Another Mysterious Call
Click, click, click.
A sound came from the darkness.
Soft rustling sounds.
The subtle, chaotic noises never ceased.
The Larkspur stood in an empty hall, looking around with a somewhat bewildered expression.
Why am I here?
She felt her memory was somewhat hazy and her consciousness was not very clear, as if she were in a dream, but the sensations were so real.
Taking a step forward, the crisp sound of heels hitting the ground echoed in all directions, the invisible sound waves turning into reverberations that dispersed the chaotic noises.
After a brief silence, a murmur of whispers filled the air.
The Larkspur couldn't discern the source of the voices; they seemed to be composed of men and women, young and old, but the only thing they had in common was that they were all laughing.
The snickers mingled with the echoes of footsteps, overlapping and repeating, gradually growing sharper until they formed a piercing noise.
The noise kept swirling and rising, relentlessly assaulting her ears, as if trying to puncture the Larkspur's eardrums, causing her a severe headache.
The real pain made Larkspur frown, and she subconsciously used Spell Formula to try and block out the sound. However, as she began to move, the piercing sound disappeared.
The echoes, the voices, the laughter—all vanished as if they had never existed. Everything returned to its beginning, leaving only a chaotic and faint murmur in the darkness.
What exactly was that sound?
The Larkspur was somewhat confused.
Just as she was about to continue forward to investigate, a light suddenly appeared in her sight.
A blinding light shone from behind her, casting her long shadow on the ground in front of her. She could see her slightly swaying skirt in the shadow, and she could see Bonette, projected as a complete circle. Without a doubt, that complete human figure was herself.
That shadow that belonged to her stood quietly in the same spot, just like her.
What kind of light is this?
She tried to use her sluggish consciousness to think, but her thoughts felt like a clump of glue, completely unable to move. Doubt arose in her mind, Larkspur wanted to turn around, but found that the shadow in her line of sight had suddenly changed.
Abruptly, in the blink of an eye, as if several frames had been removed from the video, another dark shadow overlapping with her appeared. After that, the shadow flickered and swayed, but with the flickering, it gradually unfolded itself.
Something appeared behind me.
The Larkspur realized this.
But she couldn't turn back.
Every hair on her body stood on end in that instant, her limbs became incredibly cold and stiff, and her inner instincts kept telling her not to turn around.
At that very moment, the shadow that had been covering the Larkspur finally took shape amidst the flickering light, appearing clearly before the Larkspur's eyes.
It was an insect with its wings outstretched.
Or, to be more precise in terms of its shape, it was a moth.
At that moment, the Larkspur finally realized that those faint and chaotic sounds were already very close to its ears.
She raised her hand and looked down at her arm—
--[Dear passengers, please note that this journey has now ended. You have arrived at your destination, Fangting City.]
"... Hoo, ha!"
Taking a deep breath, Lin Yun suddenly opened her eyes and sat up straight from her seat.
He subconsciously caught his breath for a moment, then looked around blankly, only to find himself in an unfamiliar cabin.
The noisy surroundings and the announcements overhead gradually reminded him of where he was—he was on Landship, on his way back to Fangting City from Bai'an City.
"Did I fall asleep?"
Muttering to himself, he turned his head to look at the porthole beside him and saw his face faintly reflected in the gleaming glass. Only then did he realize that his forehead was covered in cold sweat.
It seems I just had a nightmare.
Lin Yun was only able to confirm this now.
He took his phone out of his pocket, checked the time, and found two missed calls in the message section. One was from Lin Xiaolu, and the other was from an unknown number.
He unlocked his screen, opened the messages, and saw a message Lin Xiaolu had left for him. "[What time will you be home tonight?]"
This girl actually knows how to care about this?
Lin Yun couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.
You see, he's not back in Fangting City as Larkspur, but as Lin Yun, to celebrate the holiday. Although his relationship with Lin Xiaolu has improved considerably, they still often don't have much in common. The fact that his daughter sent him such a message in advance shows how much she cares.
Feeling somewhat relieved, his expression softened slightly, and he typed in the message box: [Back in an hour.]
This was something that had been planned long ago, since today is the Full Moon Festival.
Several days earlier, Lin Xiaolu had messaged her father and Larkspur to ask if they would be coming back on the holiday.
She didn't know that both of these messages were ultimately presented to the same person, and the difference in tone between them made Lin Yun smile wryly.
However, he ultimately did not agree to the holiday request using the identity of Larkspur. Of the two messages Lin Xiaolu sent, he only gave a positive reply to one of them, which was the one sent to Lin Yun.
As for Larkspur, he declined the offer, saying that the investigation was not yet over and he was too busy.
There were reasons for making this choice. The main reason was that Lin Yun still wanted to spend the Full Moon Festival with his daughter as a father, even though he knew that Lin Xiaolu might prefer to be with Larkspur.
For the people of Eastern Hua Prefecture, the Full Moon Festival is a festival with special symbolic meaning, emphasizing the reunion of blood relatives.
Perhaps it would be easier for him to communicate with his daughter as Larkspur on ordinary days, but the Full Moon Festival is different. This is a festival that should belong to the family, and regardless of their wishes, he should spend it with his daughter as a father. This is not only his personal feelings, but also an explanation of their relationship.
Another reason was that, given it was a rare holiday, he didn't want to waste any more energy on the brain-teasing identity game.
His investigation in Bai'an City took up a lot of his energy, and the aftereffects of overexerting his magic power in the battle with the spider had not yet been relieved, causing him to experience occasional migraines.
All Lin Yun wants now is to go home and enjoy a peaceful holiday, finding a moment of tranquility for herself.
After replying to Lin Xiaolu's message, he followed the other passengers out of the Landship and officially set foot on the soil of Fangting City. During this time, he also checked his call log, went through the missed calls, and dialed back the unfamiliar phone number.
Unfortunately, no one answered the phone.
Just as he thought it was just a wrong number or a silly prank, and put his phone down, he suddenly felt the vibration of an incoming call.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the unfamiliar phone number.
After answering the call, Lin Yun held the phone to her ear and asked with some confusion, "Hello, who is this?"
The hissing sound coming from the other end of the call made him catch his breath.
He remembered the voice. And the other person's next words seemed to be on the tip of his tongue.
"... careful."
As the voice rang out, Lin Yun felt as if she had returned to five months ago, to the time when she first learned that Lin Xiaolu had become a magical girl.
The same unknown number, the same indistinct voice, and the same warning, "Be careful."
Despite being surrounded by a noisy and bustling crowd, he felt as if he had suddenly fallen into an ice cave, as if all the excitement had become irrelevant to him.
"... It's you?" Realizing the purpose of the call, he immediately asked in a deep voice, "What's going on? Who are you? And what's going to happen?"
Hiss.
"Hello?"
"Watch out tonight... hiss."
The second half of the sentence on the other end of the phone was drowned out by the static, so Lin Yun couldn't hear it at all. He immediately asked, "What did you say?"
"Be careful, tonight..."
[Beep, beep, beep]
This time, however, the other party didn't even finish their sentence before the hissing noise turned into the busy tone of the call being disconnected. Lin Yun was left standing in the crowd, staring at the now-off screen of his phone, his face ashen.