Three Ghosts of the City

Chapter 24

I led Fang Lei into the room, and once inside, I realized it wasn't as dark as the hallway. I could vaguely see European-style furniture and a large bed. The bed was typical of the English style, with four pillars supporting a canopy from which layers of misty gauze cascaded down, obscuring the person lying on the bed. I could only tell it was a person from their figure.

Should we go take a look...?

He released Fang Lei's hand, parted the veil, and revealed Li Hai lying stiffly on the bed, his face pale. But what froze me in place wasn't this. His clothes were open, exposing his internal organs, because the skin and muscle layers of his chest cavity were completely gone. The mucous membrane covering the organs was still there, looking slippery, but there was no blood, not a drop. It looked like one of those dissected anatomical busts in a university lab. This required highly skilled anatomical techniques: the organs undamaged, no blood splattered.

I tried to call Fang Lei's name, but no sound came out. I reached back and tried to grab her hand, but there was no warm little hand from her, only air. I turned around, but Fang Lei had already disappeared.

In the dim light, I saw the demon's hideous grin.

Rushing out of the room, I didn't have the courage to touch Li Hai's body. I stumbled towards the stairs, almost tumbling down them. But just as I was about to escape this haunted house, I stopped.

What should I do about Fang Lei? Where did she go? Was that really Li Hai? Or was it just a hallucination? All these questions flooded my mind, and a sliver of reason made me turn around again.

A door appeared in the entryway below the stairs, a door we hadn't noticed before. No one touched it, yet the door slowly opened. I knew perfectly well that it was another trap…

But my foot had already stepped inside.

Inside the door was a downward staircase, presumably leading to the basement. The staircase continued downwards until another door appeared. The door was ajar, and through the crack, I saw a person in a white coat and medical cap standing beside a dissection table. A human body lay on it, but due to the angle, I couldn't see the face. The person slowly reached for a scalpel beside them, and in the dim light, I saw that their hand was wrapped in bandages.

A bandaged ghost?!

"Stop!" I don't know where I got the courage, but I pushed open the door and shouted at him.

The figure slowly turned her head. Her face, covered in bandages and stained with blood, had one bulging eyeball filled with yellow pus. The fierce glint in her eyes sent chills down my spine. Glancing at the dissection table, I immediately trembled. It was Fang Lei, completely naked. Although her beautiful body was laid bare before me, I felt no attraction. Her appearance only evoked thoughts of death and fear—not the feeling Fang Lei's body should evoke. What worried me even more was that I had no idea whether she was alive or dead, because her face was so pale, devoid of any life.

"Are you here?" The bandaged ghost's hoarse and unpleasant voice rang in my ears. I stared blankly at his grinning face, cold sweat streaming down my cheeks.

"Let her go!" I clenched my fists. I couldn't run away; I had to save her. She was my lover, and if anyone was to die, I wouldn't let her go alone. One Yin Xue was enough.

"Okay!" The bandaged ghost's answer stunned me. I didn't expect him to agree so readily. Although I knew there must be another ulterior motive, I still quickly walked to the dissection table and stretched out my hand.

No, I was going to check Fang Lei's breath, so how did my hand end up with the scalpel? Panicked, I tried to let go, but my right hand gripped the scalpel tightly. I reached out my left hand to try and take the scalpel away, but instead, my left hand gently pressed down on Fang Lei's shoulder. My body involuntarily leaned forward.

"No, no!" I shouted. I knew this position all too well, because it was the position I always used when I was about to dissect a corpse. Right hand holding the scalpel, left hand pressing down on the corpse's shoulder, body leaning slightly forward.

"Hahaha...hahaha...!" The bandaged ghost's shrill laughter echoed in the air, each echo like a thread wrapping around my neck. I felt suffocated; death was opening its doors to me, and Yin Xue was waving at me from the other side of the door.

My right hand, holding the knife, slowly moved downwards. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. I felt the blade touch Fang Lei's smooth skin, just waiting for me to exert more force.

"No, stop!" I screamed desperately again, fear and despair surging over me like a tidal wave. I had never felt such dread of dissection as I did now.

"You've never dissected a live human, have you?" The bandaged ghost's eyes gleamed with triumphant madness as he laughed. "Have you ever felt the sensation of blood flowing from a blade across a person's supple skin? Have you ever felt the sensation of a blade cutting through a person's taut muscle layer and seeing the blood vessels? Have you ever felt the sensation of a blade slicing open a person's internal organs and seeing them still writhing?"

"Enough! Enough! I don't want to feel this!" I yelled desperately, "You're crazy!"

"Haha, madman? Haven't you ever dissected anything?" the bandaged ghost pointed at me.

“That’s different, those are all dead people! They’re corpses!” I shook my head, the blade already pressed down gently, and I saw a little red flowing out from the tip of the blade.

"Corps? Haha! Aren't they all the same? They're all the same filthy, fragile bodies?" The bandaged ghost spread his hands in front of his eyes and laughed maniacally.

Are they the same? Are they the same? Are they both filthy, fragile living beings and corpses? I don't know. I only know that if I don't stop, the blade will slice through Fang Lei's throat, and that beautiful body will truly become a cold corpse. The bandaged ghost's maniacal laughter echoed in my ears, the piercing ringing seeming to rampage through my brain. The scenery before my eyes blurred, but Yin Xue's face gradually became clear. The sorrowful look in her eyes from my dreams grew stronger.

Yin Xue, are you punishing me? Or is this fate's arrangement, forcing me to dissect the person I love with my own hands?

Chapter Fifty-Two: The Sewers

A glaring red welt on Fang Lei's snow-white neck was my handiwork. My right hand was still moving, and the fear of feeling the blade slicing downwards and the sorrow of being powerless to stop it made me tremble all over.

"Haha...haha...can you feel it?" the bandaged ghost shouted excitedly from the side, his eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets.

Damn it! I tried my best to control my body, but my right hand was like it was possessed and wouldn't obey me. I felt like a demon was inside my body, manipulating me.

"Lin Xiao!" Just when I was in utter despair, Li Hai's voice suddenly rang out. I never imagined his voice could be more beautiful than heavenly music. Then a beam of blue light shot into my body, like an electric current coursing through my entire being. My whole body went numb, and I collapsed to the ground. Thankfully, that damned scalpel hadn't severed Fang Lei's throat. Then came another scream, and I saw the bandaged ghost, its body billowing black smoke, retreating to the side.

"Li Hai, you're not dead?" I was overjoyed to see the lively Li Hai running towards me and lifting me up from the ground.

"Dead?" Li Hai gave me a strange look and said, "How could that be? I still want to eat the Sichuan food you're treating me to!"

Hehe, I chuckled. This person seems quite energetic! So what I saw in the room earlier must have been a hallucination. Thinking of this, I suddenly remembered Fang Lei.

"Fang Lei!" I quickly took off my coat and draped it over her shoulders. I didn't want her to continue exposing herself like this!

"You take care of her, I'll deal with this guy!" Li Hai glared fiercely at the bandaged ghost, rolled up his sleeves, and looked like he was looking for a fight, except that his target was a ghost.

Looking down at Fang Lei in my arms, I saw blood still flowing from her neck. I quickly pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it against the wound. I checked Fang Lei's breathing; thankfully, she was still alive!

"Fang Lei, Fang Lei!" I shook her and felt her move slightly. Meanwhile, Li Hai and the bandaged ghost were already fighting, but it seemed the bandaged ghost was all show and no substance; Li Hai had gained the upper hand. Yellow talismans kept hitting the bandaged ghost's body, and thick black smoke billowed from it.

"Heavenly Thunder Talisman!" Li Hai shouted, and a yellow talisman carrying a bolt of lightning struck the bandaged ghost, accompanied by a faint rumble of thunder.

"Ahhhhhh!" The bandaged ghost's miserable scream sent chills down my spine, and I instinctively hugged Fang Lei tightly in my arms.

The bandaged ghost had turned completely black, with thick yellow fluid oozing from its charred body. Li Hai clasped his hands together in a V-shape, chanting incantations. A blue halo gradually formed at the tip of his index finger, growing larger and larger. Then, he shot towards the bandaged ghost, trapping it within the halo. The halo tightly constricted its body, and the bandaged ghost's shrill screams grew fainter and fainter, on the verge of disappearing.

Suddenly, just when I thought Li Hai was about to finish off the bandaged ghost, he roared again and broke free of the light ring that was binding him.

"Don't run!" Li Hai chased after the bandaged ghost, but to our surprise, the bandaged ghost passed through the wall and disappeared. When Li Hai reached the wall, he crashed into it.

"Ouch! That hurts!" Li Hai cried out, rubbing his forehead where he had been hit.

"Hey, why can't you get through?" I pointed to the wall. Didn't the book say that cultivators have the ability to pass through walls?

"Nonsense, I'm a human!" Li Hai kicked the wall and walked to my side.

"What do we do now?" I asked, holding the still unconscious Fang Lei, with some concern. On one hand, I really wanted to continue the investigation, but on the other hand, I was worried about Fang Lei's health.

"Let's go back first!" Li Hai shrugged helplessly. It seemed that this time he could only return empty-handed.

"You...you don't need to worry about me," Fang Lei, who was in my arms, suddenly spoke.

"You're awake?" I looked at Fang Lei's face happily. The joy of finding her again made me hug her even tighter.

"Yes, yes!" Fang Lei probably realized she was lying naked in my arms, and nodded shyly. Her previously pale face flushed. She tugged at her clothes, but even my large clothes couldn't completely cover her, and her two long, slender, fair legs were still exposed to the two of us, two grown men. A woman's innate shyness made even a cultivator like her tremble slightly, her skin glowing with a faint pinkish hue. Fang Lei's shy and embarrassed appearance made her even more pitiful and captivating, making me want to devour her right then and there.

I swallowed hard, trying not to let my mind wander to anything inappropriate for children, and said, "But the way you are now..."

"It's alright," Fang Lei interrupted me. "I'm fine now."

Looking into Fang Lei's eyes, I knew that although she was afraid, nothing could make her back down. She was a brave woman who would never give up.

"Okay!" I nodded, then looked at Li Hai, who also nodded in agreement. I think he didn't want to go back empty-handed either.

"Let me take a look at that wall." I walked up to the wall, touched it, and then tapped it. It made a thud. "This wall must be hollow."

"Really?" Fang Lei and Li Hai walked over.

I tapped on various parts of the wall, hoping to find the mechanism to open it.

"How is it?" Li Hai asked anxiously.

"Don't rush!" I ignored him and continued groping. Suddenly, I felt a tiny protrusion on the wall, almost invisible unless you looked very closely. I pressed it hard, and the whole wall rattled. The vibration shook the wall, causing dust to fall and kick up a cloud of grime. It made us squint.

The wall slowly slid to both sides, and a cold wind blew in through the opening, making Fang Lei, who was only wearing a coat, shiver even more. I quickly hugged her.

The wall opened, revealing a staircase that continued downwards. A chilling wind was blowing up from below, and we couldn't see anything in the dark stairwell. I took a step back, a little frightened. The further down we went, the stronger the yin energy would become, which wouldn't be good for us.

“Let’s go down together!” Li Hai took out a yellow talisman from his pocket, touched it with his hand, and a warm white light emanated from the talisman, giving people a warm and peaceful feeling.

Li Hai looked at my curious face and explained, "This is a light talisman, used to purify people's souls. It is usually lit in places with heavy yin energy, and it can provide illumination and indicate whether there are ghosts nearby."

"Then why didn't you use it just now?" I was a little angry. Couldn't this guy have brought out such a good thing a long time ago? It would have saved us from being blind in the dark all the time.

"Please, this thing consumes a lot of mana." Li Hai rolled his eyes at me helplessly. Oh well, I didn't argue with him and followed him down the stairs. The light from the Light Talisman wasn't very strong, but it was much more effective than Li Hai's little lighter. At least it allowed us to see things within about two meters in front of us.

As we descended the stairs, we faintly heard the sound of running water. Just as we were wondering what was going on, we reached the bottom of the stairs. By the light, we discovered we were in a long sewer. The sound of flowing water we had just heard was from this very sewer; the current was quite rapid, but we couldn't see the bottom.

We followed Li Hai silently, the three of us walking along the direction of the water flow. This sewer project seemed enormous. We walked for a long time and still felt like we were in the same place. Fang Lei in my arms was shivering from the cold air in the sewer, and even her lips were turning a little blue.

"Wait a minute." I called out to Li Hai, "Li Hai, don't turn around, I'll give Fang Lei another piece of clothing."

"No need." Fang Lei grabbed my hand, which was trying to take off my clothes. They say women in love are very considerate of their partners, just like Yin Xue, who always puts me first. Thinking of Yin Xue, I smiled bitterly, grasped Fang Lei's cold, trembling hand, and said, "It's okay, I'm a man!" After saying that, I quickly took off my shirt. Luckily, I was wearing a vest underneath, otherwise I would have been shirtless.

"Here, this is for you too." Li Hai suddenly reached out a hand and handed him his coat.

"Thanks!" I patted him on the shoulder and took the jacket. Fang Lei blushed as she took my shirt, but stood there motionless.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you wearing it?" I asked curiously. Unexpectedly, Fang Lei's face turned even redder, even her ears were bright red. Her eyes seemed about to well up with tears, and she shyly stamped her foot, saying, "Turn around!"

"No!" I replied immediately. Don't think I'm trying to take advantage of her; I'm just afraid she'll disappear again later.

"You..." Fang Lei gave me a reproachful look, "What if you disappear again when I turn around?" I quickly explained, not wanting her to think I was a pervert.

After hearing what I said, Fang Lei looked at me with deep affection, but she still didn't have the courage to put her clothes back on in front of me, even though she knew I had already seen her naked body. The beautiful woman bit her lower lip, quickly turned around, and took off my coat. In the white light, her body was as white as jade. Her smooth bare back and pert buttocks outlined a near-perfect curve, and her long legs were endlessly alluring. Her body was even more arousing in this eerie atmosphere; I thought that if I hadn't been staring at her feet, I would have had a nosebleed. After quickly putting on her clothes, Fang Lei turned around, her face as red as an apple. I stepped forward and grabbed her small hand, afraid that this treasure before me would disappear again.

"Are you guys done yet?" Li Hai shouted.

"Alright, alright." I patted Li Hai on the shoulder and said, "Let's keep going."

Li Hai nodded and continued walking forward, with Fang Lei and I following behind. The sewers were damp, and the heavy humidity made me feel a little cold. The sound of flowing water was particularly clear in the surrounding silence. Although I had been in this city for several years, I had never imagined that there was such a labyrinthine underground sewer system, winding and endless.

As we moved forward, the musty, damp smell in the air grew stronger, even carrying a hint of formaldehyde, which made me feel nauseous. I frowned, but Li Hai, who was ahead of me, suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Fang Lei asked.

"It looks like something." Li Hai moved the Light Talisman forward a bit, and right at the boundary between light and darkness, I saw something lying across the ground, blocking our path.

"Be careful!" I warned Li Hai, while firmly holding Fang Lei's small hand with my right hand.

"I know." Li Hai slowly walked over, and the soft white light gradually shone on the pile of objects.

Chapter Fifty-Three: A Skeleton and a Flower-Shaped Jade Ring

I don't know if I can use the word "object" to describe what's in front of me. Although it's said that everything is empty after death, a skeleton is indeed somewhere between an object and a person. It just lies there, without any muscle tissue or internal organs, only stark white bones, with dark eye sockets staring straight at you, and exposed gums forming a strange smile.

I crouched down and examined the skeleton closely. The obvious bite marks indicated it had been attacked by rodents, such as rats. Human bones can speak; many potential pieces of evidence and clues can be found within them. Forensic anthropology, a crucial branch of forensic medicine, involves studying and examining skeletal remains to uncover fundamental clues about the victim.

"Whose skeleton is this?" Li Hai asked.

“It’s a man,” I replied, pointing to the pelvis. “Generally speaking, you can distinguish the sex by the pelvis and skull. A man’s pelvis is narrower and steeper, while a woman’s pelvis is relatively wider and shallower. And look at the orbital ridge and dorsal ridge of this skull; they’re quite large. These are basic characteristics of a male skull.”

“That’s right,” Fang Lei chimed in from the side. “He should be over thirty years old, because the sutures in his skull have been mostly closed.”

“Furthermore,” I said, prying open the skull to reveal the teeth, “the occlusal surfaces of the teeth are severely worn, suggesting the person was a carnivore.” After a pause, I continued, “the deceased was Mongolian, which is Asian.”

"How did you know?" Li Hai asked curiously.

I smiled and explained to Li Hai, "In forensic anthropology, human races are divided into three categories: Mongoloids, which are Asians; Black people, which are Africans; and Caucasoids, which are Europeans. Black people and Mongoloids generally have wider noses than Caucasoids. This skeleton is clearly a typical Mongoloid."

"Since you're judging by the nose, why can't it be a black person?" Li Hai asked.

"Because Black people's bones are a bit darker in color compared to the other two groups!" I replied.

Li Hai nodded, then asked, "So who do you think he is? And why is he here?"