Having died once and been born anew, Wang Jue claimed he was different now, able to hear sounds from a thousand li away. A thousand li might be an exaggeration, but within four or five kilometers, it seemed entirely possible.

However, I found this tale of clairaudience hard to swallow, suspecting he might be suffering from some psychological distress—perhaps auditory hallucinations—following his near-death experience. Or perhaps it was simply his inability to accept the reality that his body had been possessed by a female spirit, leading to murder.

Holding this attitude of cautious disbelief, I asked him to listen in on what Hua Gu and the High Monk were doing. They were busy on the mountainside, tidying their tools, preparing to descend once we rejoined them. Standing here at the summit, I couldn't catch the faintest whisper of their voices.

Wang Jue tilted his left ear slightly, cupping it with his left hand, and listened intently with a serious expression. He finally told me, "They're wondering what happened in the village. Hua Gu is puzzled why the Village Head didn't come up the mountain with us."

"The Village Head was also killed by Hua Jinlan last night, wasn't he?" Wang Jue asked, emphasizing those three words—Hua Jinlan—with such weight, as if to declare to me that the homicide had nothing to do with him.

Recalling the scene of the Village Head’s murder the previous night, I could only respond to his question with a heavy sigh.

Everything that needed to be said had been said; he knew what he needed to know. Yet, I remained undecided about what to do next. If his information was true—that police cars were already parked outside the village—descending now would be walking straight into a trap. But was his 'clairaudience' real? I decided to leave that question marked with a large question mark for now, planning to confirm his report with Hua Gu and the High Monk before drawing any conclusions.

So, I left Wang Jue alone on the peak and made my way down to the mountainside to meet Hua Gu and the High Monk. Seeing me, they immediately picked up their belongings, ready to head down. I raised a hand, signaling them to wait. They stopped, waiting for me to approach.

"What were you just talking about?" I asked, cutting straight to the point.

Taken aback by my abrupt question, Hua Gu and the High Monk, unaware of the full situation, exchanged bewildered glances. They both stared at me and asked in unison, "Why are you asking that?"

Their tone suggested I was prying too much, which left me feeling somewhat awkward, unsure how to explain myself. After a long pause, I managed to stammer out, "Did you happen to mention the Village Head just now?"

They became even more confused, looking at me with strange expressions, as if I were an alien visitor.

"Yes, I was just saying how strange it was that he didn't come up with you. What’s wrong? Why the sudden question?" Hua Gu countered.

"Nothing, just verifying something. You two go on down. If you run into any police officers, don't tell them where Wang Jue and I are." With that, I guided them onto the narrow path, watching their retreating figures until they disappeared.

It was clear that even as Hua Gu descended, her heart remained tethered to Wang Jue. She kept glancing back toward the summit where Wang Jue stood, then back toward me on the mountainside, unsure what game we were playing or why we weren't coming down with them. Wang Jue stood on a large slab of rock jutting out from the cliff edge at the peak, watching her too, seemingly unable to simply let her go. He wanted to say more, but the distance between them was vast. Perhaps he already sensed that their next meeting would be in some far-off future.

Watching these two souls seemingly torn apart, all I could do was sigh again and again. Verifying Wang Jue’s clairaudience indirectly confirmed that the police were indeed nearby. Given the circumstances, neither of them knew when or where they would see each other again.

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