Un vent glacial souffle, une aura fantomatique imprègne les lieux, des lys araignées fleurissent dans le monde souterrain, et l'on reste assis, seul

Chapitre 11

Mu Zi looked towards the bathroom, lost in thought.

"It seems things aren't so simple..." Ignoring his younger brother, Duan Lin seemed to understand something.

Such a complicated method was obviously unacceptable to the baby who was thrown into the drain. So this was just a trigger. At that time, Xu Yao was just tense due to simple fear. But what happened next was something that fear could not produce.

What kind of information did those things... the umbilical cord... convey?

Seeing his younger brother's renewed worries, Duan Lin said, "In any case, there is still a glimmer of hope."

"Huh?" Completely baffled by the sudden ease in her brother's tone, Xin Nuo frowned in confusion.

Looking at his palm, Duan Lin said calmly, "After all... compared to ghosts who act without any rhyme or reason, if the cause of a problem lies with a person, then everything is much easier to explain."

"We may not know the reason why a ghost does something, but if it's a human... we still have hope of finding out, and then..."

Duan Lin gave his younger brother a reassuring smile.

The first step is to identify connections between the people involved in the accident.

It seems quite obvious: Xu Yao, Cheng Rui, Lu Xianglai, Mao Weiwei, and... Bo Xiaoxue should also be included, right?

Xu Yao, Cheng Rui, and Lu Xianglai were college classmates. Mao Weiwei is Lu Xianglai's wife, while Bo Xiaoxue is Xu Yao's junior and secret lover, and is currently pregnant with Xu Yao's child.

Speaking of children, this is another exceptionally striking aspect of this incident.

From Xu Yao's initial discovery of the infant's corpse and hearing its cries, to Cheng Rui's supposed sighting of the child's feet when Xu Yao committed suicide; from Cheng Rui delivering the baby for the Lu couple, to the Lu couple's erratic behavior and ultimately Mao Weiwei's suicide; from the extra child to the missing umbilical cord…

Is this... caused by the curse of the child corpse?

For some reason, if one imagines these events as the cause of the corpse raiser's hatred for these people, Duan Lin can sense that person's attachment to the child... or perhaps to life itself.

Does the umbilical cord symbolize life? Or does it symbolize the connection between mother and child?

What kind of person was he, what kind of feelings did he have, and what was his purpose in hating those people?

"Senior...you, Lu Xianglai, and Xu Yao are classmates and good friends from university, right?" The next day, Xin Nuo asked Cheng Rui directly.

"That's right." Cheng Rui asked calmly, looking at the patient's information in his hand.

"So... are you all hated by someone in the same way?" Unable to think of a way to investigate, Xin Nuo chose the most direct method: asking the person directly.

"Why...why would you ask that?" Cheng Rui's gaze suddenly sharpened, shooting straight at the junior behind him.

Shrugging, Xin Nuo didn't feel there was anything wrong with it.

"Actually, I talked to my brother about what happened during this period yesterday. Actually... my brother has a bit of a premonition about this, and his friend seems to have the same feeling. Yesterday, his friend said that what happened during this period might be a curse."

Cheng Rui shuddered, struggling to control his trembling body and trying to keep his voice steady, "What does that mean?"

"That person said it was raising corpses. Using the corpses of adopted infants to achieve the purpose of cursing enemies, the kind of fierce effect is very similar to raising corpses."

"It sounds a bit weird, doesn't it? I only heard about it for the first time yesterday, but I looked it up online yesterday and I didn't expect it to be true."

Xin Nuo scratched her head and looked up at Cheng Rui opposite her, only to find that he had already started working again at some point, and she didn't know if he had heard what she said.

"Um... senior..."

"Stop talking! Xin Nuo, you want me to believe that all this stuff about spirit children is happening? That's absurd! We're doctors; we use scientific methods to heal patients. If there really were so many supernatural things, why would everyone stay home and chant Buddhist scriptures when they're sick? Okay, now help me prepare the materials for today's meeting!"

Xin Nuo opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but seeing that his senior clearly didn't want to continue the topic, he had no choice but to nod and back down.

A curse? Are you kidding me?!

With his eyes fixed on the file in his hand, Cheng Rui couldn't concentrate at all, and he felt his heart pounding wildly.

Rather than saying I don't believe it, I'd say I'm unwilling to believe it.

Although the education of this era is atheistic and I don't believe in ghosts and gods, it is still the East. When I can't understand certain phenomena, I naturally think of the gods and ghosts passed down from my ancestors.

The thought of a ghost had crossed Cheng Rui's mind more than once.

From the night Xu Yao committed suicide, when I first heard that crying sound, and then...

Mao Weiwei committed suicide. As Lu Xianglai's good friend, even though I was off duty yesterday, I still accompanied him to the hospital.

Examining corpses is the job of a forensic pathologist. Looking at the bloodstains still scattered inside and outside the ward, Cheng Rui could easily imagine how gruesome Mao Weiwei's death must have been. He was glad he hadn't chosen to be a forensic pathologist. Holding back Lu Xianglai, who was fainting at the sight of blood, Cheng Rui was filled with worry.

It was clearly suicide.

The deceased pierced his own genitals and bled to death. This method of death was unprecedented and quite bizarre, not to mention the umbilical cord.

Cheng Rui then revealed that the baby Mao Weiwei lost during childbirth did not have an umbilical cord.

"We initially thought the umbilical cord had detached inside the mother's body and might have atrophied..."

The police didn't make things too difficult for themselves, because no one doubted that the deceased had committed suicide, especially since the deceased had just undergone a mental evaluation that afternoon, and she already had mental problems.

Therefore, some people have made a reasonable and touching speculation about this way of dying: the mother missed her child so much that she ultimately chose to die in this way.

But Cheng Rui couldn't think that way. For a moment, looking at the snow-white ward and the glaring red on the snow-white floor, he thought of the night Xu Yao died not long ago.

One night, in a hospital room, Xu Yao frantically pricked herself with needles until she jumped off the building.

Those red feet... Perhaps Bo Xiaoxue, who fainted yesterday, didn't see that there was an invisible presence in front of the crazed Mao Weiwei.

Thinking of this, Cheng Rui stared at the pool of blood, as if he could see a pair of feet on it.

Xin Nuo's words today struck a nerve with Cheng Rui. He had been harboring a fear for a long time but dared not confront it, and now he had spoken it aloud.

Child... umbilical cord... enemy?

It's true that I, Xu Yao, and Lu Xianglai were university classmates. Although Mao Weiwei was Lu Xianglai's wife, she had no connection to me or Xu Yao. Yet, she mysteriously committed suicide yesterday. If we're talking about a curse... she was also part of that curse.

Bo Xiaoxue seems to have even less to do with these things, except that she is Xu Yao's ex-girlfriend.

She called him her ex-girlfriend because during their last meeting, Xu Yao casually mentioned that they had broken up. Since they had broken up, they had no further connection.

So, in this whole affair, are the only two people connected to the curse left to me and Lu Xiang?

Will a curse... also befall me?

Cheng Rui clenched his fist.

Chapter Eight Red Feet

I've been attending quite a few funerals lately. Xu Yao's funeral just ended a while ago, and today it's the funeral of Xu Yao's friend's wife.

This person had nothing to do with him, and Duan Lin originally didn't need to go. However, thinking about his younger brother's upcoming trip, recalling what happened at Xu Yao's funeral, and remembering what Mu Zi had mentioned about the corpse-raising technique yesterday, Duan Lin was uneasy and decided to go along. Mu Zi, for reasons unknown, also came along, but his presence actually reassured Duan Lin.

Today's funeral was nothing special. Lu Xianglai was completely dazed from the grief of losing his wife. He stood in the relatives' section with his parents and let the guests mourn. His twin sons were held by Lu's relatives. They were completely unaware of their mother's death and were playing happily, babbling away.

They didn't know what death was. But there were those even more tragic than them, their brothers whom they had never met, who didn't even know what life was. After taking one last look at the mourning hall, Duan Lin left.

It was a bit cloudy today, but precisely because of the overcast weather, it was exceptionally cool. So the three of us decided to walk back, and then take the bus when we got tired. People around us went about their business as usual.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Duan Lin suddenly heard a child's voice.

The three exchanged glances. The wind carried the children's laughter to their ears, and Duan Lin then realized that the children were singing a strange nursery rhyme: "It's raining, it's raining, everyone else is using an umbrella, but I have a big head."

Duan Lin sounds like that, but this word...

Completely baffled, Duan Lin found the children singing happily. Following the sound, he discovered it originated from a kindergarten. Unexpectedly, he spotted a police car outside. The familiar license plate prompted him to search for the car's owner…

"Mr. Jin Zi," Duan Lin greeted him.

Seemingly surprised by the sudden appearance of the three, Jin Zi quickly returned the greeting, "Hello, this is...."

Seeing Jin Zi's gaze fixed on the black clothes worn by the three of them, Duan Lin knew he understood.

Without saying a word, Duan Lin looked at Jin Zi and said, "Mr. Jin Zi, you're here today too, right? I saw your car."

"Um."

Looking at the man who silently agreed, Xin Nuo suddenly smiled, "At first, I thought Mr. Jin Zi was a tough guy, with a bad temper, but after getting to know him, I found out that Mr. Jin Zi is really a good person."

"Oh? This is the first time I've heard of this. How did you know?" Mr. Jinzi looked at Xin Nuo with interest.

"For example, attending a funeral. Mr. Jin Zi and my senior only had case-related dealings with each other, but you all came to pay your respects."

"Hehe... Is that all?" Jin Zi laughed. "I think police officers and doctors are very similar in this respect. Doctors examine the illness, while we examine the case. Doctors are happy to cure patients, and if that person has any problems, they might want to go and see them. We police officers are the same."

"So... this has nothing to do with whether I'm a good person or not, but you guessed right, I used to be a grumpy and stubborn guy who was hard to mess with, and I caused trouble for the police station every few days."

"Oh? I can't tell. What caused Mr. Jin Zi to become like this?"

"Hehe, child, I've become more mature since having children. After all, I'm a father now, and I need to think things through more carefully."

Listening to Jin Zi speak with a smile, Xin Nuo noticed that the man's expression was always gentler than usual when he mentioned his son. Father... that's still something very distant from her.

However, when Han Xinnuo suddenly remembered that Jin Zi was currently in a kindergarten, she thought of a possibility.

"Ah! Speaking of which... Mr. Jin Zi, the place you're standing right now is a kindergarten, huh? Hehe, an older man like you standing here is easy to misunderstand!"

"Xin Nuo! What are you saying! This is obviously Mr. Jin Zi's son's kindergarten!" Afraid that his younger brother's rudeness would embarrass Jin Zi, Duan Lin hurriedly interrupted his brother, but when he turned around, he found his brother's eyes full of mockery. He then realized that his brother was just joking. Looking back at Jin Zi, he was also smiling.

"You guessed it, this is where my son has his class. He hasn't finished school yet, so I'll wait for him for a bit." As she spoke, Jin Zi turned her gaze back to the children playing in the kindergarten.

"Oh? Which one is your son?" Imitating Jin Zi, Xin Nuo also climbed onto the kindergarten fence.

There were about ten children inside.

"Is it the last one?" Mu Zi, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.

"Mm." Jin Zi nodded.

"Wow, Mu Zi, you're amazing! You're usually so quiet, but it seems like there's nothing you can't guess right!" Han Xin Nuo patted Mu Zi's shoulder.

Mu Zi simply smiled ambiguously, subtly avoiding Han Xin Nuo's hand.

Duan Lin stood aside, looking at the child Mu Zi had mentioned. He was no different from the other children, except that he was a little shorter.

"He's quite lively, but he doesn't look as tall as Mr. Jin Zi," Duan Lin commented casually.

"I wasn't very tall when I was a child, and my wife had a difficult childbirth. My wife..." The man's eyes darkened as he said this. "...She's gone."

Suddenly, Duan Lin understood why Mr. Jin Zi cared so much about his son. His wife was gone, and he and his son were all he had to rely on.

Duan Lin thought of his maternal grandfather. Although this might seem disrespectful to his father, he had the deepest affection for his grandfather. It was a pity that his grandfather was no longer with him; if he were still here, he would love him so much more…

Duan Lin fully understands Jin Zi's feelings.

"You don't need to look at me like that. I'm very happy now. Xiao Bao—my son—gives me a gift every day." Jin Zi smiled as she looked at Duan Lin, who was trying to pretend not to care but whose expression betrayed his sympathy.

"oh?"

"He called me 'Dad' for the first time, wrote his first word, drew his first picture... I get a gift every day." Looking at her son in the garden, Jin Zi's expression was calm and content. Suddenly, she remembered something and showed a straw rope-like thing on her wrist. "Look at this, it was also given to me by my son, hehe."

The dark, rope-like thing was worn happily by the man; that was his father…