129 Truth
◎Responsible for cause and effect◎
At six o'clock in the morning, someone accidentally discovered Xiao Zaiyou's body.
The way he died was even more horrific than that of the late Xia Jian. It was as if he had been tortured to pieces by someone. The ground was covered with broken flesh and blood. His body was split into countless pieces of different sizes, and the cut parts all had traces of ruthless bites. Just one look at it was enough to make people feel creepy and their stomachs churn.
After receiving the alarm call, the police arrived quickly. The previous case of Xia Jian had not yet been concluded, and now a second strange murder case has occurred, which is really a headache.
——Besides, to be honest, no matter which case it is, it doesn’t look like it was man-made.
There can't be a ghost in the hotel...
According to the case handling process, the police cordoned off the crime scene and sent people to retrieve the surveillance footage on the floor where Xiao Zaiyou was located. However, for some unknown reason, the surveillance footage on this floor and in the elevator broke down inexplicably as early as yesterday morning, and has not been repaired yet.
However, through the surveillance video in the lobby on the first floor, it can be clearly seen that Xiao Zaiyou had not been killed at 11:49 last night. He went downstairs alone to buy a pack of cigarettes, and took the elevator upstairs at 12:21. He was not seen on other floors. It seems that he did not go anywhere, but went directly back to his room.
In other words, the murder occurred between 12:21 midnight and 6:00 a.m., during which time most people were already asleep.
Qi Qiuxue and others returned to the room and were questioned by the police.
Now that Xiao Zaiyou is dead, after a brief discussion with several other producers, it was decided to suspend the filming process indefinitely. Even if everyone's previous efforts have been wasted, in the face of life, these are nothing. Everyone packed up their things quickly with lingering fears, perhaps after leaving here, no strange things will happen again.
It seems that this copy is nearing its end. Even though Qi Qiuxue has grasped a lot of clues, further investigation is still needed to know the whole truth.
——Instead of blindly exploring, it is better to go directly to the person involved and ask for clarification.
"Axue, I'll go with you." Li Yiqing looked over and said in a weak voice.
The later it got, the worse her physical condition became. Fortunately, there was no fighting required in this copy, otherwise she would not be able to bear it given her condition.
"It's okay." Qi Qiuxue shook her head. She could handle the remaining matters on her own, without Li Yiqing's company. "The most urgent thing is that you get a good rest."
"Wait for me to come back." She said, the corners of her lips slightly raised, "Then we will complete the mission and leave together."
"Okay." After a few seconds, Li Yiqing nodded in response.
Qi Qiuxue did not linger any longer and stopped Gu Shitang and Wen Yun before they left.
As expected, the two of them were now in the same room. Qi Qiuxue stood at the door and gently knocked on it. "Could you two take a moment of your time?"
After he finished speaking, they both looked over.
"Are you... Zhang Xue?" Gu Shitang recognized her first. During the filming a few days ago, Qi Qiuxue had touched up her makeup several times.
"What do you want to do with us?" She quickly switched to her usual business state and asked with a smile.
Qi Qiuxue didn't exchange pleasantries with her and went straight to the point: "I want to talk to you about Xia Jian and Xiao Zaiyou."
"I know that you were the ones who fueled the flames of their accidental deaths."
As soon as the words fell, Gu Shitang and Wen Yun's expressions changed at the same time.
"We don't understand what you are saying." Wen Yun, who had been silent until now, spoke up, and her tone sounded a little unfriendly.
Qi Qiuxue raised her eyes and met her gaze, then suddenly asked, "You also went to Xiao Zaiyou's room yesterday, right?"
"You took the bronze statue from his room. You most likely destroyed it, or used some other method to break the protection it provided him. Without the statue's protection, the ghosts of the children he had murdered sought him out and exacted revenge."
"I'm very curious about the relationship between you and those children. Similarly, why did Miss Gu choose to intervene in Xia Jian's affairs and help his mother and father successfully seek revenge?"
How could she, a stranger, know so much?
After hearing this, Gu Shitang and Wen Yun exchanged glances, and one of them walked forward quickly and locked the door.
"What exactly is your purpose?" Wen Yun, who was closest to Qi Qiuxue, spoke in a cold voice. She neither admitted nor refuted, but just reached into her pocket and silently clenched something.
Qi Qiuxue noticed her movements, raised her hands in a gesture of surrender, and said sincerely, "Don't be nervous, I have no ill intentions, I just want to find out the truth. Please believe me, I won't spread everything I know."
"What's more, the real cause of death of Xia Jian and Xiao Zaiyou was a ghost killing you didn't do. Even if I tell the police about this, they won't believe such nonsense. Instead, they will label me a mental patient. It's not worth it."
"How do you know all this?" After a moment of silence, Gu Shitang opened his lips and asked softly.
"A ghost came to me in a dream," Qi Qiuxue said succinctly, recounting the scenes she had seen that night. "I'm telling you absolutely nothing," she added. "If I truly harbor ill intentions, you could easily instruct the ghost to kill me as well."
Her tone was as sincere as her eyes: "I won't joke with my life."
“…”
Perhaps because he believed her words, Wen Yun loosened her clenched hands after a brief confrontation.
But even so, the two of them carefully checked Qi Qiuxue's personal belongings to confirm that she did not carry any suspicious items.
It seemed as if she really came here just out of curiosity, not caring about the possible consequences, nor caring that she might be harmed by this strong curiosity, and die a tragic death and pay with her life.
"Do you mind if I cast a spell on you?" Gu Shitang took out a talisman from his pocket and held it between his index and middle fingers. "If you want to hear our secrets, you should at least show some sincerity."
"Don't worry, if you truly have no ill intentions, the spell will not have any effect on you."
Qi Qiuxue nodded in response and said frankly, "Of course."
So Gu Shitang used a lighter to burn the talisman, mixed the ashes with clean water, scooped some with his palm, and sprinkled it on Qi Qiuxue.
Qi Qiuxue watched her quietly without any ripples in her heart. Gu Shitang's words were most likely false. Even if there really was such a powerful spell, it was not something she could easily perform at the moment. Otherwise, Xia Jian and Xiao Zaiyou would have died at the beginning without having to wait until now.
However, if this behavior can make the two of them feel at ease and tell everything truthfully, Qi Qiuxue doesn't mind cooperating with her to complete everything as she wishes.
"Can you tell me now?" she asked afterwards.
"Ayun and I were both motivated by revenge, which is why we planned all this." Gu Shitang changed the way he addressed Wen Yun when he spoke again. "I was born into a poor family, without a mother or a father, and lived with my grandmother. Fortunately, I received financial support from Xia Jian's mother and father, which allowed me to successfully complete my studies and reach this point today, becoming a star that everyone admires."
"But before I could repay them, they both died in an accident. I was devastated at the time and used many connections to secretly investigate the truth behind the accident. Various signs indicated it wasn't a pure accident, but further clues had long been destroyed, leaving the chain of evidence incomplete and unable to unravel the truth."
"As for Ayun, her situation was very similar to mine. Among the babies brutally murdered by Xiao Zaiyou was her long-lost niece, a girl doted on and protected by her entire family. Both her family and Ayun regarded her as the apple of their eye and held high hopes and blessings for her future."
"But such a lovely child disappeared unexpectedly three years ago and has never been found. This incident was undoubtedly a devastating blow to her family. They have never stopped searching for her over the years, but they have been disappointed. It's as if she had evaporated from the face of the earth, with no trace left."
"Over the past three years, her mother and father passed away one after another due to excessive grief. Her grandmother and grandfather also aged rapidly and gradually lost the energy to travel. Ultimately, all hope fell on Ayun."
"We were brought together by the same tragic experience. Even though hope seemed slim, we never stopped trying over the years, even turning to metaphysics for help many times."
"Later, we were fortunate enough to receive help from a master. She took some 'interest' from us, but also gave us the ability to temporarily connect the Yin and Yang. We established contact with the ghosts of the deceased and finally learned the truth."
"Then, we began looking for opportunities, waiting for opportunities, and creating opportunities, and finally found the most appropriate time to act. In fact, long before joining the crew, with the help of the master, we used some methods that were inconvenient for outsiders to know to recall the souls of the deceased. During the filming process for several consecutive days, we seized the opportunity and helped them complete the revenge with their own hands."
"It's quite funny to say this." Gu Shitang smiled, took out a bronze fragment from his pocket, and handed it to Qi Qiuxue, "Look at this, what is it?"
"Is it a part of the statue?" Qi Qiuxue took the fragment in her hand and looked down at it. The fragment was a little thin, and the feel inside and outside was different. Looking closely, there seemed to be something engraved inside.
——It is a string of birth date and time characters that I have never seen before.
"This is?"
"It's the birth date of the man who performed the ritual that day." Wen Yun opened her mouth to answer her doubts. "Xiao Zaiyou thought he had gotten a great bargain, feeling as if he had divine help in getting a broken bronze statue. In fact, he was completely deceived by that man. The wealth and status were just a few petty benefits that the statue gave him. In fact, its purpose is far more than that."
"Because of his numerous sins, that man's family had been short-lived for generations. To change his fate, he learned some kind of sorcery from nowhere and personally crafted countless bronze statues. He cast his spell on the statues and engraved his own birthdate inside the statues. He used sweet talk to deceive those with ill intentions, leading them to nourish the statues with their own blood and the blood of others. This allowed him to prolong his lifespan, hoping to achieve eternal life."
"Xiao Zaiyou killed so many people and committed so many evil things, but in fact, he was making wedding clothes for others in vain."
It turns out there are so many things behind it.
Qi Qiuxue looked up at the packages they had placed on the bed. "Can I ask if you have any other plans for the future?"
"Continue the revenge." Wen Yun said, "I haven't taken all the revenge yet. I want everyone involved in this to pay the price and repay everything they should have."
Qi Qiuxue paused and said, "In order to complete all this, besides enduring endless pressure and pain, do I still have to continue paying 'interest'?"
After saying this, Wen Yun just smiled lightly and did not comment.
Qi Qiuxue then joined them in silence. An unknown amount of time passed. Just when the two of them thought she might try to dissuade them, Qi Qiuxue simply said, "May you be safe and sound."
"I will." Wen Yun then opened her mouth, "Thank you for your blessing."
"Besides, this journey isn't as painful as you think," she said, a tone of relief in her voice. "Everything we do is simply to seek justice, to avenge grudges and settle grievances. We are merely guides, not the ones actually carrying out the actions. According to the law, we are innocent."
"You might think we would feel remorse and guilt for what we did, but in fact, we just feel happy and satisfied."
"Yes." Gu Shitang, who was standing by, took over the conversation and said sincerely, "Even if there really are gods and ghosts out there who want to judge us, they won't do that until we die one after another, a hundred years from now."
"Before this, we just do what we want to do and look forward to seeing the other party bear the consequences that belong to him."
【Author’s words】
Here it comes! Belated Merry Christmas! Dear ones, there are red envelopes in the comment section of this chapter, please send them before the next chapter is updated! Love you, boo boo boo
Thank you all for your votes and nutrient solution, thank you for leaving comments and reading, mua!
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