The Hand of Confession – Chapter 201

Volume 7: Days of Stargazing at the Inn

Disinfectant

Brat Shen Maomao

Lou Jingmo withdrew her gaze. “That’s why I said, artists are all lunatics.”

Shen Maomao asked, “So, should we try to save him?”

“No need,” Lou Jingmo said. “That guy with the little mustache isn’t as simple as you think.”

Shen Maomao was speechless. “Why do I feel like I’m the simplest one among these people…”

Lou Jingmo glanced back at Golden Retriever and stated firmly, “That’s right, you’re the dumbest.”

Golden Retriever burst out laughing. “I thought I’d be the dumbest!”

Shen Maomao: “…” Friendship over.

The journey there always felt exceptionally long. The mountain wind blew, and willow catkins¹ from who knows where plastered themselves all over people’s faces, making Shen Maomao sneeze uncontrollably several times. A fiery red maple leaf landed on her head, then fluttered to the ground because of her sneeze.

Lou Jingmo suddenly squatted down, pushing aside a large pile of fallen leaves on the ground. “It’s here.”

“Huh?” Shen Maomao leaned closer to look and saw black vertical streaks on the ground, looking like marks scuffed out by shoes.

She had a sudden realization. “Ohh—! This is the s—” shit “—that Lou-jie stepped in yesterday!”

Lou Jingmo slapped the back of her head. “You, shut your mouth! I was making a mark!!”

Shen Maomao clutched her head, her eyes welling up with tears. “Your own actions are misleading… Don’t you think so, Golden Retriever?”

“…” Golden Retriever chose to play it safe with silence. Though the action did look quite similar, it’s enough to know it in your heart, why say it out loud?

Furious, Lou Jingmo reached out and pinched her cheeks a couple more times before leading them into the woods on the right.

The forest was vast, with tree trunks of various colors shooting straight up, and flowers of all hues blooming in succession. The entire scene was a riot of color; looking at it for too long would make your eyes sting a bit².

Because they didn’t know how far Ranran and Qu Jing had gone in, they could only walk while keeping an eye on their surroundings, and at the same time, be careful of the hunting pits Hong-jie had mentioned.

The situation in the mountains was complex, and the three of them didn’t dare to court death by shouting names—attracting wild animals was secondary; attracting a ghost would be truly thrilling.

They fumbled their way forward for some distance. Sure enough, just as Lou Jingmo had predicted—they found nothing. So, they decided to stop where they were for a short rest, then head back to the mountaintop.

Golden Retriever leaned against a large tree, frowning as he sniffed the air. “Wait a minute… Why is there a strange smell in the air? It smells… a bit like 84 Disinfectant³??”

Shen Maomao also started sniffing, her nose twitching like a puppy’s. Finally, she said uncertainly, “It seems like there is. You really live up to your name, Golden Retriever! Your nose is so good! Can you find out where this smell is coming from?”

Golden Retriever: “…Are you really using me like a dog???”

Shen Maomao stood up straight and said seriously, “Those who achieve great things don’t sweat the small stuff. Hurry up and go!”

With a resentful look, Golden Retriever took two steps forward, following the smell like a wandering spirit. Shen Maomao followed closely behind, while Lou Jingmo trailed at the very back, making marks as she walked to prevent them from getting lost on the way back.

The further they walked, the stronger the smell of disinfectant became. By the end, the three of them were almost enveloped by the intense, pungent odor.

Golden Retriever stopped. “No good, the smell is too strong. I can’t pinpoint the exact direction.”

At this moment, they were in a thicket of bushes almost as tall as a person, surrounded by green on all sides, making it nearly impossible to see anything else.

Lou Jingmo said, “Let’s split up and look. Remember to make marks, don’t make me come looking for you later.”

The two replied in unison, “Roger.”

The three of them each chose a direction.

After walking forward for a short while, Shen Maomao was sure she had gone the wrong way because the smell was getting fainter in her direction. So, she didn’t hesitate and immediately turned back.

As soon as she returned to the spot where they had separated, she saw Golden Retriever squatting on the ground, drawing circles.

Hearing the sound, Golden Retriever looked up at her, his eyes instantly lighting up. “Sister Rabbit! Come quick! I found something!”

Shen Maomao scanned her surroundings twice before looking him properly in the eye. “What did you find? What’s wrong?”

Golden Retriever urged, “It’s hard to explain with words, just come with me quickly!”

Shen Maomao hesitated. “Shouldn’t we wait for Lou-jie? We’re just two small fry⁴, not enough to even be a side dish for them⁵…”

“It’s not a ghost!” As he spoke, Golden Retriever reached out to grab her arm. “It’s something very strange, very safe, but I can’t describe it. Lou-jie has gone off somewhere, who knows how long we’ll have to wait for her.”

Shen Maomao dodged, but failed to get away, and Golden Retriever grabbed her arm.

The warm skin contact on her arm wasn’t the icy feeling Shen Maomao had imagined, but she didn’t let down her guard because of it. Instead, she skillfully broke free from his grip and plopped down on the grass. “I’m not going!! I want to wait for Lou-jie! I’m a baby! If Lou-jie isn’t here, I won’t be good!”

Golden Retriever tried to grab her again. Shen Maomao simply started rolling on the ground, wailing as she rolled, kicking her feet wildly to keep him from getting close, looking exactly like a brat. “I won’t listen, I won’t listen!” A rustling sound came from the grass. Shen Maomao was so engrossed in her rolling that she didn’t hear it at all, until a pair of shoes appeared in front of her. Above the shoes were elegantly shaped ankles, and then straight, delicate calves…

She looked up and saw Lou Jingmo standing in front of her with a complicated expression.

Lou Jingmo panted slightly. “…Have you gone mad?”

Shen Maomao sat up with a start. She first looked around and, sure enough, didn’t see Golden Retriever. Then she looked at Lou Jingmo and said weakly, “I can explain…”

Lou Jingmo bent down slightly and plucked a withered yellow blade of grass from her head, conveniently allowing Shen Maomao to see the pattern on the back of her neck.

Shen Maomao immediately breathed a sigh of relief. In that position, she threw her arms around Lou Jingmo’s neck, hugging her tightly as if embracing the whole world. “Lou-jie!! I saw a ghost!!”

Lou Jingmo, stuck in an awkward position, said, “…Let go of me.”

Shen Maomao scrambled up, patting the grass clippings off herself. “That scared me to death! That thing turned into Golden Retriever and insisted on taking me away. If I hadn’t been so clever, you might never have seen me again.”

Lou Jingmo praised her insincerely, “Well done. I did indeed turn back when I heard your crying.” She was crying so miserably, Lou Jingmo thought something had happened to Shen Maomao with a ghost and rushed back, only to find a giant brat. It was truly exasperating.

Shen Maomao said proudly, “I knew at a glance that Golden Retriever was fake. He’s such a wuss⁶, how could he possibly have the courage to explore with a wuss like me? I told him to wait for you, and he disagreed. He must have known you’re not easy to deal with!”

Lou Jingmo said faintly, “You’re quite proud of that?”

Shen Maomao: “Of course!” Openly and honorably a wuss!

Lou Jingmo: “…”

After laughing and being a wuss, Shen Maomao started thinking about serious matters. “Lou-jie, my path was wrong. The further I went, the fainter the smell became. What about you?”

Lou Jingmo: “Same as you.” When Shen Maomao was wailing, she was heading back, which is why she could hear her cries clearly and rush back in time.

The directions they both chose had the smell getting fainter. That only left Golden Retriever’s path.

Golden Retriever had placed a small stick outside the bushes, and now that little stick was still standing firmly in the soil. The two of them ducked into the thicket, preparing to follow the marks Golden Retriever had left to find him.

Lou Jingmo grabbed Shen Maomao’s hand to prevent her from getting lost. Shen Maomao suddenly felt a sharp pain in her hand and sucked in a cold breath.

Lou Jingmo immediately let go. “What’s wrong with your hand?”

Shen Maomao lifted her arm. “I don’t know… I didn’t feel anything just now. But when you pressed it, it really hurts now qwq.”

Lou Jingmo: “Are you trying to pull a scam on me?”⁷

Shen Maomao: “It must have been that fake Golden Retriever ghost thing! The parts that hurt are where he grabbed me!”

“It might bruise later. You can apply a hot towel then,” Lou Jingmo said.

Shen Maomao looked touched. “Lou-jie, you’re so nice… Seeing my hand hurts and you’re even going to help me with a hot compress…”

Lou Jingmo looked completely baffled. “When did I ever say that?” Then she gave a cold smile. “Deal with it yourself.” After saying that, she strode off.

Poor little short-legged Shen Maomao could only scamper behind her, her two legs working overtime. It was a sight pitiful enough to make onlookers weep, truly couldn’t be more miserable.

Golden Retriever’s path must have been the correct one, because the further they went, the stronger the smell of disinfectant became. Towards the end, Shen Maomao even suspected if the disinfectant had become a spirit⁸.

She covered her nose, out of breath from exhaustion. She pushed down a patch of grass with difficulty and, not paying attention, bumped into Lou Jingmo’s back.

“Lou-jie?” Shen Maomao peeked out from behind her, wanting to see what she had encountered.

What came into view was a white, empty space devoid of any plants. The ground, made of some unknown material, was milky white and seemed slightly reflective. Its total area wasn’t large, less than ten square meters. In the very center was an iron-frame bed. The bed was covered with a thick quilt, and under the quilt was a bulging human-like shape. Some pure white bottles were scattered beside the bed.

Shen Maomao was stunned and asked weakly, “Lou-jie… what is this?”

Lou Jingmo didn’t answer. Instead, she strode forward quickly, stepping directly onto the white floor. In a few steps, she reached the iron-frame bed, yanked off the quilt, and revealed Golden Retriever, trussed up like a turkey⁹.

Golden Retriever’s eyes were brimming with tears. “Mmph mmph mmph!!”

He had been tied to the bed by someone unknown, his hands and feet bound tightly without any slack, and a towel was stuffed in his mouth, preventing him from making any sound.

Lou Jingmo reached out and pulled the towel from his mouth.

Golden Retriever immediately turned his head and spat three times. “F#ck… My mouth is full of disinfectant smell, wuwuwu… So disgusting… Blech…”

Shen Maomao also hurried over to help untie him. “What happened to you? What went on?”

Tears streamed down Golden Retriever’s face. “I don’t know!! I hadn’t walked far when I heard a strange alarm sound. Then I followed the sound, making marks as I went. As I was walking, everything suddenly went black, and then I was tied up here QAQ.”

Shen Maomao: “What alarm sound?”

Golden Retriever: “It’s right under my waist… It’s killing me…”

As his words fell, a beautiful melody rang out, like a death knell¹⁰.

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The author has something to say:

Exams are coming up, frantically memorizing questions, trying my best to maintain daily updates qwq

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