Chapter 1189: Lantern Festival

"Thank you, Uncle," Lu Xun replied.

After everyone left the Lianhua Hotel, they were looking for a new place to stay to prevent being found by Ying Fu’s people again... However, they were not familiar with Wushan after all, so Lu Xun’s uncle suggested going to his old house to rest.

According to him, this old house was originally intended to be sold, but there was no suitable buyer, and the surrounding residents had basically moved out, making it suitable for a few people to stay temporarily. On the way over, he also bought some vegetables, and soon made a home-cooked dinner.

"This dish smells so good..." Yang Xiao looked at the steaming dishes on the table and couldn't help swallowing.

"My uncle’s cooking has always been very good."

Lu Xun remembered the meals he had eaten at his uncle’s house when he was a child and smiled.

Hearing this, the owner’s eyes lit up. He could naturally feel that Lu Xun’s attitude toward him was changing, and he was very happy, immediately saying:

"The conditions here are simple, and there are no good seasonings... You guys make do for now. It happens to be the Lantern Festival tomorrow, so come back to Uncle’s house for dinner together. Uncle and Aunt will make a table of dishes to entertain you well!"

"Lantern Festival? What is that?" Su Zhiwei asked suspiciously.

"It’s a special festival here in Wushan. In ancient times, the residents here lived at the foot of Wushan, relying on the mountain for their livelihood. Every year, there would be a day to hang lanterns and decorate, sacrifice to the mountain god, and thank Wushan for its protection and gifts this year... Although it’s not a particularly big festival, it’s quite lively," the owner explained.

Everyone suddenly realized.

Lu Xun hesitated for a long time and didn't agree directly.

"Tomorrow... let's see. If there is time, we will go."

"Okay, it depends on your time anyway," the owner smiled.

Everyone picked up their chopsticks. They were all hungry now, especially Chu Changqing, who had hardly eaten anything since being kidnapped by Ying Fu. He picked up his chopsticks with difficulty and began to pick up food for himself, enduring the pain...

Seeing Chu Changqing’s miserable appearance, Lu Xun couldn't help but ask:

"What happened to you?"

"...Those people inserted something into my body. It hurts if I move too much. Now I can't even walk," Chu Changqing said bitterly.

The others looked at each other, trying to see if they could help him solve it, but after trying one by one, they could only shake their heads helplessly.

"No... wait for Director Chen to come over later and see if he has a way."

Chu Changqing was stunned. "Director Chen?"

"Yeah..."

"Huh, he seems to be here."

As they were talking, the door lock of the room turned suddenly, and a figure walked into the room naturally, as relaxed as if returning to his own home.

The owner was stunned, his eyes widened. "You... how did you get in without a key? I clearly locked it just now..."

Chen Ling looked at this strange face and turned to look at Lu Xun, seemingly confused.

"Uncle, there’s nothing else here. You should go back and rest early," Lu Xun stood up immediately. "If we go to dinner tomorrow, I will send you a message in advance."

"...Okay, that’s fine, then I’ll go first."

The owner looked at Chen Ling strangely again, carried his things, and turned to leave. As the door closed, only Chen Ling and the others were left in the old house.

"Who is that?"

"My uncle, and the owner of the Lianhua Hotel... Thanks to him, we were able to find Chu Changqing quickly."

Chen Ling nodded slightly, and his gaze then fell on Chu Changqing.

"Let me introduce you. This is Director Chen. You should have seen him in Shennongjia," Lu Xun introduced to Chu Changqing.

Chu Changqing saw Chen Ling’s face, and his expression suddenly became incredibly strange... In his mind, he immediately recalled the red paper monster that chased him all the way from behind the car when he was kidnapped by Ying Fu... The situation was too urgent at the time, and Chu Changqing only felt that the face was familiar, but now that Chen Ling was standing in front of him, he immediately reacted!

"...It’s you??" A trace of fear flashed in the depths of Chu Changqing’s eyes. "You are that red paper monster with many tentacles..."

"It’s me."

Chen Ling knew that he had already left a psychological shadow on Chu Changqing at the time, and said helplessly, "The situation was urgent at the time, so I used a part of my true body... But in most cases, I am still human..."

Chu Changqing: ...

"Although Director Chen is an alien, he is a very good person. At that time, we planned to save you directly from the laboratory, but we didn't expect to be a step late and let you be kidnapped by others," Yang Xiao immediately stood up to explain for Chen Ling.

Hearing the word "alien," both Chen Ling and Chu Changqing had strange expressions...

But Chu Changqing still couldn't easily accept it. Perhaps it was because he had just witnessed the hideous spiders he had created kill people, he was always a bit resistant to non-human things, and his gaze toward Chen Ling was full of vigilance.

Chen Ling knew that gaining Chu Changqing's trust would take time. His gaze swept over Chu Changqing in the wheelchair, and he let out a soft sound of surprise...

"Did they do something to you?"

Chu Changqing was startled. "Yes... that person named Han Xiangdui, he stuck a few needles into my body."

"Let me see."

Chen Ling walked up to Chu Changqing and gently placed his palm on the latter's head.

Chu Changqing felt a bit uneasy, but what happened next nearly made him scream... Chen Ling's entire palm transformed into tiny strips of red paper, which burrowed directly into his scalp and began to squirm inside his body!!

Chu Changqing could clearly feel them spreading under his skin like crawling insects. Itching and stinging sensations washed over his entire body, making him feel incredibly uncomfortable. The dual torture of body and mind made Chu Changqing raise his hand to stop Chen Ling, but he found he couldn't move a muscle; he could only look at Chen Ling's face in despair.

As the tiny red paper strips moved under Chu Changqing's skin, long, nail-like needles made of ink and brush hair appeared within Chen Ling's perception.

With a slight exertion of force, he manipulated the red paper to pull out these ink needles, which were distributed throughout the body, bit by bit. Tiny beads of blood immediately surfaced on Chu Changqing's skin as the ink that had burrowed into him began to be forced out.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!

One by one, the ink needles shot out, embedding themselves into the surrounding walls with terrifying force. The entire process lasted about ten seconds until all the ink in Chu Changqing's body was cleared, leaving him looking like a half-bloody mess...

However, Chu Changqing's body hadn't suffered any major damage. Fresh blood simply flowed from the wounds where the needles had been extracted, spreading across his skin and looking quite gruesome.

Ugh—!!!

As soon as the process ended, Chu Changqing collapsed to the ground and began to vomit violently. The discomfort of the red paper inside his body had been like a nightmare, and he couldn't recover for a long time.