El misterio del periódico K

Capítulo 27

In the afternoon, Cang Yue and Cang Yu went to their rooms to rest. Xiao Bi, under the pretext of keeping me company, asked to stay as well, but everyone noticed that his eyes were gleaming with a green light as he stared at Cang Lang. Jia Yanchang also joined in the fun and stayed, dragging Deng Fei along with him. As for that little white dog, when Gu Ming was arranging the rooms, I maliciously suggested throwing it to the big yellow dog next door for company.

Unsuccessful...

After dinner, Xia Canyue showed everyone the hair wrapped in a talisman and told them that she planned to use magic that night to rescue Aunt Gao's soul from its confinement. Cangyue said that she and Cangyu had previously performed a forced soul-summoning spell, which might be able to help Gu Ming. The night was deep, and no one knew when the rain would stop…

Light rain on April 24, 2005

At 12:30, "Moonlight" closed the door, and everyone went back to the inner room in the backyard.

Xiao Bi, Deng Fei, Jia Yanyu, Cang Lang, Cang Zhenzhen, Xiao Bai, Gao Tian, and I insisted on squeezing into a corner of the room, while Gu Ming, Xia Canyue, Cang Yue, and Cang Yu each sat in a corner in the middle of the room. After Xia Canyue took out the hair, she told me to turn off the light. The moment the light went out, the room was so quiet that it felt suffocating.

Gu Ming once said that if a person doesn't reincarnate within seven days of death, their soul will be scattered, making it difficult to be reborn. Therefore, everyone understands what the success or failure of this event means. Although we are eager to know the details of the murderer, everything else seems insignificant if we can safely rescue Aunt Gao's soul.

"I will cast a spell. Cangyue and Cangyu, hold back Aunt Gao's soul. If it attracts anything else, Gu Ming will handle it. Everyone else, stay quiet and stand against the wall," Xia Canyue said. In the darkness, everyone nodded.

It was one in the morning. By the dim light of distant lamps, we saw Xia Canyue seemingly take out a talisman, chanting incantations. His left hand formed a strange shape, and the talisman spontaneously combusted, its flames illuminating the faces of those around him before plunging them into darkness. Just as I was wondering why the talisman hadn't reacted after burning, a golden light suddenly shot out. The talisman, which had already burned out, seemed to be plated with gold, floating brightly above the four of them. Xia Canyue then switched to his right hand, forming a hand seal, pointing a finger at the talisman, and uttered a deep, clear voice, "Go!"

The talisman transformed into a golden light and flew out of the house, plunging the room back into darkness. Perhaps the light emitted by the golden talisman was too dazzling, for everything in sight seemed shrouded in a hazy gray, making the quiet, dark room appear even more eerie.

A few seconds later, rapid breathing suddenly filled the silent space. My heart tightened, and I vaguely saw glistening beads of sweat dripping from Xia Canyue's forehead. Could it be...?

"Cangyue and Cangyu, get ready to collect the souls! Gu Ming, be careful, that thing is coming after us!" Xia Canyue shouted quickly, her voice punctuated by increasingly rapid breathing.

As soon as the words were spoken, a golden light flew in, seemingly the talisman from before. Behind the talisman was a point of white light, which was being pulled towards Cang Yue and Cang Yu. At this moment, Cang Yue and Cang Yu suddenly leaped up, clasped their hands together, and Cang Yue shouted, "Collect!"

The talisman, along with the white light, was drawn straight into the clasped hands of the two men, and the light vanished without a trace. Where the talisman had been, there was now only a small, bright yellow box, about the size of a walnut, lying still where Cang Yue and Cang Yu's hands had parted.

"They're here!" Xia Canyue's voice rang out, and everyone tensed up.

Xiao Bi, who was beside me, gripped my hand tightly. Judging from Xia Canyue's hard work just now, that thing was definitely not easy to deal with. Moreover, everyone knew that the thing that had chased after us was very likely the murderer who killed Aunt Gao. Even if it wasn't, subduing it would definitely help the whole case and even the events before and after it to some extent. But if this thing was too powerful, Gu Ming and the others might be in danger.

Thinking of this, my body involuntarily trembled. Xiao Bi seemed to sense it, squeezing my hand even tighter and raising an eyebrow to signal me to look across. Only then did I realize that Cang Lang and Cang Zhenzhen also seemed to have drawn their respective thin swords, ready to fight, their eyes fixed on the direction of the window.

Just then, a white shadow flew in through the window with a whoosh. My eyes paused, and sure enough, it was the female ghost from Er Gou Manor, the one Gu Ming had injured. The ghost ignored everyone and charged straight at Cang Yue and Cang Yu, her eyes fixed on the small bright yellow box in their hands. Suddenly, her right hand shot out, her five fingertips forming long, curved animal claws, seemingly incredibly sharp. Cang Yue tucked the box into her bosom, and she and Cang Yu nimbly dodged the blades to either side. The ghost then gathered her right hand in a fierce aura and swung it towards Cang Yue. A loud bang was heard, and the aura seemed to be dispersed, filling the room with a chilling atmosphere. Looking again, I saw Gu Ming had jumped out, using some kind of magic to block the ghost. The ghost clearly recognized Gu Ming, coldly scanning the surrounding people. Her gaze paused when she saw me, not on me, but on Xiao Bi beside me. Her gaze shot over, and Xiao Bi's hand, which was gripping mine, trembled, a flicker of fear and confusion crossing her face.

"If you don't want your soul to be scattered, get lost. You won't be as lucky as last time." Gu Ming said coldly. Xia Canyue, Cang Yue, Cang Yu, Cang Lang, Zhenzhen and others held their magical artifacts and pointed them at the female ghost. The female ghost looked at them, thinking that she couldn't win, and with a flick of her sleeve, she turned around and disappeared without a trace.

"We just let her go like that?" As soon as the female ghost left, Gao Tian, who hadn't spoken until now, came to Xia Canyue's side, helped him up, and asked while checking if he was injured.

"Of course it's not that simple. Just now, when I struck her, I scattered the tracking talisman powder on her body. I got this talisman from Daoist Cangyi. It can penetrate clothing as soon as it touches it," Gu Ming said with a smile.

At this moment, Cang Yue took out the small box from her bosom and gave it to Gu Ming, saying, "The soul is in here."

I was taken aback. It turned out that the white light that followed the golden talisman was Aunt Gao's soul, which must now be placed in this bright yellow box.

"Shall we release the soul for questioning now?" Cang Yue continued to ask.

"No, everyone is tired. Let's get some rest. The white light was weak just now. It must have been very painful for Aunt Gao when she was trapped. Repeatedly summoning her would probably exhaust her energy. So let's ask her again before I send her into reincarnation tonight."

Cang Yue and the others nodded and went back to their rooms. I was about to leave with them when I noticed that Xiao Bi was still holding my hand tightly, and his expression was not good.

"What’s wrong with you?"

"I don't know. When I saw that female ghost just now... she seemed very familiar, but I couldn't quite place her. It felt like... she was very close to me, like a good friend or family member..."

"Relatives? Are you kidding me? That's a ghost!" I slapped Xiao Bi on the head.

"Hey, why are you hitting me so hard? When this body was occupied by Fu Yi, he might have been quite familiar with the female ghost. Didn't you say that Gu Ming seemed to have seen me rescue that female ghost at Er Gou Manor?" Xiao Bi said, rubbing his head in frustration.

"Even if that shadowy figure really is you, why would you feel any sense of kinship with him? Fu Yi has an older sister, so what?"

"How would I know? I just suddenly felt that sensation."

There's definitely something wrong with your sensory organs.

"..." Xiao Bi pursed his lips and walked out with me.

As soon as I stepped out of the house, I saw Xiaobai and Gu Ming whispering to each other. When she saw us come out, she rolled her eyes at me, gave Xiao Bi a strange look, and walked away.

"Xiao Mo, come to my room." Gu Ming beckoned. I saw that he had just put away Aunt Gao's spirit, so I guess he wanted to talk to me about this.

"Wow, you two are living together? So fast!" Xiao Bi exclaimed excitedly, completely unlike her earlier gloomy self.

"Stop talking nonsense. Do you think everyone stares at someone with green eyes like you all day long?"

"You're calling me a pervert?"

"Oh, you've finally come to your senses."

"Tch, I knew I shouldn't have helped you pluck the fox fur. You're so heartless..." Xiao Bi said, shaking his head as he went back to his room to sleep.

I looked up at the sky. The rain had almost stopped, with only a few drops falling occasionally. I hoped the sun would shine soon.

He followed Gu Ming into the house. "What is it?"

"Are you hungry? I noticed you didn't eat much tonight." Gu Ming smiled and took out a large box. "Cheesecake, bought tonight."

"Ah, when did you go? I didn't even notice." She pounced on the cake, her eyes fixed on it.

"You're always staring at Xiaobai, how could you possibly pay attention to me?" Gu Ming said with a wicked grin.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Did you invite me here just to eat cake?"

"Of course, what else do you think there is?"

"Aunt Gao's matter... and the matter of that female ghost..." He stopped eating with his fork and suddenly lost his appetite.

Gu Ming came over and put his arms around me. "Don't think about it. After you finish eating, get a good night's sleep. I'll handle those things."

I smiled and said, "By the way, what did Xiaobai say to you just now?"

“She…” Gu Ming paused, “She said that Xiao Bi had a deep relationship with that female ghost.”

"ah?"

"Demons have an extremely keen sense of smell, and she is a white fox. White foxes have the most developed sensory organs among all demons. So, as soon as the female ghost came in, Xiao Bai sensed the residual aura on her and Xiao Bi. In other words, Fu Yi's aura has a very deep connection, as if they are two parts of the same individual."

"Stop!" I interrupted Gu Ming. "Xiao Bi just told me that she also felt that the female ghost and Fu Yi seemed very close, like family."

Gu Ming frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "There's no rush. We can find out something by summoning Aunt Gao's spirit tonight."

I nodded, wiped my mouth, and said, "I'm full, I'm leaving."

"You're leaving already?"

"So what?"

"Nothing was said to me?"

"kindness?"

"Wasn't I cool when I fought the female ghost tonight?" Gu Ming raised an eyebrow.

"Um... I didn't see it clearly."

"..."

"..."

I woke up at nine in the morning and woke Xiao Bi to have breakfast. But in the kitchen, I saw Xiao Bai squinting her peach blossom eyes and hugging Gu Ming from behind, acting all cute and coquettish, sticking out her tongue and making a cheeky face to annoy me. I turned around and walked away as if I hadn't seen her. Xiao Bi stared at me with wide eyes and asked, "Aren't you angry?"

I said, "I'm beyond furious."

Xiao Bi said, "What a high level of understanding this is..."

At noon, Gu Ming told us, annoyed, that the tracking talisman we stuck on the female ghost stopped working near Er Gou Manor. Xiao Bi said that Daoist Cang Yi was an old swindler, and then dragged Cang Lang away to wander around. Cang Zhenzhen whispered to Deng Fei if he could take her for a stroll too. Deng Fei nodded, and I then realized that he had been very silent these past few days. Had Deng Fei abandoned his usual gentleness and adopted a cold and ruthless approach...?

In the afternoon, my teacher called to inform me that all the reagents were ready and we could start the experiment. I frantically began to organize the first draft of my graduation project experiment that I had finished a few days ago. Xiao Bai suddenly appeared out of nowhere and said two words behind my back with extreme contempt, "Pighead."

So much so that when I saw a little white dog passing by in the "moonlight" at night, I had an urge to pluck its fur. Xiao Bi said that at that moment, there were two little universes about to explode in my eyes...

The sky there must have been very blue on April 25, 2005.

There weren't many customers today, and "Moonlight" closed early. When Gu Ming took out the bright yellow box containing Aunt Gao's soul, my heart ached terribly.

Gao Tian had been waiting in the house for a long time. He was very concerned about the questions he would ask Aunt Gao's soul before sending it to reincarnation. Everyone knew that the breakthrough in the case might lie here, but no one had a happy expression on their face. On the contrary, their faces were gloomy...

In the same room where the soul-summoning ceremony was held yesterday, Xia Canyue sat on the floor, took the bright yellow box from Gu Ming's hand, raised her right index and middle fingers and gently touched the box. The box suddenly changed shape, wrinkling into a yellow paper ball. The next second, the paper ball unfolded, revealing the talisman used during the soul-summoning ceremony yesterday. The talisman instantly disappeared into ashes, and a white light leaped up, gradually taking shape in the blur, floating in the middle of the room. It was Aunt Gao's pale and weak body.

"Aunt Gao..." Looking at her face, which had lost its smile, I couldn't help but cry out.

Aunt Gao turned around, looked at us, and nodded. "Thank you for rescuing me."

"I'm the police officer in charge of your case. What exactly happened that night?" Gao Tian suddenly stepped forward and asked.

Aunt Gao's body trembled, and her pale white soul appeared even more uneasy, undoubtedly recalling the pain of being killed. A sorrowful expression gathered on her face, and two streams of bloody tears flowed down her cheeks. Gu Ming whispered beside me, "Only those who die unjustly and are murdered shed bloody tears."

I sighed, watching as Aunt Gao didn't wipe away her blood and tears, but instead stretched out her trembling hands to hug herself and sobbed, "I don't know, I just went back to my room to rest, and suddenly all the lights went out. A dark figure seemed to emerge from the ground and violently pushed me down onto the bed. Then my body felt like it was on fire, and I only remember screaming, and then... I died..."

"Who imprisoned you?" Gao Tian frowned and continued to ask.

"I don't know. I just felt my soul leave my body, and then everything went dark. It felt like countless mouths were biting me, and my bones felt like they were being pierced. In my unconscious state, I vaguely heard two women talking..."

"Two women? What did they say?"

"I couldn't hear clearly, it sounded like something like... 'Let them inhale it... She saw it but didn't notice... Fake husband... Very successful.'"

Everyone was stunned when they heard this. I was shocked. What do you mean by fake Fu Yi? Could it be that the one possessing Xiao Bi is not Fu Yi? My God!

Suddenly, Gu Ming jumped in front of Aunt Gao, pulled out a dark green talisman, and stuck it to her chest. Aunt Gao's pale, ethereal figure gradually solidified, as if she had come back to life. Before we could ask anything, Gu Ming abruptly pulled up Aunt Gao's sleeve and looked at her arm. There were countless teeth marks of varying depths, the wounds were a rotten black, and in several places, bone was visible—even… the bone had been pierced.

"Oh no!" Xia Canyue exclaimed from the side, "This is because ghosts have sucked our life essence! Who raised so many extremely vicious ghosts?"

Gu Ming looked up and winked at Xia Canyue, saying, "Aunt Gao wouldn't have been killed for no reason. I suspect that Aunt Gao must have seen something, and the ghost mistakenly thought that Aunt Gao would discover some secret and killed her. But later it realized that Aunt Gao was unaware of anything, so it threw her to the ghosts to have her essence absorbed. However, they did not expect that we could forcibly bring her soul back."

"Did you see anything strange that day?" Gao Tian asked hurriedly.

"No... I was managing the resort as usual that day... Oh, right, there were very few guests in the afternoon, and the rain had stopped. The mushrooms on the nearby mountains were in full bloom, so I went with a few employees to pick some. Later, we saw some very pretty wildflowers with a wonderful fragrance, and we thought we'd dig them up and cultivate them at the resort. But instead, we dug up a few pieces of bone. We figured they were from a dead animal, so we didn't think much of it and went back down the mountain..."

“Animal bones? I’m afraid it’s not that simple…” Gu Ming said in a low voice, looked up at Gao Tian, who nodded and turned to leave.