Chapter 84: Tomino’s Hell 02
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Apart from Ma Shanfeng and Lu Xiuzhi, only Chen Yang, Kou Xuanling, and Zhang Qiudao had ever encountered a four-star assignment. However, Kou Xuanling and Zhang Qiudao only had brief encounters and never deeply participated. Only Chen Yang had been deeply involved in the assignment at the deserted village before, but Du Shuo was there at the time, so he had no fear. This time, he hesitated and worried about letting several people from the branch handle the four-star assignment.
“This time, Xiaoli, Qiudao, and Lao Kou will take the assignment with me,” Chen Yang said, turning to Lu Xiuzhi. “You… forget it, you’d better go with Lao Kou.”
Kui Xuan jumped up and raised her hand. “What about me?”
Chen Yang looked down from his high position. “Have you finished your homework?”
Kui Xuan retreated, dejected, and Big Fatty laughed and waved his tail. Passing by, Kui Xuan carefully stepped on Big Fatty’s tail, and the latter screamed and ran upstairs. As he ran, he cursed, “I knew all jiangshis were malicious!” Kui Xuan raised her victorious head and went to do her homework.
Ma Shanfeng sneaked up, trying to sneak away and take Kui Xuan for a walk in the community, but he was already immersed in the envious and jealous glances of a group of old men and women. He didn’t understand where this pleasure came from.
Chen Yang shouted, “Uncle Ma, stay.” He stopped Ma Shanfeng’s steps and pulled him back to avoid disturbing Kui Xuan from doing his homework. Ma Shanfeng adjusted his disappointed expression on his face and turned back into the reliable and honest Deputy Director Ma.
The group discussed the newly received four-star assignment in hopes of gaining deeper understanding and more certainty. They discussed until late at night before finally going to rest. On his way back to his room, Chen Yang habitually went to see Kui Xuan, who had already fallen asleep, so he left. When he opened the door to his room, he quickly pounced on Du Shuo, hanging all over him like a koala.
Du Shuo patted Chen Yang’s buttocks and lifted him up, holding him tighter. “Are you happy?”
“Okay. I’m in a good mood,” Chen Yang squinted and smiled.
With a smile like a little mouse stealing cheese, Du Shuo’s heart softened, wanting to kiss him. Chen Yang avoided being kissed, and seeing that he couldn’t kiss him, Du Shuo stopped and quietly watched him. Chen Yang was a little puzzled and cautiously observed back, slowly approaching and then being caught, their lips intertwined. After a while, Chen Yang lay on Du Shuo’s shoulder and breathed heavily. Du Shuo sat on the edge of the bed, separated his legs, let him sit on his lap, and gently stroked his back.
Du Shuo squinted slightly, with an increasingly greedy light in his eyes. He chuckled lightly, “Had a drink?”
“A little,” Chen Yang half-closed his eyes.
Probably more than a little, looking at his appearance, somewhat drunk, he should have drunk a lot without restraint. Du Shuo hooked his lips, his eyes glittering, and his voice became softer and more seductive, like a feather lightly falling on his heart, “Then you’re not drunk. Let’s do something fun first. Yangyang, call me husband…”
“Mn? Mn…”
The next day, the sun was already high when Mao Xiaoli looked at the bright sun outside and then glanced at the clock on the wall. She said to Zhang Qiudao and Ma Shanfeng, “Is the time wrong? It’s ten o’clock now. Why haven’t they appeared yet? Kui Xuan is almost out of class.”
Ma Shanfeng calmly drank tea. “Husband and wife have to separate for a few days. If they talk too much about themselves, they will be late again.”
Mao Xiaoli was silent for a moment. “I understand brother Chen and Director Du, but what about Lao Kou and Lu Xiuzhi?” As soon as she finished speaking, she heard footsteps coming from upstairs. Looking up, she found that it was Kou Xuanling. “Oh, Lao Kou, did you also talk about yourselves with Lu Xiuzhi?”
Kou Xuanling straightened his collar. “No, we just talked late into the night.” If he hadn’t straightened his collar, Mao Xiaoli wouldn’t have noticed. It’s so hot in summer, what kind of high-collar clothing is he wearing?
Mao Xiaoli looked down, and when Kou Xuanling passed by, she quickly pulled his collar around his neck. When she saw a large area of bruises inside, she exclaimed, “Oh, oh,” weirdly. Kou Xuanling was so scared that he pulled back his collar and covered his neck. When he turned around and saw Ma Shanfeng and Zhang Qiudao both looking at him with an “Oh~” expression on their faces, he said, “It’s mosquito bites! Don’t you know how many mosquitoes the heavy rain two days ago bred? I knew you dirty-minded people would think crookedly.”
Lu Xiuzhi also came downstairs. He had changed into a round-neck T-shirt, having previously worn a silk Tang suit with a collar. It was rare to see him in modern young people’s attire, and he looked particularly handsome. The sharp eyes of everyone glanced at his neck, and indeed saw fewer red marks.
Kou Xuanling said, “He was bitten too.”
Mao Xiaoli nodded seriously. “Lao Kou, I believe you. But why are you wearing Lu Xiuzhi’s clothes, and he’s wearing your T-shirt? Have you already reached the point where you can exchange clothes with each other?”
Kou Xuanling’s face stiffened for a moment, then calmly nodded. “Yes. There’s nothing wrong with brothers exchanging clothes.” He glanced sharply at Chen Yang downstairs and saw Chen Yang wearing Du Shuo’s shirt. The shirt was too long, with sleeves rolled up to the elbows and the hem tucked up, looking quite fashionable. He immediately said, “Look, Chen Xiaoyang is also wearing Director Du’s clothes.”
At these words, Mao Xiaoli and the others’ faces suddenly became strange. Zhang Qiudao patted Kou Xuanling on the shoulder and said, “Yes, their brotherhood is deep.”
Kou Xuanling realized, silently covering half of his face, refusing Lu Xiuzhi to approach. Lu Xiuzhi’s pitiful eyes glanced over from time to time, as if he was a faithless man who had eaten and thrown away, Kou Xuanling’s heart was cracking, all because of drinking too much the night before.
The wine brewed by Ma Shanfeng could not be restrained, and they drank it all. When they returned, they were a bit drunk. After being drunk, the hormones inside their bodies became chaotic and fermented, and they were more likely to want to drink. Smelling the smell of alcohol on each other, they pounced and gnawed. Wasn’t that treating each other as wine? Kou Xuanling covered half of his face and got in the car. He persuaded himself with chaotic reasons.
They just couldn’t help but bite each other. After biting each other, they fell asleep. Nothing happened at all fundamentally. His original goal was wine, not Lu Xiuzhi.
Kou Xuanling slowly persuaded himself that Lu Xiuzhi got into the car and secretly approached him, saying in his ear, “Are you still angry? Don’t be angry, okay? Last night I just treated you as wine.”
Kou Xuanling’s eyes lit up. “Did you treat me as wine, too?”
“Yes,” Lu Xiuzhi replied with a soft laugh, lowering his voice and looking at Kou Xuanling intently. “I thought of you as fine wine.” Kou Xuanling didn’t pick up on any underlying meaning and was instead delighted, feeling that their bond remained pure and untainted. He became even more at ease. Little did he know that, to everyone else, the words were enough to send shivers down their spines.
Just listen to that—“thought of you as fine wine.” What a poetic, yet suggestive line. It sounded as though Lu Xiuzhi couldn’t resist and wanted to savor it, intoxicated to the point of no return. And yet, Kou Xuanling, hearing this, smiled blissfully, his heart fluttering, still convinced they were just brothers, clean and innocent. Straight-laced Kou couldn’t even recognize his true nature.
Mao Xiaoli clicked her tongue and glanced at Chen Yang, who was napping in the back seat. “Brother Chen, are you really tired?” Hearing this, Zhang Qiudao gave her a sidelong glance, thought about it for a moment, but chose not to comment.
Chen Yang, groggy from his nap in the back seat, perked up as soon as he heard Mao Xiaoli’s question. “Ah, yeah, hungover. I’m still a bit dizzy, haha.” Of course, he couldn’t admit that it was because their roleplay last night had gotten too intense, leaving him with no energy to deal with things now.
The group set off for the address listed on the case file, which was in a remote mountain area in the suburbs. They drove along winding mountain roads, heading deeper into the forest. The trees on both sides grew denser, and sunlight only scattered faintly onto the road in spots. Occasionally, the crisp chirping of birds could be heard from the woods. Every now and then, a car passed by in the same direction, only to take a different path at the forks ahead.
Their destination was a private collection museum. The owner had spent his life gathering all sorts of peculiar items. However, two years ago, after he acquired a certain painting, strange occurrences began to happen. Of course, the museum already contained some odd artifacts, so the occasional strange event wasn’t unusual. But recently, the security guard hired to watch over the museum had died.
The museum had since become increasingly restless, with the items inside causing disturbances. On multiple occasions, these incidents nearly cost the museum owner and his family their lives. As a result, the owner had specifically invited Tianshis to rid the place of its malevolent forces.
Kou Xuanling spread out the file and explained, “This museum is quite well-known within certain circles. Occasionally, it opens its doors to allow people from these exclusive circles to visit and purchase items from the collection. Because the items are so unique, some people are willing to pay large sums for the thrill. The museum owner’s surname is Wei—Wei Guangming. He lives in the museum with his wife and children. The painting he acquired was called Grotesque. It’s a notorious piece created by a convicted serial killer while in prison. The killer used his own blood mixed with paint to create a portrait of a malevolent ghost. Since Wei Guangming acquired it immediately after it surfaced, the painting isn’t widely known.”
Chen Yang asked, “So, the strange occurrences started after he purchased that painting?”
Kou Xuanling replied, “Yes.”
Mao Xiaoli added, “A vicious and ruthless murderer would undoubtedly turn into a malevolent ghost after death. People like that don’t require any external triggers—they’re twisted in life, taking pleasure in killing, and it’s only natural that they become evil spirits in death. Usually, when such people die, the underworld dispatches ghost officials to capture them. However, if they use some other method to escape, like hiding in a painting, even the ghost officials might be powerless.”
Chen Yang nodded. “It’s possible. If a painting is lifelike enough, it could naturally become a place for spirits to reside. And since that painting was created with the murderer’s own blood, there’s already a connection. If the murderer hid in the painting after death, slowly gathering strength and starting to kill again, it wouldn’t be out of the question. By the way, did Wei Guangming mention how the security guard died?”
Kou Xuanling explained, “He did. Wei Guangming had hired the security guard for about six months. Just last month, Wei Guangming auctioned off one of the museum’s collection items. That’s when the guard realized that the bizarre objects in the museum were actually quite valuable. He started snooping around and scheming to steal something. After being fired, he came back one night to steal from the museum.”
However, he died at the entrance of the museum. His jaw was torn apart, and his mouth, throat, and chest were stuffed full of glass marbles. The security guard died because the marbles ruptured his throat and tore apart his internal organs.”
“Hiss—what a horrible way to die,” Mao Xiaoli said as she rubbed her arms, finding the manner of death unbearably painful. “If this was really caused by the ghost in that painting, it’s truly terrifying.”
“It’s still just speculation for now. We can’t even be sure if the museum owner is telling the truth,” Chen Yang remarked, looking out the car window. The desolate surroundings were fine during the day, but he thought it would be dangerous to venture out at night due to the high likelihood of getting lost.
Zhang Qiudao pointed ahead. “We’re here. Look up front.”
Everyone turned their gaze toward a building ahead. The structure resembled a small castle—low-key yet elegant—hidden among the dense forest. As the car rounded a bend and took another road, the building came fully into view.
The car pulled into the museum’s parking lot, and the group got out and walked to the entrance. The museum’s plaque was engraved with five simple characters: Wei’s Collection Museum—a name so plain it lacked any distinctiveness.
Chen Yang pressed the doorbell, and before long, a young woman came to answer. She asked, “May I know who you are?”
Chen Yang took out the Tianshi badge and showed it to her. “We’re here at Mr. Wei’s invitation.”
The young woman quickly stepped aside and ushered them in. “Welcome! Thank goodness you’ve arrived. We’ve been at our wits’ end lately—the museum has been getting more and more restless.” She introduced herself, “I’m Wei Guangming’s wife. My name is Qi Yin. Please come in and have a seat while I call him down.” With that, she stepped to the side to make a phone call.
The group observed the interior of the museum. According to the files, the collection items were displayed on the third, fourth, and top floors, while Wei Guangming’s family lived on the first and second floors. He had five children. The eldest son and daughter were both married and lived in the museum as well. The decor on the first and second floors had a strong vintage feel, resembling a mansion from the Republican era, with furnishings typical of powerful and wealthy families from that time.
Mao Xiaoli withdrew her gaze and whispered, “I remember that Wei Guangming’s eldest son is almost thirty, but Qi Yin looks very young—no more than twenty-five at most.”
Kou Xuanling explained, “She’s his second wife. The eldest son, eldest daughter, and second daughter were all born to his first wife. The youngest pair of twins are Qi Yin’s children.”
Mao Xiaoli muttered, “Complicated. I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Stay calm,” Zhang Qiudao said, giving Mao Xiaoli a subtle kick under the chair. “Quiet, they’re coming.” Mao Xiaoli immediately straightened up, sitting properly and looking toward Wei Guangming as he approached.
Wei Guangming appeared to be in his fifties but was well-maintained, looking more like a man in his forties. His expression was somewhat weary, and it seemed his leg had been injured at some point. Beside him, a cold-faced young girl supported him as they descended the stairs and came to stand before the group.
Chen Yang stood up and greeted, “Hello, Mr. Wei.”
Wei Guangming responded with a polite smile. “You must be Master Chen Yang, the Tianshi?”
“Yes,” Chen Yang replied, stepping aside to introduce the people behind him. After Wei Guangming greeted each of them, he sat down and said, “I must trouble you to help me expel the malevolent spirits from the museum.” After a brief pause, he added with a faint smile, “You might wonder how I’m so certain that ghosts are to blame. I have a penchant for collecting strange and eerie things, and I’ve encountered many bizarre events. My first wife… she died at the hands of a ghost, and my leg was injured at that time too. It still aches on rainy days.”
When he mentioned his first wife, a shadow of sorrow passed over his face. The young girl beside him softly comforted him, “Dad, don’t be sad. Mom wouldn’t want to see you like this, and she wouldn’t blame you.”
Chen Yang raised his eyes toward the girl. Sensing his gaze, she smiled and introduced herself. “Hello, I’m Wei Xiaoxiao.”
Wei Xiaoxiao, the second daughter of the Wei family, was the youngest child of Wei Guangming’s first wife and now nineteen years old.
At that moment, Qi Yin walked over to console Wei Guangming as well. After regaining his composure, Wei Guangming said, “You should have a basic understanding of the museum’s situation by now. When do you plan to start dealing with the ghosts?”
Chen Yang replied, “We need to first investigate the situation thoroughly to determine the right approach.”
“That’s fair,” Wei Guangming said. “You’re welcome to stay at the museum. Qi Yin, please show our guests to the guest rooms.”
Qi Yin nodded with a warm smile and was just about to speak when they suddenly heard the cheerful laughter of children echoing from upstairs.
Wei Guangming’s expression turned displeased. Qi Yin nervously said, “Zhizhi is acting up again. I’ll go calm her down. She’s always causing a ruckus.” She then gave an apologetic smile to Chen Yang and the others. “I’m sorry, Zhizhi is still young. She loves to play and make noise.”
She led the group to the second floor, but when they reached the children’s room, they didn’t find her youngest daughter, Zhizhi. Instead, they saw her youngest son sitting quietly amidst a pile of toys.
Qi Yin picked up her son gently and asked him in a soft tone, “Baby, where did Zhizhi go?”
The little boy answered slowly, “She’s playing hide-and-seek.”
Qi Yin smiled patiently and asked, “Then why aren’t you looking for Zhizhi?”
The boy gave her a puzzled look and said, “She’s not playing with me.”
Qi Yin’s smile froze. “Then who is she playing with?” Her voice turned sharp, startling even herself. When she glanced back at Chen Yang and the others, her eyes were filled with fear. She quickly forced a smile and muttered an apology. Lowering her voice, she continued to question the boy, but he simply played with his fingers and refused to speak.
Meanwhile, Mao Xiaoli lagged behind the group, curiously observing the museum’s interior. She stopped in front of a golden clock, staring at it for a long time. Unable to resist her curiosity, she reached out to touch it. Suddenly, the small window at the top of the clock swung open, and a child’s corpse with a pale, ghastly face fell out, startling her so badly that she jumped back in fear.
When Mao Xiaoli regained her composure and attempted to inspect the child’s body, the child suddenly got up, pointed at the golden clock, and laughed loudly, “You can’t find me! I won!”
Alive? Mao Xiaoli stared at the child in disbelief. Looking down, she noticed that salt was scattered around the golden clock. She asked, “Are you Zhizhi? Why are you hiding in the golden clock?”
Wei Zhizhi shouted, “Who are you? A thief? Mom! Mom—there’s a thief in the house!!”
Hearing the commotion, Qi Yin came over and was furious when she saw what was happening. “Wei Zhizhi, you’re playing with salt again!”
Wei Zhizhi defiantly said, “If I don’t scatter salt, they’ll find me. If they find me, I’ll have to be the ghost! I don’t want to be the ghost!”
“Still talking back! You always imagine that there are friends here to play with you, causing chaos in the house. I’ll teach you a lesson!” Qi Yin angrily grabbed a feather duster and chased after her. Wei Zhizhi screamed and ran away.
The little boy was left sitting there, fiddling with his fingers. Chen Yang crouched down to meet his gaze. Before he could speak, the boy stretched out his chubby little hand and said, “Hug.”
Chen Yang froze. The boy took a step forward, throwing himself into Chen Yang’s arms, saying again, “Hug.” Chen Yang picked up the soft, chubby boy, who smelled strongly of milk.
The little boy said, “Zhizhi wasn’t lying.”
“What?”
“Zhizhi was playing hide-and-seek. If she gets found, she has to be the ghost.”
Looking into the boy’s black-and-white eyes, the group felt a sudden chill run down their spines.
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