double

Chapitre 30

"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?

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Author's note: I've been busy with visa matters lately, so updates have been interrupted. Please forgive me. I've asked a friend to help with updates while I'm away, but I don't know if she'll agree! :(

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!

"Going looking for inspiration, huh!" My older sister plopped down next to me, leaning against me. The top two buttons of her shirt were undone, and the loose neckline revealed a large expanse of snow-white skin and her high, firm breasts, which rose and fell with her breath, creating a beautiful wave of flesh.

I tried to look away from my older sister's chest. Although she was safe now, I couldn't guarantee that there wouldn't be other women born on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month who would be victimized. So I told her, "You should stay home and write these next few days. Don't go out and wander around!"

"Why?" My older sister's tone suddenly turned cold. This wasn't the tone she was used to when she spoke to me. I was taken aback and couldn't think of a good reason right away.

"Are you afraid I'll catch you with your girlfriend?" my older sister asked casually, but her eyes didn't look at me. Instead, she gazed into the distance. I had never seen my sister like this before—melancholy and distant, someone I couldn't reach.

"How...how did you know I have a girlfriend?" It took me a long time to finally ask, stunned.

"Silly boy!" My older sister patted my head affectionately and said, "I'm your older sister, we can communicate telepathically!"

"Oh, really?" I accepted her explanation, but I still had a strange feeling. My older sister knew about Yin Xue and me, and I wondered if my new relationship would make her think I was unfaithful to Yin Xue. I paused, but in the end, I didn't bring up Yin Xue again. Was that cowardice on my part?

"Men are such heartless creatures!" my older sister said coldly to me again. "Have you forgotten Yin Xue so quickly?"

Hearing her words, my blood seemed to freeze. It felt like I'd heard Yin Xue say the same thing to me in a hallucination. Could it be? Am I really such a heartless man? Looking at my older sister's beautiful face, I couldn't tell who she really was. Yin Xue's mournful yet disdainful face was gradually overlapping with my older sister's, and unease was gnawing at my heart like a rat.

"No matter how heartless you are, you must remember this," my older sister suddenly turned around and hugged me, saying, "I will always love you!"

Love me?! I smiled and hugged my older sister tightly. Yes, of course you love me, because I'm your only family, the closest blood siblings in the world! I patted her back knowingly and said, "I love you too, and forever!"

I don't know if it was because the room was too cold or because my older sister wasn't dressed warmly enough, but she was freezing cold and even shivering slightly, like a frightened little rabbit. I rubbed her back, stood up, and said, "Sis, you're so cold! Let me get you a coat!"

I turned to leave, but my older sister pounced on me from behind and hugged me tightly. Her hands gripped my clothes tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force. Her soft body pressed against my back, and even though I knew she was my sister, my damn physical reaction was so intense; all my desire seemed to gather in my lower abdomen in an instant. Taking a deep breath, I forcefully pulled my sister from behind me to face me, forcing myself to remain calm as I asked, "What's wrong, sister?"

"It's nothing!" My older sister shrugged, seemingly relaxed, but I knew something was off. Perhaps it was me who was acting strangely. My sister no longer seemed the same; she possessed an alluring charm. The faint fragrance emanating from her was both familiar and strange, like a flower field from a fragment of memory. Even worse, this scent acted like a potent aphrodisiac, reigniting the desire I had barely managed to suppress. It was so intense that I bit my tongue hard, enduring the pain as I said, "I have something to do. You go to sleep!" With that, I fled the house as if escaping.

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Driving aimlessly through the night, I didn't know how to face my older sister. I was such a jerk that I even wanted my own sister. I should just kill myself!

"Damn it!" I slammed my fist on the steering wheel, not sure if I was cursing myself, and irritably stopped the car. Looking up, I realized I'd inexplicably driven right next to Heart Lake! Good heavens, looks like my brain's not just messed up today! I nervously glanced around; there was no one there. Heart Lake was dark and gloomy in the night, emanating a chilling aura. I pulled my coat tighter; I felt so cold, a chill creeping up from the depths of my being. The only sound was my breathing. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, I didn't even try to drive away. It was as if a voice from the depths of the forest was calling to me, begging me not to go!

From a purely medical perspective, fear can speed up a person's metabolism! And right now, my metabolism is probably several times faster! Because I actually got out of the car and slowly walked into the woods. In the end, I could only explain my behavior at that time with three words: possessed!

Without any lighting, I was essentially groping my way through the darkness. The surrounding branches formed blurry patterns in the shadows, like the gaping maw of a demon or the outline of a monster. These imagined visions filled my mind like a slideshow. Fear, in truth, originates from within. What truly terrifies us is our own speculation about the unknown. Various desires and greed prevent us from seeing our true selves, causing us to focus on the surface while neglecting the inner self.

My feet were stepping on the soft grass, fallen leaves returning to the earth, all leaves following their inevitable cycle, eventually rotting in the soil. The scent of death emanated from this leaf-strewn ground, spreading from my feet throughout my body. The soft, yielding sensation reminded me of corpses again, like stepping on a ground littered with them—cold, putrid, sticky, and nauseating. Yet my body moved straight forward, with no intention of turning back.

As I walked, I arrived at the lake's edge. Mist swirled around me, and the rising fog blurred my vision. Suddenly, my eyes began to twitch violently, and a strange feeling made my heart race. The lake water ahead churned, as if something was rising from the bottom, but it was too far away for me to see. Thinking this, my feet, as if possessed, began to move, walking straight towards the center of the lake.

The icy lake water surrounded me, its chilling touch stimulating my entire body. My capillaries all dilated instantly, and countless goosebumps immediately rose on my skin. I trembled slightly, and ripples spread across the lake.

Then I heard a faint breathing sound coming from beneath the surface of the lake.

Then came the mournful sighs and my own breathing...

I suddenly looked down, and beneath the lake's surface, blurry faces began to emerge. In my terror, they gradually became clearer: Yin Xue's, Cao Ying's, Fang Lei's, and my older sister Lin Yao's faces. They were all thin, pale faces, like props used by evil spirits to paint their faces. The ripples in the lake created a distorted, deathly white effect.

The eyes on every face, which had been tightly closed, suddenly opened and stared at me in unison. Each pair of eyes seemed to possess its own life, containing different thoughts, gazing at me with a chilling intensity. Whether it was the reflection of the moon or something else, each pair of eyes emitted a cold light, like a thousand knives cutting into my skin. This feeling was like an overwhelming grief compounded by a bone-chilling fear, making it hard for me to breathe.

I didn't know what to do. My body was completely stiff, and the icy lake water had reached my waist, but my feet seemed to heed the devil's call. At this moment, the lake water not only made me feel cold, but also intensely painful, as if it were corroding me with sulfuric acid.

The lake water was gradually rising, and I knew that I was steadily moving towards the center of the lake. If this continued, I would have to bathe in the lake in my heart, but my body wouldn't listen to me.

The feeling of choking on cold water is really unpleasant; the icy and stinging sensation throughout my body actually made me unusually clear-headed.

I resisted the sting of the water in my eyes and opened them underwater. The lake water was unusually clear, and my face, which had been covered by the water, was gone. Strangely, I thought I should be very close to the surface since I had just entered the lake, but when I looked up, I saw an unfathomable pool of water above me, incredibly deep, while looking down, everything was brightly lit. The light in the lake was emanating from beneath me.

It felt like... like I'd entered a completely upside-down world. What should have been the lake bottom was now the surface, and vice versa. Or perhaps it wasn't the world that was upside down, but myself? After struggling to shake my head in the water, I decided to swim towards the light. After all, human instinct is to repel darkness!

The further downstream I went, the brighter the light became, as if an incredibly powerful electric light had been installed at the bottom of the lake. The bright light gradually created a reddish halo in my vision, and my entire eyeball began to ache, as if something was pressing down on my temples. My eyes were sore from seeing things underwater for so long, and I strained with all my might, hoping to reach the end of the light as quickly as possible.

I've heard that people often see an unusually bright and dazzling white light before they die. So, am I about to die? I'm almost out of air in my lungs, my brain is starting to lack oxygen, but the sharp pain in my chest keeps me conscious.

Suddenly, an incredibly bright white light flashed before my eyes, followed by sudden darkness. But I felt a sense of relief because I had surfaced and was breathing air again.

There was no time for me to figure out how to sink to the bottom of the lake and find an exit. My eyes, accustomed to overly bright environments for so long, were terribly disoriented by the sudden darkness. I could only vaguely make out a red glow flickering before my eyes. I blinked, and my vision was filled with a bloody hue. A familiar yet nauseating smell of blood assaulted my nostrils. After a struggle to readjust my eyes to the darkness, I looked again and saw that familiar sewer door. Behind that door lay a pool of blood, formed from the blood of countless people, hidden like countless unspeakable secrets in the damp, dark abyss.

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Chapter Sixty-Four: The Beginning of the Truth

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Struggling to climb out of the sewer, I looked back at the dark, narrow passage, then back at the door right in front of me. I really didn't know whether to go back or push the door open. The smell of blood seemed even stronger than last time, but I remembered that the blood pool was perfectly clear when I left last time. Had it reverted back to its original state? Thinking this, my foot involuntarily took a step forward, and my hand was already on the surface of the door.

With just a gentle push, creak~~~~~~~~, the door opened.

The blood pool before them was emitting an eerie red light, and right next to it stood a "person"—Yang Tianxing! His face was bluish-black, but the light in his eyes was unusually bright. His skin had dried out and turned brown, clinging dryly to his skeleton.

"Are you a human or a ghost?" My voice was dry and hoarse with fear.

"Haha~~~" His laughter was like a cassette tape stuck in a broken record player, giving me goosebumps.

"Lin Xiao, you've finally arrived!" Yang Tianxing said with a smug smile. "You should feel honored to witness my rebirth!"

Birth? I glanced at him curiously, but what I caught in the corner of my eye struck me like a thunderbolt: right there in the pool of blood, an infant floated silently on its surface, its body entirely crimson. Could this really be Cao Ying's child? Was the hallucination by the Heart Lake real? Cold sweat slowly trickled down my forehead and dripped onto the ground.

"What is this?" I asked.

"What?" Yang Tianxing looked into my eyes and said, word by word, "It is me!"

"Is it you?" My mind started racing. Wait a minute! Yang Tianxing was clearly dead, how could he be resurrected? If this baby is a reincarnated evil spirit, it couldn't be Yang Tianxing's ghost; it doesn't have that kind of power! Could it be…it's him?!

"You're not Yang Tianxing!" I shouted, pointing at him. "You're Song Tian!"

"Haha~~~~! You're not stupid after all!" Song Tian glanced at me smugly and said.

"You bastard, why did you take over someone else's body?" I don't know where I got the courage to yell at him.

"Someone else's body? Heh, do you even consider this a person?" Song Tian touched Yang Tianxing's body and asked me coldly.

Yes, this body can no longer be considered human; at best, it's just a corpse. But no matter what, using someone else's corpse as one's own body is a desecration of humanity! I suddenly felt a pang of sorrow for Song Tian. What good is his so-called immortality if he still ends up using a corpse as his vessel? What's the point of such eternal life? The best proof of a person's existence in this world is their own body. If the body is false, then one's existence is also false!

I sighed, then suddenly laughed and said, "How pathetic!"

"What did you say?" Song Tian was clearly confused by my actions and asked in confusion.

"I said I pity you! I pity you for clinging to this world even though you don't have a body anymore! Oh! Sorry!" I shrugged and said, "I forgot you don't actually have your own face!"

"You—!" Song Tian was so enraged that he was practically spitting fire. His face contorted with rage as he glared at me and said, "Isn't it all your fault that I lost my body?! If it weren't for that damned Lin Junxian, if he hadn't killed me, how could I have died? How could I have died before the experiment even succeeded?! That bastard Lin Junxian lied to me and said the experiment was a success, and then stabbed me in the back on the way to the lab!"

Listening to Song Tian's taunts, I finally understood the cause of his death. I think Lin Junxian must have killed him in a fit of rage after learning Song Tian's true identity and sinister intentions! That's why Yang Yi thought Lin Junxian wanted to sever ties with investor Song Tian, unaware that Lin Junxian had already killed him! And the subsequent fire at the hospital must have been something Lin Junxian never expected! His best friend and best partner would burn everything, even himself, in pursuit of immortality! Being killed by the person he trusted most must have been a very bitter death! But why did Yang Yi also perish in the fire? Thinking of this, I looked at Song Tian again and asked, "Did you kill Yang Yi?"

"Yang Yi? That despicable man?" Song Tian said contemptuously, "He's just a scoundrel who'd sell anything for immortality. A person who would betray and kill even his best friend has no value in this world! Haha~~~~ Chinese pigs! You spout all that benevolence and morality, and praise Confucius's teachings on benevolence, but so what? You're capable of any kind of shady business!"

I was momentarily speechless. Yes, we admire Confucius's benevolence and morality, saying that human nature is inherently good. But why is there so much darkness in our nation? Traitors and lackeys will always be among the most disgraceful aspects of this nation's history! Or perhaps, we should say that human nature is inherently evil? Each of us has a dark side that we ourselves are unaware of!

I gave a wry smile and calmly replied, "Yes, some of us are despicable! But what about you? What have you done in your quest for immortality? You've harmed countless lives, treating them like dirt! And of course, there's your father, Matsuda Tamanosuke! The doctor from Unit 731!"

When I mentioned Matsuda Tamanosuke, Song Tian visibly paused for a moment, then suddenly burst into wild laughter: "Looks like you know quite a lot! That's why I'm even less likely to let you leave here alive!"

Are you going to kill me? It's come to this point, and I find that I'm no longer afraid. I calmly look at Song Tian in front of me. What's meant to happen will happen!

"Aren't you scared?" Song Tian asked in surprise, looking at my unusually calm demeanor.

"Afraid? Of course I'm afraid. Who isn't afraid of death? But I'm more curious about why you went to such lengths to bring me here." I'm really curious why Song Tian chose me, and why he wanted me to witness his rebirth.

"Because I need your help!" Song Tian grinned maliciously as he approached me.