The head hovered on the verge of oblivion, on the brink of dissipating completely, but it was struck with the frying pan once again.
Silence enveloped the surroundings for a long moment.
However, the truth talisman remained firmly attached to the head. As long as even a trace of lingering resentment remained, it compelled the head to continue divulging its dark secrets.
“I asked that woman to help me take the photos. Each photo cost a dollar,” it confessed.
Naturally, the price would increase if the scope of the request expanded.
Every day, without fail, he would spend one or two hundred dollars purchasing photos from that woman.
But gradually, he was no longer satisfied.
“One day, I encountered a young boy from my neighborhood who had just returned home from school…”
“I knew him well. I had been observing him for quite some time. His parents were always occupied, and on certain days, they would drop him off at the community gate before rushing off to work overtime.”
On that particular day, the little boy walked home alone, holding two buns.
Hex guessed that those two buns would serve as his dinner for the night.
There was no one else in his family—no grandparents or relatives who could pick him up. If there were, surely they would have been there for him.
“So, I gathered my courage and approached him,” the head continued.
“Children are easily swayed. I told him I was his neighbor, expressing concern about his busy parents. How could it be alright for him to have buns for dinner? I invited him to my house for dinner, promising that I had Ultraman there…”
In this way, the child was lured away.
Of course, the child was not spared.
“I didn’t kill him in the end,” the head claimed. A tinge of regret seeped into its voice, “I merely threatened him, warning him not to tell anything to his parents. I made it clear that if he did, I would subject him to the same treatment next time.”
Josh tightened his grip on the frying pan, and once again smacked it with a resounding impact.
This time, the ghost head let out a puff of air, unable to maintain its form, and dispersed into a cloud of black mist.
“Even if he didn’t tell his parents, you would have treated him the same way next time!”
This is madness!
If it happened once, it would happen again, there were no signs of stopping.
The head ghost remained silent for a moment, then spoke with a bitter tone, “I should have killed him…”
When the boy returned home, his mother noticed something amiss that night.
He believed that since the child’s parents were so preoccupied and neglectful, as long as the child remained silent, the adults would remain unaware of what happened.
But the boy’s parents discovered the truth regardless.
That night, the boy’s father beat him up mercilessly!
“So, the boy’s father killed you? How did you manage to board the train? Did you board before or after your death? And how did you pass through security checks?” Josh continued to ask.
However, it was a pity that the pan had been struck too forcefully, and the ghost with the head had been completely obliterated, transforming into a wisp of black gas that dissipated into thin air.
Josh was momentarily speechless…
I hit him too hard!
Well, with this information, simply informing his uncle would be enough to uncover the identity of the murderer and unravel the circumstances of the incident.
Josh could not help but feel that Hex’s death was somewhat deserved, but unfortunately, the boy’s father would now face charges of murder because of this.
Perhaps the father had been tirelessly working all along, simply striving to provide a better environment for his child.
But it had ended up like this…
Josh was stunned, his heart overwhelmed with indescribable complexity. As a result of exerting too much force earlier, his legs gave way, causing him to collapse to the ground.
In that tense moment, fatigue had taken over Josh.
At this very instant, a wave of empathy washed over Josh as he understood Lilly’s emotions and the difficulties she faced in capturing ghosts every time.
Josh’s hands trembled uncontrollably, causing the frying pan to slip from his grip and fall to the ground.
Silently, Drake reached for Josh’s schoolbag, collecting the scattered nets and carefully folding them before placing them inside the bag.
He gathered the other items strewn about, moving slowly, giving Josh enough time to rest.
However, despite his efforts, Josh’s hands were still trembling.
Drake furrowed his brow upon seeing this, remembered something, and swiftly retrieved a water bottle from his schoolbag.
“Have a drink,” Drake said, unscrewing the cap.
It was the water from the ice pond that their sister had given him.
Though stored in a bathtub, somehow it felt purer than any filtered or sterilized water in the world.
Having witnessed Lilly drinking it, Josh could not resist sneaking a taste for himself.
To his surprise, a single sip of the water dispelled the weariness of an all-nighter, infusing him with boundless energy.
Even stranger was the sensation of inexhaustible strength coursing through his body, urging him to run for miles.
With trembling hands, Josh grabbed the water and poured it down his throat…
Beyond the woods…
Alban was in a hurry. After seeing his sister off and setting up cartoons for her, he felt a sense of urgency to leave.
Despite knowing his sister would obediently watch the cartoons without wandering around, he could not help but worry.
A dark aura enveloped Alban’s arm, prompting him to halt as he reached the outskirts of the woods.
He knew he had to address the dark aura on his arm; otherwise, it might have repercussions when he returned to his sister.
From his backpack, Alban retrieved a small jade bottle.
The bottle contained an unknown, crystal-clear water—an invaluable substance.
Stepping into the woods, away from the main path, Alban carefully unscrewed the jade bottle and poured out a single drop of water…
If Lilly were present, she would instantly recognize this water as no ordinary liquid—it was the water from the ice pond!
However, the water in Alban’s possession differed slightly from the one in Lilly’s ice pond. While Lilly’s water remained pure, Alban’s version was diluted.
Nevertheless, this water held immense value for Alban. To preserve the dark power locked within the cold pool water, he had even invested a significant sum in the jade bottle, specifically crafted to hold the precious liquid.
Suddenly, a peculiar sensation washed over Alban. He detected the presence of a ghostly aura in the woods, but just as swiftly, it inexplicably vanished.
Perplexed, Alban pondered for a moment before cautiously edging closer…
What he witnessed next left him astounded!
Drake and Josh were in the woods.
At that moment, Josh sat motionless on the ground, clutching a bottle of water and gulping it down.
Familiar energies wafted through the air, and the potency of the cold pool water even caused Alban to sense its dark power.
An ordinary plastic bottle of mineral water containing water from the ice pond?
And Josh consumed it so casually, gulping it down…
Doesn’t he realize what a waste that was?!
In a fleeting moment, Alban’s gaze grew icy, and a surge of anger and resentment welled up within him.
His water could compare to Josh’s, neither in quality nor in quantity.
Alban had gone through the trouble of crafting a jade bottle, treating his precious water with utmost care, as if cradling a newborn.
And what did Josh do? He nonchalantly filled a simple plastic bottle with the water!
Alban was unwilling to consume more than a small sip at a time, cherishing every drop…
Meanwhile, Josh treated it as if it were ordinary tap water, guzzling it down without a second thought…
Why is the world so unfair?
