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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The case had entered the final stage, and the police managed to dig up more about Lang Jun. This man was a typical Scorpio. Ten years ago he lost his first love because he couldn't afford the medical expenses. Motivated by his loss, he made every effort to achieve success just so he could retaliate against all those who offended him.

He even hired some gangsters to cripple the hospital director who refused to help him all those years ago!

And as for friends who turned their backs on him when he needed money, he framed them for crimes they didn’t commit, plunging them into destitution, even forcing one of them to the point of suicide.

But these were all old cases. Although he was suspected of breaking the law, he didn’t actually do anything illegal so the police could only keep him in detention for a day.

Judging from his extreme character, his choice of seeking revenge instead of calling the police seemed perfectly reasonable.

Xu Zhipeng confessed to his crimes but there were two aspects different from what we imagined–Xiao Xia’s death and the ring. He insisted he never ordered her murder; he only threw her into the wild. It was difficult to investigate the truth behind this matter because the gangster thugs he hired had already been executed for other crimes.

As for the rings, he claimed they didn’t belong to him. Buying the jewelry store had nothing to do with it. It was transferred to him by another CEO at a low price.

His denial meant he wasn’t willing to admit to the murder!

Although the police were tough on him, we didn’t actually have key evidence. Even if the case progressed to court, it would be difficult to convict him.

Xiaotao suggested we conduct an in-depth and thorough investigation of Xu Zhipeng until evidence of murder was found. "Don't worry about that for now,” I said. “Let’s take a break and relax for the next two days. Maybe watch a movie, have a hair spa, or have a meal with a handsome consultant."

"Song Yang, ever since you came back from the party the other day, you’ve been acting all strange,” remarked Xiaotao. “What are you up to?"

"Would you like to know?” I laughed. “Let's go out and visit someone!"

I was going to take Ding Xu back to the place where the body was found. Ding Xu was still dressed in women's wear. These two days of “being alive” had improved his spirits. He was chattering about cosmetics and delicious food the entire time.

When we arrived at the outskirts, Ding Xu's expression turned ugly as he clamored to leave. "Take me back! I want to go back!"

"You better cooperate with us,” I said. “We’ll only stay for five minutes and I'll buy you a pretty dress when we get back, alright?"

Ding Xu shook his head, "Hmph, would a loser like you have any money?"

I felt the urge to swear but I refrained.

Upon getting out of the car, Ding Xu picked some flowers on the side of the road and wore them in his hair. “Do I look beautiful?” He turned around and asked Xiaotao. 

"Mm-hmm," nodded Xiaotao. Then, turning to me, she whispered, "Why did you bring him here?"

"For an exorcism!" I smiled cryptically.

"Xiao Xia,” I said, stopping Ding Xu. “We’ve discovered your identity. You were originally a waitress but because you looked like Lang Jun's first love, you were chosen by Xu Zhipeng as a commercial spy. The life of lying made you depressed so you found a friend online to share your troubles with. This body belongs to that friend–Ding Xu!"

Ding Xu blinked his exaggerated false eyelashes, "What about it?"

"The whole case began with your narrative which is completely subjective,” I began. “The three of you have your own versions of the story and each person’s narrative has a strong subjective tendency. The version you provided set us down this path, but looking back now, there are many loopholes in your statements!"

"Nonsense!” shouted Ding Xu. “I speak the truth!"

"Is that so?” I sneered. “You said Lang Jun cut open your stomach and stuffed hamsters inside. You claimed he was the one who beat you, and you told me you lied about being pregnant with his child which spurred his anger because he was infertile."

Ding Xu bit his lip and kept mum. "All of these are merely embellishments you made!” I continued. “They were based on cases you read or heard. In fact, you’re not really possessed by a spirit. You’re Ding Xu!"

"How can you turn the truth upside down?!” Ding Xu stamped his feet. “If I’m not Xiao Xia, how could I have..."

I held up two pieces of paper, one with a signature left by Ding Xu on his shopping trip and the other was written by Xiaotao on my instructions. "These two handwritings are yours and Xiao Xia's! It’s difficult to change your handwriting!"

Ding Xu shook all over as he stared wide-eyed at me. "You witnessed Xiao Xia's death that night, but you felt guilty because you were too scared to rescue her,” I concluded, enunciating each word. “Then you ran over to dig out the body and saw the clothes she was wearing and the hamsters in her stomach. However, you didn’t have the courage to call the police. You were afraid of the consequences. You hate your own weakness so much you gradually formed another personality. You became Xiao Xia just to relieve your guilt!"

Lips trembling, Ding Xu dropped to his knees and covered his face while he wailed and wept. His voice became lower, like a man’s. "I really am weak and contemptible! I hate myself. Forgive me, Xiao Xia."

Xiaotao was so shocked her mouth fell agape. "His demons are gone!" I declared.

I walked up to Ding Xu and said, "Why do you think Lang Jun abused Xiao Xia? Was it because you saw him kill her?"

Ding Xu nodded with tears running down his face.

"Now that we’ve come to this,” I sighed. “You might as well tell us everything you witnessed that night!"

Ding Xu hesitantly explained that he met Xiao Xia on the Internet two years ago and soon grew closer through their chats. Ding Xu gradually became fond of Xiao Xia, but his deep inferiority complex prevented him from meeting her in person because he knew Xiao Xia would despise his physical appearance.

Later on, Xiao Xia revealed that she was sent by a big CEO to approach someone and become a commercial spy. Ding Xu was extremely worried about her and advised her on more than one occasion to leave.

But Xiao Xia couldn't go back because she had grown used to the beautiful clothes, delicious food, and the handsome, domineering CEO. This was the life every girl with a Mary Sue complex yearned for!

Xiao Xia eventually fell in love with the object of her betrayal and foolishly came clean to the man. Lang Jun angrily threw her a parting gift and told her to leave.

Downhearted, Xiao Xia confided a lot in Ding Xu, causing him to mistake her candor as affection for him. So he summoned up the courage to express his feelings to her, but was rejected.

On the night that Ding Xu planned to delete her from his friends list, Xiao Xia suddenly issued a “Goodbye." Ding Xu frantically asked where she was but to no avail. In the end, he found Xiao Xia's location through QQ location services. But when he arrived, he saw a man stomping on Xiao Xia's throat. He hid in the grass, too horror-struck to make a sound and watched as Xiao Xia breathed her last.

The man placed something into Xiao Xia's hand before burying her body. After the man left, Ding Xu wept for a long time before dialling 110. But he hung up immediately after hearing the operator’s voice because he didn’t have the courage!

He didn’t dare to offend the wealthy, powerful man. 

After a year of living in deep remorse, Ding Xu ran back to the scene to dig up Xiao Xia's body. When he saw the badly decomposed corpse beneath the soil, he was so frightened he covered the body once more and continued to retreat into his cowardly shell to escape reality.

Through all this self-blame, he began to have strange dreams where the rotting Xiao Xia came to him. The dreams grew more and more frequent until he imagined seeing Xiao Xia’s shadows and hearing her voice when he was awake.

After that, he became Xiao Xia!

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