Forced to Act out a Strange Script with a Rival - Chapter 68

“…” Lin Xiu’s eyes were complicated. She seemed not to have expected Li Ting to be sensitive to this degree, even noticing the subtle wavering in her heart. After a struggle, she said, “…It’s no use. Resistance is useless.”

“Why?” Li Ting was still unwilling to give up, staring stubbornly at Lin Xiu.

Lin Xiu sneered and remained silent again.

“Xiao Xiao, that is, my… sister, the matter about my companion, do you know anything?” Li Ting still felt awkward calling Si Xiaoxiao ‘sister,’ so she simply used ‘companion’ instead.

Lin Xiu’s expression suddenly changed. It was a complex look mixed with regret, pain, and a hint of awe. She struggled, as if an intense battle was raging within her. Finally, a weak sliver of humanity overcame her fear. She opened her mouth hoarsely: “Si Xiaoxiao? Her? I am not clear.”

It seemed she really did know her. Perhaps Li Ting could ask about the meaning of the “ritual” written in the diary.

“Could you tell me what the ritual means?” Li Ting asked patiently.

Lin Xiu shook her head: “I don’t know.”

Li Ting frowned, thought for a moment, and changed the question: “Then can you tell me how she died?”

“She’s dead?” Lin Xiu gasped, her eyes wide, the color draining from her face. She looked utterly distraught, as if she had received a tremendous shock: “How could she die? It’s all my fault, my mistake…”

This was her reaction?

Li Ting sensed Lin Xiu’s vulnerability.

It seemed Si Xiaoxiao’s death was not a simple sacrifice. That made sense; if sacrificing one person was all it took to become a monster, then what was the point of all the rituals?

Something must have gone wrong with Si Xiaoxiao’s sacrifice, so there must be another hidden story.

“Please, tell me everything you can, okay?” Li Ting knelt in front of Lin Xiu. Her voice suddenly became extraordinarily gentle, yet carried an undeniable strength. She looked directly into Lin Xiu’s eyes, her gaze clear and firm, seemingly able to pierce through all darkness to the deepest part of the human heart, making one instinctively want to confide and rely on her.

Lin Xiu’s body trembled violently.

She looked at Li Ting’s eyes, which seemed capable of encompassing all suffering, and then looked at the fire still flickering outside the window, listening to the faintly transmitted chaotic human voices.

Decades of fear, numbness, pain, and the buried, endless guilt towards her daughters, surged out at this moment like a breaking dam.

Tears mixed with dust streamed down her wrinkled face.

“…Alright!” she finally squeezed out a broken syllable from the depths of her throat, carrying a sense of desperate resolve.

Decades ago, the island was occupied by an evil spirit. The spirit needed offerings to grow its power and become a god.

In fact, the offerings did not necessarily have to be female, but because the island was feudal and backward, and men held all the power, the story of the Sea Goddess emerged—a “deity” who needed young women as “brides,” perfectly packaging the atrocity as “sacred devotion.”

When encountering distressed travelers and foreign tourists, the islanders would first inquire about their background. If they had no family or were poor, they would similarly be chosen as sacrifices.

They would intentionally avoid groups of strong men, selecting suitable prey to act upon.

A few years ago, a master came to the island. The master was genuinely capable, but unfortunately, he was checkmated and ultimately devoured by the evil spirit, which then evolved into an evil god. Although it still ate people, its appetite had greatly reduced.

The so-called ritual was left behind by that master, and it was also the clue Lin Xiu specifically left for “Si Xiaoxiao.” She had thought it would save the girl’s life, but instead, she received news of her death.

The evil god’s unexpected “evolution” only fueled the islanders’ greed.

With the “Evil God’s” protection, they were no longer satisfied with occasional “heaven-sent offerings.” Their boldness swelled to lawless proportions, and they began committing the heinous crime of human trafficking, actively capturing young men and selling them, then buying young, beautiful girls.

Middle-aged women like Lin Xiu, who were born on the island and lacked attraction, finally escaped the clutches of the evil and gained a chance to see the light of day.

As their “business” grew, the islanders even started praying to the “Evil God” for stronger protection.

And the Evil God responded. It set a vicious curse: the soul of everyone who knew the core secret of Aoming Island would be branded with a prohibition, making it impossible to reveal the truth of the island to anyone outside.

This was why Lin Xiu had concluded that even if the phone in the small store could connect to the outside world, it would be impossible to ask for help. Instead, the mere intention of revealing the island’s truth would attract the Evil God’s attention.

Li Ting was destined to be trapped despairingly on this island.

Finally, Lin Xiu closed her eyes in sorrow, concluding in despair: “Once they put out the fire on the boat, they will come over soon. You need to run. This place has always been a trap.”

Would one despair upon learning that the place they had placed so much hope in was merely a trap?

If it were an ordinary person, yes, they certainly would.

“So that’s it. It’s because they borrow the power of the evil spirit that they are so confident,” Li Ting murmured to herself, thoughtfully. Her eyes were astonishingly bright, as if burning with a chilling fire.

The clamor outside was getting closer. Lin Xiu’s face changed, and she urgently spoke: “It’s no use staying here, you must run! You are already on a dead end!”

A dead end?

No! It was precisely their greed, ignorance, and wickedness that opened up a path to survival for Li Ting!!!

Li Ting picked up the phone and unhesitatingly began to call the police. A regular busy tone came through the receiver, sounding like a death knell in the silent small store.

She had a desperate, all-or-nothing plan!

“They’re coming!! What are you doing!!” Lin Xiu didn’t understand. She had clearly told Li Ting about the island’s curse, so why wasn’t Li Ting running?

Footsteps were approaching from far away; judging by the noise, there were many people.

“You don’t believe me??” Lin Xiu was so anxious that her eyes were bloodshot, and her body began to tremble.

Li Ting, however, smiled. She said: “If they dare to brazenly use a phone to set a trap, then this phone must be able to connect to the outside, but it must also be cursed. Those ignorant and greedy people enjoy nothing more than witnessing others go from hope to despair, right?”

“Since you know, why…” Lin Xiu angrily questioned.

“Shh, don’t rush,” Li Ting put her index finger to her lips: “The call connected. If I can really call someone from the outside to destroy the island, are you willing to tell me where the girls are being held?”

A clear, calm female voice came from the receiver: “Hello, this is the XX City Public Security Bureau. How may I help you?”

Li Ting’s grip on the receiver tightened sharply, her knuckles white from the force. A clue flashed through her mind.

She ignored Lin Xiu’s scream and the noise approaching outside the door. Her voice, slightly trembling under extreme tension, said: “Hello, I need to report a crime. There is a criminal hiding on Aoming Island in the XX sea area of X County.”

This was her desperate, all-or-nothing choice!

The operator’s voice held a professional wariness: “What kind of criminal? How do you know? What is the specific case?”

“I am the criminal’s sister. She murdered my biological father…” As she spoke, Li Ting’s heart felt as if it was being fiercely squeezed by an icy hand. Immense pain instantly engulfed her.

She couldn’t help but empathize. If it truly were the sister from the diary who had chased her to the island, what kind of emotion would she have to harbor to report her beloved sister, just to fight for a sliver of hope?

However, this was the only way to lure the police!

“Oh? Can you tell me the specific details of the case?” In the middle of the night, someone suddenly calls the police. Trust from the other end of the line was not quickly forthcoming.

The details of the case?

Were they written in the diary?

Li Ting recalled the content of the diary, first giving an introduction about herself, and then mentioning the date recorded in the diary.

She had expected the subsequent narration to be difficult, but it was not.

Li Ting’s voice trembled violently, and tears surged out without warning, instantly blurring her vision.

She felt a suffocating dizziness, as if she were forcibly dragged into the memory vortex of another soul.

No, there’s a problem with the diary! The date is wrong! The weather is wrong! There are no detailed murder process descriptions!!

However, she could clearly hear her own voice. She spoke: “I’m sorry, I don’t remember very clearly. I wasn’t home that day. I went out to buy dinner.”

No, a voice inside was screaming madly!

She clearly remembered. Blood stained her clothes, and her father lay silently on the ground.

The knife was specifically bought on the black market; it was very sharp and had plunged right in.

“Is that so? Please continue.”

There was no turning back now. Since she had decided to speak…

Because that was what her sister wanted her to continue doing…

“When I came back, I found my sister was gone. It wasn’t until the police came to the door the next day that I learned my sister had killed someone.” That statement flowed from Li Ting’s mouth as if it had been rehearsed countless times, very naturally.

No, that’s not right. It was actually the third day. The police only came on the third day.

And the one who killed, was not her sister…

Li Ting’s voice choked up, her eyes were red, and she felt her soul tearing apart but continued to speak with the calm of an outsider: “I think the bureau should still have the case records from that time. The case was concluded with the suspect absconding out of fear of the crime.”

The other end of the phone was silent for a few minutes, and then a voice came: “I found the case file. Tsk, tsk, your sister really hated your father. Stabbing him once wasn’t enough; she even dismembered him and threw the pieces in the trash, and then freeze-treated them, making it very difficult for us to restore the time of death.”

“Is that so…”

Li Ting felt an overwhelming dryness in her throat and began to choke uncontrollably.

A massive wave of grief and unspeakable guilt completely submerged her like a tsunami.

That sister who was always clumsily comforting her, fighting her battles, and saving the best food for her…

That sister who knew the road ahead was hell, yet still carried all the guilt for her…

For her sake, what had her sister turned herself into?!

“There are still some questionable points in the case. Actually, we can’t rule out the possibility of someone else committing the crime…” The voice on the other end was rustling through the case files.

Li Ting held the phone with a bitter smile, her fingers turning white. The more painful it was, the more she had to maintain the lie: “Please come quickly. I found… I found her confession diary on the island…”

The sister, who had to rack her brain just to cover basic necessities, and who was intensely busy with her studies, how could she have time to write a diary…

She was not good at language arts and didn’t like dwelling on the past. Her sunny and proactive nature only hoped to live well every single day.

That diary was not just a piece of “confession” evidence; it was a love letter, a love letter taking the blame for her sister…

She should have noticed long ago…

Li Ting’s heart ached to the point of being unable to breathe, and powerful emotions surged in her heart.

That diary, where happy days were sunny and unhappy days were rainy, was actually quite clumsy.

The sister, upon learning that her little sister had killed their father, chose to secretly dispose of the body for her.

She simultaneously coaxed her sister out to buy groceries to establish an alibi on camera, while also confounding the time of death, pretending the deceased was still alive on the second day.

Finally, she placed herself into the situation, creating the illusion of fleeing out of fear of the crime, attracting police attention.

And to complete the final physical evidence, she wrote the diary. Also, to help the sister who might pursue her to the island, she secretly placed the diary in the doctor’s secret room.

What kind of love was this?

She was loving her dearest with her entire being.

Li Ting was instantly drenched in tears.

[Congratulations to the host, Task Three completed: Find the Truth.] The system’s cold, merciless electronic voice sounded like the cruelest mockery, abruptly ringing out at this moment of extreme sorrow.

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