"Hi~ How are you doing?"
Chu Nuan greeted while pouring a bottle of water onto Xiao Ming from head down.
The cold liquid descended from the man's forehead, nose, mouth, neck, and clothes before trickling onto the floor.
"The weather is quite nice today, maybe a little hot…"
The young woman continued to converse while watching the plastic container empty in slow motion.
"A good day for a simple conversation between us."
Throwing the bottle aside, slender fingers reach out to pull away the cloth wrapped around the man's mouth.
"Cough! What's going on?! Why am I here?! Don't you know that what you're doing right now is illegal?!"
Xiao Ming who was given the freedom to talk again began to bark in an instant the binding around his mouth came off.
Arms and legs struggle from the tight bindings around his body as he tries to escape all the while attempting to persuade.
"This is against the law. I can call the police on you this instant. But I'm kind enough to let everything go as long as you let me leave right no-"
Pa-!
Before the man had the chance to finish his sentence, a sudden blow to the cheek halted his actions.
Eyes widened in shock as Xiao Ming tried to form words with trembling lips. "You… hit… me? I…"
"I what?" The young woman scoffed, "what will you say after calling the police? Tell them that you were suddenly kidnapped in the middle of a busy business district miles away?"
"Explain to them that it was a black hole that swallowed you whole and left you in Xu Qianqian's house? Who would believe you? Even if the police were to believe you, where's the evidence?"
Soft lips curve into a wide grin as Chu Nuan glowers at the frightened man whose limbs quiver from her words.
Akin to the devil prepared to put the man into the fryer, the young lady released a soul piercing cackle.
"Hahaha! Are you scared?"
The man tried to act courageous by glaring back at the woman with teary eyes.
Seeing this familiar display of futile resistance reminded Chu Nuan of the days when she spread fear amongst prisoners.
"Scream! You can scream however loud you want but no one will come save you!"
"Ahahaha!"
The young lady's wild laughter echoed in the room akin to a villain about to murder until…
"That's enough Envoy Chu."
Releasing a faint sigh, Man Tingshu revealed a helpless expression as he patted the young lady's shoulder. Giving her a wordless signal not to go too far.
Of course, if she decided to ignore his words he would just… just let her do as she pleases.
Chu Nuan: "... …"
The wild expression on Chu Nuan's face halted for a split second before everything dispersed in an instant. Regaining her usual expression of indolence, the young woman puckered her lips in disappointment before walking to the side with a shrug.
"Fine. You deal with the rest then."
Taking a seat on the sofa not too far away, Chu Nuan decided to watch the show quietly instead. Rummaging inside her inventory to retrieve a bag of dried mangoes to chew on.
Blackie followed the young woman as he found a comfortable spot right beside her feet. Curling up into a round ball with only its beady irises blinking out from between the soft fur.
Releasing yet another fatigued breath, Man Tingshu stared at the two kidnapped victims with a complicated expression.
"Ahem." The man cleared his throat with an awkward pull of his lips, "first of all, I would like to apologize for inviting you here so suddenly."
"However-" Man Tingshu interrupted the next second just as he saw Xiao Ming wanting to speak with hope in his eyes.
"However, I must inform you that there is a plausible reason for your appearance here." The young man informed while pulling out his official badge. "Therefore I hope you can cooperate with us willingly."
The light that just built up in Xiao Ming's eyes dispersed just as quick the moment he heard and saw what the man had said.
However, there is still a small part of him that thinks this is all merely a hoax of some kind.
"I've never heard of the M.O.I.U. Does it even exist?"
"It does," the man answers back without an ounce of displeasure at being questioned. "This is a secret department created just to deal with incidents that cannot be explained by science."
"Like the death of Xu Qianqian and the dolls that you made for example."
Thump!
Xiao Ming's face immediately turned pale the moment he heard what was said. Cold sweat formed at the top of the man's forehead and back which caused the fabrics of his clothes to stick onto his skin.
"W-what do you mean?! What does Qianqian's death have to do with me!? Didn't she committed suicide?!"
"She jumped off the building herself, I also have witness to where I've been on that day!"
The man's trembling body quakes from emotional rage but the quiver of unsteady pupils seems to be telling the opposite story.
"Please calm down." Man Tingshu gave Xie Luochen who was standing behind their two guests a wordless signal.
Receiving that gaze, the young man nodded in acknowledgment before placing a hand on Xiao Ming's shoulder.
In an instant, a faint glow of spiritual energy ran from slender fingers into the body of the unstable man.
It was a peculiar sensation akin to watching waves on a quiet beach or looking outside of the window after a goodnight's rest.
Xiao Ming calmed down right away from the rush of complicated emotions into one of logical tranquility.
"... …"
However, widened eyes locked its sights onto the hand pressed against his shoulder in faint murmur. "There really are superpowers in this world…"
"Not quite, but I'm sure that's not the main point here." Man Tingshu gave a faint chuckle seeing how surprised the man was.
"Now then, please tell me how and why you got the curse doll for Xu Qianqian. Wasn't she your lover? If I remember correctly, the two of you were engaged."
"... …"
Silence covered the area for a few breaths before the man finally began to speak.
"I loved Xu Qianqian, I did…"
"But you met someone better?" Rong Cheng who was standing behind his second senior brother poked his head out with sparkling eyes.
"Yeah…" Xiao Ming paused for a second before flitting a glance at the unconscious Su Ya.
"I met someone who I can share my thoughts and daily activities with. Su Ya is everything I imagined as a girlfriend and wife. Someone who can support me both mentally and physically."
"After being with her I-"
"I decided to kill my former fiancee so I could be with my true love!" Rong Cheng interrupted once more with an annoyed expression. "Just say that you're tired of the old and wanted something new. It's just as simple as that, who wants to hear your sappy love story anyways."
"... …"
Although Xiao Ming really wanted to refute back with an angry shout. After witnessing the mysterious energy Xie Luochen emitted a while ago. He does not have the courage to do so for fear of being killed.
All the man can do now is to lower his head while answering in a vague voice, "yeah…"
"So, how did you get the curse doll?"
"I don't really remember very well… I was just walking on the streets one day when an old lady approached me."
[Young man.]
The image is still fuzzy in the man's mind, [young man, are you interested in a curse doll?]
[What? Curse doll?]
[Yes, is there anyone in your life that you never want to see again? As long as you write down the date and time of birth of the person you hate. Imagine what type of injury you want them to have and this doll will help you fulfill it.]
[Ah? What kind of scam is this? I'm leaving.]
But it was as if there was some kind of mysterious force at work as Xiao Ming bought the doll in the end.
"I don't know what came over me. The next thing I knew, the doll was in my hand and the old lady was gone."
"I didn't want to use it at first but…"
Xu Qianqian's fiance used the curse item in the end, placing it secretly under her bed when she went to the bathroom.
"I see…"
The room fell into a contemplative silence as Rong Cheng turned himself into modern Sherlock.
"So you left the doll under the bed when your fiancee wasn't paying attention. At first, you were nervous that she might find out about the doll."
"But as time passed and there weren't any changes to her condition, you felt anxious so you bought another doll. No, maybe it was Su Ya who bought the doll and you helped to place it in the kitchen."
"Hoping that she'll die faster to empty the spot next to you."
"No! That's not it!" Xiao Ming shouted in refute, "Su Ya has nothing to do with this! I was all me! I only hid the doll under the bed!"
"I didn't really think that something like a curse doll actually works! I was desperate to break up with Xu Qianqian so I…"
"It wasn't my intention to kill her or anything like that. When I was writing down her birthday and time, I was only imagining her somehow forgetting all her memories about me. That way, the both of us can just start over with someone else."
"I never imagined that she would jump off of the building like that…"
"Wait, hold on." Xie Luochen interrupted this time with a furrow of brows, "you said that you only hide a doll under the bed?"
Xiao Min: "Yes."
"Then what about the one in the kitchen?"
"Xiao Ming: "Ah? I never placed anything in the kitchen."
The man replied with a blank expression that tinges with a slight trace of grievances at being accused.
Everyone in the room revealed similar looks of confusion.
Then who placed the second doll?