Lighter

Lanlan's tears stopped abruptly. Ma Yibing tensed up again.

"It disappeared." I glanced at the others in the ward and said in a low voice.

The three who didn't see that scene gasped.

"Qi Ge, is the disappearance you're talking about the one I'm thinking of?" Fatty asked.

I nodded affirmatively.

The doctor came over, examined Lu Manning, and then scolded us for fooling around before taking the patient with a broken leg out.

The woman in the same room tried to explain to us, but her face turned pale mid-sentence.

Seeing her expression, I knew she probably suddenly remembered that Lu Manning had surgery and had a steel plate inserted. Then, she connected it with Lu Manning walking out in a kimono and got scared.

Seeing that the woman had nothing more to say, the doctor continued to scold us, "What did you do to her? Why is her physical condition so bad?"

"It was our fault. How is she now?" I skipped the question.

"We need to observe her," the doctor was unsure. "We'll take an X-ray after she wakes up to see if there are any problems with the wound."

We also wanted to wait for Lu Manning to wake up and ask about the kimono. But we ended up waiting all afternoon, and Lu Manning didn't wake up. She was barely breathing, growing weaker and weaker.

Seeing the situation was bad, the doctor quickly pushed Lu Manning for an examination and called the school and her family.

Lu Manning's hometown was not in Minqing City. Her parents had visited when she had the car accident, but they had returned not long ago. This gave us some room to maneuver, otherwise, her parents would definitely blame us, and beating us up would be too light a punishment. Ma Yibing was the most panicked.

The woman in the next bed, seeing that Lu Manning was still not waking up, left the ward in a panic, without even packing her belongings. I didn't know if she had fled the hospital or gone to another room to make do.

We were all anxious, but there was nothing we could do.

"We have to find that kimono, right?" Fatty said.

"Where can we find it?" Skinny took out a cigarette, looked at the no-smoking sign in the corridor, and then pinched it out.

"I... I really burned the clothes, there's nothing left," Lanlan said dejectedly.

"It was really burned. Someone saw it, and the clothes are indeed gone," Ma Yibing echoed, his eyes vacant.

"Let's go look for it," I said, looking at everyone. "Either at school, or... we'll have to go find Chen Xiaoqiu."

Lanlan jumped up. "Cousin!"

"A Rui, you go with Ma Yibing to the school to look," I said to Skinny. Then I looked at Guo Yujie and Lanlan. "You two go check on Chen Xiaoqiu."

"Are we staying here?" Fatty asked.

"Da Guang, you stay here and keep an eye on Lu Manning." I let out a heavy sigh. "I'm going to Qingye."

"Huh?" Skinny and the other two widened their eyes. Ma Yibing and Lanlan didn't know what "Qingye" was and looked at me curiously.

"I'll go see if they have any solutions," I said.

They thought I was going to search the archives for clues.

"Can you do it alone?" Guo Yujie asked. "Why don't I help you look?"

"No need," I refused.

Guo Yujie was also worried about Lanlan going to see Chen Xiaoqiu alone, so she didn't bring it up again.

We split up. Because it involved the lives of two people, except for Ma Yibing, who was a bit timid, everyone else had a tense expression on their faces. At this time, we couldn't spare any extra thought to doubt the authenticity of the supernatural events, nor could we think of any effective way to deal with the kimono. We could only do our best and leave the rest to fate.

I went to the Qingye Agency. As I reached the sixth floor, I still felt a chill. The creaking sound of the door opening echoed in the hallway. I took a deep breath and stepped into the agency, but I wasn't there to look for archives like Skinny and the others thought.

I closed the door behind me, gradually adjusted to the darkness in the room, walked to the sofa, and slowly sat down.

The sofa groaned, sounding particularly jarring in the silent room.

The sofa opposite me was empty, and the coffee table was bare. There was no one, and no recording pen. Other than that, it should have been the same as when the people from Qingye were here. Their clients would sit where I was sitting and recount their terrifying experiences.

In the darkness, I spoke, "Do you remember the 'Shadow Follower' incident? The client was a girl named Zheng Xiaorui. You obtained a kimono from her, and the file stated that you burned it. That kimono has now appeared at the Drama Academy. No, it shouldn't be 'now'; it's been appearing for several years. Anyone who wears this kimono will die within two years. Zheng Xiaorui also died, a year after you resolved that incident. I... I saw two figures in the photo of the kimono you took, standing under a cherry blossom tree. That might have been my imagination, but today, a girl burned the kimono, yet it appeared on the girl who wore it. I saw not two, but five people under that cherry blossom tree, all wearing this kimono and moving. I think this kimono is killing people."

I summarized the key points of the situation and stared fixedly at the air. "Do you have a way to resolve it? My colleague and another girl have both worn this kimono, and they are in great danger now, their bodies very weak. Perhaps it's what you call a weak yang energy, or perhaps it's other means of the kimono."

There was no sound in the room.

I waited for a while, feeling a bit disappointed. I couldn't sit still and stood up, entering the office behind.

The filing cabinet stood quietly. The room was still the same, with nothing unusual.

Last time... was it my imagination?

I called out, "Ye Qing?"

No response.

"Liu Miao?"

Still no response.

I thought for a moment, "Mushroom? Ling?"

These were the four names I knew, but after calling them out, there was still no movement in the agency.

I gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Did I really think I suddenly had a heavenly eye and could communicate with spirits?

I opened the door and left, wondering where I could find monks, Taoist priests, or spirit mediums late at night.

Just as I was about to close the door, I suddenly heard a noise from inside the office.

Clatter...

I saw a light flash across the floor, moving from the office all the way to the main entrance. The object spun around, stopping precisely on the line between the inside and outside of the door, abruptly halting as if pressed against an invisible wall. I clearly saw its true form.

A lighter.

My heart pounded. I looked up at the office, but no one was there. My body stiffened as I picked up the lighter. It was cold to the touch, a real object. As I stood up, the office door slammed shut in front of me, nearly hitting my nose.

Cold sweat dripped down my forehead. The lighter was still in my hand, clutched tightly.

Not an illusion! Not a dream!

My phone rang. I answered it with a trembling hand.

"Brother Qi! We found it! The kimono is at the drama club! Right at the drama club!"

I stared intently at the closed door in front of me.

The note from the police station was still on it, adding a touch of life to the door.

"Come to Qingye," I told Skinny. "Bring the clothes, and buy an iron bucket and some oil. Come to the Qingye office. We'll burn it here!"