Chapter 43

Chapter 43: Water West Gate, Part 4 [Censored]

In modern society, there is never a shortage of homicides.

Every night, when the concrete forest is bathed in moonlight, there are always lives slipping away in the dark corners.

Journalism often mentions that human habitual thinking assumes: only bad news is news. If it’s not shocking or doesn’t stand out from the ordinary, it can only be called a report.

In this age of information overload, boring and bizarre murders simply don’t attract attention.

By the time Ming Yue, Bai Linlang, and An Xueru arrived at the scene of the incident at Water West Gate, the area had already been sealed off.

However, upon closer inspection, they realized there might not have been a need for such strict measures after all.

Black warning tape surrounded the construction site’s cement frame, while white/chalk circles marked the spots where the bodies had once lain, with some brown, old bloodstains visible.

A few scattered onlookers stood nearby, their faces showing little curiosity.

Counting the personnel, the police presence at the scene was fewer than the number of people watching.

The weather in the afternoon was a little hot. The three girls watched as a policeman, wearing white gloves, waved his hand to shoo away the flies from the dull bloodstains.

Under the scorching sun, on a construction site, with indifferent bystanders and tired police officers.

And the remnants of the blood of the deceased.

Bai Shizhang, who had a cold exterior but a kind heart, couldn’t help but sigh.

Ming Yue, hard-headed and unyielding, tugged at her sleeve: "Shizhang, we're here to gather information."

"Don't give the police any extra burden with your sympathetic expressions."

"When we came to the scene to make inquiries, they were already reluctant."

Beside them, An Xueru, as usual, wore heavy makeup and exuded a tough, street-smart demeanor. Despite the hot weather, her makeup didn’t budge:

"Yeah, Shizhang, this is a rare opportunity. We came early, and the other students will probably show up one after another. By then, the first-hand news will be taken by others."

"Shouldn’t we hurry up?"

The three of them made a decision and moved forward to negotiate with the police.

Team Leader Zhao took the three students' ID cards, eyeing them suspiciously, scanning them up and down."Is it you from the Spirit Sealing Institute handling the inquiries?"

"A few students?"

"Has the Golden Spirit Sealing Institute gone mad?"

The three young heads nodded like chicks pecking at rice.

Ming Yue quickly handed over Li Xianzhou's signed letter to Team Leader Zhao.

"......"

Team Leader Zhao carefully examined the letter.

It was indeed in Li Xianzhou's handwriting.

Team Leader Zhao, being an old police officer in Jinling City, was familiar with Li Xianzhou, the famous ghost slayer.

When Li Xianzhou decided to leave the field and return to academia to become a teacher, many of his old colleagues at the police station were quite regretful.

— Of course, only older colleagues who had experience dealing with ghost-infested areas would have such mutual understanding and respect.

Younger colleagues, however, probably had other thoughts.

Team Leader Zhao didn’t have any prejudice against ghost slayers.

He was just uneasy about these three delicate and beautiful young girls.

However, the order from above had indeed instructed someone from the Spirit Sealing Institute to come and inspect, and to jointly investigate the case.

There was no choice. Team Leader Zhao reluctantly pulled open the police tape, allowing the students to enter.

Seeing this, the three roommates exchanged a glance and had Ming Yue, the one with the strongest Yang energy, stand at the front.

Yin and Yang energy do not have a physical form.

Because of the absorption effect [Note], they tend to stick to certain professions or special objects.

The black police tape is an essential item at a crime scene. Its purpose is to separate the innocent from the guilty, ward off evil, and maintain integrity. When stretched, it can tightly block Yin energy and prevent the onlookers outside the police tape from being affected.

The premise is that official forces have not yet interfered with the case.Official forces represent the justice and authority of the Yang realm. If their actions are unjust or unbalanced, perhaps the Yang realm may remain unaware, but the objects used to isolate Yin and Yang energy will react.

They will lose or partially lose the justice-protecting power they should represent.

It’s like the obstetrics department at Baoshan Hospital. The police tape surrounding the head nurse’s office was, from the perspective of Yin and Yang studies, essentially useless—it had no meaning.

The entire obstetrics corridor was filled with Yin energy.

At that time, when the police tape was pulled back, a cool breeze swept through, refreshing the mind, yet it was not eerie.

Ming Yue: "......"

Ming Yue: "???"

She had prepared herself to be struck hard by a wave of malevolent energy.

But there was nothing.

Ming Yue: "......"

How could this be?

Ming Yue couldn’t figure it out.

The Yin energy at the Water West Gate was so heavy, and just a few nights ago, there were so many unreasonable things during the investigation.

But within this police tape, there was neither Yin energy nor malevolent spirits.

Could it be that there were no vengeful ghosts?

Would a vengeful ghost really be buried in such a remote corner where they hadn’t even noticed during their last visit in the dark?

Impossible.

How could someone have died so long ago without anyone knowing? The deceased must be so furious by now.

Or... maybe this anomaly at Water West Gate wasn’t caused by this particular murder?

With that thought, Ming Yue’s head started to ache.

Team Leader Zhao watched the three students squatting beside the white/chalk circles. He skillfully put on white gloves and began to touch and inspect things, taking a few pictures of the talismans and sprinkling some powder, all while avoiding disturbing the scene.

"Wait."Team Leader Zhao was about to stop them from sprinkling the powder.

Ming Yue put on a mask and explained vaguely, "Uncle, don't worry."

"This revealing powder won't damage the physical environment, it only has a ten-minute visibility period."

With a flick of her hand, she sprinkled it.

In an instant, a patch of red and green footprints appeared on the gray-white cement floor. The red footprints, those of the living, were especially numerous.

The green footprints, which belonged to the souls of the dead, were carefully examined and, indeed, only two pairs of feet were visible.

Team Leader Zhao perked up his ears, listening to the three students muttering:

"…What a strange thing, these two ghosts have big hearts. Could it be that after being buried, they came back to watch the scene?"

"Yeah, look at these four deep footprints, three centimeters thick… Maybe they stood here all night talking."

"I say, they must have been moved after death. Look, the red footprints are all over the place, and there are marks on the wall—"

"—The construction team, they’re definitely involved."

"That’s nonsense, Ming Yue. Who else could have moved the uncompleted subway station’s cement wall except the construction team?"

"—And they even sealed it back up with cement—"

Team Leader Zhao: "..."

He thought to himself, these three girls are sharp, their logic is pretty clear.

The three students pushed and jostled, looking somewhat embarrassed to make a request.

Team Leader Zhao chuckled and said, "Alright, the lead from the construction team has already sent someone to report it."

"If you want to negotiate, you'll probably have to wait a bit."

The three girls quickly thanked him.

Team Leader Zhao waved it off, feeling quite incredulous inside.

This sealing spirit thing is really something.They raised theoretical talents, yet each of them was quite capable in practice, and their courage was astonishing.

Team Leader Zhao had also come into contact with a few people in the Yin-Yang field, and he noticed that this industry shares many similarities with the national military system.

For example, in the battle between good and evil, it's about holding onto one's spirit, unyielding, moving toward goodness and justice.

For example, in the battle between humans and ghosts, it's similar to the battle between good and evil, where boldness and attention to detail are crucial.

Apparently, nowadays, the young girls in the Sealing Spirit field are this daring.

Team Leader Zhao thought to himself that when he gets back, he should set this incident as an example and teach the rookies in the team a lesson.

While waiting for the person to be brought over, the sun made them thirsty and dry-mouthed.

Ming Yue, with her quick mind, excitedly gathered her two roommates to go check out the waterway.

"…" Bai Linlang gave her a sideways glance, "Didn't you have your senior from the Medical School do the test?"

Without giving her a chance to explain, Ming Yue grabbed both of them and jumped down onto the riverbank, "We need to be the first ones on-site. We haven't even gotten the results yet."

In May, the air was becoming stuffy, but by the river, there was no trace of heat, only a chilling cold.

The four water channels lay in front of them, dark and ominous.

There were no ducks, no shallow banks, only water so deep it couldn't be seen.

Ming Yue’s ability to use her Yin Vision in the daytime was very limited. It was especially difficult under the scorching sun, where Yin energy was more apparent. She had to rely on her roommates to assess the situation of the first waterway.

The two of them quietly observed for a while.

Bai Linlang: "The Yin energy is quite heavy."

An Xueru: "And it’s floating on the river’s surface, with uniform density everywhere. We can’t see the source."

Before they could finish their conversation, they heard a "splash" sound, and a person vanished without a trace, leaving only a pile of clothes behind.

Bai Linlang and An Xueru: "…"

Damn it.

"Ming Yue!"The two of them rushed to the riverbank in an instant.

They saw Ming Yue standing up from the water, her body exposed halfway, muttering to herself, "It's not that deep."

Bai Linlang: "…"

Director Bai is going to die of anger!

She grabbed a stone, ready to smash it at this careless roommate: "Do you want to die?! If you want to drown the dormitory, why come here?!"

Ming Yue nimbly dodged the stone, and with a "plop," the stone fell into the river, producing a faint, dull sound.

That sound was wrong.

Ming Yue: "???"

Bai Linlang was still shouting, but Ming Yue ignored her, took a deep breath, and dove into the spot where the stone had fallen.

Splash! The surface of the dark water rippled, but there was no head to be seen.

Bai Linlang became even more anxious: "Oh no, is Ming Yue really going to drown like I said?"

An Xueru also seemed worried: "This river water feels wrong. What if she can't come back up?"

Bai Linlang panicked: "Oh my god!"

An Xueru also panicked: "The earth!"

Bai Linlang: "What do we do?"

An Xueru: "What do we do!!"

The two of them rushed to the riverbank and started shouting, almost in unison:

"Ming Yue——!"

"——Ming Yue!"

"——Ming——Yue——Yue——!"

"Ming Yue, come up——""Ming Yue, don't die——"

Ming Yue: ...

Ming Yue: Are you calling my soul?

One minute later, the water ghost stood up from the river, her dead fish eyes staring at the two panicked roommates:

"Do you think I can't swim?"

"This water's so shallow."

"If I can't swim, I can't stand up?"

After saying that, the watery ghost tossed a white object onto the shore, which landed with a loud clang. Then she herself walked up.

Roommates: "…"

Roommates: "When did you change into your swimsuit?"

Ming Yue started putting the clothes on the shore over her body: "You guys are so uncaring. I clearly put my swimsuit on underneath in the dorm."

"Quick, look at what I pulled out, it's a big treasure."

They looked, and were startled.

No wonder the stone made that strange noise when it collided with this thing.

This wasn't water plants, nor was it pebbles.

It was a large human skeleton, stacked in a ring-like closed structure. Smooth and clean, there was no flesh, no tendons, nothing—perhaps it had long been eaten away by wild fish and microorganisms.

Under the bright sun, the two roommates broke out in cold sweat as they stared.

"This is..." An Xueru asked, her face pale.

Bai Linlang started repeating, "There really was a murder..."

Soaked and dripping water, Ming Yue squatted next to the skeleton, flipping it over, checking from side to side:

"Pelvis, female pelvis."

The other two: "How do you know?""You guys forgot, didn't you?"

Ming Yue flashed a smile, showing eight teeth: "I did practical training in the morgue at the Medical College last semester."

"I've seen all kinds of bones."

Roommates: "…"

Oh boy, you're impressive.

The sun-drenched riverbank was warm and humid. Ming Yue walked barefoot, her toes curling up, feeling oddly strange.

The river water wasn't deep, but pulling out human bones made Ming Yue wonder—could it be that what she stepped on under the water earlier wasn’t a stone, but a bone?

Forget it.

This kind of association is no good.

The three of them wrapped the pelvis in a bag and walked toward the Water West Gate crime scene.

When they arrived, they found that the construction team’s foreman had already been summoned.

He was a chubby middle-aged man, looking quite familiar.

At that moment, he was wiping sweat off his face, communicating with the police, looking anxious.

The three ghost hunters in reserve stared at him.

Three pairs of Yin and Yang eyes.

Ming Yue took a Yin talisman out of her bag and pasted it on her left eye.

Bai Linlang: "What do you two see?"

An Xueru: "His face suggests a small fortune, no murderous karma."

Ming Yue tilted her head, staring at the causal chain on the foreman—there were only a few threads, and one of them was indeed a faint red, but very light and not malicious. In fact, under the sun, it seemed to be slowly dissipating:

"Did you see it? His causal chain."

"The faint red that’s disappearing.""And also, there’s only one red thread."

Bai Linlang confirmed: "It seems these two deaths are indeed related to him."

Ming Yue corrected her: "But, the color is wrong."

"The faint red indicates—this is an undeserved disaster."

An Xueru asked: "Then... what does it mean that the red is dissipating?"

Ming Yue wrapped the pelvis back up and sighed:

"It means, he has made amends, and the vengeful spirit has forgiven him."

"Maybe, the anomaly at Water West Gate isn't actually closely related to these two deaths."