Ghost Stories Series 10

Chapter 2

“This is my identification. Please let me say a few words.” Curry quickly pulled out his identification—in the words of the veteran officers, this was “proof of the elite among the elite in the police force.” Sure enough, the policeman’s face showed surprise and envy in turn, and he stopped in his tracks. Curry quickly pointed to Professor Qu’s neck and said, “This man’s fatal wound is on his neck. If I’m not mistaken, he was strangled to death…” He knew that to defend Little B, he had to act quickly and point out the most compelling evidence.

"Are you kidding me? You mean the dog only knocked down a corpse? And this person could still move around after death?" The policeman's face was full of sarcasm, but his words were still relatively polite—all thanks to the ID. However, the surrounding crowd didn't see the ID flash by, and laughter erupted from the crowd. Some even shouted indignantly, "Nonsense! The dog killed the person, what are you trying to say? The dog owner isn't innocent either!"

A police car with flashing lights and sirens blaring sped up and stopped outside the crowd. Two burly men dressed in black parted the crowd and made way for a slightly overweight man in plainclothes who swaggered in.

"Hey, isn't this Team Leader Curry? I received a report of a dog attack that resulted in a death, and I didn't expect it to be your 'young master'! Hehe!" Gabe still had that fake smile. Curry could tell that calling Little B "young master" was a sarcastic remark, but he didn't care. After all, Little B was closer to him than his own son.

“I think this is another zombie, just like yesterday’s!” Corey emphasized “yesterday’s”, and sure enough, Gabe’s facial muscles twitched, and he understood what Corey meant.

“Well… let’s have Teacher Guo act it out first! But before clarifying the facts, your dog will have to put up with this for now. As detectives protecting the public, we must set an example first, don’t you think?” Gabe rattled off these high-sounding words, forcing Curry to “willingly” agree to take Little B away.

A burly man in black stepped forward and led Little B away. Curry could only pat Little B's head and say, "Little B, be good, bear with it for now. I promise I'll prove your innocence!" Whether it understood Curry's words or not, Little B lowered its head, tucked its tail between its legs, and obediently followed the man towards Gabe's police car. It kept turning back to look at Curry, and Curry could even see the tears welling up in its eyes.

"Send a vehicle with reinforced armor to transport this body. Be careful of it turning into a zombie along the way!" Gabe whispered to another subordinate, seemingly still believing Curry's words.

After Professor Qu's body was carried away, the crowd gradually dispersed, leaving only Curry standing there alone. This usually strong man couldn't help but feel the urge to cry again. He fought back his tears and shouted in his heart, "I will find out the truth and prove your innocence, I swear!"

3. Signs of livor mortis

In a closed room filled with the strong smell of disinfectant, Master Guo, nicknamed "Friend of the Corpse," was performing an autopsy. Behind him stood Gabu and several fully armed team members.

"Teacher Guo, how is it?" Gabu asked anxiously, wearing a mask.

Master Guo, with a look of fascination, turned the corpse over and over, examining it repeatedly, even sniffing it. It took him quite a while to...

He slowly raised his head and said deliberately, "This man died at 11:33 p.m. last night, with an error margin of no more than two minutes; the cause of death was excessive fright—don't be fooled by the bruises on his neck, which make it look like he was strangled, he was actually scared to death before he could suffocate, and the person who killed him didn't know that. Alas, I don't know what he saw that made him so frightened..." As he spoke, he kept gesturing, presenting a self-absorbed appearance.

"So, this person died last night? Not this morning?" Gabe, who had been beaming just moments before, now looked grave, an ominous cloud hanging over his face. Although he didn't want what Corey said to be true, it wasn't something he could control; the time of death already hinted at it.

"Heh, you doubt my eyesight?" Master Guo chuckled mockingly, his withered face creased with wrinkles, resembling old tree bark. "I am absolutely certain about this person's death and cause of death. However, if there's one point of doubt I can't be sure of... there is indeed one remaining. Come, take a look!" With that, he pulled Gabu over and pointed to the corpse, saying, "Look at these lividity spots. They first appeared on his back, but for some reason, they suddenly shifted and gathered on his hands and feet, and the spots are so fine and scattered... Unless he was lying down first and then stood up... no, even standing shouldn't be like this! It can only be that the corpse moved on its own..."

Gabu felt a pang of fear. He knew that livor mortis was a phenomenon where blood, under the influence of gravity, deposited beneath the body after death. It began to appear 2 to 4 hours after death, and took 8 to 10 hours to develop from the deposition phase to the diffusion phase before finally settling and ceasing to move. If the body was moved during the deposition-diffusion phase, the livor mortis would reappear beneath the body; and since livor mortis is a blood clot formation, movement of the body would cause the blood clots to become finer. He hadn't told Master Guo beforehand that the body was suspected of being a walking corpse, yet Master Guo still steered the conclusion towards that conclusion. As the head of a special operations team dedicated to investigating bizarre cases, he barely maintained his usual composure, ordering his heavily armed team members in a commanding tone, "Find a secluded crematorium and burn it!" before turning and leaving the room. Although he appeared calm and collected on the surface, he knew how terrified he was inside. 10 PM, a secluded crematorium in the suburbs.

The bustling crowds of mourners from the daytime have dispersed, and now, apart from a few staff members on duty, all that remains are corpses, corpses, and more corpses… The air is thick with the absence of life, and the cold, dark environment is incredibly oppressive for ordinary people. The more sensitive might even detect a faint stench of decay in the air. But all of this is nothing to the staff on duty; in fact, it feels somewhat welcoming. "If you don't have the skills, don't take on the job," they say. "If you're going to do this, you have to be competent, right?"

So, even though there was a coffin right next to him, Xiao Li yawned nonchalantly, then pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it in his stainless steel Zippo lighter (a gift from someone), and slowly inhaled to stay awake. Despite being only 28, he was already a veteran funeral home worker. Keeping watch alone, sitting with unidentified corpses, and then sending them into the crematorium—this was his most familiar job. Even if someone handed him a bowl of noodles, he could slurp it down without hesitation.

Gabu's men drove over with the body that morning, dropped off a message saying "Civilize immediately," and then left. But the morning was the peak season for Xiao Li and his colleagues to earn extra money, so they just smiled wryly and left the paper coffin aside, planning to burn it later that evening when they had time.

“Let me see what kind of guy this is. Those guys didn’t even give him a penny when they brought him here, and they were so arrogant…” He kicked open the lid of the paper coffin with his foot—since there was no red envelope, there was naturally not much respect left for the deceased. “If I were the surgeon, I’d say ‘no red envelope, no life!’ So, this isn’t exactly an insult…”

Upon seeing that it was just a bald, decrepit old man, Xiao Li's interest immediately waned. Just as he was about to close the coffin lid, he suddenly noticed that the corpse lying flat in the coffin had opened its eyes on its own.

"Am I seeing things?" Ignoring hygiene, he rubbed his eyes vigorously. Fortunately, the corpse showed no further change. He then hesitantly smoothed the deceased's eyelids with his hand, and recited the names of every deity he could recall, from ancient times to the present, praying for protection. Afterward, he felt much better and, humming a little tune, opened the incinerator door. But when he turned to push the cart holding the paper coffin, he found the corpse was gone.

"Who's playing a joke on me?" Xiao Li shouted. Although shouting gave him some courage, he knew in his heart that he had rediscovered the feeling he had on his first day working here, the feeling he had been numbing himself and trying to forget for years. Once again, he experienced, like an ordinary person, how terrifying it was to work alone in a remote crematorium late at night.

"Alright, okay? I'm scared, alright? Come out already! Is that Xiao Wang?... Or is it Lao Zhang?" Xiao Wang said, cautiously backing away from the door. As soon as he stepped out, he ran to the gatehouse to ask Old Xu, the gatekeeper, for a bottle of Erguotou to calm his nerves. He could usually walk that short distance with ease, even pushing a corpse, but now, after just a few steps, his back was soaked with cold sweat.

"What's wrong with me? I'm not afraid!" he shouted, mustering his courage, and dashed outside. Gazing at the crescent moon hanging in the sky, he felt for the first time how beautiful the moon was.

"Hoo..." He let out a long breath, but the breath only went in and didn't come out—a pair of strong hands gripped his neck tightly from behind.

In a building a dozen kilometers away, Little B, locked in an iron cage, was futilely ramming against the sturdy bars. As if sensing something, it let out anxious howls in the darkness.

4. B = ?

As night fell, a boy led a large dog across an empty suburban street.

"Don't run so fast..." The unusually excited dog ran energetically, while the boy seemed to be dragged along by the dog.

As they rounded a bend, several people emerged from the shadows beyond the reach of the streetlights, blocking their path. The large dog bared its teeth and growled softly.

"What are you going to do? I might unleash my dogs and bite people, and I won't give you a rabies vaccine!" the boy said innocently, blinking his big, watery eyes.

The group of people didn't react at all; instead, they surrounded the boy with expressionless faces.

Whether the boy noticed or not, there was no life in the eyes of those people, only bloodshot eyes filled with murderous intent; whether they could see that the boy's face showed no fear, but rather a strange smile...

Curry was listless all day. Half of it was worry about Little B, and the other half was pondering the strange things that had happened in the past two days, but he couldn't figure them out. In the evening, he walked home absentmindedly, still somewhat dazed, and almost bumped into a telephone pole several times.

This time, the pedestrian opposite him was walking straight ahead, just like him. If Curry hadn't reacted quickly with his years of honed reflexes, the two would have collided head-on. "Sorry..." Before Curry could finish speaking, the person suddenly turned around, raising both hands to grab Curry's neck. In an instant, a face flashed through Curry's mind. Yes, that familiar figure, and that familiar gaze—it was clearly Professor Qu from this morning!

Without a second thought, Curry immediately unleashed his "Gale Triple Strike," delivering two powerful punches to Professor Qu's chest before swiftly sweeping his leg to knock him down. This combo of punches and kicks was something he had learned for fun in school, imitating moves from cartoons. Unexpectedly, it proved quite effective in actual combat, and thus became one of his signature moves.

Before he could even catch his breath, Professor Qu sprang straight up from the ground like a spring, his face still expressionless.

"How could I forget he's a walking corpse?" Curry cursed himself for being stupid. He kept an eye on Professor Qu's movements while considering a strategy. Fighting seemed hopeless—the walking corpse's chest was hard enough; although his two punches landed, Curry had only brought trouble upon himself, and his hands were now aching. Shooting wouldn't work either—that day's operation had proven that, and besides, he hadn't brought a pistol. After thinking for a long time, he decided to resort to "strategic retreat"—the most effective of the Thirty-Six Stratagems—escape!

As a seasoned special police officer, this was the first time he had ever been so disheveled. Fortunately, he walked his dog every morning and evening, which involved long runs with Little B, and he had quite a bit of experience in running.

He ran for several blocks, and in the darkness, Curry vaguely saw a group of people ahead. He shouted, "Run! Zombies are chasing me!"

"Don't come any closer! This place is full of zombies!" someone shouted from the crowd. The voice sounded like a teenager's. Curry felt that the voice sounded somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was.

A dark flame suddenly ignited, its tongues swiftly licking at the people in front, instantly incinerating them and releasing a pungent stench. Only then did Curry see clearly that among the zombies stood a handsome young man dressed in black. The young man raised his right hand to the air and began to stir it; a dark vortex appeared in the air, swirling restlessly. He flicked his wrist, and a dark whirlwind swept over the remaining people. When he raised his hand again, dispelling the dark energy, the people had shattered into piles of black, coal-like ashes. Now Curry was absolutely certain that this young man was his childhood friend, Randall Sonic. He possessed the divine power to harmonize light and darkness, yet instead of inheriting the throne, he chose to travel and adventure. Curry hadn't seen him for over ten years since graduation, and to his astonishment, Randall looked exactly the same as he had back then.

Just then, Professor Qu caught up and pounced on Curry, who didn't even have time to dodge.

"Woof!" A large dog leaped over Curry and pounced on Professor Qu. Curry was startled; the dog's size and fur were clearly those of Little B, but why was it here? Had it escaped on its own? Just then, Randall commanded, "Ace, prepare to use the Exorcising Star Beam!" The dog immediately jumped back obediently, then lowered its head. Silver light gathered on the cross on its head, and it fired straight at Professor Qu. Professor Qu's corpse twisted a few times, then vanished without a trace in the silver beam.

"Ace, come back!" Randall commanded again. Strangely enough, the dog seemed to nod, then leaped back to Randall's side. In an instant, Randall seemed like a different person, his face regaining its innocent smile: "Hey Curry, why are you out alone so late? Things haven't been peaceful around here lately! Oh, by the way, where's Binary? Why isn't she with you?"

“Binary…you mean Little B? Isn’t this…” Curry pointed at the big dog that looked exactly like Little B, quite puzzled.

“Of course not, this is Binary’s older brother, Ace!” Randall chuckled mischievously. “Curry, it’s been so long, I’ve missed you so much!” With that, he rushed over and hugged Curry, then took his hand and said, “Come on, how about we find a place to have a couple of drinks and catch up?”

“Okay, come to my house… but can a little kid like you drink alcohol?” Curry joked.

“To be honest, I’m older than you!” Randall smiled slyly. The two arrived at Curry’s house, set out food and drinks, and began to chat. Ace sat obediently on the ground; if it were Little B, she would have been clinging to Curry’s legs for food, and scratching him with her paws if he didn’t give her any.

"You haven't even made a phone call or sent an email in all these years. You're not a good friend at all!" Curry said, feigning reproach.

“Oh! It’s my fault! I always forget that time is different for ordinary people… Look, I feel like I haven’t seen you for only a few days, but you look old enough to be my father—just ‘looks’!” Randall laughed, still with a childlike spirit, not letting Curry get the upper hand with his words.

“I really envy you guys, being able to transcend time…” Curry sighed.

“Envy? Sometimes, I really don’t know who’s envying whom! Traveling through the river of time, adventuring in different times and places, isn’t really that interesting…” Randall said, a hint of melancholy flashing across his face. It’s unexpected that this seemingly innocent child also has his own troubles.

Curry noticed Randall's sadness, took a sip of his drink, and changed the subject, asking, "By the way, how did you know about Little B?"

“I brought it to your door, how could I not recognize it? I named it Binary, but you took it easy and just simplified it to B!” Randall laughed. “But calling it Little B is quite appropriate. Binary means ‘two’, indicating that it is the smaller of the twins, just like the B in AB! Its brother is called Ace, which not only means ‘ace’ but also ‘first’—hmm, how about ‘Big A’? It doesn’t seem as imposing as Ace…” He rattled off a whole string of names while stuffing Ace a large piece of rib for it to gnaw on.

"Huh?! I thought someone had abandoned it at my doorstep!"

"Don't talk nonsense! Who would abandon such a good little guy! This is a mythical beast that monster hunters dream of! Because you have to raise it from a young age to build a bond, many hunters want to steal a cub! I thought you would be exposed to all kinds of dangers, so I reluctantly gave you one, but I didn't expect you to... you're really wasting a good thing!"

"A mythical... beast? Not an ordinary puppy?" Corey looked surprised, finding it hard to connect a dog like Little B with a mythical beast.

“A…dog!? How could you even think of that! I’m speechless!” Randall’s mouth was practically twisted with anger. “Does such a dog even exist? Tell me, what breed is it? People just like to pretend they know things they don’t, and then they miss out on so many things… It seems Little B is definitely lacking in training. Could it have already become a useless watchdog?” Randall sighed.

Curry scratched his head, unsure what to say. Well, compared to the well-trained Ace, Little B was indeed just an ordinary dog who knew nothing… He could only explain what had happened that morning. He had thought Randall would be worried about Little B, but to his surprise, Randall wasn't worried at all; instead, he pounded the table and laughed: “You're really slow-witted, or rather, stupid! But it seems Little B's instincts haven't been spoiled by you. It sensed that person was a zombie, which is why it pounced on them. And the fact that the zombie was temporarily subdued is also thanks to Little B.”

Curry never expected that it wasn't a coincidence; Little B had indeed launched the attack, albeit against a zombie. "Ah... I see? Then what exactly is Little B?"

“B is the B in AB, and also the 'bi' in 'warding off evil',” Randall said smugly, raising an eyebrow.

"Bixie?" In Curry's mind, the first thing associated with the word "Bixie" was the "Bixie Sword Manual," followed by the stone carvings in front of ancient royal tombs. Could it be that Little B is one of those stone lion-like creatures?

“Its dog-like appearance is only due to the seal,” Randall pointed to the white cross-shaped mark on Ace’s forehead. “If this seal is broken, the Pixie will regain its true form and be able to deal with very powerful monsters. You know, even an A-rank professional monster hunter might not be able to defeat an adult Pixie; even a cub can easily handle some low- to mid-level monsters.” As he spoke, he proudly stroked Ace’s forehead, and Ace, as if knowing he was being praised, immediately straightened up proudly.

"So amazing..." Curry was so surprised his jaw almost dropped. He had no idea that Little B's background and identity were so impressive.

"But they're not the most powerful. The Four Spirit Beasts and Five Spirit Beasts are much more powerful—but those are not things that mortals can control."

For the first time, Curry felt that Little B was such a stranger, even though he had previously regarded him as his closest friend, someone who knew almost every hair on his body.

"I'll tell you the most crucial thing. Here, wear this!" Randall tossed over a silver ring. A blood-red gem was set in the recessed center, its shape perfectly matching the cross-shaped markings on Ace and Little B's foreheads. "This is the 'Sirius Ring,' used to break the seal. With it, you can summon the true form of the amulet."

"What would it look like in its original form? What would it be like?" Curry tried to imagine. "Like a tiger, a lion? Or humanoid?"

"You'll find out when the time comes, but be prepared, it's huge!" Randall said mysteriously.

"Just don't make it so big that it can't fit in the house... Ah, I forgot the most important thing! Do you know how these zombies came about?" Curry then remembered the real topic.

Randall looked helpless: "I don't know either! I came to visit Little B... and you too. I finally found out your new address, but then these unexpected troublemakers showed up. I was wondering what was going on! Unless you have enough clues, I can only use the excuse politicians use when they're embroiled in scandals—'No comment!'" He then perfectly mimicked the expression on people's faces when they say "no comment."

"Hmm..." Curry thought for a long time, then suddenly remembered Master Guo's mournful eyes. He leaned forward and asked hopefully, "Have you heard of the 'Corpse Whisperer'?"

"The Corpse Whisperer... The Corpse Whisperer?" Randall scratched his head, thinking for a long time before spreading his hands in a helpless reply: "Never heard of it!"

Curry was a little dejected, but he forced a smile and said, "It's okay, I'll keep trying. It's my job anyway. Come on, let's drink!"

“However… I have heard of ‘The Corpse Whisperer’,” Randall said, drawing out his words. “I don’t know if this is the same thing.”

“Tell me about it! I knew you knew a lot!” Curry’s interest was rekindled.

"The Corpse Whisper is a Tibetan folktale, also known as The Story Told by the Golden Corpse. It's similar to One Thousand and One Nights, with one big story encompassing countless smaller ones. There are two versions of the main plot. The more common one is that a young man secretly learned magic and was chased by seven magicians, but the young man was stronger and ultimately 'killed all seven'—do you know where else you see something similar? It's the fairy tale about the little tailor killing flies… Ah, sorry, I digress…" Randall stuck out his tongue, but fortunately, Curry was already used to his way of speaking.

"To atone for the sin of killing, Master Nagarjuna sent the young man to the mortal realm to carry back a magical corpse. He instructed the young man never to speak to the corpse while carrying it. But this magical corpse would speak on its own each time, telling one wonderful story after another. If the young man couldn't help but speak up, the corpse would immediately return to the mortal realm. This repeated carrying of the corpse and the corpse repeatedly telling stories created a vast collection of stories, much like 'One Thousand and One Nights.' Alas... that's how it is. The 'corpse language' here refers to talking corpses, which doesn't seem to have much to do with the 'corpse whisperer' you mentioned." Randall was a little embarrassed, having said a lot, but it seemed to be of little use.

"However... this reminds me. Teacher Guo once said that 'corpse whisperers' are people who can talk to corpses, and they are the masters of the corpses... Have you heard of them?"

Randall pondered for a moment, then shook his head blankly.

Curry sighed, downed the rest of his drink in one gulp, and then laughed, "Why make our party so depressing? Come on, let's talk about something pleasant!"

“Using alcohol to numb yourself and forget your troubles…even adults run away!” Randall’s words were full of sarcasm.

"Why have you become so sentimental? This isn't like the Randall I know!"

"Perhaps this is the change that time has brought to me? Although my appearance hasn't aged, I can't escape the troubles that come with growing up. Oh well, I'll just run away from it all!" Randall gave a wry smile, then brightened up again.

Just then, a phone call interrupted their conversation. Randall pressed the face of his watch, which immediately switched to a display screen, but it showed "Confidential, Sound Only." He had no choice but to take out his wireless earpiece and put it on. Although he couldn't hear the conversation, Curry knew from the increasingly serious expression on Randall's face that this brief gathering had to be ended. "Yes, yes, I'll be right there!" Randall nodded repeatedly, further confirming Curry's suspicions.

“I’m sorry, I have to leave immediately. Unraveling the mystery of the ‘Corpse Whisperer’ will probably have to be up to you. Who knows when we’ll meet again…” Randall pulled out a chair and stood up, saying with a hint of regret. Ace, who had been lying on the floor gnawing on a bone, also stood up and obediently stood beside him.

“Don’t worry about me, your journey is much more dangerous! Besides, Little B will help me this time!” Curry chuckled, then flashed the ring on his hand.

“I’m still worried. You were always so absent-minded back then.” Randall smoothed his hair and smiled mischievously.

"Don't expose someone's past! Besides, people can change!"

"Well, it's all up to you now, take care!" Randall patted Curry on the shoulder and said sincerely.

Curry gave a thumbs-up: "Have a safe trip!"

Randall led Ace to the center of the room, said "Bye-bye," and disappeared into thin air.

Watching Randall and Ace disappear into the distance, Curry thought of Little B, still trapped in its cage. Although he was worried about it suffering, since it was a guardian spirit, it shouldn't be in any real danger, right? Faced with unknown evil, Curry still had to rely on Little B; how could it not be strong?

5. Unexpected events

The next morning, Curry headed straight to headquarters. "Now that Professor Qu's body was wandering around again yesterday, Little B's innocence can definitely be cleared up. We can bring it back now. After the reunion, we can start the investigation. This time, we don't need to send out the other members of the team. We can just use Little B's super-strong sensory abilities to track down the zombies..." Along the way, he kept planning his next move, and a smug smile gradually appeared on his face.

Stepping into the headquarters, disguised as a high-end office building, the lobby on the first floor was still bustling with people: the receptionist greeted everyone with a smile.

Visitors; security guards meticulously performed their duties; patrolmen mingled with janitors, cleaning while keeping an eye out for suspicious individuals. Although everyone's actions seemed the same as always, Curry felt something was missing. "What is it? What exactly is missing?" He thought for a long time, but couldn't quite put his finger on it, yet this feeling of "missing something" was unusually strong.