Salted Fish Chapter 45.1: Jack the Ripper (Part 1)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

 

Duan FeiZhou didn’t find anything odd about their position. It was reasonable to say that he shouldn’t be at ease. He was the Master of the Secret Trading House, the number one enemy of the Nightmen, and this was a special dungeon for occult practitioners. He should be trembling and walking on thin ice having set foot there. Duan FeiZhou asked cautiously, “How many people are being held inside?” 

“There are thirty-nine alive,” Z replied carelessly.

Duan FeiZhou thought his wording was a bit strange. “What? Are there dead ones?” he asked. Was it necessary to lock up dead people?

As if he sensed his doubts, Z raised the corners of his lips slightly. He said in a light tone, “Of course the dead need to be locked up.” 

Duan FeiZhou remembered the spirits of the dead in Perlilla Manor. If occult practitioners would become undead after death, then it seemed logical to seclude them. So, those occult practitioners not only had to be arrested for life, but also couldn’t be reborn after death. It was too miserable.

After they walked for a long time, the stairs finally ended. What appeared in front of him was another long corridor, while on both sides stood heavy iron doors. When the group of people walked past a door, either yelling or a “bang” sounded from behind the door. However, no matter how the prisoners hit it, the doors never moved.

Duan FeiZhou shrank into Z’s arms again. Now, he was almost hanging on Z. Z’s expression was calm, and even a little happy.

When she reached a certain door, Mrs. Q stopped in her tracks. Xenophon stepped forward again, and chanted a spell as he unlocked the door. The iron door opened with a creak.

The room behind the door was much larger than Duan FeiZhou had imagined, three meters across and three meters deep,¹ and for a cell, it was spacious and luxurious. Based on Duan FeiZhou’s rudimentary knowledge of secret geometry, he judged that the two spell formations were opposite nested spell formations, used to confine or bind something.

In the center of the magic circle sat a man on his knees. His head hung low, and his face was hidden in the shadows. HIs withered hands were in heavy shackles, the chains nailed to the wall.

Duan FeiZhou scrutinized the man. He looked ordinary. When he heard the sound of the door opening, the man looked up abruptly. The disheveled hair and beard covered most of his face, but couldn’t hide his eyes. Those eyes were so deep and dark, like an ancient well, but there was a deadly danger coming out of the well, as if a ghost would crawl out of the abyss at any moment. ²

His eyes turned wildly. Sometimes the two eyes even looked in different directions, as if he had absolutely no control over his own eyeballs.

Suddenly, his eyeballs stopped spinning, then snapped around and aimed in the same direction.

He sniffed hard, as if he was savoring a certain scent in the air.

“There’s a newcomer.” He grinned, and revealed a mouthful of snow-white teeth, each as sharp as a shark’s. “I smell the fragrance of a fresh virgin…a young man. The Nightmen have a newcomer? Great! All day long old women and old men visit me, and the smell is simply disgusting. Now there’s something wonderful.”

Mrs. Q, whom he called an old woman, raised her eyebrows and said nothing.

“Come closer, young man.” Jack the Ripper said with a cheeky laugh. “Let me smell you. How sweet, how fragrant! You smell it, Detective Z. You’re the one here whose sense of smell is closest to mine. Why else would you not let go of his arms?”

Xenophon glanced at Duan FeiZhou and his boss with a guarded look in his eyes.

Duan FeiZhou looked at Z’s hand on his shoulder, and suddenly felt a pang of embarrassment. It was as if some private secret that should only belong to him had been exposed. He tried to remove Z’s arm, but Z looped it tighter. Z said coldly, “I’ll put my arm around whoever I want. It’s none of your business.” 

Jack the Ripper smiled wider and wider. “I’d love to taste that young man! If you bite through his heart, the blood spurting must be more delicious than fine wine. I suggest you have a chance to taste it, Detective Z. Once you have tasted it, you are unlikely to forget the taste!”

“Thanks. I can’t taste it.” Z turned to Mrs. Q, “Let’s get started.”

Mrs. Q stumbled behind Jack the Ripper. She took a snow-white rope from her pocket, tied a live knot, and slipped it around Jack the Ripper’s neck.

“I know what you want.” Jack the Ripper said hoarsely. “You want to turn me into a bloodhound and find people for you. Yes, go ahead. I can’t wait to get out of this place. If you think a little spell can hold me back, you’re mistaken!”

Mrs. Q closed her eyes and chanted a low incantation. A red smoke diffused from her palm and wrapped itself around the white rope. No, it wasn’t red smoke, but a single red rune. It extended from the end of the rope all the way to Jack the Ripper. In the blink of an eye, the entire rope turned blood red, and emitted the unique glow that belonged to an occult item.

Jack the Ripper shook his head desperately, as if he were trying to break free of the rope, but the more he struggled, the more tightly the rope was wrapped. He threw back his head and let out a beastly growl.

The other prisoners in the cells heard his growl, and screamed along with him.

Mrs. Q, held the rope, and shouted, “Stop!”

The roar instantly disappeared from Jack the Ripper’s throat.

“Get up.” The old woman said again.

Jack the Ripper staggered to his feet. The shackles on his hands clanked. Z made a gesture, and Xenophon carefully crossed the spell on the floor to Jack the Ripper and unlocked his shackles. The serial killer who had all of London terror-stricken was now restrained by the occult rope, as docile as one of Mrs. Q’s puppies.

Z let go of Duan FeiZhou, took a handkerchief out of his pocket, then opened it cautiously and slowly. In the center of the handkerchief was wrapped a small metal fragment, the tip of which was stained with red blood. He took the handkerchief and held the metal fragment under Jack the Ripper’s nose.

Mrs. Q ordered, “Smell it, boy. You can smell him, can’t you?”

Jack the Ripper took a few deep breaths. He moved like a real hound.

“Do you recognize the smell?” Ms. Q asked.

The killer pondered for a moment, and nodded slowly.

Beside Duan FeiZhou,Z  suddenly stirred. He heard Z’s breathing sharpen for a moment.

Mrs. Q said in a kind and polite tone like she was teaching a child, “You can find him, right? Take me to the owner of this blood, right?”

Jack the Ripper took a heavy step. His eyes were no longer as sharp as before. That deep gaze seemed to be covered with a layer of fog.

Z pointed outside the cell. “Take him through the tunnel.”

Mr. R followed his directions, and he and Mrs. Q walked Jack the Ripper like a dog out of the cell and down the deep corridor. He and Mrs. Q were partners, and it was only natural that he should accompany them on such a mission.

“Xenophon,” Z called out the name of his subordinate.

The black-haired, yellow-eyed Nightman shifted into a raven, flapped its wings, flew towards Mr. R and came to rest on his shoulder.

“Where are they going? Isn’t the exit on the other side of the corridor?” Duan FeiZhou asked in a whisper.

“There’s a secret tunnel over there that leads beyond Scotland Yard,” Z said. “It’s not convenient to have that guy out on the street in broad daylight. Let him leave through the secret tunnel first.”

“Are the three of them okay?” Duan FeiZhou was a little worried.

“Their mission is only to find Duncan McKellen. Naturally, they will return after finding the man. When the time comes, we’ll go back up.”

Jack the Ripper and the Nightmen were soon swallowed up by the darkness at the other end of the corridor. The vicious serial killer was already under the control of Mrs. Q’s secret technique, and with Mr. R and Xenophon there to help, there should be no trouble, Duan FeiZhou thought to himself. But for some reason, a strong feeling of unease came over him.

When Jack the Ripper passed in front of him, he seemed to have vaguely see a cold light coming from the killer’s foggy eyes.

…It was probably just an illusion.

“Let’s go back,” Z said.

Miss Acheson and Duan FeiZhou followed their boss, left the dungeon and returned to the surface. Miss Acheson took out a key of the same type as Xenophon’s and locked the dungeon door.

“Boss, did you hear what Jack the Ripper just said?” The always silent typist spoke up coldly. “Mrs. Q asked him if he recognized the scent of Duncan McKellen, and he said yes.”

Duan FeiZhou also noticed Jack the Ripper’s remark. “Does that mean,” he speculated. “That Duncan McKellen is indeed the last member of the Scarlet Feast?”

“It’s very possible.” Z said in a quiet voice. “I don’t think they would have known each other through other channels.”

“Could Jack the Ripper be mistaken?”

“He is under the secret control of Mrs. Q. He cannot lie to us,” Z explained. “The shard I gave him to sniff was a fragment of my blade, stained with Duncan McKellen’s blood. There’s no mistaking it any way you think about it.”

Duan FeiZhou mused, “But Duncan McKellen said he wasn’t a member of the Scarlet Feast.”

Z snorted disdainfully. “Isn’t it normal for occult practitioners to lie a lot?”

Duan FeiZhou wanted to defend the group of occult practitioners. However, on second thought, he realized he was also a liar. Z was so protective of him, yet he had been lying to Z…When he thought of that, a nameless bitterness welled up in his heart.

They returned to the office. Miss Acheson immediately swooped back to her desk, and continued her work. She was so diligent, but the Abnormal Case Investigation Unit section had not yet started its internal work hours, a strange phenomenon that really puzzled him.

“By the way, how is Miss Lynn?” Z suddenly asked.

“She was sent to the sanatorium in Beautiful Gaia yesterday.” Duan FeiZhou replied, “It really seems to be able to cure Etheric Disease. I saw some patients’ whose conditions had improved.”

“That’s good.” Z had a thoughtful expression. “I always thought Beautiful Gaia was a claptrap organization, but I didn’t think they were really capable.”

Duan FeiZhou looked at Z curiously. “Why are you so concerned about Miss Lynn all of a sudden?”

Z walked to the window and pushed it open. The breeze came and lifted his long silvery white hair. He said softly, “Because you care about her. That’s why I care.” 

Duan FeiZhou’s heart jumped for no reason.

After work, Duan FeiZhou didn’t go home, and instead first went to the Beautiful Gaia nursing home to visit Louisa. It was visiting hours and there were a lot of people in the ward. Almost every bed was surrounded by two or three family members. Mr. and Mrs. Lynn naturally sat in front of Louisa’s bed. When they saw Duan FeiZhou, they both looked happy at the same time.

“Come and see! Louisa can talk now!” Mr. Lynn said excitedly, with a lighter expression than yesterday. “I didn’t expect the Beautiful Gaia treatment to be so effective! I should have sent Louisa here in the first place!”

Duan FeiZhou walked to the bed. Mr. Lynn called her name in a low voice and said, “Wake up, my child.”

Louisa’s eyelids fluttered and opened with difficulty. She couldn’t focus her eyes yet, and only weakly glanced towards the place where Duan FeiZhou was. But she had already recognized the visitor, and a faint smile bloomed on her pale face.

“Mis…ter…Che…s…ter…”

Hearing her speak, Duan FeiZhou was taken aback. At this time yesterday, Louisa was still unconscious. He hadn’t expected it to be only one day, and she was already so much better!

“Are you feeling okay, Miss Lynn?” Duan FeiZhou asked softly.

“Thank you…Care…” Louisa murmured. “You sent me…Dollhouse…I still…kept it…”

“…What dollhouse?” Duan FeiZhou was confused.

Mr. and Mrs. Lynn, however, immediately grasped their daughter’s meaning.

“She probably mistook you for your uncle.” Mrs. Lynn smiled. “When Louisa was a child, your uncle gave her a very luxurious dollhouse for her birthday. The child loved it and thanked your uncle every time she saw him. Uncle and nephew look quite similar, and since Louisa is still a bit delirious, she probably can’t recognise you.”

Duan FeiZhou laughed helplessly. If they looked so much alike, why did Louisa mistake Z for “Leo Chester” when they first met? Was Z’s beauty so glorious in a woman’s eyes that it automatically overshadowed everyone else around her?

The nurse from the sanitorium pushed a cart into the room. She said aloud, “It’s time to take your medicine.” 

She walked to the beds in turn, and took pill bottles from the cart, poured out a few pills, and asked the patients to take them with water. After confirming that the first patient swallowed the pills, the nurse went to the second patient.

When she went to Louisa’s bed, instead of pouring out the pills, she took out an injection, and pulled up Louisa’s sleeve to inject her.

“Louisa is still too weak to take the medicine now.” Mr. Lynn saw the doubts on Duan FeiZhou’s face, and took the initiative to explain to him. “When she can eat on her own, she can take her medication.”

The nurse pushed all the medication into Louisa’s arm and then rolled the cart toward the next patient. Duan FeiZhou stared at the needle holes in Louisa’s arm, and his brow grew tighter.

–Something was wrong.

The drug that the nurse injected for Louisa clearly emitted the unique shimmer of an occult item. Could it be that Beautiful Gaia’s so-called “method of curing Etheric disease” was actually an occult art? Inside Beautiful Gaia, were there hidden occult practitioners?

It was possible. If conventional medical treatment could cure Etheric disease, then ordinary hospitals could do it, and the patients wouldn’t need to come to the Beautiful Gaia sanatorium.

Plus, for Beautiful Gaia, the treatment of Etheric disease meant secrecy. It was never revealed to outsiders. Could it be that they were also afraid of occult practitioners’ identities being exposed, thus attracting the Nightmen?

If Beautiful Gaia simply used secret techniques to cure people, Duan FeiZhou would like to turn a blind eye. He himself was an occult practitioner and had seen the secret art of healing wounds. If occult philosophy could be used to relieve the people, it was not a bad thing.

However, in Louisa’s arm, in addition to the needle holes, there were two other small holes. They weren’t pinholes, more like…The bite marks of sharp teeth.

It was almost like a bite…

What kind of suspicious therapy was Beautiful Gaia administering?

Duan FeiZhou stared at Louisa’s arm. He could see the memories left on an object, and now he wanted to try to see if he could see, using Louisa’s belongings, what kind of treatment she had received. Louisa had moved into the nursing home only a day earlier, and was still wearing the same clothes she had worn yesterday. Soon, a faint image emerged before Duan FeiZhou’s eyes.

–Louisa being carried out of the ward by a group of people.

–Louisa was lying on the floor.

–A beautiful-looking woman lifted Louisa’s arm and bit it.

Duan FeiZhou jolted, and the image disappeared.

The woman with the beautiful face was Evangeline, the Chairman of the council of Beautiful Gaia! Since undead, ghouls and magic existed in this world, would there also exist…vampires? The room she was in was impervious to light, and her skin was so pale that it was bloodless. It perfectly fitted the vampire setting!

When he thought about this new type of occultist, Duan FeiZhou broke out in a cold sweat on the spot.

 Would the Councilman really use the sanatorium as a front for secretly sucking human blood? The secret behind it wasn’t a good secret, so Duan FeiZhou really didn’t feel at ease. He was afraid that he had accidentally sent the innocent Louisa into the fire. Duan FeiZhou got up and said, “Mr. Lynn, Mrs. Lynn, I suddenly remembered that there are still some things I need to do, so I will take my leave.”

“Of course, you go and do your work.” Mr. and Mrs. Lynn forgave him for his early exit.

Duan FeiZhou smiled at them, saluted, and then quickly left the ward. There was only one way to figure out the secret behind the beautiful Gaia, and that was-