Zheng swam behind Lan, grabbed ahold of her, then dragged her back to the shore. Once they got ashore, he tore open her shirt, took a deep breath, placed his hands on her soft chest and started blowing through her mouth.

Shortly after, Lan began to cough then vomited out the seawater in her lungs. It took quite a while for her to stop the coughing. Zheng immediately took off his jacket and put it on her. Then he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Zheng sat on the beach and asked, “What happened? Why did you suddenly come here to sw… not swim, you’re still in pajamas. What actually happened? Why were you drowning here?”

Lan coughed a little more lightly then she said with a broken voice, “I don’t know what happened. I was deep asleep then I suddenly stood up, as if my body had it’s own consciousness. I walked straight out of the hotel and toward the shore. I was so scared. I kept calling your name in my mind… Maybe it was telepathy from the enhanced mental capacity, but I felt your existence then I lost consciousness…”

Zheng smiled bitterly. He began to ponder the situation. After a while, he said, “I can only think of two possibilities. One is the Ju-On is still not over and the ghost got control of you. But the possibility of this is low because the Ju-On should be cleared when we went back to God’s dimension. The second one is… one of us wants to kill you because you sensed something is not right after enhancing your mental capacity. And the method he used is…”

Zheng and Lan said it at the same time, “Hypnosis!”

Then Zheng sighed. “If this was what happened, then it can explain how you went to the hotel in The Grudge. Because the one that made you go there isn’t the ghost but rather a human… Considering the time that you enhanced your mental capacity, the person that acted abnormally… aside from Xuan, I can only think of Jie.”

Lan also sighed. “Yes, he’s the one that I have in mind. Ever since I enhanced my mental capacity, I feel stressed when I stand next to him, like he has a much higher level of mental capacity. But if he does, then why didn’t he tell us? Do you still remember when we first met? He gave us a feeling that he was very strong but afterward, you overshadowed him. Why? I can only think of one answer.

“He wishes to stay in the safest position… Instead of showing his power then taking up the responsibilities, he would rather hide behind someone strong. He doesn’t want to stand out and just get stronger on his own… Once someone learns of his secret, he would kill the person that could threaten to reveal his lies. This is the only possibility I can think of…”

Zheng fell silent for a bit. “Do you have any proof?”

Lan smiled bitterly. “No, I don’t have any proof. This is all just my deduction… After I parted with you and went back, I didn’t even leave my room. Unless Jie hypnotized me during the day, I don’t think he has the ability to hypnotize me from afar. That would be absurd… Zheng, do I sound like I am trying to break this team apart?”

Zheng recalled when he first met Jie. The cigarettes, the mutual understandings, the delicious meals, and his hearty laughs… Were all of those fake?

“I won’t doubt anyone easily without any proof. But I will announce that you were attacked. Whether it is him or someone else, he won’t attack you again for some time. And stay with me and Lori these next few days… If it turns out to be him, I will kill him with my own hands!”

When they met up in the afternoon, Zheng told them about the attack. Everyone acted shocked. Of course he didn’t mention their deductions,and just said it might be the Ju-On. He was observing Jie during the conversation. Jie acted normally and asked Lan about the details then comforted her.

‘It’s not you right? Someone as genuine as you… Are you hiding your powers like she said, then killing everyone that learns of your secret? Is… staying alive more important than anything else?’

Due to the attack, they had no choice but to end the trip prematurely. Everyone stayed in the same room like last time and took turns keeping watch at night. When he was assigning the groups, Zheng paired himself with Jie and put Lan and Yinkong together.

There was no attack in the following days. The Ju-On never appeared and they went back to God’s dimension on the fifth day. Even though Zheng felt relieved, it cast a cloud over his heart.

‘Jie… is staying alive so important? Even if it means sacrificing your comrades?’

Due to the disappointing trip, they weren’t in the mood to relax for the remaining nine days. They just trained and trained. Zero taught them how to use guns, Yinkong taught them close combat techniques, and Jie acted unimpressive. Aside from the laughs, he acted just like a newbie, learning from Zero and Yinkong and even asking Zheng for tips on unlocking.

Time passed by. Zheng suppressed his doubts and concentrated on training his blood energy spell and mastering the second stage of the unlocked mode. After nine days… the beams shined from God and its voice sounded in their minds again.

“Enter the beams within thirty seconds. Target locked. Beginning teleportation to The Mummy…” [1]

[1] The Mummy (1999) is an action-adventure epic about an expedition of treasure-seeking explorers stumbling upon an ancient tomb. The hunters unwittingly set loose a 3,000-year-old legacy of terror, which is embodied in the vengeful reincarnation of an Egyptian priest who had been sentenced to an eternity as one of the living dead. Original Trailer. Plot Summary.

End of Volume 4: Shadow of the Grudge II

Next, Volume 5: The Mummy's Treasure