Lamentation de la Nuit de l'Ouest

Chapitre 26

"After returning from Hangzhou, he said that he met her while drinking at Moonlight."

"It's only been a few days? He's already going to be my brother-in-law, that's too fast!"

"It's a family tradition to get things done quickly," Gu Ming grinned like a fox. "What do you think of him?"

"He looks alright, definitely a decent person. I didn't expect him to let us get in through connections."

"Hmph, if he hadn't been desperate, why would he have let us come? That guy's an old fogey." Gu Ming curled his lip. "The Public Security Bureau has handled countless cases, so there are some things they naturally don't tacitly understand. They've also had a lot of dealings with people from the supernatural world behind the scenes. Xia Canyue had told him long ago that our family knows about this, and when the incident happened, she also said that Aunt Gao's death wasn't an ordinary murder case. But he insisted on handling it strictly by the book. They did several autopsies, but there were no results. People in the bureau were all hinting that there was something wrong with the case. If it weren't for the lingering screech on the body's incision starting to disappear and blood seeping out this morning, and if they hadn't been able to find anything wrong, they wouldn't have agreed to let us come."

I nodded and arrived at the morgue in the blink of an eye. A chilling aura hit me, and sure enough, it smelled of death. I followed Gu Ming inside, my heart filled with fear, not fear of the dead, but fear of Aunt Gao's appearance. No matter what, I couldn't reconcile that bright smile with their description. But if her death was even more horrific than described, how could I ever remember that smile?

Bang!

The freezer was opened, and Xia Canyue and Gao Tian stood in front of us, pulling Gu Ming's hand tighter. After a while, Xia Canyue turned to look at Gu Ming and said, "Go and see, it really is white."

Just as I was about to step forward, Xia Canyue stopped me, saying, "Don't go."

I paused, knowing she was afraid I wouldn't be able to bear seeing such a scene. I shook my head and followed Gu Ming forward. Looking down, I saw Aunt Gao lying quietly. A cold aura mixed with a strange smell wafted over me. Her limbs and body were separated, the cut surfaces neatly pieced together, but not stitched back together. Her head was also neatly placed on top, her face cut in half, her eyes tightly closed—had someone else closed them? Her mouth was wide open; was she calling for help before she died? On each cheek was a blooming jade hairpin, and her body was covered with leaves, stems, and various shapes of jade hairpin flowers, but those flowers were burned; the flowers formed from charred flesh were no longer pure white. Blood began to flow from all the cuts, but even lying in the freezer, the blood did not congeal. From a distance, it probably just looked like a pile of charred flesh.

Suddenly everything went black as a pair of hands covered my eyes, and Gu Ming's voice rang in my ears, "Don't look."

His body was trembling, and his face was completely wet.

As we walked into Gao Tian's office, Gu Ming gently patted my back, but my mind was filled with the strange burns, and my heart felt heavy and painful.

“We can’t explain why blood can still flow out at minus 20 degrees Celsius,” Gao Tian sighed.

“It’s a shrill aura,” Gu Ming said. “When the shrill aura is weak, it’s light white; when it’s strong, it’s purple. If the ghost is powerful enough, its shrill aura can turn from purple to pure white. Aunt Gao’s shrill aura was pure white, so the murderer is not simple. The shrill aura is extremely cold. When she died, all her cuts and blood vessels were surrounded by the shrill aura, and her blood was sealed. Although she was in a freezer, the temperature there was much higher than that of the shrill aura. Now that the shrill aura is fading, the frozen blood is like an ice cube in warm water, so it’s starting to melt.”

Gao Tian listened intently with a frown, pondered for a long time, and then asked, "Can you summon spirits?"

“You want to find Aunt Gao’s soul, right?” Xia Canyue interjected. “People who are injured by the ’Li Qi’ cannot reincarnate on their own after death and naturally become ghosts, but we… cannot find her soul.”

I was taken aback, looked up at them, and asked, "Why?"

Xia Canyue and Gu Ming shook their heads at the same time. Gu Ming said, "As soon as we learned that Aunt Gao had an accident, we thought of this method, but we tried it many times and it didn't work. So, either her soul was destroyed or she was deliberately trapped."

"Then what should we do?" I asked.

Gu Ming turned to look at Gao Tian and said, "I want to go and see Er Gou Manor."

Gao Tian paused for a moment, then shook his head and refused, "No, that's a crime scene. Our people are guarding that place to check for any clues left by the murderer. You can't go in."

Listening to him, I thought to myself that this man was indeed an old-fashioned rigid person. If he solved cases in such a rigid way, how could he have become the director? We've already seen the body, so what's wrong with looking at the scene? We're not the murderers.

"I'm just afraid your people will erase even the slightest clue," Gu Ming said indifferently.

Gao Tian frowned even more deeply, and Xia Canyue chimed in, "Yes, there are some things that ordinary people can't see. If we accidentally mess things up, it will be even harder to solve the case, right? Even if we go and take a look, we can't see clearly with the illusion technique, and it won't be of much help. Everyone wants this matter to be resolved as soon as possible, don't we?"

Gao Tian lit a cigarette, took two puffs, and finally nodded. "I'll tell them not to move around. We'll go again tomorrow morning. It's not good to have too many people now."

I sighed quietly in exasperation. So incredibly old-fashioned, what on earth happened to Xia Canyue that she fell for this guy…

Gao Tian finished work very late at noon, and Xia Canyue said she would wait for him to eat, so Gu Ming and I went back to Moonlight early. Gu Ming cooked a lot of dishes himself, but I didn't have much of an appetite. I picked up a piece of lettuce with my chopsticks and chewed it little by little.

Eat more.

"You'll gain weight."

"I've been fat for a long time."

"I have no appetite."

"You...do you think my cooking isn't good enough?"

"It's quite delicious."

"So it's not as good as Deng Fei's, is that it?"

"kindness?"

Why do you eat so much when he cooks, but have no appetite when I cook?

"That's just jealousy out of nowhere."

"..."

"..."

"Stop fussing, eat more. I know you're upset. Aunt Gao's matter will be resolved sooner or later. But don't ruin your stomach again. I heard from Xiao Bi that you always eat irregularly, and then your stomach hurts..."

This afternoon, I went online and asked Deng Fei to send me the information I had researched; I couldn't forget about the thesis. Deng Fei asked if I wasn't coming back for the next few days, and I said yes, I was going to Er Gou Mountain Villa tomorrow, and asked if he wanted to come to Moonlight with us. Deng Fei said coldly, "No need, I'll drive myself."

I think he was in a bad mood, probably because of Aunt Gao's matter.

In the evening, Gu Ming came back from outside and tossed me a new phone. "I've been too busy these past few days, and I only had time to buy one this afternoon. You can use this so that no one can't find you. Also, your mom called me to ask how you've been these past few days, and I said you're eating and sleeping well. Call your aunt back."

I smiled and wondered when the rain outside would stop...

The rain still hadn't stopped on April 23, 2005.

We got up at 3 a.m. to go to Er Gou Mountain Villa. Gao Tian drove us, and we arrived at 5 a.m.

I remember every time I came here, the first thing I saw was Aunt Gao's smiling face, but now...

With a sigh, Xia Canyue and Gu Ming walked inside, but stopped outside the gate. They looked at the gate, made a finger gesture, nodded to each other, and walked to opposite sides of the gate. The next second, they had three talismans in their hands. With a flick of their right hands, the talismans disappeared into the ground.

Gao Tian had clearly never seen such a scene before. He was stunned for a moment next to me, but quickly regained his composure. He was indeed very calm.

Upon entering the gate, you are greeted by a courtyard full of flowers and plants. A breeze carries the scent of earth mixed with the fresh fragrance of plants, which is very pleasant, but it always feels like something is missing.

Gao Tian led us to the room where Aunt Gao had her accident. Because it was sealed off, there was some dust inside. Gu Ming told us to stay outside and went in alone. He stood in the middle of the room, glanced around, and then leaped up and stuck a talisman in each of the eight corners of the room. The talismans disappeared into the wall in the blink of an eye, and the whole room seemed to be firmly trapped by an invisible net.

Gu Ming waved for us to come in. The furniture and items in the room were neatly arranged, with no signs of a fight.

Gao Tian pointed to the bed against the wall and said, "The body was found on this bed. The burns were severe, but there were no burn marks in the room, so initially we suspected this wasn't the primary crime scene. However, according to clues provided by other people at the resort, the deceased went to her room to rest at 11:30 PM, and a scream was heard from inside at 12:30 AM. Ten minutes later, resort staff pried open the door. During this time, the deceased didn't leave the room. The windows were tightly closed, with no signs of damage, and there were no unidentified footprints or fibers, nor any substances that could cause combustion. Based on the dismemberment of the deceased, we ruled out suicide. But how the murderer entered the room, what burned the deceased, and what the patterns on her body represent—we still can't explain these things..."

Gu Ming walked to the bedside and examined it carefully. I also squatted down and looked at the snow-white sheets. I couldn't imagine how painfully Aunt Gao had struggled on them. What cruel thing had she encountered?

My nose tingled, and tears welled up in my eyes. Afraid that Gu Ming and the others would see, I quickly lowered my head, my nose touching the bed.

Suddenly, a faint fragrance wafted from the bed sheets, instantly bringing back memories.

"It's that female ghost, Gu Ming, it's her, it's that scent!" I jumped up and exclaimed. "I smell this scent every time I come to the manor. I thought it was the fragrance of flowers, but it wasn't spring yet, and there were no flowering plants in the manor. Then, when that female ghost appeared, the scent came again, and it was extremely strong, as if it was emanating from her. When I entered the gate just now, I smelled the fragrance of flowers and plants throughout the courtyard, but I always felt that something was missing. Now I know it's this scent that's missing."

"You mean the sheets have that scent?" Gao Tian asked as he walked over.

"That's the taste, no doubt about it." I nodded; it really was that female ghost who harmed Aunt Gao.

Gu Ming frowned, lowered his head to smell the sheet, then lifted a corner, his eyes lit up, and he reached out to pick up a hair from the gap, a thoughtful expression flashing across his face.

Xia Canyue looked around and said, "There is no trace of any remaining soul, nor any sign of a soul-destroying spell. It seems that Aunt Gao's soul was deliberately trapped."

Gu Ming stood up and handed the hair to Xia Canyue. Xia Canyue took it, glanced at it, and immediately showed a look of surprise. She quickly put it away and said, "That's good."

"What? Did you find anything?" I asked.

Xia Canyue smiled and said, "You'll find out when you get back to 'Moonlight'."

Gao Tian glanced at us, then silently closed the door and we left together.

The car broke down on the way to "Moonlight". Gao Tian called for help, while Xia Canyue and I sat by the roadside to enjoy the breeze. Unable to contain our curiosity, we asked again, "What exactly did you find?"

Xia Canyue pinched her pocket and said, "Aunt Gao's hair."

"What kind of discovery is this?"

“You don’t understand. When a person dies, the things on their body naturally lose their spirit. We can’t summon Aunt Gao’s soul with ordinary soul-summoning spells, but we can use the things on her body from when she was alive to pull her soul back. And this hair has a shrill aura, which means that this hair was dropped before Aunt Gao was murdered, and it is covered with the murderer’s shrill aura. If we are prepared properly, we might be able to track down the murderer directly.”

"So, we'll find the killer soon?" I asked hurriedly.

“You can’t say that,” Xia Canyue shook her head. “Although we have this hair, Aunt Gao’s soul is trapped. If that person’s magic is superior to ours, not only will we not be able to pull Aunt Gao’s soul back, but we will also alert the murderer. Before we figure out why he killed Aunt Gao, we’d better not alert him. Gu Ming explained the previous events to me very clearly. We don’t know anything about the female ghost’s origins or the true strength of the person behind her. We must be careful in everything we do.”

My heart sank again. I lowered my head and sighed. Why did I have to encounter these strange things?

"What are you thinking about?" Gu Ming suddenly walked over and sat down next to me and asked.

"It's nothing, I just don't understand that female ghost..." Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind, "Gu Ming, do you remember that the female ghost admitted herself on the night you fought that she was the former owner of this manor? If we trace her back to her origins..."

"Silly boy, you only just remembered? I told Gao Tian a long time ago to check the female ghost's background. We should have results in the next day or two." Gu Ming patted my head and said with a smile, "Don't be too anxious. Although these things happened strangely, from the female ghost that appeared out of nowhere at the manor to Aunt Gao's death and the relationship between Fu Yi and them, it's not hard to see that we're just missing a thread connecting these things. I have a feeling that the thread will come out soon. It's okay, everything will be alright."

Leaning against Gu Ming's chest, listening to his comforting words, she suddenly felt at ease. Everything really would be alright...

At noon, we finally arrived at "Moonlight". As soon as we entered, Deng Fei arrived with Xiao Bi and Jia Yanyan, followed by several other people. When I looked, I saw that it was Cang Yu and Cang Yue from Bailu Mountain, as well as Cang Lang, who was being targeted by Xiao Bi, and the beautiful Cang Zhenzhen, and a girl who looked very familiar but was also very strange.

"Xiao Bi, when did you guys get back?" I jumped up and asked.

“I happened to be there when Gu Ming called Master Cangyi. My teacher was also urging me to come back to work on my graduation project, so we all came back together. Why didn’t you tell me about Aunt Gao’s accident? Did something happen to you?” Xiao Bi said with a stern face.

"I'm fine. I've been so focused on finding Aunt Gao's killer these past few days that I forgot to tell you."

"I'm glad you're alright. As for Aunt Gao... how could she just disappear like that..." Xiao Bi sighed.

"You two, stop standing there and let the others in to sit down," Xia Canyue interrupted Xiao Bi and me, gesturing for the others to sit down.

Cang Yu and Cang Yue smiled and said, "We apologize for disturbing you. Our master instructed us to do our best to assist Mr. Gu when we came down the mountain. If it is indeed the work of that ghost, the disciples of Bailu Mountain will do everything in our power to capture it."

"Thank you everyone, you can just call me Gu Ming." Gu Ming brought out drinks and cakes. "Have something to eat first, the food will be brought over in a bit. There are plenty of rooms in the backyard of 'Moonlight'. After you finish eating, you can stay here. I'll tell you about the plans later."

As we were talking, the restaurant delivered the food. I got up to take it, but then I heard a sweet voice call out, somewhat aggrievedly, "Gu Ming."

Turning his head, he saw a girl who looked familiar yet somewhat strange staring at Gu Ming with a pitiful expression. She wrapped her arms around Gu Ming's arm and pouted, as if she was about to cry.

This girl is...

"Xiao Bai? What brings you here?" Gu Ming asked.

So it was that little fox spirit. No wonder she looked so familiar, but something about her seemed off. I glanced at Gu Ming, then lowered my head to take the takeout. Xiao Bi followed with a mischievous grin, excitedly whispering in my ear, "Look, look, I got revenge for you! A hairless fox!"

I was stunned. Looking at the girl again, I saw that she really didn't have a single hair on her body. My lips twitched. "Xiao Bi, did you really pluck all the fox fur?"

"Of course, it's all because this damned fox takes advantage of her beauty to ruin other people's happiness, ignoring your existence and seducing Gu Ming all day long. That day, I stole a demon-fixing talisman from the old demon Cang Yi, and also took a high-end razor. While the little fox was sleeping, I stuck the talisman on its forehead, then shaved off the fur on its tail, gave it a poodle-dog look, and then dyed it a fire fox. After playing with it, I shaved off all the fur on its body. In the end, if Cang Lang hadn't found out and told us not to shave the fox's head, because that fur contains the magic power they cultivate, and once it's lost, thousands of years of cultivation would be wasted, Jia Yanchang and I would have let it go. Otherwise, what you see now is a bald fox."

Xiao Bi spoke smugly, which made my image of the violent female bandit even more impressive. But then I thought of the hairless little white rabbit, and a wave of guilt washed over me. Turning around, I saw the little white rabbit clinging to Gu Ming like an octopus, and my guilt vanished instantly. A malicious thought crossed my mind: Serves her right!

During lunch, Xiaobai snuggled up to Gu Ming and wouldn't leave. She even stepped on my foot with her high heels under the table. Xiao Bi quietly took out a razor from her pocket and started playing with it. In an instant, Xiaobai disappeared.

I love Xiao Bi...