Ghost Detective Records

Chapter 111

"This..." Li Yang scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Do you have a person named Jiang Hua here?"

The passerby didn't speak, but looked at Li Yang with the eyes of someone looking at a monster, then coldly stared straight ahead and said, "Ahead!"

Ahead? Li Yang smiled and could only keep walking forward, because the passerby didn't seem to like him. He walked on. It seemed that every family here had their own house; some looked quite modern, while others resembled mud-brick houses.

After walking for a while, Li Yang had to stop again to ask for directions: "Excuse me, is there anyone here named Jiang Hua?"

This time, Passerby B didn't even reply, shrinking back as if utterly disgusted, and walked away. Just as Li Yang was at a loss, an old voice sounded behind him.

"Are you looking for Jiang Hua?"

Li Yang turned around and saw an unusually aged old woman standing behind him, silently and eerily silent. An old witch? That was Li Yang's first thought!

"Ah...! Yes...yes." Li Yang nodded hurriedly in response.

"What do you want with him? He's dead!" the old woman replied coldly.

“This… I’m looking for his daughter,” Li Yang said.

"Daughter...?" The old woman looked Li Yang up and down before slowly saying, "Come with me."

Li Yang followed the old woman with no other choice. They walked for a long time, and it seemed that the old woman was leading Li Yang out of Jiangjia Village and towards a more remote area. The road became narrower and narrower, and the houses became fewer and fewer.

Finally, Li Yang couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Grandma, where are you taking me?"

"I'll take you to see the person you're looking for." The old woman walked ahead, her steps unsteady.

“But…then who are you…?” Li Yang asked.

“I am her maternal grandmother,” the old woman answered slowly.

Jiang Hua's daughter's maternal grandmother? That is, Zhou Xiangrong's mother? I never expected to find her on my first try? I'm so lucky! Li Yang secretly rejoiced.

As Li Yang walked, he saw a house ahead. It was very old and only one story high. There were no other houses around it, and it looked like a wounded wild beast isolated in the wilderness, all alone.

As he approached the house, he found it well-fed, with a small plot of land where they grew vegetables. Two old hens strolled leisurely in the yard. However, what surprised Li Yang was the large wolfhound inside, baring its teeth at him!

Its dark fur was so shiny it looked like it was dripping with oil. It stared fiercely at me.

"Big Black, this is a guest." The old woman spoke to the big wolfhound as if introducing a guest, then turned to Li Yang and said, "Come in. As long as you don't mess with anything here, it won't bite you."

"Oh...oh..." Li Yang immediately nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice, and carefully passed in front of Da Hei by turning his body sideways.

Upon entering the house, the furnishings were unusually simple. There were two chairs next to a table, and next to one of the chairs was a tightly closed door. Even during the day, it seemed to be locked.

To Li Yang's right seemed to lead to the kitchen, and next to the kitchen door was the bedroom, which was very simply furnished with a bed, a small table, and a radio that looked quite old.

"Xiao Hui is sleeping," the old woman said, pointing to the closed door.

"Then...when..." Li Yang asked.

"I don't know either. This child just loves to sleep." The old woman walked into the kitchen on her own, leaving Li Yang standing there awkwardly, unsure of what to say.

After a while, the old woman finally came out of the kitchen, but it seemed that she didn't want to talk to Li Yang, so Li Yang had no choice but to stand there silently.

About ten minutes later, Li Yang couldn't hold back any longer and cautiously asked, "Grandma, your granddaughter..."

"Didn't I already say?" the old woman immediately interrupted Li Yang, saying, "My granddaughter loves to sleep."

"Oh... well... well..." Li Yang thought for a long time. He said, "Then I'll go out for a bit and come back later?"

"Whatever." The old woman didn't even lift her eyelids.

Seeing this, Li Yang had no choice but to come out of the house, walk around Dahei again, and head towards the village.

Back in the village, Li Yang found a small restaurant and ate something. However, judging from the strange looks he received from the other people around him, it seemed they already knew he was looking for Jiang Huadi. The once bustling snack shop immediately became eerily quiet. It was as if Li Yang had become a monster and was being ostracized by them.

Having finally endured the most unpleasant meal of his life, Li Yang glanced at his watch. It was almost 2 PM, and he needed to finish his business before 5 PM to catch the short-distance bus back to the city that day.

After paying, Li Yang quickly walked out of the snack shop. He immediately heard the people inside whispering behind him, but they were speaking too quietly for him to hear clearly. He only vaguely heard them saying:

"...Looking for Jiang Hua..."

"……die……"

“...that...reclusive…”

"……Neuropathy……"

"Old... he's crazy..."

“...one...lives…”

Wait! What...? Li Yang stopped in his tracks... He seemed to have heard them say that she lived alone! The old woman lived alone? No way, the old woman clearly said just now that she lived with her granddaughter, Jiang Hua's daughter, Jiang Xiaohui! Could he have misheard?

You misheard!

Li Yang shook his head and continued walking towards Jiang Xiaohui's residence. Although it was only afternoon, the weather had already turned gloomy, as if it was about to rain. He felt like he couldn't breathe. The clouds were very low, layer upon layer, as if they had been accumulating rain for thousands of years, just waiting to rush down to earth in an instant.

Several loud black cries echoed from afar, sounding incredibly mournful in the open space. Gradually, Li Yang suddenly felt that the cries of the black creature seemed much more shrill than before, howling... pitiful... terrified...? Or was it just his imagination? Li Yang quickened his pace and entered the house. The black creature seemed very agitated, and Li Yang even told himself not to provoke it, carefully walking inside.

At this moment, the tightly closed door was slightly ajar. The old woman was not seen. Was she inside preparing to wake Jiang Xiaohui?

Li Yang knew it was wrong to pry into other people's privacy, but he couldn't help but step forward. He heard the old woman's unusually kind voice inside: "Xiao Hui, wake up. Xiao Hui, wake up. Xiao Hui, wake up. Xiao Hui..."

Something's not right! Li Yang frowned. Why did it feel like the old woman was chanting the same phrase over and over again? And why wasn't Jiang Xiaohui responding at all? Why wasn't she awake?

Thinking of this, Li Yang took another step closer and peered through the crack in the door. It was a small, dimly lit room with no windows. Li Yang could only vaguely make out that the old woman was standing beside a bed, and that someone seemed to be lying on the bed.

But... why...?

Li Yang felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. Just then, the big black dog in the yard suddenly started barking even more agitatedly.

Li Yang was startled, and a bright, solitary line seemed to streak across the sky, as if to illuminate all the evil in the world.

In that brief moment of light... Li Yang saw... he saw the... skeletons lying on the bed...!

Boom!

A thunderclap echoed across the sky, making Li Yang's ears ache. The small skeleton, presumably that of a child, lay quietly on the bed... Beside it... stood an old woman with wrinkles on her face, her smile incredibly kind and gentle, as if she were truly a grandmother waking her beloved granddaughter.

The contrast made Li Yang feel a violent churning in his stomach, a surge of nausea rising to his throat.

Volume 3, Delicacies of Hell, Chapter 55: Small and Exquisite

Volume 3, Delicacies of Hell, Chapter 55: Small and Exquisite

Li Yang vomited up everything he had just eaten, the sour smell from his stomach pungent. The old woman's sudden turn of her head and the fierce look in her eyes sent chills down Li Yang's spine.

"Who are you? What do you want?" The old woman stared straight at Li Yang, as if she didn't remember him at all.

"I...I came to see Jiang Xiaohui..." Li Yang stammered.

"Xiao Hui... Xiao Hui...?" the old woman muttered, then suddenly shouted at Li Yang, "What have you done to my Xiao Hui? What have you done to her...?"

"Isn't she...isn't she sleeping?" The orange juice producer realized that the old woman seemed a little confused, so she had to try to calm her down first.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the old woman immediately quieted down, softly murmuring Xiao Hui's name, then chuckled foolishly. She then pounced onto the skeleton on the bed, saying in a strange, gentle tone, "Xiao Hui, my dear Xiao Hui is the best. Sleep well, sweetie..."

Li Yang sighed. He hadn't expected to find a skeleton in the room. Judging from its whitish color, it seemed to have been there for a long time. If it was Jiang Xiaohui, why hadn't her grandmother given her a proper burial? Was it because her grandmother was overwhelmed with grief and went insane, making her believe that Xiaohui wasn't dead, but just asleep?

What puzzled Li Yang even more was how could she have kept the remains hidden in her home for so long without anyone else noticing? Didn't the villagers even realize it? Perhaps no one would care about a lonely, mentally unstable old woman, even if she was a member of the village? Could people really be so indifferent? Li Yang truly couldn't imagine how such an aged woman had spent her days surrounded by remains.

Thinking about this, Li Yang suddenly didn't know whether he should tell others this secret. Perhaps the only reason this old woman was still alive was because of her skeleton. How could he bear to blame her?

Alas…! The tragedy is never that of the dead, but that of the living.

Li Yang gently grasped the doorknob, deciding to keep the secret. But just as he was about to close the door, Da Hei suddenly pounced from behind. Luckily, Li Yang dodged quickly, but Da Hei still managed to break down the door.

"Woof woof...woof..." Big Black seemed to no longer recognize its owner, and went mad, biting and tearing at the old woman's clothes.

"What are you doing? What are you doing?" The old woman tried desperately to shake off the big black thing that seemed to be stuck to her.

Li Yang, who had intended to help, stopped in his tracks for some reason. He realized that Da Hei wasn't actually trying to hurt the old woman, but rather... dragging her out of the room!

Why? Why is Dahei acting so strangely? Li Yang felt a chill slowly emanating from the corpse, accompanied by a hissing sound.

"Zombie resurrection?" The two words immediately flashed through Li Yang's mind. His left eye twitched incessantly, and an ominous premonition sent a shiver down his spine. Looking more closely at the skeleton, its color grew increasingly dark... and it seemed... to be moving...?

"Old woman, hurry up and leave!" Li Yang rushed into the room, grabbed the old woman, and tried to pull her out, but the old woman was incredibly strong when she was stubborn, and no matter how Li Yang tried to persuade her, she refused to leave.

"Something's going to happen... Get out of here..." Li Yang screamed desperately, but the torrential rain outside seemed to drown out his cries. The old woman clung tightly to the completely blackened bones, crying, "I won't go! I won't go! I want to stay with her!"

"There's no time." Li Yang used all his strength to hug the old woman from behind, then lifted her up in his arms.

Just as Li Yang turned to leave, he also caught a glimpse of a photograph placed on the bedside table by the second flash of lightning—a picture of his once happy family.

An old woman stood in the middle, flanked by a young couple. Jiang Hua and Zhou Xiangrong stood on either side, and... each of them held a pair of daughters... twin daughters... two identical little girls... dressed in red...

In a flash, Li Yang had pulled the old woman to the door. The sound of the rain suddenly fell silent, quiet... except for... soft sobs... the helpless crying of a child...

The weeping made Li Yang and the old woman stop simultaneously, as if they were weeping in their hearts. It plucked at their heartstrings... and the weeping clearly came from within the bones.

"Xiao Hui...it's Xiao Hui crying!" The old woman immediately became excited and shouted, "Xiao Hui, don't be afraid, Grandma is here! Grandma is here!"

The black skeleton suddenly began to move, making a creaking sound as the bones rubbed together.

"Don't go!" Li Yang held the old woman tightly and pulled her outside. Just as he managed to drag her out the door, the room began to shake violently. Li Yang felt a tremendous tremor, and dust fell from the ceiling like rain.

"Quick, this place is going to collapse!" Li Yang grabbed the old woman. After all, he was young and strong, and he managed to pull her out of the house. They had only taken a few steps away from the house when they heard a loud bang behind them. Amidst the flying dust, the entire house collapsed.

"My Xiaohui, Xiaohui!" The old woman tried to rush over despite the collapsing house, but Dahei and Li Yang's combined efforts forced her to watch helplessly as the house was reduced to rubble. Tears streamed from her cloudy eyes, cutting down her wrinkled face. At that moment, Li Yang suddenly felt incredibly cruel. Perhaps, stopping her from coming out was completely pointless.

"You...it's all your fault...!" The old woman suddenly turned around, grabbed Li Yang's clothes, and tore at them desperately, shouting, "Give me back my Xiao Hui, give her back to me...!"

"Grandma, she's already dead!" Li Yang helplessly let the rain pelt his body. He realized that the old woman in front of him seemed to have aged a lot in a short time, or perhaps her heart had died.

"No...no...you're lying! Xiaohui isn't dead! Give me back my Xiaohui!" The old woman's eyes flashed with ferocity, as if she wanted to fight Li Yang to the death.

This left Li Yang completely at a loss. In his desperation, Li Yang suddenly remembered the photo from earlier. Weren't there two daughters? If Jiang Xiaohui was the one who died, then who was the other one? She should also be the old woman's granddaughter!

“Xiao Hui is gone, but you still have a granddaughter! They’re twins!” Li Yang said, “Have you forgotten?”

"Twins...?" The old woman looked at Li Yang in confusion, and after a long while asked, "Twins?"

"Yes, yes!" Li Yang immediately said, "They're Xiao Hui's twin sisters. Where's the other one?"

"And...one more?" The old woman seemed to have no recollection of twins. She shook her head, muttering to herself.

“Yes! There’s one more!” Li Yang tried to entice the old woman.

"There's one more...and one more...and one more..." The old woman's eyes suddenly lit up, and she exclaimed, "That's right, Xiangrong gave birth to twins. And there's another d...Jiang...?"

"What's your name?" Li Yang asked hurriedly.

"Xiaoqiao... Jiang Xiaoqiao!" The old woman released Li Yang from her grasp, looked blankly into the distance, and then slowly walked towards the village.