Chapter 609: Memories and Shadows
by xennovel“Huh?”
“What exactly happened?”
To onlookers, Lu Xin was simply crouched atop the car, his brows furrowing briefly before relaxing again.
Yet in his mind, unfamiliar recollections kept bubbling up.
It was as if long-sealed memories had been unlocked—he recalled many bizarre, strangely fascinating moments.
After leaving the orphanage, he met the man in black who cared for him over a long stretch; then… inexplicably, his memory jumped to the front of the black old building on Moon Terrace.
……
The old black building, rarely occupied, always kept its windows shut.
Only Apartment 401 often glowed with warm, bright light and occasionally opened its window.
Yet in his recollection, even the other rooms had once opened their windows…
It was when the man in black and his younger self appeared together before the old building.
One window after another slowly creaked open, revealing a hollow darkness…
From different windows, pairs of chilling eyes peered out.
In his memory, the pale-faced young man began screaming wildly, waving his arms with desperate force.
He tried to flee with everything he had, yet every escape inexplicably led him back to the old building, standing beside his once young self as they silently watched the pitch-black structure.
From within the building, some strange, eerie gazes were fixed on him.
He seemed to be shaking the hourglass in his hand over and over again.
With each shake, his memories turned chaotic until he realized that that particular recollection was false.
Had he been trying to break free from that memory?
But standing before the old building, his vigorous shaking of the hourglass only made the scene tremble—as if the signal was unstable.
Yet when the scene calmed, he still found himself before the old building.
Finally, he snapped—his face contorted into a furious grimace with blood-red eyes as he charged ferociously toward his younger self.
But he failed.
Because from one of the windows, a tentacle suddenly shot out.
It easily snatched the hourglass from his hand and dragged it back inside.
The young man froze; deprived of the hourglass, his body wavered like a restless spirit.
He looked toward his younger self with a pleading expression.
Hadn’t he smiled at him back then?
In any case, what followed was a chaotic spectacle…
From the other windows of the old building, countless hands, strands of filament, branches, eerie tentacles, and rigid faces flashed by.
Dozens of hands, like stealthy thieves, lunged out in a frenzy, scrambling to grab the young man and pull him inside. Their enthusiasm was so overwhelming that none would relent, tearing his body into bloody fragments.
After each ‘guest’ was dragged back inside, all the windows fell silent and closed.
The old building became desolate and calm once again, with only the Red Moon quietly hanging in the sky.
……
“Phew…”
Lu Xin suddenly snapped back to full awareness, gasping for breath with eyes wide in disbelief.
Only then did he realize that the very building he lived in had once been so raucous.
Poor soul—what a pity about that man who once cared for him…
…No, that’s not right!
As his clarity returned, Lu Xin sensed that the memory of the man who cared for him was fading and growing unreal; it dawned on him that this memory had always been fabricated.
It had seemed so real the moment it was woven together.
But almost immediately, his Mental Power diluted it away in a flash.
Only the old building remained vividly clear.
He remembered that in his recollection, someone inside the building had reached out and snatched the hourglass.
He also recalled countless greedy, ferocious hands reaching out to seize the young man, tearing him apart…
…Tsk, tsk. How tragic!
……
“Hey… what are you doing?”
A trembling voice sounded from nearby.
Lu Xin was momentarily stunned to see his Father standing two meters away, watching him warily.
“Huh?”
Lu Xin quickly shook his head. “Nothing, I just remembered something…”
“Nothing? You’re smiling and seething— I thought you’d reverted back to your old self…”
His Father, a little irate, couldn’t help but complain.
“Didn’t you say you just remembered something?”
Lu Xin furrowed his brow, grumbling, “When you suddenly recall something, isn’t it natural to both smile and get angry?”
“You…”
His Father looked unconvinced, but after a glance at Lu Xin, he held his tongue.
Meanwhile, his Sister crawled down from the wall, curiously surveying the scene. “What happened to that guy just now?”
“That tall man—he was even clutching a toy…”
……
“About him…”
Lu Xin instinctively looked around and then shook his head. “He went home early.”
“Hmm?”
Both his Father and Sister looked at him with a mix of curiosity and caution.
“He really went home early, holding that toy in his hand…”
Lu Xin laughed as he explained, adding, “But he went back to our home.”
His Father and Sister exchanged a glance.
His Sister still appeared confused, while his Father’s face grew solemn as if reminded of something important.
Yet he said little more, quietly disappearing into the shadows.
……
……
“So, is the mission complete?”
After piecing together what had happened, Lu Xin exhaled softly in relief.
Surveying his surroundings, he noted that the area was silent. The strange sensation once brought by that memory-type mental pollutant was completely gone, leaving no trace.
He instinctively tried to report to Chen Jing, only to find the channel filled with faint static.
It then hit him: the Doll was still nearby, sealing everyone’s memories. Dense Mental Power in the area was even interfering with long-distance communications.
Glancing upward, he spotted the Doll hovering in mid-air.
The Doll was positioned behind him, about thirty meters up atop a medium-sized building.
She had seemed about to approach—and perhaps help him—but his sudden recollection of the old building, combined with the fluctuation in his Mental Power, had halted her advance.
Affected by this aura, she didn’t dare come closer, only tilting her head to watch him from afar.
Until Lu Xin turned and smiled at her.
Her eyes widened slightly, still tinged with skepticism, as she slowly drifted downward.
At that moment, the Doll was merely a manifestation of Mental Power, yet indistinguishable from the real one.
After all, people perceive others and things through the lens of Mental Power.
Thus, in Lu Xin’s view, the Doll—radiant like an ethereal sprite with a gently swaying skirt—gracefully descended from the sky, drawing closer to him.
Originally, across these three streets, everyone saw a different Doll.
Each person’s vision of the Doll was tailored to what was most convenient to them.
But as the Doll began descending, moving closer to Lu Xin, her personal will influenced every observer, merging the images into one—like countless shadows converging into a single form…
And that very Doll slowly approached Lu Xin.
She seemed eager to connect, yet there was an undercurrent of fear and uncertainty.
So when she reached him, after a moment of inner conflict, she finally made up her mind.
She slowly reached out and pinched Lu Xin’s face…
……
……
“Hmm?”
Lu Xin was startled, his eyes widening in surprise.
The Doll was actually pinching his face?
What was she doing—teasing him like a child?
Do grown men just let anyone pinch their face?
Before he could react, the Doll pinched his face once more, as if finally settling a matter. Her small mouth pursed for a moment before she contentedly settled in front of him, gently stretching out both arms to wrap around his neck while resting her head on his shoulder.
Even as a Mental Entity, Lu Xin could feel her slender form trembling softly.
It was as if she were grateful—grateful yet touched by a hint of sorrow.
Lu Xin’s body stiffened slightly in confusion.
He realized he hadn’t seen her for a long time, but surely she wouldn’t immediately become this affectionate upon seeing him?
Amid his bewilderment, everyone on these three streets began trembling.
Under the Doll’s Mental Power influence, they all saw her approach a man and gently embrace him; their hearts were crushed as their bodies trembled and tears streamed uncontrollably.
Most of the others just strained to catch a glimpse of Lu Xin’s expression, then turned to challenge him to a duel.
Vice President Xiao and a group of those who knew Lu Xin stood dumbfounded, overwhelmed by an indescribable blow from deep within.
It felt like a pounding of the chest mixed with a heart-shattering kind of loss.
In trembling voices they murmured, “Brother Lu, since when did you get someone?”
……
……
And along these three streets, people of all ages and genders looked at Lu Xin with a mix of envy and resentment—from rivals to in-laws—mourning, admiring, and sighing all at once.
Only then did Lu Xin finally respond to the Doll’s sudden embrace.
Being a man, he didn’t reciprocate by pinching her back.
Instead, he patted her back gently and murmured, “Actually, I’ve always had one question for you…”
The Doll tilted her head slightly, looking at him from close to his ear.
Leaning in, Lu Xin whispered, “How much money do you have in your bank account?”