In the hospital ward, Zhang Chengdao and Li Qingshu straightened up, exchanged a glance, and nodded in confirmation.
Zhang Xiao hurriedly asked, "Mum, Dad, how is it?"
Zhang Chengdao shook his head, his expression grave.
"It's definitely soul separation syndrome. That Diary involved a soul fragment, which would only cause changes in temperament. Your friend's parents have suffered soul separation.
But there's still something I can't figure out..."
They were speaking Chinese. Mrs. Longbottom and Neville couldn't understand them, but they could read their gestures.
When Mrs. Longbottom saw Zhang Chengdao shake his head, her back seemed to stoop a little further. She murmured wearily,
"It's all right, it's all right. I gave up hope long ago... Even Dumbledore could do nothing. He examined them years ago."
Zhang Xiao froze, then hurriedly asked,
"Dad, what can't you figure out?"
"It's strange. I know it's soul separation syndrome, and they should each be missing one soul. After all this time, a soul without proper protection should have disintegrated long ago.
But I performed a divination. While I can't obtain particularly precise information, I should at least be able to determine whether the souls still exist, and when they vanished."
Zhang Chengdao rubbed his chin, his brows tightly furrowed. Li Qingshu glanced at the bewildered Neville and the grief-stricken Mrs. Longbottom, then nudged her husband.
"Switch to English."
"Oh," Zhang Chengdao answered. He considered it for a while before continuing,
"The strange thing is that the divination shows the souls are still there. If we can find them and send them back, this will be simple.
If we could see what happened at the time, we might find some clues. But this Retrospection Technique..."
Zhang Chengdao looked at Neville, his expression heavy.
"I just checked. Your friend's memories have been altered, so