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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I had just hung up the call when Ding Xu ran off into the distance, following the man’s trail. "What the hell is he up to now?" Dali wondered out loud.

"He wants to destroy the footprints!" I blurted.

As I had foreseen, Ding Xu ran over and rubbed his feet into the ground as he yelled, "I don't need you to interfere in my affairs!" 

I was so angry I might have had steam coming out of my ears. I asked Dali for a cigarette, gesturing with my hand.

Even Dali had begun smoking as of late. He froze for a moment before handing me a Hongtashan.

The footprints were hopeless but we had another important clue. I sprinted to the road and threw the cigarette in my hand to the ground, intentionally provoking Ding Xun, "Haha, I have his cigarette butt!"

Ding Xu pounced on the cigarette butt like a dog and stuffed it into his mouth, completely unaware that I had the actual cigarette butt left by the man safely hidden in my pocket.

"Is the cigarette butt delicious?" I mocked.

Ding Xu glared at me while he chomped down on the cigarette. "Miss Qiu, you’re a fickle one!” I sneered. “Just a few hours ago, you were crying miserably about your death, yet here you are doing everything you can to protect the murderer."

Ding Xu gulped down the cigarette butt and spat, “Just because I died tragically doesn’t mean I want revenge. Although he killed me, I know he loves me. Anyway, I’m already dead and I don’t want to hurt him."

“Don’t you have any self-respect?!” Li Meijing walked over, only to admonish in disgust. "What a cheap fool!"

"I’ll tear your mouth off!" roared Ding Xu.

He charged towards Li Meijing and knocked her to the ground. Li Meijing’s frightful screams pierced through the night as she struggled desperately against Ding Xu. Zhang Cheng stepped in to pull him away but Ding Xu seemed to have infinite strength. Finally, Dali and I had to help subdue him.

Pinned to the ground, Ding Xun began slamming his face into the gravel, causing fresh blood to spurt from his nose. He smiled grimly, "If you insist on investigating, I'll kill this boy! Whose responsibility is that?!"

"Haven’t you had enough!" I bellowed and placed my hand on his forehead, chanting the Song family mantra.

The exorcism mantra showed its effects as Ding Xu’s eyes rolled into the back of his head, his body convulsing uncontrollably. At the end of the mantra, he gnashed his teeth and goaded, "Little boy, your mantra doesn’t work!"

I cruelly bit my middle finger and swiped the blood on his forehead. Ding Xu bounced up as if he were scalded by a soldering iron and fell back heavily to the ground, rolling around with his hand covering his forehead. "It burns!” he screamed. “It’s so hot!"

The others couldn’t tear their eyes away from the scene. "Dude, when did you learn witchcraft?"

"I’ve never studied it,” I admitted. “I was just fumbling around. Jiu-ge did mention that I have stronger Yang energy than most people."

Ding Xu thrashed about like a dying worm and finally lay flat on the ground. I placed my finger under his nose; he was still breathing and merely fell unconscious.

I froze in disbelief. How could such a strange thing happen? 

"Should we call Jiu-ge?" Dali suggested.

I shook my head. My self-esteem hindered me from asking Jiu-ge for assistance. I didn't want to fall into the habit of working with a Yin object trader at first sight of a bizarre incident. Additionally, the man had already left Nanjiang City and I was certain I could handle it. The other thing that prevented me was the nagging doubts I had about Ding Xu's supposed possession. Personally, I preferred to believe he was pretending.

Right then, Luo Youyou came up to me and apologized, "Song Yang, I'm really sorry to have involved you in this matter. I didn’t think it was so serious..."

I was about to speak when Dali interrupted, "Don't blame yourself. Solving crimes is a common occurrence for us. Song Yang would feel miserable without a case. You’re really helping him."

"Really?" Luo Youyou looked at me eagerly. 

The case had indeed aroused my curiosity, so I nodded, "He’s right!"

There came the familiar sound of sirens behind me. Afraid the police cars would damage the murderer’s wheel marks, I ran to the side of the road to stop them. Xiaotao jumped out of her car and asked, "How did you find this God-forsaken place?"

"Would you believe me if I said the victim told me everything and brought me here herself?” I asked. “Did you manage to stop that car on the road?"

Xiaotao shook her head. If the man was really the murderer, he must have a guilty conscience. Seeing the oncoming police cars would certainly frighten him enough to take a side road and escape. I asked Xiaotao to photograph the tire marks on the ground as I briefly narrated the whole incident.

Upon hearing the series of events, Xiaotao looked astonished. "Even I can't believe it!" I said.

The police soon got to work. I was afraid that Ding Xu would harm himself upon regaining consciousness so I asked Xiaotao to take him back to the station and place him under supervision. The officers took brief statements from the three juniors and sent them back to school in a police car. Before they left, Luo Youyou turned to me and said, "Song Yang, we’ve really troubled you this evening. I have a small request. Could you add me on Wechat so I can contact you if I have any other questions?"

"I’ll be graduating soon and we’re not even in the same major,” I blurted. “What can I do for you?"

“Um.. I…” Luo Youyou blushed.

"By the way, who among you his closest to Ding Xu?” I asked. “I’d like to know more about him."

"Zhang Cheng and him are roommates," replied Luo Youyou.

"Thanks!" I nodded.

With that, Luo Youyou left with a polite bow.

"This junior seems to be interested in you!" Xiaotao elbowed me.

"Give me the gun,” I said. “I'll die right in front of your eyes to prove my innocence!"

“I’m glad you’re well-liked,” Xiaotao patted me on the shoulder.

Then, I stopped Zhang Cheng who was about to get into the car. "Wait just a bit!” I shouted. “I have a question to ask you. Is Ding Xu acquainted with Qiu Wanxia?"

“Qiu Wanxia? You’re talking about the ghost attached to him?” Zhang Cheng shook his head,  “I don't think so. Fatty Ding has a small social circle. He hasn't even spoken to the girls in our class, let alone the girls outside of school!"

"Alright then.”

“Will Fatty Ding be detained? Will he be expelled?” Zhang Cheng asked uneasily.

“No, of course not,” I replied. “He didn't kill anyone. We’re just temporarily protecting him from his own self."

“That’s good to hear,” Zhang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much, Song Yang!"

When the three juniors got into the police car and left, I turned to Dali, "Did you get Luo Youyou’s Wechat?"

"I did,” grinned Dali. “It’s all thanks to you. Come on, give me a high five!"

Dali's cell phone soon sounded with a text notification. He unlocked his cell phone and beamed with joy. "She sent me a message!" But after reading the text, his smile froze. He showed me the message, and as it turned out, Luo Youyou had only messaged him to ask for my WeChat.

“I need to be alone!” Dali walked away despondently.

"Don't give up,” I encouraged. “it's not like you don't have a chance."

The technical team soon reported a discovery so I rushed over with Xiaotao. They found a gold ring on the victim's hand. Judging from the style, it was a men’s ring. Xiaotao turned on her flashlight to examine it. "There’s a serial number of the jewelry store on the ring. This is an important finding!"

"Oh, that’s right! I have a cigarette butt here!" I said.

I handed the cigarette butt with the suspect’s fingerprints and saliva over to the technical team. On a whole, we seemed to be off to a good start with the number of clues we had thus far.

However, I never expected the truth to be totally different from what it seemed like at the beginning!

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