Paper Baby

Chapter 19

This shout startled me, because it wasn't the fat aunt who said it, but the driver in front who suddenly turned around and yelled at me.

Shouldn't this driver be a background character who remains silent from beginning to end?

Then I realized that the driver was actually Detective Wang.

“As I said, we often have to cooperate with all sorts of organizations,” the plump woman said. “Although this cult is not very large yet, what they’re doing now is quite astonishing. So, we can’t wait any longer. We’re cooperating with the police and preparing to take action.”

"Na Duo, when you break in this time, you must find out how they got Lü Wanqiang out of the hospital. Even if Lü Wanqiang is dead, we have to find him." Detective Wang has been extremely stressed these past two days. Although the person disappeared in the courthouse, the police knew about it beforehand but still failed to keep an eye on him, which puts them in a very passive position.

“I don’t think even Yuan Ji knows the specifics. He keeps talking about miracles and returning to the primordial nothingness. I think he’s been completely brainwashed. The secret of miracles is probably only known to a limited number of high-ranking members of the cult. Most of the misled followers probably know very little,” I said.

"There are so many. Give Yuan Ji a call tomorrow and tell him you want to join the church. According to our information, hearing their core doctrines preached is practically equivalent to joining. And each believer will have a special ceremony held by the high-ranking members of the Holy Maiden Church when they join, and they may even see their Holy Maiden. We will organize a large police force to surround the meeting place, and once the Holy Maiden is confirmed to have appeared, we will take them all in. It doesn't matter if you don't understand what their miracle is all about; we'll have plenty of time to find out once they're in jail." The fat aunt said with a sinister smile.

"So, if the Holy Maiden doesn't show up, this operation will be canceled?"

"Yes, the Holy Maiden is key, and Xue Ying is also crucial. Without these two, the rest won't be able to cause much trouble."

"What if they didn't tell me the location of the gathering beforehand?"

“That won’t be a problem. I can still manage with one or two people, but…” The plump woman thought for a moment and said, “If you find that something beyond common sense happens, I mean something that requires the police special affairs department or some other agency to handle, please let us know in time. We will decide whether to continue the operation based on the situation.”

She gave me a slight smile as she said "other organizations." She was certainly aware of my entanglement with the X Organization, which specializes in studying surreal phenomena, and perhaps knew more than I did in the Special Affairs Bureau's files.

"So what do I get in return for risking my life like this?" I was about to try and negotiate with her.

"Do you need money?" She smiled, then shook her head. "No, I know what you want most is the truth."

I need money, a million is not too much, ten million is not too little! I shouted in my heart.

“I’m ready,” I said to Yuan Ji.

“I’m so happy for you. Well then, you’ll have to set aside the whole day next Tuesday.”

Where is it located?

"Hmm... I'll come pick you up then."

What do I need to prepare?

"Hehe, you don't need to do anything. You just need to keep a humble heart. Remember, we are all insignificant before God's power. In fact, it should be said that before God, everything is meaningless. I know you must have doubts, but don't rush to ask now. You will understand on that day."

After I hung up the phone, He Xi glared at me from the side.

"We'll find out next Tuesday." I shrugged.

"I'll go too."

I immediately put on a mournful face: "Grandma, please stop making trouble."

Chapter Sixteen: The Truth of the World

Surprisingly, the first core gathering of the Holy Maiden Church was not held in Shanghai.

Yuan Ji and I were sitting on a long-distance bus, which was heading to Kunshan.

Kunshan again!

I managed to persuade He Xi to stay halfway. The reason it was only halfway was that this enthusiastic female forensic doctor still joined the team searching for the cult, along with the detective. I don't know what reason she gave, perhaps she was worried about finding Lü Wanqiang's body inside the cult.

Sigh, He Xi is really stubborn. Looks like I'm in for a lot of trouble. Thinking this, for some reason, a smile didn't appear on my lips.

"Despicable, men are just despicable." I quickly smoothed out my expression.

The air-conditioned bus had about thirty people, not quite full. I wondered if there were any police officers following us. Perhaps another car was following behind, or perhaps it was a two-pronged approach. Yuan Ji was quite alert. I wanted to talk to him on the bus, but he indicated that it wasn't convenient to talk there and leaned back in his seat to close his eyes and rest.

The driver was driving recklessly, overtaking vehicles of all sizes one after another. My heart was pounding as I watched. I tried to close my eyes like Yuan Ji did, but I couldn't calm down and fall asleep. Scenes and years flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern.

All signs point to Zhou Qianqian possibly being the Holy Maiden of the Holy Maiden Cult. But how did a missing little girl become the Holy Maiden of a cult, and how did a former hospital caregiver rise to a high-ranking member? What does the Holy Maiden mean to the Holy Maiden Cult—is she the core, or merely Xue Ying's puppet? Even if she's just a high-ranking puppet, Huang Zhi is her biological mother. Why would a cult member murder Huang Zhi, only to be declared innocent by their "Heavenly Venerable" and mysteriously disappear after a divine miracle?

Throughout my years as a journalist, I've had many bizarre experiences that most people couldn't even imagine, but none can compare to this one. In the past, I could always unravel the mystery of those strange events step by step, slowly approaching my goal. I could do that because I was facing an unknown phenomenon, like a tiny glimmer of light in the darkness; its very existence guided me. But if I were surrounded by starlight, lost in a vast sea of stars, I would lose my way, not knowing where to go.

Imagine a strange event as a point of starlight, and count how many points of starlight surround me.

The villagers believed that Huang Zhi was haunted by evil spirits because her relatives died or disappeared one after another, and finally she herself was among them. Most people would not believe that such misfortune could be explained by coincidence.

Then came the paper baby incident. The suddenly shrinking belly, the hideous shape of the paper baby, and the inexplicable reason for its formation.

The DNA test results of one of the stillborn babies found in South Korea's refrigerators were unbelievable, forcing me to connect it to the paper baby scam. But how did this stillborn baby disappear from Hwang Ji-seo's womb and end up in South Korea, thousands of miles away?

Why does this same stillborn infant have inexplicable crawling marks on its body?

Why was Huang Zhi killed? Did Lü Wanqiang's killing represent the intentions of the Holy Maiden Cult's higher-ups? Why did they kill the Holy Maiden's mother? I've thought about this question repeatedly for a long time, as if the answer is hidden in some corner of my subconscious, but I can't figure it out for the time being.

How did Lü Wanqiang disappear from the toilet? Was it really a miracle? Was there really a "celestial being" involved?

One incredible event after another occurred. Just when I was racking my brains trying to find clues to solve the previous mystery, a new bizarre event would suddenly appear, leaving me dumbfounded.

What is the connection between these events? Will my in-depth investigation of the Holy Maiden Church reveal the thread that connects all these events, or will it simply add another weight to the existing pile of supernatural events?

Each of my brain cells swelled by about a third. To prevent my head from turning into popcorn if I continued, I forced myself to start counting sheep.

One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, four sheep...

After seeing more than a hundred sheep, it suddenly occurred to me that there seemed to be a great similarity between the paper baby incident and the locked room disappearance incident.

If Lü Wanqiang really did disappear into thin air in the toilet, and instead of using some trick we haven't thought of yet...

If the paper baby's brother also suddenly disappeared inside Huang Zhi's womb...

I opened my eyes, and Yuan Ji was looking at me. He smiled slightly at me.

My face stiffened, and I reminded myself that the place I was about to go to was a cult!

We weren't going to downtown Kunshan, but to a small town nearby, and not in the same direction as Datang Village. In Kunshan, we transferred to another minibus, and after a bumpy half-hour ride on narrow roads, Yuan Ji jumped up and said we'd arrived, telling the driver to stop.

This was on the edge of a small town. Yuan Ji led us into a small roadside restaurant. I was thinking that this place was too small when I saw him call the waiter to bring us the menu.

“We still have some time, it’s perfect to go after lunch,” he told me.

A plate of stir-fried chicken, a plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, two servings of cold tofu salad, and a bottle of ice-cold beer.

"How many people will there be today?" I asked.

“It’s hard to say,” Yuan Ji said, shaking his head. “Originally, there wouldn’t be many people, because the teachings that the guru is going to preach today are ones that people like me have heard many times before, and they are mainly for you. But today there might be a miracle.”

When he said the word "miracle," Yuan Ji's voice softened, as if afraid that those around him would hear. Then, he switched to Shanghainese and said to me:

"If there are enough new people willing to join the church, the church will hold an initiation ceremony, during which the saint will bless each person and perform miracles. I've heard from previous visits that new people with firm faith in the doctrine will also be here today. There should be enough people to hold the initiation ceremony, so at least the core believers will try their best to come. To see the saint and witness miracles is the greatest honor for every believer, as it brings us closer to God."

"Looks like I can catch them all today," I thought to myself.

After the meal, I insisted on paying the bill, saying that I could get it reimbursed with public funds.

"Really? You're kidding me," Yuan Ji said.

"It really can be reimbursed, it really can be reimbursed," I said with a grin. It was indeed true, but the organization that reimbursed me wasn't the newspaper, but the Public Security Bureau.

After crossing a bridge, a straight road stretched out before us. The town consisted of only a few streets; we were now outside the town, and the population was sparser.

"Which way are we going?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Don't rush, we're almost there," Yuan Ji said, turning into a small path.

This is a narrow road, barely wide enough for two cars to pass each other. Many years ago, it must have been a field ridge, and now there is still land and air on both sides. Looking ahead, through the gaps in the roadside trees, there seems to be a cluster of low buildings.

Is that our destination? I glanced behind me furtively, but there was no movement. "Could the police have lost us?" I wondered to myself.

The gate was wide open, without a nameplate or sign. Yuan Ji's expression became very serious, or rather, solemn. I guessed this must be a regular gathering point, or even the headquarters, of the Holy Maiden Cult, because Yuan Ji looked as if he had entered a sacred place that was not to be profaned.

I looked around at the buildings; they weren't newly built, they must have been over ten years old. What were they used for before? I noticed several sets of outdoor exercise equipment in the open space next to the gate, all of which were too small. Was this place once a school or a nursing home?

Apart from one two-story building, the rest were all one-story bungalows. I followed Yuan Ji to a large open space behind the bungalows.

The open space was blocked by the bungalows in front, and couldn't be seen from the gate. I was startled when the crowd sitting in the open space came into view.

Although Yuan Ji mentioned during the meal that there would likely be quite a few people, I barely heard any voices after entering the gate. Normally, three or four hundred Chinese people gathered together wouldn't be this quiet.

The people sat quietly in a crescent shape, facing a circular altar. There was no one on the altar, and I knew the official start wouldn't begin until 1 p.m., so there were still about twenty minutes to go.

Yuan Ji pulled me to sit on the ground at the very back. This open space by the river was surrounded by bungalows, and there was a grove of trees on the other side of the river, making it a fairly secluded place.

I wondered how much preparation the police had made. To catch everyone here without missing a single one, it seemed they would need to control the river and the opposite bank as well. Thinking of the police, I secretly glanced at my phone in my bag. I had already put my phone on vibrate so that messages wouldn't be easily detected. But to my astonishment, I discovered that my phone had absolutely no signal.

I thought for a moment, then took out my phone confidently and asked Yuan Ji in a low voice.

Why is there no signal here?

Yuan Ji leaned close to my ear and whispered, "There's no signal. This is a place close to the gods; signals from the mortal world can't get in."

I inwardly scoffed. This whole thing is just a smokescreen, isn't it? According to this kind of deceptive rhetoric, there are plenty of places in Shanghai that are practically divine, like the Grand Theatre.

However, this would make it difficult to get any information out.

After waiting quietly for a while, the crowd on one side stirred slightly, and then a person dressed in a light blue Hanfu walked towards the round altar in the middle.

This Hanfu has wide robes and sleeves, and the hem flutters when you walk. I clicked my tongue in disapproval. It really looks like something a charlatan would wear. But it's the middle of the day, and I wonder how much talcum powder I'll have to waste wearing this.

The person next to me turned to look at me, seemingly thinking I wasn't solemn enough. I quickly adjusted my expression to the most devout one, staring intently.

The man was in his forties, thin in appearance. He walked up to the round altar and sat down cross-legged.

“Why isn’t it Master Xue, whom I met last time?” I asked Yuan Ji.

“Master Xue is probably with the Holy Maiden right now. This Master Liu is Xue’s husband, and his cultivation is also very profound.”

Master Liu? Ha, no wonder he acts like that. The police have already begun investigating Xue Ying. Her husband, Liu Jiangzhou, is a lazy conman with a long criminal record.

"Are Master Liu and Master Xue the two masters with the deepest spiritual attainments within the sect?" I asked.

Yuan Ji nodded: "They were the first to follow the Holy Maiden."

It's possible that the entire Holy Maiden Cult was started by those two; if that's the case, the police could really wipe them out today.

"Before I begin my sermon, please allow your hearts to gradually quiet down. For those who have been here many times before, please remain in awe; as for those who are setting foot on this holy land for the first time today, you will hear more than you can imagine. You may have doubts, fear, anger, sadness, or disappointment, but please remain calm."

Without the hustle and bustle of the city, without the slightest breeze, Liu Jiangzhou's voice clearly reached everyone's ears.

"Everything I'm about to say comes from the Holy Maiden, from the great God—the Heavenly Venerable. Those who believe in God will see the truth and will no longer be confused." After saying this, Liu Jiangzhou made a gesture, which looked like a scribbled symbol, and then most people present followed suit. I think this is probably the same gesture used by the Holy Maiden to pay homage to the Heavenly Venerable, similar to the Buddhist gesture of clasping hands together or the Christian gesture of the cross.

"When we are born and open our eyes, those colorful and bizarre things begin to leave their mark on our minds. As the days go by, all the novelties that once excited or frightened us become ordinary and commonplace, taken for granted. What is this world really like? From ancient times to the present, no wise person has ever given up exploring it, but almost all of them have gone in the wrong direction, because everything we see, hear, and come into contact with is constantly misleading us."

"Newborn babies are the greatest geniuses; their brains contain many times more neurons than any scientist. However, as time passes, most of these neurons slowly atrophy. Perhaps you have forgotten, or perhaps you still have faint memories. When we were young, we had unique experiences of the world, often filled with all sorts of doubts and conjectures. Now, the wellspring of these thoughts has dried up, and we can no longer even understand our own thoughts from back then. But know this: you may have once been only one step away from the truth."

I listened attentively to Master Liu's sermons. The teacher said that although he was indeed listening attentively, he was initially quite skeptical, approaching it with the mindset of seeing what methods this charlatan would use to fool the people, and he listened while secretly laughing to himself. However, as he listened further, he couldn't help but become doubtful.

"What is this world like? Is what you see really real? Every child has thought about this question from different perspectives. Some precocious children even begin to doubt that the world presented in front of them is actually a void, and everything is just an illusion of the mind. Parents and siblings, delicious candy, etc., are all magic cast by some unpredictable being. In fact, everything is just an illusion. Perhaps, apart from themselves, nothing else exists."

At this point, Liu Jiangzhou looked at everyone sitting below the stage with a scrutinizing gaze and asked, "Think carefully, have you ever had similar thoughts?"