Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 150 The Flute! A Hypnotic Array?

This thing was placed right under the white-haired man's hand, in a very special position.

There's likely something important inside!
However, since it is something important, it would not be as simple as just changing its location to a more hidden place.

Lin Zhiqing narrowed her eyes. Instead of taking the box, she observed the man in white again.

Seeing that Lin Zhiqing still didn't make a move, Jiang Liuyun assumed that Lin Zhiqing was afraid to take anything from the "mummified corpse," so he stepped forward without hesitation and reached out to take the box.

However, just as she was about to succeed, Lin Zhiqing grabbed his wrist: "Don't take it yet, I suspect there's something wrong with it."

Jiang Liuyun withdrew his hand: "Is there a problem? What kind of problem could there be?"

In his view, the white-haired man had no offensive power, and no offensive power was equivalent to no threat.

"Unless Liu Mang has some peculiar fetish, he wouldn't have chosen a half-dead body to sit here," Lin Zhiqing calmly analyzed.

"I suspect that this person was hypnotized by Liu Mang using his psychology analysis techniques."

"Hypnosis is the process of inducing a sleep state, which is similar to the state you and Lu Huai were in when you were dreaming."

Dasheng doesn't have the concept of hypnosis, which is why Lin Zhiqing had to explain it in detail.

She mentioned the dream on the first floor of the study in order to help Jiang Liuyun quickly understand the meaning of hypnosis.

Jiang Liuyun nodded thoughtfully, then pointed at the white-haired man and asked, "I see. Was he also trapped in a dream?"

"It shouldn't be." Lin Zhiqing observed carefully.

The white-haired man had his eyes closed, but his breathing was relatively normal.

Rather than dreaming, he mostly fell into a deep sleep.

The reason Liu Mang placed him here must be to guard the gold, silver, treasures, and other important items.

But he couldn't leave someone who couldn't wake up to guard the body, so this sleeping person would most likely be awakened by some condition.

For example, the box that was taken from his hand.

Of course, he might also be faking being asleep.

The aim was to lull the intruder into a false sense of security and wait for the right moment to catch them off guard.

Thinking of this, Lin Zhiqing took out her handkerchief, which was covered in dust from the search.

But that wasn't enough for her. She crumpled the handkerchief into a ball, wiped it on the dusty box next to her, and then held it to the white-clad man's nose.

The handkerchief brushed against the man's nose, and Jiang Liuyun felt his nose itch and wanted to sneeze. He couldn't help but take a half step back.

Faced with this "torture," the man in white showed no reaction whatsoever.

It seems she really is asleep... Lin Zhiqing thought to herself.

The likelihood of a person sneezing while sleeping is extremely low.

Because sneezing requires the activation of all the muscles in the body, and when a person is asleep, the muscles are in a semi-paralyzed state.

Therefore, the probability of sneezing is very small, but not nonexistent.

To be more precise, Lin Zhiqing rolled up his sleeves.

His pale forearm was thus exposed to the air, and Jiang Liuyun pulled down his sleeve without saying a word:

"Qing'er, this place is filthy, what are you doing?"

Lin Zhiqing hadn't expected this turn of events. She pulled up her sleeves and said, "Of course I'm going to subject him to severe torture."

"Severe torture?" Jiang Liuyun was even more confused.

Lin Zhiqing didn't explain much. She reached her hand through the handkerchief to the white-haired man's waist and gently scratched him.

"Hiss~" Seeing this, Jiang Liuyun couldn't help but cover his waist.

He's someone who's very ticklish. Lin Zhiqing is right, this was indeed "severe torture."

Seeing that the white-haired man still did not react, Lin Zhiqing completely ruled out the possibility that he was pretending to be asleep.

Although some people have fewer nerve endings that sense itchiness, their brains can anticipate the touch trajectory and automatically shut down the itch sensory switch, making scratching ineffective.

But getting through one hurdle might be a matter of chance; there are almost no people who can be immune to both the dust on a handkerchief and the tickling sensation.

Moreover, if this person was pretending to be asleep and looking for an opportunity, he would have had many chances to attack Lin Zhiqing and the others.

“He’s not pretending to be asleep, so there’s only one possibility left,” Lin Zhiqing said to Jiang Liuyun.

Jiang Liuyun understood what she meant; this man was most likely hypnotized.

Now there's only one question left.

Since the white-haired man was hypnotized, what are the conditions for him to wake up from the hypnosis?
If what Lin Zhiqing said is true, and it's related to that box, then does that mean they won't be able to get the box?
Jiang Liuyun voiced his doubts.

"There is a way, but it's definitely quite risky." Lin Zhiqing looked around at the white-haired man.

Upon seeing the long, narrow object with half of it exposed, I picked it up.

"What method?" Jiang Liuyun also came closer and saw what Lin Zhiqing was holding: "What is this?"

Lin Zhiqing shook off the dust, and a flute gradually revealed its true form: "A weapon?"

This is Lin Zhiqing's conjecture.

"How could a flute be used as a weapon?" Jiang Liuyun disagreed with this statement.

Lin Zhiqing held the flute and shook it from side to side: "The flute is no good, but the sound is."

Her reminder brought Jiang Liuyun back to reality; he and Lu Huai had both been drawn into dreams by the voice.

"So, this flute is the key to waking that person?" Jiang Liuyun took the flute and examined it.

“It doesn’t seem like it.” Lin Zhiqing shook his head, squatted down, and began to examine the area around the white-haired man, trying to see if there were any other unusual circumstances.

"I still think the key to waking him up lies in this box, but the flute is also a possibility."

"But that possibility is smaller; it might be a smokescreen, or it could just be his weapon."

Lin Zhiqing explained all three scenarios.

"Qing'er, according to you, he also knows the knowledge of mind-reading?" Jiang Liuyun pointed at the white-haired man.

"I'm not sure about that," Lin Zhiqing said truthfully.

Any problem is unknown before it occurs.

Jiang Liuyun also understood this principle. Even though Lin Zhiqing had recently shown great intelligence, no one is omniscient.

"Then what was the method you just mentioned?" he asked, changing the subject.

Lin Zhiqing shrugged: "Why don't we give it a try?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Liuyun asked without hesitation, "How do we try?"

"I'm determined to get that box. If he's hypnotized, I can at least hold him off for a bit." Lin Zhiqing didn't make any absolute statements.

But that's the gist of it; she was determined to get her hands on that box.

Psychology is a vast and profound field. Even if she is confident in her ability to solve the problem, it will still take her some time to find the key to hypnosis.

Without a doubt, the flute and the box are now the only two items that might awaken the white-haired man.

The box is more likely.

Lin Zhiqing had already examined the other boxes, and apart from some important valuables belonging to the Liu family, she had not found the evidence she was looking for.

The box was in a special location, and it's very likely that it contained the evidence she wanted.