C18 Stealing away in the Middle of the Night

Fruit? Ye Cheng handed the cash Wang Anshi had given him to Liu. "Could you help me buy some? As a member of the Multi-star Planet, I'm not allowed to act without headquarters' permission."

Grateful for the protective talisman Ye Cheng had drawn for him, Liu accepted the money and replied, "Sure, I'm not sure what to get, so I'll just pick up a variety of fruits."

Before long, Liu returned, pushing open Ye Cheng's door with a large bag of fruit only to find Ye Cheng sprawled out on the bed, chip crumbs still clinging to his lips.

Not wanting to wake Ye Cheng, Liu quietly set the fruit down on the coffee table. His gaze then shifted to the now-awake Purple Fox, whose daunting stare sent him fleeing in terror.

The Purple Fox snorted disdainfully, rummaging through the bag with her fluffy claws until she found some purple grapes. Delighted, she clutched them in her paws and began to feast.

Meanwhile, Ye Cheng was having a restless sleep, feeling unbearably uncomfortable as if swarms of insects were crawling over him. He awoke groggily to a damp sensation covering his body.

The system alerted: "The host is purging impure blood. Please remain calm."

Confused, Ye Cheng stumbled outside, feeling as though an invisible force was guiding him somewhere.

The following morning, as the nurse made her routine rounds, she was horrified to discover a blood-soaked figure in the bed. She shrieked, "Ah! There's a dead body! A dead body!"

Her cries roused Ye Cheng, who sat up groggily, yawned, and glanced at the person on the floor before settling back down as if nothing were amiss.

He couldn't recall how he'd returned the previous night but was too exhausted to care. He decided to sleep just a bit longer.

The nurse, still reeling from the shock, cautiously approached Ye Cheng, her hand shaking as she checked for his breath under his nose, feeling the warm breath on her fingertips.

"Ye, Ye Cheng, how did you get back here?"

"I'm not sure, I just felt like coming back," he mumbled.

Incredulous, the nurse stared at Ye Cheng. His body was drenched in blood. How could anyone survive losing that much blood? Unless, perhaps, the blood wasn't his own?

"Ye Cheng, what's this blood all over you?"

Ye Cheng reached out and felt his body, discovering something sticky. He responded nonchalantly, "How should I know? It was already on me when I woke up."

They say the actions of the mentally ill are beyond their control, sometimes triggered by environmental influences.

Could it be?

Did Ye Cheng commit murder?

The thought took root in his mind, and he couldn't stop pondering the possibility.

The young nurse was so unnerved she felt she couldn't remain in the ward any longer. She even feared that Ye Cheng might leap up and stab her at any moment!

With this thought, she bolted, not even looking back as she ran straight to the hospital director's office.

Ye Cheng watched her departure in bewilderment. What just happened? Why did she run off like that? Was it his good looks that overwhelmed her?

He sighed. It was a curse to be so handsome.

The nurse burst into the director's office, startling Chen Yangguang.

"Tao, what's the matter? Why are you in such a panic?"

Trembling, Tao pointed toward Ye Cheng's ward and stammered, "Dean, it's terrible. Ye Cheng, he..."

Before Tao could finish, Chen Yangguang sprang to his feet, "What's happened to Ye Cheng?"

"He's killed someone!"

Murder?

Wasn't Ye Cheng with the Supernatural Bureau, hunting ghosts? How could he suddenly be a murderer?

Chen Yangguang hastily dropped what he was holding and commanded, "Come on, take me to see."

Tao led Chen Yangguang to the ward, where they found Ye Cheng lying on the bed, his body smeared with blood, looking very much like a murderer.

"Director, I've already asked him. He doesn't know where the blood came from either."

Without clear evidence, it was premature to jump to conclusions. It was best to investigate further.

"Tao, go back to your duties. I'll handle things here."

With a nod, Tao exited.

Once she was gone, Chen Yangguang approached and whispered, "Ye Cheng, are you asleep?"

"No," Ye Cheng replied without opening his eyes, "What do you need?"

Chen Yangguang's heart raced as he listened to the calmness in Ye Cheng's voice. It was exactly this calm demeanor that made him suspect Ye Cheng's condition might be deteriorating.

"Ye Cheng, have you been taking your medication these past few days?"

Silence followed.

"Ye Cheng, are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

Still, no response.

Chen Yangguang's heart pounded as he cautiously approached. Just as he was about to reach out, Ye Cheng's eyes snapped open, staring at him and causing him to recoil in surprise.

"Ye Cheng, I'm just concerned about you, that's all."

Propping himself up with his hands, Ye Cheng sat up and leaned against the headboard, speaking with a lazy drawl, "You all keep asking the same questions. It's so tiresome, I'm getting annoyed myself. What do you want with me? I'm practically dying from exhaustion here."

His reactions were normal, his responses were normal, and his emotions were normal.

The more normal Ye Cheng seemed, the more Chen Yangguang felt something was off. It looked like it was time to increase the dosage.

Meanwhile, the Supernatural Bureau was thrown into chaos by Ye Cheng's abrupt disappearance.

Wang Anshi returned to the bureau only to find not just Ye Cheng missing, but the Purple Fox gone as well. The place was a mess, blood everywhere, and even Ye Cheng's favorite snacks were left behind.

"What the hell happened?" Wang Anshi exploded. He had gone to great lengths to find someone with supernatural abilities, and if something had happened to him, how would he ever explain it?

Liu was the first to notice Ye Cheng's absence. He had come with snacks to exchange for a protective charm from Ye Cheng, but to his shock, he found the room splattered with blood and completely empty.

"Director, I swear I have no idea what happened. I saw him go to bed last night, but by morning, he was gone."

Liu was beside himself with frustration. If only he had chosen a different time to visit.

"Have you sent out a search party? Have you reviewed the surveillance footage?"

Officer Liu quickly nodded and reported, "We've checked everything. Last night, out of nowhere, Ye Cheng suddenly stood at the doorway of his room. Then, the footage flickered, and he was gone. We've looked everywhere to no avail. It's like he evaporated into thin air."

"How can someone just vanish like that? Could there be an issue with the surveillance system?"

Wang Anshi was frantic with worry. He reviewed the surveillance video several times, and it matched Liu's account almost exactly. Could it be the Red and White Ghosts? Had that entity taken him?

Driven by his concern for Ye Cheng's safety, Wang Anshi leveraged every contact he had until he finally unearthed a lead.

"Chief, I just got off the phone with the psychiatric hospital. They said Ye Cheng has returned, but something's off," Liu reported urgently.