The Real Heiress Just Wants to Be a Lazy Fish - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Nightmare

After having a heart-to-heart with Tao Yitong, Jiang Zitan felt the guilt weighing on her chest lighten significantly. However, since her sister said she didn’t want to work hard anymore, perhaps she should transfer some of her shares to her? The bulk of the Group’s shares had always been held by her grandfather, and she only possessed a small amount.

After learning the truth about her identity, she had already planned to give these shares to the real daughter whose place she had taken.

Though these shares weren’t many, based on the Group’s earnings in recent years, the year-end dividends would amount to roughly ten million RMB.

When the time came, Tongtong would only need to spend a few hours playing on her phone during the annual shareholders’ meeting and then collect the dividends. Of course, if she wanted to enter the company, Zitan could teach her.

If Tao Yitong knew about this plan, she would surely shake her head like a rattle. Managing a company? Spare her, please! Seeing how Jiang Zitan had to work overtime every day was enough to know it wasn’t an easy job. She would rather be a security guard than manage a company!

Outside the window, the night was hazy. The exhaustion from staying up all night yesterday swept over her, and drowsiness instantly occupied her consciousness. She decided to follow the doctor’s advice tonight: instead of handling work, she would get some proper rest.

Jiang Zitan didn’t realize that tonight’s drowsiness was abnormal. For someone who suffered from chronic insomnia, this was the first time she fell asleep the moment she lay down.

She wasn’t just asleep; it might not even be classified as a coma. If a professional well-versed in the way of souls were to see her condition, they would know this was clearly “Soul Loss.” A small portion of her soul had left her body, while the vast majority remained. To Jiang Zitan’s consciousness in the “dream,” there was a jarring sense of fragmentation.

Jiang Zitan felt as if she couldn’t catch her breath. One moment she felt she was lying in her room, and the next she felt she was in a cold, dark place. Gradually, the latter dominated her consciousness. She could vaguely hear noisy sounds, but her eyelids felt as heavy as lead, making it nearly impossible to open them.

She felt a piercing pain, as if a sharp weapon were slicing through her body inch by inch, but she couldn’t make a sound she couldn’t even manage a cry of pain.

Where is this?

Jiang Zitan finally “opened” her eyes. First, she saw the stars in the sky. Was that the Big Dipper? No, that wasn’t right; she noticed the stars connected like a ladle only numbered six. Beside these six stars were others so dim they were almost invisible.

Was this… the Southern Dipper (Nandou Six)?

Among these six stars, one was exceptionally bright. Jiang Zitan forgot the name of this star, but to her, the most important thing right now was to leave this place.

When her gaze left the stars, she discovered the surroundings were exceptionally eerie. It looked like an altar, and from all around came the sound of whistling “wind” No, no! That wasn’t wind! That was… that was…

She saw countless ghostly shadows struggling in the distorted space. They were being torn apart, devoured, and then reborn…

“It’s almost time.”

Jiang Zitan suddenly heard someone speaking, and they were very close to her. She immediately stopped struggling, fearing she would be discovered.

“That old fellow played us. Heh, supporting him was merely giving him some benefits for the sake of him raising ‘Luxing’ (the Prosperity Star) to adulthood. Now that his wings are grown, he dares to openly provoke us? Naive!”

“He is of no concern,” a raspy, ancient voice said. “The most urgent matter now is the Special Affairs Bureau. Those people are chasing us closely. If we accidentally show our tails, it will be very troublesome. You must be cautious when acting outside.”

“The H-Province Special Affairs Bureau should have their hands full by now. That Operation Snake Hunt caused them heavy losses; even TSH-001… the Guardian of H-Province, died in Africa. Without an S-class esper presiding over it, what waves can the H-Province Special Affairs Bureau stir? My eyes have been on them. As long as the position of TSH-001 remains vacant, we have nothing to fear.”

“Don’t be careless. Don’t forget that although Operation Snake Hunt cost the authorities an S-class esper, a new S-class esper was born during that mission.”

“But she was seriously injured.”

“Did you see it with your own eyes?”

“You mean she might have quietly come to H-Province?”

“Whether she has come or not, none of you can afford a single slip-up at this critical juncture!”

What were those voices saying?

Jiang Zitan heard them somewhat unclearly; the wailing of ghosts and howling of spirits covered some of the dialogue. However, piecing together the fragments she heard, she found she couldn’t understand them at all.

She seemed to hear those two mention something about a Special Affairs Bureau? Espers? Were those the words? She remembered Xiao Ran reading similar novels was she dreaming?

“Alright, enough small talk. Continue with today’s ritual.”

Jiang Zitan discovered the voice she heard this time actually came from her side! She didn’t even know when the other party had arrived… but they didn’t seem to notice she had opened her eyes, continuing to chant those tongue-twisting incantations to themselves.

She found the place where she lay was becoming hotter and hotter. Those black shadows whose forms she couldn’t see clearly grabbed the wailing ghosts and threw them into a furnace beneath her body. As the ghosts were injected, eerie green flames flared up instantly.

In a daze, Jiang Zitan remembered she had once had similar nightmares. From childhood, she seemed to dream every so often of being in a very, very hot place, and now was the first time she clearly saw the imagery of the nightmare.

It was so painful…

She couldn’t wail or struggle, seemingly only able to be burned to ashes in the fierce fire.

Just as she was on the verge of despair, she suddenly heard someone from very, very far away seemingly singing a nursery rhyme. The voice was gentle and sweet, giving her a sense of familiarity and peace.

Jiang Zitan felt as if she could move.

“What’s happening? Luxing’s soul is weakening!”

“Open your eyes and look! Someone is fighting us for Luxing’s soul! Quick! Seal the altar!”

Jiang Zitan couldn’t hear clearly what those people were arguing about. Instead, the singing became increasingly clear in her ears, and the song seemed to soothe the searing pain left on her soul by the fire. She wanted to know who was singing, so she instinctively moved toward the direction of the voice.

Gradually, she seemed to see a familiar silhouette. That figure made her feel safe. The flames burned behind her, but like a drowning person seeing driftwood, she grabbed the person’s sleeve.

“Don’t be afraid…”

Jiang Zitan seemed to hear the other party comforting her this way.

The star in the sky suddenly became even brighter, as if to guide her on the way back. The curses behind her rose and fell, but Jiang Zitan could no longer hear them.

Tao Yitong was sleeping in the room next to Jiang Zitan. She had stayed behind, playing the role of the pitiable sister, specifically to protect Jiang Zitan at close range. At such a close distance, she would wake up immediately at any sign of abnormality. However, when this incident occurred, it didn’t cause any external energy fluctuations; Jiang Zitan appeared as if she were simply having a nightmare.

Fortunately, whenever she was on a mission, Tao Yitong didn’t dare let herself fall into a deep sleep. Upon hearing the sounds of Jiang Zitan struggling next door, she immediately rolled out of bed and rushed into the bedroom.

Jiang Zitan was covered in a cold sweat, looking as if she had sunk into a horrific nightmare.

“Sister, Sister? Jiang Zitan?” Tao Yitong first tried to wake her by calling. Upon realizing she couldn’t be woken, she knew something was wrong!

She first suspected the Corpse Insects hanging on the outer wall were acting up, but after Ah Fu checked, he found they were merely the corpses of insects. The only use for hanging them there was to warn other ghosts and monsters that the “food” here was being raised by a powerful cannibal; if they wanted a bite, they’d better weigh if they were big enough to be swallowed whole in return.

However… compared to before, was her soul becoming a bit weaker?

Tao Yitong didn’t have deep research into human souls, but expertise is specialized. She remembered the Bureau had talents in this area. She immediately applied for the most urgent support. Consequently, that talent was dragged out of bed by colleagues. Although she felt sorry, she had to do it.

The person understood as well; the cannibal case was the most difficult matter in the Bureau right now. Applying ice cubes to keep themselves awake, they had Tao Yitong describe the situation.

After hearing the description and seeing Jiang Zitan’s condition, the expert made a preliminary judgment that it was Soul Loss though only a small part was missing. If it were someone else on the mission, she might feel troubled, but since Captain Tao was there, there was nothing to worry about.

“It’s not a big problem. Captain Tao, do you know the ‘Soul Summoning Song’? Director Lin said you didn’t learn through the grapevine but graduated from a professional academy. You must have learned this song in college, right?”

“Just singing the Soul Summoning Song will work?” Tao Yitong still had some doubts.

Singing the song wasn’t simply singing the lyrics. She needed to integrate her power into the melody according to the rhythm. Only someone with professional training could bring out the song’s effect. Fortunately, Tao Yitong had learned it.

“Others might not succeed, but your rank crushes the opponent, and you hold the vast majority of the victim’s soul. What does the other side have to win with? But remember, you can’t let your guard down until dawn.”

“I’ll be on standby here. If anything goes wrong on your end, you can contact me anytime.”

“Alright, I’ll try.” Tao Yitong hung up the communication. The Soul Summoning Song was a piece written by a very powerful esper predecessor. The song’s ability was exactly as its name suggested. The most impressive thing about that predecessor was that all types of espers could use the song without limitation.

Tao Yitong hadn’t sung the song since graduation, and she felt quite rusty. However, after singing it over and over, she gradually became proficient. Her sweet singing echoed in the room, gradually resonating with Jiang Zitan’s soul. The melody wasn’t eerie or ghostly; instead, it had a peaceful, lullaby-like quality.

Gradually, Jiang Zitan’s expression was no longer pained, and her breathing stabilized. Tao Yitong gently wiped the cold sweat from her forehead with a tissue. She felt Jiang Zitan’s soul being gradually completed. The Soul Summoning Song really worked! She would never look down on it as just a sleep-inducing lullaby again!

Tao Yitong let out a huge sigh of relief. However, she kept her colleague’s words in mind and didn’t relax her guard until dawn, continuing to sing the song. She stayed by Jiang Zitan’s side the entire night. As the sky gradually brightened and Jiang Zitan fell into a true, deep sleep, Tao Yitong intended to leave the bedroom quietly. However, as she moved to go, she found Jiang Zitan was tightly clutching her sleeve.

She must have seen something terrifying, which was why she was holding onto the nearest thing so tightly. At the thought of her meal ticket… no, her sister, being victimized without her knowing, Tao Yitong was fuming with rage! Unfortunately, she didn’t know what curse was on Jiang Zitan or if there was a way to trace it back. Once she found their nest, those rats in the gutters would be waiting to be turned into rat paste!

After a night of spiritual torment, Tao Yitong felt heartache looking at the sickly beauty in her arms. Especially after seeing the photo album placed by the bed, she felt even more apologetic toward her adoptive parents.

You two can rest easy. I will do everything in my power to dig out the murderer behind the scenes. Back then… I failed to save you, but now I will protect her no matter what.

Tao Yitong let out a soft sigh, then bit by bit pulled her sleeve out from Jiang Zitan’s hand.

“Don’t be afraid, it’s already over,” she coaxed softly, her voice a bit hoarse. Tao Yitong, who could punch a monster with one hit, was sweating profusely from the effort of retrieving her sleeve, taking several minutes to regain her freedom. She tucked the quilt around Jiang Zitan and then tiptoed out of the room.

Shortly after Tao Yitong closed the door, the person who had been sleeping deeply in her arms suddenly woke up with a start.

Jiang Zitan looked at the familiar ceiling, but her heart was beating exceptionally fast. she raised her hand to cover the left side of her chest, unable to calm her heart for a long time.

That was indeed a nightmare. Perhaps because she had thought too much about those eerie things during the day, she had “thoughts by day and dreams by night”?

However, that dream was too real. Don’t they say you can’t feel pain in a dream? Why was she still able to recall the sensation of pain from the dream now? In that situation, she could almost not distinguish between dream and reality.

Fortunately, not everything in the dream was terrifying. At the end of the dream… that singing, which seemed like a lullaby, had smoothed away all her pain. She didn’t know who that silhouette was; she only remembered smelling the sweet fragrance of honey peaches.

Wait… honey peaches?

At this thought, Jiang Zitan suddenly sniffed her quilt. There seemed to be that faint fragrance she smelled in her dream here?

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