Zyklon-Säbel

Kapitel 116

The lights had been restored, and the entire archives room was brightly lit, illuminating the two blood-soaked corpses, their bulging eyes still staring fixedly at the ceiling.

"Fang Lei, are you alright?" I reached out and supported Fang Lei. I could clearly feel the fear she was desperately trying to hide as I touched her, but her body trembled uncontrollably. Fear...? What was she afraid of...? Me? I gave a bitter smile. I really didn't know how to handle this situation.

"Fang Lei, I..."

"Stop talking!" Fang Lei interrupted me, gave me a deep look, and said, "I... I'm not worth you killing someone for me."

"You deserve it," I said slowly, but my eyes were drawn to a small object next to the corpse, which looked like a small piece of paper.

What is that? I walked over and picked it up, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be... a white cloud?

"White clouds?" I asked, puzzled.

"Her?" Fang Lei also stepped forward to look at the piece of paper in my hand, or rather, a corner of a yellowed photograph.

Where did the photo come from? I thought for a moment and immediately remembered a 1955 file I had casually flipped through before. Wasn't the graduation photo in that file missing a corner? With that in mind, I immediately said to Fang Lei, "Help me find the 1955 file!"

"Okay!" Although Fang Lei didn't know my intention, she immediately agreed.

In no time, we found the file folder from 1955, opened it, took out the graduation photo, and pasted the small corner of the photo I had onto the torn part of the original photo!

The tear marks match perfectly! This means this small corner of the photo must have been torn from the graduation photo! Who tore it? The person in charge of the archives? Probably not. Since they were responsible for managing the archives, they wouldn't have torn it. Even stranger, if they were going to tear it, why only tear this corner? It seems they just didn't want others to see the clouds in the photo?

Baiyun? Who are you? How did you end up in 1955? If that's the case, you should be a woman in her fifties or sixties by now! But you clearly went to the same university as me. You should be about my age!

"Is this woman Bai Yun?" Fang Lei asked me.

"It should be, and it shouldn't be!" I said helplessly. If we only look at the appearance, it is definitely Baiyun, but in terms of age, it is absolutely impossible for it to be Baiyun!

"Could she be Baiyun's mother, which is why she looks so much like Baiyun?" Fang Lei asked.

"They're not just similar, they're practically identical. Even identical twins wouldn't look this much alike! And from a genetic point of view, even a mother and daughter wouldn't be exactly the same," I said.

"So that means this person is Bai Yun?" Fang Lei also felt strange.

"I don't know." I shook my head. I put the small corner of the photo into my pocket for the time being.

"What do we do now?" Fang Lei asked me.

"Leave!" I said to Fang Lei.

“But…the scene…” Fang Lei hesitated. Of course, I knew she was worried about the obvious footprints at the scene and my fingerprints on the dagger still stuck in Zhou Zhou’s body. But I wasn’t worried at all. I pulled Fang Lei away from the archives. Although it was almost dawn, the darkness before dawn was even more terrifying. The campus was almost completely silent except for the sounds of our footsteps and breathing.

"Aren't you afraid?" Fang Lei asked worriedly as soon as they returned to the guesthouse. The items left at the scene were enough for the forensic team to conduct hundreds of forensic experiments.

"Was the murder location arranged according to the Big Dipper pattern just so that the police could arrest me?" I asked Fang Lei in return.

"You mean the police won't find any clues?!" Fang Lei didn't know whether to be happy or worried.

“Of course, these people’s deaths weren’t meant to make me a murderer and get caught. Su Qiao and that little girl in red had ulterior motives, and besides… I…” I paused. “I was also at the scenes of Ni Ming and Zhuang Jing’s deaths, but I didn’t kill them!”

"Have you been there?"

"It's a long story, but I didn't intend to kill them!" I pressed my temples and tried to explain.

"Lin Xiao, how many things are you still hiding from me?" Fang Lei stood nervously in front of me.

"I thought it was better for you to keep it from you!" I said helplessly.

"No, not at all!" Fang Lei raised her voice and said, "Isn't it said that there are no secrets between lovers?"

“But what if this secret isn’t a good thing?” I said.

"Lin Xiao!" Fang Lei's voice choked with emotion. "I...I just want you to know...no one can bear this much! Tell me, because I'm your girlfriend, I'll always be on your side. No matter what!"

"Fang Lei!" I opened my arms and hugged her tightly. Maybe I was wrong.

"Lin Xiao!" Fang Lei suddenly pushed me away and said, "I think we should go somewhere to find someone!"

"Who?" I asked.

"Bai Ling! Don't you think Bai Yun seems to be playing a subtle role in all of this, and the only one who can tell us the answer is Bai Yun's sister, Bai Ling!"

Indeed, it seems that only Bai Ling can unravel the mystery of Bai Yun, but for some reason, I suddenly feel a strange distrust towards Bai Ling.

"You don't trust Bai Ling?" As expected of Fang Lei, she could actually guess what I was thinking.

"If Baiyun did appear in 1955 and took the graduation photo, then Bailing's words are contradictory. She once said that Baiyun was a split from the body of the Yana princess sealed in the coffin more than 20 years ago. So who is this Baiyun in 1955? Or is it that there was a doppelganger of the Yana princess more than 50 years ago?"

“Very likely. If they are all clones, then it’s impossible for them to look exactly alike!” Fang Lei said.

"It's too early to draw conclusions. Why don't we go find that Bai Ling instead?" I said.

“Okay!” Fang Lei nodded in agreement.

Although it was almost dawn, finding a taxi to the mental hospital on the outskirts of the city wasn't easy. We finally arrived at the hospital entrance. Fang Lei and I ultimately decided to climb over the wall. After all, claiming to be looking for a ghost in an ancient well wasn't an excuse most people would accept; we'd probably be ushered into the hospital before we even got inside.

Only now do I understand why all those martial arts heroes need to know light-footed skills. Climbing over this wall is truly a physical farce. After a terribly clumsy ascent, Fang Lei and I groped our way in the darkness, relying on our memory from the last time we came. The low bushes in the pitch-black garden were covered in dew from the night, and when it touched my clothes, I felt a bone-chilling cold, as if I were in a giant ice cellar. And this dew felt alive, seeping into every vein of my body, from my clothes to my skin!

Guided by memory, we finally found the well, the cement slab still firmly sealing the opening. With difficulty, we opened it again and entered the opening at the bottom of the well, just like before. This time, however, the door was wide open. We walked in hand in hand. The coffin still emitted a strange red glow. The bright red patterns were exceptionally vibrant in the darkness.

"Bai Ling?" Fang Lei called out to the eerie air around her.

Gradually, a wisp of white smoke appeared before us. When the smoke dissipated, it revealed Bai Ling's aged face.

"What, did you find the person who set up the formation?" Bai Ling's aged voice gave me a strange feeling.

"Not yet," Fang Lei replied.

"Then what are you doing here?" Bai Ling asked.

"I wanted to ask you about Baiyun," I said.

"White clouds?"

“Yes, she is an incarnation of the Yana princess. Has such an incarnation existed before?” I asked.

Bai Ling's expression seemed to stiffen for a moment. But she immediately replied, "Didn't I already say? Bai Yun is an anomaly!"

"An anomaly? Does that mean the Yana princess only ever created a clone once?"

"certainly."

Really? Then why did Baiyun appear in 1955? That couldn't possibly be Baiyun's mother, because Baiyun wasn't born through normal reproduction; she was directly split off from the body of the Yana princess! So, even if she were Baiyun's mother, nominally there could only be one person—the Yana princess herself!

However, the Yana princess has been sealed in this coffin for thousands of years. How could she possibly appear in 1955 and become a graduate of that university? She could only be lying in this coffin!

So, who exactly is the person in that photo? Not Bai Yun, nor the princess of the Yana tribe? Who could it be? I looked at Bai Ling; her expression seemed calm, but I sensed a strange fluctuation—a fluctuation of the soul, and the frequency of this fluctuation seemed very strong. Was it Bai Ling's soul fluctuation?

Is she lying? The fluctuations of the soul best reveal one's inner thoughts; this principle seems to have some similarities to the testing instruments used in modern science. But why would she lie? If having another incarnation isn't a secret to hide, what is she afraid of?

"So who is the person in this photo?" I took out the small corner of the photo from my pocket and showed it to Bai Ling. I could almost see a flicker of fear in her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure.

"How do you know if this photo has been tampered with?" Bai Ling asked dismissively.

"Really?" I took the photo back and said, "We didn't expect that."

"Young people, you need to think things through carefully before you do things!" Bai Ling lectured me and Fang Lei in the tone of an elder.

"It was our oversight." I tugged at Fang Lei, who seemed to want to say something more, and said, "Then we'll head back first."

"Hmm!" Bai Ling seemed very unhappy that we didn't trust her, and only gave a faint reply.

As we left the ancient well and the hospital, Fang Lei couldn't help but ask me, "Do you believe her? Do you believe that photo has been tampered with?"

"Of course I don't believe it!" I replied, "But there's nothing we can do if she doesn't admit it. I always feel that this Bai Ling is not simple. She said that she is the guardian of the seal, but she didn't kill the clones that were supposed to be protected?"

"Didn't she say that the white cloud looked very cute at the time, and it didn't have any spiritual power at all?"

"They let go of the clone that could break the seal so easily?"

"Because Bai Ling is a woman after all, and women are bound to have compassion. Besides, she's been guarding the seal for thousands of years, she must be lonely. It's not a bad thing for her to find someone to keep her company. You know, women are the ones who can't stand loneliness the most!" Fang Lei said jokingly.

Loneliness? Companionship? That makes sense. After all these years protecting the seal, she couldn't afford to get too close to anyone, so loneliness and solitude were inevitable. That Mother Goddess is really something else, punishing one of the Anar tribes by sacrificing another's thousand years of loneliness and solitude—such protection is practically a form of punishment!

Wait… a disguised punishment? A sudden chill ran down my spine. If I were forced to guard this single coffin for a thousand years, forbidden from having family, friends, or a lover, what would be the point of immortality? If it were me… if it were me…

I glanced back at the hospital building, which was almost out of sight. If it were me... I might as well...

Thinking of this, I stopped and asked Fang Lei, "If you were Bai Ling, would you be willing to live forever but be forever lonely and alone?"

“No way! What’s the point of a long life if all you have is loneliness and solitude?” Fang Lei replied.

Yes! Neither Fang Lei nor I would want a lonely, immortal life! But the question is, can Bai Ling do without it? Can she choose not to? She is the guardian designated by the Mother Goddess; that has already sealed her fate. But, if it were me… if it were me… if I truly had no choice… then perhaps… it would be better to destroy this seal that needs protecting!

Yes! Destroy her, and then we won't need any more guardians, right?

Volume 3: Delicacies of Hell, Chapter 62: Adventure

Volume 3: Delicacies of Hell, Chapter 62: Adventure

"Xiao Ning, slow down!" A boy in a blue shirt followed closely behind a girl with a ponytail, accompanied by a girl with short hair. The girl turned around with a smile and said, "Xiao Xie, are you really scared?"

"No way!" Little Xie deliberately puffed out his chest, but seemed a little unsure of himself.

Lingling, do you think it's especially dark tonight? Xiao Ning tugged at the short-haired girl's arm, shrinking back a little. She didn't know whether she should come out with Lingling for some kind of adventure, but luckily her boyfriend Xiao Xie was with her, which made her a little braver.

"It's alright!" Lingling seemed to be the bravest of the three, shrugging nonchalantly and saying, "Didn't you say the club was lacking material lately? Did you come all this way just to find new creative material for our Hundred Ghosts Club?"

Location: Three people stand at the entrance to the underground air-raid shelter. It is pitch black, as if all the light has been swallowed up by the giant beast lying in the darkness.

Time: It was one hour after the gates of hell closed, when a ray of light seemed to appear on the horizon, yet it also seemed to be shrouded in a veil.

Universities usually have club activities, and these three people happen to be members of the Hundred Ghosts Club. The so-called Hundred Ghosts Club is a product of a group of students who like ghost stories. They regularly serialize some of their ghost stories in the school magazine. Perhaps the recent cases have aroused their boundless creative enthusiasm, and they actually decided to go down into this air-raid shelter for an adventure.

This doesn't seem like a good option!

If the school finds out, it'll be terrible; it's explicitly forbidden to go in! Xiao Ning swallowed hard, noticing something writhing in the darkness.

"You don't really believe in ghosts, do you?" Lingling tugged at Xiaoning's hand and walked down the steps.

Why wasn't it locked? Xiao Ning looked at the unlocked door, unaware that someone had gone down there several hours earlier.

"What great luck!" Lingling clapped her hands excitedly.

How come there's no lock? Xiao Xie frowned. The school had repeatedly warned against approaching this kind of place, so why wasn't it locked without any precautions? Could it be that someone went down there before us?

"Hurry up and go in!" Lingling pulled Xiaoning into the cave entrance, and Xiaoxie had no choice but to follow.

As soon as the three of them stepped into the air-raid shelter, they suddenly found themselves in another time and space. The surroundings were eerily quiet. Although there was a dim yellow light inside, they could not feel any sense of reality. It was as if everything... was an illusion.

Water stains appeared on the previously dry ground, forming puddles, as if it had just rained. But how could there be water in such a place?

Moreover, the puddles of water seemed to be shimmering slightly, reflecting the light from the wall and creating a strange yellow halo. At this moment, Xiao Ning began to regret agreeing to come with Lingling: "Lingling, we...we should go!"

"We just got off!" Lingling was a little dissatisfied.