Zyklon-Säbel

Kapitel 24

"What's wrong?" Li Hai asked.

"There's no signal." I handed the phone back to Li Hai.

“Impossible,” Li Hai took the phone and said, “I’ve modified this phone so it can receive a signal even in the Netherworld.”

"Huh? Modification?" Fang Lei and I asked at the same time, surprised that cell phones could be modified!

"That's right. The soul is actually a spiritual entity, or an energy entity. Waves exist as a form of energy, so you could say the soul itself is a kind of disguised waveband. And since a mobile phone is a tool for receiving wavebands, it can naturally receive soul waves! So I installed an enhanced receiver in the phone, expanding its frequency range, and then..." Li Hai's manner was practically spittle flying everywhere, completely oblivious to the several question marks flashing across Fang Lei and my foreheads.

"Stop! Stop!" I decided to stop him before Fang Lei and I got confused by his long-winded explanation. Now was not the time for a cram school session on frequency spectrum. "Are you very knowledgeable about electronics?"

“Of course,” Li Hai puffed out his chest and answered arrogantly, “I’m from the Department of Electronic Information at Tsinghua University!”

Haha, haha! What a brilliant graduate from Tsinghua University and the top disciple of the Maoshan Sect! So this is how arrogant cultivators are these days, each one more impressive than the last. Fang Lei, the forensic doctor, already surprised me enough, but I didn't expect Li Hai to be just as capable.

"But your phone can't get a signal right now!" Fang Lei's words immediately shattered Li Hai's overinflated confidence, and Li Hai instantly turned into a frostbitten cabbage.

"Maybe there's still a problem with your modifications!" I comforted him.

"Impossible!" Li Hai examined his phone over and over, clearly very dissatisfied with the phone that had disrespected him.

"Alright, go back and look at your precious phone later, now..." I swallowed the words I was about to say because I heard a strange sound coming from the pool behind me. Looking back, I saw the sound was from bubbles bursting at the bottom of the pool, and the bloody water slowly churned, as if a hellfire was tormenting it. The churning water brought up other things from the bottom—some muscle and skin tissue, and broken organs. I felt like throwing up.

"Doesn't it look like hot pot broth?" Li Hai was still joking at this moment, and of course, he was met with sharp glares from me and Fang Lei. We were practically ready to push him into this pot of "broth" and let him enjoy it.

The wiser course of action now would have been to back away and leave this terrifying laboratory. But the problem was that my feet had already stepped into the pool again, a thoughtless act that made me want to stomp my feet in frustration even now.

"Watch out!" Fang Lei's exclamation had barely reached my ears when I was gripped firmly by a bandaged hand that shot out rapidly from the pool of blood. In that split second before I could react, accompanied by the cries of Fang Lei and Li Hai behind me, I tasted blood and a salty, bitter liquid, like rotten swill, filling my mouth. A blinding red flooded my vision. The cold, viscous liquid touched my skin, seeped into my clothes, slippery and icy. I think I've fallen into the pool of blood. I thrashed and struggled, but couldn't escape the bloody hell. My body felt so heavy, like it was filled with lead, sinking deeper and deeper! The sounds around me immediately ceased, and everything went black.

Holding my breath, I opened my eyes, only to find myself in a red river. Sadly, there were no colorful fish swimming with me, only countless severed limbs and mutilated organs. I desperately tried to float to the surface. How could the pool I remembered be so deep? I felt like I was sinking into the depths of a sea of blood, countless fragments of human bodies floating around me. I think I finally understood the meaning of the phrase "a sea of blood feuds." Resentment and bitterness were gradually filling my body, and my heartbeat became erratic. A wave of suffocation washed over me; I experienced the symptoms of oxygen deprivation, dizziness, and blurred vision. The cold blood flowing through my skin stretched open every pore, and fear and resentment seeped into my body. In my dazed state, I felt terrible. An eyeball floated before my eyes, slowly rotating, staring intently at me…

A splitting pain shot through my chest. I saw the object below the eyeballs—a body wrapped in bandages, all stained red with blood. Only one eyeball stood out starkly against the red blood.

A bandaged ghost? I struggled to reach out and block his outstretched hands, but the feeling of weakness made me watch helplessly as his hands gripped my neck. Already suffocating, I was gripped by excruciating pain; my neck felt like it might break.

At this moment, Yin Xue's jade pendant heated up again, emitting a dazzling white light in the red blood. The ring on her finger also emitted a golden light. Under the intertwining of white and gold light, the bandaged ghost was repelled by an unseen force. My body seemed to be lifted up by something. With a straightening motion, I had broken free from the sea of blood and was once again in contact with the lovely air.

"Lin Xiao!" Fang Lei cried out and ran towards me, reaching out her hand. I quickly grabbed her hand, trying to use her strength to climb out of the blood pool.

"Watch out!" Li Hai shot out a series of talismans with blue light behind me. I looked back and saw that the bandaged ghost had also emerged from the blood pool and was swimming towards me, but Li Hai's talismans only slightly slowed him down.

"Quick, get up!" Fang Lei desperately tried to pull me up. I grabbed her with one hand and braced myself against the edge of the pool with the other. With a push, my body rose due to buoyancy, and I was about to jump into the blood pool when suddenly my foot was grabbed. It felt like someone was pulling my foot down from the bottom of the pool. Cold sweat and blood slid down at the same time. I felt a chill rising from the soles of my feet, and the feeling of exhaustion made my body fall back down. My hand, which was bracing myself against the edge of the pool, slipped into the bloody water, leaving only Fang Lei desperately holding onto my hand.

Li Hai rushed over and grabbed my hand as I was about to let go of Fang Lei.

"Brother, hold on tight!" Li Hai shouted at me, while Fang Lei used her other hand to pull out the hairpin from her hair. A purple light shone brightly, enveloping the bandaged ghost that was rushing towards me, causing him to yell and take a step back.

"Now's the time!" Li Hai roared, grabbed my clothes, and finally, together with Fang Lei, they pulled me out of the blood pool.

The feeling of being reborn made me gasp for breath, my whole body aching so much I didn't want to move an inch, and I collapsed onto the ground. But the remaining blood on my body wouldn't let me go; it suddenly turned into something that could penetrate my clothes and corrode my body. I felt a burning pain on my skin, so painful that tears streamed down my face, and cold sweat poured from my pores, mixing with the blood.

Volume One: Tales of Three Ghosts in the City, Chapter Fifty-Five: Life and Death, Seeking Survival Amidst Death

Volume One: Tales of Three Ghosts in the City, Chapter Fifty-Five: Life and Death, Seeking Survival Amidst Death

My older sister once said: "What is terrifying is often beautiful." I used to think this was a fallacy, but now I have to admit it. The blue light emitted by Li Hai's talisman, the purple light from Fang Lei's hairpin, and the red light emanating from the bandaged ghost all intertwined to create a breathtakingly alluring effect. Life is like a summer flower, so death is like fireworks. The brilliance that burst forth at that moment is not something everyone can bear.

The three-colored lights collided with a loud bang, like the sound of firecrackers. I closed my eyes, but Yin Xue's face appeared before me. At that moment, no one else was on my mind; I even forgot that Li Hai and Fang Lei were currently confronting the bandaged ghost.

What is the suffering of living? What is the suffering of dying? The strong smell of blood around me made me dizzy. In my blurry vision, I heard Fang Lei scream. When I opened my eyes, Fang Lei's body was flying towards me and crashed heavily onto me.

"What's wrong?" I quickly grabbed Fang Lei, only to see blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, her face deathly pale. She shook her head, struggling to stand up, but I held her tightly in my arms. She looked at me strangely; I think she must be blaming me for thinking of tenderness at a time like this, but she couldn't know the turmoil and fear in my heart. I was so cowardly, afraid of losing my lover again. I whispered in Fang Lei's ear, "I love you."

I don't know if this was said to Fang Lei or Yin Xue. Their faces overlapped, both so beautiful, but one had already passed away while the other was in my arms. But is the distance between life and death really that far?

"I love you too." Fang Lei grasped my hand, and I saw angel wings slowly unfolding behind her. This was the angel who would save me from my sins.

I struggled to my feet and looked in Li Hai's direction. He was already entangled in the red light emitted by the bandaged ghost and was clearly showing signs of exhaustion.

"What's going on? Wasn't the bandaged ghost pretty weak just now?" I noticed that the bandaged ghost's performance now was significantly more powerful than before.

"That's because of the Blood Pool. It should be formed by the resentment of the wronged souls gathered by the Myriad Souls Locking Spirit Array, which is the source of its power," Fang Lei explained.

"What should we do then?" I asked anxiously. I didn't want the three of us to become new innocent souls in this pool of blood tonight.

"I don't know either, but we can only try." Fang Lei's hand holding the hairpin trembled, and the hairpin immediately turned into a long ribbon, rolling towards the blood pool. But as soon as it reached the surface of the blood pool, the ribbon emitted a dazzling purple light, and with a loud bang, a red light flashed, and the ribbon was forcibly forced back.

"How are you?" I asked, helping Fang Lei up as she nearly fell.

"The resentment is too strong; there's no way to force our way to the center of the blood pool," Fang Lei said.

"What are we going to do at the center of the blood pool?" I asked curiously.

“Well,” Fang Lei said anxiously, glancing at Li Hai who was locked in a fierce battle, “I don’t know the specifics of the Ten Thousand Souls Locking Spirit Array, but every array must have a gate of life and a gate of death. We have already confirmed that the Heart Lake is the gate of death in the array, while No. 77 Ancient Locust Street is the gate of life where all the power is gathered. One way to break the array is to find a connection point between the gate of life and the gate of death.”

"Connection point?" Although I still didn't understand what was going on, if this was one of the ways to break the formation, I had to give it a try. I looked at Li Hai, then at Fang Lei, gritted my teeth, and said, "Then I'll go down and find it!"

"No!" Fang Lei grabbed me and said, "You don't know any magic at all. Going down there is like committing suicide, you know? Besides, do you even know what a connection point is?"

"Then tell me." I pushed Fang Lei away from my arms and grabbed her shoulders.

"I don't know!" Fang Lei shook her head vigorously and said, "It could be a corpse, or it could be an object that is related to the whole truth, or even more likely..." Fang Lei stopped there.

"What's more likely?" I asked, wiping away the tears from Fang Lei's eyes.

"You know, it's more likely to be death. This formation has been lost for too long, anything can happen. But I don't want any possibility of losing you!" Fang Lei hugged me tightly again, her warm body trembling with tension and worry.

I didn't speak, but simply hugged Fang Lei tightly, inhaling the unique fragrance of her hair. It's so good to have a warm body, so good to be alive. So I won't let you die, Fang Lei. We have so many things to do together, like getting married, like having children. I even want you to have a child like us! Fighting back tears, I looked into Fang Lei's eyes, which glistened with tears. I gently patted her shoulder and said, "No, you won't lose me. I promise!"

I let go of Fang Lei and took a step back. Fang Lei didn't try to persuade me anymore, but just smiled at me and said, "I'll wait for you to come back."

Nodding, I turned and rushed towards the blood pool.

********

Red, still red. My eyes seemed to have been dyed red, the blood stinging my eyeballs with each spurt. But even though I was in the blood, I found I could still breathe. My body continued to sink, the bottom of the red blood a bottomless black abyss. This pool of blood felt like a deep sea. I'd been sinking for five or six minutes, but there was nothing around me except fragments of human flesh. My skin felt cold and sticky, with a corrosive pain, as if countless steel needles were piercing my body. I was starting to see stars.

The deeper I sank, the more subtle the surrounding silence became, like a mixture of crying and laughter, as if a fleeting moment in life, where all the sorrow and joy simultaneously assaulted me. I felt my heart overflowing with countless emotions, my thoughts becoming muddled, countless memories replaying like a slideshow. The pricking sensation on my skin intensified, as if the needles had pierced my muscles and entered my veins, the pain throughout my body becoming unbearable.

The descent accelerated, until it felt like falling from a great height, with the scenery rushing past me. The surrounding pressure intensified, and I could hear the churning of my internal organs.

Suddenly, darkness engulfed me, and the suffocating feeling made my head spin. After a long while, when I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a body of water, clear and cold, but no longer the red blood. Looking up more closely, I was overjoyed—this was Heart Lake! Indeed, life contains death, and only in death can one find life!

I took a deep breath, swung my arms, and the pain all over my body was gone. I quickly swam to the shore, and my feet finally touched solid ground again. The lake shimmered with silver moonlight in the night, as bright as a sparkling diamond. Yes, the terrifying is often beautiful; my sister's words were proven true once again. I shook the water droplets off my hair and walked deeper into the woods.

"Boss, this chick's got some serious firepower!" A lewd voice came from deep within the dense forest, mixed with a woman's painful and indistinct moans. I cautiously approached, hiding behind a large tree, and peered towards the source of the sound.

I saw a man with monkey-like cheeks, a pointed mouth, and small eyes, lewdly grinning at a more handsome man with thick eyebrows and large eyes. What surprised me most was that a pair of long, bare woman's legs emerged from a bush, and a man with his pants pulled down to his knees was thrusting on top of her—it was clear they were up to no good. Unfortunately, the bushes completely obscured their upper bodies, so I couldn't see their faces at all.

I frowned. I hadn't expected anyone to do something like this in a place like this. What troubled me was whether I should immediately turn back to find the connection point or step forward and be a hero. If I went out now, it would definitely delay my search for the connection point, but if I left, it would go against my conscience. However, Fang Lei's words about waiting for me to return and Li Hai's struggling appearance made me suppress the urge to rush out and be a hero. After all, Fang Lei and Li Hai were far more important than this woman I hadn't even seen. Besides, who knew if this woman was willing or forced? These days, relationships between men and women are often very casual; what if I rushed out and ruined her plans? Thinking this, I tried to comfort myself with a bit of self-deception, and then prepared to retreat.

"Aijun, are you done yet? Let me do it one more time!" The man with the pointed mouth and monkey-like face shouted at the man who was working hard, and the name he called out made me stop in my tracks as if I had been frozen in place.

"Alright, alright." The man climbed off the woman, pulling up his pants as he said to the man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, "Senior, please don't tell my girlfriend Zhao Di, or she'll kill me."

The man with the pointed face and monkey-like features immediately pushed the other man aside, unzipped his pants, and was about to have sex with him.

"Zhongguo, are you still up to the task?" The man with thick eyebrows and big eyes ignored the man who was speaking to him and instead smiled ambiguously at the man with the pointed mouth and monkey-like face.

Ai Jun? Zhong Guo? Zhao Di? These familiar names immediately made me dizzy. Weren't they all dead? And who was that man with thick eyebrows and big eyes? Could it be that this wasn't the era I was in before, but rather that I had returned to the past? Countless questions made me lose my balance and sway backward, accidentally bumping into a tree branch behind me with a snap.

"Who goes there?" Yu Zhongguo shouted at me warily as he pulled up his pants. The other two men also looked in my direction alertly.

I knew now was not the time to run away. This was very likely the connection point between the gates of life and death. Thinking of this, I calmed down. Since passing through this blood pool had brought me back to the past, wasn't this the perfect opportunity to find out the truth?

I stepped forward and confronted them. Mao Aijun immediately blushed and fearfully hid behind the man whose name I didn't yet know. The man, however, remained calm and composed, watching me without any surprise at my appearance. Yu Zhongguo, on the other hand, looked terrified and uneasy, trying desperately to hide it, which only made his already unsightly face even more distorted.

I glanced at them and took another step forward, but Yu Zhongguo immediately blocked my way. Staring intently at him, my gaze made him involuntarily shift his body. And I finally saw the woman lying in the bushes. Although I had somewhat expected it, I was still deeply stunned when I finally saw her.

Book One: The Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Fifty-Six: Who is He?

Book One: The Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Fifty-Six: Who is He?

Her body, as white as cream, was covered in shocking patches of reddish-purple bruises. Her hands and feet were bound with leather straps, and it seemed they had been there for some time, leaving bloody marks where the straps had been applied. Her legs hung limply, spread apart, offering no concealment despite being spied on by several large men. The white, cloudy fluid there testified to the abuse she had suffered. Her pale, tear-streaked face and empty, numb eyes clenched my heart. Was this the same Lin Yuyan, the peerless beauty on stage? Was this still the ethereal, sorrowful Lin Yuyan? Now she lay there like a rag doll. An overwhelming sorrow and anger rendered me speechless. How could these beasts treat such a beautiful and elegant woman like this?

I looked back at the people in front of me, clenched my fists tightly, and considered whose face I should punch first.

"So, what do you think? This woman's pretty, buddy?" Yu Zhongguo probably thought I was one of them since I didn't say anything, and started chatting me up.

"Want to give it a try?" Yu Zhongguo winked at me, grinning lewdly. I could tell he was practically drooling! Did he want to drag me down with him? I wanted nothing more than to beat him to a pulp. Thinking this, I punched him.

"Friend!" The man with thick eyebrows and big eyes grabbed my outstretched fist. I don't know if it was because I had just climbed out of the water or because the air here was really cold, but his hand felt unusually cold to me, as if a block of ice had been pressed against my hand. My hair stood on end, and a feeling of disgust welled up from the bottom of my heart.

I glared at him fiercely, trying to break free of his grip, but he was incredibly strong, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't break free from his clamp-like hand.

"What do you want?" the man holding my hand asked me smugly. I saw a familiar smile curl up at the corner of his mouth.

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I glanced at the man before me in fear, my vision blurring, and I heard their unrestrained laughter. I was pulled in front of Lin Yuyan, her naked body once again before my eyes. This time, however, I found myself aroused. The desire rising from my lower abdomen was stronger than ever before, startling even myself. Every vein in my body seemed to boil, rushing to my lower body as if about to explode. I licked my dry lips, and Lin Yuyan in my eyes was no longer pitiful but had become exceptionally alluring and captivating. The previous bruising and restraints had now become a deadly temptation; her empty eyes had become exceptionally seductive and wanton, as if bewitching me. I was completely mesmerized by her demonic body and angelic face.

When I came to my senses, I found myself completely on top of her, her soft body beneath me. Although I knew perfectly well that continuing like this would make me no different from those people, my body pressed down on her involuntarily. Their vile words filled my ears, and my head throbbed with pain.

Just then, the jade pendant on my chest suddenly heated up again. The heat rushed into my body, scattering the surging desire, and my mind immediately cleared. My vision blurred. I didn't immediately get up, but propped myself up and looked back through the gap. Because I was looking down, everything was upside down. Yu Zhongguo and Mao Aijun's faces were strangely pale green, their eyes empty and lifeless, their mouths split open from laughing, their features eerily unsettling. Cold sweat immediately broke out on my palms. Their complexions and expressions were not those of normal people, and their bodies were stiff and rigid. When I looked at the man again, I almost couldn't support myself. His face was no longer the same; it was another face, a face that was both familiar and terrifying. All the memories came flooding back: the face I saw on the rooftop of the villa at No. 77 Guhuai Street when I was pushed off, and the face I saw on Death Avenue—they all overlapped at this moment, grinning madly before my eyes, and I could see the smugness in his eyes.

Trembling all over, I suddenly felt a stone in my hand. Whether I survived or not, I had to try. Even though I knew a stone couldn't possibly hurt him. So, God, Mother Teresa, and Buddha, please help me get through this!

I leaped up and hurled the rock backward at the man, then kicked Yu Zhongguo, who was closest to me. At that moment, I began to hope that my Taekwondo, which I had neglected for several years, could finally come in handy.

With a loud bang, I kicked Yu Zhongguo right through his chest. Good heavens! My Taekwondo skills aren't that impressive, are they? Even more embarrassingly, my foot got stuck in his ribs and I couldn't pull it out. But Yu Zhongguo, with his chest pierced, just grinned at me like nothing had happened. That smile, however, was terrifying to me, because he had already grabbed my right leg, which was stuck in his chest, and twisted it again.

*Crack!* I heard the sound of my right foot bone breaking. A piercing pain immediately shot through my foot, a jolt like an electric shock coursing through my body. Cold sweat instantly soaked my skin. With a scream, I collapsed to the ground. Yu Zhongguo had a large hole in his chest, oozing a thick, red liquid mixed with yellow pus and lumps. He mechanically wiped the wound and continued walking towards me. Mao Aijun, on the other side, also walked towards me with a numb expression, but their bodies were stiff, their gait unsteady. Only two words came to mind: zombies!

"Haha, haha..." The man laughed maniacally, "So you're nothing special after all, making me go through so much trouble!"

"Who are you?" I shouted at him. This person wasn't Lin Junxian, so who was he? Who else was the real mastermind behind this case? The jade pendant's stimulation had brought back many memories, including the once handsome face with thick eyebrows and large eyes. Although time had changed that face considerably, and although I had only seen it on television, I still remembered it as the face of Vice Mayor Zhu Zhenhua. But now the face had changed again. Who was he?

"You still don't know who I am? What a failure!" The man laughed arrogantly, looking at me with disdain, and said, "You Chinese are just stupid!"

What does this mean? Isn't he Chinese himself? My mind raced, but there was no time. Yu Zhongguo and Mao Aijun had already staggered to my side and were lunging at me. But the pain in my right foot prevented me from moving. I could only watch helplessly as their bodies fell towards me, instinctively reaching out to block them. In my panic, I caught a glimpse of the man's surprised expression; he was staring blankly at my hand.

What happened? Just as I was wondering about his expression, the ring on his finger suddenly shone brightly with golden light. The scorching light was so intense it was blinding. Amidst screams, Yu Zhongguo and Mao Aijun's bodies were gradually melted by the golden light. First their heads, then their entire chests. Their bodies dissolved like candles, blood and pus dripping onto the ground, creating plumes of black smoke that reeked of burning.

After the golden light passed, I looked up and saw the man clutching his head in pain. Perhaps because he was relatively far away from me, the golden light did not melt him, but the pus and blood flowing from between his fingers covering his face told me that he was also injured.

"No...impossible! This ring shouldn't have this kind of power!" The man released his hands and shouted. His face was almost melted and unrecognizable, like a wax figure melting after being heated. One eyeball drooped on his face, his nose was gone, leaving only two nostrils, and his lips and chin had completely disappeared, revealing pink bones and white teeth. His jawbone was clearly visible.

Should he have seen this ring before? I suddenly thought of that nameless skeleton. Could it be that the skeleton belonged to him? Then why did he die in the sewer? Was it murder or suicide? If it was murder, who killed him? I racked my brains, and I think countless brain cells must have been used up. After considering countless possibilities, I decided it was best to consider myself first, because he was staggering towards me. His feet were probably being dissolved by the golden light, leaving red footprints with each step.

I tried to move it, and to my surprise, I found that I could move my right foot again. Could it be that golden light from before? There was no time to think about it any further. I immediately sprang up from the ground and ran quickly towards the lake.

Even though I knew the man behind me couldn't catch up, I still ran as fast as I could, as if a vicious dog was chasing me. Panting, I reached the lake and, without thinking, plunged into the water, determined to leave where I came from.