Le 19e cercle de l'Enfer

Chapitre 39

"Okay, I was just kidding, don't take it seriously."

As they walked and talked, Song Xiaomo held her shoulders and said earnestly, "Zhiying, promise me you won't leave me without a word again, okay?"

He Zhiying was slightly taken aback, then nodded.

When they reached the girls' dormitory, the two said their goodbyes reluctantly. Song Xiaomo knelt down and helped He Zhiying tie her loose shoelaces: "Zhiying, I will take good care of you from now on."

He Zhiying felt a warmth in her heart, and tears streamed down her face.

Song Xiaomo turned and left, but then he heard He Zhiying calling him from behind. He turned back, and He Zhiying took his hand again, staring at his face for a long time before saying, "From now on, you must take good care of yourself. For your sake and for mine, no matter what happens, you must face it with strength..." Two lines of tears rolled down her face, but they were still warm when they dripped onto the back of Song Xiaomo's hand.

Section 105: Chapter Twenty-Two: The Headless Female Corpse at the Bottom of the Lake (1)

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Headless Female Corpse at the Bottom of the Lake

The weather was sunny and bright, and all the gloom gradually dissipated with the appearance of He Zhiying.

The school's travel club organized a treasure hunt in the countryside and agreed to camp overnight at Huangquan Beach. Huangquan is a large lake about an hour's drive from the city, and Huangquan Beach is essentially a lake beach, now developed into a famous tourist attraction. Legend has it that in a certain dynasty in ancient times, there was a large village here. One year, it suffered a severe drought, resulting in a complete crop failure and countless villagers starving to death, alarming the emperor. The emperor personally inspected the area and dreamed that night of a spring in a certain place. He then ordered a large-scale excavation, and the water source was finally found, gradually flowing into a lake. Thus, later generations called this lake Huangquan (Imperial Spring).

Song Xiaomo and Park Eun-hee both registered for the event in advance. Originally, Song Xiaomo also planned to register He Zhiying, but gave up because of her past disappearance.

Around 1 p.m., Song Xiaomo and Park Eun-hee set off together, following the large group into the depths of the dense forest, heading towards Huangquan Beach.

Huangquan Beach is surrounded by mountains. Stepping into the valley, you can see a lush forest. Behind the forest, a light mist rises and spreads all the way to the hillside behind, gradually turning into thin clouds, just like a Chinese ink painting.

Wildflowers bloom in the mountains, ancient trees reach for the sky, and clouds and mist rise. Standing on the top of the hill, the view is expansive, with a vast lake stretching out before you.

Park Eun-hee struck a pose, while Song Xiaomo's digital camera kept clicking away.

Led by the tour guide, the group followed the route on the map, traversing several small hills, and arrived at the lake beach.

The students chattered as they set up their tents. The university students were quite open; several couples in the group openly pitched two-person tents. The others seemed used to it and pretended not to notice. Song Xiaomo and Park Eun-hee shared a tent under a large rock, but compared to the other couples, they looked somewhat awkward.

"Alright, everyone gather together, the treasure hunt is about to begin!" the person in charge called out to everyone.

Song Xiaomo and Park Eun-hee emerged from the tent and stood among the crowd.

"Let me give you a brief introduction... This treasure hunt is designed to cultivate everyone's spirit of adventure. We've placed three treasures around Huangquan Beach, but we'll keep you in suspense for now..." the person in charge began, repeatedly adding, "For everyone's safety, please do not venture alone into secluded deep forests, and especially do not row boats into the middle of the lake... Everyone must gather here before dark. If you encounter any emergency, remain calm and keep in touch with me immediately..."

The college students were full of energy, and as soon as the person in charge finished speaking, they dispersed, fearing that someone else would get there first.

"So? Are you coming with me, or...?" Park Eun-hee asked.

"Forget it, how are we going to divide the treasure between the two of us?" Song Xiaomo laughed.

"Yeah, why should I share what I found with you?" Park Eun-hee didn't mince words. "Let's split up!"

"OK, let's see who finds the treasure first. Good luck!"

"We can keep in touch by phone anytime."

"Okay!" Song Xiaomo turned and walked in another direction.

Huangquan Beach was bustling with tourists. Song Xiaomo assumed the treasure wouldn't be hidden right under the tourists' noses, so he turned his attention to some relatively secluded spots. Along the way, he saw many unfamiliar and beautiful sights, but he had no clue about the treasure. Furthermore, he encountered several students; some were circling around the crevices of rocks, some were climbing ancient trees, some were tapping and poking in the grass with branches, and some were even using tools resembling Luoyang shovels to dig around in the pits…

Song Xiaomo found nothing in the valley; almost every place he could look for had been targeted. Unbeknownst to him, he arrived at the lakeside.

The lake water is a deep blue, stretching to the horizon. A serene atmosphere prevails, with a few small boats dotting the center of the lake, and occasionally, water birds flutter up from the reeds along the shore.

Completely immersed in this natural beauty, Song Xiaomo simply closed her eyes and felt the power of nature.

Suddenly, he heard someone calling his name.

He could vaguely make out that the sound was coming from the reeds on his right.

"Song...Xiao...Mo...ah..."

"Who?" Song Xiaomo felt a chill run down her spine and suddenly stood up.

"Song... Xiao... Mo... Ah..." Her voice was ethereal, like a wisp of mist, elusive and unpredictable.

"Who are you? Why are you calling me?" Song Xiaomo gasped, but then thought, could it be that someone is in trouble? Could this be a distress signal?

Thinking of this, he mustered all his strength and shouted several times towards the reeds, "Hey—what's wrong? Do you need help?"

A gust of wind blew by, and the reeds rippled like waves, seemingly drowning out the sound.

"What should we do? If we waste time, someone might die!" Song Xiaomo paced anxiously on the lakeshore. Seeing that no one was around, she took out her phone to call the person in charge, only to find that her phone had no signal at all.

"This godforsaken place!"

Just then, he saw a small boat drifting by on the river.

"Thank God!" Song Xiaomo mustered some courage, waded through the shallow water by the lake, tried to grab the edge of the boat, and then stumbled and climbed onto the small boat.

The boat had oars. Back in his hometown, Song Xiaomo had participated in many dragon boat races with his grandfather, so rowing was second nature to him. He started rowing and propelled the boat forward at top speed…

There were many reeds, so lush and tall that they were taller than a person. From a distance, the fluffy reed flowers looked like a pure white expanse.

The small boat gradually glided into the reeds, startling several wild ducks which scurried about, quacking loudly.

Song Xiaomo used his oar to part the reeds, but it was too deep inside, like a maze. He roughly estimated that this reed thicket growing along the riverbank covered at least several dozen acres, much like a guerrilla warfare scene in a Chinese movie. Finding someone here would be harder than climbing to heaven.

The sun set, and the sky gradually darkened.

Song Xiaomo, weary and exhausted, looked worriedly at the dense reeds and said, "I'm sorry, I've done my best. Please don't blame me. I have to get back before dark!"

"Maybe it's nothing, just my imagination!" he comforted himself.

Then he steered the boat and began rowing towards the shore.

Just as the boat was about to dock, he suddenly saw a white object floating on the water not far away.

Section 106: Chapter Twenty-Two: The Headless Female Corpse at the Bottom of the Lake (2)

"What's that?" Song Xiaomo asked curiously, and unconsciously rowed the boat over.

The white object was pulled up, and upon closer inspection, he realized it was a small ceramic vase with blue patterns on it. It was exquisitely crafted and looked quite valuable.

A thought flashed through his mind: a treasure!

Song Xiaomo was overjoyed, feeling like he had struck gold. But for some reason, the joy was fleeting. The moment he touched the cold, hard ceramic vase, a sense of foreboding suddenly washed over him.

He fiddled with the small vase, trembling, and discovered there was still a stopper on it. As soon as he pulled out the stopper, a putrid, dead smell rushed to his nose, choking him so much that he almost fainted.

A small crumpled piece of paper slipped out of the bottle. He smoothed it out, opened it, and his eyes widened immediately.

A few lines of shocking blood-red words were scrawled crookedly on the white paper: "Song Xiaomo, I'm so lonely. Come down and keep me company, okay?"

Signed: He Zhiying!

"No, this isn't real! It's a hallucination! Who the hell is playing this prank?" Song Xiaomo's head was throbbing with pain, and she tore the white paper to shreds. Memories of that morning replayed in her mind, bit by bit. Wasn't that He Zhiying? Could the girl I saw that morning be He Zhiying's spirit? How could this be?

The shredded pieces of white paper rippled gently in the lake, gradually piecing together to form a human head, which then transformed into He Zhiying's face, smiling eerily... After a while, it clearly reflected Song Xiaomo's pale face...

There are people in the water!

Song Xiaomo felt like he was on the verge of collapse. He gave a bitter laugh and murmured, "Zhiying, I told you, no matter what, I will take good care of you!" After saying that, he jumped into the lake with a splash.

The lake water was bone-chillingly cold. Song Xiaomo felt his body slowly sinking downwards. He opened his eyes and desperately tried to push himself out of the water with both hands.

After a while, his face touched long water plants, indicating that the water had reached the bottom. The water near the bank wasn't very deep, but it was murky with silt and sand. He could only hold his breath and rely on the strength of his hands to grope for every second. Through the blur, he saw a terrifying face: two bloodshot eyes bulging out like goldfish, a tightly closed mouth, and a face that had turned a deep purple—that face belonged to himself.

A tremendous fear surged through Song Xiaomo's body like an electric current. He was so frightened that he swallowed several mouthfuls of water, then sprang to the surface.

He took a few breaths, but his emotions, which had just calmed down, suddenly became chaotic again. Suddenly, a green sneaker floated into his field of vision. Good heavens, weren't those the shoes He Zhiying had worn that morning?

Why is this happening? Is she really underwater?

Song Xiaomo couldn't help but shiver in the lake water. After resting for a moment, he took a deep breath and dived back underwater...

To his disappointment, he repeatedly touched the mud and sand at the bottom of the lake, and even a small fish slipped through his fingers. He Zhiying, where are you?

Suddenly, he felt a tingling sensation in the sole of his foot, as if something was pulling at it. What was it? Anxiety grew wildly in Song Xiaomo's heart like weeds.

He was terrified and instinctively began to scratch and claw wildly, but he couldn't shake it off—it definitely wasn't a human hand! In desperation, he bent down and reached out to tear it away. Gradually, the thing was pulled up along with the mud and sand; damn it, it was some seaweed that had gotten tangled around his feet.

Song Xiaomo breathed a sigh of relief, but then suddenly felt something was off—there seemed to be something else tangled in the seaweed. He pulled again and touched something soft and squishy.

His intuition told him that it was a person's arm.

At this moment, Song Xiaomo had completely forgotten his fear. He used all his strength to pull himself up by the arm and slowly emerged from the water. Before he could even take a few breaths of fresh air, he heard screams coming from the shore.

His eyes widened – it was a headless female corpse!

With everyone's help, the woman's body was quickly pulled from the water. She was wearing one green sneaker, while the other was floating on the surface. Horrifyingly, she was headless, and her flesh was white from being submerged in water, likely due to being eaten by fish. Her neck was also pitted and scarred. The crowd erupted in commotion. Some female students, terrified, quickly hid in their boyfriends' arms, while some bolder boys cautiously gathered around.

"Xiao Mo, what's going on? We've been looking for you!" Park Eun-hee squeezed through the crowd.

Song Xiaomo sat slumped on the shore, stunned, and suddenly hugged the female corpse, pressing its empty neck against her face. It all happened so suddenly that no one could comprehend it.

"He Zhiying, wake up, wake up! Where's your head?" he roared, large tears sliding down his eyelids.

"Xiao Mo, calm down, what happened!" Park Eun-hee and two students struggled to separate him from the female corpse.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't take good care of you, I didn't protect you... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Song Xiaomo kept pounding his chest and tearing at his hair. He felt unprecedented pain, which gnawed at his nerves uncontrollably, and he was in so much pain that he almost fainted.

Section 107: Chapter Twenty-Three: The Mystery (1)

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Mystery

An Qiqi stared grimly at the corpse. He slowly crouched down, put on gloves, and took off his green sneaker. The shoe was still entangled with lush green seaweed. In that instant, he felt a piercing pain in his heart, as if it were shattering. He had weathered many storms, witnessed countless horrific events, and faced numerous perilous situations, but none of them could compare to the desolation he felt at this moment.

The surrounding waters were vast, making on-site evidence collection extremely difficult for the police. Of course, the approaching nightfall further complicated the investigation. Considering all these factors, An Qiqi ordered the surrounding crowd to evacuate, and the body was taken back to the police station for expert identification. Song Xiaomo, severely traumatized, was also taken to the hospital for examination.

Why did Song Xiaomo act this way? Was he given some kind of hint? All the eyewitnesses on the shore confirmed that when they arrived to look for Song Xiaomo, they happened to witness him pulling the body out of the lake. Why was the timing so coincidental? An Qiqi couldn't help but recall He Zhiying's disappearance, which seemed to have happened several days ago. Judging from the body, the victim had been dead for at most two or three days. Why had the murderer hesitated to act? Was he waiting for Song Xiaomo's actions?

An Qiqi, along with two police officers and Xiao Nan, searched the scene of the incident in silence.

"Is Song Xiaomo the murderer?" Xiao Nan broke the silence.

Do you think the murderer will eventually be exposed after committing the crime?

"But this situation is very unfavorable to him. He kept claiming that he met He Zhiying early this morning, but now they've discovered He Zhiying's body, and the body is at least a day old. How credible do you think his words are?"

Before An Qiqi could speak, Xiao Nan asked again, "Did Song Xiaomo see a person or a ghost this morning?"

"Don't joke around. We haven't even confirmed if this headless corpse is He Zhiying's yet. I firmly believe that He Zhiying wouldn't have died so easily."

"I also hope this is just a false alarm, but in fact, why did Song Xiaomo say such strange things, and act even more strangely?"

"Could someone be guiding him, subtly influencing him? Could it be hypnosis?" An Qiqi recalled a book on criminology she had read before, which described how highly intelligent criminals from abroad used cues to "implant" certain wills and images into the minds of hypnotized individuals, activating them at specific moments to influence or even control their consciousness. These cues might be geometric shapes, colors, or even a piece of music; when someone accidentally encounters them in the real world, they will involuntarily accept the control of these symbols.

"Yes, that's entirely possible."

An Qiqi mentally calculated all the recent strange events: "He Zhiying and Song Xiaomo both saw ghosts, but in the end, nothing happened? Rather than saying it was their hallucination, it's more likely that they were hypnotized, and someone implanted certain images into their brains."

"According to your theory, this is a trap set by someone to make Song Xiaomo's predicament even more perilous, essentially an attempt to destroy his hope. But on the other hand, have you considered the possibility that Song Xiaomo might have killed all those people? That he was manipulated into killing them without even knowing it…"