Ghost Detective Records

Chapter 44

Indeed, there are many small holes in the eye area, which gives the illusion that there are no eye holes. However, when you put the mask on your face, the wearer can still see things because of the compound eye principle.

"How peculiar!" Li Yang exclaimed. Just as he was about to take a closer look, he suddenly heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

Holding my breath, I shielded Abao behind me. As the footsteps drew closer and closer, suddenly, an identical white mask slowly rose from the darkness.

"Wow!" Abao immediately cried out in terror.

"Who!" Li Yang immediately put his hand behind his waist, where there was a pistol.

"Sorry, did I scare you?" Old Gentou's deep voice suddenly came from behind the mask.

"Old Gentou?" The three of them immediately breathed a sigh of relief, but then became tense again. How could he have this mask?

Old Gentou reached out and took off his mask, revealing his scarred face. I realized then that his face was much more endearing than the mask.

"Why are you wearing this?" Li Yang asked.

"Oh, I'm afraid my face is too ugly and will scare you, so I wanted to wear something to cover it up!" Old Gentou said.

Haha! Your face may be scary, but it's definitely not as chilling as a mask.

"How did you get this mask?" Abao asked.

“Oh, this mask is from this temple!” Old Gentou explained.

"Why would something from a temple be in a temple?" I asked.

“This mask is what the Moonshadow Clan puts on the deceased during burial!” Old Root replied.

"Huh!?" We were stunned. Wasn't this the mask of the dead?

"Oh, right, I came to tell you that there will be breakfast at seven o'clock tomorrow morning. You can come down and eat." After saying that, Old Gen put his mask back on and turned to go downstairs.

For a long time, we stared blankly at the masks in our hands—masks of the dead. How ominous! The atmosphere was somewhat somber, and no one knew what to say.

“I think this mask wasn’t placed here by Old Gentou!” A Bao broke the silence.

"It certainly wasn't the three of us who put it there," Li Yang added.

"Who is that?" I asked them, as if asking myself.

"I don't know." Abao and Li Yang shook their heads in rare unison.

"Looks like there's more than just the three of us and Old Gentou here!" I glanced around the corridor, feeling like someone was hiding in some corner.

"Don't scare me, okay?" Abao complained.

"Who told you to come along!" Li Yang started picking on A Bao again.

"Alright, alright," I said immediately before they could start arguing. "It's late, everyone should go to sleep early. If you're going to take a shower or anything, be careful. And don't forget to lock the door!"

"Understood." Li Yang and A Bao nodded and went back to their rooms.

Back in my room, I locked the door from the inside. I tossed the mask onto the table and flopped back onto the bed. Looking out the window near the bed, the black coffins seemed like floating creatures, twisting and contorting in the moonlight. Looking at the mask of the dead again, the image of Old Gen's face covered in burn scars flashed before my eyes. Burns again—could he be connected to the fire at the An family home thirty years ago? But the records clearly stated that everyone in that fire died. Could there have been survivors? Even if he was, who would he be? Could it be… the missing Xu Li? But that doesn't make sense. If he is Xu Li, then who is the masked man? Judging from their figures, Old Gen and the masked man are definitely not the same person! And Li Yang has always believed he is the mysterious man at the art exhibition. Although that man is not young, he definitely can't be Xu Li's age!

The masked man, Xu Li, and Lao Gentou—these three men are definitely connected! And who exactly is Xi Zhen, this woman? Xi Zhen, Xi Zhen… that name is so strange.

Wait! I suddenly sat bolt upright in bed. An Zhengxi—Xizheng—Xizhen? Xizhen is An Zhengxi? If that's the case, then her sudden departure after receiving the painting makes sense. But, logically, she should have bought her train ticket back to **province earlier than us. Why didn't the villagers mention that outsiders had already come here?

The mask! I held the mask in my hand again. Could it be that Xi Zhen put it there? So, does Xi Zhen live here too? Why didn't Old Gentou say anything?

As I pondered, the day's motion sickness and fatigue gradually lulled me into a semi-conscious state, my mind becoming hazy. The mask I was holding fell to the floor. In my daze, I seemed to see a woman in a white dress floating on a black hanging coffin outside the window. Her long black hair obscured her face as the mountain wind blew through it…

********

The next day, I opened my eyes as the morning sun streamed in. The room was filled with the fresh scent of the mountains and forests, and the sunlight was bright and warm. I checked my watch; it was 6:30. After getting up, washing up, and going downstairs, I found Abao already standing there.

"Good morning, Bao!" I wiggled my neck to greet him.

"Good morning, Lin Xiao! Old Gentou just said we can eat in a little while," A Bao said, pointing to a room on the second floor.

"Oh, okay!" As we spoke, Abao and I went inside. It was a simple but clean dining hall, similar to a monk's dining room. Old Gentou was bringing out a pot of porridge from the kitchen.

"Thank you!" Abao happily took the bowl of porridge and started eating.

"By the way, sir," I smiled and asked, "Are we the only three people here asking for lodging?"

"Yes!" Old Gen said without even looking up.

"Oh, really?" I looked closely at Old Man Gentou. His scarred face was expressionless, and I really couldn't tell whether he was telling the truth or lying.

"Why isn't the other one coming down?" Old Gentou asked, seeing that it was just me and Abao.

"Oh, him! He won't get up before eight o'clock." I know Li Yang well; he's probably still in bed! I took two steamed buns and said, "I'll take them to him later."

"Oh, okay!" Old Gentou nodded and continued eating.

Looking at Abao, the little girl was enjoying her meal immensely, and so, breakfast passed by amidst Abao's slurping sounds as she drank her porridge.

Volume Two, The Devil's Left Eye, Chapter Seventeen: Clues Emerging from the Argument

Volume Two, The Devil's Left Eye, Chapter Seventeen: Clues Emerging from the Argument

When we entered Li Yang's room, he had just put on his coat, looking like he hadn't woken up yet. I tossed him a steamed bun and said, "I think I know who put the mask on my desk."

"Oh, who is it?" Li Yang asked.

“Wash your chastity!” I said.

“Her?” Li Yang frowned and asked, “Why?”

"It's very simple." After taking a deep breath, I told them my thoughts from last night. Although it was just a guess, it was probably right.

Li Yang tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said, "Very likely. But where is she now? Is she here too?"

“But Old Gentou said only the three of us are here to stay!” A Bao interjected.

"So either Old Gen is lying, or Xi Zhen has hidden somewhere else," I said.

“It’s easy to see if Old Gen is lying,” Li Yang said calmly, glancing at us. “We can search room by room.”

"I object!" Abao was the first to vote against it, and said angrily, "How can you doubt Old Gentou? He may be ugly, but he has a good heart! He gave us a place to stay and food to eat!"

“Miss, we didn’t say he was bad, we’re just searching him! What if we find something?” Li Yang glanced at A Bao and said.

"But……"

“Ah Bao,” I interrupted Ah Bao, “we all know that Lao Gentou is a good person. But who knows if some bad guys have hidden in here? This temple is so big, and Lao Gentou is all alone.”

“This…” Ah Bao was clearly persuaded by what I said.

So I pressed my advantage and said, "So we need to find the bad guys!"

"Okay, okay!" Abao pouted, finally agreeing with Li Yang's suggestion. So after Li Yang quickly washed up and ate his breakfast, the three of us began the search.

Since Old Gentou was alone, and we discovered that none of the houses were locked, the search wasn't too difficult. Even if Old Gentou caught us, we planned to use visiting the temple as an excuse.

This temple was probably built by the Moonshadow Clan, and there were likely many monks there back then, but now it's unusually desolate, the empty pavilions devoid of life. Only the three of us were busy at work. Every room was almost identical, with the same furniture, even the placement was exactly the same. After the three of us had searched the entire building from top to bottom, we still hadn't found a single person.

"Should we go take a look at that Netherworld Palace?" Li Yang asked, panting as he sat on the stairs.

"But the door is locked!" Abao frantically slapped his already red face with his hands.

"Let's go take a look first!" I said, tugging at my collar.

********

The gates of the Underworld Palace were still closed. I pushed them hard, but they didn't budge.

"What do you want?" Old Gen's voice suddenly rang out from behind. Turning around, we saw a white mask coldly staring at us. Although we knew it was Old Gen, the three of us still involuntarily moved a little closer together.

"Oh, we'd like to visit this Netherworld Palace," Li Yang said with a forced smile.

"You can't open it," Old Gentou said coldly. "If you open it carelessly, the ghosts in the Netherworld will sneak out and eat people."

Haha! My face is twitching. It's really strange. What's the purpose of a main hall that can't be opened?

“However,” Old Gentou’s words seemed to have taken a turn for the better, “we can open the door in three more days.”

"Why?" Abao asked.

"Because the gates of the Netherworld Palace can only be opened on the seventh day of each month, and in three days it will be the seventh day of this month, then you will be able to visit." After saying this, Old Gen turned and walked away without giving us a chance to ask any questions.

Watching his receding figure, the three of us shrugged at each other. There are so many strange rules in this place!

The three of them returned to my room empty-handed. I opened the closet and had just hung up my coat when Abao and Li Yang's argument suddenly broke out.

"I told you, Old Gentou wouldn't lie to us, but some people just have to judge a gentleman by their own petty standards."

"What 'despicable person'? Do you know that some people are wolves in sheep's clothing?"

"I know! There's one right in front of us!"

"Ha! If I were a wolf, you would be nothing more than a naive and foolish little lamb."

"Who's stupid? You're the pig-headed one!"

"Ha, don't you know that pigs are actually smarter than dogs? You silly little sheep!"

You! Bastard!

"Hey, can you please stop swearing?"

"So what if I curse you? I'll curse you, I'll curse you again..." Ah Bao was probably pushed to the limit by Li Yang, and he actually grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it at Li Yang.

"Stop arguing!" I quickly stepped between A Bao and Li Yang. I didn't want our own people to start fighting before we even found any clues in the case. Unfortunately, pillows don't open their eyes and flew straight at me.

So, I made my escape!

But... he lost his balance and, without any doubt, fell towards the wardrobe with the door still open.

Thump! The sound of a head hitting the cabinet wall.

Ouch! That's my cry of pain!

"Lin Xiao!" A Bao quickly put his head into the wardrobe with an apologetic look and apologized, "I didn't mean to smash you."

"Pull me up first!" I had already slumped completely into the closet, with the coat that had just been hung up covering my head. Li Yang immediately reached out and pulled me out. Just as I stood up, Li Yang suddenly pushed me away and crawled into the closet himself.

"What are you doing?" I asked Li Yang while rubbing the back of my head, which was throbbing from the bump.

Li Yang turned around helplessly, sighed at us, and gave us a look that said, "You're such an idiot." Then he tapped the inside of the wardrobe, and the thumping sound immediately made me realize that it was hollow inside!

"How can it be hollow? Isn't there a wall behind it?" Abao asked.