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

Chapitre 75

“Unfortunately, our witness happens to be someone who knows you.” Ni Ming gave me a smug look and said, “How about it, come back with us for an investigation?”

"What the hell! You're framing me!" Li Yang rushed between me and Ni Ming, angrily addressing Ni Ming.

“Whether it’s a trumped-up charge or not, we now have evidence to believe he is a criminal suspect, and we must take him back to assist in the investigation,” Ni Ming said coldly in an unquestionable tone.

“Li Yang!” I grabbed Li Yang, who was about to rush forward, shook my head at him, and said, “It is our duty as citizens to assist the police in their investigation.”

"Lin Xiao, you!" Li Yang glanced at me, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

“Then please come back with us!” Ni Ming gave me a formulaic smile and said.

"Of course." I shrugged indifferently. I wasn't guilty about something I hadn't done. I wanted to see who this witness really was.

*********

The campus was unusually quiet after nightfall, even with an eerie atmosphere. The trees and greenery that looked quite ordinary during the day revealed their ferocious side in the darkness, rustling softly in the night wind, like the groans of a dying person or the footsteps of an approaching demon.

Abao felt a chill and pulled his clothes tighter. It seemed that going to find Lin Xiao and Li Yang so late to surprise them wasn't a good idea. Moreover, this school was surprisingly large; after turning several corners, he had already lost his way. Under the tall trees that blocked out the moonlight, there was a swaying shadow, and the May evening wind was quite chilly.

The quickening of her pace without her realizing it didn't make Abao feel at ease; instead, it gave her the illusion that someone was following behind her. The rustling of the leaves gradually turned into a strange sound, like someone breathing or swallowing saliva.

"Damn it, why can't I find a guesthouse?" Abao bit his lip hard. He should have known better than to climb over the wall. He should have waited until tomorrow morning.

As you walk further into the road, the streetlights that were once fairly bright gradually become fewer and fewer, until eventually there are no streetlights at all.

"Damn this lousy school, would it kill someone to install one more streetlight?" The pretty girl muttered rudely while watching her step. "Why bother with so much greenery?" Abao complained, but her steps involuntarily quickened as she ran towards the only point of light in front of her.

"Who?" What appeared in front of Abao was a dilapidated old-fashioned school building, only four stories high, but it looked particularly tall in the dark. There were no lights around, only the faint light from a small light bulb on the ground floor of the school building, which made Abao able to see things a little better. In the dim light, there seemed to be a figure standing under the light bulb on the ground floor of the school building. Judging from the figure, it seemed to be a man.

After taking a few more steps, the man's face was difficult to discern in the interplay of light and shadow, but his physique seemed vaguely familiar. Ah Bao scratched his head; it looked… like Lin Xiao?!

"Lin Xiao?" A Bao called out tentatively. How strange, what was Lin Xiao doing in this godforsaken place so late at night? Was he here to pick her up? No, that didn't mean she had told him she would be coming to find them.

The man didn't move, but stood sideways under the light. The small light bulb suddenly started flickering, like a fluorescent light when it was turned on. In the contrast between the darkness and the light, Abao seemed to be able to see the man's face clearly. It looked like Lin Xiao!

"Lin Xiao, how did you know I was here?" Although A Bao sensed something was amiss, her kind and innocent nature prevented her from noticing the dangerous and eerie atmosphere that was slowly spreading.

The man turned to face Abao, but kept his head down. His black hair covered most of his face, and Abao could only see his slightly upturned, blood-red lips, as if he were smiling.

Wait, why are Lin Xiao's lips so red? It looks like he's wearing lipstick? Abao tilted his head in confusion, and upon closer inspection, he noticed some pinkish-red, paste-like stuff at the corners of his mouth. Could it be that he didn't wipe his mouth after eating?

"What did you just eat?" Abao asked curiously. The already dim light suddenly went out at this moment. In the instant darkness descended, Abao saw the man rushing towards him and quickly passing by him. In just a moment, before the light in Abao's eyes completely disappeared, he seemed to clearly glimpse the man's face. It was Lin Xiao's face...

************

"Abao?" I stared blankly at Abao, who had appeared in the interrogation room. Her pale face and terrified eyes were fixed on me, as if she were afraid of me. What was going on? Why did Abao seem so afraid of me? I don't think I did anything to wrong her, did I?

“This is our witness. I think you must know her,” Ni Ming said from behind me.

What? Abao is a witness? I frowned. How did Abao get involved? And why is she at this school? Shouldn't she still be in **City?

“Lin…Lin Xiao.” A Bao glanced at me timidly and said, “I didn’t mean to hurt you, but I really thought I saw you last night.”

"What? Abao, don't talk nonsense, okay?" I touched my forehead, wondering if this little girl was deliberately causing trouble.

“She was found by a teacher who went to the lab building early this morning to prepare for class. She was lying on the ground floor of the lab building. After waking her up, she kept calling your name. Later, that teacher found the body. According to the preliminary forensic examination, she was probably murdered between 1:00 and 2:30 a.m. this morning,” Ni Ming said as he slowly walked up to me.

"I didn't go to that place. I was sleeping in my room at the time!" I answered slowly. Although I didn't know why Abao said he saw me go to that laboratory building, the truth was that I really didn't go!

“Is that so?” Ni Ming glanced at me, then pointed to the chair behind him and said, “We have plenty of time to talk.”

"Great!" I plopped down in a chair with a fearless spirit and said, "I have plenty of time now!"

"Then how do you interpret the witness's testimony?" Ni Ming asked.

"I must have misread it!" I replied without thinking. How ridiculous! Why would I go to that godforsaken place so late at night? Ah Bao must have been seeing things.

“I remember she was nearsighted, but she often didn’t wear glasses. Ask her if she wore glasses back then,” I said to Ni Ming without even glancing at A Bao.

"No... I wasn't wearing it!" Abao confessed before Ni Ming could even ask him a question.

Damn it! Ni Ming looked at the innocent-looking Lin Xiao with a hint of annoyance. This morning, instead of taking him directly to the police station, he had brought him to the crime scene hoping to find some clues. Usually, a murderer would be somewhat uneasy upon returning to the crime scene, but Lin Xiao had been unusually calm, showing no remorse or fear whatsoever. And this witness seemed to have no deterrent effect on him either. Was he just going to stand by and watch this murderer go unpunished? Or was his mental defenses exceptionally strong, so much so that even a corpse and a witness couldn't sway him?

Damn it! I practically gritted my teeth as I stared at Ni Ming, whose face was full of cunning calculation. He was clearly incompetent at catching the murderer, yet he wanted to use me as a scapegoat! Luckily, I wasn't one to be easily intimidated! We'll see. I refused to believe you could arrest me based solely on A Bao's testimony! I sat up straight, looking fearlessly at Ni Ming's face, but suddenly Li Yang's nonsensical question from this morning echoed in my ears: "I think I saw you go out in the middle of the night." For a moment, my left eye twitched…

Volume Three: Delicacies of Hell, Chapter Nine: Watery Land

Volume Three: Delicacies of Hell, Chapter Nine: Watery Land

When I walked out of the police station, it was already the morning of the next day. Twenty-four hours of interrogation had left me with dark circles under my eyes, and I could only make out Li Yang waiting for me at the door.

"How was it? Did they give you any trouble?" Li Yang stepped forward and asked, looking at my gait, which resembled that of a drunkard.

"Oh, still alive!" I opened my eyes wide and asked Li Yang, "Did you contact Fang Lei?"

"After such a big incident, are you still trying to hide it?" Li Yang hailed a taxi, helped me inside, and said, "She should arrive tomorrow."

"So fast? Chen Kai is willing to let her over?" I found it a bit strange. Why would Chen Kai let Fang Lei over? Wouldn't that mean the bureau would be short one forensic doctor?

"Fang Lei said that Ni Ming and Chen Kai used to be good colleagues. Your situation has already reached Chen Kai's ears, so he wants Fang Lei to come and help you," Li Yang said.

"Really? It seems he can be quite merciful sometimes!" I turned my head to the side, my vision blurring as the hellish interrogation had nearly exhausted all my energy.

"By the way, where's Abao?" Li Yang asked me.

"Because I'm a key witness, I received special treatment," I replied, closing my aching eyes.

"How could she say she saw you?" Li Yang's tone was a little strange.

"How should I know? Anyway, I didn't kill anyone!" I shrugged and said.

"We've arrived." Li Yang seemed to have something to say, but he held back.

Back on campus, the once bustling campus seemed much quieter than usual, the empty space lacking its usual vibrancy.

"What happened? Where is everyone?" I asked Li Yang, who was sitting next to me.

“After these two cases, the school is already in a state of panic!” Li Yang replied.

"Really?" I looked up at the pink petals falling to the ground. These were the petals of the mimosa tree, needle-like strands arranged in a beautiful fan shape. Every year at this time, they bloom with an exceptionally poignant intensity. I once asked Baiyun why it was called the mimosa tree. She said it was because two people who loved each other but couldn't be together transformed into it after their deaths. The needle-like petals symbolize that love itself is beautiful yet painful. For a time, I particularly loved watching them fall from the tree, like delicate pink willow catkins, so beautiful.

"Lin Xiao." A sweet female voice called from afar. Looking in the direction of the voice, what a beautiful scene it was! A beautiful woman stood amidst falling petals, delicate petals drifting onto her dark hair, and the smile on her face was so familiar.

Yin Xue? I murmured to myself. The woman in front of me looked so much like Yin Xue. I felt a tightness in my chest, as if all the blood in my body was rushing to my chest. My hands trembled. I felt as if I had become like I was when I was young and in love.

"Lin Xiao!" Li Yang nudged me, which snapped me out of my daze. I stared blankly at Su Qiao in front of me.

"Where did you all go yesterday? I was going to treat you to dinner!" Su Qiao said with a smile.

"Oh, Lin Xiao took me to visit one of his old classmates," Li Yang explained. Fortunately, the police station did not publicly disclose that Lin Xiao was a suspect because they did not have conclusive evidence.

"Really? You must have had a blast, you even have dark circles under your eyes!" Su Qiao said with a smile, pointing to my eyes.

"Yes!" I smiled weakly. For some reason, I started to feel afraid to see Su Qiao, or rather, afraid to see this face that resembled Yin Xue's. Especially when Fang Lei was about to arrive, I felt an indescribable sense of guilt. Was it for Yin Xue or for Fang Lei? I think I could no longer figure it out.

"Then you should go back and get some rest. I have to go now." Su Qiao nodded gracefully to us and turned to leave. But when I turned to look at Li Yang, I saw a series of strange expressions on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked curiously.

“You already have Fang Lei, so how about giving this one to me?” Li Yang said.

"What are you thinking about?" I rolled my eyes at him, annoyed, and headed towards the guesthouse.

“I’m not thinking anything, but do you know how affectionate you looked at her just now? Anyone who didn’t know better would think she was your sweetheart!” Li Yang said, following closely behind me.

"You're mistaken!" I said without turning my head.

"You keep saying I'm seeing things! I clearly saw you the night before last..." Li Yang's excited voice suddenly stopped, and I felt him stop in his tracks. Turning around, I found that Li Yang's expression had become unusually serious, and his eyes were fixed on me, clearly filled with suspicion.

"Please, you don't think I made this too, do you?" I spread my hands in protest, saying, "I can't even cook a decent scrambled egg, do you think I could make such a good dish? Especially using human ingredients?"

"Hmm~~~~~!" Li Yang stroked his chin, thought for a long time, and finally laughed, saying, "I was just joking with you. I don't think you'd be that perverted!"

"That's right!" I laughed and punched Li Yang lightly, saying, "I'm a complete kitchen idiot!"

"Hehe!" Li Yang was amused by my words, and the slightly tense atmosphere from before disappeared completely. The two of them returned to the guesthouse laughing and joking.

"Take a nap first, I'll come and call you for lunch." Li Yang said this at my door and then closed the door for me. I slowly laid myself down on the bed, and for the first time, I felt the preciousness of freedom! The warm and soft bed quickly lulled me into a dream, and my tired body finally relaxed.

**********

Li Yang glanced at his watch; it was already around 12:30 PM. It seemed he should wake Lin Xiao to go eat together; his stomach was growling. However, before waking Lin Xiao, Li Yang decided to use the restroom at the end of the corridor. But the thought of that eerie restroom made him uneasy. Because this guesthouse was quite old, the facilities weren't very good; one restroom was shared by the entire floor.

Walking down the corridor, opposite the toilet was the kitchen where the plate of fried scalp had been found. Li Yang had always questioned the thinking of the people who built the building. How could they have built the kitchen opposite the toilet?

Thinking about it, I arrived at the toilet door. Even at midday with the sun high in the sky, the toilet seemed to be completely devoid of light. Perhaps it was because it faced north, or perhaps it was because the only small window was entirely covered by ivy. In any case, the toilet had a strange, dark green hue. The floor tiles were probably quite old; they were actually mosaics, and they weren't laid evenly, feeling a bit bumpy, with black grime filling the gaps.

Never mind, I'll hurry and find Lin Xiao after I'm done! Li Yang was about to step into the restroom when he suddenly heard a strange sound, like human breathing, or perhaps the sound of someone swallowing saliva. This strange sound reminded Li Yang of the sound he heard a few nights ago before he experienced sleep paralysis!

How could this be? Li Yang touched his head, a chill running down his spine. It was daytime, how could a ghost appear? No, no! Li Yang shook his head vigorously. Why had he become so paranoid lately? Had he become more timid? Thinking of this, Li Yang gave a self-deprecating laugh and steeled himself to walk into the bathroom.

As soon as he stepped into the restroom, he felt a chill run down his spine. He glanced around nervously, but everything seemed normal. After quickly relieving himself, Li Yang turned around and looked back, feeling as if something had just brushed against his back.

Just as Li Yang was about to leave, he suddenly noticed the puddle on the floor—or more precisely, a puddle that was slowly crawling. The sight was truly bizarre; it was as if the water had eyes, as if it were alive, and was slowly moving towards him. This was definitely not a natural phenomenon of water expanding due to increased water levels, because the floor was uneven, and water should flow downhill. Yet, this puddle was slowly crawling up from the pits, more like a transparent crawler.

What kind of nonsense is this? Li Yang subconsciously took a step back. The air temperature seemed to be getting colder and colder, while the air pressure was getting higher and higher. Gradually, Li Yang felt a sensation similar to altitude sickness. The puddle on the ground gradually changed from an irregular shape into a human shape. Strangely, the stomach area of the human shape was a circular cavity. There was no water in that place, as if a waterproof film had been applied there.

"What do you want?" Li Yang didn't know why he would say such a thing to a puddle of water.

The water on the floor couldn't answer, but suddenly began to writhe its "body," the trembling and shaking seeming to be telling a story—pain or madness? The word "escape" seemed to be frozen in Li Yang's mind; he just stared blankly at everything before him.

"Li Yang, who are you talking to?" Lin Xiao's sudden question from the bathroom door startled Li Yang. He looked up and saw Lin Xiao walking in.

"Water, water!" Li Yang stammered.

"You don't have to come here if you want water!" I looked at Li Yang, who seemed a little pale. I had come to the toilet after waking up, but I didn't expect to hear Li Yang talking to himself at the door. It sounded like he was saying, "What do you want?"

"Look at that puddle of water!" Li Yang's mouth dropped open as he pointed to the floor, because although there was indeed a puddle of water on the floor, it had long since stopped moving, as if nothing had happened.

"What's wrong with this puddle?" I looked at the puddle on the ground with a puzzled expression. It was just a puddle of water, wasn't it?

"It clearly moved just now!" Li Yang took a closer look, but there was nothing there, just a normal puddle of water.

"I think you really do have a problem with your eyes!" I ignored him and quickly took care of my own physiological needs.

"Really, you believe me!" Li Yang said confidently.

"Stop messing around, are you going to eat or not?" I pulled him to the sink to wash his hands, then dragged him outside.

"Strange~~!" Li Yang muttered somewhat unwillingly, looking back at the puddle. Indeed, there was nothing there, and everything seemed normal.

"Let's eat!" Li Yang said, scratching his head as we walked out of the restroom. He didn't notice that the puddle trembled again after we left, creating ripples...