Chapter 49

Chapter 49: Domestic Violence Village IV

It was almost eight o'clock.

Qin Lin and Captain Zhao finished their greetings and gathered all the students who had arrived at the Shui Ximen Station.

The construction site had already finished for the day.

The collapse pit had been cordoned off early by the Shui Ximen Police Station, and not far away, the "site" where the two brothers had tragically died still had white chalk marks.

Everyone gathered in one place, listening to a few second-year students from the project leadership arrange the tasks.

A few people from the team that had been accompanying the archaeology students to check the collapsed cave had returned, including Liu Tianran and Qian Qianshan.

Qin Lin and a few partners laid out the hand-drawn contour maps, preliminary data collected by the ancient team, and other materials in the center for everyone to see.

Over fifty people gathered around to look.

"As everyone knows, the feng shui calculation course is nearing its end."

"Except for the East Suburbs' Tiantan Station, and the South Suburbs' Xianyun Township, the last one we're working on is right beneath our feet—Shui Ximen," Qin Lin said.

"First of all, regarding the mysterious connection between Shui Ximen and Yuehai Yuting, I believe everyone here should have a general idea of what that is, right?" Qin Lin asked.

"..."

All the second-year students nodded, and some first-year students looked confused.

Seeing this, Qian Qianshan, who was standing next to Qin Lin, explained:

"It's simple."

"The double homicide at Shui Ximen Station is likely caused by the release of yin energy from Yuehai Yuting."

"Currently, the evidence chain isn't complete, so we’re proceeding with a reasonable hypothesis. Domestic violence murders in Yuehai Yuting, where wives were killed and buried underground for years, combined with soil that connects to water sources, the water being close to the yin energy—this is also—" Qian Qianshan gestured towards Ming Yue, and Ming Yue, surprised, pointed to herself.

"—this is also why last week, during the feng shui calculation class, First-Year Ming Yue discovered why the ducks weren’t entering the waterway."

Ming Yue: "......"

Everyone turned to look at her.

Ming Yue quickly stood up straight from the tea tree, nodded, and added, "Senior, there are human bones in the river.""Not just because the water is close to the yin energy, but because there is already heavy yin energy at the bottom of the river."

Qian Qianshan: "......"

Qian Qianshan quickly corrected himself: "Alright, the waterway connects to Yuehai Yuting."

"The yin energy flows underground, polluting the soil and water."

"At the same time, the Shui Ximen construction team touched a cursed spot, digging up the buried bones underground, and simultaneously witnessed the 'living yin entities' nurtured by the ancient city walls. In their panic, they rushed back above ground, but neglected to properly seal the pit afterwards."

"Improperly sealed pits caused the resentment and yin energy to leak out, and the clash between the yin and yang energies at the station triggered strange changes."

"This led to the collapse accident at the construction site’s upper layers, costing two lives."

After he finished speaking, a first-year student, Jin Yuanbao, raised his hand to ask:

"Senior, does this mean that our focus is no longer on Shui Ximen but on Yuehai Yuting?"

"Has it been confirmed that the abnormalities at Shui Ximen were caused by Yuehai Yuting upstream?"

"Wasn't there also a team of seniors investigating the ancient site layer?"

Qin Lin checked the contour maps and explained:

"The focus is still on Shui Ximen. Our task has always been to ensure the safety of the subway station. Please remember that."

He gave a pointed look at Ming Yue, Bai Linlang, and a few other students. Qin Lin understood that the first-year students lacked experience, and Ming Yue and her group, having witnessed the horrors of the domestic violence village for the first time, might easily be swayed by their emotions and forget the main mission of Shui Ximen Station.

"The ancient site layer is one of the possible reasons for the excessive yin energy at Shui Ximen. The construction team exposed the ancient site layer to the open air, allowing the yin energy to leak out. However, this theory needs further validation depending on the archaeology department’s report."

"As for Yuehai Yuting, we are still making assumptions."

"I've already sent the PDFs of these drawings to the group. Everyone, please download them."

"After entering the caves, if the network is bad, you can refer to them in time."

Everyone complied.

Qin Lin's gaze became more intense, with a hint of pressure. "Now, we will begin assigning specific tasks."

"First-year students, you will be responsible for the surface, mainly focusing on the area around the river to dispel the yin energy and assist with the underground exploration.""Second-year students, a portion will stay above ground to help the first-years. Seven people will be selected to enter the cave, streamlining both manpower and resources—at the same time, first-years Ming Yue, Bai Linlang, and An Xueru, along with second-year students, will enter the cave."

The three of them: "......"

The three of them looked at each other in surprise, making expressions like "Wow, I hit the jackpot!"

Qin Lin’s decision created a stir, and many first-year students protested:

"Senior, why is that?!"

"Ming Yue and their dorm might be good, but we’re not bad either!"

"Yeah, exactly!"

Qin Lin dismissed the protests firmly: "Because the three of them are the vanguard, they've already been into the collapsed cave once and can guide us—how about that explanation?"

First-year students: "......"

That sounds very reasonable.

The three of them, 405, looked pleased with themselves, simultaneously straightening their collars with pride.

As the night deepened, the wind brought a chill, and the tea trees rustled in the breeze.

The students took out their gear and began to work at the designated spots.

Many first-year students had prepared a bunch of yang energy talismans for tonight’s exploration, which came in handy right at that moment.

After some deliberation, the second-year students decided to perform weighted calculations and determined that the top seven students based on integrated scores from the curse class, elementary yin-yang perception, and martial arts would join the three first-year girls in entering the cave.

Ming Yue, Bai Linlang, and An Xueru gathered together and whispered as they discussed the path to the collapsed cave once more.

"Do you remember the way, Squad Leader?"

"...It's a bit iffy."

"Should we talk to Captain Zhao and bring up Zhou Dafu again?" An Xueru frowned.

"Not good. I think the police are mostly using us." Bai Linlang made it clear, her patience running thin.

"What's there to be afraid of? I remember the way." Ming Yue sprang up, plucking a swaying tea tree leaf. Her astonishing jumping ability made the few officers stationed at a distance stare in awe.

Bai Linlang, An Xueru: "......Really?"Ming Yue untied the tape wrapped around the trident, revealing the barely alive ghost hand. If she hadn't gently moved it with her hand, one might have thought it was dead.

—Actually, it was dead to begin with.

Bai Linlang's scalp tingled: "What did you do?"

Ming Yue honestly replied, "It’s not good to leave this thing unattended at school. Can't let it harm the students."

"So I just tied it together with the manure fork."

"Don't worry, the soil medium retains the yin energy much better than the air. We just dug the hole last night, if we sprinkle some revealing powder now, there’ll definitely be traces."

"To be safe, I remember the way!"

"Trust me, when I first moved to Jinling City, I could remember everything after walking through it once."

Bai Linlang was left speechless by the response.

"Does your house cover 100,000 acres, Ming Yue?"

"Are you a devil?"

Ming Yue chuckled. Over at the second-year students' side, after the team was selected, Qin Lin called a few people to enter the cave.

The water west gate station was eerie and terrifying at night, with the flashlight beam occasionally cutting through the dark, and the occasional insect flying by.

"Here, hold it. The acoustics department's latest patented device, one for each person."

"I’ll leave the one on the ground for Yan Jun and the others." Qin Lin handed out wireless receivers to the ten people going into the cave.

"......"

Ming Yue kept checking the black earbud in her hand, then looked up at Yan Jun.

"......"

Yan Jun also looked back at her in perfect synchrony.

The two shared a smile.

This little gadget—wasn't it the acoustics department's lifeline that Senior Zhou Jingren insisted on protecting so fiercely back at Baoshan Hospital?"Be careful and protect yourselves."

"If anything happens, shout on the public frequency immediately."

Yan Jun thought for a moment but didn’t pat Ming Yue on the shoulder. Instead, he gave verbal instructions.

"No problem."

Ming Yue gave a bright smile. "Trust me, Squad Leader."

With that, Ming Yue, the bright girl, turned on her flashlight, pushed aside the discarded wooden board, and stepped into the depths of the Water West Gate station construction site.

The site was eerily silent in the dark.

The ten of them moved one by one, winding through the narrow earth tunnel. One tall senior hit his head against the ceiling, and dirt fell into his eyes.

"What kind of path is this? It’s winding like a pig’s intestine."

The senior behind muttered quietly.

The path twisted and turned, with the flashlight beam barely able to penetrate the darkness ahead.

Ming Yue led the way, and her left eye's vision grew clearer and clearer.

The soil was peculiar. In the underground yin atmosphere, everything was bathed in a faint grayish glow, eerie, yet with a certain strange beauty to it.

Like a fluorescent gray jellyfish seaweed group.

"Attention, everyone."

"The yin energy is intensifying."

"Be careful of anomalies."

Ming Yue waved her flashlight a few times as a reminder.

Liu Tianran, behind her, casually patted Ming Yue on the shoulder: "What are you afraid of, junior? Didn’t you already deal with the ghost hand?"

"We’re just here to clean up the residual yin energy."

Qin Lin's voice came from the back, carrying a hint of emptiness: "Stay alert, Liu Tianran."The reminder from Yan Jun came through the earplug public frequency on time: "Senior, according to the police description, the suspected owner of the skull hand—meaning the female remains dug up by the construction team in the second half of last year—had her skull and right hand bones missing."

"There is a high likelihood that there are other living yin beings underground. Please stay alert."

With that, silence fell in the dark underground.

So, does that mean the woman’s head hasn’t been... found yet?

Liu Tianran looked up, touching the soil ceiling that was just within reach, feeling as though he was suffocating.

Ming Yue tilted her head, said nothing, and continued leading the way.

Soon, they arrived at the fork where the skull hand had first appeared.

In Ming Yue's yang-yin vision, she clearly saw green claw marks on the soil walls, and a thick patch of yang energy in the form of a red heap gathered near the lower soil mound—where the black dog’s blood had been poured previously.

"This is the spot," Ming Yue said.

Qin Lin counted the forked paths.

One, two, five—intertwining, the paths branched off from the fork ahead, leading to five different directions in the pitch-black underground.

"Five paths, and we have ten people," Qin Lin said.

"Now, on the count of three, two, one, everyone will raise their right hand with black and white."

"Please form pairs with the opposite color closest to you and choose one path to enter."

The light from the flashlights gathered in one spot, illuminating a patch of darkness. The upper halves of their bodies were immersed in shadows, and one could vaguely see nodding motions.

Qin Lin: "Good."

"Three, two, one."

A row of hands reached out, one after the other, with the white light shining so brightly that the palms looked like bare bones.

Ming Yue raised her hand in black.Liu Tianran, standing beside Ming Yue, immediately hooked his arm around her shoulder: "Looks like it's just the two of us, junior."

Ming Yue held onto her senior's hand and smiled.

"......"

Qin Lin watched as the students paired off in the darkness. Something flashed in his mind, but before he could grasp it, Bai Linlang, who was pairing up nearby, started a conversation with him.

The yin energy grew even denser, and the flashlight only illuminated about one meter ahead.

If it gets any darker, we'll have to burn fire talismans, we need to finish this quickly, Qin Lin thought to himself.

Soon, everyone dispersed, each taking a different fork in the path.

The rustling sounds filled the air.

Everyone's footsteps were peculiar.

Liu Tianran and Ming Yue entered the third fork.

Ming Yue led the way, occasionally scattering the revealing powder. The jagged soil walls displayed dense green traces of yin energy, resembling dozens of dark green snakes slithering through the earth.

The marks were numerous and deep.

The colors varied, not appearing to be from the same set of traces made in the same period.

Liu Tianran felt a chill down his back.

"Lord Yama..."

"What's really buried under the site of Shui Ximen Station, some kind of monster?"

"These marks, some new, some old... it can't be, it can't be that a single ghost hand made these."

Ming Yue gently traced the scratches on the wall, and for some reason, she suddenly recalled a conversation from last week's Feng Shui accounting class between Jin Yuanbao and Qin Lin—

Jin Yuanbao had speculated that the danger marks in the yin energy were caused by broken corpse fragments buried underground.

Qin Lin had disagreed, saying that a single corpse fragment wouldn't break into so many pieces, and each piece wouldn't cover such a large area.

But—

In reality, Jin Yuanbao’s guess was entirely plausible.If—

The dense traces of yin energy fragments are caused by the accumulation of more than one body underground—

Then, these intricate, fragmented marks of yin energy on the soil walls would have a reasonable explanation.

What’s a ghost hand compared to that?

It’s possible there’s an underground kingdom of living yin creatures here.

Thinking of it this way—

Ming Yue's scalp almost exploded.

She finally understood what it must feel like for her senior when she scared Bai Linlang all the time.

Behind her, Liu Tianran was urgently updating the others who were also exploring the tunnels:

“Brothers and sisters! Whatever you're doing, stop right now!”

“There’s something wrong! Something’s wrong!”

“There’s new active yin creatures underground!”

“Keep your eyes peeled!”

“Respond! Quickly respond!”

“Qian Qianshan! Qian Qianshan, say something!”

“Zhang Yang! Where's your tunnel No. 4?”

Liu Tianran’s voice grew increasingly frantic on the public frequency. Ming Yue’s heart skipped a beat.

There was no response from the teams in Tunnel No. 1 and No. 4.

It could be because the yin energy was too heavy, or perhaps—

“Wait, Liu Tianran—” Qin Lin’s voice crackled through the public frequency, anxious and urgent.

“You just said there were traces of other active yin creatures, right?”Liu Tianran: "Nonsense!"

The voice from Qin Lin’s side paused for a moment, as if someone had grabbed him by the neck: "I just remembered something."

"Don’t be scared, everyone, help me think."

"Just now—" the voice of the sophomore student was low and rapid, "When we raised our hands, who remembers how many hands were there in the light at the end?"

"It was too fast. We quickly formed our teams, and I couldn’t see clearly."

The question felt like being woken from a deep sleep in the dead of winter, suddenly being doused with a bucket of snow.

A chilling cold seeped into the bones.

"..."

No one spoke in the public frequency.

Ming Yue’s mind rapidly replayed the scene, barely grasping what Qin Lin had mentioned. Her voice was dry:

"...I don’t remember clearly, Senior."

"Maybe twelve, maybe fourteen."

"It seems there were definitely more than ten hands..."