September 1, 1986, Fushen Pingyuan went to register at the university.

December 25, 1988, Fushen Pingyuan proposed to Yuren Rihui, who had been his classmate in both junior high and university.

March 15, 1989, Fushen Pingyuan returned to the countryside. He informed his father of his plans to marry Rihui while they were still in university, which greatly infuriated his father.

March 19, 1989, Fushen Pingyuan's father died after a serious illness. The cause of death was unclear and not specified in the diary.

March 21, 1989, the funeral was held. The diary mentioned that his father's funeral was much larger in scale than his uncle's.

May 15, 1990, Fushen Pingyuan graduated from university. Through an acquaintance's introduction, he found a job near Wakayama City, which was close to his hometown of Qifeng Village. Fushen Rihui went for a medical checkup and discovered she was one month pregnant.

January 4, 1991, Fushen Xingzi was born. The diary noted that due to an economic recession, the company was struggling. As an employee, Fushen Pingyuan was under considerable stress and frequently suffered from headaches.

July 8, 1995, Fushen Boji was born.

February 21, 1998, while Fushen Pingyuan was cooking, he suffered a sudden migraine attack. He failed to notice his son and daughter, who had suddenly rushed towards him, and as a result, they were scalded by boiling water, leaving them with large scars.

June 1, 1999, Fushen Pingyuan brought his mother, Meidai Zi, from the countryside to live with him in the city.

February 1, 2000, Meidai Zi was diagnosed with senile dementia. The diary repeatedly mentioned that Meidai Zi had become increasingly irritable. She often caused trouble for her daughter-in-law, blaming her for anything lost in the house. She would uproot flowers and plants from the yard and throw them on the dining table, add excessive amounts of salt to the family's meals, and even defecate in the bathtub. Only taking Meidai Zi to the Shrine to pay respects could calm her down. Fushen Pingyuan considered sending his mother to a sanatorium in Wakayama City, but his wife persuaded him to abandon the idea.

May 5, 2010, Fushen Xingzi got married. Her husband was Weimen Youren, a psychologist from the Wakayama City Sanatorium. (Weimen Youren was also in charge of treating Fushen Xiulai.) Xingzi refused to return home to live with her parents.

January 20, 2012, his granddaughter, Weimen Ziyuan, was born.

April 2, 2013, his younger son, Fushen Boji, reached adulthood and began working at the sanatorium through an introduction from his brother-in-law. Fushen Pingyuan's mother, Meidai Zi, suffered from worsening senile dementia. She hung talismans all over her room. She would wrap her daughter-in-law's hair around a talisman and burn it over a candle while muttering incantations. In the family photos, she painted her daughter-in-law's face red and stuck the images on a shattered mirror in the bathroom. Because Fushen Pingyuan often defended his wife, his mother would verbally curse him.

May 1, 2013, Fushen Pingyuan discovered his mother had left the house at 1:00 a.m. He followed her and found her dressed in a white robe, carrying a scarecrow doll, and walking towards Yiji Shrine on the east side of the city. She was dancing, muttering incantations, and using a hammer and nails to affix the family's photos to a tree below the Shrine.

July 2, 2013, Meidai Zi's bizarre behavior became increasingly exaggerated. Fushen Pingyuan could no longer tolerate it and sent her to the sanatorium where his son-in-law worked. As she was leaving, Meidai Zi claimed she would teach him a lesson.

July 4, 2013, Fushen Pingyuan was at home after work when he fainted due to an intermittent headache. While waiting for an ambulance, Fushen Miyoshi appeared at the door. Somehow, she had passed through several iron gates without triggering the sanatorium's security system alarm and walked all the way back home. At that exact moment, Fushen Pingyuan's headache stopped. Afterward, Fushen Miyoshi lived at home and was never sent back to the sanatorium.

July 5, 2013, Fushen Pingyuan's condition was diagnosed as intermittent headaches caused by a neurological disorder. On Weimen Youren's advice, Fushen Pingyuan began psychotherapy and started taking medication. He did not disclose this to his company.

"July of 2013 was the turning point in Fushen Pingyuan's mental condition,"

the doctor explained, "At that time, Weimen Youren simply attributed his father-in-law's condition to an age-related anxiety disorder brought on by his migraines.

During the subsequent long-term treatment, it was discovered that Fushen Pingyuan was, in fact, suffering from multiple personality disorder."

With that, the doctor inverted Weimen Youren's medical record file and handed it to Li Ang. He also took out another tape recorder and played an audio file.

"August 5, 2013. Psychological consultation subject: Fushen Pingyuan. Third session. Recorded by: Weimen Youren."

"Fushen Jun, how have you been feeling lately? Have you experienced any migraines, or feelings of anxiety, irritability, depression, or melancholy?"

"..."

"Fushen Jun?"

"...Sigh... Youren."

"What's the matter, Father-in-law?"

"Have you noticed anything... strange about Apricot lately?"

"Oh? Apricot? What's wrong with her?"

"No, it's nothing... It's just that she and Rihui have been frequently visiting Yiji Shrine on weekends lately."

"Oh, that? Didn't they used to go there often?"

"It's different... Ever since... that incident with Meidai Zi, I've often felt like everything around me is strange... I always feel like they're hiding something from me. And..."

"Please, go on."

"And... a few days ago, I started having very strange dreams."

"Strange dreams? Can you describe them in more detail?"

"...I've told you how my uncle died, haven't I? He went mad researching legends. One night, while we were all asleep, he snuck into our room with a knife, trying to kill me, Jie Yue, and Xiu Lai. In the end, my parents discovered him, and he was accidentally killed in the ensuing struggle.

To protect the family's honor, they claimed he committed seppuku. Not long after that, both Xiu Lai and Jie Yue had... incidents. I strongly suspect our Fushen Family is truly cursed, or perhaps there's a seed of madness hidden in our genes..."

"Please, relax. Take your time."

"Sigh... A few days ago, I dreamt I was back in our old family mansion, lying on my futon. Suddenly, I opened my eyes and saw a dark figure with a knife rushing into the room. Then, several blurry, humanoid shapes, like blocks of color, rushed in from outside and began fighting the dark figure.

That was clearly the scene of my uncle's death. But in the dream, I charged forward and snapped the dark figure's neck from behind. Do you remember? I told you my father died in the 64th year of Showa. It was when I took Rihui back to the countryside. He got up in the night, slipped on the stairs, fell, and broke his neck, didn't he?"

"Father-in-law..."

"I strongly suspect I might have gone mad back then. Perhaps I was sleepwalking, mistook my father for the uncle who tried to kill me, and snapped his neck. Maybe Mother only claimed he fell to protect me."

"Please, you mustn't think that way..."

"And that's not all! You know how I accidentally scalded Boji and Apricot with boiling water in February of Heisei 10, don't you? A few days ago, I dreamt of that scene again. In the dream, I saw myself in the mirror, laughing wildly as I watched Boji and Apricot crying hysterically..."

"Father-in-law, you're tormenting yourself with past pains that cannot be undone."

"...Perhaps. But I increasingly feel that there might truly be another person hidden inside me."

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