Premier tome de la série Le Magicien Oolong Qui suis-je

Chapitre 28

"But she'll find out sooner or later. She'll be coming to work tomorrow!" Xiao Ren reminded me from the side.

“I know it was bound to happen sooner or later, but that will have to wait until I’ve finished examining Cao Ying’s body!” I replied firmly. “Fang Lei considered Cao Ying a good friend, and given her attitude towards her work, she would never give up on examining Cao Ying’s body. But… but I don’t want her to do the autopsy; it would be too cruel for her!”

Chen Kai and Xiao Ren exchanged a glance. Finally, Chen Kai sighed and said helplessly, "We've agreed not to talk about it, but that doesn't mean Fang Lei won't know. She's starting work tomorrow. Do you think the entire police station is completely unaware? Cao Ying's death has already shaken the entire station!"

"Don't worry, I have a plan," I said hesitantly. It seemed I had no choice but to ask Abao for help, hoping she could stall Fang Lei for a while. But the thought of this beautiful girl's strange request gave me a headache again. It's true what they say, the more murky the water, the more people want to stir it up.

Book One: The Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Sixty-Two: July 7th

Book One: The Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Sixty-Two: July 7th

I glanced back at Xiao Ren, whose expression was strange, then at Cao Ying's corpse on the autopsy table, sighed, and took a white cloth to cover her face. Perhaps, not seeing her face would make me less hesitant to make the incision!

"If it doesn't work, then don't watch it," I told Xiao Ren.

"No way!" Xiao Ren immediately rejected my suggestion, saying, "The captain told me to keep a close eye on you!"

"Keep an eye on me?" I really don't know when I became an endangered animal that needs someone to watch over me?

"Who knows when you'll faint again!" Xiao Ren glanced at me and answered confidently.

I gave a wry smile and shook my head helplessly. The terrifying scene at the lake flashed before my eyes again, sending a chill down my spine. I glanced at my watch; I knew Abao couldn't hold Fang Lei and the others off for long. I needed to finish the work quickly. I put on gloves and began the inspection.

As the scalpel sliced across Cao Ying's once tender skin, I couldn't help but wonder, what in this world is truly eternal? This human body is truly fascinating; no one can truly understand it while alive, yet it can be manipulated so easily after death.

The upper half of the corpse's internal organs were remarkably well-preserved, without any signs of injury, and its bright red color was dazzling. The lower half, however, looked as if it had been ripped open by a giant beast, torn from the inside out! Could the hallucination of the baby be real? A chill ran down my spine. The lacerations were clearly from the inside out, and there were scratch marks on the internal organs as well. If it were a tear from the outside in, the scratches on the skin should be more obvious than those on the internal organs, but the opposite was true. Looking closer, the scratches were from bottom to top, which was the opposite of the usual pattern. Normally, when you scratch someone, it's easier to scratch from top to bottom. Scratching from bottom to top is very inconvenient, like being upside down. But if it was a baby in the womb, head down would explain it; shouldn't babies usually be born head-first?

I frowned, unsure if my assumption was correct or not. It was simply too absurd. Would Chen Kai and the others believe it? They might think I'd been traumatized at Xinhu Lake, leading to such an absurd autopsy report, yet this was also the most plausible explanation. What to do? Tell the truth or lie? If I had to lie, how? A little impatiently, I put down the scalpel, feeling somewhat lost.

"What's wrong? Is it done? Is there a result?" Xiao Ren asked quickly as he stepped forward.

"Oh, it's not done yet," I hurriedly replied, then picked up Cao Ying's stiff hand and examined it. Her fingernails were very clean, with no clues to be found. Disappointed, I put her hand down and turned to Xiao Ren, saying, "The preliminary examination is over. The body died from massive bleeding and severe damage to internal organs after being cut open in the abdomen. There were no other injuries on the body, not even a trace of struggle. It's possible that it was committed by someone known to the victim, or that she was knocked unconscious before being attacked. However, the latter is very unlikely."

"Oh, why?" Xiao Ren asked, puzzled.

I walked to the head of the corpse, examined it closely, and touched it a few times. There were no marks or dents from being hit on the head. I explained, "Because there are no signs of being hit on the head."

"Then..." Xiao Ren thought seriously for a while and said, "Is it possible that someone drugged or knocked her unconscious?"

I glanced at Xiao Ren and said, "We can't rule out that possibility, but we need to wait for the final blood test report and gastric fluid tissue test report before we can draw a conclusion."

"Oh!" Xiao Ren nodded knowingly, then asked, "And the time of death?"

"Judging from the degree of rigor mortis and the body temperature measured at the scene, it shouldn't have been more than 24 hours old," I replied.

"So it's very likely that they died last night?" Xiao Ren asked.

"Maybe!" I replied listlessly, feeling utterly exhausted by all the things that had happened.

Xiao Ren looked at me and said with concern, "You should rest for a while; you look terrible!"

"I don't need your concern. You should be more concerned about finding the murderer!" I said, pushing Xiao Ren towards the door. "I need to be alone. Don't bother me."

"But...but...the captain told me..."

"Oh dear, I'm not a three-year-old!" I interrupted Xiao Ren's hesitation, pushed him out, and said, "I'm fine!" Before Xiao Ren could react, I quickly closed the laboratory door.

The moment the door closed, a profound silence descended. Staring weakly at the cold corpse on the autopsy table, I walked over. My body felt utterly exhausted; my eyelids were heavy, and I longed for a good night's sleep. But the moment I closed my eyes, Cao Ying's dismembered lower body and the bizarre infant immediately flashed before me. Forcing myself to stay awake, I extracted some tissue from her stomach for testing.

Carefully setting the extract aside, I removed the white cloth covering Cao Ying's face, and a blinding flash of white light appeared before my eyes, as if a lightning bolt had struck the laboratory.

Cao Ying suddenly opened her eyes.

My mind went blank instantly, and I felt a chill run down my spine, my skin breaking out in goosebumps.

Fear strikes, and there's no way to stop it.

I can't breathe.

I stared intently at Cao Ying, motionless, and instinctively rubbed my eyes, thinking I was seeing things. But upon closer inspection, it was true! Cao Ying's eyes were open, even though they had been closed just moments before! Her eyes bulged, staring straight at me. Her gaze made my heart pound wildly, and my scalp tingled.

His face was pale and bluish, his lips were dark blue, and his eyes were yellowish.

In a daze, Cao Ying seemed to turn her head slightly in my direction, then gave me a look of utter misery. This feeling vanished as quickly as it appeared, like a ghost.

I cried out, but it turned into a groan. My legs gave way, and I collapsed onto a shelf behind me! The sorrow, resentment, misery, and heart-wrenching pain conveyed by Cao Ying's gaze seemed to be added to my body, so intimate and visceral. The pain rising from the depths of my heart almost made me faint.

I took a deep breath, feeling my whole body trembling uncontrollably. Even the shelf behind me creaked and groaned, like the wailing of a vengeful ghost from hell...

※※※

"Lin Xiao, what's wrong with you?" Fang Lei jumped up from beside A Bao and rushed towards me, tightly grabbing my hand, which was unusually cold from fear.

My mind was a complete mess. I couldn't remember how I got out of the lab, or how I drove to Abao's place where I had arranged to meet Fang Lei and the others. All I knew was that Cao Ying's gaze kept flashing before my eyes, I was constantly surrounded by that gaze. My body was still trembling uncontrollably, I felt so cold, my bones ached from the cold.

"Lin Xiao, what happened?" Li Yang grabbed my shoulders anxiously and shook me hard. He had never seen me so out of control.

"Don't shake him!" Li Hai pulled me away from Li Yang's hand, pressed me into a chair, and then said to A Bao, "A Bao, do you have any hot water? Would you like to give him a cup?"

"Don't call me 'Miss,' okay? Just call me Abao!" Abao complained.

"What time is it and you're still bothered? Quickly pour me a glass of water!" Li Yang yelled at A Bao.

"What are you yelling about?" Abao shoved Li Yang without backing down and said, "This is my house, what are you acting so arrogantly about?"

"Ha! What's wrong with your house? I'm going to yell at you, so what?" Li Yang retorted defiantly.

"Oh my! Which dog is barking?" Abao glanced at Li Yang and asked.

"you……"

"Shut up, both of you!" I stood up abruptly and yelled at the two people barking at each other. Li Yang and A Bao were startled and shrank back, remaining silent.

"Cao Ying... Cao Ying..." My voice weakened again, as if my shout had exhausted all my energy. My body swayed, like a blade of grass in the wind.

"Cao Ying? What happened to her?" Fang Lei rushed over anxiously and asked.

"Dead...dead!" After saying that, I immediately slumped into the chair, while Fang Lei's face turned ashen, and she slumped weakly to one side.

"What? What did you say?" Li Yang was also startled by my words and asked dumbfounded.

“I said,” I swallowed hard and continued with difficulty, “Cao Ying is dead!”

"No!!!" Fang Lei immediately covered her face and cried. I struggled weakly for a moment and pulled her into my arms, but Cao Ying's mournful eyes appeared before my eyes again.

"How could that be? You're lying!" Li Yang still didn't believe me, looking suspicious. He was about to come over and question me again when Li Hai grabbed him.

Li Hai gave me a serious look and asked, "A Bao said you were acting strangely after you received a phone call. Was that a call from your station asking you to go and perform an autopsy?"

I nodded, too exhausted to say anything more.

"An autopsy?" Fang Lei raised her tear-streaked, pretty face and asked me, "Why didn't Xiao Ren call me?"

"I told Xiao Ren not to notify you!" I replied helplessly.

"Why?" Fang Lei angrily broke free from my embrace and asked unwillingly.

"Because...because..." My voice trembled and broke into a chord. I buried my face in my hands in anguish, clutching my hair. Cao Ying's corpse, her ruptured abdomen, her scattered internal organs, her horrifying head, the grotesque baby, and Cao Ying's eyes immediately filled my mind. I felt my body temperature gradually dropping, even my fingertips were numb. I didn't know what to say.

"Lin Xiao!" Fang Lei probably sensed my underlying fear and called out to me affectionately, reaching out to touch me.

“She died a really terrible death, I don’t want… I don’t want you to see it!” I answered almost breathlessly, something choking me in my throat, it was so painful.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so harsh with you. You did it all for me." Fang Lei's tears fell onto my clothes.

"Let me get you a glass of water!" Seeing the tense atmosphere, Abao quickly stepped in to ease the tension and hurriedly turned to pour the water. Li Yang didn't say anything this time, just stood there blankly, clearly still unable to accept this devastating news.

Only when I held the scalding hot cup in my hands did my body begin to calm down slightly. Gazing at the swirling steam before me, my eyes gradually misted over. I took a deep breath, trying to compose myself. Now was not the time to lose my composure. I would find the murderer, no matter who he was! This was the vow I made before Cao Ying's body. I took a sip of hot water, the warmth spreading from my throat to my stomach, then throughout my entire body. I began to recount what had happened after we split up to search for clues, starting with meeting Tian Niang, but for some reason, I deliberately skipped the part about Tian Niang wanting to take me as her apprentice.

Trying to keep my tone calm, I finally managed to recount everything. Everyone's face grew paler and paler; even Abao, who had initially come with the expectation of listening to a story, became a little scared and hid behind Li Hai. Fang Lei's grip on my hand tightened, and I could feel her palms sweating.

"Lin Xiao, have you checked whether the women involved in the Xinhu murder case were born on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, as Tian Niang said?" Li Hai asked me seriously.

I shook my head and said, "There's no time to ask, I need to perform an autopsy!"

"Wait a minute!" Fang Lei suddenly stood up, glanced around at us, and said, "Cao Ying's birthday might also be July 7th!"

"Maybe? What do you mean?" Abao asked疑惑地.

“Because she said her birthday is August 3rd, but she must have been referring to the Gregorian calendar. Although the lunar and Gregorian calendars are different, they are still quite similar,” Fang Lei replied.

"Do you have a perpetual calendar at home?" Li Yang asked A Bao, turning around.

"No." Abao shook his head regretfully, but his eyes immediately lit up again, "We can check on the computer!" With that, Abao immediately opened the calendar on the computer, entered Cao Ying's birthday that Fang Lei had mentioned, and pressed enter!

"July 7th!" We all read the date on the computer screen aloud in unison, and I could hear them gasp. Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine, and my hands trembled uncontrollably. July 7th—why this date? I hadn't even noticed something before: my own birthday, August 17th in the Gregorian calendar. Could it be…?

Thinking of this, I quickly said to Abao, "Try entering another date."

Abao looked at me with a puzzled expression, but in the end he did as I said. The lunar date calculated by the computer was the seventh day of the seventh month, that damned date!

"Isn't this your birthday?" Li Yang looked at me strangely and asked.

"Were you born around this time too?" Li Hai grabbed my shoulders and asked, "When was it?"

"It must have been at night!" I tried hard to recall, but these are things I can't possibly remember!

“Evening?” Li Hai released his hand and said, “The number seven is a very strange number in Taoism and Buddhism, and many things are related to seven. For example, there is the saying of the first seven days after a person dies. People have seven emotions, and seclusion usually lasts for forty-nine days. Even in the West, there is the saying that God created the world in seven days, and there is also the Jewish seven candlesticks.”

"What does that mean?" Abao couldn't help but ask.

“This shows that the number seven is the most mysterious of all the numbers!” Li Hai replied. “Moreover, it is said that people born on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month are born with a spiritual aura and are excellent candidates for learning magic.”

“That’s why ghosts choose women born on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month as a host for their reincarnation.” Fang Lei answered, her face pale and trembling. She paused, then continued, “If, as Aunt Tian said, the true purpose of the Ten Thousand Souls Locking Array is for reincarnation, then Lin Xiao…”

"What's wrong?" I asked, taking Fang Lei's cold little hand in my hand.

"So the image you saw of a baby emerging from Cao Ying's belly wasn't an illusion, but...it was real!" Fang Lei nestled into my arms, and I knew she was trying hard to control her grief. I held her tightly without speaking; words were inadequate at that moment, and I didn't know how to comfort her. I myself was overwhelmed by intense sorrow and fear. If it was all real, then where did that baby go? Which evil spirit regained its body? Tormented by these questions, I suddenly thought of something in a moment of panic: I was born on July 7th, so my older sister, Lin Yao, was too. But why was she alright, even able to take pictures of Lin Yuyan? Where is she now? Is she safe? For the first time, I, who had never worried about her before, felt the fear of losing her. After Yin Xue, did I still have the courage to lose another loved one?

Book One: Three Ghost Stories of the City, Chapter Sixty-Three: The Face Beneath the Lake

Book One: Three Ghost Stories of the City, Chapter Sixty-Three: The Face Beneath the Lake

After leaving A Bao's house, I rushed home. As for the relationship between the seventh day of the seventh lunar month and the Ten Thousand Souls Locking Array, I'll leave that to Li Hai and Fang Lei to consult their respective masters before making a decision. That's good, at least there won't be any more blind actions. We can't afford to lose another partner.

Pushing open the door, the images of Cao Ying's mournful eyes and Fang Lei's sorrowful gaze overlapped in my mind, leaving me with a blurred, indistinct feeling. My whole body felt weak and powerless; I didn't know how much longer I could hold on.

"You're back?" My older sister, Lin Yao, came out of the room, still wearing the same oversized cotton shirt and short denim shorts as me. Her long, wavy hair was casually draped over her shoulders, making her look charming and sexy. It seemed like the first time I realized that my older sister's figure was so alluring!

"Sis, where have you been these past few days?" I sat down on the sofa and complained to her. She's always nowhere to be seen, like a dragon whose head is seen but not its tail!