Le 19e cercle de l'Enfer

Chapitre 7

"The weather's changed again," Song Xiaomo murmured, the eerie lullaby seemingly echoing in her ears once more, "...Sunny doll, sunny doll, I hope tomorrow will be a good day. If not, I'll cut your head off..."

Chapter 32: The Ghost Doll Returns (32)

"Did you know Shen Meixuan two years ago?" Song Xiaomo suddenly asked.

"I...I know him." Park Eun-hee's eyes flickered, and she asked with slight surprise, "Why are you asking about this?"

"Oh, it's nothing, just curiosity. I thought a girl as beautiful as her would attract a lot of attention, but unfortunately she was already dead when I came, and I didn't get to see her beautiful face."

“Actually, I’ve only met her a few times. The first time was at the school’s New Year’s party. We were co-hosts that day, and we had a great time working together. During the party, I even invited her to dance… But we haven’t been in touch much since then, since she has a wonderful boyfriend… She is indeed very beautiful and captivating, and she’s also very kind, but now… sigh…” Park Eun-hee sighed with regret.

"Beautiful women have always had tragic fates!" Song Xiaomo sighed. If she hadn't died, he really wanted to see her again.

“After her accident, I went to see her. You can’t imagine the terrible state she was in. Her left eye was crying and her right eye was bleeding. She looked like a ghost… That despair came from the bottom of her bones.” Park Eun-hee suddenly raised her head, her eyes wide open. Song Xiaomo could see the deep sadness buried in her eyes.

"Alright, don't be too sad. There's something I want to give you." With that, Song Xiaomo took out the teru teru bozu (a Japanese doll shaped like a sunny day) that she had been hiding in her bosom and handed it to him.

“This is…” Park Eun-hee’s expression suddenly changed.

"This is one of Shen Meixuan's belongings, which was found by one of my friends."

Park Eun-hee carefully took the small doll and examined it closely. After a while, his lips trembled a few times, and looking out at the vast rainy night, he uttered five words in a low voice: "The ghost doll has returned."

Chapter 33: The Ghost Doll Returns (33)

(10)

Around 5:30 a.m., the sky was already beginning to lighten. A light rain during the night had washed everything clean and refreshed. A faint fragrance of grass floated in the air, making one feel relaxed and happy.

In a secluded path in the back garden of HY University, a middle-aged couple hurriedly slipped into the campus. Their Dalmatian, wagging its tail, strode ahead with an air of smugness. Every day at this time, they would come here to walk the dog. Because the school has a clear rule that dogs are not allowed on campus, they could only sneak in through this hidden spot early in the morning when there were few people around.

"Hey, Tom, don't wander off," the man yelled.

"This little guy is getting more and more disobedient. If the school security guards see him, he'll be fined." The woman shook her head helplessly.

"It's all your fault. Ever since we got this dog, I haven't been able to sleep in properly even once. You always drag me out of bed so early to walk the dog, as if the dog is more important than me." The man's face showed his dissatisfaction.

"Isn't this for your own good? Public service announcements say that if you get up early and exercise early, you can live to be a hundred years old."

"Forget it, I'd rather live twenty years less than suffer like this again."

"Fine then, you can go home and get some sleep now," the woman said coldly, turning her face away.

Seeing that the woman was angry, the man quickly put on a smiling face and said, "Why are you angry so early in the morning? Haven't I been with you all this time, rain or shine?"

"Then what exactly did you mean by those words? For your health, am I wrong to do these things?" The woman pouted, still angry.

"Okay, okay, it was my fault. I promise I won't complain or nag anymore. I'll change, okay?"

The woman rolled her eyes at him, then suddenly looked away and said in surprise, "Tom is gone."

"Don't worry, it won't go far."

"We still need to look for them, but we absolutely can't let those gruff security guards see us. I heard that a few days ago, they killed several dogs and secretly made dog meat hot pot at night. It's outrageous..."

The man chuckled and said, "Haha, now that you mention it, I can almost smell the aroma of meat."

"Seriously, all you do is joke around. Why aren't you looking for someone?" The woman shoved him hard.

“Hey, Tom, Tom…” The man craned his neck and began searching through some bushes.

"Tom, where are you? Come out quickly..."

"Don't be so loud, or the security guards will hear you! But I feel like something's off today, have you smelled anything strange?"

"Really?" The woman wrinkled her nose and said, "I didn't smell anything. You're not implying something because of what I said about dog meat hotpot, are you? Hehe, is it the smell of meat?"

"No, you should know that I'm a gourmet, and my nose is more sensitive than most people's."

"You have a dog's nose, tell me, what's that smell?"

"A bloody smell."

"No way? Don't say such unlucky things so early in the morning." The woman pinched him hard and started shouting again, "Tom, Tom..."

Chapter 34: The Ghost Doll Returns (34)

Just then, deep within the garden woods, several barks suddenly rang out, the sounds intermittent and somewhat like wailing.

"Something might have happened to Tom, let's go check it out." The man grabbed the woman's hand and rushed through a grove of tropical plants toward the source of the sound.

"Could that bloody smell have come from our dog? Could it have been poisoned?"

"Stop guessing, we'll find out when we go see for ourselves." The man's expression was also somewhat tense.

A few minutes later, the two entered a dense forest. Each tree was probably over fifty years old, their towering canopies and leaves almost completely obscuring the sky. Several black birds flapped their wings and darted through the thickets. A cool breeze swept by, causing the branches and leaves to tremble and rustle strangely.

The woman's heart raced, and she gripped the man's arm tightly, saying, "Let's go back."

"Don't be afraid, what could possibly happen in broad daylight? Besides, we haven't found Tom yet." The man tried his best to hide his fear and unease.

"Tom, Tom..."

Just then, some squeaking sounds and rapid breathing came from not far away. The woman pressed herself even closer to the man, gripping his arm tightly. The man took a few deep breaths, mustered his courage, and followed the sound, then parted a thick layer of leaves…

Blood—a stream of bright red blood was flowing from the corner of the spotted dog's mouth.

"Tom, why are you biting the mouse again?" the man said sternly.

"You scared me to death! I thought the security guard killed it... How annoying, come back with me now! Hurry up!" The woman stomped her feet and waved her arms.

The dog timidly put down the mouse in its mouth, tucked its tail, and went back behind the woman.

Several dead rats lay on the ground, staining the ground red and leaving a long trail of blood, which was particularly gruesome. A dying rat was struggling among the corpses, its sharp yellow incisors gleaming wetly and making a sharp "squeak" sound.

Why is there so much blood and rats?

The man followed the trail of blood a few steps forward. The instant his gaze settled, a buzzing sound filled his head, and every pore on his body opened up. He wanted to run, but his legs seemed rooted to the spot, unable to move an inch.

"What's wrong?" The woman ran over, followed by a piercing scream. The sound echoed throughout the forest, and even the air seemed to tremble violently.

The man felt a churning in his stomach and, leaning against a large tree, began to vomit violently.

Before them lay a woman's corpse, and more importantly—she was headless. Several enormous rats were gnawing on bits of flesh near the bloody hole in her neck…

(11)

Around 6 a.m., An Qiqi was having breakfast when his phone suddenly rang urgently. He immediately answered the call.

"Qiqi, this is Xiaonan. A headless female corpse has been found in the back garden of HY University. Team Leader Jin asked me to notify you to come to the scene immediately to investigate..."

Chapter 35: The Ghost Doll Returns (35)

"OK, I'll be right there." An Qiqi put down the bread, grabbed the trench coat on the wall, rushed out of the breakfast shop like a shot, and then jumped into the car.

His beat-up "Hyundai" car chugged a few times and sped off.

An Qiqi drove incredibly fast, almost ecstatic. Of all the cases he'd handled, this was the first time he'd encountered such a serious murder case. He was secretly grateful that Team Leader Jin had given him this opportunity; no matter what, he was determined to make the most of it. This was his second time working on a case at HY University. The dormitory theft case from a few days ago hadn't received much attention from his superiors and had been dropped. However, the beautiful girl named He Zhiying had left a deep impression on him; he wondered if he'd ever see her again.

When his car arrived at the scene of the accident, several police cars were already parked along the roadside. The emergency lights on the roofs flashed alarmingly in the early morning air. A dozen or so police officers were walking around the scene, and long blue tape cordoned off the area. Several officers were pushing away reporters who tried to approach for interviews. Meanwhile, forensic personnel in white coats and masks were carefully collecting evidence in the surrounding area.

An Qiqi got out of the car, showed her police ID, then crossed the cordon and rushed to the scene of the incident.

"Qiqi, you've finally arrived." The short policeman walked towards him anxiously. I forgot to introduce him earlier; his name is Jiang Haonan, and he has always been An Qiqi's partner.

"Xiao Nan, what exactly happened?" An Qiqi asked.

"A woman has been murdered and her head has been cut off. It's difficult to confirm her identity right now," Xiao Nan said gravely. "Qi Qi, why don't you go take a look? The lab technicians are preparing to send her body to the laboratory."

People around were busy filming, and others were collecting fingerprints.

An Qiqi walked over, squatted down in front of the corpse, and stared intently. He saw a plump body lying in a patch of grass, its headless neck empty, the pale neck bone exposed through the mangled flesh. Several large rat carcasses lay haphazardly nearby. Patches of dark red, viscous liquid clung to the damp grass, and the stench of it rose with the moist air, making An Qiqi feel nauseous. He frowned and looked away.

At this moment, Xiao Nan walked over with two middle-aged men and women.

“These two are the first eyewitnesses to the discovery of the body. You can ask them any questions you may have,” Xiao Nan said.

"Hello, may I ask when you discovered the body?" An Qiqi stood up and looked at the two middle-aged women who were still in shock.

"It was around 5:45 a.m.," the woman said first.

What are you doing in this remote place so early?

"Officer, we're here to walk our dog. We come here every day... It's really not easy to find a nice place around here. The school doesn't allow dogs on campus, so we have to choose to come early in the morning."

"Then why did you come to this forest?"

Chapter 36: The Ghost Doll Returns (36)

"Actually, it was our dog who found the body. He likes to catch mice, so we followed him over... Who knew we'd encounter something so horrific? We should have stayed home. Those mice were huge, and they didn't seem scared at all..."

"Oh, I see. Thank you for your support of our work." An Qiqi nodded, then asked Xiao Nan, "What preliminary information do you have now?"

"No valuables were found on the deceased, and there was little evidence at the scene. Many clues that could have been investigated were washed away by last night's heavy rain, so a robbery-murder cannot be ruled out. According to the preliminary investigation by the forensic doctor and other police officers, the deceased was around forty years old, and the time of the murder was likely last night, around 11 p.m. The deceased was first killed by having his throat cut, then dragged here, and then decapitated. The murderer's methods were extremely cruel; he was simply cold-blooded..."

An Qiqi felt a chill run down her spine and asked in confusion, "Why cut off the dead person's head?"

"I don't know why he did it. However, I think there are three possibilities. First, the killer was afraid the police would discover the victim's identity, so he cut off her head to ensure there were no witnesses. Second, the killer knew the victim and had some deep-seated grudge. Third, the killer is a deranged murderer..."

"Right now, the most important thing is to identify the deceased. And also to find... that head!"

"Hehe, Qiqi, you're starting to sound more and more like Team Leader Jin," Xiao Nan chuckled.

"By the way, why isn't Team Leader Jin here?"

“You don’t know about the campus tragedy two years ago, do you? His younger brother, Kim In-hyun, died in this school. It’s said that since then, he has never set foot in HY University again, perhaps because he’s afraid of being reminded of the tragedy,” Xiao Nan said in a low voice.

An Qiqi frowned and thought for a while before saying, "I know a little about that case. I also know that the dormitory we went to last time was where his younger brother's girlfriend lived before she died. Ever since He Zhiying reported the case, I went to the police station's archives to look through the case files from two years ago."

"You really work hard; no wonder Team Leader Jin asked you to handle this case."

"We are partners, and we should work together. This is a great opportunity, and it's time for us to prove ourselves."

"Yes, we must do our best to solve the case and impress Team Leader Jin and our colleagues. It's rare for us to be involved in such a big criminal case, so we must seize this opportunity," Xiao Nan said confidently.

"Okay, we need to contact the deceased's family as soon as possible. Check if anyone has reported to the police in the last two days, including the last few hours, that a family member is missing or has run away from home."

"Okay, sure."

"Also, we need to notify the relevant leaders of HY University to keep an eye out for suspicious individuals on campus, because the fact that the murderer was able to find his way to this place at night indicates that he must be very familiar with it."

“We’ve already notified the relevant school leaders. They’re shocked and have promised to fully cooperate with the police in solving the case. You stay here and keep an eye on things. I’ll go back and report to Team Leader Jin.” Xiao Nan turned and left.

Chapter 37: The Ghost Doll Returns (37)

"Strange, but where is that head?" An Qiqi muttered to himself, glancing back at the corpse on the ground. Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over him, and his whole body felt cold. For some reason, he felt vaguely familiar with the deceased, but he couldn't quite place it.

A moment later, another policeman came over and said, "The school just called to say that their No. 14 girls' dormitory building was left unlocked overnight, and they suspect that the female administrator went missing last night."