pozo profundo

Capítulo 20

"What's going on?" I turned to ask Li Yang, who was looking at the bell in his hand with a puzzled expression.

“This bell will ring automatically if a ghost gets close!” Li Hai replied with a serious expression, gripping the sword even tighter.

Li Yang shrank back somewhat sheepishly, and we didn't say anything more, continuing to follow behind Li Hai. The bell rang more and more urgently, its clanging and banging making everyone anxious and restless, our irritability growing heavier. I turned to look at Li Yang and saw him barely managing to grip the vibrating soul-summoning bell with both hands, sweat pouring down his face.

The air around me grew heavy, the air pressure seemingly increasing by several Pascals, pressing down on my chest and making me feel suffocated. I took a deep breath, touched my chest, and looked at Fang Lei; fine beads of sweat were gradually forming on my forehead. I was starting to feel weak; although it was just a slow, almost leisurely walk, it felt like I had run 1000 meters. My legs were getting heavier and heavier, and my throat was dry and sore. I pulled down my collar, and the jade pendant on my chest began to slowly heat up upon contact with the cool air. A wisp of warmth, transmitted through the pendant, traveled through my body, flowing to my limbs and meridians, gathering in my dantian to form a warm ball of energy that I found very comforting, and gradually I regained my strength.

Book One: The Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Forty-Seven: A Failed Return

Book One: The Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Forty-Seven: A Failed Return

"Fang Lei, how are you?" I worriedly supported Fang Lei, who was almost exhausted. Then I looked at Li Hai and Li Yang. The former was barely holding on because of his magic, but Li Yang was in the worst shape, almost lying on the ground. The pressure of the air and the feeling of suffocation made us feel like we had been pulled out of the water.

"I'm still holding on... I can hold on!" The bracelet on Fang Lei's wrist glowed with a purple light, seemingly resisting the pressure from the surroundings.

"Here, take this!" Li Hai suddenly took off his ten-thousand-year-old immortal jade and put it around Li Yang's neck. Li Yang struggled to refuse, but he was too weak to do so.

"Why...why?" Li Yang touched the jade pendant, a cool and comfortable feeling spreading from his palm to his whole body.

"Because I'm your brother!" Li Hai turned his head away, not letting Li Yang see his moved face. Yes, no matter how much discord and misunderstanding there had been in the past, blood ties were an undeniable fact. Li Yang, unusually, stopped nagging, and I noticed his eyes were slightly red.

"Then let's keep going!" I held Fang Lei's small hand, suddenly feeling scared. I didn't know if this action was the right thing to do. I just wanted to survive, for all of us to get out of this damned forest safely. But now the situation seemed to make my hope seem slim, because I saw wisps of black smoke rising from under every tree, slowly gathering into a ball, forming faces with hideous features.

"Everyone be careful." Li Hai swung his sword, unleashing a burst of blue light that repelled the surging ghosts wherever it touched. Fang Lei broke free from my embrace, stretched out her right hand, and the bracelet on her wrist flashed with purple light, transforming into a ribbon embroidered with purple lotus flowers, which then swept towards the ghosts.

And so, Li Hai and Fang Lei positioned themselves one in front of the other, surrounding Li Yang and me. Blue-purple light intertwined, forming a small wall that enclosed us. Li Yang and I desperately wanted to help, but we were powerless to do so. At that moment, for the first time, I desperately longed to possess magic myself.

Looking around, I saw more and more ghostly faces, many of which transformed into familiar faces—my parents and Yin Xue. I grew increasingly uneasy, desperately wanting to step out of that wall of light. The feeling was so intense. I couldn't see Li Hai and Fang Lei anymore, and even Li Yang, who was right beside me, had vanished. I was all alone in this place, feeling lonely and isolated. I felt tears welling up in my eyes.

"Xiaoxiao, get up quickly, the sun is shining on your bottom!" That was her mother's voice.

"Xiaoxiao, don't cry, you're a boy!" That was his father's voice.

"Lin Xiao, I love you. Even if you don't love me, it doesn't matter. As long as I live, I will love you." This was Yin Xue's voice.

"Xiaoxiao..."

"Lin Xiao..."

Countless calls assaulted my eardrums, these sounds seemed to be calling incessantly in my mind. I reached out my hand, grabbing at each face, but all I grasped was empty air.

"Ah...!" Li Yang's sudden roar rang in my ears, and I shuddered, waking up from the hallucination.

"Grab him!" Li Hai yelled at me. When I looked at Li Yang, his face was contorted, his features seemed to have shifted, his eyes were radiating a venomous light, and his ten fingers were curled up, gripping his hair.

"Li Yang!" I grabbed Li Yang from behind, who was about to rush out, and shouted. The fear of losing him made me tremble, and I held onto the collapsing and frantic Li Yang with all my might. Li Yang seemed to be trying desperately to break free from me, struggling in my arms, and emitting an unusually piercing howl. In that sound, you could feel resentment and unwillingness, which made my blood boil, and I almost let go of his hand. This was not Li Yang's voice, but it was definitely coming from his body. The sound seemed to be coming from countless pores all over his body, and I could even feel his skin trembling because of the howl.

"Evil spirits, begone!" Li Hai suddenly turned around, and a blue light streaked across and shot straight into Li Yang's forehead. Just after the light disappeared, Li Yang's originally ferocious face suddenly calmed down, and he slumped into my arms. Just as I relaxed, countless ghosts suddenly pounced on Li Hai's back.

"Watch out!" I yanked Li Hai behind me, and he swung his sword backhand, successfully cleaving the ghost in two, turning it into black smoke. Had he succeeded? My heart leaped with excitement, but as the black smoke coalesced again and reformed into a ghostly face, my heart turned cold. Truly, it was a persistent, lingering spirit!

"Damn it!" I glanced back at Fang Lei, who was still fighting fiercely. If I didn't make up my mind, Cao Ying would probably have to arrange our funeral when she came back! Gritting my teeth, I shoved Li Yang into Li Hai's arms, and the moment Li Hai caught Li Yang, I grabbed the blade of Li Hai's sword.

Ouch! It really is true that the ten fingers are connected to the heart. Thick and hot blood flowed from my palm and immediately gushed down along the edge of the sword.

"You...?" Li Hai looked at me in surprise.

"I'll take a gamble." I endured the excruciating pain and pulled my hand down the sword, immediately smearing the blade with my blood. I could feel and even hear the sound of my skin being cut by the blade. The sword, which had been emitting a blue light, suddenly burst into a blinding red light.

Li Hai glanced at the sword but said nothing more. Instead, he nodded gratefully to me, drew a circle in the air with his right hand holding the sword, and two beams of red and blue light instantly transformed into two bolts of lightning, sizzling as they shot towards the ghosts. With several loud booms, the ghosts struck by the red and blue lightning immediately turned back into black smoke.

"Let's go now!" Li Hai shouted, dragging the dazed Li Yang along as they ran.

"Fang Lei!" I quickly grabbed Fang Lei's hand and hurriedly followed behind them.

A heart-pounding sprint ensued, even more intense than a college physical education exam. The four of them ran at full speed, desperate to escape the forest before the black smoke transformed back into a ghostly face.

Perhaps it was the sportswear that really helped; I felt as if my legs had sprouted wings, and even while dragging someone along, my speed was now beyond my usual level.

"Hurry up!" Li Hai shouted from the front, waving his sword vigorously. The blue light from his swings gave us the correct direction to escape, making it even more useful than a compass.

"We're here!" Li Hai suddenly shouted. Just as we were running behind him, he suddenly stopped. Fang Lei and I, unable to brake in time, crashed into them. With a thud, the four of us fell together.

"What are you doing?" I complained to Li Hai while holding Fang Lei tightly, but I didn't realize that the four of us were already lying on the road next to the Heart Lake Forest.

"What happened?" Li Yang asked, rubbing his sore head.

"I'm...I'm out!" Li Hai gasped for breath, clutching his chest as he struggled to his feet. "My sword has the power to cleave through the Netherworld."

"How could this be? Why are they so strong?" I pulled Fang Lei up as well, asking unwillingly. I thought that with Li Hai and Fang Lei, plus the two treasures, we would surely gain something! At least we shouldn't have to flee in such a sorry state, practically running away with our tails between our legs. It was so uncouth!

“This is the death gate of the entire formation. The power of ghosts will be enhanced, while the magic will be weakened accordingly!” Fang Lei answered quite decisively.

"You guys knew all along?" I asked angrily, hands on my hips.

“I had guessed that, but now it’s been confirmed,” Li Hai replied.

"What?!" Li Yang and I exclaimed on the spot. We had been used as test subjects for nothing and almost lost our lives!

Book 1, Chapter 48: The Breakthrough in the Deadly Loop

Book 1, Chapter 48: The Breakthrough in the Deadly Loop

I rested my chin on my hand, scribbling on a piece of paper with a pen in the other, the original writing now completely obscured. I'm currently in the forensic office at the police station. Yesterday's humiliation is still making me furious. Now, even the Heart Lake clue has become a dead end, and everything has become a vicious cycle.

From Heart Lake and Death Avenue to St. Mary's Hospital, and then to vivisection, there are connections between them all, but in the end, everything returns to its starting point. As things stand, the old-style Western-style house on Ancient Locust Street is the only place lacking detailed information. But the question is, where is it? In which neighborhood does it exist, yet it cannot be found. According to Li Hai, this house is the center point of the entire Netherworld space, and is also estimated to be the location of the escape route within the entire formation.

Ugh! This is such a headache. I put down my pen and thought about Li Hai's decision yesterday: if we can't find the truth from the ghosts, we'll find it from the people. Of course, I know he's going to start with the driver who took the blame. So, I came to the police station early this morning, hoping to find a breakthrough in this vicious cycle through that driver.

"How did it go?" I asked, looking at Fang Lei as she entered the office.

"There's no way around it." Fang Lei sighed helplessly at me. "They're controlling him too much. He's been classified as a serious criminal, and without approval from above, no one can get close to him."

"Really?" I sat back down in my chair, feeling a bit dejected. It seemed Fang Lei's inquiry hadn't brought good news. A highly serious criminal was definitely someone an ordinary forensic doctor wouldn't have access to.

"What do we do now?" Fang Lei asked me worriedly.

"We'll just have to wait for news from Li Hai and the others," I replied helplessly, hoping that the two of them could get some useful clues from the driver's relatives.

※※※

At noon, I arrived at the cafeteria early. Although the food there was really not very appetizing, nothing could soothe my current depressed mood like eating.

After getting my food, I sat there alone, feeling sullen. Fang Lei refused to eat with me because she didn't want others to know about our relationship, so I had no choice but to go along with her.

"Hey, Lin Xiao, what's wrong?" Xiao Ren came over and sat down next to me.

"Nothing much, just eating!" I replied listlessly, poking at the food with my chopsticks.

"Why are you so downcast?" Xiao Ren patted my shoulder and said, "I have good news for you. The Xinhu case is almost closed."

"You're sure it's that driver?" I turned to look at Xiao Ren's excited face. No wonder, he was happy to encounter such a big case so soon after taking office. It seems that sometimes being a little ignorant is a blessing.

"Of course," Xiao Ren replied with a smile. Then he suddenly waved to the front. I looked up and saw Xiao Zhou, a police officer who had taken over the Xinhu murder case from Li Yang, walking over with food.

"Oh, Lin Xiao is here too!" Xiao Zhou said with a smile as he sat down.

I nodded politely to him and asked, "Is the case closed?"

"Yes!" Xiao Zhou knew exactly which case I was referring to. Although I knew perfectly well that the driver was just a scapegoat, I also knew that even if I told him about the ghost woman Lin Yuyan, no one would believe me. People always become complacent after finding what they believe to be the right answer.

"That driver really has good taste; all the victims are the same," I said jokingly, hoping to glean some more information from Xiao Zhou.

"Yes, it seems the killer likes quiet, pretty women like this," Xiao Zhou replied.

"Is there really no other connection between them?" I asked tentatively.

“Hmm…” Xiao Zhou tilted his head and thought for a while, then suddenly his eyes lit up and he said, “We found out that they all went to Sacred Heart Hospital before they died.”

What? I immediately forgot to swallow, my mouth agape.

"But it's nothing!" Xiao Zhou shrugged and said casually, "There's a lot of flu going around lately, and there are a lot of people going to the hospital. Besides, Sacred Heart Hospital is the most famous hospital in the area, so it's normal to think of going there first when you're sick."

"Is...is that so?" I forced a smile, not wanting to appear too surprised, and quickly changed the subject to chat with them. The meal was thus finished amidst our banter.

※※※

"Fang Lei, I have a lead!" As soon as I got to the office, I shouted to Fang Lei.

"Oh?" Fang Lei laughed and put down the phone, saying, "It's true what they say, when one door closes, another opens! Li Hai and the others just called to say they couldn't find anything wrong with us!"

"What did Li Hai and the others say?" I pulled up a chair and sat down.

"They said they've looked into the driver's family. His wife is in the hospital and will have surgery soon. As for his daughter, she's in university! Everything seems normal on the surface. But think about it, a family where only the husband, who's a driver, can earn money suddenly has the money for major surgery when he's in an accident. Where do you think that money came from?" Fang Lei asked me.

"Anyway, it won't come from that ghost that might be Lin Junxian," I replied.

“Yes, someone must be funding this from behind the scenes.” Fang Lei’s face showed an expression that said everything was clear.

"You don't mean to doubt our beloved deputy mayor, do you?" I asked.

"Hey, it's not just me who thinks that way!" Fang Lei winked at me playfully and said with a smile, "He's Yu Zhongguo's good friend. If Yu Zhongguo was silenced because he knew some secrets about the Heart Lake, then as his friend, this deputy mayor couldn't possibly be completely unaware, right?"

"Perhaps Yu Zhongguo never even had the chance to tell anyone?" I asked.

Fang Lei smiled and said, "Li Hai just told me that they found out Mao Aijun is this vice mayor's junior from school!"

"Really?" I frowned deeply now; it seemed that this deputy mayor was inextricably linked to Xinhu.

"If the person who murdered Lao Cao was a human, and a professional killer at that, and if the driver who caused the car accident involving you and Li Yang was also a killer, who do you think paid to hire them? A ghost?" Fang Lei pressed on, "And making that driver take the blame—nothing a ghost could do."

"Fine, fine!" I've already surrendered. Arguing with a woman is definitely not a wise choice. "You're right, so what are you going to do? Are you just going to rush up to the deputy mayor and say, 'Hey, you've been pulling all this behind the scenes, so I'm going to arrest you now?' Don't forget, all of this is just your speculation. You have no evidence, and even if you did, do you think people would believe your nonsense about the 'Ten Thousand Souls Locking Array'?"

"Hehe," Fang Lei suddenly laughed, and I immediately had the feeling that I was the chick and she was the weasel. This is bad!

“It’s us, not you!” Fang Lei pointed to herself and then to me. “This is the key issue we need to consider now.”

"I don't want to!" I stood up abruptly. Not fighting with officials has always been my principle in life. The most thankless and exhausting thing in this world is fighting between the people and the officials. Call me cowardly or opportunistic, but I have no intention of rebelling.

"How could you do this?" Fang Lei stood up, not to be outdone. The beautiful woman's face was full of anger, but it was also a pleasing sight.

"Sigh!" I sighed and helplessly explained to the innocent beauty who only knew magic and forensic medicine: "First, we have no evidence; second, even if we had evidence, we couldn't convince people; third, if he is an accomplice, he is an accomplice to ghosts. We should not act rashly before the situation is clear."

"So what are you going to do? Just settle it like this?" Fang Lei asked, one hand on her hip and the other poking me with her finger, exuding a captivating charm.

"Hehe," I swallowed hard. We were at work, so I couldn't do anything reckless. I resisted the urge to pull her into my arms and said, "That's why I said there was a new lead, right?"

"A new clue?"

"Yes, Xiao Zhou told me that the victims of the Xinhu murder case had all visited Sacred Heart Hospital."