Strange Fruit

Shi Zhu left the Garrison, his heart heavy. His first stop was Wei Dayong's home. Pushing open the loosely shut courtyard gate, he saw Sister Xu sitting alone in the yard, staring blankly at an empty chicken coop. Her eyes were red and swollen, her expression haggard.

"Sister-in-law!" Shi Zhu hurried forward. "Brother Wei went out last night and still hasn't returned? Head Wang is also missing. Commander Chen sent me to find them. Do you have any news?"

Sister Xu looked up at the sound, as if grasping at a life-saving straw. She quickly stood up. "Brother Shi Zhu! Dayong... he went out last night following some strange smoke from burning incense, saying he was going to find a way to save Lingling. But he hasn't been heard from since! My heart..." Her voice choked, unable to continue.

Shi Zhu's brows furrowed, his ominous premonition growing stronger. He instinctively glanced into the house, wanting to see Lingling's condition and comfort Sister Xu. But as he looked, he suddenly froze.

He saw the girl, Lingling, peeking out from the doorway of the inner room with half her body, timidly looking outside. What shocked Shi Zhu wasn't her appearance, but her condition! The girl who had been on the verge of death and pale-faced last night now had an unnaturally, strangely rosy glow to her face. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were eerily bright, as if... as if she were an overripe fruit, exuding a strangely healthy vitality.

"Lingling..." Shi Zhu began hesitantly.

Sister Xu followed his gaze, her worried expression deepening. She said in a low voice, "Yes, that's the strange part. Just before dawn, she suddenly stopped convulsing, her fever broke, and she got up on her own to say she wanted water. Her complexion improved, but my heart... feels even more panicked! This recovery is too unnatural!"

Shi Zhu's heart trembled violently. This was no ordinary illness! "Sister-in-law, don't worry for now. Keep a close eye on Lingling. I'll go look elsewhere. I'll tell you immediately if I find anything!" Shi Zhu suppressed the storm in his heart, offered a hurried word of comfort, and turned to leave.

Shi Zhu no longer hesitated. He ran at full speed towards the desolate area west of the city, charging into that desolate, strange-smelling area and heading straight for Madman Xu's dilapidated courtyard with its crooked gate. He didn't bother with formalities and pushed open the loosely shut wooden door.

Inside the courtyard, Madman Xu was squatting on the ground, staring blankly at a clay pot bubbling with thick green bubbles. He held an iron rod, stirring it occasionally. A pungent odor assaulted his nostrils. Hearing the commotion, he didn't look up and said in a hoarse voice, "What's the rush? Is the sky falling?"

"Old Xu!" Shi Zhu panted, hurrying forward. "Something big has happened! Big Brother Wei went out last night following some kind of Soul Guiding Incense to find a way to save Lingling and hasn't returned! Head Wang is also missing! And, that girl Lingling... she, she suddenly got better, unnaturally better! Her face is pale with a rosy hue, like, like a ripe fruit! What on earth is going on?"

Madman Xu's stirring motion with the clay pot suddenly stopped. He slowly raised his head, a sharp glint flashing in his cloudy eyes as he stared intently at Shi Zhu. "Soul Guiding Incense? Like a ripe fruit? Are you sure?"

"Absolutely! I saw it with my own eyes!" Shi Zhu said urgently. "Old Xu, what's going on? Could Big Brother Wei have..."

Madman Xu put down the iron rod and slowly stood up. He paced a few steps in the courtyard with his hunched back. The manic look on his face faded, replaced by a rare solemnity and... a hint of imperceptible coldness.

"Heh... Soul Guiding Incense points the way, a strange illness suddenly cured, a face like an exotic fruit..." he muttered, then suddenly looked at Shi Zhu, his voice hoarse and urgent. "Kid, listen carefully. That girl isn't better, she's been fed!"

"Fed?" Shi Zhu blinked, not understanding.

"Those who inflict Nightmares steal the vital energy, spirit, and essence of living beings through dark arts, with children being the preferred target. Those who are stolen from will gradually wither away until their life force is exhausted," Madman Xu spoke rapidly. "But there's an exception. When a close relative of the victim, especially one connected by blood and with deep obsession, voluntarily steps into the sorcerer's territory, their flesh, blood, and soul become even more nourishing bait, instantly devoured by whatever is behind the dark arts!"

He paused, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. "After devouring such a rich meal, the dark arts will be temporarily satiated. It will then send back a trace of residual energy to the original victim, making them appear healthy in a final burst of vitality. But this health won't last long. When the dark arts finish digesting, or when they need more sustenance..."

Madman Xu didn't finish, but Shi Zhu's entire body turned cold, his face turning pale. "You, you mean... Big Brother Wei... he's already..." He couldn't bear to think about it.

"Most likely, he's fallen, become meat on someone's chopping block," Madman Xu sighed, shaking his head. "As for that brat Wang Quan, I don't know."

Shi Zhu felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, his hands and feet growing cold. He forced himself to calm down, cupped his fists, and said, "Old Xu, what should I do now? Commander Chen is still waiting for news."

"Report truthfully," Madman Xu squatted down again, picking up the iron rod to stir the green soup, resuming his eccentric demeanor as if the previous solemnity was just an illusion. "As for Scarface Chen... he knows better than anyone." He let out a few strange chuckles and ignored Shi Zhu any further.

Shi Zhu dared not delay. He took a deep look at Madman Xu, then turned and rushed out of the small courtyard, heading back to the Garrison as quickly as possible.

Inside the guardhouse next to the training grounds, the oil lamp cast a dim light. Commander Chen was still hunched over, sitting behind the worn wooden desk, slowly and intently wiping his long, narrow saber.

Shi Zhu pushed the door open. Before he could catch his breath, he reported Wei Dayong's disappearance, Lingling's strange recovery, and Madman Xu's words verbatim, including Madman Xu's final, pointed remark.

Commander Chen's saber-wiping motion didn't falter in the slightest. He didn't even lift his eyelids. After Shi Zhu finished speaking, a dead silence fell over the guardhouse, broken only by the rustling sound of coarse cloth against the blade.

After a long while, so long that Shi Zhu almost thought Commander Chen had fallen asleep, he heard an extremely faint, almost inaudible sigh.

Commander Chen slowly raised his head. His cloudy eyes looked at Shi Zhu in the flickering lamplight. There was no surprise in them, only a deep, bottomless weariness and a resolve that Shi Zhu couldn't comprehend.

"I know," Commander Chen's voice was hoarse and flat, as if he had just heard a trivial matter. "You can go. Tonight... be vigilant."

Shi Zhu opened his mouth, wanting to ask something more, but seeing Commander Chen's dismissive posture and the unquestionable coldness in his eyes, he could only swallow his words, bow with cupped fists, and silently withdraw from the guardhouse.

Inside the guardhouse, Commander Chen stopped wiping his saber. He reached out his rough fingers and gently traced the cold edge of the blade. The lamplight cast his shadow on the wall, stretching it long and distorted.

He remained in this pose, motionless, like a clay sculpture. Until the flame of the oil lamp suddenly flared, creating a brief burst of light, and the illumination flickered violently.

Commander Chen's fingertip pressed lightly against the blade, and a drop of crimson blood seeped out. He looked at the blood, and in his cloudy eyes, something finally turned completely cold.