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"What did you just say?" Hu Fang asked in surprise. I emphasized my words and repeated, "I, the Death Apostle, will not die."
"Shen, do you know something? Why are you so sure Mr. Death will be fine?" Meng Zhuang asked, confused.
"Because from the moment he sent me back to remove the mark, it was a ploy he set up. I initially thought it was orchestrated by an organization, but now that I think about it, if it were the organization I suspect, why would they want to harm the Death Apostle? Even if they had a deep-seated grudge against him, it wouldn't make sense to strike when everyone is gathered together. So I suspect this is another one of the Death Apostle's schemes."
After listening to my musings, Hu Fang frowned. "What organization? What scheme? What have you discovered?" Meng Zhuang chimed in, "Yeah, Shen, can you be a bit clearer?"
"The situation is too complicated; I can't explain it all in a few sentences..." Before I could finish my sentence, the emergency room door suddenly swung open, and doctors and nurses hurriedly wheeled the Death Apostle's bed out.
The Death Apostle lay motionless on the bed, his eyes tightly shut and his face pale, covered with a white sheet marked with a red cross. He was pushed into the emergency room without moving.
Seeing this, Meng Zhuang rushed forward and grabbed a bespectacled doctor. "Doctor! How is Mr. Death?!"
The doctor brushed Meng Zhuang's hand away. "He has been stabilized for now, but he is not out of danger yet. We are taking him to the Intensive Care Unit." With that, the doctor continued pushing the bed away.
"He won't die; don't worry..." I patted Meng Zhuang's shoulder and walked towards Li Zhisheng's hospital room.
As soon as I entered, Yao Long asked with concern, "What happened to Mr. Death? Is he okay?!"
"Don't worry; he's fine now. He has been stabilized and is currently in the Intensive Care Unit."
Upon hearing this, Yao Long struggled to get up from the bed, gritting his teeth. "I want to see him!"
I quickly stepped forward to support him with a somewhat unusual tone. "He has great fortune; he will surely turn this crisis into safety." With that, I helped Yao Long back onto the bed.
Li Zhisheng picked up on my words and cleverly asked me, "So, did someone send the Death Apostle into the ICU?" He deliberately emphasized the words "sent someone."
I immediately caught on to his insinuation and replied, "Yes. Can you move now? Do you want to go see him?"
Yao Long grew anxious upon hearing that I was going to take Li Zhisheng but not him. "No! I want to go too!"
I pressed down on his shoulder firmly. "Li Zhisheng only has one injured foot and can barely move, but you're hurt all over. You should take it easy."
With that, I slowly helped Li Zhisheng to get up and out of bed. As we limped out of the hospital room, I closed the door behind us.
Once outside, Li Zhisheng asked, "What’s going on? Is there something wrong with the Death Apostle?"
"You guessed it right..." I helped him sit on a bench in the corridor. "Do you remember how the Death Apostle told me to hurry back because many ghosts were released in Onizuka?"
Li Zhisheng nodded. "Yeah, I remember. Isn't that also a way for you to get rid of the mark on your hand? What's wrong with that?"
"That's true, but after I returned, I ran into someone—someone you would never expect."
"Who?"
"Gu Kai!"
"You still went to look for him despite the Death Apostle's warning?!" Li Zhisheng exclaimed in surprise.
"No, I didn't go looking for him; he came looking for me..." I then recounted everything about Gu Kai to Li Zhisheng.
After listening, Li Zhisheng glanced around. "So, Gu Kai told you that among us, someone has ulterior motives?"
"Exactly. I think that's what he meant. But that's not enough for me to suspect the Death Apostle since he entered the Cursed Realm with us and even helped us."
"What other reasons do you have to doubt him?" Li Zhisheng asked.
"Look at this..." I handed him the cane I found in the hospital room along with the photos I received. "At first, when I saw these two items, I thought there might be a large organization monitoring my every move. But when I encountered another thing, I realized I might have been wrong..." Then, I told him about discovering the body in detail.
"Wait, I think your deduction might be flawed..." Li Zhisheng said thoughtfully. "While your reasoning makes sense—he is the only one among us who could have such manpower—have you considered why he would do this? It wouldn't benefit him at all."
"Go down..." I frowned as I looked at him.
Li Zhisheng continued, "You see, his goal is clearly the Soul Sealing Talisman, and the current situation is that Gu Kai is also targeting the Death Apostle. If he loses your trust again, wouldn't he be in a position of being attacked from both sides? So, such a clumsy self-frame-up, I don't think it was done by the Death Apostle. And when Gu Kai told you that the Death Apostle lied, it might just refer to the Box incident."
"Then how do you explain this staff and photo?" I questioned.
"This staff is extremely similar to the one the Death Apostle used before, the one kept at home. They are almost identical; the only difference is that this staff is intact. However, both are made from the same precious wood. Even without this dragon pattern, just this piece of wood alone is worth a fortune, not to mention the exquisite carving. I even feel that both staffs were crafted by the same person."
Hearing this, I quickly interjected, "So if we find the craftsman who made this staff, wouldn't that mean we could uncover many clues?"
Li Zhisheng nodded. "Yes, that's what it means. But where in this vast sea of people do we look? As for this photo..." He flipped through the photo in his hand and said, "This photo seems somewhat familiar to me, and these words on the back..."
"You don't need to feel familiar; I've had an identical one before. I believe this item was also crafted by the same person. I just don't understand why he wrote this passage. If it was simply to tell me that breaking Onizuka would lead to a way to lift the seal, there would be no need for such elaborate measures..." I pointed at the three lines of text on the back of the photo.
Li Zhisheng read aloud: "To Obtain the Box, First Break the Tomb, Then Unseal the Mark." He added, "I think this might not be so simple. However, I believe I know something now..."
Seeing his silence, I hurriedly pressed on, "Don't tease me with suspense! Just tell me what you're thinking!"
The Death Apostle glanced at me with a smile and said, "Who’s teasing you? I'm just thinking... My idea is that those eighteen corpses are related to this photo and staff. Gu Kai's situation with you might be a different matter altogether. As for the Death Apostle, I think he’s eager for you to return for another reason, but we'll only know once he wakes up. Regarding the corpse you discovered in the hospital with Meng Zhuang, it’s likely connected to that organization you initially speculated about."
After listening to Li Zhisheng's analysis, I pondered for a moment and realized it made sense. "Perhaps I've let my emotions cloud my judgment. But if this harmful person isn't the Death Apostle, does that mean he is actually a victim? Is that malicious person still hiding among us?" The thought sent chills down my spine.
If there were a way to know who it was, I wouldn't fear confronting them. What terrified me was knowing there was a 'ghost' nearby while being unable to identify who that 'ghost' truly was.
Noticing my deep contemplation, Li Zhisheng said, "I know what you're thinking; it's also what I'm worried about. But right now we don't have a better way to respond. Besides, most of those capable of fighting are injured, and your Void Spirit has been sealed. If danger truly arises..."
Seeing him fall silent made me frown as plans began forming in my mind...
Suddenly, an idea struck me: "I've got it!"
"What’s going on?!" At that moment, I heard the voices of Hu Fang and Meng Zhuang. It turned out they had been quietly listening from the beginning. I was so focused on my discussion with Li Zhisheng that I hadn’t even noticed them.
I was startled by their sudden voices and patted my chest. "Don’t scare me like that! If a ghost doesn’t get me, you two will!"
Hu Fang ignored my comment and quickly asked, "Do you have any ideas?"
"Now that you all know, I won’t hide it anymore. To be straightforward, everyone present could be a suspect, including myself. So we need to cooperate..."
I paused for a moment and continued, "Since we all have suspicions, we should monitor each other. If anyone notices something unusual, those capable of fighting should act immediately. If you can’t fight, just turn around and run. There’s one more thing you all know: when my Void Spirit is sealed, I gain a precognitive ability to sense danger. However, this ability only triggers when I encounter danger. So when I tell you there’s danger, don’t hesitate—run!"
Meng Zhuang scratched his head. "That doesn’t seem too good either. What if it’s you, Shen, who has a problem and is deliberately misleading us?"
I nodded. "You make a valid point. Here’s what we’ll do: let’s split into pairs, and each pair will come up with a unique signal method. We’ll use this method to distinguish between true and false." With that, the four of us began to form pairs.
I teamed up with Meng Zhuang while Hu Fang paired with Li Zhisheng. Just as everyone was pondering what signals to use, Li Zhisheng suddenly said, "Wait a minute! There’s still one person—what about Yao Long?"
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