Chapter 74: The Man Who Loves to Walk Alone

The east was aglow with a magnificent dawn. The morning light gently unveiled the day. Inside the hospital room, Xiao Yu shifted his gaze back from the window to the hospital bed. A man was restrained on the bed, unconscious.

Lu Jinyan, male, 40 years old, a local…

The national security and police had already begun an investigation to screen for suspicious individuals. Lu Jinyan’s blood sample had been sent to a specialized agency for analysis. Xiao Yu didn’t expect any significant findings. The drug found in Lu Jinyan’s system was a new drug.

Each new drug introduced was a novelty in the pharmaceutical world. Similar to a photolithography machine—knowing what it was didn’t mean one could replicate it. Sometimes, analyzing a drug could be even more challenging than deciphering the complexities of a photolithography machine.

Ding! His phone chimed with a notification. It was a message on WeChat.

Mu Qingwu: Are you busy?

Seeing the message, warmth flooded Xiao Yu’s heart. His wife was always considerate, rarely interrupting him. Unless… she missed him.

Xiao Yu: All good, I’m at XXXX Hospital.

Mu Qingwu: Huh?

Xiao Yu: I’m here for an investigation.

Mu Qingwu: Have you eaten?

Xiao Yu: Not yet.

Mu Qingwu: Wait for me.

The chat ended.

“Still so bossy,” Xiao Yu muttered, setting down his phone with a smile.

For many guys, perhaps girls who were playful, a bit sassy, and not overly smart were popular. But in reality, it was those bossy, knowledgeable, and subtly seductive women who were truly fatal to men.

Twenty minutes later a sports car stopped outside the hospital. Mu Qingwu, dressed in sportswear and carrying a bag of food, walked toward Xiao Yu, who was waiting at the entrance. Despite her delicate, fairy-like appearance, her figure was tantalizingly witch-like.

Watching his sister approach, Xiao Yu thought to himself, ‘With that figure, it’d be something to see her dance to Pure Land of Bliss.’

The couple sat on the steps outside the hospital. 

Xiao Yu, juggling a bowl of soft tofu and a fried dough stick, spoke with his mouth full, “Sister, I might be quite busy these next few days.”

“Um.” Mu Qingwu’s serene face, her eyes clear like a pool in late autumn, conveyed reassurance, “It’s okay.”

“Did your aunt leave?” Xiao Yu blinked, looking pitifully at his sister.

With cheeks blushing, Mu Qingwu scolded softly, “Eat your food properly.”

“Sister, I’m in a hurry.” Xiao Yu’s expression was serious.

“What’s the hurry?” Mu Qingwu was visibly puzzled.

“Every boy dreams of a certain tree-lined path, frosted in the mornings and at dusk,” Xiao Yu said earnestly. “To walk it alone.”

Mu Qingwu, “???”

‘What is my brother talking about? Why can’t I understand?’

Xiao Yu chuckled quietly and continued to eat his breakfast quickly. 

‘If sister understood, would she kill me?’

As she was about to leave, seated in her car, Mu Qingwu pondered over Xiao Yu’s words.

What did he mean?

She shook her head, preparing to drive off.

Wait… drive?

A realization dawned on Mu Qingwu as she reconsidered Xiao Yu’s words. Instantly, her face flushed with a mix of shyness and annoyance.

“Naughty brother, you just wait!”

***

Xiao Yu hurried toward the hospital ward after receiving a call from Wang Dong that Lu Jinyan had awakened. 

As he approached the bed and saw Lu Jinyan’s face contorted in fear and pain, Xiao Yu paused in shock. The man lying before him showed no signs of the madness observed the previous night. He seemed completely transformed.

Remembering the disturbing behavior captured on the surveillance video, where Lu Jinyan had resembled a zombie in a feeding frenzy, and now seeing his current docile and frightened demeanor, Xiao Yu found the contrast eerie.

Standing at the bedside, Xiao Yu looked intently at Lu Jinyan. 

“Do you remember anything from last night?” he asked.

Lu Jinyan’s mouth, no longer sealed with tape, opened as if to speak, but his expression was one of terror. No words came out.

“The patient’s mental state seems unstable. He must have experienced some kind of shock,” said a doctor in a white coat.

“Shock?” Xiao Yu mused. 

It was indeed a profound disturbance.

Movies often depicted amnesia with ease, but in reality, normal human actions were almost entirely controlled by the brain.

When the brain is active, the memories it forms are not quickly forgotten. Even though Lu Jinyan was clearly unwell yesterday, if his body was functioning normally, his brain would be active. He would definitely remember.

Why was he so terrified?

Imagine if you had a dream in which you turned into a psychopath and ate your own hand. Upon waking, you discover your hand really was gone. It wasn’t a dream after all. What would you feel?

“Do you realize what you did last night?” Xiao Yu asked again.

“…”

After a long pause, Lu Jinyan, his face ghostly pale, nodded.

“Why would you do that?” Xiao Yu pressed on.

“I…” Lu Jinyan stammered, “I don’t know.”

He clearly didn’t know. If he had, no sane person would eat themselves.

“Don’t worry,” Xiao Yu said, his expression brightening into a reassuring smile. “It might be some strange illness, but fortunately, we caught it in time. It won’t happen again.”

“Really?”

A lot of the panic faded from Lu Jinyan’s face.

“Tell me about what happened yesterday,” Xiao Yu said, his smile deepening. “For example, what did you do after work? You remember, right?”

“I remember,” Lu Jinyan nodded. “Yesterday, after finishing work, I went home. I had dinner with my wife and kids as usual, then went downstairs to smoke. After smoking two cigarettes, I was about to go back home, but instead… I found myself going back inside, grabbing my toolbox, and then I walked out the door.”

Xiao Yu’s pupils dilated briefly. 

“Wait, tell me about when you went downstairs to smoke. Did anything happen?”

“Something happened?” Lu Jinyan looked puzzled.

“Like, did you meet anyone, encounter anything unusual, hear music?” Xiao Yu pressed, each word deliberate.

“People? Things?” Lu Jinyan’s eyes brightened as he recalled, “Yes, there was music. I saw a child playing with a music box. The music was very pleasant and soothing. Oh, right, when I heard that music, I felt unusually relaxed and happy.”

A flash of cold light flickered in Xiao Yu’s eyes as he glanced at Wang Dong. Wang Dong turned and left.

“What music was it?” Xiao Yu pressed Lu Jinyan.

“I don’t know, but it was very pleasant,” Lu Jinyan responded with a shake of his head.

‘You don’t know?’ 

A thought sparked in Xiao Yu’s mind. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an MP5 player, then turned it on to play the music.

The soft, melodious tune began to play. Lu Jinyan on the hospital bed froze in surprise. But soon after, his eyes slowly narrowed, and within less than ten seconds, his expression transformed dramatically. An indescribable madness and agitation surfaced on his face.

“Ah~” Lu Jinyan suddenly screamed like a wild beast.

Xiao Yu, looking at the MP5 in his hand, wore a complex expression.

Two doctors rushed in, restraining Lu Jinyan and administering an injection. Soon, Lu Jinyan weakened and drifted into unconsciousness.

It was confirmed. Xiao Yu’s expression turned cold as ice.

It was hypnosis!