I tore off my t-shirt, my eyes widening like a bull's, because a patch of skin different in color from the rest had appeared on my chest.
If it were just some spots, I wouldn't have been scared. Being slapped by an evil entity, surviving was already a blessing. But as I looked down, I realized those spots seemed to form a pattern.
The pattern wasn't large, only the size of a matchbox, and it was a dark red. With sharp corners on both sides, one end pointed upwards and the other downwards. At first glance, it looked like an eye.
This made my expression stiffen, and I suddenly thought of that woman's eyes.
The pattern's shape was very similar to her narrow, phoenix-like eyes.
To make sure I wasn't mistaken, I took out my phone and took a selfie of my chest.
Looking at the photo on my phone, I fell silent.
The phone's pixels weren't great, but it was clear that right over my heart, an "eye" had "grown," very similar to the woman's narrow eyes.
However, this eye was now closed; more precisely, it only had the outline of an eye.
I rubbed it hard with my hand, trying to see if I could rub it off. Besides making my chest red and sore, the "eye" remained in its original state, as if it had been there since birth.
Ever since my father fell into a coma when I was eight and my mother left home, I had lived with my master. Apart from not having to cook, I had to manage my own bathing and dressing. I knew every mole on my body, and this was definitely not a birthmark.
At this moment, I suppressed the panic in my heart, opened my Xuan Yang Qi, and carefully felt the changes in my body, especially the area on my chest.
But no matter how I "looked," I couldn't detect any abnormality.
"Could I be hallucinating?"
With this thought, I turned back to the room where I had been sleeping, intending to study the painting I had brought from the old house on the west side of the village.
Zhang Dabiao inside was sleeping soundly, his snores loud.
I remembered placing the painting on the low table next to the chair before sleeping, but when I looked, it was empty, with nothing but dust.
"How is this possible?"
I distinctly remembered placing the painting on the low table before I fell unconscious.
"Did it fall on the floor?"
I stepped over Zhang Dabiao, who was blocking the low table, but there was nothing on the ground.
"Did it roll under the bed?"
I crouched down and looked under the bed. Apart from a thick layer of dust, there was nothing.
"Strange, I clearly remember placing it on the low table, how did it disappear?"
Just as I was pondering what had happened, a voice suddenly came from beside me.
"Little brother, what are you looking for? Lost money?"
I instinctively jumped up from the ground, ready to attack.
Only when I saw Zhang Dabiao looking at me with a surprised expression did I relax. "Brother Zhang, you know startling people can kill them?"
Zhang Dabiao looked at me with dissatisfaction. "You know startling people can kill them, but I was sleeping soundly, and you suddenly appeared. Aren't you afraid of scaring me to death?"
"I thought you were snoring, Brother Zhang, so I assumed you wouldn't wake up easily!" I chuckled awkwardly, then asked, "Brother Zhang, did you see the scroll I was carrying?"
Zhang Dabiao paused, looking at me with some confusion. "Little brother, are you not awake yet? Besides a backpack, you're not carrying anything else."
I was taken aback, thinking Zhang Dabiao was joking with me.
"Brother Zhang, stop joking. I brought a painting from the old house on the west side of the village. If you saw it, please return it to me quickly. It's very important to me."
"Little brother, are you not awake yet? After leaving the old house on the west side, you were carrying nothing but Sun Chuang's soul. Do you have a fever?" Zhang Dabiao frowned, then stood up and placed his hand on my forehead to feel it. "You don't have a fever, so why are you talking nonsense?"
I slapped away Zhang Dabiao's hand from my forehead and sat down on the chair, not knowing how to explain to him.
Should I tell him I stole a painting from the old house on the west side of the village and was then slapped by the woman in the painting?
If I told him, not only would Zhang Dabiao not believe me, but even I was starting to doubt if I was dreaming. However, the mark on my chest that resembled an eye was definitely real; that was where the woman had struck me.
Seeing my silence, Zhang Dabiao spoke with a hint of dissatisfaction.
"Little brother, we've been through life and death together. Just say whatever you need to say, don't be so effeminate, it annoys me."
"This..."
Zhang Dabiao snorted in displeasure. "We are now grasshoppers on the same boat. If you can't fly away, neither can I. What can't be said? Besides, I'd give my life for you, and you still hide things from me?"
Hearing Zhang Dabiao say this, I felt ashamed. Without further explanation, I took off my t-shirt again.
"Brother Zhang, do you see any changes on my body?"
Zhang Dabiao glanced at my somewhat muscular chest with a strange expression.
"Little brother, with your scrawny physique, there's no need to show off your muscles. You're looking for the wrong person if you think you can impress me with that."
I was almost choked by his words. "I'm not showing off my muscles; I'm asking you to look at this birthmark on my chest."
Fearing he couldn't see clearly, I pointed to the position of my heart.
"I say, little brother, have you been driven crazy by all this trouble these past few days?" Seeing the bewildered look on my face, Zhang Dabiao continued, "You look fair-skinned and sturdy. When we return to our hometown, your big brother will introduce you to the village beauty. She's incredibly beautiful. Then you can show off your muscles to them, and maybe she'll take a liking to you..."
"Brother Zhang, you..."
I couldn't bring myself to say "Stop joking" because as I looked down, I realized the birthmark resembling an eye on my chest had disappeared.
My fair skin, apart from being slightly reddened from my rubbing, showed no sign of the eye-like pattern I had seen earlier.
I rubbed my eyes and then my chest again, trying to prove that an "eye" had been there, but apart from hurting myself, nothing changed.
I looked at Zhang Dabiao with a blank expression and murmured, "Did I just imagine it? That shouldn't be right!"
"Alright. You've eaten and slept enough. Let me sleep a bit more to regain my strength so we can leave here tonight."
Then, without waiting for me to speak, Zhang Dabiao pushed me out the door and locked it, leaving me standing outside, dazed.
"There was clearly a birthmark on my chest that looked like an eye just now, but why did it suddenly disappear?"
I looked down at my chest, completely bewildered.
If I were an ordinary person, I would believe I had just had a dream, a dream with a hint of sensuality.
But I am an Yin Gua Master; I never dream, and I certainly don't dream of Yin entities or ghosts. I know this very well.
Moreover, that woman could accurately call out my name and knew my age.
Watching the setting sun, I muttered to myself, "Could it be that I really did have a dream?"