Mitternachtsböse

Kapitel 13

Behind me was the earthenware jar from my past life, the one from which I was used as a sacrifice. I felt a pang of sadness when I saw the tiny remains inside the jar.

What should I do? Am I destined to become a sacrifice again?

No! I refuse to accept my fate.

Just as the woman in black approached me, I grabbed the pangolin carcass and threw it at her. She blocked it with her hand, and in that moment, I picked up a shard of earthenware pot from the ground and slashed it at her face.

"Ah—! My face!"

Green liquid was flowing from her face. Was it blood?

That green juice seemed to be the source of her youth. Her once young and beautiful face lost its radiance in an instant, her skin became wrinkled, and her eye sockets became sunken.

I could feel her unprecedented anger gathering in the air.

I'll show you what I'm capable of!

With a wave of her hand, I was struck backward by a strange force and pinned to the stone wall, unable to move.

I hardened my heart. So be it, I'll die, but I won't let you have it easy: "You old woman, you ugly hag, no wonder men don't want you. You're a heartless viper, only someone who'd dug up your ancestors' graves would marry you! You wouldn't even get a customer in a brothel!"

The woman in black seemed to have never been offended like this before, and she swung her two claws at me.

"Kill me! If you kill me, I'll reincarnate and you'll search for me for another twenty years!" I struck at her Achilles' heel.

"Hmph, you want to die? Not so easy!" She stopped what she was doing, waved her fingers, and put me down from the stone wall.

I was still suspended in the air, feeling uncomfortable all over.

A sinister smile crept across her aged face: "Let's see how long you can keep up your sharp tongue. I'll chop off your limbs and slowly gouge out your eyes..."

A thought suddenly struck me, and I shouted behind her, "Ye Shiquan, you're here! Is that your wife next to you?"

She fell for the trap and turned around.

In the instant she lost focus, I broke free from the spell's bindings, lunged forward, and grabbed her tightly from behind, preventing her from waving her hands.

We rolled on the ground, and I had only one thought in my mind: I couldn't let her cast the spell again.

I tore off her ears with my teeth and bit off the flesh from her face.

She was, after all, an old woman. Once she could no longer use magic, she was no match for me, a young woman.

Bang, bang...

We knocked over one earthenware pot after another.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my lower back; the woman's claws were digging into my flesh.

No, I can't let go. I made up my mind to endure the excruciating pain and continue biting her with my teeth.

Then I heard a rustling sound. I looked closely and saw that the mouth of the girl in the earthenware pot in front of me seemed to be moving.

It is indeed moving.

An unprecedentedly large scorpion emerged from her mouth, following the scent of blood, and crawled onto the black-clad woman's face. It then viciously stung her between the eyebrows…

The old witch twitched a few times and then remained still. The scorpion, as if it had completed its mission, crawled off her face and left.

I wasn't sure if the old witch was dead, so I stood up, broke both of her arms, and twisted her neck 180 degrees before I felt relieved.

I distinctly remember that each of the clay pot girls had their mouths sealed shut, so why did the scorpion crawl out...? Perhaps they too harbored a desire for revenge. The grinning girl seemed to be smiling at me, and only then did I realize that their bodies were not yet dead, sending a chill down my spine.

I took a shovel out of the bamboo basket and smashed the remaining six earthenware pots with all my might.

Sisters, we're free...

I could almost hear them giggling around me.

I straightened my clothes, picked up the oil lamp, and walked outside step by step.

Now, I am a real murderer.

screwdriver

You may have heard of a cocktail called "Screwdriver," but in Mido City, it's not a popular name.

It wasn't that the locals disliked the taste of the wine, but rather because of a killer.

A killer who specializes in ambushing and murdering passersby at night.

Based on the current case analysis, the perpetrator is an indiscriminate killer. There are no obvious correlations among the victims.

They all died in the same way: their temples were pierced by a screwdriver.

No one knows whether the murderer is male or female; they can only refer to the murder weapon as a "screwdriver."

The killer was efficient and ruthless, leaving no trace whatsoever. He specifically targeted secluded alleyways without surveillance cameras. Several bodies were not discovered until several days later, horribly mutilated by stray dogs and rats.

As the saying goes, "Misfortunes never come singly." This is perfectly applicable to Midao City! Because recently, besides the "screwdriver" committing crimes, several butchers have emerged who imitate the "screwdriver" in their crimes. They deliberately mimic the "screwdriver's" methods, enjoying the thrill of killing while shifting the blame onto others.

However, a knockoff is still a knockoff. The real "screwdriver" hasn't been caught yet, but several clumsy imitators have been imprisoned.

Two others were even more unlucky, running into a real "screwdriver" and ending up dead in the street. This was also the only instance where a "screwdriver" killed two people with a identifiable connection.

Although "Screwdriver" seems like a perfect killer so far, there's always a time when things go wrong. The person who escaped death was Liu Jiahu—the man now sitting on a hospital bed answering police questions.

"Mr. Liu, how are you feeling now? Can you answer our questions?"

With gauze covering his face, Liu Jiahu could only answer in a very soft voice, "I...did...my...best..."

Because the injury was on his face, every word he uttered aggravated the wound, making it very difficult for him.

While taking notes, the policeman named Wang Bao asked, "Do you remember what the situation was like back then?"

“I…at the time…I was on my way to…my uncle’s house, thinking…taking the back road would be…shorter. So…I turned…from Wenhua…Road into Duobao Lane. I had only walked…a little…when I heard…footsteps…behind me, very light…very…slow. I…turned around…but didn’t see anyone. I kept…walking forward, and after a few…steps I heard…a man’s…voice…behind me…: ‘Do you prefer…flathead…screwdriver or…a…Phillips head screwdriver?’ I knew…I was in trouble, and I turned…to run. But…that guy took…the screwdriver and poked me, but…he didn’t…hit my…temper, he just stabbed me…in the face. Luckily…we ran into…police officers on patrol, who…scared the murderer away…”

Liu Jiahu looked shaken and had injured his jaw muscles, so it took him a long time to explain what had happened.

Wang Bao had just graduated from police academy and was now learning from veteran officer Bi Feng to gain experience. At that moment, Bi Feng stood by the bedside, watching Wang Bao finish taking notes on the questions, and then the two left the ward.

Liu Jiahu stayed in the hospital for almost a month, and not a single friend or family member came to visit him. Instead, several groups of reporters came to interview him about the attack.

His exploits quickly spread like wildfire: "Even the 'Screwdriver's' henchmen have escaped," "Revealed! Serial killer leaves survivors," "Killer misses, police claim to solve case within a month"...

Meanwhile, the murders continued. Police arrested another assailant using a screwdriver, but it turned out to be an imposter.

Besides the reporters' visit, another interesting thing was that Liu Jiahu received a bouquet of flowers, the sender of which was unknown. Inside the bouquet was a card that read: "Shame."

This puzzled him, but he didn't think much of it.

I finally made it to the hospital and was discharged.

Liu Jiahu organized the receipts and prepared to go to the insurance company to claim reimbursement for medical expenses.

Everything went smoothly, except for the approaching dusk and the feeling that someone was following him on his way home.

However, he didn't pay much attention because he saw someone ahead, a slender woman, walking not far away.

He quickly followed.

The woman turned into a small alley, and he followed her in. His footsteps were very light.

Suddenly, a figure flashed in from the side passage, inserting himself between Liu Jiahu and the woman.

Liu Jiahu reacted exceptionally quickly, immediately retreating from the alley and peeking inside from the alley entrance.

A man suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He looked around and then quietly followed the woman in front of him deeper into the alley.

With a sense of foreboding, Liu Jiahu quietly followed to see what was going on.

Sure enough, when they reached the end of the alley, the man grabbed the woman by the neck and raised a screwdriver in one hand, ready to strike her.

Liu Jiahu remained silent, then kicked the man in the back.

Little did anyone know that the man had already noticed, and suddenly turned around and swung the screwdriver in his hand backward, which pierced Liu Jiahu's calf.

It turns out he was just faking it!

He knew I was behind him all along.

Taking advantage of the opening, the woman poked the man's eye socket with her finger. The man winced in pain and retreated to the side.

The woman quickly came over, helped Liu Jiahu up, and then fled.

The two of them went into a side road on the right, but after taking only a few steps, they found themselves in a dead end.

The woman smiled apologetically at Liu Jiahu, helped him sit down next to a pile of miscellaneous items, and gestured for him to keep quiet.

Just then, they heard the killer's footsteps getting closer and closer.

There was no other way; the blood flowing from Liu Jiahu's calf gave away their location.

The woman gestured for Liu Jiahu not to move, then ran out alone to distract the murderer.

Liu Jiahu sat quietly in the pile of clutter, picked up a strip of cloth and used it to tightly bind the blood vessel above the wound.

A man's deep roar and some indistinct whimpers came from outside, followed by the sound of bodies hitting the ground and walls.

Before long, everything returned to calm.

The sounds of fighting stopped, the struggles stopped, the groans stopped. A faint, warm smell of blood lingered in the air.

Strange, something seems to be missing.

Liu Jiahu was puzzled, but he still mustered up his courage, stood up, and went out to see.

He saw a person lying at the fork in the road, with blood all over the ground.

He's a man.

That woman killed the murderer?!

Liu Jiahu then realized something was missing: why hadn't he heard the woman scream or speak from beginning to end?

Isn't she afraid at all?

Just then, a deep male voice sounded behind him: "Do you prefer a flathead screwdriver or a Phillips screwdriver?"

So, it turns out that the "woman" was the murderer who attacked him last time!

No wonder she remained calm in the face of danger. It was because she—no, it should be said—was a man disguised as a woman, and quite skilled in combat. If she hadn't interfered, she might have already killed this man.

Liu Jiahu felt he had figured things out. Without turning around, he forced a calm response to the "screwdriver" behind him.

"Was that bouquet of flowers I received at the hospital from you?"

"Yes."