Zombie Bodyguard

Chapter 1865 - 1862: Awakening

Lin Tian was pleasantly surprised and quickly asked, "Do you remember who you are?"

Qiao Xiaoyi was silent for a moment before saying, "Lin Tian, you are still unwilling..."

As he spoke, Qiao Xiaoyi opened his eyes. His expression and gaze were strange—seemingly awake, yet his eyes were unfocused, as if they were empty.

Lin Tian thought he was waking up, but suddenly realized that Qiao Xiaoyi’s tone and the content of his speech were off. That was not Xiaoyi’s tone at all.

At the very least, Qiao Xiaoyi would never address him directly as "Lin Tian". Many thoughts flashed through Lin Tian’s mind.

Xiao Manxuan was also surprised; she opened her mouth intending to say something, but Lin Tian gestured for her to stay silent for the moment.

"I don’t know what you mean by Heavenly Mechanism. Well, even if it exists, can you give me a hint? The Buddhist path speaks of enlightenment, after all." Lin Tian never mentioned the name Ksitigarbha, but he knew who he was speaking to.

In fact, Lin Tian didn’t know whether Ksitigarbha appearing after the hypnosis was due to Ksitigarbha having foreseen this and leaving a trace of consciousness to converse with him, or if it was a part of Qiao Xiaoyi’s consciousness being suppressed and Ksitigarbha’s Divine Sense temporarily awakening.

This issue was too complex. Lin Tian hadn’t reached the level of peering into the Heavenly Mechanism, so he couldn’t see through it.

"Qiao Xiaoyi" didn’t answer Lin Tian’s question. Instead, he stood up and walked to the bar, where there was a notebook and a pen. He began to draw with a fountain pen.

Lin Tian and Xiao Manxuan walked over to see it was Qiao Xiaoyi creating a painting. Despite being a fountain pen, it produced an ink wash effect. The painting depicted a woman with flowing hair and fluttering ribbons, but her face only had an outline without any features.

As he drew, Qiao Xiaoyi furrowed his brows; his pen paused for a long time. Suddenly, his eyes closed, and he fell backward. Lin Tian quickly caught him and laid him down on the sofa.

Professor Melissa and Mu Binglan heard the commotion and ran in. As they entered, Lin Tian swiftly tore out the drawing from the notebook and put it away.

"Five minutes haven’t passed; why did Xiaoyi faint?" Mu Binglan asked worriedly, leaning down to check on Qiao Xiaoyi.

"He’s fine, just fell asleep again. The hypnosis process can cause various changes. The human brain is extremely complex, and hypnosis hasn’t been completely mastered." Professor Melissa explained.

In fact, when settling Qiao Xiaoyi down, Lin Tian had already checked him. His breathing was steady, his pulse was normal, and there was nothing wrong.

The only thing Lin Tian regretted was that Qiao Xiaoyi hadn’t completed the painting. Why it wasn’t finished, Lin Tian couldn’t ask Ksitigarbha. Perhaps it was fate.

Melissa snapped her fingers quickly three times near Qiao Xiaoyi’s ear, and Qiao Xiaoyi slowly opened his eyes.

"Xiaoyi?" Lin Tian tentatively asked.

Qiao Xiaoyi stood up, still a bit confused: "Brother Lin..."

Hearing this term, Lin Tian felt a wave of disappointment. Only Qiao Xiaoyi would call him this; Ksitigarbha would not.

Melissa poured a glass of water and handed it to Qiao Xiaoyi, who drank it and finally became fully alert.

"Your situation is a bit strange, and I don’t know why, but there’s no need for worry; it won’t have any impact." Melissa said, seeing Qiao Xiaoyi’s mental state was not great, with a look of confusion in her eyes.

"Xiaoyi, what did you see?" Mu Binglan also asked in surprise, as she hadn’t been like this just now.

Qiao Xiaoyi put down the cup and tried hard to recall for a long time, but finally shook his head: "I didn’t see anything, just felt like I was falling into a void, unable to perceive anything."

"You saw nothing? That’s unusual..." Melissa furrowed her slender brows, even more puzzled by this result.

Lin Tian was stirred internally, vaguely understanding. Ksitigarbha’s appearance just now wasn’t the result of hypnosis; it was likely triggered by a trace of consciousness left by Ksitigarbha.

Only thus would Qiao Xiaoyi have no memory of the earlier events.

"It seems I have a new research topic..." Melissa murmured softly, then turned to Lin Tian, "I still have some time. Are you interested in trying it as well?"

Lin Tian was about to refuse, but Mu Binglan and Qiao Xiaoyi urged him: "Give it a try. It’s rare to encounter such a skilled Hypnotist."

"Alright, Professor Melissa can begin." Lin Tian, unable to resist their expectant gazes, agreed—besides, he was curious too.

Melissa fiddled with a small steel ball, which bounced with a faster rhythm, its crisp sound ringing in the quiet compartment, as if only the "ding ding" sound existed.

With a "snap," Melissa clicked her fingers and said, "Sleep now..."

The sudden voice disrupted Lin Tian’s accustomed rhythm of the bouncing steel ball, his mind slightly sinking but not more—he quickly regained clarity.

Melissa awkwardly found Lin Tian still sitting properly, eyes clear, showing no signs of being hypnotized.

"Professor Melissa, is Lin Tian...hypnotized?" Xiao Manxuan asked in confusion.

"No...he’s not..." Melissa seemed unable to believe what she saw. She blinked her eyes, puzzled, "I’ve never failed at hypnosis before..."

"There’s only one possibility: your willpower is much stronger than that of ordinary people." Melissa’s embarrassment swiftly passed, replaced by amazement.

"Then what should we do?" Mu Binglan asked.

Melissa thought for a moment and said, "Lin Tian, you must completely relax, without any resistance, open your mind fully. Understood?"

Completely open his mind? Lin Tian raised an eyebrow. He knew Melissa was right; as a zombie, he wasn’t easily affected by simple hypnotism. But if he opened his mind entirely, who knew what the result of the hypnosis might be?

"Little Ya, keep an eye on me. If I do anything that reveals my identity after being hypnotized, wake me up immediately, okay?" Lin Tian instructed the Sword Spirit after some consideration.

The reason for accepting hypnosis now was that Lin Tian suddenly thought of a question: if hypnosis can awaken memories, can it awaken memories from infancy?

If he could see the memories from his infant days, perhaps he could find the appearance of his relatives in those memories. With that, it would be much easier to search for them.

"Professor Melissa, I understand. Please try again." Lin Tian made his attitude clear to Melissa after some reflection and then plunged his consciousness deep into his mind.

By long practicing the beast-skin cultivation technique, controlling his Divine Sense wasn’t difficult for him.

Melissa closely observed Lin Tian’s eyes, amazed once again because she realized Lin Tian entered a meditative state faster than any yoga master she had ever seen.

Without hesitation, she flicked the steel ball, her hands performing strange movements before Lin Tian’s eyes.

"Clang..." Melissa suddenly pressed her wristwatch, which emitted a strange sound.