Chapter 9 Hell

  We returned to the hostel and slept for a while, and gathered in the farmhouse courtyard the next morning.

  "I didn't expect the initiator of this topic to be Lin Zhen, the ice block face: 'I misjudged everyone's strength. Director Lin gathering us four together still makes sense. I will reflect on this when I go back.'"

  Wu Xing smiled and said, "You four young police officers, Yu Xiao Tian is bold and decisive, Shen Feng is clever and wise, Lin Zhen is meticulous and thoughtful, all of you are excellent."

  "Uncle Wu, why didn't you mention me?" I hurriedly pointed to myself. You old man have a bad memory, and missed one, ah!

  "You think you're so clever, but you can't even get one thing right. You want to ask me something but you're being vague and evasive. And the worst part is that you're living together without being married! Hmph!" Wu Xing said, causing Zhang Momo's small face to turn bright red with embarrassment.

  "Why are you all negative examples?" I chuckled and didn't care: "In a couple of years, when Xiaoming reaches the legal age, we'll get married. I heard that young couples' kids are all good-looking, huh? Old Cao, Da Lei, at that time, give more red envelopes, and don't even think about running away."

  Wang Dairen scolded with a smile: "You little brat is still so arrogant, Xiao Meng called you several times but couldn't get through, and it's almost driving the 'girl' crazy."

  "So how did you two get together?" Cao Qiankun raised an eyebrow, obviously asking Lin Zhen.

  Yu Xiao Tian misunderstood, and seriously opened his mouth to explain: "The four of us were assigned by the bureau to investigate a case in Fenglong Village. During the day, Chuan Jie drove for five or six hours. We took advantage of his rest time to check around locally, but unexpectedly discovered many secrets, and couldn't contain ourselves. In the end, we were surrounded by Mo Hun beasts and only then did we realize how terrifying this place was. Fortunately, you arrived in time, and with the help of the old gentleman, otherwise we would have been done for."

  Shen Feng nodded repeatedly: "From now on, the four great young gods of capture must be together and cannot be separated. If one is separated, chaos will ensue. I have a deep understanding of this."

  "What's 'The Four Great Constables' about, is it a TV series?" Zhang Meng loves watching this type of program.

  I forced a wry smile and said, "Recently, the situation isn't 'chaotic', is it? The bureau has come up with all sorts of titles, packaging star effects to scare people, what's with the Four Great Heavenly Captures, the Three Wolves of West City, and the Eight Golden Guards, there are too many titles."

  The more we talk, the more absurd it becomes. Lin Zhen, dissatisfied, opened his mouth again: "Let's just talk about the case."

  "...The cold wind blows, and he is absolutely the reincarnation of the Cold Field Emperor!"

  Shen Feng let out a dry laugh: "We've dug up some information, Liu Haibin was the first university student to come out of this village. In his middle school and high school days, he studied extremely well, always ranking first in this small place, with every exam score being one or two hundred points higher than the second-place student. However, due to poverty at home, he had no hope for university, which made him extremely unwilling to give up. He took a risk and went to the Hell's Pit, where he 'dug out' several antiques and sold them, finally making it to university."

  Yu Xiao Tian continued: "We entered the underground tomb during the day to investigate and found that it has many layers, seemingly constructed according to the eighteen layers of hell in mythological legends. Thinking about Liu Hai Bin's death, the eighteenth floor, ghostly knife stabs... To be honest, I now suspect he might have committed suicide."

  Awesome!

  These two are indeed worthy of being the young generation's top-notch detectives, with such efficiency and judgment in handling cases, I truly admire them.

  Lin Zhen also had an epiphany: "The creator of this ancient tomb is no ordinary person. He created the Mo Hun Shou and Lu Li Ya symbiotic organisms to guard the tomb together. The Lu Li Ya goes out to find food, while the belly of the Mo Hun Shou provides a home for the Lu Li Ya to live in and be protected. This place has a hidden 'tide' of moisture, which is a water source road from south to north, so there are many dragons and snakes here, providing them with a guarantee of continued survival."

  Seeing this icy face utter so many words in one breath, Wang Dairen and Cao Ganxun stared with wide eyes, hardly daring to believe it was true.

  "The young men are all very good." Wu Xing's face was full of praise: "This ancient tomb is the 18th layer of 'Yin' space, where those who cheat and deceive will be sent. Anyone who steals work, deceives their superiors, cheats women and children, or conducts unfair business will be thrown into the 'Yin' space after death, suffering the pain of bodily dismemberment."

  This old man said 'deceive' and 'abduct' women and children, and he even gave me a glance, as if I had abducted his little daughter, how hateful.

  Wu Xing continued: "I don't know much about your case, but I have some knowledge about this ancient tomb. The eighteen-layered tomb can only be entered by those with a sincere heart. To put it bluntly, before entering each layer, one must kneel at the 'door' threshold, under the surveillance of the Ink Soul Beast, kowtow three times, and scatter some 'meat' food, in order to enter. In the eighteen layers of hell, there are exquisite execution tools crafted from ancient times."

  "Old man, have you seen these execution tools before?" I felt a stir in my heart, thinking of something.

  Zhang Meng smiled: "I've seen it before, when I was a kid, Uncle Wu took me to many ancient tombs, there are more powerful guardian beasts than Mo Hun Shou, you just need to find the right method."

  "Huh~~~ you guys......" Yu Xiao Tian and Shen Feng obviously had a guess, could it be that you are tomb robbers?

  "Don't think wildly, Wu Shu is a scholar I admire." I took out my phone and said: "Wu Shu, have you ever seen this thing?"

  Wu Xing took one look at the five Ghost Head Needles in my phone and immediately exclaimed, "This item is from the 18th level of Knife Saw Hell, how did someone manage to take it out? This will bring about a curse!"

  "What's going on? What will happen if it's taken out?" The crowd became curious.

  The little hand danced as it spoke: "On the 18th floor of the wall, it is written that whoever possesses a certain instrument of torture will be killed by that same instrument. Although this statement has no basis in fact, many people have indeed died. We once retrieved a stone mill from the 17th level of hell and returned it."

  Shen Feng was speechless and lost his smile: "Chuan Jie, this 'girlfriend' of yours is really something special!"

  "It's got to be, ordinary people can't see it." I wanted to speak more plainly about the despicable means I used to pick up girls back then, but seeing Wu Xing there, I gave up.

  "It's the 'Yin' Shadow Theory." Lin Zhen suddenly said: "There are many forces in the world that we can't see clearly. In ancient times, these torture devices killed a lot of people, and they were passed down through generations by word of mouth. These objects have what is called 'Sha Qi', which is a combination of two things: one is the spirit of slaughter, and the other is the soul's energy. Usually, it's just a psychological phenomenon, but these torture devices all ended up in the hands of wealthy people."

  "I knew that." I burst out laughing: "In the university library, I read a book which said that 'flowers', grass, trees and woods are all living things, stones also have life, they just don't want to move. All of us living beings are composite bodies, only differentiated in many ways, some with five internal organs, some made up of dust, and then there's loose life... uh-uh~ what are you doing? Let me speak!"

  Wang Dairen and Cao Qiánkūn unexpectedly joined forces to shut my mouth, with a smiling face that was ashamed to see the parents of Jiangdong: "Don't mind him, he's sick here, everyone continue discussing the case, go on~"

  Shen Feng wiped the cold sweat and smiled: "Our mission is complete, in the main case of northern Sichuan, there is a possibility that Liu Haibin's suicide will trigger an anti-corruption storm. However, we can't leave now, we should patrol and check if those Mo Hun beasts will take revenge on innocent villagers after their companions were killed or injured. Also, if there's a way to find out the number of lost eighteen torture instruments, it would be better to report back."

  "No way." Yu Xiao Tian said decisively, "There are a lot of big cases accumulated in the north of the river, and many criminals with heinous crimes need to be caught. We don't have time to consider these uncertain things. The mobile phone signal here is also very poor, even if we find clues, there's no way to report to our leaders in time."

  Cell phone signal?

  I suddenly thought of Liu Dacheng, who once said that when he first left the village, this brick-sized mobile phone was usable everywhere, but now this advanced smartphone is not. He also complained that things in the city are getting worse and worse.

  Is that really the case? I'm a bit skeptical, maybe it's just the big boss pretending to make a call on his cell phone. Hmph, you guys are so biased.

  "This is simple." At this time, Wu Xing suddenly said: "The Mo Hun beasts are afraid of the strong and the weak. They have seen the ferocity of Chuan Jie's little boy, and they will not dare to appear in front of him for the rest of their lives. When we go in again, as long as Chuan Jie is there, we absolutely won't see a single Mo Hun beast."

  "Really? Haha~" I burst out laughing: "Suddenly feel myself very tall and powerful, Xiao Meng, don't you think I'm handsome?"

  "You detestable scoundrel, always frightening me for no reason, I won't bother with you again!"

  The girl said she didn't care about me, but when entering the ancient tomb to check on things, only she followed stubbornly, her angry little face was really quite cute.

  Even in this terrifying eighteen-layered hell, I'm not only unafraid, but my body has also gained infinite protective desires. Even if those ink soul beasts dare to come out, I'll dare to rush up and tear them apart with my bare hands, it's her who gave me the strength.

  Holding the little girl's hand, we went together. The entrance to the 18th level of hell was a circular tomb mound. We pushed open the gravestone and entered the bluestone tunnel inside.

  Each layer has incomplete murals, which describe how to punish sinners, with extremely cruel methods, combined with execution tools, the ancient atmosphere runs through the entire hell, filled with blood and murder, thinking of the ancients, what kind of - cruelty!

  The first layer of the Tongue-Pulling Hell has a pair of leopard-patterned iron pincers, the second layer of the Scissor-Holding Hell has a pair of bird-beak scissors, the third layer of the Iron Tree Hell has a small thorny iron tree, the fourth layer of the Evil Mirror Hell has an evil mirror, the fifth and sixth layers...

  Huh? The copper pillar on the sixth floor has disappeared!

  I and Zhang Meng went down the stairs again, continuing to look down. The seventh floor had Knife Mountain Hell, the eighth floor still had Ice Mountain Hell, and the ninth floor... was also gone!

  Finally we always see eighteen layers of knife saw hell, calculated down, a total of five fewer layers of execution tools!

  These five layers are the Copper Column Hell, the Oil Cauldron Hell, the Fire Mountain Hell, the Stone Mill Hell and the Knife Saw Hell.

  Why did it just lack these five layers? What exactly does Liu Haibin's selection and grasp want to express?

  "Bad guy, do you know why I want to be a forensic doctor?" At this time, Zhang Meng's sudden question interrupted my thoughts.

  "You're not saying that at that time you listened to me and felt deeply about the profession of forensic medicine?" I was a bit puzzled, why ask this at this time.

  Zhang Meng shook her little head: "I want to see a clear sky in the world."

  "Xiao Meng, you..."

  "I have no father or mother, no relatives, and from a young age I've been following Uncle Wu to various places in the world. There are tombs, packs of wild beasts, and 'yin' ghosts that you've never seen before. Behind every immortal story, there's an unforgettable soul. I listen to them tell stories of unbearable sorrow, my heart is entwined, and once sank into darkness." Zhang Meng's extremely tired expression was worrying.

  "It won't be like this in the future, I'll be with you." I put my arm around the girl's shoulder, wanting to give her some warmth.

  "You're dead," Zhang Meng said, and then she burst into tears: "It was you who pulled me out from the dark underground and flew me to the beautiful sky, but you abandoned me. Do you know that if you let go, I'll really fall to death? Waaah~"

  She was so extreme that I was extremely shocked in my heart: "I will never let go, this point will not change because of anything."

  "Ah~" Zhang Momo smiled with tears in her eyes: "You've seen the Mo Soul Beast, right? On its belly is born a kind of Lu Li Crow. When the Mo Soul Beast was killed by you, the Lu Li Crow could have flown away, but it chose to die with it instead. If one day something happens to you, I'll be like that Lu Li Crow, inseparable from you, bound together in life and death."

  "Xiao Meng, I love you. If one day I betray you, let me be in the eighteen layers of hell, forever..."

  Xiang's small hand suddenly covered my mouth: "Don't make a vow here, it's very effective. Moreover, if one day you leave me, you must live well too, because you still have your father and mother, they didn't raise you easily. You should know that in the 14th level of hell, the futile death hell, people who commit suicide do not enter reincarnation, their souls fall into hell forever, never to be reborn."

  At that moment, I wanted to say four words: forever trapped in the 18th level of hell. But now I think, forever trapped by her side.

  I never knew that true love would give me this kind of feeling, like a symbiotic parasite, just like the human body itself, you are my limbs and I am your eyes...

  "Hiss~~~~" Suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashed through my mind, as if I had thought of something.

  Zhang Meng saw me like this, and being in the dark and terrifying 18th level of hell, was really scared to death. But looking around, nothing seemed to be happening: "Bad guy, you're scaring me again?"

  "No, not that, I suddenly had a premonition, the lost torture device, will really kill people!" At that moment, what I saw in my heart was extremely clear and true, even the unseen torture devices were presented before my eyes, because I saw an existence called a parasite.

  " Humph!" Zhang Meng sneered, "What a load of nonsense! Theories and curses that can't be seen or touched are just conclusions drawn from accumulated time. Don't think you can deceive me with this knowledge, I'm also a university student now."

  "But I'm half-immortal now, it's no good, they're being attacked by the Ink Soul Beast, let's rush out quickly - hurry!"