Chapter Thirteen: Behind This Wall Lies Emptiness

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The weapon from the dreamlike world suddenly appeared in the real world, causing Lu Yuan's mind to momentarily waver, blurring the line between reality and illusion.

Wen Ke called out to Lu Yuan several times but received no response, so she reached out and shook his body gently.

“Are you okay?”

Lu Yuan snapped back to reality and shook his head. “I’m fine.”

Lately, Lu Yuan had been through so much that a momentary lapse of focus was understandable.

Wen Ke didn’t think much of it and simply patted Lu Yuan’s shoulder. “If you don’t feel well, go rest. I’ll contact you if anything comes up.”

At the moment, the prime suspect in the murder case was An Shi, not Lu Yuan.

The police had no right to restrict Lu Yuan’s freedom.

Just then, Lu Yuan suddenly made a request. “Captain Wen, may I visit the crime scene?”

Wen Ke frowned slightly.

That wasn’t exactly by the book.

Only police personnel were allowed inside a crime scene. Lu Yuan was only a psychologist, not a member of the police force. Entering and leaving the crime scene at will could lead to consequences.

Lu Yuan noticed her hesitation. “If it’s not allowed, forget it. I just want to see An Shi’s house, to understand why he came to my clinic.”

Wen Ke invited Lu Yuan into her office. “I’ll apply for permission. I’m not the one who can decide this.”

After Wen Ke left, Lu Yuan grew bored and began pacing around the office.

As he walked, he stopped in his tracks.

On Wen Ke’s desk lay a university graduation photo, the background of which looked very familiar.

The graduation wall of Qingteng Neurological Medical University.

Wen Ke was smiling brightly, crouched in the lower left corner of the photo, flashing a peace sign at the camera.

Lu Yuan frowned slightly.

He had an identical graduation photo—and he recognized the background.

His gaze moved upward, and in the second-to-last row on the right side, he found his own image, looking somewhat fresh-faced and youthful, but unmistakably himself.

Lu Yuan was stunned.

Wen Ke was his classmate?

Why did he have no memory of her at all?

He picked up the photo, scanning each face carefully. He had some impression of the others, but Wen Ke remained a complete blank.

Creak—

The office door opened.

Wen Ke came in and was surprised to see Lu Yuan holding the photo, lost in thought. “Lu Yuan?”

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Startled, Lu Yuan snapped out of it and couldn’t help but ask, “Captain Wen, did you graduate from Qingteng Neurological Medical University too?”

Wen Ke’s eyes fell on the photo. She smiled and shook her head. “No, I graduated from Qingteng Police Academy, right next door to your school.”

Lu Yuan was taken aback.

Then what about this photo…

Wen Ke stepped beside him and pointed to a girl next to her in the photo. “She’s my good friend. When the photo was taken, I went to visit her and got pulled into the picture.”

Lu Yuan followed Wen Ke’s finger and looked at the girl. His expression grew complicated. “Tang Wen.”

Upon hearing this, Wen Ke’s eyes widened. “You know Wenwen?”

The photo itself didn’t label anyone’s names, so the fact that Lu Yuan could call out Tang Wen’s name clearly meant he knew her.

Lu Yuan was silent for a few seconds, then pointed to himself in the photo. “That’s me.”

Wen Ke glanced over.

Well, well!

It really was him.

Her good friend and Lu Yuan were from the same graduating class—even the same class.

Lu Yuan asked softly, “Were you and Tang Wen close?”

Wen Ke hadn’t expected this connection and her tone softened. “Wenwen and I grew up together.”

“At Tang Wen’s funeral, I don’t think I saw you.”

Lu Yuan put down the photo.

Mentioning the topic, Wen Ke looked somewhat somber and gave a bitter smile. “I was assigned as an auxiliary officer in another city at the time. I didn’t even know about Wenwen’s death or burial. When I returned to S City, it was her parents who told me she had passed.”

Lu Yuan didn’t want to dwell on it any longer. Let the past be the past.

Wen Ke sighed. “Her parents said it was a car accident. Later, I asked around; everyone said the same.”

Lu Yuan’s hand inside his pocket clenched briefly before slowly relaxing. His expression was calm. “Life is unpredictable.”

Wen Ke gazed at the photo sadly for a moment before composing herself. “I’ve applied to the director. Since your fingerprints were found on the murder weapon, he’s specially approved you to visit the crime scene.”

Lu Yuan knew in his heart he was still treated as a suspect.

An Shi was the primary suspect.

He was the secondary.

Lu Yuan didn’t mind. As long as he could get a look at the crime scene, that was enough. He wanted to see if the villa’s arrangement matched what he saw in the dreamlike world.

The moment Lu Yuan stepped out of Wen Ke’s office, his eyes once again landed on the photo on the desk, a complex emotion flickering in them.

After a bit of travel, with the director’s special approval, Wen Ke smoothly led Lu Yuan into the crime scene.

The moment Lu Yuan walked through the villa’s front door, he knew this villa was exactly the same as the one in his dreams.

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Only, in the dreamlike world, the villa was always shrouded in night, surrounded by a lingering gray fog that never dissipated.

“Put on your gloves. Don’t touch any areas marked specially.”

“Although the body has been taken back to the station, there are still some bloodstains on the floor that haven’t been cleaned. Be careful not to step on them. Also, if you feel nauseous, remember to step outside.”

Wen Ke was worried that Lu Yuan might not be able to handle the psychological pressure of his first visit to a crime scene.

But Lu Yuan remained calm, so Wen Ke swallowed her concerns.

“Can I walk around freely?”

“Yes, but be careful.”

Wen Ke followed closely, protecting the crime scene while observing Lu Yuan’s expression.

Lu Yuan first walked to the bedroom door and looked at the large bed in the center.

That bed was his point of origin in the dream world.

Every time he woke up, he was lying on that bed.

Seeing the familiar bed, Lu Yuan felt an unusual warmth, even entertained the idea of buying the same model to place in his clinic.

The bedroom layout was basically the same.

The only difference was that opposite the bed was a bare wall — no television hung there.

After finishing in the bedroom, Lu Yuan headed toward the bathroom.

Creak—

Lu Yuan was taken aback.

The bathroom door was locked from the inside.

Wen Ke heard the sound and sensed something wrong. She stepped forward and tried to turn the door handle, but it only creaked and wouldn’t budge.

Watching Wen Ke’s attempt to open the locked bathroom door, Lu Yuan’s mind flashed back to the scene of Zhuo Yan, who had died the night before, turning the door handle outside the bathroom.

Lu Yuan’s breathing quickened, cold sweat forming on his forehead.

Wen Ke called over a colleague who fetched a key and finally opened the bathroom door.

Lu Yuan ignored Wen Ke and walked straight inside, standing before the mirror and staring intently at his own reflection.

An Shi died inside the mirror.

If certain things in the dreamlike world corresponded to the real world, then logically An Shi was right behind this mirror.

Lu Yuan feigned a momentary lapse of consciousness and suddenly bumped his head against the bathroom wall. A dull thud echoed.

Behind this wall… was empty.