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 14

A blast of cold air hit him, a dry, chilly air unique to this place, like the breath of a dead man. Cheng Rui closed the door and looked at the place where he would be staying for the night.

That's right, it's temporary; he'll be sleeping here tonight.

"That's not all. The most important thing is that you have to hide. If a ghost can smell your scent, you're doomed. Only when it can't find you will the ghost obediently use your substitute as you."

"The best way to hide... is to fake being dead."

"After you've finished all the preparations, you must find a place with heavy yin energy before nightfall, mingle among the dead, and use their yin energy to mask your yang energy..."

His hands and feet began to tremble, and he was somewhat scared, but when Cheng Rui thought of the horrific scene when Xu Yao and the others died, he couldn't care less about anything else!

Although it's very cold, I specially prepared thick clothes for today. It's just for one night... I won't die, right?

Closing his eyes to avoid looking at the various corpses displayed in the room, Cheng Rui gritted his teeth and resolutely lay down on one of the beds.

It got dark.

Xin Nuo lay in bed and found herself completely unable to move.

As the blood in the incense burner decreased, the stench of blood in the room grew stronger, making one want to vomit! Even his senior's actions—his senior had actually chosen him to be a scapegoat! How could he do such a despicable thing!

But what can we do now? We can't speak or move, and we can't call the police... What should we do next?

Xin Nuo looked at the sky outside the opposite window: It's getting dark.

So, it seems that Xu Yao and the others all died at night?

There is some truth to the traditional belief that ghosts are more likely to appear at night.

Nighttime is when they are at their strongest.

He began to feel afraid, listening carefully to the sounds outside. Now, even the slightest rustle could make his heart stop.

The smoke from the incense burner was very even, and the shadows of the smoke were reflected on the wall like a thin veil.

suddenly!

Staring intently at the opposite wall, Xin Nuo held her breath. The shadow of the incense burner on the wall... moved.

The once evenly distributed smoke suddenly became chaotic, as if reflecting Xin Nuo's current mood!

Something came in! He heard the door close softly, so softly it was almost inaudible. Then came equally soft footsteps.

What should I do? What should I do?

When the senior students saw that thing, at least they could still move, but what about her? Xin Nuo was horrified to discover that she couldn't even tremble!

Ghosts...do they have shadows too?

Unable to call for help, unable to move, unable even to tremble, the young man could only stare in terror at the opposite wall. A shadow had appeared on the wall, a huge and menacing shadow that blocked out the moonlight from the window.

The last glimmer of light has vanished.

Xin Nuo heard a rustling sound. Was it clothes? No... how could it be a ghost! He dared not breathe and could only listen nervously to the eerie sound.

What is that thing doing?

It sounded like something was being pulled out... Wait! Pulled out?

At that moment, he suddenly remembered Mao Weiwei, who had pulled the umbilical cord out of her own body...

Her heart pounded. Xin Nuo saw that huge shadow reappear on the opposite wall. It was slowly descending, and it raised its hands, holding long, thin things...

Umbilical cord?! The word immediately jumped to Xin Nuo's lips.

Unable to resist, he could only feel something cold slowly touching his neck, his head being lifted up, and then the thin thing suddenly tightened!

It hurts so much! I can't breathe... That thing was so strong that it almost dragged me off the bed!

Are all "ghosts" this powerful?

No... I don't want to... I don't want to die... Brother...

Tears streamed down her face, and Xin Nuo's head slumped heavily to the ground.

He didn't see the other person's face until he closed his eyes; the last thing he saw was a pair of pale hands...

Wait... this...

Xin Nuo fainted.

Duan Lin received a call from the police station.

"Are you Han Xinnuo's brother? Please come to XX Hospital..."

When Duan Lin arrived, he was surprised to see his father, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, while his stepmother stood aside, watching him warily.

"Ah Lin, when...did you get here?"

His father looked at him, his tone hesitant and slightly... nervous?

"Xin Nuo asked me to come over. He said his friend encountered something strange... By the way, how is Xin Nuo?" Still concerned about his younger brother, Duan Lin decided to ignore his father and stepmother's attitude.

"You're still asking how he is? You...is it you...?"

Suddenly, his stepmother pointed at him and shouted. Duan Lin looked at his stepmother in surprise, only to find that as soon as she saw him look up, she quickly shut up and lowered her head.

Sure enough... something's not right. My stepmother not only dislikes me, she's also afraid of me...

As Duan Lin was thinking, the door opposite suddenly opened and two doctors came out, breaking the awkward atmosphere. His father and stepmother hurriedly went to greet them.

"Doctor, how is my son?"

"He hasn't woken up yet." Having seen so many anxious family members, the doctor adjusted his glasses knowingly. "Don't worry, he's just in shock due to excessive fright and an overdose of anesthesia. He's been given a neutralizing agent, and after a night's rest, he'll probably be fine tomorrow."

Seeing that Mr. and Mrs. Han finally breathed a sigh of relief, the doctor smiled and said, "You can go in and see him in a little while. The nurses are doing the final treatment for him now. I still need to go and inform the police officer that the patient is alright."

Police officers? The doctor's words reminded Duan Lin that... he hadn't asked his younger brother why he had been sent to the hospital as a patient. After learning that his brother was alright, Duan Lin decided to ask the police officers first. He glanced at Mu Zi beside him, and Mu Zi slowly followed.

Before leaving, Mu Zi glanced at Duan Lin's parents, smiled slightly, and then, under the tense glare of Duan's mother, disappeared into the hospital corridor with Duan Lin.

Chapter Ten: The Truth

The key to solving the puzzle...

It's definitely in Jin Zi's hands!

"Attacked? Attacked by Bo Xiaoxue?" The answer from the police officer was so shocking that Duan Lin was speechless.

"That's right." The police officer who answered his question also looked surprised.

Duan Lin remembered him; he often followed behind Mr. Jin Zi, and it seemed everyone called him Xiao Cao.

Arms crossed, Officer Cao frowned. "Come to think of it... it's really unbelievable..."

"We had long suspected Bo Xiaoxue, so we had been following her. We followed her to Cheng Rui's house. By the way, your brother was found at Cheng Rui's house."

"When we rushed in, your brother had already passed out, and Bo Xiaoxue was looking at her hands, repeatedly saying, 'I killed him, I killed him...' The situation was extremely..."

At this point, the police officer showed Duan Lin a photo. "Look, this is what your brother looked like when he was found. His neck was covered in cassette tapes. It seems that the woman used these to strangle your brother. The tapes were thin, but even so, it must have been quite a struggle! Later... we found them in Cheng Rui's room."

"That?" Duan Lin asked, puzzled.

"Hmm." With his index fingers and thumbs spread apart, Xiao Cao formed a rectangle with his hands. "It's a videotape."

"?!"

"It was Lu Xiang who filmed it. The filming content was Xu Yao's funeral. It seems that it was filmed in a fixed place in the funeral hall from the beginning. The initial content was nothing special, but later..." The voice suddenly became softer, and Xiao Cao whispered, "Do you know, the umbilical cord in Xu Yao's coffin was put in by Bo Xiaoxue."

"What?!" Duan Lin exclaimed immediately.

"Although she said she didn't remember much, as if she were possessed... it was true. We immediately took blood samples and then discovered something even more shocking: Bo Xiaoxue was the mother of the stillborn baby Xu Yao found in the drainpipe!"

"What?!" Duan Lin was even more surprised.

"Not only that, after further investigation, we discovered that the room where the deceased Xu Yao lived was occupied by Bo Xiaoxue, who was the tenant on the floor above it!"

Baby…house…Duan Lin suddenly had a crazy idea…

"Could it be...?"

"Bo Xiaoxue put the baby in there, and then she used the pipes upstairs to transmit the baby's cries to Xu Yao's house. Could that be it?" Mu Zi's voice rang out.

Duan Lin glanced at Mu Zi beside him and noticed that Mu Zi's expression remained calm.

Xiao Cao nodded in surprise, "Brother, you guessed right! That's amazing."

Mu Zi... had already discovered it...

Duan Lin suddenly remembered what happened on his first day staying at Xu Yao's house. He had asked Mu Zi if she had seen anything, and Mu Zi's answer seemed to be that there was nothing there...

I see, but...

"Miss Bo...isn't she pregnant?"

Hesitantly, Duan Lin pointed out the contradiction.

Based on the number of days the child was discovered at the time, it was impossible for Bo Xiaoxue to be pregnant.

"That's fake. After examination, Bo Xiaoxue was not pregnant at all. She even..." At this point, Xiao Cao lowered her head and said, "She can't get pregnant at all. It seems that because of that child, she was told that she can never have children again."

"In other words, her pregnancy was an illusion. The psychiatrist said that if a person is very certain that she is pregnant and desperately wants to be pregnant, her body will eventually change due to her psychology, and she may even experience various symptoms that should be present during pregnancy. Morning sickness is only mild. I've heard of people who have had delusions that their bellies actually grew bigger..."

"Mental strength is truly profound." The police officer remarked, then his expression suddenly turned serious. "She deliberately stayed at Xu Yao's house, attempting to mentally crush him."

This matter is settled; next are the other people, she was present when each of them died, and she was the only person present at the time... Now your brother is added to the list... Basically, the police have already listed her as a suspect.

"What was the motive for the murder?" Duan Lin asked, stunned.

"Xu Yao's actions were quite obvious. She tried to use her pregnancy to marry Xu Yao, dragging it out until five months when the child could no longer be aborted. But Xu Yao... that guy is a scoundrel, he actually..."

Speaking in a low voice, Xiao Cao whispered in Duan Lin's ear, "From what the suspect said, it seems he knocked the woman unconscious, and then, while she was unconscious, he had someone forcibly remove the baby, leaving her not only childless but also unable to have children ever since..."

"We suspect that Cheng Rui was the accomplice who helped Xu Yao remove the child, which makes sense in terms of the motive for the murder. Sigh... these doctors..."

"And what about Lu Xianglai?"

"It seems they blackmailed her with a videotape... Tsk! This woman is really pathetic; I would go crazy if I were in her shoes."

Officer Cao sighed, but Duan Lin's brows furrowed even more deeply. Was that really true? But… something just felt off…

The police officers judged the case based on what they saw with their own eyes, but Duan Lin had a third eye compared to them.

What about the child? How do you explain that? If it's about raising a corpse, then...

Duan Lin looked at Mu Zi's equally silent expression and lowered his head.

After saying goodbye to Xiao Cao, Duan Lin went to his younger brother's ward. Although his stepmother's menacing look made him uncomfortable, he was still worried. When he got to the bedside and saw that his brother was unconscious but not too pale, Duan Lin felt a little relieved.