Until we reached Shanghai, aside from us, no one had spoken a word to Lu Yun. But a surprising transformation was slowly occurring in her. She was becoming increasingly beautiful at an astonishing rate. Originally just a pretty girl, her features hadn’t changed much, but her entire aura was completely different, exuding a charm that, at the moment we parted, even I could hardly resist her smile. I knew this must be the result of her advanced illusion skills. Her return to school would surely cause a stir.
The next time I saw her, who knows what she would have become? “I owe you a favor. If you need anything in the future, don’t forget me,” Lu Yun waved at me with a smile at the train station, naturally taking Liang Yingwu’s hand, and turned to leave. Whether it was because of her current allure or fear of her mysterious abilities, Liang Yingwu, who claimed to be interested only in men, did not resist.
Back in Shanghai, I wrote a terrible article, lacking even the mood to fabricate. I couldn’t help but glance at my boss’s face several times. It took a long time to recover from the shadow of the cave. After this incident, Lu Yun called me a few times, but I always had a lingering shadow in my heart about her, and without seeing her, I couldn’t feel her attraction, so each call was brief.
Later, Liang Yingwu told me that Zhu Zili, Guo Yonghua, Jiang Wei, Bian Xiaou, and Fei Qing had all dropped out one after another. Bian Xiaou and Fei Qing broke up soon after returning. He Yun Kai never went back to bodybuilding, and Liu Wenying seemed to have swapped personalities with Lu Yun. Now, Lu Yun was the center of attention wherever she went in school, her charm so great that even Liang Yingwu had to look away and leave quickly to avoid being captivated.
Now, the Cave of People has been discovered again. Whether the writings on the bones inside will be found is doubtful. The likelihood seems small; if not for our predicament, no one would have studied those bones closely. Ordinary people would flee after just a few minutes in that cave, so the shocking case of Baojia Village might still only be known to the 14 of us.
As I write this, I realize that the original fear has faded as I type out these characters on the screen. This is truly a good way; everything is meant to be shared, joy, pain, and fear alike. So, next, I plan to call Lu Yun for the first time, to ask about how popular she’s become and how far her illusion skills have advanced. I think I should maintain a good relationship with her; the mysterious illusion might come in handy in the future. And there’s one more important thing: Lu Yun, she’s now a great beauty, perhaps even an unparalleled beauty, isn’t she?
