The Xi Temple collapsed. The cries of the God of Flesh and Blood echoed through the night. A lot of memory fragments triggered Gao Ming. He fell to the first floor. The red threads and the invitation cards melted into the God of Flesh and Blood.
“Gao Ming! Wake up!”
No matter how hard Fu Shu shouted, Gao Ming couldn’t open his eyes. The red lines sewed his eyes shut and sealed up his ears and nose. They plunged him into different nightmares.
“New groom! You have to wake up! Look at how late it is. How are you still sleeping?”
An unfamiliar voice entered his ears. Gao Ming opened his eyes and realised he was lying in bed. A middle-aged man paced about him nervously.
“Who are you?” The wooden door opened, and two sweet maids entered the room with the groom’s outfit. They easily helped Gao Ming change.
“Marital night and getting on the exam ranking. There are only three joyous events in life. You have accomplished two of them in one go. You have to restrain yourself in the future and not act as frivolous as you did in the past,” The butler rambled. The maids giggled.
The sun was high. Gao Ming rode on a tall horse. The wedding team followed behind him. Everyone looked at him with pure envy. The horse stepped on the fallen petals. However, Gao Ming didn’t feel much joy.
“No. Something is not right.”
The wedding procession arrived at the Tang Residence, but the bride was nowhere to be seen. Gao Ming noticed the two stone lions in front of the Tang Residence looked very strange. They had four faces. Gao Ming jumped down from the horse. The butler and guards tried to stop him, but Gao Ming charged at the stone lions like crazy. When his hand touched the stone lions, their stone skins dissolved into flesh. The lion’s head took on a ghost’s face. The street and the Tang Residence shattered. Gao Ming felt his body sinking. His eyes flew open…“I promise you.” A shy voice began. A woman with a light fragrance landed in Gao Ming’s embrace. She wore a white wedding dress. Gao Ming felt someone pull on his hand. He lowered his head and saw a pretty face.
“Do I look good?” The girl moved closer, “My parents didn’t agree, but this is my wedding dress.”
“You better go back and discuss it with them. Do not be blinded by temporary love.” Gao Ming lightly pushed her back. He looked around. This was a house built on a sea of flowers. The walls were decorated with paintings. Most of them featured flowers and the girl before him.
“I’ve considered everything. I can’t survive without you.” The girl pounced at Gao Ming again.
“Move.” Gao Ming was anxious, but he couldn’t tell where the anxiety came from.
The girl knocked into the canvases stacked in the corner. The paintings hid a lot of ropes and torture devices. Out of Gao Ming’s expectations, the girl didn’t look scared. She picked up the rope. The rough rope cut into her soft skin, “This is my shackles and your salvation. In the month you trapped me, you became my terror and my sole reliance. I don’t know what happened to me. I don’t know when did I develop a love for pain.”
“Stockholm syndrome?” Gao Ming tossed the rope aside. The building only had her and the girl. They were surrounded by endless flowers. This was not his garden, but he appeared to be its owner. He could do anything he wanted.
The girl picked up a canvas and placed it before Gao Ming. She carried the rope and stood in Gao Ming’s line of sight. Her body shook from excitement and fear. Her lashes flickered. Her gaze tried to look at Gao Ming. “You can paint any flowers you like.”
Gao Ming frowned at the invitation. Gao Ming knew he was not that kind of person. He had no interest in controlling people’s fate. He picked up the brush and closed his eyes to feel the brush move. Moments later, a special flower appeared on the canvas. The blade pierced into the chest, and a bloody flower bloomed.
“Is this the flower I’m after?”
Gao Ming plunged the knife into his heart. As the girl screamed, he opened his eyes…
“Congratulations. Both the mother and the son are safe.” The doctor entered the room with a few pictures. Gao Ming noticed he was tied to the bed in a blue patient’s outfit. “You are recovering nicely as well. Keep on using the medicine. One more week, and you should be able to reunite with your family.”
The dark clouds above his head dissipated. He looked at the new life and felt his heart softening. The child provided him with a mysterious power that allowed his heavy heart to work again. Gao Ming turned and saw the uneven wounds on his arms. There was no pain in his eyes, only confusion, “Why am I here?”
“We transferred you to the forbidden zone because we were worried that you’d hurt yourself further.” The Doctor clearly didn’t understand Gao Ming. He placed the picture of the child beside his bed. “Capgras Delusion is a rare mental illness. The patient will mistake their friends and families for someone else. In your mind, your beloved wife might be someone else already.”
“Do you mean?” Gao Ming couldn’t leave because he was bound.
“She will look alien to you.” The Doctor tried to correct his mind while Gao Ming was still conscious, “However, no matter what, she is objectively your wife. Your inner suspicion constructed someone to replace her. That is the issue.” Gao Ming was slowly being persuaded by the Doctor. All his questions could be answered by the doctor. The doctor provided him with a logical explanation. His brain had fallen ill. Luckily, he was recovering. He would soon return to his family and hug his newborn son.
At night, the lights dimmed. The corridor became quiet. The picture accompanied Gao Ming. His wife and son looked at him, encouraging him. “That is not your wife and not your son.”
Gao Ming was sure that the voice came from his heart. The doctor had already warned him of this. That was his hallucination. Gao Ming struggled but couldn’t escape. He tried his best to look at his chest. The static didn’t come from his heart but from a strange and old walkie-talkie. It was covered in blood. Every channel hid a mysterious person.
“No communication device is allowed in the forbidden zone. What is this walkie-talkie then?”
Gao Ming’s heart pounded. He felt like something was about to cut through his skin. That was the ‘suspicion’ the doctor warned him about.
“A monster lives in my heart, and it is the source of my illness. It is there because of my work pressure. It is not real. It is something I have made up in my mind.” The doctor’s words echoed in Gao Ming’s mind. However, the next second, he saw a giant bloody branch crawl out of his chest. The smell of meat pervaded the whole room.