Ghost Detective Records

Chapter 67

"Who we are isn't important. What's important is whether your friend Lin Xiao will come back." An Xin slowly walked up to Li Hai, seemingly disgusted by his gaze. This kind and friendly look reminded her of An Ran. They had the same face, yet An Ran possessed everything more than her; she was a member of the An family, yet she acted aloof and refused to take over as the family head; she was a cowardly pushover, yet she was appreciated by those old men.

"He will come back." Li Hai stared into An Xin's eyes. He knew that Lin Xiao would definitely come back; he trusted him.

"Oh? Really? Maybe he's already slipped away!" Anxin said maliciously.

"Who said I'd run away?" I gasped, my body covered in bruises and cuts, my clothes torn by the cave walls, and my face drenched in sweat. I hadn't expected that the cave would actually lead to a way out, nor that I would actually be back here alive. Clutching the crystal eyeball in my hand, I knew that the end seemed to be just around the corner; my life or death would ultimately depend on this thing in my hand.

Volume Two: The Devil's Left Eye, Chapter Forty-Eight: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada

Volume Two: The Devil's Left Eye, Chapter Forty-Eight: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada

"Did you get it?" Tsukihime asked anxiously as soon as she saw me appear.

"Got it." I slowly took out the crystal eyeball from my pocket, and a greedy glint appeared in Yueji's eyes amidst the radiance.

"Great! Give it to me!" Tsukihime exclaimed.

"I can give it to you, but you have to heal Li Hai first." I took the crystal eye and walked to Li Hai's side. His face was pale and his eyes had lost their light.

“That’s easy, don’t worry.” Yueji said to Anxin, who was standing to the side, “Give him a Moon Shadow Pill.”

Anxin pulled a small bottle from her pocket and tossed it to me. I quickly caught it and opened it. As soon as the cap was removed, the pills inside emitted a pale yellow light, as bright as moonlight, and a fragrant aroma of Chinese medicine wafted out. A little worried, I placed the pills in front of Li Hai.

"What, are you worried it's poison?" Tsukihime asked coldly.

"Hehe, even if it is, it's rare to see such a fragrant poison!" Li Hai shrugged indifferently, and before I could examine it more closely, he had already swallowed the pill in my hand in one gulp.

"How is it?" I watched anxiously as Li Hai's complexion became increasingly rosy, and his pale lips gradually regained their color. It seems that this pill really is a good thing for healing injuries!

"Although I'm not fully recovered, I won't die!" Li Hai winked at me and said happily.

"Alright, now that he's alright, give me the crystal eyeball!" An Xin walked up to Li Hai and me, extending her hand.

"You promised to help me find Baiyun!" I looked at Yueji. Now that the Crystal Eye is in my hands, I should seize the opportunity to get everything I have.

"Baiyun is in that woman Yuewa's hands, and I can't give her to you right now. But as soon as I regain my magic power, I will naturally help you take her back," Yueji replied.

Really? I really can't believe Yueji's words. The Crystal Eye is like a get-out-of-jail-free card right now, but once I hand it over, there's no guarantee Yueji won't turn against me. Hesitantly, I glanced at Li Hai; his face also held an ambiguous expression. But if I don't hand it over, I'm afraid Yueji will resort to desperate measures.

Just as I was in a dilemma, I suddenly heard footsteps coming from the woods behind me. They grew closer and closer, and it seemed that there were quite a few people. The originally dark woods were immediately filled with flickering firelight.

"Who?" Anxin took a few steps forward.

"Sister, how have you been?" Yuewa's charming voice came from the distance of the woods. Her graceful and slender figure floated ethereally in the red moonlight, like a fairy floating on the water, as she slowly walked towards us.

"Hmph!" Tsukihime made a sound that was almost coming from her nose.

Yuewa's figure gradually became clearer. Her white gauze dress vaguely revealed her curvaceous figure, and almost all of her skin was covered. However, it was this outfit that made people's imaginations run wild, outlining the hidden desires of men.

"Lin Xiao, you're really lucky!" Yue Ji smiled at me and said, "How about we make a deal?"

"What kind of deal?" I asked.

"Give me the crystal eye, and I'll let you leave this barrier. How about it?" Yuewa still had a smile on her face.

"Be careful, she'll eat you as soon as she gets her hands on you!" Tsukihime said coldly from the side.

"Oh my, sister, why do you make me sound like a tiger?" Yuewa giggled, even giving me a flirtatious wink.

"Where is Baiyun? Where did you hide her?" I ignored Yueji and asked Yuewa.

“Baiyun? I didn’t hide her. She’s the one who hid her!” Yuewa pointed at Yueji and said.

“Nonsense, you were the one who kidnapped them,” Yueji retorted.

"Heaven and earth bear witness, I did not do that!" Yuewa showed an innocent expression like a little girl.

"Conscience? Do you still have any?" Yueji said with a look of disgust.

"Even if I don't have it, I learned it from you, sister!" Yuewa mocked. "They say twins always have similarities. I think besides both of us falling in love with Zhao Yun, the most similar thing about us is that we're both ruthless!"

"You didn't love him at all. If you loved him, why would you have killed him?" Tsukihime said angrily.

“Yes, I killed him, because if I can’t have him, no one else can!” Yuewa’s face was calm and expressionless at this moment. “What’s ridiculous is that although he didn’t love me, he definitely didn’t love you either.”

"You're talking nonsense!" Yue Ji shouted, "He loved me! He said he would help me get the Crystal Eye back! You killed him!"

"Haha~~!" Yuewa suddenly laughed loudly, saying, "How could the person he loves be a monster like you, neither human nor ghost? Don't dream about it!"

"No~~~No~~! He loves me, he loves me!" Tsukihime shook her head desperately.

"Look at you! What man would be attracted to your face? You're lucky you're not having nightmares!" Yuewa's eyes gleamed with malice.

"You bitch! Shut up!" Yue Ji seemed to have been hit where it hurt, and she screamed almost hysterically.

"What, you're not happy now that I'm right?" Yuewa mocked Yueji. Even though they had the same face and the same bloodline, it didn't make her resist the pleasure of revenge in her heart. She just liked to see her suffer, to see her wish she were dead. This made her happier than if she had just killed her with a single blow.

"Bastard!" Yue Ji roared in resentment, her face contorted with rage. "Rest assured, help me kill this woman!"

An Xin stood silently to the side until he heard Yue Ji's command. He reached for his waist, drew his sword, and a black light flashed before my eyes. A soft sword appeared in his hand, with a faint sound of a dragon's roar.

An Xin walked slowly toward Yue Wa with a gloomy expression. What puzzled me was that Yue Wa's expression was unusually calm. She didn't even glance at An Xin, who was getting closer and closer to her, as if the black soft sword posed no danger to her at all.

"Kill her, kill her!" Tsukihime almost shouted as she commanded Anxin.

Anxin walked closer and closer to Yuewa, until she was right in front of him. Unfortunately, he had his back to me and Yueji, so I couldn't see his face at all. Yuewa just stood there quietly, seemingly waiting for an opportunity, or perhaps not wanting to retaliate at all. The two of them remained facing each other like that.

The damp, chilly air seemed frozen by the deathly silence. The flickering firelight in the distance illuminated the dappled shadows of the trees, like wild, dancing demons. Li Hai and I held our breath, waiting for the moment our two clashed!

It moved! The black sword light almost slashed through the flames, bringing with it a burst of dark red blood!

"Ah~~!" A sharp scream of pain rang out, but it wasn't Yuewa's, it was... Yueji's!

"Why? You actually betrayed me!?" At this moment, Yue Ji's head had already been separated from her body after the flash of the blade, but even her head, which rolled on the ground, was still staring wide-eyed at An Xin, who was holding the black sword. She never expected that her only assistant would betray her.

"Silly girl, he didn't betray you!" Yuewa walked triumphantly to Anxin's side, placing a hand affectionately on Anxin's shoulder, and said, "He has always been my confidant!"

"What? You~~!" Yueji, who only had a head left, shouted in disbelief, but Yuewa stepped on her head hard with one foot.

"Don't you think about it? How could anyone get into this place without someone pointing them in? I arranged for Zhao Yun to get in, and An Xin naturally did too!" Yuewa looked at Yueji at her feet with a pitiful expression.

"What did you say? Zhao Yun, he~~~?" Yue Ji seemed to have lost all her magic power, and blood began to flow from her seven orifices. The bright red blood against her pale face was as eerie as the mask of a Japanese geisha. The cut on her head and neck began to rot and ooze pus.

"Zhao Yun was someone I arranged to find out the location of the Crystal Eye. I just didn't expect that this scoundrel Zhao Yun would try to keep it for himself, so I had no choice but to kill him. As for An Xin, I went to great lengths to place him by your side so that he could help you find someone who could enter that place. Now that the Crystal Eye has been retrieved from that place, you are no longer of any use to me!" Yuewa glanced at the already rotting Yue Ji with disgust, and kicked her away like a piece of trash.

With a loud crack, Yueji's head was kicked open like a ripe watermelon, spilling a mixture of red and yellow fluid. The ground that touched it immediately sizzled, and slowly, the entire head dissolved into pus. I could still clearly see the vivid, distorted expression on Yueji's face, as if a thousand and one resentments and bitterness could only dissolve into the earth.

Everything seemed to have happened too fast. Perhaps only the stench of rotting pus carried on the night wind could confirm that Yueji had truly vanished. Yuewa, Yueji's younger sister, showed no trace of sympathy or remorse, as if what had rotted away was merely an overripe watermelon. And Anxin, her face remained cold and indifferent, even displaying a subtle, post-murderous excitement.

I held the crystal eyeball tightly in my hand. If Yueji was a clever but reckless tiger, then Yuewa was a ferocious and cunning jackal.

"Alright, you've finished watching the show." Yuewa gave me a charming smile and said, "Now it's time to talk about our relationship."

"Do you want it?" I held the crystal eyeball in my palm.

“Yes, give it to me, and I’ll give birth to your child.” Yuewa stared intently at the crystal eyeball in my hand and said, “Don’t try anything funny. My people are all outside. You can’t escape.”

"Don't give it to her!" Li Hai whispered in my ear. I nodded slightly, knowing that if I obediently handed it over, the consequences would likely be similar to those of Yue Ji.

"I don't care what grudges you have with Yueji, all I want is for me, Li Hai, and Baiyun to get back safely. Where is Baiyun? Where did you hide her?" I asked Yuewa anxiously.

“You will be able to see her after you give me the crystal eyeballs!” Yuewa said.

"No, I need to see her first!" I flatly refused Yuewa. Baiyun was nowhere to be found, neither dead nor alive.

Seeing my resolute attitude, Yuewa frowned. After a long while, she turned around and shouted towards the edge of the woods, "Bring the person up here."

Before long, two Shadow Clan members came over carrying a sack. The person inside the sack did not seem to be completely unconscious and struggled a few times.

"The person you want is right here. Give me the crystal eye!" Yuewa glanced at the sack and said to me.

"Okay, then have someone bring Baiyun over. I need to confirm it!" I said.

Yuewa didn't say anything, but gave Anxin a wink. Immediately, Anxin went over, picked up the sack, and placed it between Yuewa and me. Li Hai and I carefully walked to the sack.

"One hand for the person, one hand for the goods." Yuewa also stepped forward and stood next to Anxin, while extending her hand to me.

I pinched the crystal eyeball, knowing that not handing it over this time would probably only anger Yuewa, but how could I easily hand it over before leaving this damned place?

Just as I was in a dilemma, the situation suddenly took a dramatic turn. The black sword light flashed again, but this time the target was not me and Li Hai, but Yuewa, who was right next to Anxin.

Just as the sword was about to pierce Yuewa's body, Anxin's eyes flashed with the excitement of a victorious prey. However, like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, in a split second, with a hissing sound of a burlap sack tearing, another cold light shot out from inside and pierced straight towards the utterly foolproof and unsuspecting Anxin.

*Swoosh!* That was the sound of a sharp knife piercing flesh. Looking at An Xin, a sharp knife held by a black-gloved hand had deeply pierced his abdomen, and blood was gushing out like a spring. His face, however, could only be frozen in shock and despair, unwillingness and resentment, like a Greek sculpture, becoming another kind of eternity.

Volume Two: The Devil's Left Eye, Chapter Forty-Nine: Zombies on the Grassland

Volume Two: The Devil's Left Eye, Chapter Forty-Nine: Zombies on the Grassland

The person in the sack wasn't Baiyun, but someone completely wrapped in black clothes, wearing a mask of the dead. Yuewa calmly watched Li Hai and me, while Anxin was already a corpse, collapsing to the ground with a thud.

"What a pity, I didn't want to kill you in the first place!" Yuewa glanced at Anxin on the ground, then giggled at the man in black, "You really have the heart to do that, he's your son!"

"He was unjust to me first, so he can't blame me." The hoarse voice of the man in black immediately revealed his identity to me: Old Gentou, or more accurately, An Zhengdong. But wasn't he already killed by An Xin? Was that just a faked death? What I didn't expect was that Yuewa could actually bribe so many people!

"Alright, we've taken so long, you can hand over the things to me now!" Yuewa said, looking at me.

"Then you have to agree to our conditions first!" Li Hai suddenly snatched the crystal eyeball from my hand and said, "First, hand over Baiyun, and second, send us out."

"With your conditions, you dare to negotiate with me?" Yuewa said, slightly angry.

“This alone is enough!” Li Hai waved the crystal eyeball in his hand.

Moonwa shrugged indifferently and said, "What do you think..." Just then, a panicked commotion suddenly erupted from outside the forest. A Moonshadow Clan member stumbled in, his face filled with fear so intense that his legs went weak. He practically crawled to Moonwa's side.

"What's going on?" Yuewa asked unhappily.

"Princess, something terrible has happened! So many...so many..." The tribespeople were so panicked they could barely speak, and after a long while they managed to say, "Zombies...so many...zombies!"

"What?" Yuewa seemed to be shocked as well, turning around to glare at us angrily.

"It's none of our business, I can't control zombies!" I quickly shook my head in denial.

"Let's go take a look!" Yuewa winked at An Zhengdong and said, "Keep an eye on the two of them."

"Yes!" An Zhengdong quickly obeyed, then stared intently at us. With no other option, Li Hai and I had to obediently follow behind Yuewa.

The group hurried toward the grassland, but the closer they got to the Moonshadow Grassland, the stronger the stench became. In the end, even I almost couldn't help but vomit. Based on my experience, this was definitely not just the stench of a corpse.

Gradually, the grassland seemed to be in sight, while the faint screams of the Moonshadow Clan could be heard. Looking into the distance, the scene utterly shocked everyone: the once boundless and peaceful grassland was now filled with zombies crawling out of the ground, and some had even crawled into the forest and entangled with some of the Moonshadow Clan members.