Just as we were about to pull out the mastermind behind the scenes, an alarming shot of gunfire sounded. Xueqing called to inform me that Prof Xiao was dead. I was completely taken aback, and I only came back to my senses after Zhenzhen kicked me.
“What happened?” Zhenzhen asked.
“Prof Xiao’s dead!”
“Dead? Did he commit suicide to avoid punishment?!”
“If he wanted to commit suicide, would Xueqing have needed to fire? Let’s meet back up with Xueqing first.” Zhenzhen and I hurried over to the academic building.
Prof Xiao was killed in his lab. When we arrived, only Xueqing and a few teaching staff were present inside. A large group of students were watching from outside. We finally made it inside with some difficulty. I told Xueqing what we’d learned from Supervisor Yu, and then she told us what she’d found out—
After I parted with you guys, I came here in search of Zeng Qianyi, that is, Yue Yingqing, to pull out a few strands of hair. Then I heard the soft moaning of a woman. Presumably, it was Prof Xiao and his assistant with their illicit business.
I hid by the window, and though the doors and windows were shut tightly, I’ve received strict auditory training, so I heard very clearly what happened inside the lab room. At first, I only heard gasping, moaning, and other such obscene sounds. After awhile, it sounded like clothes ruffling, so it seemed that they’d concluded their business and were tidying their clothes.
“This is the last time,” came a female voice. It should have been Yue Yingqing.
“Ah, ah, I was just a bit careless today. I came too early, so you’re unhappy? When the master’s snake immortal son grows up and gives me a drop of that immortal blood, I’ll make sure you climax every day!” I couldn’t imagine such vulgar language coming out of a famous professor’s mouth, but aside from Prof Xiao, there were no other males in the lab room.
Then a slightly odd sound came. It seemed to be Prof Xiao pulling Yue Yingqing into his arms, but she was struggling. In a displeased voice, he said, “What? I’m too old?! Don’t you forget what kind of situation you’re in. Aside from me, the only ones who would do this with you are the dead, you poisonous woman!”
“I’m a poisonous woman. So what are you? As the saying goes, ‘without poison, a man cannot be great’ (a great man has to be ruthless). Not only are you malicious, your body is toxic. Aside from Qiuxia and me, hasn’t everyone you touched died?!” Yue Yingqing suddenly cried out.
“Y-you want to rebel? Do you believe me when I say I’ll make sure the master doesn’t give you any immortal blood. Then you’ll neither be able to live or die!” Prof Xiao shouted angrily.
“I’m afraid you want have that chance…” Another strange sound came from inside. One of them seemed to be retreating while the other was pressing forward. Someone kicked over some papers, and then Prof Xiao’s trembling voice came, “What are you trying to do? You dare to touch me? Not afraid that the master will take care of you?”
Yue Yingqing let out a sinister laugh, and then said coldly, “The one the master wants to take care of isn’t me, but you!”
“What? That can’t be. You’re lying to me! If not for me feeding the master’s snake immortal son, would it have lived to this day? And I’ve always obeyed the master. I’ve never gone against him or done anything wrong. Why would he want to kill me?” From the sound of it, Prof Xiao had retreated into a corner.
“Really? You’ve never done anything wrong?” Yue Yingqing turned ferocious. “Controlling Supervisor Yu with those poppy seeds was indeed a good idea. But did you ever think that since you could control her with those seeds, that the police could also extort a confession from her? Sooner or later, she will reveal your involvement. For the master’s path to immortality, and in order for us all to live eternally, we can only sacrifice you. You wouldn’t want your precious son, my good classmate, to rot behind bars, would you?”
“Ah!” Prof Xiao’s scream sounded from the lab. I pulled out my revolver and kicked open the door. When I went into the lab, I saw Yue Yingqing licking the blood from her hands. She wasn’t wearing any gloves, so I could see clearly that her blood-covered right hand was missing a middle finger. Prof Xiao was lying in a puddle of blood. From the wound on his chest, he probably died after his heart was pierced. For a famous cardiology professor’s life to be taken by his assistant in such a manner, it’s somewhat ironic, isn’t it.
I pointed my gun at Yue Yingqing and told her to put her arms up or I’d shoot. She smiled slyly at me and slowly raised her hands, and then she suddenly escaped by jumping out the window. I immediately went over to the window, but she was already on the ground. She tumbled across the grass and ran off. I shot at her, but I didn’t hit her. Even if I did hit her, it probably wouldn’t have done anything, so I gave up trying to snipe her…
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After Xueqing’s account, Zhenzhen asked, “So did you grab any of Yue Yingqing’s hair?”
Although we were positive that Yue Yingqing was the female ghost that got shot last night, investigators must collect evidence. If there isn’t adequate evidence, the criminal may be able to find a loophole out of their sentence. However, Xueqing disappointed Zhenzhen this time, because she didn’t have the chance to get any of Yue Yingqing’s hair.
“Whether we have the hair doesn’t matter. This is enough.” I crouched down by the trash bin and pointed at a wet paper towel. The towel had semen on it, which guaranteed that there would also be female secretion on it. We just had to hand this towel over to Yuetong, and if Yue Yingqing’s DNA matched that of the ghost from last night, that would guarantee that she was one of the female ghosts.
Supposing that Yue Yingqing was one of the female ghosts, then the possibility of the other ghost being the library administrator, Xie Yulan, was very high. So now we knew who the female ghosts were, but who was the ‘master’ that Yue Yingqing and Prof Xiao spoke of? Since Prof Xiao had been a disposable soldier, he wouldn’t be the mastermind. He’d previously mentioned ‘the master’s snake immortal son.’ That meant that the one who’d had relations with Ye Xiaolou ten years ago was, needless to say, not him, but this master person. Seems like this ‘master’ is the key to this case and the true mastermind!
After Xueqing called me, I immediately notified the Armed Police Force to block all exits to the campus and also asked them to do a search of the school. But we all knew that we wouldn’t be able to get Yue Yingqing. She had superhuman abilities and this was her territory. She was familiar with every nook and if she were to venture into the sewers, we wouldn’t be able to find her.
Catching Yue Yingqing wouldn’t be easy, but catching Xia Yulan shouldn’t be too hard. After the Armed Police arrived to the lab, we rushed over to the library, hoping to arrest Xia Yulan. However, when we got to the library, we were already a step too late.
Outside the library, there were many scared and helpless faces. I grabbed a male student and asked him what happened. His voice trembled as he said, “Murder, murder…”
“Who’s the murderer? Who was killed?” I asked as concisely as possible.
“The administrator died… A woman killed her…” Although the boy’s words weren’t clear, I could still just barely make them out.
“It was Prof Xiao’s assistant!” someone shouted out in the crowd. But I’d already guessed as much. Another soldier sacrificed.
Without regard to the students outside, we rushed into the library. It was empty and quiet, completely different from outside. We found Xia Yulan in a corner; she was the very same Pan Qiuxia who had previously helped Zhenzhen look up the student files. She was lying in a puddle of blood, her body convulsing as she exhaled deeply.
Zhenzhen was at the front of our group. She wanted to help Xia Yulan up, but Xia Yulan said faintly, “Don’t. My blood… is poisonous…”
I had Xueqing call for an ambulance, and then I asked Xia Yulan, “Aren’t you and Yue Yingqing working together? Why does she want to kill you?”
“Immortality… What lies, complete lies… We’re all just chess pieces. Xiaolou, Qiongzhi, everyone… Pieces that can be abandoned at any time for the safety of the general…” Xia Yulan was breathing with difficulty, and finally explained the truth—
Ten years ago, Xiaolou had relations with the master and became pregnant with an immortal seed. The master was afraid we would reveal this secret, so he had Xiaolou add his blood to our water bottles and poisoned us. His blood is like heroin. Once poisoned, you need to take an antidote each month. The pain that ensues from the treatment is unspeakable, but it was the difference between life and death. After taking one drop of his blood, not only did the pain immediately disappear, we were then be filled with a light, heavenly feeling. But once the poison came into effect again, without his blood, we would be tortured by pain. He’s been using this to threaten us for ten years. If we dared to disobey him, he wouldn’t give us any blood and let us feel the torturous pain of the poison.
After we were poisoned, not only did it cause us pain each month, our bodies also became toxic. On the night of my first time with my first love, he left this world. After that, we could only avoid intimate acts with other men. In the past ten years, other than my first love, only Prof Xiao has ever touched my body.
Prof Xiao originally had no involvement with this, but after he accidentally found out about Xiaolou and the master’s relationship, he was also coerced with the same method as us. Actually, coerced might not be the right word, because after taking the master’s blood, his body obviously became much better than before. His appearance also turned younger, so he was always loyal and devoted to the master.
After Xiaolou gave birth to the snake immortal, the master told us, “After the snake immortal becomes grown, he will give you each a drop of immortal blood. You will all become immortal, all-powerful, and you will be able to do all you please, to summon the wind and rain.” At first, I was somewhat suspicious of his words. But later on, I believed him completely, because Yingqing really been granted the snake immortal’s strength.
When the snake immortal was three months old, the master wanted one of us to offer up a finger to it. Whomever offered up their finger, that person would be granted its strength. At the time, everyone was very suspicious of the whole ordeal. No one was willing to offer their finger aside from Xiaolou, but her body was very weak, so in the end, it was Yingqing who did it.
After the snake immortal ate half of Yingqing’s middle finer, it started to shed. First, a crack split along its back, and then it climbed out from the skin. The master gave the skin to Yingqing and said it was the proof of her pact with the snake immortal. Then he gave her a drop of the snake immortal’s blood. She later took the skin and turned it into a doll, the one that was lost in the woods last night.
After her pact with the snake immortal, Yingqing’s body started to change. Her wounds from feeding the snake immortal would heal quickly, and the didn’t leave scars. Her strength also increased. She’s the one who broke the dorm window. It was to prevent the boys from secretly opening the window and finding out about the snake immortal’s existence.
When the snake immortal was six months old, the day that we graduated, the master told one of us to offer up a heart to it. He said that whomever offered up their heart, their soul would fuse with the snake immortal’s, and they would live eternally with boundless strength.
After having seen Yingqing’s situation unfold, we all believed those words to be truth. We were all eager to sacrifice our heart, but in the end, we drew lots to decide. You already know the outcome of that; it was Qiongzhi. But what you don’t know is that it wasn’t Xiaolou who was in charge of taking her heart, it was Yingqing.
The master arranged for us to escape criminal charges by faking mental illness. By then, Yingqing already had great strength, so pulling out Qiongzhi’s heart didn’t require much effort. And since Qiongzhi had been fed the master’s fresh blood, it wasn’t at all painful for her when her heart was pulled out, so she didn’t scream out.
Because Yingqing and I constantly required the master’s blood to stop the poison, Xiaolou was left with the task of becoming the mental patient. She originally planned on pretending for two years, and after people gradually forgot about this case, she would start her new life. But who would have expected what was to come.
After the snake immortal consumed Qiongzhi’s heart, Yingqing secretly dug out the hole from the dorm room to the tomb, and Supervisor Yu would drop in a pig’s heart every night. The master said that on the night of the full moon, the snake immortal must eat a human heart. The best would be a living human’s heart. So under Prof Xiao’s instruction, Yingqing and I were brought in to work at the school. Every 15th of the lunar month, we would wait out in the woods to find an unassuming prey. The first time we delivered the heart to the snake immortal, we dug out the path from the woods to the tomb. If we were unable to find a fresh heart, Prof Xiao would take a heart from a body from the dissection class or steal one from the hospital’s morgue, to give to Supervisor Yu to deliver to the snake immortal. That’s how it’s been for ten years…
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After hearing Xia Yulan’s account, I finally understood why Prof Xiao called Yue Yingqing ‘poisonous woman.’ The term ‘poisonous woman’ originated from the Japanese Sengoku (Warring States) period. Legend has it that a famous ninja faction once trained three secret female ninjas. Each of them were devastatingly beautiful, but all of their blood, saliva, sweat, and other bodily fluids were highly toxic. Coming into contact with it would result in death for any normal human, and thus they were given the name ‘poisonous woman.’ Although the poisonous women’s bodies contained toxins, they were still able to live ordinary lives. However, anyone they had intercourse with, or even shared a drink with, would be poisoned to death. According to unofficial records, even the evaporated sweat from a poisonous woman after a dance was sufficient to kill the members of the audience.
Yue Yingqing’s situation was very similar to that of the poisonous woman, so it was no wonder Prof Xiao called her as such. However, the legend of the poisonous woman was little known. I was only aware of it because of a previous case I’d investigated, where I had to read up a lot on ninjutsu and related things. The fact that Prof Xiao had spoken of it so casually meant that he was a very learned man. But he was dead now, so it didn’t matter. Right now, the important thing was luring out the mastermind behind the scenes.
“Was your and Yue Yingqing’s surprise attack on us yesterday also the master’s suggestion?” I asked.
Xia Yulan nodded with much difficulty. She said, “You all… know… too much.” She seemed to have gone into shock from excessive blood loss. After her eyes closed, they didn’t open again. I quickly asked, “Who is your master? Hurry and tell me!”
“L-Lu…” Her voice was very faint, and her eyes closed again– She was dead!
Oh God! You’d already said so much, but you couldn’t hold on for another second and finish the tale? And I thought that kind of thing only happened in wuxia stories. But complaining was futile. I asked Zhenzhen and Xueqing if they’d heard her, Lu what? They both shook their heads helplessly. I closed my eyes to think, to recall the other details of the case, hoping there would be someone named Lu…
“Could it be President Lu?!” I exclaimed with a slap to my leg. There was only person named Lu involved with this case. Head of the university, President Lu.
We couldn’t wait for our colleagues to arrive, and we immediately ran to the president’s office. Zhenzhen kicked open the office door, and we found Boss inside.
“Why do you have to break down the door? It wasn’t even locked.” Boss said this casually as he flipped through his newspaper. President Lu was sitting across from him, answering his phone that was ringing nonstop. He couldn’t even be bothered to notice us.
Eventually, President Lu hung up his phone. I showed him my credentials and said, “President Lu, I suspect that you are involved with numerous murder cases and directing others to assault a police officer. I hope you’ll return to the police station with us for further investigation!”
President Lu laughed helplessly and looked at Boss. Boss was still reading his newspaper, and without lifting his head, he said, “Ah Mu, you’ve guessed wrong this time. President Lu was playing mahjong with me all of last night. Our phones were off. We went to the restroom together once. Do you think he had the opportunity to make any moves?”
I put away my credentials and shrugged helplessly. “No wonder the physical exam this morning went so smoothly. You already set it up last night.”
“Ah…” President Lu let out a sigh. With another laugh, he said, “If I’ve done any wrong, it must have been offending Tai Sui. I lost money last night. And now, today, things are a big mess. Adding a few charges on probably won’t make a difference. Looks like I won’t be able to stay on as president for long. Old Mu, see if you can find any work for me!” (Note: to offend Tai Sui; it has to do with folk religion, and the term means that you’ll have a bad year with your health or your job, etc.)
Boss laughed. “An old fox like you should just retire early. All your profits these years isn’t enough for you to live the second half of your life?”
President Lu laughed without responding.
Just as we were preparing to leave, my phone rang. It was Wei ge, but when I answered the phone, I just heard what sounded like a maniac’s nonstop laughter.
“What are you laughing about? We’re busy!” If Wei ge were in front of me, I would definitely have given him a kick. But I suspect Zhenzhen would have reacted faster than me.
“I’ve hit the jackpot!”
“Really? Goodbye!” It was enough that he didn’t mess anything up. If he hit the jackpot, it would most likely just be some confidential files on the web, so I didn’t have any great fantasy of his success. I was about to hang up.
“Don’t hang up yet. I’ve really succeeded here. I’ve caught Prof Xiao’s assistant!”
“What?! You’ve caught Yue Yingqing?!” I exclaimed. Everyone’s eyes on the scene landed on me.
Just as we were about to pull out the mastermind behind the scenes, an alarming shot of gunfire sounded. Xueqing called to inform me that Prof Xiao was dead. I was completely taken aback, and I only came back to my senses after Zhenzhen kicked me.
“What happened?” Zhenzhen asked.
“Prof Xiao’s dead!”
“Dead? Did he commit suicide to avoid punishment?!”
“If he wanted to commit suicide, would Xueqing have needed to fire? Let’s meet back up with Xueqing first.” Zhenzhen and I hurried over to the academic building.
Prof Xiao was killed in his lab. When we arrived, only Xueqing and a few teaching staff were present inside. A large group of students were watching from outside. We finally made it inside with some difficulty. I told Xueqing what we’d learned from Supervisor Yu, and then she told us what she’d found out—
After I parted with you guys, I came here in search of Zeng Qianyi, that is, Yue Yingqing, to pull out a few strands of hair. Then I heard the soft moaning of a woman. Presumably, it was Prof Xiao and his assistant with their illicit business.
I hid by the window, and though the doors and windows were shut tightly, I’ve received strict auditory training, so I heard very clearly what happened inside the lab room. At first, I only heard gasping, moaning, and other such obscene sounds. After awhile, it sounded like clothes ruffling, so it seemed that they’d concluded their business and were tidying their clothes.
“This is the last time,” came a female voice. It should have been Yue Yingqing.
“Ah, ah, I was just a bit careless today. I came too early, so you’re unhappy? When the master’s snake immortal son grows up and gives me a drop of that immortal blood, I’ll make sure you climax every day!” I couldn’t imagine such vulgar language coming out of a famous professor’s mouth, but aside from Prof Xiao, there were no other males in the lab room.
Then a slightly odd sound came. It seemed to be Prof Xiao pulling Yue Yingqing into his arms, but she was struggling. In a displeased voice, he said, “What? I’m too old?! Don’t you forget what kind of situation you’re in. Aside from me, the only ones who would do this with you are the dead, you poisonous woman!”
“I’m a poisonous woman. So what are you? As the saying goes, ‘without poison, a man cannot be great’ (a great man has to be ruthless). Not only are you malicious, your body is toxic. Aside from Qiuxia and me, hasn’t everyone you touched died?!” Yue Yingqing suddenly cried out.
“Y-you want to rebel? Do you believe me when I say I’ll make sure the master doesn’t give you any immortal blood. Then you’ll neither be able to live or die!” Prof Xiao shouted angrily.
“I’m afraid you want have that chance…” Another strange sound came from inside. One of them seemed to be retreating while the other was pressing forward. Someone kicked over some papers, and then Prof Xiao’s trembling voice came, “What are you trying to do? You dare to touch me? Not afraid that the master will take care of you?”
Yue Yingqing let out a sinister laugh, and then said coldly, “The one the master wants to take care of isn’t me, but you!”
“What? That can’t be. You’re lying to me! If not for me feeding the master’s snake immortal son, would it have lived to this day? And I’ve always obeyed the master. I’ve never gone against him or done anything wrong. Why would he want to kill me?” From the sound of it, Prof Xiao had retreated into a corner.
“Really? You’ve never done anything wrong?” Yue Yingqing turned ferocious. “Controlling Supervisor Yu with those poppy seeds was indeed a good idea. But did you ever think that since you could control her with those seeds, that the police could also extort a confession from her? Sooner or later, she will reveal your involvement. For the master’s path to immortality, and in order for us all to live eternally, we can only sacrifice you. You wouldn’t want your precious son, my good classmate, to rot behind bars, would you?”
“Ah!” Prof Xiao’s scream sounded from the lab. I pulled out my revolver and kicked open the door. When I went into the lab, I saw Yue Yingqing licking the blood from her hands. She wasn’t wearing any gloves, so I could see clearly that her blood-covered right hand was missing a middle finger. Prof Xiao was lying in a puddle of blood. From the wound on his chest, he probably died after his heart was pierced. For a famous cardiology professor’s life to be taken by his assistant in such a manner, it’s somewhat ironic, isn’t it.
I pointed my gun at Yue Yingqing and told her to put her arms up or I’d shoot. She smiled slyly at me and slowly raised her hands, and then she suddenly escaped by jumping out the window. I immediately went over to the window, but she was already on the ground. She tumbled across the grass and ran off. I shot at her, but I didn’t hit her. Even if I did hit her, it probably wouldn’t have done anything, so I gave up trying to snipe her…
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After Xueqing’s account, Zhenzhen asked, “So did you grab any of Yue Yingqing’s hair?”
Although we were positive that Yue Yingqing was the female ghost that got shot last night, investigators must collect evidence. If there isn’t adequate evidence, the criminal may be able to find a loophole out of their sentence. However, Xueqing disappointed Zhenzhen this time, because she didn’t have the chance to get any of Yue Yingqing’s hair.
“Whether we have the hair doesn’t matter. This is enough.” I crouched down by the trash bin and pointed at a wet paper towel. The towel had semen on it, which guaranteed that there would also be female secretion on it. We just had to hand this towel over to Yuetong, and if Yue Yingqing’s DNA matched that of the ghost from last night, that would guarantee that she was one of the female ghosts.
Supposing that Yue Yingqing was one of the female ghosts, then the possibility of the other ghost being the library administrator, Xie Yulan, was very high. So now we knew who the female ghosts were, but who was the ‘master’ that Yue Yingqing and Prof Xiao spoke of? Since Prof Xiao had been a disposable soldier, he wouldn’t be the mastermind. He’d previously mentioned ‘the master’s snake immortal son.’ That meant that the one who’d had relations with Ye Xiaolou ten years ago was, needless to say, not him, but this master person. Seems like this ‘master’ is the key to this case and the true mastermind!
After Xueqing called me, I immediately notified the Armed Police Force to block all exits to the campus and also asked them to do a search of the school. But we all knew that we wouldn’t be able to get Yue Yingqing. She had superhuman abilities and this was her territory. She was familiar with every nook and if she were to venture into the sewers, we wouldn’t be able to find her.
Catching Yue Yingqing wouldn’t be easy, but catching Xia Yulan shouldn’t be too hard. After the Armed Police arrived to the lab, we rushed over to the library, hoping to arrest Xia Yulan. However, when we got to the library, we were already a step too late.
Outside the library, there were many scared and helpless faces. I grabbed a male student and asked him what happened. His voice trembled as he said, “Murder, murder…”
“Who’s the murderer? Who was killed?” I asked as concisely as possible.
“The administrator died… A woman killed her…” Although the boy’s words weren’t clear, I could still just barely make them out.
“It was Prof Xiao’s assistant!” someone shouted out in the crowd. But I’d already guessed as much. Another soldier sacrificed.
Without regard to the students outside, we rushed into the library. It was empty and quiet, completely different from outside. We found Xia Yulan in a corner; she was the very same Pan Qiuxia who had previously helped Zhenzhen look up the student files. She was lying in a puddle of blood, her body convulsing as she exhaled deeply.
Zhenzhen was at the front of our group. She wanted to help Xia Yulan up, but Xia Yulan said faintly, “Don’t. My blood… is poisonous…”
I had Xueqing call for an ambulance, and then I asked Xia Yulan, “Aren’t you and Yue Yingqing working together? Why does she want to kill you?”
“Immortality… What lies, complete lies… We’re all just chess pieces. Xiaolou, Qiongzhi, everyone… Pieces that can be abandoned at any time for the safety of the general…” Xia Yulan was breathing with difficulty, and finally explained the truth—
Ten years ago, Xiaolou had relations with the master and became pregnant with an immortal seed. The master was afraid we would reveal this secret, so he had Xiaolou add his blood to our water bottles and poisoned us. His blood is like heroin. Once poisoned, you need to take an antidote each month. The pain that ensues from the treatment is unspeakable, but it was the difference between life and death. After taking one drop of his blood, not only did the pain immediately disappear, we were then be filled with a light, heavenly feeling. But once the poison came into effect again, without his blood, we would be tortured by pain. He’s been using this to threaten us for ten years. If we dared to disobey him, he wouldn’t give us any blood and let us feel the torturous pain of the poison.
After we were poisoned, not only did it cause us pain each month, our bodies also became toxic. On the night of my first time with my first love, he left this world. After that, we could only avoid intimate acts with other men. In the past ten years, other than my first love, only Prof Xiao has ever touched my body.
Prof Xiao originally had no involvement with this, but after he accidentally found out about Xiaolou and the master’s relationship, he was also coerced with the same method as us. Actually, coerced might not be the right word, because after taking the master’s blood, his body obviously became much better than before. His appearance also turned younger, so he was always loyal and devoted to the master.
After Xiaolou gave birth to the snake immortal, the master told us, “After the snake immortal becomes grown, he will give you each a drop of immortal blood. You will all become immortal, all-powerful, and you will be able to do all you please, to summon the wind and rain.” At first, I was somewhat suspicious of his words. But later on, I believed him completely, because Yingqing really been granted the snake immortal’s strength.
When the snake immortal was three months old, the master wanted one of us to offer up a finger to it. Whomever offered up their finger, that person would be granted its strength. At the time, everyone was very suspicious of the whole ordeal. No one was willing to offer their finger aside from Xiaolou, but her body was very weak, so in the end, it was Yingqing who did it.
After the snake immortal ate half of Yingqing’s middle finer, it started to shed. First, a crack split along its back, and then it climbed out from the skin. The master gave the skin to Yingqing and said it was the proof of her pact with the snake immortal. Then he gave her a drop of the snake immortal’s blood. She later took the skin and turned it into a doll, the one that was lost in the woods last night.
After her pact with the snake immortal, Yingqing’s body started to change. Her wounds from feeding the snake immortal would heal quickly, and the didn’t leave scars. Her strength also increased. She’s the one who broke the dorm window. It was to prevent the boys from secretly opening the window and finding out about the snake immortal’s existence.
When the snake immortal was six months old, the day that we graduated, the master told one of us to offer up a heart to it. He said that whomever offered up their heart, their soul would fuse with the snake immortal’s, and they would live eternally with boundless strength.
After having seen Yingqing’s situation unfold, we all believed those words to be truth. We were all eager to sacrifice our heart, but in the end, we drew lots to decide. You already know the outcome of that; it was Qiongzhi. But what you don’t know is that it wasn’t Xiaolou who was in charge of taking her heart, it was Yingqing.
The master arranged for us to escape criminal charges by faking mental illness. By then, Yingqing already had great strength, so pulling out Qiongzhi’s heart didn’t require much effort. And since Qiongzhi had been fed the master’s fresh blood, it wasn’t at all painful for her when her heart was pulled out, so she didn’t scream out.
Because Yingqing and I constantly required the master’s blood to stop the poison, Xiaolou was left with the task of becoming the mental patient. She originally planned on pretending for two years, and after people gradually forgot about this case, she would start her new life. But who would have expected what was to come.
After the snake immortal consumed Qiongzhi’s heart, Yingqing secretly dug out the hole from the dorm room to the tomb, and Supervisor Yu would drop in a pig’s heart every night. The master said that on the night of the full moon, the snake immortal must eat a human heart. The best would be a living human’s heart. So under Prof Xiao’s instruction, Yingqing and I were brought in to work at the school. Every 15th of the lunar month, we would wait out in the woods to find an unassuming prey. The first time we delivered the heart to the snake immortal, we dug out the path from the woods to the tomb. If we were unable to find a fresh heart, Prof Xiao would take a heart from a body from the dissection class or steal one from the hospital’s morgue, to give to Supervisor Yu to deliver to the snake immortal. That’s how it’s been for ten years…
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After hearing Xia Yulan’s account, I finally understood why Prof Xiao called Yue Yingqing ‘poisonous woman.’ The term ‘poisonous woman’ originated from the Japanese Sengoku (Warring States) period. Legend has it that a famous ninja faction once trained three secret female ninjas. Each of them were devastatingly beautiful, but all of their blood, saliva, sweat, and other bodily fluids were highly toxic. Coming into contact with it would result in death for any normal human, and thus they were given the name ‘poisonous woman.’ Although the poisonous women’s bodies contained toxins, they were still able to live ordinary lives. However, anyone they had intercourse with, or even shared a drink with, would be poisoned to death. According to unofficial records, even the evaporated sweat from a poisonous woman after a dance was sufficient to kill the members of the audience.
Yue Yingqing’s situation was very similar to that of the poisonous woman, so it was no wonder Prof Xiao called her as such. However, the legend of the poisonous woman was little known. I was only aware of it because of a previous case I’d investigated, where I had to read up a lot on ninjutsu and related things. The fact that Prof Xiao had spoken of it so casually meant that he was a very learned man. But he was dead now, so it didn’t matter. Right now, the important thing was luring out the mastermind behind the scenes.
“Was your and Yue Yingqing’s surprise attack on us yesterday also the master’s suggestion?” I asked.
Xia Yulan nodded with much difficulty. She said, “You all… know… too much.” She seemed to have gone into shock from excessive blood loss. After her eyes closed, they didn’t open again. I quickly asked, “Who is your master? Hurry and tell me!”
“L-Lu…” Her voice was very faint, and her eyes closed again– She was dead!
Oh God! You’d already said so much, but you couldn’t hold on for another second and finish the tale? And I thought that kind of thing only happened in wuxia stories. But complaining was futile. I asked Zhenzhen and Xueqing if they’d heard her, Lu what? They both shook their heads helplessly. I closed my eyes to think, to recall the other details of the case, hoping there would be someone named Lu…
“Could it be President Lu?!” I exclaimed with a slap to my leg. There was only person named Lu involved with this case. Head of the university, President Lu.
We couldn’t wait for our colleagues to arrive, and we immediately ran to the president’s office. Zhenzhen kicked open the office door, and we found Boss inside.
“Why do you have to break down the door? It wasn’t even locked.” Boss said this casually as he flipped through his newspaper. President Lu was sitting across from him, answering his phone that was ringing nonstop. He couldn’t even be bothered to notice us.
Eventually, President Lu hung up his phone. I showed him my credentials and said, “President Lu, I suspect that you are involved with numerous murder cases and directing others to assault a police officer. I hope you’ll return to the police station with us for further investigation!”
President Lu laughed helplessly and looked at Boss. Boss was still reading his newspaper, and without lifting his head, he said, “Ah Mu, you’ve guessed wrong this time. President Lu was playing mahjong with me all of last night. Our phones were off. We went to the restroom together once. Do you think he had the opportunity to make any moves?”
I put away my credentials and shrugged helplessly. “No wonder the physical exam this morning went so smoothly. You already set it up last night.”
“Ah…” President Lu let out a sigh. With another laugh, he said, “If I’ve done any wrong, it must have been offending Tai Sui. I lost money last night. And now, today, things are a big mess. Adding a few charges on probably won’t make a difference. Looks like I won’t be able to stay on as president for long. Old Mu, see if you can find any work for me!” (Note: to offend Tai Sui; it has to do with folk religion, and the term means that you’ll have a bad year with your health or your job, etc.)
Boss laughed. “An old fox like you should just retire early. All your profits these years isn’t enough for you to live the second half of your life?”
President Lu laughed without responding.
Just as we were preparing to leave, my phone rang. It was Wei ge, but when I answered the phone, I just heard what sounded like a maniac’s nonstop laughter.
“What are you laughing about? We’re busy!” If Wei ge were in front of me, I would definitely have given him a kick. But I suspect Zhenzhen would have reacted faster than me.
“I’ve hit the jackpot!”
“Really? Goodbye!” It was enough that he didn’t mess anything up. If he hit the jackpot, it would most likely just be some confidential files on the web, so I didn’t have any great fantasy of his success. I was about to hang up.
“Don’t hang up yet. I’ve really succeeded here. I’ve caught Prof Xiao’s assistant!”
“What?! You’ve caught Yue Yingqing?!” I exclaimed. Everyone’s eyes on the scene landed on me.
