Ghost Stories - Chapter 3
The woman picked out a piece of meat; on it was a dark brown birthmark. She finally realized she was eating her son's flesh. The enraged woman dumped the rest of the meat on the village chief's head and tore at him like a mad tiger.
The village chief remained silent, head bowed, as the woman beat him. After a moment, the woman murmured, "I want my son. I want my son."
The next morning, the village chief found the men all looking gloomy, but none of them complained of hunger. What terrified him even more was that only one child remained in the entire village; the rest were nowhere to be seen.
The men gathered at the village entrance, and the village chief finally understood: last night, all the men had killed their own sons to fill their stomachs. The only one who escaped was Gou'er, who had gone to play in the mountains the day before, gotten lost, and didn't return until morning, thus avoiding being stabbed.
Why such a coincidence? The men discussed it at the village entrance, their hearts filled with trepidation.
The dog was playing alone outside the village. None of the friends he played with yesterday came today for some reason.
He wanted to go back to find them, but a Taoist priest who was coming towards him grabbed him, examined the dog for a long time, and asked the dog, "Are you willing to come with me?"
"Why should I go with you? My mother is still waiting for me!"
The Taoist priest sighed and said, "What a tragedy! Come with me, and I guarantee you'll have enough to eat. If you want to go back to see your mother, you can secretly come with me to your village!"
The food was incredibly tempting to the dog, and the dog agreed to the Taoist priest's offer.
When the Taoist priest passed through the mountains near the village, he noticed a powerful, overwhelming resentment emanating from it, which he couldn't dispel with his Taoist magic. That night, the priest secretly entered the village to investigate and discovered that every family had killed their own child to eat. When he encountered Gou'er, he couldn't bear to see the dog return to feed others.
The dog left with the Taoist priest and didn't return to the village until eight years later. When the dog returned, all the women in the village were gone; only the men were gathered under the big locust tree at the village entrance. Their eyes gleamed with a slick, greenish light, their bodies were covered in holes, oozing red or green liquids. Their mouths were wide open, their tongues unusually long, and glistening saliva dripped from the corners of their mouths.
Upon seeing Gou'er and the Taoist priest, all the men rushed over like wild beasts. The terrified Gou'er saw the village chief and his father inside.
The Taoist priest remained calm, chanting incantations as he flicked his wrist, igniting a talisman. The men, seeing the talisman in the priest's hand, dared not take a step forward, only letting out low growls.
The Taoist priest told Gou'er the whole story of what happened eight years ago. Looking at the dilapidated village and barren fields, Gou'er believed the Taoist priest.
As for why the men have become like this, the Taoist priest said it was because they were under a "hungry ghost curse".
That night, the dog and the Taoist priest slept in a dilapidated ancestral hall. In the middle of the night, the dog was awakened by the Taoist priest's shouts. He saw the Taoist priest wielding a peach wood sword, locked in a fierce battle with a fleeting red shadow. The Taoist priest thrust the peach wood sword to the left and to the right, but he couldn't even touch a single hem of the red shadow's clothes.
The red shadow spun faster and faster until the Taoist priest was drenched in sweat, drops falling onto the ground. Suddenly, the red shadow stopped, and the Taoist priest collapsed, exhausted. Gou'er realized the red shadow was Erzhuzi's wife. Her pale face now possessed an indescribable chilling aura, and what frightened Gou'er even more was that Erzhuzi's wife's feet were more than three inches off the ground. She was a ghost, Gou'er finally understood.
The Taoist priest was exhausted by the female ghost, who feared the peach wood sword in his hand. He lay on the ground, listless, on the verge of collapse. The female ghost let out a long, mournful laugh, her ten fingers like knives plunging towards the Taoist priest's chest.
With a "plop," the female ghost's hands plunged into the Taoist's chest. Suddenly, a blinding golden light emanated from the Taoist, forming a Bagua (eight trigrams) shape that tightly bound the female ghost. A smile appeared on the Taoist's face. It turned out that while he was resisting the female ghost's attack, he had been stepping in the Nine Palaces Bagua Steps, creating an Bagua formation on the ground. His sweat sprinkled on the ground in a large circle, and the female ghost was caught in the Taoist's "Concentric Ghost-Locking Formation" as soon as she entered this circle.
The female ghost was tightly bound by the Bagua, howling in agony and despair, before transforming into a streak of red light and disappearing outside the ancestral hall. The men at the village entrance huddled under the locust tree, trembling like scoundrels hearing a wolf's howl.
The dog helped the dying Taoist priest to his feet. The priest handed the peach wood sword to the dog, telling him that the female ghost was only severely injured and not completely eliminated. She would return one day, and then it would be the dog's turn to destroy her. After giving these instructions, the Taoist priest never woke up again.
The next morning, after burying the Taoist priest, Gou'er kowtowed several times at the grave before leaving the village. Upon reaching the village entrance, he discovered that all the men were dead, their tongues lolling out, their bodies grayish-white, and all their blood had been drained. Among them were the village chief and Gou'er's father. After investigating for a long time, Gou'er still couldn't figure it out, so he had no choice but to leave carrying the Taoist priest's peach wood sword.
Gou'er traveled all over the country, making a living by exorcising spirits and ghosts using the Taoist magic he learned from a Taoist priest. Years later, he learned that the men in the village had been bitten to death by a female ghost who sucked their blood to heal her wounds.
After liberation, Gou'er took off his Taoist robes. Because he had learned many characters from the Taoist priest, he became a worker in a factory.
When I returned to my hometown, it had been developed into a small city, and the original village had been transformed into a medical university.
The dog observed carefully and discovered that the medical university was eerily strange—its construction was sinister, its location sinister, exuding an evil aura from the inside out. So, after retiring, the dog came to observe it every day. Finally, he discovered that the female ghost who had been injured and imprisoned by the Taoist priest years ago was about to reappear. Perhaps this evil spirit had been influencing people since the selection of the school's location, causing them to build a place meant for nurturing talent on an inauspicious site.
Volume 1, Chapter 7: The Path of Vengeful Ghosts (7)
After listening to the old man's story, Lin Feng finally understood the source of the resentment towards the medical university.
The old man's eyes gleamed with endless worry as he said, "I'm old now, and it's fate that we met today. We're kindred spirits, so..."
Hearing that the old man intended to entrust him with something, Lin Feng quickly said, "Master, although I know a little about exorcising ghosts and warding off evil spirits, it's all minor stuff, and I'm afraid I'll have to let you down!"
The old man smiled, his wrinkled face smoothing out as he said, "Isn't that right? I can see you don't know much about Taoist magic, but you're the first person, besides me, in many years to discover that this school is a gathering place of resentment. And this old man is nearing his end; perhaps this is fate."
Lin Feng wanted to decline, but the old man gave him a phone number and said, "Do your best to investigate. If you really can't solve it, call me. I'll lend you a hand!"
Lin Feng quickly took out his phone and wrote down the old man's number. The old man stood up, stretched his limbs, rubbed his lower back, and said, "I'm old and useless. It's your young people's world now!" After saying that, he straightened his back and slowly walked out of the woods.
Lin Feng suddenly remembered that he hadn't asked the old man's name yet, and called out loudly, "Grandpa, what's your name?"
The old man, without turning his head, said, "My surname is Zhang, just call me Taoist Zhang!"
Sitting in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the hamburger shop, Lin Feng stirred the ice in his Coke while Xiao Jie asked, "So? Did you find the school history?"
Xiao Jie was struggling with her chicken leg burger. After finishing the food in her mouth and taking a sip of cola, she said, "Found it! When the school was first established, this was an empty lot with hardly anyone around. It seems there was a plague here many years ago, so no one came. Later, the city government saw that the location was good and built the city's first medical university here!"
Lin Feng nodded. As expected, the school annals did not record what Zhang Daoshi had said.
Xiao Jie devoured the last bite of her burger in a flash, then started eating her fries with ketchup, saying as she ate, "But a series of strange things happened after the school was built, and I think the years seem to follow a pattern!"
Lin Feng said with an "Oh?" and asked, "What strange thing?"
Xiao Jie said, "First, almost every three years, three students in this school become serial killers. The methods of killing are not mentioned, but the files describe them as 'outrageous.' The only year that does not conform to this three-year cycle is 2003, when no problem students appeared."
Lin Feng nodded and said, "And the second one?"
Xiao Jie said, "Secondly, the faculty and staff dormitory building is an old building, older than the school itself, but it doesn't say who built it. Thirdly, it's strange. According to the school history, the faculty and staff dormitory building has a basement, but I've never known about it since I was assigned to this school. Today I specifically asked Lao Si and Luo Yang, and they discovered the basement from when they were studying here until they stayed on to teach and moved into this dormitory building!"
Lin Feng said, "Wait, you said that Lao Si and Luo Yang are teachers who stayed on to teach at the school?"
Xiao Jie nodded and said, "Yes, is there something wrong?"
Lin Feng asked, "Which year did they graduate?"
Xiao Jie thought for a moment and said, "I remember Luo Yang saying that he and Lao Si both graduated in 2003." Then, Xiao Jie suddenly realized, "Could it be that they are..."
Lin Feng nodded gravely and said, "Do you remember what I said? I told you that they are all bad people. The fourth brother's fainting was not a physical problem, but because he was possessed by extremely heavy resentment. If I'm not mistaken, there must be something going on between him and Luo Yang."
Little Jie Jie gasped, "What?!" She looked at the scene with a strange, inexplicable glimpse of something. She was utterly bewildered. "What?!" she muttered. "Is this a sign of something else?"
Lin Feng leaned back in his chair and said, "Let's put their problems aside for now. I'd like to know if anyone has gone missing from your school recently?"
Without hesitation, Xiao Jiejie said, "Yes, the principal's daughter. She's been missing for a month. The principal was so worried about her that he was hospitalized and only came back to work yesterday."
Lin Feng said, "That's right. It must have been done by either Luo Yang or Lao Si. But Lao Si is the most suspicious because when I entered the building that night, I found a strong resentment that was haunting Lao Si. Luo Yang has a very evil aura about him, but I still don't understand what's wrong with him!"
As the two were talking, Lin Feng suddenly felt a heavy pat on the shoulder. Startled, Lin Feng turned around and saw Luo Yang smiling at him, saying, "You two are here for fast food too!"
Lin Feng forced a smile and said, "Yes, what a coincidence. We just finished eating. Why don't we sit down and chat?"
Lin Feng wasn't being quiet when he and Xiao Jie were talking, and he wasn't sure if Luo Yang had heard them at all. Besides, sitting with this strange and unsettling person, Lin Feng felt a bit cold even under the June sun. Lin Feng had only been being polite; he was actually hoping Luo Yang would go somewhere else to eat so he and Xiao Jie could slip away.
Unexpectedly, Luo Yang bluntly replied, "Sure, I was just about to have a chat with you."
Lin Feng was filled with regret, but his plan backfired, and Luo Yang actually ended up sitting next to them.
While Luo Yang wasn't looking, Xiao Jie made a face at Lin Feng.
Luo Yang took a sip of cola and said, "Dude, do you know magic? That night, we couldn't drag Lao Si away no matter how hard we tried, but you came over, burned some joss paper, and pulled him back."
Lin Feng made a few modest remarks, then lowered his head, plotting how to get away from this plague as quickly as possible. He noticed that under the chair, Luo Yang's feet were always on his toes, with his heels raised. Many people sit on their toes and shake their legs, but he had never seen anyone like Luo Yang, with his heels raised so high and completely still.
Luo Yang seemed to realize that Lin Feng had noticed his feet, so he quickly moved his feet, lowering his heels but still lifting them slightly, so much so that it was barely noticeable unless you looked closely.
Lin Feng glanced up at Luo Yang, who chuckled dryly, "Hehe, it's just a habit, nothing more!" His laugh was very unnatural, like a child caught stealing candy by an adult.
Xiao Jie suddenly exclaimed, "Oh dear!" and said, "I forgot! I left the lesson plan for this afternoon's class at home. Lin Feng, hurry up and come with me back to get it!"
Lin Feng knew, of course, that Xiao Jie Jie was using this as an excuse to leave. He quickly said goodbye to Luo Yang and hurriedly left with Xiao Jie Jie.
Luo Yang watched Lin Feng's retreating figure, a cold smile creeping onto his lips, and began eating his hamburger.
Volume 1, Chapter 8: The Path of Vengeful Ghosts (8)
As Lin Feng walked out of the fast food restaurant, he breathed a long sigh of relief, thankful that he was finally gone.
Xiao Jiejie said smugly to Lin Feng, "Aren't you going to thank me for saving your life?"
Lin Feng chuckled and said, "A life-saving grace? It's not that serious."
Xiao Jiejie said in a spoiled manner, "I don't care, you have to treat me to dinner tonight."
Lin Feng surrendered and said, "Okay, okay, I'll treat you to dinner tonight, but the tomato sauce in the dishes has to be as red as human blood?"
Xiao Jie was stunned. She remembered the tomato sauce she had dipped in the fries earlier and felt so disgusted that she almost threw up. She picked up her bag and threw it at Lin Feng's back.
The two were laughing and joking when suddenly Xiao Jie's phone rang with a pleasant ringtone. Xiao Jie quickly opened her bag, took out her phone, glanced at the number, stuck out her tongue at Lin Feng, and said, "It's our director!"
After pressing the call button, Xiao Jie said, "Hello!" The director on the other end of the line immediately started yelling like a machine gun, "Come back to school right away! Qu Yuan from your office has been killed by Lao Si! Her head has been chopped off!"
Xiao Jie's head buzzed, and she almost fainted. Regaining her composure, she quickly asked, "How could this happen? Where's Lao Si? Did they catch him?"
The director said, "The fourth brother has been taken away by the police. Come back soon!"
Xiao Jie said, "I'll be right back!" After hanging up the phone, Xiao Jie said to Lin Feng, "Old Fourth went berserk and killed Qu Yuan, who worked in my office. We have to go!"
The two quickly hailed a taxi and headed towards the school.
When I arrived at the office door, the hallway was already packed with people. The police had cordoned off the area, and several officers were questioning the teachers who had first discovered the situation.
When Director Liu saw Xiao Jiejie return, he quickly said to a policeman in his thirties, "That's the teacher from Qu Yuan's office."
The policeman came over and shook hands with Xiaojie, saying, "Hello, my name is Li Mingsheng. I'd like to ask, to your knowledge, did the deceased have any conflicts with the suspect?"
Xiao Jie shook her head blankly and said, "Probably not. Qu Yuan is very quiet and doesn't talk much. Lao Si is usually a very nice person and gets along well with everyone."
Lin Feng suddenly said to Li Mingsheng, "Officer Li, can I go to the scene and take a look?"
Li Mingsheng glanced at Lin Feng and asked, "Who are you?"
Lin Feng said, "I'm Xiao Jie Jie's boyfriend. If I take a look at the scene, maybe I can provide you with some clues!"
Li Mingsheng thought for a moment and said, "Okay, come with me." Li Mingsheng then instructed Director Liu to disperse the surrounding crowd before leading Lin Feng and Xiao Jiejie to the office door.
Lin Feng said to Xiao Jie Jie, "Wait at the door, don't go in. You'll have nightmares if you see it."
Xiao Jie nodded and stood outside the door watching Li Mingsheng and Lin Feng enter the office together.
The office wasn't large, only about ten square meters. Li Mingsheng pointed to the sofa and said, "When we arrived, the suspect was sitting on the sofa holding the victim's head." He then pointed to a large pool of blood and said, "The victim's body is here."
Lin Feng nodded, examined the bloodstains on the ground carefully, and asked, "When you arrested him, did he resist?"
Li Mingsheng said, "Absolutely not, he must have had a mental breakdown."
Lin Feng asked, "Did they say anything?"
Li Mingsheng said, "He was just repeating 'I'll kill you, I'll kill you, so you can keep bothering me,' and I wondered if there was some kind of emotional entanglement between them."
Lin Feng touched his hand with the blood, instantly feeling a chilling aura wash over him. A scene flashed before his eyes: in a house, under the dim light of the bathroom, the fourth brother was frantically swinging a kitchen knife, chopping off the head of a corpse. Holding the head, the fourth brother hummed a tune as he walked to the kitchen and put it in the refrigerator. There were two more heads in the refrigerator. The three heads lay side by side, their wide-open eyes staring ahead, filled with intense resentment. Lin Feng collapsed to the ground, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
Li Mingsheng quickly helped Lin Feng up and asked, "What's wrong?"
Lin Feng stood up and said, "I'm fine. There were clues in the refrigerator in his house; there were three human heads inside."
Before Lin Feng could finish speaking, Li Mingsheng interrupted him, "How did you know? Do you have special abilities?" His voice was tinged with excitement.
Lin Feng smiled wryly and said, "I guess so. I know a little bit of psychic magic. If I'm not mistaken, the information I sensed from the blood just now was that when Fourth Brother killed this woman, he mistook her for another person, or more precisely, a ghost."
Li Mingsheng stared at Lin Feng in astonishment for a long while before saying, "Personally, I trust you because although I've never seen these things before, I'm not opposed to them either. However, we approach cases scientifically."