Netherworld Investigator

NEW NOVEL: First and foremost, I'm delighted to announce that our long-time veteran translator littleshanks has finally launched his new novel, Rise!  Rise is a novel about the esports scene in Shanghai, the competitive gaming capital of China. It follows the story of Lin Feng, a boy who has just moved to the city for his last year of high school. He's a passionate gamer and dreams of being the best professional League of Legends player in the world. The twist? He almost achieved his dream, but failed at the...

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Upon locating the murderer, we were ready to leave immediately. Xiaotao picked out a few officers who knew the Tao Te Ching. "Are you coming with us?" I turned to Zhang Jiulin.

"To be honest, I’m used to acting at night,” he sighed. “Nevermind, let's go!"

We drove to the Longshan Cemetery, which I had been to before. Xiaotao's instructor, Ma Guozhong, was buried here. Afraid that she wouldn’t be able to resist the deadly tune, I said to Xiaotao, "Just stay outside. I’ll go in with Jiu-ge."

"I know what you’re worried about,” she replied. “Don't worry, I'm no longer sad about that."

Still, I firmly refused to let her into the cemetery. Finally, Xiaotao was forced to overrule me with her title of captain. "Fine, you can come with us,” I compromised. “But on one condition. Give me your gun!"

Xiaotao readily agreed, removing the holster and fitting it on me. She specifically reminded me not to shoot unless absolutely necessary.

The cemetery was divided by several rows of trees. The greenery stood proud and upright amongst the tombstones, blocking our field of vision. Gun in hand, the officers searched the place. I noticed Zhang Jiulin had placed some spells on the tombstones, though I had long grown used to his mysterious methods.

Suddenly, a shadow shot through the woods. When I caught sight of a middle-aged man wearing a mask, I immediately shouted, "That guy looks suspicious. Stop him!"

“Stop! Don’t move!” warned the officers as they flanked the man.

The middle-aged man jumped around like a headless chicken in the middle of the tombstones. Although Director-General Cheng made it clear that the murderer could be killed on sight, we intended to catch him alive if possible.

Soon, they blocked all paths and slowly narrowed the encirclement. The middle-aged man raised his hands and surrendered.

"Look, that was no trouble at all!" I said, grinning at Zhang Jiulin.

"There’s no trace of Yin energy on him,” Zhang Jiulin solemnly shook his head. “He’s not the murderer."

Right then, I heard someone call my name, "Consultant Song, look at him! What's wrong with him?"

When I turned around, the man was convulsing all over, white foam spilling from under his mask before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the ground. I rushed over to examine him and caught a whiff of rat poison on his mask. I checked his breathing with my hand and found it was extremely weak.

Pulling apart his coat, I found the words “Longshan Cemetery Administrator” written on his shirt. It turned out that the man was a victim of the deadly music! He was just about to commit suicide when we noticed his movements. Afraid that the police would call for emergency paramedics, he tried to stealthily flee the scene.

"Send him to the hospital at once,” I ordered. “We can still save him!"

"Everyone, hide behind me!” shouted Zhang Jiulin.

We looked askance at Zhang Jiulin when a sharp whistle came from the woods, the sound shaking up the leaves that soon disintegrated in mid-air. Cracks appeared on the marble tombstones. I felt as if the blood in my body was boiling and my brain scrambled to keep itself from tearing apart as each note played.

In the chaos, several officers fired gunshots into the sky in an attempt to counteract the deafening sound. Then, we all started reciting the Tao Te Ching.

The loud recitation of the "Tao Te Ching" could only resist the spiritual influence of the murderous demonic music, but did nothing to prevent the physical damage. Several officers dropped to their knees, eyes turning bloodshot as blood and tears slowly dripped down their faces. It was a sorry sight.

I could feel the blood surging in my chest and a tearing pain ripped through. A metallic taste spread from my throat as a stream of heat flowed from my esophagus. Kneeling on the ground, I heaved and coughed out a mouthful of blood.

Xiaotao lay a few meters away from me. Hands covering her ears, she looked as if she was close to breaking down but there was nothing I could do. The helplessness, despair and self-blame were infinitely magnified under the influence of the music! I was suddenly overwhelmed with the strong desire to end my life and my hand subconsciously reached for the gun.

But reason still overrode the impulse. I continued to recite the Tao Te Ching through gritted teeth.

We were all crumpling under the tremendous pressure of the deadly tune, and only Zhang Jiulin remained unharmed. He stood there with his eyes slightly closed, like a God guarding us mortals as he uttered, "Pervading heaven and earth is a righteous spirit. Mixed and manifold, it assumed various forms. Below, it makes the rivers and mountains. Above, it makes the sun and stars."

His voice wasn’t loud, but each word seemed to penetrate my ears. Then, Zhang Jiulin flew into a rage and yelled, "The vast righteousness falls!"

As soon as the words left his lips, the world around him grew calm, the effects spreading to a radius of more than ten meters. We could still hear the mournful tune of the xun but its horrible sound and shockwaves dissipated. It was as if a transparent barrier had enveloped us; the wind howling outside, turmoil ravaged the sky and earth but it was peaceful inside our little protective bubble.

We heaved a sigh of relief and climbed to our feet. "Keep reciting the Tao Te Ching,” instructed Zhang Jiulin. “Don't stop even for a moment!"

Heeding his instructions, we continued to chant in unison. This time, the music lasted for a while, taking almost five minutes before it came to an end. Zhang Jiulin slumped with relief and said, "This is the full version of the Qin Jue. If I hadn't prepared in advance, we would’ve all perished."

The administrator lay dead on the ground, killed by the shockwaves. We had no time to delay. "Quickly search the area!" I ordered.

"He’s in that direction!" pointed Zhang Jiulin.

The officers charged in that direction. From a distance, I could smell a bloody scent. A small figure wearing a hoodie emerged from the dense woods. Desperately running for his life, he suddenly pulled out a skull-shaped musical instrument from his pocket.

“Shoot him!" I yelled.

The officers aimed at him but the young man had already placed the Heartbroken Xun against his lips and blew with all his strength. An amplified sonic boom hit us like an invisible wall.

Only then did I realize that the Heartbroken Xun was perfectly comprehensible from a scientific point of view–it emitted ultrasonic waves! Ultrasonic waves were inaudible sounds beyond the human hearing threshold. It resonated with liquids and more than 90% of the human body was made up of water. During the Cold War, the United States developed a sonic boom weapon called the "Mike" that could instantly kill the enemies inside a tank.

The fallen leaves and dust on the ground flew up like waves in the air. The officers in the frontmost were blown away, falling to the ground like dominos. Their guns were completely useless at this point. I soon felt the impact of the sonic boom, my body flying backwards and knocking someone behind me. I heard a loud shriek; it was Xiaotao.

The sonic boom continued to spread. Trees split into pieces and birds fell from the sky. In a panic, I turned around and wrapped Xiaotao with my body. When the sonic boom passed us, I felt as if someone drove a road roller over my body. A horrible force threatened to tear my insides apart as blood spilled from my lips.

The officers had all crumbled to the ground, moaning in agony, powerless against the sonic attack. Zhang Jiulin quickly rushed past us. In a trance, I seemed to see the righteousness of heaven and earth solidified in his being, that fearless and heroic bearing of his transforming him into a God before my eyes!

Zhang Jiulin soon caught up with the mysterious young man and a fight ensued in the woods. However, my consciousness started to flicker out like a lightbulb. Holding Xiaotao, I fell into a coma.

When I regained consciousness, it was already dark. Xiaotao lay in my arms, still unconscious. I gently patted her face and whispered her name. Eyelids trembling, she slowly opened her eyes and asked blankly, "What happened?"

"We were attacked,” I explained. “The power of this object is beyond human resistance..."

At this point, my voice trailed off as my gaze fell in one direction. I saw Zhang Jiulin nearby, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed. The Ghost-Slaying Daggers were embedded in the ground beside the blood-soaked man...

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