Chapter 1: The Mysterious Case of the Old Mansion

  The dark night was shrouded in a somber haze, as if an endless layer of dense ink had been heavily applied to the horizon, without even a single star twinkling.

  The wind outside the window blows wildly, causing the wooden window to shake irregularly, making a rustling sound, which makes people who are sleeping feel like their heart is being gripped in the middle of the night.

  "Ah..." I suddenly woke up, the room was dark around me, and I couldn't see anything. I rubbed my eyes while trying to adjust my physical state, letting my breathing calm down, and my blood pressure also dropped.

  I carefully got out of bed, fumbled for the lighter, lit the candle on the bedside table, and suddenly the room was much brighter. I glanced at my watch, which showed 23:52, almost midnight.

  This room is on the west wing of the Jinshi Mansion, and I am a media editor. Because in the Zhebei area there is a place called Lengyan Town, the government is going to carry out overall demolition planning, and a piece of old mansion will be cleared. The local TV station heard the news and sent me and several team members to come and film an episode, recording the history and culture of this ancient town. Since this Qing Dynasty Jinshi Mansion is quite famous, my team members and I stayed overnight, experiencing it firsthand.

  Inside the room, the candlelight was like a bean, jumping continuously, and from time to time, a bright lamp flower burst out, followed by a wisp of black smoke rising spirally.

  I took a glance at the front of the bed and saw an old screen standing there, with four lacquered wooden panels, looking very old-fashioned, probably an antique.

  The first painting depicts a woman in white, leaning against the window, gazing at the flowers in the courtyard, with a hint of nostalgia and spring sorrow on her face; The second painting shows a man and a woman, the man seemingly returning from outside, embracing each other; The third painting is indoors, the woman sitting alone in front of the dressing table, tears streaming down her face, facing an ancient bronze mirror, holding scissors in her hand, about to cut her own throat; In the fourth picture, there is no longer a woman, nor a person, only the dressing table and the mirror, but in the mirror, a disheveled woman's head appears.

  Looking at the four strange paintings, I felt uneasy all over my body, and a chill ran down my spine. Staring at the old screen, the candlelight flickered, as if there was a strange shadow swaying on it. The woman in the ancient mirror seemed to be about to step out of the painting, making people feel frightened.

  "Wooo..."

  A faint sound of a woman's crying came over, I steeled myself, skirted around the screen, and came to the door, pushed it open and walked out of the room.

  The entire old mansion is a traditional Qing dynasty building, dark and cold. Walking on the second floor corridor, the wooden floor creaks with a "creak creak" sound.

  I saw a faint, dim light coming from the first room on my right-hand side, and I couldn't help but feel a little strange. Last night before going to sleep, neither I nor the other three members of our group lived in that room?

  I suppressed the fear in my heart, and walked step by step, secretly looking into the window. The candlelight inside was dim, and a woman in white clothes sat in front of a dressing table, with her hair scattered, holding a wooden comb, combing her hair, combing and combing, as if she would never finish.

  This scene made me feel a little creepy, I don't know who it was. The person in charge of managing this old mansion in the morning told us that there was no one else in the courtyard except him. How did a woman in white appear at midnight?

  All I could see was this woman's back, her hair disheveled, and I didn't get a clear look at her face.

  "Zhao Yang!"

  Suddenly, a woman's voice called me from behind, scaring me so much that my whole body shook. I turned around and found it was my female colleague, Zhang Tongtong.

  "How did you get out?"

  "I... can't sleep...... I'm a bit scared, this house feels strange and terrifying, and I also heard the sound of a woman crying..." Zhang Tongtong hugged her arms, and as the cold wind blew, her black hair flew about, and she shivered slightly.

  "Uh, I have that feeling too......" Before I could finish my sentence, Zhang Tongtong across from me seemed to see a terrifying scene, her eyes wide with fear, her face pale, she covered her mouth and let out a scream, her whole body stiffening as if she had been electrocuted.

  I turned around curiously and suddenly saw a figure in white standing right in front of me, with disheveled hair, a pale face, sunken eyes, and an eerie expression. This time, I finally saw her face.

  "Hmph!"

  There was a sharp pain that suddenly pierced my abdomen, a severe cramp spread through my nerves, making me almost unable to resist. I clutched my belly and fell into the pool of blood. Before I died, I only saw a white-clad figure with a bloody pair of scissors in hand, wearing a pair of embroidered shoes with a beautiful and melancholic color, walking lightly towards Zhang Tongtong's direction.

  ………

  "Ah!" I suddenly woke up, lying in the morgue of Lengyan County Hospital, next to me was that editor named Zhao Yang, who had already lost his vitality. The cold air emanating from the icy autopsy table spread outwards, with a chill that penetrated to the bone.

  Of course, apart from Zhao Yang, Zhang Tongtong and two other colleagues also died. Zhang Tongtong was scared to death, holding a bloody pair of scissors in her hand. The other two hanged themselves, making the case confusing and mysterious, like a supernatural event. That's why the local police department applied to borrow me from the provincial police department's homicide division to crack the case.

  "Officer Chu, how's it going? Found any leads?"

  At the entrance of the morgue, several people in police uniforms were standing and walked over, with someone asking urgently.

  I let out a cold sweat, my head was dizzy, and my whole body felt somewhat **. Long-term contact with corpses, entering the memory fragments of their deaths in the last few minutes, this method of soul-stealing is too heavy with yin energy, and it's equivalent to experiencing death personally many times, which greatly damages the brain nerves.

  I stood up, my face pale, Su Yeo walked over and grasped my icy hand, her eyes revealing a deep concern.

  "Look closely, it's not a paranormal event, it's murder!"

  "Oh, did you see what the killer looked like?"

  I nodded, using my hand to forcefully knock on the side of my head to relieve the pain, and then began to recall the appearance and facial features of that "woman", which should be said, was not a woman.

  "Melon seed face, single eyelid, narrow eyes, slightly sunken nose bridge, slightly thick lips, pointed chin, and a red mole at the corner of the mouth..."

  There was a painter in the room, who quickly drew the portrait of the murderer's face according to my description, and then showed it to me. After checking again, he made several modifications and basically formed the portrait.

  "Mr. Liang Hong, do you know this person?" The head of the local public security bureau's criminal investigation team took over the portrait and asked the manager of the Jinshi Di Ancient Mansion, namely Zhao Yang, Zhang Tongtong and others who had contacted him that day.

  Liang Hong rushed over, took the painting board and looked at it for a moment, frightened by a sudden chill, he threw it away immediately, his face changed greatly, and his teeth were slightly trembling.

  "What's wrong, do you know him?"

  It's clear to everyone that Liang Hong should know the person in this portrait.

  "No mistake, his name is Wang Huaiqing. He was the original heir to that old mansion and was only 19 years old. But last year he jumped into a well and killed himself in the backyard of the Imperial Academy's old well!"

  "What? He died a year ago?" The few people in the morgue were startled, and for a moment, their eyes refocused on me.

  I shook my head, thinking it was impossible, because when that person killed Zhao Yang, I experienced it personally and he was absolutely a living person. I could even sense his breathing, the beating of his heart, and when he passed by me, there was a chill of cold water fishy smell.

  "That well!" I suddenly realized something, no mistake, it was that well, the suspect seemed to have a smell of old well water on his body.

  "I suggest sending someone down to that well immediately, there may be an important clue!"

  The head of the criminal investigation team at Lengyan County Public Security Bureau immediately called the police officers stationed next to the ancient mansion, and they quickly searched the old well. Soon, news came from that side that a hidden passage was found on the sidewall of the well. Several police officers entered the passage with guns, and indeed, in a secret room, they caught a young man who seemed to be mentally abnormal. This case can be considered closed.

  "Good job, Comrade Chuyu! If you can crack this case quickly, the Provincial Public Security Bureau's Major Crimes Unit will have made a great achievement!"

  I let out a wry smile, my mood heavy, after all, through the consciousness of this corpse before death, I personally experienced it once, negative emotions such as death, fear, despair, making it difficult for me to quickly break free.

  "No need to be polite, as a police officer, these are things that should be done. Captain Lin, if there's nothing else, we should head back to Jiangzhou."

  "Alright, go back now and be careful on your way!" said Captain Lin of the Public Security Bureau as he politely saw them off.

  Su Yao and I left the hospital building, took a deep breath, and through the fresh air outside, the feeling of oppression and suffocation was alleviated.

  "Do you need to find an inn to rest for a night?"

  "No need, I'll go back to Jiangzhou directly, I won't stay at home, I couldn't sleep."

  Su Yao opened the door and sat in the driver's seat. I sat in the passenger seat, feeling exhausted and looking terrible.

  "Brother Yu, your complexion is very poor, have you been having insomnia and vivid dreams lately?"

  "I'm fine!"

  "Illness doesn't avoid doctors. Although I haven't obtained the qualification of psychotherapist yet, after all, I am a master's graduate in psychology from Zhejiang University and have interned at the police station for one year, so your situation is not unfamiliar to me. You've been in an environment of anxiety, depression, and death for years, which can easily lead to mental breakdowns and psychological disorders. Your current state makes me very worried, listen to me..."

  "I'm tired!" I interrupted her chatter, rubbed my temples to avoid getting entangled in this issue. As for psychology, I've read quite a few books on this aspect myself, hypnosis, control of consciousness and all that, I'm also an old hand in the trade.

  Su Yao pouted her moist lips, seeing that I interrupted her concern, got a bit angry and started the car.

  I gazed at her profile, and my heart softened. Su Yao was very beautiful, with delicate features, a slender nose, plump lips, and short hair that framed her face neatly. Her fitted police uniform accentuated her perfect curves, making her a stunning beauty among the police force.

  She is 26 years old, a master's graduate who was directly admitted to the provincial police bureau, and actively applied to work in the serious crime unit's mysterious case department. She is currently an intern psychologist and also works as an archivist.

  It's been several years since I unexpectedly saved her on a midnight bus, when Su Yeo was still a college student. I didn't expect that after all these years, she would become my colleague and often show concern for me, but I just thought it was because she was grateful for my chivalrous act back then.

  At this time, Su Yau restarted the engine, got on the highway and headed straight to Jiangzhou. Along the way, her expression was filled with worry.