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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 56: Fateful Path (Part Fifteen)
But then I thought, if there really were some terrifying secrets on the phone, the case handlers would have discovered them long ago. How could they possibly give us a phone with important clues? After all, they had trained for a long time to handle cases; the station was not a place for idlers. The case handlers were eager to crack a case to earn bonuses and gain their superiors' praise, so any leads that could help solve a case, including physical evidence, were crucial to them.
The deceased was taken to the morgue, and I needed to follow to sense the circumstances of their life before death.
The police marked the spot where the deceased fell, creating a human-shaped outline. Chi Xinrong stayed close to Zhang Xian, who looked utterly heartbroken and terrified, a sight that was truly heartbreaking.
"Rongrong, no matter what happens, keep an eye on Zhang Xian." As I said this, I discreetly slipped a talisman into her hand as a hint to pass it to Zhang Xian; it would be useful later.
Seeing that it wasn't appropriate to talk to Zhang Xian right now, Qin Jian and I headed directly to the morgue. Before going there, I had intended to check out the deceased's home on the fourth floor. Unfortunately, this case wasn't one we could intervene in just yet. Unless we applied for special privileges at the station, we had no right to inspect the details of the deceased's home.
Chi Xinrong stayed with Zhang Xian while Qin Jian and I went straight to the morgue. In the car, I was still pondering what that dark energy emanating from the deceased could be.
"Any leads?"
"None at all; it's just a mess of chaos. How could there be any leads?"
"What about that dark energy?"
"You saw it?"
"Yeah."
"That's malevolent energy."
"Isn't that pretty serious?"
"Yeah, but this malevolent energy isn't one of the Feng Shui Eighteen Killers. The Feng Shui Eighteen Killers include various types like missing corner energy, pollution energy, opening energy, door clash energy, severing energy, financial loss energy, loneliness energy, hallway energy, peach blossom energy, foot cutting energy, direct clash energy, diagonal clash energy, reflective energy, mixed chastity energy, window outside energy, bow energy, and breaking army energy. What I'm dealing with is a type of qi formation; this qi is composed of resentment and malice—comparable to evil spirits but not quite evil spirits themselves. Even living people can harness this malevolent energy to harm others. There's also a way to transform malevolent energy into demons; I suspect that's what happened here—this demon has taken over someone's body to cause harm, including Mo Feng."
Qin Jian looked bewildered and shook his head. "I don't understand."
"You wouldn't understand. Otherwise, I'd be starving, begging for a living, just waiting to die."
"That's nonsense."
"What I'm saying is human language, not something that comes out of a rear end." Qin Jian was at a loss for words, only able to sigh in response. After thinking for a moment, I added, "By the way, why didn't you tell them what we do? If we’re clear about it, we can go upstairs and take a look." I felt sorry for the mother and child who had lost their family’s pillar, but I didn’t know how to help them. The only solution was to find the murderer lurking among the crowd as soon as possible.
"Everything has its rules. Why can't you understand that? You always love to complicate things that shouldn't be complicated," Qin Jian clearly didn't want to explain this matter further. I didn't want to press him too hard, but I believed that these trivial matters were actually quite crucial; he just didn’t see it.
A person had just died. Even if it was a suicide by jumping off a building, their New Soul was still in the state it was in before death. In other words, if Hua Lu's soul hadn't been devoured by the evil spirit, it must still be at home. Mo Feng's situation was different from Hua Lu's; one had lost their soul due to fear, while the other had been directly killed by the evil spirit.
We couldn't interfere with Hua Lu's suicide incident. Our purpose in going to the funeral home was under the pretense of investigating Sun Yue's death. Qin Jian and I tacitly reached an understanding and silently headed straight for the funeral home.
For some reason, as we approached the funeral home, I couldn't help but think of someone—Han Lan.
Han Lan worked at the funeral home as a Beautician. Honestly, there wasn't anything particularly noteworthy about her presence; it was just that her appearance resembled Mi so closely that it was hard for me to accept. Her drunken remarks from last time lingered in my mind. Unfortunately, we hadn't yet reached an era where one could patent their looks; if we could, I would definitely apply for a patent on my wife's appearance to protect her from Han Lan potentially tarnishing her image further.
I didn't have Han Lan's phone number and had received several texts recently from unknown senders. The last time I encountered her at the food stall, I couldn't tell if it was coincidence or if she had intentionally shown up there. If she had deliberately appeared on that stretch of road, it could only mean one thing: she was clearly there to mooch off food.
The funeral home was actually one of the places I least wanted to visit. The Yin Qi here was heavy; Baymax was somewhat better, especially at night when an unseen eerie atmosphere permeated everywhere. Nowadays, the funeral home and crematorium were connected; the crematorium represented the fears of the living—everyone had to go through this journey eventually; it was just a matter of when. Seeing others die and turn into ashes inevitably made me think about my own future.
I wasn't immortal; after seeing so many of these events, I had become numb.
Everyone experiences their first time with something; my first encounter with death frightened me as well. I remember back then when my grandfather taught me spells and how to draw talismans because of my fear. In secret, I once slipped a talisman into my pocket just in case without my grandfather knowing.
The dead looked as if they were asleep, but their faces were ghastly pale without a hint of color. Their eyelids were half-open and half-closed, and their noses felt cold to the touch. When my grandfather first asked me to wash a corpse's body and lift them up, that feeling was something no normal person could endure.
The overpowering stench of death hit me like a wave, nearly making me vomit. My grandfather, noticing my distress, quickly stepped forward and pinched me hard, the pain successfully diverting my attention from the nausea and preventing me from losing my lunch.
In our line of work as morticians, we must remain selfless, always prioritizing the living and ensuring that the deceased are treated with the utmost respect. The so-called Deathly Aura is a serious matter; it repels evil and invites darkness. If one harbors too much selfishness or greed, it disrespects the dead and deceives the living, leading to inevitable retribution.
"Shall we head straight to Sun Yue's body?" Qin Jian asked as he parked the car and closed the door. His words seemed directed at me but felt more like he was talking to himself. I had no objections; he was in charge, and I was merely there to support him.
We walked in silence through the entrance, heading straight to the hall where cremation arrangements were made. To our right was a marble pathway bordered by a koi pond, leading directly to the funeral home. I silently hoped that Han Lan wasn't working today. There's a saying in Sichuan: "When the gods arrive, so do the ghosts." Coming towards us with hands in pockets and walking briskly was none other than Han Lan. I exchanged a glance with Qin Jian, both of us resigned to our fate; there was no escaping this encounter.
"Hey, what a coincidence! What brings you here?" Han Lan greeted us cheerfully.
"It seems you knew we were coming and came to welcome us?" Qin Jian remarked, winking at me conspiratorially. I nodded subtly while deliberately increasing the distance between myself and Han Lan.
"Yes, I came to greet you," she replied with a giggle. I found nothing amusing about Qin Jian's comment, yet Han Lan laughed exaggeratedly and turned to me with enthusiasm. "Brother Qi, I dreamed about you last night! I didn't expect you'd show up today."
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