Chapter 34 Qing Shui Town 06

  "Third Uncle said that man has something strange on him," Qin Fei said.

  "What's strange?" Gu Wenkai asked back.

  "He said that person's mind didn't seem normal."

  "Abnormal?" Gu Wenkai hinted at Qin Fei to be more specific.

  "That person, when he's alone, his face would often contort into a twisted expression. He didn't tell me before, but just now he told me that the look on his face was very similar to his grandson's in the month leading up to his death under the curse." Qin Fei briefly told Gu Wenkai about Zhang Zhixin's grandson, "Now it's indeed confirmed that this person and Third Uncle's grandson were afflicted with the same curse. His manner of death is exactly the same as Third Uncle's grandson. Third Uncle stayed in H City specifically to investigate the culprit who killed his grandson, and this person was a lead he discovered, but now this lead has been severed."

  Zhang Zhixin and Qin Fei parted ways near the Third Hospital, but because he had experience following that man before, he roughly knew the man's activity range, so on that night, he found the man again and secretly followed him.

  However, after staking out the man's residence for a night, starting from noon the next day, the man's behavior began to become abnormal. He ran out of his house and onto the streets as if he was being chased by something terrifying. Zhang Zhixin initially managed to keep up with the man, but due to his age, he couldn't compare to the young man in terms of physical strength, so it wasn't long before Zhang lost sight of him. By the time he found the man again in this alleyway, the man had already become a mangled corpse.

  After tracking for so long and expending so much effort, they had just grasped a thread of clues, but before they could follow it up, the person who was the clue suddenly died, and the clue was abruptly cut off. Gu Wenkai somewhat understood Zhang Zhixin's emotions at this moment, and glanced at him: "No wonder he looked so grief-stricken and frustrated."

  However, he had always thought that the deceased in these cases were harmed by evil spirits, but he did not expect that it was actually due to a curse. What kind of curse could make a person's body become like one that has been gnawed by wild beasts after death? Gu Wenkai thought for a while and still couldn't figure out the reason, as curses were not his area of expertise.

  Gu Wenkai got a general understanding of the situation from Qin Fei, and Zhang Zhixin's emotions had also stabilized somewhat. Gu Wenkai then took Zhang Zhixin to the Qing Shui Town police station, which was serving as the temporary base for this case, to make a record. Some things could be said, some couldn't, and Zhang Zhixin was still very clear about that. After leaving out the supernatural parts, he said what needed to be said, and then followed Qin Fei to the hotel where he was staying.

  That day, two people checked out of the hotel. Qin Fei originally planned to open another room for Zhang Zhi Xin, but Zhang Zhi Xin muttered that the person who cast the curse might be in H City and he didn't feel at ease if he wasn't watching over him, insisting on sharing a room with Qin Fei. Qin Fei had no choice but to change the big bed into two single beds. Given the option, Qin Fei still preferred to sleep alone in his own bed.

  The remains found in the city are counted as one on the outskirts of Qing Shui Town, which is already the seventh case. However, the police still haven't found any more useful clues as before.

  Although they found a lead to investigate further, the police were still busy for several hours. This was already the seventh case, and while they tried to suppress the media from reporting on it, they could only keep the photos of the victims' bodies and specific details under wraps. The focus was on the families of the victims, who were starting to lose control of their emotions as the police still had not released any updates on the investigation into the seventh case.

  Gu Wenkai and others were in charge of the investigation, but not directly responsible for responding to the media and the victims' families. However, they also felt considerable pressure. The main team members, Shen Bin and Chen Ming, gathered together again, went through all the clues, and finally decided to go to Qingshui Town in the west of the city, which had various strange rumors, early tomorrow morning.

  The meeting ended, it was already 7 or 8 o'clock in the evening. Gu Wenkai finally managed to temporarily get out of his busy schedule. However, Gu Wenkai did not immediately go to rest, but instead hastily ate dinner and then went to find Qin Fei.

  In the afternoon, he didn't have time to carefully ask about the person who cursed Qin Fei, so Gu Wenkai decided to get to the bottom of things this time.

  Before meeting Qin Fei, Gu Wenkai did not think that the curse in Qin Fei was the same as the one in the seven victims of the H City Corpse Case, because Qin Fei did not show any abnormalities after being cursed like those victims.

  "What the f**k?! What did you just say?!" After Qin Fei finished speaking, Gu Wenkai jumped up from the chair at the foot of Qin Fei's bed in a very uncalm manner.

  "Calm down, young man." Zhang Zhixin, who was lying on the bed with his legs propped up, glanced at Gu Wenkai, who looked like he had been blown up, and said slowly. He completely forgot that Qin Fei wasn't in the same room as him, and his own anxious muttering.

  "How can you be so calm about this? Qin Fei might also... end up like those victims, dying in that way..."

  Gu Wenkai clenched his fist and calmed himself down.

  "Besides the victims all being cursed, do you have any other leads?" Gu Wenkai asked Zhang Zhixin, not believing that Zhang would follow the seventh victim of the serial murder case for so long without gaining anything else.

  Zhang Zhixin sat up from the bed, his expression serious: "The person who cast a curse on you might be the same one who cursed Qin Fei, or it could be the one who killed my grandson. Of course, it's also possible that these two are the same person. Did Qin Fei tell you about what happened to my grandson?"

  Gu Wenkai nodded and said, "What about besides these?"

  "What's more, the people who died from the curse in the middle, their souls are all gone, and even if they use the soul-searching technique, they can't be found." As soon as he said this, Zhang Zhixin's face turned gloomy. His grandson's soul had also disappeared without a trace after his death, and he still hadn't been able to find it back until now.

  Can't find the soul, there are only two possibilities. One is that the soul has flown away and completely disappeared; the other is that it has been trapped by someone, using some method to hide the breath of the soul. Neither of which is a situation that can bring joy to people.

  It seems that the situation is much more complicated than I thought, and I must find a way to get in touch with my brother... Gu Wenkai rubbed his temples and turned to look at Qin Fei, who was sitting on the bed holding a cup of tea.

  "Qin Fei, I know you want to find the person who cursed you, and I also know I can't stop you. But - you must remember, no matter what happens, tell me immediately!"

  "I know." Qin Fei clenched his fist and stretched out one hand, bumping fists with Gu Wenkai.

  Things were said to be almost done, Gu Wenkai didn't stay for long and left the inn soon. After returning home, he called his second brother Gu Wencheng again and told him about the clues he had just obtained from Zhang Zhixin. However, Gu Wencheng was also unclear about such curses and only said that they would talk about it tomorrow when he arrived.

  The next day, Gu Wenkai and Shen Bin, Chen Ming, Zhou Jun four people went to Qing Shui Town.

  The people of Qing Shui Town's West Township were already in a bad mood because the higher-ups said they wanted to abandon their homes, so Shen Bin didn't want to conduct a large-scale investigation in West Township before confirming its connection to the corpse case, which would lead to dissatisfaction among the West Township people. Therefore, he decided on a covert visit. Four people went to West Township first to get a feel for the situation and then make further plans.

  Qin Fei and Zhang Zhixin also chose to go to Qing Shui Town Xi Zhen on this day, but they did not walk with Gu Wenkai's group.

  Zhang Zhixin had acquaintances in Xizhen. After entering Xizhen, Zhang Zhixin did not go to other places, but instead took Qin Fei directly to the place of his acquaintance.

  The houses in Qing Shui Town are all low-rise buildings that seem to be lagging behind the times. As you walk along, you can see that many of the houses have become dilapidated and collapsed, and no one lives there anymore. Those are the people who chose to leave Xi Town.

  The town of Xi gave people a feeling of desolation, and the people who stayed in Xi Town also seemed somewhat indifferent. When they saw Qin Fei and Zhang Zhixin, two outsiders, they just glanced at them lightly, didn't want to bother with them, and were not interested in their intentions at all.

  Zhang Zhi Xin's friend lives in a single-family house located in the northern part of Xizhen, near the mountains behind Xizhen, which is some distance away from other houses.

  Zhang Zhixin's new friend's residence looked better than those uninhabited houses, but compared to those inhabited ones, it was much worse. Overall, it looked gloomy and dusty.

  Zhang Zhixin took Qin Fei directly into the courtyard and then raised his hand to knock on the gate.

  "Old Zhou, I'm here, open the door quickly."

  Zhang Zhixin knocked for a while before the gate was opened. An old man with a slightly hunched back walked out. He wore a black cotton-padded jacket, had a black thread hat on his head, one eye was blind, and he squinted at people with the other unblind eye, giving people an uncomfortable feeling.

  "This is Zhou Tian Tong, a blind fortune teller and my friend." Zhang Zhi Xin finished introducing him to Qin Fei, then said to the man, "This is Qin Fei, my nephew... I think that's the right generation."

  Zhou Tian Tong looked at Qin Fei, his one good eye widening slightly.

  "Are you Qin Fei?" Zhou Tian Tong's voice was a bit hoarse, but when he asked this question, his tone slightly rose, making his voice sound close to being rough.

  "Yes." Qin Fei nodded and said.

  "Is your grandfather Qin Zhen?" Zhou Tian Tong asked again.

  "Yes, you know my grandfather?" Qin Fei looked at Zhou Tian Tong with some surprise.

  "Understood." Zhou Tian Tong turned around and walked into the house.

  Qin Fei and Zhang Zhixin followed him into the house, walking behind Zhou Tian Tong. His voice echoed in the dimly lit room, "When you were born, your grandfather brought your eight characters to me for fortune-telling. Ah! Four Yangs converge, ten generations of merit, heavenly blessed fate... Such a wonderful destiny, I've calculated countless fortunes in my life, but never one as good as yours."