pozo profundo

Capítulo 10

Is there a problem? What problem? I looked at the bar's door. Perhaps due to the terrain, the bar's door was designed with steps leading down to the entrance, and there were two small floor-to-ceiling windows on either side. There was a screen wall in front of the door, and protective walls on both sides. The walls were deliberately roughened, giving it a very modern feel.

"Don't you think this door looks like something?" Li Hai asked.

"What?!" I racked my brains but couldn't see anything wrong with it.

Li Hai glared at me helplessly and said, "Another secret technique passed down through generations in our Maoshan School is Feng Shui."

"So what?" I asked Li Hai, puzzled.

"How is it?" Judging from Li Hai's expression, he's probably about to pounce on me and strangle me. "This is basically just a decoration for a tomb!"

"Huh?" I opened my mouth wide in surprise and looked at the door carefully. Now that he said it, it really does look a bit like it! How strange. Does the owner of this bar have some kind of special fetish, or is this just a small mistake during the renovation?

"Looks like there's something fishy about this boss!" Li Hai muttered to himself, then turned and headed towards the bar. I immediately grabbed him.

"What are you doing?" Li Hai was clearly very unhappy with my actions.

I quickly said, "Better safe than sorry. You just recklessly barged in like that?"

Li Hai stopped arguing with me, thought for a while, nodded, and said, "So what are you going to do?"

As expected of my brother, he remained calm and collected. If it were Li Yang, even eight horses couldn't pull him back. I let out a long sigh of relief. Now is definitely not the time to act rashly. So many people have died; it's time for a pause.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. My phone rang again, and it was Xiao Ren calling once more. I sighed deeply; what a run of bad luck!

"Whose call was it?" Li Hai asked.

I gripped the phone in my hand, my eyes twitching violently again. I shoved the phone into Li Hai's hand and said, "You answer it for me. It's the station calling; someone might have died again!"

Li Hai glanced at me, then at his phone, his face grave. His master had warned him before he left: "This trip is extremely dangerous; be extremely careful!" Before we arrived, Fang Lei had already given a brief account of the Heart Lake murder case. Unexpectedly, before the previous case was solved, another one followed.

"Hello, who is this?" Li Hai answered the phone. "Oh, are you looking for Lin Xiao? He had something to do and ran away. Tell me what it is."

I looked at Li Hai's face, which was getting more and more serious. It seemed there really was another case! I sighed, rubbed my temples, and my headache started acting up again.

"Okay, I understand. I'll tell him. Goodbye!" Li Hai hung up the phone and handed it back to me. "There's been a murder at Xinhu Lake. They want you to go there as soon as possible!"

"Is it another dead woman?" I asked.

"He didn't say anything, he just told you to hurry up and go!" Li Hai said, shrugging.

I didn't speak, only nodded. Looking at the bustling crowds on the street, I suddenly felt a sense of unreality, as if all this evil was just a nightmare, waiting for me to wake up. The pedestrians were still the same as always; they didn't know the fear and anxiety in my heart, nor did they know that the city was gradually being shrouded in evil.

As I drove alone toward Heart Lake, I couldn't help but wonder, for ordinary people, is ignorance a blessing or a curse?

Book One: Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Twenty-One: Pure Illusion

Book One: Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Twenty-One: Pure Illusion

My hands gripping the steering wheel grew colder and colder, not because of the slightly chilly weather, but because of a growing sense of fear. I had never known that the rustling of trees in the wind could be so terrifying. Glancing out the window, I saw the trees lining the road swaying wildly in the wind. A cold light pierced through the gaps in the leaves, the flickering light resembling countless grotesque skulls. The shadows cast on the ground looked like the faces of demons, their mouths gaping open in a sinister grin. Suddenly, I realized there wasn't a single other car on the road; I was driving alone on this long, seemingly endless road.

Perhaps it's psychological, but I always feel like there are pairs of eyes watching me from under some shady tree. To be honest, I don't like long roads or corridors; they always make me feel oppressed. This might be due to the inherent human fear of the unknown future.

I floored the gas pedal, hoping to reach that damned lake of my heart as quickly as possible. The wind whistled past my ears, and the scenery outside the window flashed by. Suddenly, something seemed to dart out in front of me. Startled, I slammed on the brakes. A screeching sound of tires screeching against the pavement sent shivers down my spine. The car finally came to a stop. I felt as if I'd hit something, and looking closer, I saw a person lying face down on the ground. A cold sweat instantly soaked my clothes; my heart pounded, and my hands trembled uncontrollably as I gripped the steering wheel.

A short while, or perhaps a long time, passed before I reluctantly got off the bus. After all, running away wasn't something I could do. Taking a deep breath, I walked over to the person and crouched down. Thankfully, I didn't see any blood, so I figured it shouldn't be anything serious, I reassured myself.

"Are you alright?" I patted the man and turned him over. He was a pale-faced man. Just then, his eyes suddenly twitched violently; I even thought his eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets. Reacting instinctively to the impending danger, I immediately released my grip on the man and fell backward with a thud. A bright flash appeared before my eyes, and I saw the man open his eyes and swiftly draw a knife from behind him.

I never imagined what it would feel like to have a knife pierce my heart. I thought it would hurt terribly, but actually, I didn't feel much; it was just cool. Everything went black, but strangely, my other senses remained sharp. I could feel the wind on my face, the rustling of the wind, and the blood flowing from my heart. Then, my senses gradually blurred, a feeling of floating on air, my soul seemingly leaving my body. Next came an intense, excruciating pain, pain throughout my entire body. Is this hell? My whole body felt burning hot, even my bones felt like they were turning to ash. God, if this is hell, please let it all end quickly!

※※※

Li Hai circled the entrance of the Black Forest Bar more than ten times, causing passersby to think he'd encountered a madman. In the end, he didn't knock, because Lin Xiao had warned him to be careful before leaving. But as a descendant of the Maoshan sect, he was utterly baffled. Who would design their door like this? Even if it wasn't the owner's intention, the person who designed this door deserves to go to the deepest hell. From a feng shui perspective, the north-facing location was excellent, but the design of the door was the problem—a tomb-like layout, a path to certain death!

"Grandpa, I have a question for you!" Li Hai grabbed a passerby and asked, "Do you know when this bar opened?"

"You mean this?" The old man glanced at the bar and said, "It appeared out of nowhere about a year and a half ago!"

"Really? Do you know who owns this bar?"

"This?" The old man shook his head. "I have no idea. How could someone my age end up in a place like this?"

"Really?" Li Hai sighed in disappointment, but at least he knew when it opened, so he should at least have gained something!

"Why don't you go ask Old Liu?" The old man seemed to sense Li Hai's disappointment and immediately offered a suggestion.

"Old Liu? Who is that?" Li Hai immediately perked up when he saw that there was another clue.

"This bar used to be a teahouse, and Old Liu was the owner. I was a regular customer at his teahouse! It's a pity that people don't drink tea anymore, so the teahouse couldn't stay in business!" The old man shook his head and sighed.

"Then, where is he now?" Li Hai almost pounced on him. Looking at his sparkling eyes, anyone would think he had received news about his idol!

"A small department store opened in that new village!" The old man pointed behind him.

"Thank you, thank you!" Li Hai was so happy he was almost moved to tears, and he turned and rushed forward.

"Young man, slow down!" the old man shouted at Li Hai. "Why are all the young people these days so reckless?"

※※※

I opened my eyes and found myself lying in the middle of the road, my car behind me. There was no one around, no man who had been hit, and no knife. I looked down at my chest in a panic, but there was no injury, not a drop of blood, and even my clothes were intact.

Am I dreaming? I touched my chest; everything was normal. My heart felt so good, and I let out a long sigh of relief. A hallucination, it must be a hallucination! I told myself it was all just a hallucination, maybe it was because I hadn't been sleeping well lately, maybe it was because of the recent murders, maybe it was because of the stress! But everything just now was so clear—the man, the knife, and the feeling of it piercing my heart—it all felt so real. Could hallucinations be so vivid, could they even have feelings?

I struggled to my feet and climbed back into the car. Sitting there, still dazed, I felt like I was in a dream. Shaking my head, I started the car again. This wasn't the time to be lost in thought; a murder case awaited me at Xinhu Lake, and whether it was good or bad, it was the most important thing right now.

The familiar ringtone sounded again, and when I looked, it was Xiao Ren again.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Forensic Doctor Lin, what are you still dawdling about? Everyone's waiting for you!" Xiao Ren's pleading voice was a little anxious. What could he do when his department was short of forensic doctors? It was good that Fang Lei had come, but unexpectedly, Old Cao was suddenly gone. It was truly a bolt from the blue!

"They're here already. Hasn't Fang Lei arrived yet?" I asked. Am I the only one left in this group?

"We can't find her. She didn't come at all today! I think Captain Chen said she took leave!"

"Oh, really?" How come it's so easy for women to take time off, while it's harder than climbing to heaven for me? This is so discriminatory!

"Stop 'oh,' when are you going to arrive?" Xiao Ren asked anxiously.

"Five minutes!" I yelled back into the phone, slammed down the phone, and floored the gas pedal.

Seriously, is this some kind of death trap? I shook my head and sped up. As for everything that just happened, I could only explain it as a hallucination for now.

Book One: Three Ghost Stories of the City, Chapter Twenty-Two: The Skull

Book One: Three Ghost Stories of the City, Chapter Twenty-Two: The Skull

Putting aside all the bizarre murders, Heart Lake is actually a very beautiful place. The trees along the shore are lush and green, swirling around the lake like a green mist. But what lies hidden within this mist? Occasionally, a bird's song or two can be heard from the woods, clear and melodious. Because of the water and trees, it is already cool here, and the overcast sky makes me feel a bone-chilling cold.

"What was found by the lake was a skull," Xiao Ren explained, following behind me.

"What about the other parts?" I asked.

"We haven't found anything yet, but we've sent people to search everywhere," Xiao Ren said, handing me the gloves.

I walked over and saw a white cloth covering something, with Chen Kai standing beside it.

"You're here, take a look!" Chen Kai said, pointing to the white cloth.

I nodded, crouched down, and carefully lifted the white sheet. A skull jumped out at me, accompanied by the stench of a rotting corpse. I immediately frowned. It was a skull because the bone was exposed, yet it resembled a human head because some soft tissue remained, yellowish-white and streaked with blood. What surprised me even more was that all the parts that could be called a face were gone. The eye sockets were empty, the nose had been removed, and even the teeth were missing. Some yellowish-white liquid was oozing out; it must have been brain matter.

"That's really thorough!" I turned the skull over and saw a clear knife mark on the skullcap, and several pieces of scalp stuck together also had file marks, obviously left by a file when the scalp was scraped off.

"How is it?" Chen Kai asked.

“The time of death should not be long, but the exact time will need further testing.” I stood up and asked Xiao Ren next to me for a plastic bag. “However, it is obviously a heinous crime. The murderer dismembered and disposed of the body, which clearly shows that he has some professional knowledge.”

"How so?"

"The knife mark on the back of his head is very deep, and there are file marks. His teeth, eyes, and nose were deliberately shaved off. Moreover, the separation between the skull and neck is very smooth, obviously chopped off with a knife in one clean and neat motion!" I made a chopping gesture with my hand. It seems that this murderer has a real talent for being an executioner.

"What about the rest of the body?"

“Then you should ask the murderer, not me.” I shrugged, squatted down again, carefully placed the skull into the plastic bag, and said to Xiao Ren, “Take this.”

"Huh? Me?" Xiao Ren looked at the bag with a strange expression, turning pale and then flushed.

"What's wrong? Just grab it!" I said impatiently.

Xiao Ren glanced at me with difficulty, then carefully moved a step and reached out his hand, but just as he was about to touch the bag, he suddenly screamed and rushed towards the lake.

"No way, he's so useless!" I chuckled as I looked at Xiao Ren, who was vomiting uncontrollably. Seeing him like that reminded me of myself when I first entered university and took anatomy class—I was just like that! Shaking my head, I walked over and shoved a plastic bag into Xiao Ren's hand, who had already finished vomiting, comforting him, "You'll get used to it after you keep vomiting!"

Poor Ren, after vomiting up his lunch, started vomiting up his snacks. He probably won't stop until he vomits up all his stomach acid, and he doesn't even dare to throw up what he's holding.

"You little rascal, you're quite the troublemaker!" Chen Kai stepped forward and patted my shoulder with a smile.

"That's how it's always been! Old Cao did the same thing to me back then!" I replied casually, but my heart jumped again when I mentioned Old Cao. His case was in limbo, and Cao Ying was nowhere to be found. It was a complete mess.

Chen Kai clearly noticed my disappointment, patted me on the shoulder, and said, "Work hard, that's the only way now."

I nodded, looking at Chen Kai's earnest face, and suddenly realized that he was actually a good person too!

※※※

"What, are you used to it?" I asked Xiao Ren, standing in front of the lab table and looking at the skull in front of me.

"I'm trying," Xiao Ren replied, but her weak voice suggested that she must have vomited quite a bit earlier.

I smiled but said nothing more. The skull before me made me too depressed to tease Xiao Ren anymore. The stark white of the bone, the dark eye sockets—everything seemed to tell a tragic and cruel story. It turned out that people could treat another person this way; even a corpse shouldn't be desecrated like this. Especially in our country, there's a sense of reverence and tolerance towards corpses. Even the most cruel person would show some leniency towards a dead body. A complete corpse was usually the best mercy a ruler could show a criminal. To die without a complete body was a great taboo in our culture. And this skull—not only was it without a complete body, but it had been mutilated like this. What kind of hatred could drive someone to such a state?

"How's it going? Any progress?" Chen Kai asked, pushing open the door.

“The killer must have spent a lot of time dealing with this skull,” I replied. “Obviously, the killer held the skull down with one hand and used a knife in the other, then processed it very carefully. That’s why there are many knife marks on the skull, and it’s clear that more than one knife was used. Come and take a look.” I beckoned to Chen Kai, who walked closer.

“This was clearly made with a sharp, large knife.” I pointed to a clear knife mark on the back of the head. “It was obviously this knife that severed the victim’s neck.” I turned the skull over again, and the cut at the neck was very smooth, clearly indicating that the head was severed in one stroke.

"Then they used a file to scrape away the scalp and the surface skin of the face, which is why these rows of fine marks are left." I pointed to the scalp and continued, "As for the flesh on the cheeks, it was cut off directly with a slightly smaller meat cleaver, see?"

"Please, don't look so excited!" Chen Kai looked at me like I was a monster. I was obviously talking too excitedly, practically spitting as I spoke! But what could I do? What could excite a forensic doctor like that, of course, was finding out how the victim died!

"This isn't excitement, this is rage!" I quickly explained. "The victim's eyes and nose were gouged out with a knife, and even his teeth were forcibly pulled out, as can be seen from the fractured roots of his upper teeth. Furthermore, the murderer used a sharp awl to shove the victim's brains out. This murderer spent a considerable amount of time and effort to disfigure the skull beyond recognition for only one purpose: to conceal the victim's identity."

"And he did a great job, because we still don't know the identity of the deceased. It would be even more difficult to find out what he looked like." Chen Kai sighed. The recent cases hadn't been solved yet, and now there was another one. The pressure from above was getting heavier and heavier, and he was almost going crazy.

“However, I can at least tell you now that the deceased was under thirty-five years old,” I reassured him. “The sutures in the skull hadn’t closed yet.” Sutures are fibrous joints, which are actually a very thin layer of fibrous connective tissue tightly bound together, preventing the two halves of the skull from shifting. As people age, these sutures gradually close.

"Really? At least that's good news. But it's not enough, Xiao Lin!" Chen Kai looked at me helplessly, the wrinkles on his face and the white hair on his head revealing the anxiety and unease of this criminal investigation captain.