Ghost Detective Records

Chapter 42

"Thank you so much!" I immediately hugged Baiyun happily, her thin body trembling slightly in my arms, but I didn't pay much attention. I hurried towards Li Yang and said, "Let's go!"

********

Author's note: I was halfway through writing when my computer screen suddenly turned pale red and started flickering, which made me a little nervous. Hehe, could it be that my computer...? (A little scared!)

Also, as for whether the novel is more supernatural or more mystery, I would say that it is actually a supernatural + mystery novel. The combination of the two makes it more interesting. Wouldn't it be monotonous if it were just supernatural or mystery?

Finally, please don't call me Brother Asura, I'm a girl! :)

Volume Two: The Devil's Left Eye, Chapter Fourteen: On the Way

Volume Two: The Devil's Left Eye, Chapter Fourteen: On the Way

The detached house in front of us is located in an upscale residential area. Its simple exterior design and Western-style courtyard exude a sophisticated and elegant style. And now, Li Yang and I are standing at the door, pressing the doorbell.

After waiting a while, a middle-aged woman who looked like a nanny came running from the small house and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

"Oh, we're looking for Xi Zhen, Madam Xi!" I said politely.

"Madam isn't here!" the nanny glanced at us and answered somewhat stiffly.

"Do you know when she'll be back?" I asked again.

"I don't know!" the nanny replied indifferently.

Not here? Where did she go? I thought for a moment, and was about to ask again when Li Yang suddenly pushed me aside and said, "I'm a police officer. There are three murder cases related to Xi Zhen. Please open the door and let us in to wait for her!"

"Ah! Police!" The nanny looked at the police ID that Li Yang showed in surprise. After hesitating for a while, she still opened the door for us, but she seemed to be stammering.

"Do you know anything?" Li Yang immediately noticed her unusual behavior and asked.

"That's right!" the nanny said cautiously, her head bowed. "Actually, Madam has already passed away."

"Gone? Where did she go?" I asked hurriedly. Could Xizhen have fled to escape punishment?

"I'm not quite sure either!" the nanny quickly waved her hand and said, "They probably went to ** province!"

"**Province?" I frowned in confusion. Isn't that where Baiyun came from?

"How did you know?" Li Yang asked.

"I...I only found out by accidentally overhearing my wife making a phone call to book train tickets!" the nanny said, feeling wronged.

"Did anyone look for her before she left?" I thought of the lover Zhu Wei mentioned. Maybe that mysterious man came looking for her!

"No!" the nanny quickly replied.

No? Li Yang and I exchanged a glance. Then what could have caused Xi Zhen to suddenly leave this city and go to **province? Logically, she should have stayed behind to supervise Zhu Wei and prevent him from requesting an autopsy!

"Um..." The nanny cautiously interjected when she saw that none of us were speaking.

"What?" Li Yang asked.

"Although no one has come to see Madam, she did receive a letter! After reading it, she immediately called to book train tickets." The nanny's words immediately piqued our interest. What kind of letter was it? And what did it say?

"It's strange, really!" the nanny continued, "This letter is just a drawing!"

"A painting?!" Li Yang and I exclaimed in unison, startling the nanny.

“Yes!” the nanny nodded confidently.

"What kind of painting?" I asked hastily.

"I couldn't see clearly, it looked like mountains or houses or something, and there seemed to be someone in the window!" the nanny said after thinking for a moment.

Mountains, houses, people in the windows! Could this be the painting found with the remains? But wait, that painting is still in the police station's evidence room, how could it have ended up with Xi Zhen? Could someone have sent her an identical one? If so, who made it?

*********

On the way back to the police station from Xi Zhen's house, Li Yang and I didn't speak, each lost in our own thoughts. Although we hadn't found Xi Zhen, at least we knew where she was. It was a pity that the nanny had no recollection of the man in the crime puzzle; otherwise, we could have asked her. In short, we hadn't found her, but there was a new clue: the mysterious letter sender.

As they approached the police station, Li Yang suddenly said, "I think we should go to ** Province!"

"What? Go there?" I glanced at Li Yang; he didn't seem to be just saying it casually!

“Yes!” Li Yang nodded firmly and said, “Think about it, the places Bai Yun mentioned where the An family tomb-raiding group committed their crimes, the location of the Longyi Temple in that oil painting, and the place Xi Zhen went to—aren’t they all in ** Province? It seems there must be some unexpected clues there!”

"But do you think Chen Kai will release him?" Although I agreed with Li Yang's point of view, I also raised a very practical question. Would Chen Kai let Li Yang, who had just finished a long vacation, go? Also, the bureau already has a shortage of forensic doctors, and with Fang Lei not around, Chen Kai definitely won't let me leave now.

Perhaps sensing my concerns, Li Yang said, "Don't worry, I have a plan. Besides, I heard the bureau is getting a new forensic doctor soon, I think he's a recent graduate. And besides, we're looking for the witness Xi Zhen, I think Chen Kai will agree!"

"Don't get your hopes up!" I glanced at Li Yang, just as my phone rang. I took a deep breath and began to pray it wasn't Xiao Ren calling. I took it out and, thankfully, it was A Bao.

As soon as the call connected, A Bao's excited voice came through: "Lin Xiao, Lin Xiao! My computer is fixed!"

"Really? That's great! We're coming to your place right now! See you later!" I hung up the phone happily. This was probably the only piece of news that had made me happy in the past few days!

"What are you going to her house for?" Li Yang asked with a look of disgust.

“Go investigate the clues! You can’t deny that she’s quite capable!” I said, patting Li Yang on the shoulder with a smile.

"Ha!" Li Yang turned his head away indignantly, but his hands on the steering wheel kept driving the car toward A Bao's house.

*******

"Hey! What brings you here?" Abao blocked Li Yang at the door and asked in an unfriendly tone.

"Ha, I wouldn't have come if Lin Xiao hadn't insisted!" Li Yang retorted defiantly, pushing forward and squeezing into the room.

"Wow, the puppy crawled through the wall!" Abao shouted proudly, pointing at Li Yang.

"Oh! There's a little dog barking!" Li Yang made a face at A Bao and retorted.

I sighed helplessly to the side. Did these two have some kind of grudge in their past lives? I patted Abao, who was about to explode, and quickly said, "Abao, help me look something up!"

"Investigate something?" Abao looked at it, then glanced meaningfully at Li Yang, as if he were plotting a conspiracy.

Ah Bao suddenly smiled so hard his eyes narrowed into one corner, and said, "I won't investigate unless he says 'I submit to you' three times!"

"What?!" Li Yang immediately roared, looking deeply insulted.

Sigh! I sighed heavily again. I'm really fed up with you! Helplessly, I tugged at Li Yang's clothes and gestured with my lip, signaling him to hurry up and speak. Li Yang immediately glared at me, his glorious image of not bowing to evil forces fully displayed at this moment.

"Do you even want to look for clues?!" I whispered menacingly in his ear. As soon as I finished speaking, Li Yang slumped his head like a defeated rooster. The Heart Lake incident was indeed entirely thanks to A Bao; although Li Yang wouldn't admit it verbally, he secretly agreed. Puffing out his chest, like a martyr going to his death, Li Yang immediately said at a breakneck pace, "I give up! I give up! I give up!"

"Haha!" Abao immediately flashed a bright smile, skipped and hopped to the computer and sat down, completely ignoring the murderous glare behind him.

"What a wonderful way to lend your voice to a case!" I suppressed a laugh, coughed lightly as if to sound serious, and immediately walked over to A Bao's side, saying, "Help me investigate Xi Zhen, what do you think?"

"Okay!" Abao immediately started searching, and soon some text appeared on the screen. After a quick glance, he discovered that Xi Zhen had married Zhu Zhenhua just one month after his ex-wife's death, and had been a housewife for the past twenty-odd years, so there was very little information about her. Strangely, there was no information about her before she got married at all.

"Let's investigate the An family of tomb raiders again!" I said, somewhat disappointed.

“I can’t check that!” Abao shook his head and said, “There’s no way to check without specific information.”

"Oh, I see!" I patted my forehead, then suddenly thought of something and said, "Could you help me look into An Ran again? Preferably information about his hometown or family."

Abao nodded, and typed An Ran's name into the search bar again. This time, the more detailed information that appeared made us gasp. It turned out that An Ran's hometown was also in ** Province, specifically in ** County, a place called Zuomu Village. And it was in that village that Longyi Temple was located. So...

I immediately pressed my throbbing temples. It was **province again! Looks like we really need to go there! Further down the page, even more shocking news appeared: thirty years ago, a shocking case occurred there, shattering the entire province: the Anzhai Fire! Four people died: An Zhengdong, An Zhengnan, An Zhengbei, and An Zhengdong's wife, Mu Wanrong. The first three were brothers. They also had a sister named An Zhengxi, but she disappeared after the fire. An Zhengxi's lover, a young man from the same village named Xu Li, also disappeared. But what shocked the entire province wasn't the fire itself, but the secret hidden behind it. According to the forensic examination at the time, all four were burned after death, meaning the fire was deliberately set to cover something up. Large amounts of tranquilizers were found in the stomachs of all four, and Mu Wanrong's left eye had been gouged out!

It's my left eye again! I subconsciously touched my still bloodshot left eye. Why would the killer like to gouge out the left eye? What does this mean?

"Have they caught the murderer?" Li Yang, who had been standing silently behind me, suddenly asked.

"It seems not!" Abao scrolled down the screen with the mouse, and we immediately focused our attention: because the fire had burned very thoroughly, the police found no clues at the scene, only identifying the missing An Zhengxi and her lover Xu Li as suspects. The problem was, the local villagers didn't believe it was them, thinking there was no reason for them to commit murder.

Finally, and most importantly, An Zhengdong and Mu Wanrong are An Ran's parents.

Having finished reviewing the information, we were left with even more questions. Was there any connection between this 30-year-old murder case and the three current cases? Doubts once again clouded Li Yang's and my minds, and our determination to go to ** Province became even stronger!

********

After almost shameless pleading, a reasoned analysis of the case, and a promise of a month of unpaid overtime upon my return, Chen Kai finally reluctantly let me go to ** Province. Of course, Li Yang also went with me, and as for him, well, he got a good beating from Chen Kai, just like me!

Ugh! Why bother! We're investigating a case, not on vacation! A bit resentful, I took Abao's luggage and plopped down in my train seat. Abao was a complete accident! This little brat used the last time my computer was infected with a virus as leverage to force me to bring her along. And my fate, naturally, was to be stared at relentlessly by Li Yang with murderous glares, spending the entire day and night on the train in constant fear, worried that he might suddenly stand up and throw me out the window. Poor me!

After arriving at the provincial capital, because Zuomu Village was in another remote county, we had to switch to a dilapidated bus that could only carry 40 people but was crammed with 60 by the greedy driver. It looked like something from before the liberation. We swayed and bumped all the way to our destination.

The dilapidated car struggled to move its massive body amidst the roar of its old diesel engine. Because it was a mountainous city, the car spent most of its time traveling on winding mountain roads or through dark mountain tunnels. The bumpy ride made Abao extremely carsick; she was almost pale and about to faint. I wasn't much better off; my stomach was churning and cramping violently. I ended up eating both breakfast and lunch while enjoying the relatively beautiful scenery outside the window. Li Yang, on the other hand, didn't seem to be carsick at all. I had to ask him to take care of Abao for the time being. Although I was a little reluctant, I readily agreed after seeing Abao looking like a pitiful little girl, something I had never seen before.

I leaned my head out the window as far as I could, hoping the fresh, crisp mountain air would soothe my stomach. Looking down at the steep cliffs below the winding mountain road, I felt as if I were about to fall. My head was spinning, and the dark, gaping mountain bottom seemed like a swirling black vortex, the scenery before me overlapping. The sky was a gloomy, bluish-gray, feeling incredibly low and oppressive, making it hard to breathe. The surrounding mountains appeared exceptionally tall, adding to the sense of oppression, making me feel incredibly small in this vast forest.

I shook my head vigorously, and the feeling of something invading my left eye suddenly intensified, even showing a tendency to get stronger. Unfortunately, I was already too weak from motion sickness, and my slightly twitching right hand lay limply beside me.

The dilapidated train passed station after station, and gradually only three passengers remained: Li Yang, A Bao, and myself. The stench of sweat and other unpleasant smells gradually dissipated from the empty carriage, and my mind cleared a little. However, the discomfort in my left eye made me restless, and I kept rubbing it. A slight, inexplicable tremor ran through my body, and a fear of the unknown crept into my heart. I couldn't help but begin to doubt the value of this trip.

"We're almost at Zuomu Village!" the greedy driver said, glancing back at us.

Looking out the car window, the moment a temple suspended on a mountain jumped into my left eye's field of vision, my left eye throbbed violently and hurt. A plaintive female voice seemed to be right next to my ear, sighing softly.

Then, the devil's smiling face reappeared before my eyes.

We came to this small village with only a try-it-out mentality, completely unaware that we were stepping into a strange vortex.

Volume Two: The Devil's Left Eye, Chapter Fifteen: Staying at the Longyi Temple

Volume Two: The Devil's Left Eye, Chapter Fifteen: Staying at the Longyi Temple

Whether it was due to the weather or some other reason, the mountains and forests that should have been lush and green presented a somber green hue, which was quite soothing to look at.

Carrying our luggage, we got off the train at the foot of the mountains. Before us were a few thatched huts built of loess. The entire village didn't even have a decent road; it was all just bumpy dirt paths. While some coastal cities in China are developing rapidly, certain corners are always forgotten in the tunnel of time.

"The cities really are like Europe, and the countryside is like Africa!" Li Yang exclaimed as he put his luggage on the ground, supporting the still exhausted A Bao with one hand.

I silently observed everything before me. The few scattered telephone poles at least told me that there was still electricity here! The villagers stopped and stared at us intently because of the arrival of outsiders. Their dark yellow faces were etched with wrinkles from the sharp mountain wind. I paid special attention and noticed that most of them were elderly people and children.

Perhaps because it was winter, the mountain wind, which should have been cool, was unusually cold, blowing up the withered yellow leaves scattered all over the mountain path. I subconsciously shrank my neck and looked up at the temple that was almost overhead. I couldn't help but wonder if there was a woman standing by the window of this temple, and what kind of face she had under her black hair that was being blown by the mountain wind.

As we were lost in thought, an elder who looked like a villager walked toward us, his completely white hair fluttering wildly in the mountain wind.

"Excuse me..." the old man's voice was hoarse as he asked us, "Where are you from?"

"Oh, I see!" I spoke up before Li Yang could, "We are art students, and we came here to do some outdoor sketching!" I didn't tell the truth because I didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble. After all, the word "police" always caused some unnecessary commotion in this small village where a murder had occurred.

I winked at Li Yang and A Bao, then turned back and asked with a grin, "What's your name, sir?"

"Oh! My name is Tang Sang, and I'm the village chief!" When the old man heard that we were just students, the guarded look on his face disappeared, and he introduced himself to us kindly.

"Oh, it's Grandpa Tang! My name is Lin Xiao, and these are Li Yang and A Bao!" I introduced my two companions behind me.