened these past few days.

Luo Bozi frowned. “No wonder when I came back, I didn’t see a single person. Where did everyone go?”

Luo Yifu shook her head. “I don’t know. I was knocked unconscious after someone covered my nose with a damp cloth at the scene. When I woke up, I found myself at home, with only my father, and my mother acting like she was sleepwalking. Those people, those people…” Luo Yifu’s voice suddenly quickened. “Were the villagers killed by those people working for my dad?”

“No, don’t think wild thoughts. Your father wouldn’t be that brutal.” Luo Yifu looked at Luo Bozi with a bit of confusion, as if he knew her father better than she did. Luo Bozi seemed unwilling to discuss the matter further. “Maybe they’ll all return safe and sound in a day or two.”

“Then are they trapped somewhere?”

Luo Bozi sighed, saying nothing more. Luo Yifu stared at the empty field. “There’s someone there.”

Indeed, a figure appeared on the coastline, running towards them. Getting closer and closer, Luo Yifu shouted, “It’s Sister! Sister! I’m here!”

It was Luo Xiaofeng, who had just escaped from that terrifying living hell and arrived here. Her emotions at this moment were almost identical to Luo Yifu’s. “Thank heavens! Finally, I see someone! God, the entire village, I didn’t see a single person. It’s too terrifying, Yifu. How could this happen?”

Luo Yifu shook her head. “I also want to know why.”

Luo Bozi said, “Don’t think about that. Let’s go back and bury your father’s body first, let him rest in peace. Whatever your father did in life, now, he can do nothing.”

Luo Xiaofeng stared at them, but she didn’t seem surprised. In her heart, she had already cursed her uncle, Luo Jialiang, to death hundreds, thousands of times. So, his death, she felt, was his just deserts. However, his death didn’t make them feel that the entire incident had ended. They always felt that all the eerie things were still hidden in the mist; nothing had surfaced yet.

At this moment, Luo Xiaofeng glanced at Luo Yifu. Both of them had a shared, unspoken thought: Could there be a huge conspiracy here, or perhaps even more unimaginable unknown horrors?

However, no one spoke. They continued to walk in silence on the path back to the village.