306: Chapter 306 Your Mother-in-Law

Wang Zhiwei seemed to have seen something incredibly terrifying; he trembled all over, his hair stood on end, and his lips quivered, but he could not say a word.

His face was even paler, as if it had been coated with a layer of white paint.

Seeing this, Han Jingyang coughed and patted Wang Zhiwei on the shoulder.

Wang Zhiwei plopped down, panting heavily. Sweat poured off him like rain, and his body would not stop shaking. In just a few seconds, fear had sapped almost all his energy.

Shi Xiaoya brought a couple of pieces of chocolate for Wang Zhiwei and prepared a packet of milk with hot water.

Wang Zhiwei wolfed down several pieces of chocolate and gulped down a large cup of milk and two cups of hot tea. Only then did some color return to his face, but he remained tightly wrapped in a throw pillow, huddled in the corner of the sofa.

Han Jingyang was not in a hurry. He waited for Wang Zhiwei to recover for a while before saying calmly, "In Jiguang Zhai, no person or demon, monster, or ghost can harm you."

Wang Zhiwei nodded tremblingly.

Han Jingyang continued, "It seems you remembered something, and it must have been very terrifying. However, I can clearly tell you that it is definitely harmless. If it were harmful to you, it would not have escaped my eyes. So, it is highly likely to be some kind of hallucinatory image. You do not need to be so afraid. To put it more down-to-earth, you were just watching a 3D horror movie in a cinema; you were simply scaring yourself."

"Really?"

"Yes, I have no reason to lie to you."

"Phew—"

Wang Zhiwei let out a long sigh of relief, his energy suddenly returning. He grabbed a bunch of tissues to wipe his forehead. "Brother, I have made a laughingstock of myself in front of you."

Han Jingyang smiled. "It was certainly interesting. This is the first time I have seen such a scene—fear making one's hair stand on end. Haha, your hair really did stand straight up. I will pull up the surveillance footage for you later."

Wang Zhiwei shook his head quickly. "Better not. I do not want people to see such an embarrassing scene."

Han Jingyang laughed again, and after he finished laughing, he said, "Now, tell me, what exactly did you see?"

Wang Zhiwei pointed to the oil painting leaning against the wall. "Her."

As he spoke, he shivered again. "I saw this painting the first time I went to Dou Dou's house, but the next second, this woman rushed out of the painting. No, that is not right, it was her head. Wait, no, it was her face. Her complexion was a dark, reddish-black, and her expression was terrifying. And there were many human faces on her face, all of them women..."

At this point, Wang Zhiwei uncontrollably trembled all over again, and the complexion that had just regained a little color turned pale once more.

Han Jingyang patted Wang Zhiwei's shoulder again. "Does it happen every time?"

"Yes."

"And you do not know anything afterwards?"

"Yes, I do not know anything at all. It was not until just now that I remembered everything, but I feel like some memories are still missing."

"Uh, it is not that some memories are missing; it is highly likely you were scared unconscious, so there was not any memory to begin with."

"This..."

Han Jingyang chuckled. "In other words, you have been to Dou Dou's house so many times, yet you spent every single visit unconscious?"

Wang Zhiwei scratched his head. "Well, not entirely. Sometimes I woke up, in the morning, ahem."

"Alright, alright," Han Jingyang patted Wang Zhiwei heavily twice. "You had better think carefully about the memories related to this painting. Besides the woman in the painting, do not forget any tiny details, such as the picture frame."

Wang Zhiwei thought carefully for a long time and shook his head. "No clues at all. I just feel that the woman in the painting looks a bit familiar; she looks too much like Dou Dou. Could she be Dou Dou's sister or something?"

"No, this is your mother-in-law."

"What?"

"No need to doubt it, it is your mother-in-law, Dou Dou's biological mother."

"But Dou Dou said her biological mother passed away from childbirth complications when she was born..."

"Right, what is the problem with that?"

"But the woman in this painting is clearly..."

"Heh, do not use your common sense to judge metaphysics."

Wang Zhiwei sighed. "Alright. But why is it always me who is so unlucky? It is just absurd. I am just an ordinary person, yet the friends around me are getting dragged into this one after another, and even I have not escaped. Brother, am I having a run of bad luck?"

Han Jingyang shook his head. "Coming into contact with these things is not necessarily a bad thing. You have just come into contact with things and people that already existed. Whether it is good or bad depends entirely on you. It is like if you found a sum of money; whether you use it for business, charity, or gambling and drinking will lead to different consequences. This choice is in your hands, not someone else's. Do you understand?"

Wang Zhiwei nodded heavily. "I understand. This is a crisis; there is danger, but there is also opportunity. However, my greatest opportunity is meeting you, Brother, and becoming good friends with you. Otherwise, no matter how much I struggle, I would just be a sitting duck in front of these abnormal things and people, waiting to be slaughtered and devoured."

"Pretty much."

"So, Brother, you must save me."

"I certainly will not sit idly by."

"And Dou Dou," Wang Zhiwei's expression changed drastically as he said this, "Is Dou Dou a bad person?"

Han Jingyang shook his head. "Of course not. If she were a bad person, I would have already eliminated her; I would not have gone through all this trouble."

Wang Zhiwei breathed a sigh of relief. "Brother, please save Dou Dou too. I will pay whatever it costs."

Han Jingyang looked at Wang Zhiwei with a half-smile. "You will pay any amount?"

"Yes."

"Even if it means losing everything you have?"

"Yes," Wang Zhiwei said through gritted teeth. "Money is something you can earn again after you spend it, but if a person is gone, they are truly gone. Besides, I have many friends; even if I become penniless, it would not be hard to make a comeback. And you, Brother, and Old Xu and the others would not really let me become penniless, right? I will sign an IOU. At worst, I will work for you for the rest of my life."

Han Jingyang gave him a thumbs up. "You really are... a great romantic."

Wang Zhiwei scratched his eyebrow embarrassedly. "I just do not want to let them down."

Han Jingyang waved his hand. "Alright, stop showing off your romantic feelings. Go back to where you came from."

"What do you mean?"

"There is nothing for you to do here. If you stay, you will only cause trouble. If you are really keen, help investigate the details of these women. The more detailed, the better."

"I definitely will not cause trouble."

Wang Zhiwei left anyway, after being picked up and thrown out by Shi Xiaoya.

Shi Xiaoya returned to the shop, tilted her head, and carefully examined the oil painting. "Boss, will this painting really return to Dou Dou's side on its own?"

Han Jingyang nodded, then shook his head. "It certainly would in other places, but here, heh, it will not be able to leave Jiguang Zhai even after another hundred years of cultivation."

"Is this a dharma instrument?"

"Yes, but a very sinister one."

"Then what should we do? Destroy it?"

"No, no, no. I want to use it for fishing. Although this painting is sinister, it is not weak. Looking at the patina, it is only about thirty years old. To have cultivated it to such a powerful state in thirty years, the culprit must have invested a lot of effort. If I were the culprit, I would definitely find a way to take this painting back."

"Fishing, huh," Shi Xiaoya became interested. "Then we need to prepare the net in advance so the fish that takes the bait does not run away again."

Han Jingyang nodded.

He did not think the fish that showed its face would be able to run away.

He still had two items with Tracking attributes in his possession.

At this moment, Wang Zhiwei, who had just left, called.

He answered.

Wang Zhiwei shouted, both shocked and afraid: "Brother, I remembered. I, I met Dou Dous Mother when I was young."