Once one"s hypnosis reached a certain level, it would be possible to make someone fall under the illusion that they were in unimaginable pain, like they were thrown in the scorching fire, drowning in a sea of needles, or trapped somewhere without oxygen in the outer s.p.a.ce. However, the pain would remain in one"s imagination that would only affect one"s mind. In the end, a fake was still fake. It was not something that really happened and while there might be some trauma, it would not be the type that the body remembers.
Such a punishment, how could that be enough to correct a bad girl"s moral character? What to do to traumatize someone so she would not consider doing something horrible to those not from that village?
"Hypnosis is going lenient on her. Ghost abilities would not work much because she is also a master of spirit-related abilities."
Because of this thought, Jiang Li resorted to the techniques of the Maoshan people, the ones really called witches because of their Gu magic which he mixed with some techniques learned from the G.o.d of Plague.
Since that day, whenever Gu Mochou did something bad, whether it be towards the leads or somebody unrelated to the plot, she would go through the same experience her victims went through.
The pain and agony were real. It was a curse. Her mind felt everything vividly, and so did every fiber of her body. Each time, she would faint, go to the hospital, report to the police, discover that she was actually perfectly healthy, and search around like crazy for the d.a.m.n culprit who was playing with her… It became a cycle that left mental scars not only to Gu Mochou but to the doctors and the officers.
The problem with Gu Mochou was that she was too stubborn. To confirm if there really was a connection between Zhao Ai and the hidden a.s.sailant, she tried several times to mess up with Zhao Ai. But when things did happen, she only gritted her teeth, still not convinced.
It seemed she now wanted to mess up with somebody not related to the female lead for another test.
A week and a half pa.s.sed since the first incident.
In his ghost king state, after leaving the sleeping body of Lang Lei, Jiang Li dropped by the villainess" unit. After all, it was just on the opposite side of the road and would not delay him much on his way to Zhan Rong. Gu Mochou was yet to return since it was vacation and there were still a few days before cla.s.ses resume. If he was not mistaken, the girl was called back to City J by her parents due to the a.s.sistant"s report.
"Tch... What"s with this?"
While going through the doc.u.ments Gu Mochou sealed in a hidden safe, a brow of his rose. To make sure he did not miss anything, he squinted his eyes twice.
There were two envelopes there, a small notebook, and some cards. On the first stack of papers, there were details about the food and beverage company owned by the Fans.
A thief had been marked by the villainess and there was a contract binding them which aimed to deal some blows to the family of the male lead using unscrupulous and self-destructive means. Naturally, the victim would be the criminal who had no choice but to obey since he was buried in debts and in dire need of money. Gu Mochou promised protection for the family of this dude.
What"s in his hands was not really a contract, but just a drafted report. Who knew where the girl placed the contract or if there was a contract at all?
However, because there are other pictures and info listed, he came to a conclusion.
"I don"t think she only contacted one person and as I can see it, most likely, not all of them are evildoers. So does the so-called money and protection enough compensation to those who will lose their family members?"
Jiang Li clicked his tongue in amazement at how ruthless the girl could be. But now that he thought about it, most transmigrators or reborn were like this. Because they met injustice in their first life, they vowed to be bad people in their next one and no longer be the stupid pushover old them. His case was similar since even now, he wanted to go back to take revenge. However, the difference was that the numerous lifetimes he went through sobered him up to at least be mindful of not involving somebody innocent.
So these other reborn people, when did having a second chance in life, a rebirth, or a time-travel a ground to hurt people unrelated to the oppressors of their previous lives?
And actually, if that oppressor had not yet done anything wrong, was it really okay to bestow them punishment?
In his long journey, he sometimes did crazy things, but there was not yet an instance when he killed or destroyed someone before that person made an unpardonable crime. At least, that was his bottom line as he crossed through worlds.
"If they come early, don"t they always have the choice to reform the bad guy? But I"m afraid, most people are more inclined to wait for the bad guys to sin so they could justifiably punish them. Because punis.h.i.+ng is easier and more satisfying than reforming."
"Oh. Wait... I seem to be forgetting something." He laughed as he put back the contents of the first envelope.
He came to his senses and remembered what he really sparked his interest.
In this timeline or even in the previous timeline, Fan Zheng did not really cross the villainess. Or maybe he only did after the amnesia event. However, it was something the current villainess had no memories of or experience with. As of now, Fan Zheng"s only connection with Gu Mochou was being the boyfriend of the daughter of her enemy.
But look, Gu Mochou targeted him nonetheless even though she might have felt somehow that her excuse was weak and that wasting resources on this excuse was not worth it. It was the power of the plot.
"I guess, I have to borrow somebody"s laptop or phone later to tip off the police. Though I doubt they can find something, at least I did my job as a good ghost citizen."
He paid no attention to the cards, keys, and picked up the notebook. He found it disappointing that there were no more important things there. It was just a list of ingredients for something he did not know. The next envelope was picked up and when he went through it, seriousness appeared on his face.
The room was dark and cold already but it became a lot more unfriendly to living beings even though the trespa.s.sing ghost did not do anything but maintain his reading pose. If one would look closely, the gloom and annoyance in Jiang Li"s face would be noticeable.
He did not know whether to be annoyed or not.
He, or rather Zhao Bolin, was investigated by the villainess.
Zhao Bolin was truly as he expected, a non-native of Zhao village, and somebody sold to the villagers when he was only a baby.
According to the investigation which was issued several years ago yet only came to Gu Mochou last week, Zhao Bolin was willingly sold off by his parents, not because they discovered he was ill… as at that time, he looked no different from a normal baby. It was simply the civil war before the 1950s that made them too poor to raise another child.
No matter what though, how obsessed was this Mo Chou for Zhao Bolin that she did this despite thirty years pa.s.sing by?
Also, about the parents, isn"t it too irresponsible of them to trade one"s son with food, and to traffickers even? Or were they thinking they struck a good deal since the villages scattered in the mountains were not very affected by the long civil wars?
There were a bunch of black and white photos attached to the files proving how bad the state of the country was around that time. None of the pictures showed what Zhao Bolin looked like as an infant.
Research said cameras were already invented around the 1800s. Unfortunately, it was only in the year 2007 and up that they became more accessible to the poor. It was pretty obvious that there would not be a photo of him in his early years.
However... there was one picture, colored and different from the rest, featuring a handsome man in his late thirties resembling him, taken in the mid or late 1970s.
The caption said "Tao Zhen, a second-generation rich". It said the dude"s parents had a lucky break around the 1960s and profited from several local snacks learned from a foreign master pâtissier.
Jiang Li furrowed his brow.
"I don"t know what to think about this."
"Their brains are weird."
"If they are good parents or have the slightest conscience, when they successfully built a business and became affluent, they could have looked for the son that they have lost. So why didn"t they do so?"
"Because they felt they didn"t have to as they already have a handsome and intelligent firstborn?"
"Tch. Poor Zhao Bolin."
"Perhaps it"s really much better that he got adopted by a kind village grandma. At least he did not have to live with eccentric parents."
Jiang Li felt that the world today was very strange. In most matters, there was a need to get a license or past a test. Plus seminars and counseling. Those were mostly for stuff that determines a career, or a skill that needed to be certified. Parenting should fall under both. Yet look. How come this thing only needed some counseling sessions and some seminars?
"Parenting, huh…"
"There should be many many intelligent people in the world. I am not one of them. But while there are lessons and perhaps, test… how come n.o.body thought of conducting some rigorous written and practical exams plus issuing license first before letting couples have the rights to create children?"
"Even minors around 17 or 18 years of age, if they are ready, with money, with a sense of responsibility, and equip with the correct parenting knowledge, who cares if they have kids."
Jiang Li scoffed.
How unfortunate that there was a concept of minor and adult because most people under 18 are immature and think that as long they have love, they can go against the world. "Bah. This is where ancient times beat modern people. There are more responsible parents in ancient times than in modern times."
The ghost left the house. The items were shoved back into the vault, seemingly untouched in their original position. Nothing else changed in the place apart from the spooky presence that faintly lingered. However, Gu Mochou would at most return three days later so there was no need to worry about being found out since there was no way the aura left would stay for that long.
Ten minutes later, the ghost arrived at Zhan Rong"s cozy apartment and notified her through the system.