La Mariée aux Yeux Fantômes 2

Chapitre 17

"Oh?" Zhou Ping touched his forehead and fell into thought.

"Don't forget that smell. I took a sniff, and Shunping smells that too. And he and Hu Junkai..." Luo Fei couldn't help but remind him.

"Wait... I understand!" Zhou Ping waved his hand, interrupting Luo Fei. "Shunping and Hu Junkai both died from the same strange illness, so there must be some connection between them. The most obvious thing is that they both had the same odor! The reason Shunping had the odor is clear: because he had prolonged close contact with Kong Wang's corpse. From this, we can infer that Hu Junkai also had contact with Kong Wang, which is why he had the odor. Both of them came into contact with Kong Wang and both died from the strange illness, so we can further deduce that Kong Wang is the source of this strange illness!"

“That’s right.” Luo Fei cast an approving glance. “That’s exactly what I was thinking at the time. Kong Wang stayed indoors for a long time before he died because he was afraid that the strange disease would spread from him.”

Zhou Ping perked up: "Wait a minute, let me continue along your line of thought. Since we know that Hu Junkai had contact with Kong Wang, then judging from the timeline, he is the most likely murderer of Kong Wang!"

Luo Fei nodded: "You're right, but at the time I wasn't entirely sure because I didn't know the relationship between Hu Junkai and Kong Wang, so I couldn't find a reason for Hu Junkai to kill Kong Wang. It wasn't until I saw that ritual cloak in Kong Jing's room that everything really became clear."

"A cloak? Does that have anything to do with this?" Zhou Ping frowned, his earlier smugness now replaced by confusion.

"As I mentioned earlier, Kong Wang has a severe hunchback. And that cloak has a hood. Imagine what Kong Wang would look like if he wore that cloak?"

Zhou Ping closed his eyes and imagined it, then suddenly slapped his thigh and shouted excitedly, "The headless ghost! Kong Wang is that headless ghost!"

"That's absolutely right!" At the climax, even the usually composed Luo Fei leaned forward excitedly. "Now we can imagine that on that night, when Kong Wang came to the hut, the 'headless ghost' that Shunde saw was actually his shadow reflected on the window. Influenced by the rumors in Shunde, Zhang Bin easily associated Kong Wang's figure with the 'headless ghost' when he saw him in the night. To verify this hypothesis, I even conducted an experiment."

"What kind of experiment?" Zhou Ping asked Luo Fei curiously.

"After I guessed that the 'headless ghost' might be Kong Wang, that night I put on that cloak and stood on the roof with my back hunched over. The monks who saw me in the darkness indeed mistook me for the legendary 'headless ghost,' and they even chased me all the way to the door of the guest room." Luo Fei recalled the scene and couldn't help but smile slightly, "After psychological suggestion is formed, how easy it is for people to have illusions."

"Hmm." Zhou Ping paused thoughtfully for a moment, then asked, "But what does what you're saying have to do with Hu Junkai killing Kong Wang?"

“That’s where I found Hu Junkai’s motive for murder,” Luo Fei began to explain Zhou Ping’s question. “Once we confirmed that Kong Wang was the rumored ‘headless ghost,’ it meant that there were three other people present when Chen Jian fell off the cliff: Hu Junkai, Zhang Bin, and Kong Wang. Without knowing the relationship between these people, we can make two guesses: 1. Kong Wang pushed Chen Jian off the cliff; 2. Hu Junkai pushed Chen Jian off the cliff. According to Zhang Bin’s account, the first possibility usually comes to mind first, but if you examine it carefully, you’ll find that the second possibility is more likely, or rather, it better explains what happened afterward.”

Zhou Ping thought for a moment and immediately understood: "That's right. If Hu Junkai murdered Chen Jian, then according to Zhang Bin's account, Kong Wang should have witnessed the whole thing from the other side. Later, Zhang Bin told Hu Junkai that a headless black figure had been hiding behind the cliff, and Hu Junkai immediately connected this figure with Kong Wang, which is why he was so terrified. Later, while everyone was searching for Chen Jian, Hu Junkai took the opportunity to sneak back into the temple and strangle Kong Wang to cover up his crime."

Luo Fei nodded in satisfaction: "This is the thought process by which I deduced the truth of the matter. As you know, at the time, I could only figure out what had happened, but I knew nothing about the hidden details. After hearing your investigation results, I had a sudden realization, and it matched my deductions so well."

Zhou Ping's eyes revealed admiration and envy: "When you figured all this out, you must have felt a great sense of accomplishment! Compared to my boring investigation down here, your experience on the mountain was much more exciting."

Luo Fei gave a wry smile: "A sense of accomplishment? Maybe a little. But then I fell into a terrible crisis. If you were in my situation at the time, you definitely wouldn't think it was anything exciting."

Zhou Ping's smile faded: "You mean that 'devil'?"

“A demon from Death Valley.” As Luo Fei uttered these words in a deep voice, the atmosphere in the room seemed to darken.

"What are you two talking about? You're being so mysterious." With a cheerful voice, Xu Lijie walked into the ward, her voice as bright as sunshine, instantly making the room much more cheerful.

"Director Luo just woke up, can't you let him rest a little longer?" Xu Lijie said, glaring at Zhou Ping.

"Oh, it's Xiao Xu?" Luo Fei looked at her with a mixture of surprise and delight. "What are you doing here?"

“She put in a lot of effort in this case!” Zhou Ping answered for Xu Lijie. “She was the one who found out Kong Wang’s identity, and she also ‘tricked’ Wu Yanhua into revealing some of the hidden details between Wu Jianfei and his daughter and Hu Junkai.”

"What do you mean by lying? Sister Wu and I are on very good terms now! She tells me everything." Xu Lijie proudly raised her nose. She wasn't bragging. Although Zhou Ping suspected there was something going on between Hu Junkai and Wu Jianfei, Wu Yanhua always held back in front of him, no matter how he questioned her. Later, Xu Lijie and Wu Yanhua talked for a long time. Perhaps because they were both women, or perhaps Xu Lijie did have a unique charisma, Wu Yanhua became her good friend after their conversation, and Wu Yanhua told her everything. The part about Hu Junkai plotting to harm Wu Jianfei was deduced by Zhou Ping based on his investigation; Wu Yanhua was unaware of it.

"Alright, alright, I know you're capable, no one can compare to you!" Zhou Ping praised Xu Lijie half-jokingly and half-seriously, then changed the subject, "I asked you to go to the doctor to ask about the results of the sample analysis, did you get anything out of it?"

When the topic turned to work, Xu Lijie's playful expression vanished: "I read the analysis report, but I can't go into too much detail. Anyway, it's a parasitic pathogen that spreads through the respiratory tract and physical contact. It seems that it itself isn't very harmful to the human body, but its metabolic secretions contain an enzyme that can damage the walls of human capillaries, causing systemic internal bleeding and ultimately leading to death."

After listening to Xu Lijie's account, Luo Fei nodded solemnly: "This is the demon from 'Death Valley,' and it has finally revealed its true colors. The Drywood Temple almost suffered annihilation because of it."

Xu Lijie looked at Luo Fei. Although she didn't know the situation on the mountain at the time, she could still sense the weight of it from Luo Fei's tone and expression.

“But there’s no need to worry now. This pathogen is very vulnerable to modern medical technology. The infected people on the mountain have all improved significantly after receiving the appropriate antibiotics,” she said.

“We were trapped on the mountain, and the situation was extremely dangerous,” Luo Fei said with emotion. “If it weren’t for a turning point at the last moment, Kumu Temple would have become a victim of the ‘demon’s’ rampage, just like the legendary village.”

"Luo, you still haven't told me how you finally found the solution. There must have been a thrilling and complicated reasoning process involved!" Zhou Ping seemed to still be eager to unravel all the doubts in his mind after their analysis earlier.

"Strictly speaking, there was no reasoning process involved. The final answer came entirely from a flash of inspiration! Of course, it also involved a great deal of luck."

Zhou Ping's interest was piqued even more by Luo Fei's words. He leaned forward, eagerly awaiting what the other man would say next.

"After Shunping's death, I realized that the so-called 'Death Valley' demon was actually a highly contagious and deadly virus. Twenty years ago, when Wu Jianfei was rescued from 'Death Valley' by Monk Zhengming, he was already infected with this virus. This can be seen from Kong Jing's description of the situation at the time. Although this virus is dangerous, it is not incurable. Monk Zhengming was proficient in folk medicine. He isolated Wu Jianfei in a small hut and used some method to save him from the 'demon'. Wu Jianfei certainly knew this method. He had been staying indoors recently because he had been reinfected with the virus and was isolating himself for treatment. But unexpectedly, Hu Junkai suddenly arrived and killed Wu Jianfei, not only unintentionally causing the spread of the virus, but also leaving no one in the temple with the knowledge of how to control it."

Zhou Ping listened and nodded. These situations were easy to make connections to, and there was nothing difficult to understand.

“By then you had a pretty clear understanding of the case, so the primary task became finding a way to fight the ‘demon’,” he interjected.

Luo Fei gave a self-deprecating bitter laugh: "This is much more difficult than deducing and analyzing the case. I had absolutely no clue at the time. In that situation, waiting for rescue seemed to be the only way to see any hope of escaping. But the spread and onset of this disease were so fierce. If things continued to develop at that time, all the monks in the temple would become infected within a day or two. By the time the rescue team arrived three days later, I'm afraid they wouldn't see a single living person left."

As Xu Lijie imagined the scene Luo Fei had described, her expression changed.

Zhou Ping leaned back in his chair with ease and said with a smile, "But in the end, you still found a way to save us."

“Yes, but I must admit that a large part of it was due to luck.” Luo Fei frankly shrugged at Zhou Ping. “I also have to thank those monks who were going to burn the corpse and the ‘headless grass’; they gave me a hint at the last moment.”

"Oh?" Zhou Ping raised his eyelids slightly, thinking as he spoke, "I think this must be related to that strange smell you keep mentioning."

"Yes. However, I don't have a clear reasoning process for this matter. When the monks threw the 'headless grass' into the fire, and that familiar smell was released, it was as if a valve was opened in my mind, and many related audio-visual fragments burst out in an instant, allowing me to find the answer I had been searching for."

"What were you thinking about at that time?" Zhou Ping asked excitedly.

“I remembered that Kong Jing smelled the same scent in Wu Jianfei’s recuperation hut 20 years ago, and I realized that the scents I’ve smelled all originated from Kong Wang’s body. I also remembered that Kong Wang used the stove in the hut to roast the ‘headless grass’ late at night… Actually, all of this already explains everything. Anyway, in that instant, I had a sudden realization, and I understood everything.” Luo Fei spoke slowly, as if guiding Zhou Ping’s thoughts and trying to give him some hints.

Zhou Ping smiled and shook his head: "I understand now too."

"What do you understand?" Xu Lijie stared wide-eyed, looking completely bewildered.

"That smell is the answer! Roast the 'headless grass' and inhale the smoke produced in the process—that's how to subdue the 'demon'!" Zhou Ping said excitedly, appearing very confident.

Luo Fei looked at him and nodded approvingly.

end

One week later.

Luo Fei had fully recovered and returned to his office. There was still some cleanup work to be done regarding the bizarre case that occurred at the Drywood Temple.

In front of him lay a medical analysis report on the deadly virus and the "headless grass" in "Death Valley."

The report scientifically verified some of his initial guesses.

Located on the north side of Nanming Mountain, "Death Valley" is a treacherous place, forming a small, closed ecosystem to some extent. Such ecosystems often harbor unique species not found elsewhere, including the yet-to-be-named deadly virus. Nature is wondrous; the animals in "Death Valley" are able to survive unaffected by the virus because a plant that can inhibit it grows there—"Headless Grass." Certain chemical components in its leaves can kill the virus. Humans cannot eat "Headless Grass" like the animals in the valley, but they can absorb the effective components from its leaves by roasting it.

However, this natural method cannot eradicate the virus from the body, and under suitable conditions, the disease may return. Wu Jianfei was well aware of the risks involved, so at this time, he would collect a large amount of "headless grass" from "Death Valley," then stay indoors and go to his hut every night to roast the grass leaves for fumigation until the symptoms disappeared.

The woodcutter who escaped from "Death Valley" back then must have known the secret, which is why he collected the "headless grass" and brought it back to the village. However, he was too badly injured and died before he could explain the reason. Although the villagers knew that these herbs were life-saving, no one knew how to use them, which led to the tragedy of the entire village perishing.

Modern medicine's antibiotics can completely eradicate viruses from the body, and Luo Fei, Kong Jing, and others gradually recovered their health after receiving the injections. The monks have also returned to their mountain temples in the past few days. After this ordeal, Kumu Temple will need more time to return to its previous normal state.

Luo Fei was considering when to go up the mountain to check on the situation again when a commotion broke out in the courtyard of the police station. He knew that Zhou Ping and the others had returned.

Sure enough, a short while later, Zhou Ping walked into his office, looking tired after just finishing the task of searching for Chen Jian's body.

"How is it?" Luo Fei asked bluntly.

"Found it." Zhou Ping excitedly walked straight to his desk, slammed something he was holding onto it, and said, "Look, we found this next to the body."

It was a rolled-up painting, and many parts of it were old and even damaged.

"A murderous painting?" Luo Fei stood up and blurted out.

Zhou Ping nodded, then slowly unfolded the painting in front of Luo Fei. His movements were solemn and gentle, as if he were afraid of disturbing something within the painting.

This mysterious painting became the catalyst for the entire Drywood Temple case, and its true nature was gradually revealed.

An angry resentment filled the room, and Luo Fei shifted uncomfortably, as if trying to hide from something.

But he couldn't escape. The source of that resentment, those angry eyes in the painting, seemed to possess a mysterious magic. The more you tried to avoid it, the more it stared at you, as if it wanted to devour you!

Luo Fei stared at it with some reluctance. He felt as if he had returned to the small house where the empty corpse was hanging, and a burning anger surrounded him, making him shudder.

On the bottom page of the painting is a line of small print: "Wu Jianfei painted a self-portrait on May 2, 1972. He received guidance from a high monk and sealed his anger in the painting, and detached himself from worldly affairs."

“A cursed painting.” Luo Fei sighed softly. “The artist condensed all his anger onto this thin sheet of paper. Looking at this painting, you can completely understand Wu Jianfei’s state of mind at the time.”

“Now I know why Hu Junkai and Chen Jian were so scared when they saw this painting! We were still afraid in the face of such anger, and they each had their own worries. That gaze could pierce their hearts and force out all the fear in their hearts.” Zhou Ping had carefully examined the contents of the painting and now chimed in.

"Put the painting away!" Luo Fei seemed unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere. As he spoke, he rolled up the "cursed painting" himself, then paused and said, "However, the content of this painting does explain the last doubt I had about that case."

"Oh, what is it?"

"After Chen Jian fell off the cliff, Zhang Bin told Hu Junkai that a headless black shadow had appeared at the scene. I was never quite sure how Hu Junkai came to the conclusion that the shadow was Wu Jianfei. Now it can be explained, because Hu Junkai already knew Wu Jianfei's physique from his self-portrait. With his intelligence, it should have been easy for him to connect the 'headless black shadow' with Wu Jianfei."

“That’s right.” Zhou Ping nodded in agreement. “He slid deeper and deeper into evil because of this, and eventually died a tragic death in the Kumu Temple.”

"Take a picture of this painting and send it to Wu Yanhua. It's her father's keepsake." Luo Fei handed the painting to Zhou Ping. "This case should be closed now. Write a case report later to give the family some closure."

Zhou Ping hesitated for a moment, then said, "Director Luo, must the report to the family members be written truthfully?"

Luo Fei was taken aback: "How do you want to write it?"

Zhou Ping scratched his head: "Wu Jianfei pushed Chen Jian off the cliff and then committed suicide. Hu Junkai was accidentally infected with the virus and unfortunately died due to the limited medical conditions on the mountain."

Luo Fei frowned slightly, then understood Zhou Ping's intention. For Wu Yanhua, this was probably the most acceptable explanation!

"Okay." After hesitating for a moment, he nodded. Wu Yanhua had already endured too much misfortune. Maintaining her love for Hu Junkai was perhaps the last spiritual pillar that allowed her to live bravely.

Two weeks later, Luo Fei was transferred from Nanmingshan Police Station, and Zhou Ping took over as the station chief.