Chapter 140 Replacement
That night, Jiaxianchang Street.
Chen Chuan, Director Wang, and several plainclothes Public Security Bureau officers walked on this busy street.
Both sides of the night market street are filled with food stalls, various shops with lanterns hanging and selling various small accessories are connected one after another, and there are also activities such as guessing lantern riddles, throwing pots, wrestling, guest singing, etc., and fireworks are occasionally seen in the distance.
As a small county town, it is indeed very lively. According to Secretary Wang, the Qiaoshen Festival is the most lively day, and almost half of the people in the county will come out.
This is also what the Government Affairs Office is most worried about. They are afraid that the situation will get out of control. However, they cannot force everyone not to go out. Even if they make a rule, they cannot enforce it.
But no matter what, at least the current atmosphere allowed them to relax their tense emotions a little.
Chen Chuan then said to them, "You'd better buy something, even if it's just a snack. If you don't buy anything, you might end up with something extra when you go back. Of course, it's just a possibility."
Hearing what he said, Director Wang and the members of the Public Security Bureau were shocked and hurried to buy some things from both sides.
Chen Chuan waited for them to come back and said, "Okay, there are no tasks tonight, so let's go to the night market first."
Seeing that he hadn't moved, Secretary Wang said, "Expert Chen, what about you? You... aren't buying it?"
Chen Chuan nodded.
Secretary Wang couldn't help but shudder.
This time, Chen Chuan didn't buy anything, nor did he eat anything. When it was around ten o'clock in the evening, when the group walked out of the night market, he suddenly saw a trace of emptiness appear on the second me's body. Then he reached into his pocket and touched something that suddenly appeared.
Is it true?
He stretched out his hand, took the thing out of his pocket, and took a look at it. It was indeed a heart-shaped knot, but it was not a new one. It was the one he got from the corpse during the day!
He had clearly put this thing in the car before, but now it suddenly appeared in his pocket.
Secretary Wang was shocked when he saw him suddenly take out this thing and said, "Expert Chen, why did you bring this thing with you?"
Chen Chuan said slowly: "I didn't bring it with me, it appeared on its own."
"What, what?" Secretary Wang's voice was trembling.
"Don't worry." Chen Chuan glanced at him and said, "I know what's going on."
Seeing how calm he was, Secretary Wang also calmed himself down and asked, "Expert Chen, what should we do next?"
Chen Chuan put it away and said, "Wait until tomorrow. Ask Director Wang to go and confirm it tomorrow. If no one else dies from butterfly tattoos, then my guess is correct. If there are still some, then we may need to try another method."
Ghost stories also have certain patterns, especially those involving groups. He noticed that, in terms of timeline, since the butterfly tattoo was discovered ten days ago, one person has died every day since then, no more, no less.
But there is a question, what if the person who got the knot of love before didn’t die?
The heart knot in his hand was previously held by someone else, but that person did not die from the butterfly tattoo, but from some accident. Now that it was in his hands, there was a contradiction between the rules of the strange story.
He wanted to see whether this strange story would skip over him or not and could not continue without killing him.
If it is the latter, then as long as he doesn't die, the rest of the people won't die.
But if that has no effect, he'll try something else.
After coming out of the night market, he came to the hotel arranged for him by Secretary Wang, which was also the best hotel in Jia County. He came to the front desk and signaled the people here to step aside first, then called Cheng Zitong, told him the general situation, and said that he already had some ideas.
Cheng Zitong said seriously, "Using this accidental death to find a breakthrough point is a good idea, but doing so will mean taking on the entire confrontation with the Kwaidan. Xiaochuan, are you confident?"
Chen Chuanshuo said, "Teacher, I have confidence. When I was discussing this with Director Lei before, he said that I have a talent that I don't even know about, which can withstand the invasion of strange stories. I think that's true."
Cheng Zitong nodded. When other people took on ghost story commissions, it would take a very long time between them, and they would inevitably feel inexplicably weak. But this student was always full of energy and he took on commissions frequently. His spirits seemed to be getting better and better, so he believed this statement.
But he still solemnly reminded, "Ghost stories are ghost stories after all. Good swimmers often drown. So even if you have a lot of experience, you still have to be careful. If you have any questions, please call me at any time."
"Yes, teacher."
After Chen Chuan hung up the phone, he stayed in this hotel.
As for the heart knot, he threw it away when he entered the hotel, but when he settled in, he accidentally found it by the bed.
He was not surprised by this.
Because this thing should have turned into a butterfly tattoo, but now because of my second self, the invasion has been borne by it, so now it can only appear in this form beside him.
Throughout the night, he could feel a force constantly invading him, but it was not very strong and was far inferior to the flying head monster.
The next day, Secretary Wang came running in breathlessly early. After knocking on the door, he couldn't wait to say, "Expert Chen, a body was found by the river. It looks a bit like death caused by a butterfly tattoo."
Chen Chuan's eyes narrowed, "Where's the body?"
"It has been sent to the testing office now, and the results should be out soon."
Chen Chuan nodded. He could only wait and see. Only after confirmation could he decide on the next direction.
At noon, Secretary Wang came to tell him that the cause of death of the corpse was indeed caused by the butterfly tattoo, but the rotting flesh left on the mutilated corpse was at least seven days old, which means it was not recent.
Chen Chuan thought for a moment and then asked, "Have there been other similar bodies discovered?"
Secretary Wang shook his head.
Chen Chuan thought about it and felt that his method might be useful, but in order to confirm it, he needed to wait for another two days.
But that night, he found that the signs of emptiness suddenly deepened a lot, but he was cheered up because he felt that he might have done the right thing.
The next day, there was still no news of any body being found. Although there were many missing and dead people, it seemed that none of them were caused by the butterfly tattoo. It seemed that the entire Jia County had calmed down.
Chen Chuan was still waiting there. The signs of emptiness deepened further that night, and were even able to stimulate his alienated tissues. At this time, he was sure that the method he used was correct.
This kind of weird talk is difficult to get rid of in one go. The most effective way to deal with it is to find the crux of the problem and then fight it out.
He knew that this was a tug-of-war. Either the ghost stories would wear him out, or he would exhaust the power of the source of the ghost stories.
But the former is unlikely to happen, because if he feels something is wrong, he will leave Jia County in advance. This is also the way to deal with most ghost stories, that is to leave the place where the ghost story is located. Unless it is manipulated by humans, it can usually be avoided.
However, in densely populated areas, people living there cannot just leave as they please.
On the third day, when Secretary Wang came to see Chen Chuan again, his mental state had become very good and he was no longer as frightened as he was two days ago.
He admired Chen Chuan very much because Chen Chuan came up with a solution the day he arrived, and in the past two days, no butterfly tattoo incidents occurred.
Chen Chuan knew it wasn't time to truly relax. He said, "This isn't over yet. The Qiaoshen Festival is just a day away. If we can get through it smoothly, then things will be fine. Otherwise, there will be trouble."
He privately judged that this strange story was likely related to the Qiaoshen Festival, and the festival was coming tomorrow, when there might be a greater invading force.
Only if you can get through that day, then you will have truly passed this hurdle.
Secretary Wang felt uneasy again when he heard this, but he now had confidence in Chen Chuan. He said, "Expert Chen, is there anything you need? I can get it ready."
Chen Chuan thought for a moment and said, "If we're going to do this, there shouldn't be too many people around this hotel."
"I understand." Secretary Wang looked serious. After he left the room, he immediately went to make arrangements.
Another day passed, and soon it was the day of Qiaoshen Festival.
Chen Chuan found that his judgment was correct. With the arrival of the festival, the invasion of the second self suddenly increased, and as time went by, it continued to intensify.
He believed that it was very likely that the power of those scattered heart knots was gathering together one by one.
It depends on which side can persist.
Judging from the current situation, it is still not comparable to the last time he fought the flying head monster. Last time he almost couldn't hold on, but that was because he still needed to fight the flying head at the same time. Now he doesn't need to do so, which can save a lot of overlapping time.
But in order to be prepared for any eventuality, he also asked the driver from the company to be ready outside. If he really felt that he might not be able to hold on, he would leave Jia County in advance to avoid the attack first, and then think of a solution later.
At this time, the Qiaoshen Festival outside has also reached a climax. Citizens of the county town have come to the streets to have fun tonight. This is also a rare festival in this small county town besides the Chinese New Year. Most people in the city will come out to relax.
Chen Chuan sat in the hostel, watching the fireworks rising and exploding outside the window, and felt the strong stimulation as if he had taken several times the dose of drugs.
He adjusted his breathing and guided the growth of the alienated tissue.
Time passed slowly, and when it was twelve o'clock, as the noise outside ended, the feeling that kept coming in gradually began to weaken, and soon returned to a lower level. Although it was still continuing, it was far less than before.
He knew that the most dangerous time had passed.
He did not sleep, but sat there cross-legged, with the Xuejun Sword at his fingertips where he could take it at any time. As the sky gradually brightened, a ray of sunlight gradually shone in from outside.
He got down from the bed with a knife in his hand, walked to the window, took a breath of fresh air, and looked at the rising sun gradually rising from the distant hillside.
At this moment, he suddenly felt something and reached into his pocket to take out the heart-shaped knot, but he only got a ball of rotten powder, with only a piece of silk knot on the tassel remaining.
He looked at his second self, where there was only a faint sign of emptiness. He knew in his heart that this strange matter had been resolved.
When the room was filled with sunlight, he heard a knock on the door. Secretary Wang's cautious voice came over: "Expert Chen, are you there?"
Chen Chuan said, "The door is not locked. Secretary Wang, please come in."
Secretary Wang was relieved when he heard that he spoke normally and was in high spirits.
He pushed the door open and saw Chen Chuan standing by the window looking out at the scenery. He walked over to take a look and said, "This is the highest hotel in Jia County. We can see most of the county and even the Hulu River outside. I heard that the county used to be flooded all the time, but it was renovated during the Great Development Period, so this rarely happens anymore."
Chen Chuan nodded and said, "Secretary Wang, you can go check on those who have been detained to see if their butterfly tattoos are still there."
Secretary Wang was stunned, then ran out like a gust of wind.
Less than half an hour later, Secretary Wang called and said excitedly, "Expert Chen, they're gone, gone. All their tattoos have disappeared."
Chen Chuan could sense his excitement even through the phone. He smiled and said, "That's good, Secretary Wang. In this case, my commission in Jia County has been completed. I will leave here later and return to Yangzhi."
"Wait a moment, please wait a moment," Secretary Wang said anxiously, "I'll give Expert Chen a walk."
Chen Chuan said hello, packed up, and walked out of the hotel. He told the company's driver and waited there for the car to arrive.
Less than ten minutes later, Director Wang came running over with sweat on his forehead. He was holding a book in his hand. Seeing that he was still there, he hurried over and handed the book to him, saying sincerely:
"Expert Chen, thank you so much for resolving our Jia County's problems. I don't have much to thank you for, but I remember that Expert Chen seemed interested in local customs and folkways. This book, 'Legends of the Three Mountains,' records many legends from the past in several nearby counties and towns. I'm giving it to Expert Chen. I hope you don't mind."
Chen Chuan took it, smiled and said, "Thank you, Secretary Wang, I like this gift very much. Let's go, please go back." Secretary Wang waved and got into the car. Secretary Wang also waved to him and stood there, watching him go away, and did not leave for a long time.
…
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(End of this chapter)
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