Volume 4, Chapter 8 – Tampering

The scream quickly brought Xu Shu and the others running. Chief Inspector Zheng’s patrol squad happened to be nearby as well. Together they sealed off the scene and used force to subdue the crazed Uncle Liu Er.

“What are you doing?”

“I just came out here to eat. What crime have I committed? Why are you trying to arrest me!?”

Liu Er-shu’s state was eerily strange. On the surface he looked no different from an ordinary person, and his physical strength was weak, with none of the extraordinary abilities Aberrations possessed. He even felt wronged, as if he truly believed he did not deserve to be treated so roughly.

But one look at that fresh human head on the ground, at the hole drilled into the center of its skull, at the thick straw stuck into that hole — everyone only felt a chill run down their backs. The whole thing was uncanny and horrific.

“Chief Inspector Zheng…” Xu Shu glanced at the shaken new disciples, then turned with an apologetic look toward Zheng Fu.

“Don’t worry, Brother Xu. With us here as witnesses, that’s enough. We just have to record the scene. It won’t take much of your time.”

“In that case, thank you, Chief Inspector Zheng.” Xu Shu nodded, knowing that was the limit of the other man’s authority.

Why bother asking that extra question? Naturally because there were disciples in the squad who knew the killer.

What had happened to Uncle Liu Er was not normal in the least. It clearly differed from a standard Demon Pool illusion incident. Normally, a case like this would mean immediately sealing off the area and investigating and arresting everyone closely connected to the suspect. That would obviously include Liu Yong and Dongzi.

But Xu Shu’s cultivation was already solid, and given his temperament his qi-force leaned toward “meticulousness and investigation.” He could be sure there was no demonic contamination on Liu Yong or Dongzi.

If they let the Inspectorate haul them back for questioning, it would be a huge waste of time. He wanted to save every minute he could so he could return to the dojo and report what had happened to the higher-ups as soon as possible.

When he returned to the squad, Xu Shu had Zhu Sheng keep an eye on everyone. Seeing Liu Yong looking after a frightened Dongzi, he nodded to himself and walked off with Zheng Fu toward the interrogation circle.

“Don’t move! You monster!”

“You can drink human brain matter and still act innocent? Talk! Where did this head come from?”

Zhen’nan Circuit’s material conditions couldn’t even compare to the Chilong Circuit’s. A lot of procedures had to be simplified. The inspectors had been tormented for months now by one Demon Pool killing-and-eating case after another. They were sick of dragging people back for questioning. They just started interrogating on the spot.

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about!” Uncle Liu Er was tied tight to a stone block with rough hemp rope. Even surrounded by so many people, he was still stubborn. “I just came out to eat! I haven’t committed a crime! I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Something was off.

Xu Shu could clearly feel Zheng Fu’s breathing grow faster, most likely from anger — anyone would be furious faced with this.

The evidence was ironclad. The people and physical evidence were right here. Even the most vicious demon should be forced to admit it. What was the point of being this stubborn?

“Out of my way!” Zheng Fu pushed aside the officers blocking his path and stepped up to stand in front of Uncle Liu Er himself.

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“Old man,” he said. “According to our investigation, your surname is Liu, and you live just up the way?”

“That’s right.” Uncle Liu Er nodded. He seemed to see that this was the man in charge and softened his tone, begging, “I know I shouldn’t have come out this late at night… I promise I won’t dare do it again. Please, sir, have mercy. Spare a humble man like me. Let me live…”

Huh?

The raw sincerity on his face made Zheng Fu’s scalp prickle. Suddenly he wasn’t sure of himself anymore. Did Uncle Liu Er really think he hadn’t done anything wrong?

“Fine, say you did nothing wrong.” Xu Shu suddenly spoke up from the side, tapping the head on the ground with his sheathed sword. “Where did you get this?”

“This head?”

“Of course.”

“I bought it.”

Bought it?

Xu Shu and Zheng Fu shared a look. This was getting even stranger.

“Where did you buy it?”

“To be frank with you sirs, I came fleeing here from the Chilong Circuit. I have a certain trade, so when I got here I figured I’d do a little business to cover my daily expenses.” Uncle Liu Er started talking at length. “Tonight when I was heading to set up my stall, I passed by the alley and saw little Ying from next door holding something, sucking away happily. I didn’t think much at the time, but the more I thought about it while I was out at my stall, the stranger it felt, and the hungrier I got, until my whole mind was fixed on that mysterious food.”

This was an extremely important part of the testimony, and Zheng Fu pressed, “Then what?”

“Then I couldn’t sit still. I packed up the stall and came back,” Uncle Liu Er said. “But even back home, I still couldn’t sit still. I felt hungry, yet no matter what I cooked, it didn’t hit the spot. I already had insomnia and couldn’t sleep, and in the second half of the night I smelled a strange fragrance outside the courtyard.”

At that point, Uncle Liu Er’s eyes lit up. He kept licking his lips, sweeping up all the remaining blood and brain from their corners.

“So I got up and went out. At the mouth of the alley I saw a little street cart selling things. The cart was piled with round balls. When I got closer, I saw they were all heads.”

“And then you just bought one?” Zheng Fu’s voice shot up, fear creeping into his expression. “You didn’t think there was anything wrong with that?”

“What would be wrong?” Uncle Liu Er stared, baffled, and looked up at him. “I paid for it. One head cost several dozen yuan. It was expensive.”

Zheng Fu could no longer bring himself to look him in the eye. It wasn’t just him. All the officers around them reacted as if they’d seen filth, jumping back in unison.

Because this was no longer just a simple murder.

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It wasn’t even a normal Demon Pool illusion event. It involved a deeper level of contamination, a tampering with the very roots of human cognition.

Combined with Uncle Liu Er’s testimony, if that head-selling cart was still roaming the neighborhood, this contamination could spread through the whole Zhen’nan Circuit with terrifying speed.

“Brother Xu…”

This already exceeded the Inspectorate’s remit. Zheng Fu couldn’t help looking over at Xu Shu, his eyes full of a plea for help.

“I’ve already contacted the dojo,” Xu Shu said. “They said they’ll send someone as soon as they can. Chief Inspector Zheng, you should report to Chief Inspector Zhang right away as well. We need to coordinate with the other squads and see if that cart is still moving around.”

“Of course, of course.”

With that, Zheng Fu had a backbone again. He took out his phone to make the call.

Taking advantage of the gap, Xu Shu looked back at Uncle Liu Er.

He had real skill and was the only one there who didn’t fear being contaminated by getting too close to Uncle Liu Er.

He stepped in and studied the man’s face and expression closely, then drew his sword and let his own qi-force coat his shoulder as a fine sensor. He felt no demonic taint affecting him at all.

That was something, at least.

He let out a breath.

If every individual touched by that source of contamination became a new source themselves, cleaning this up would be a nightmare.

From what he could see now, that wasn’t the case. Uncle Liu Er wasn’t going to spread this cognitive pollution. They just had to find and deal with that “head-selling cart,” and the matter would mostly be resolved.

Xu Shu had seen some things by now. He went on to ask Uncle Liu Er, “What’s above my neck?”

Uncle Liu Er gave him a “are you stupid?” look. “A head, obviously.”

“And do you think my head looks edible?” Xu Shu asked again.

Uncle Liu Er shook his head. “Of course not.”

“Why not?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Killing people is a crime.”

So other people’s heads are fine, as long as someone else did the killing?

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Xu Shu’s cheek twitched.

This logic was disturbingly self-consistent.

…

The case spread quickly through the upper and mid levels of Zhen’nan Circuit. The telegraph station sent out avoidance notices to all of Maozhou. On one hand, people were told to stay alert and take precautions against Demon Pool phenomena. On the other, the general features of the “head-selling cart” were made public and everyone was urged to report clues.

As time passed, dawn soon came. Xu Shu led his squad back to the mountain gate, passing plenty of other squads along the way.

Seeing one new disciple after another looking completely wiped out, barely in the mood to talk, he let them all go back early to sleep and rest, planning to go see Bai Lianzhou himself.

Just before he left, he saw Liu Yong and the others again. Remembering that this kid carried the Sword Lord’s sword, he came over one more time and stressed that they were not to overthink things, that they must “absolutely not try to solve this with their own strength.”

Once Xu Shu was gone, Liu Yong and Dongzi’s dorm received an uninvited guest.

Unsurprisingly, it was Zhu Sheng. The handsome, gentlemanly “young lord” had the heart of a gossip. The moment he came in, he exclaimed, “So you two actually know that criminal, Liu Xing?”

Liu Xing was Uncle Liu Er’s full name. Face stiff, Liu Yong gave a slight nod and told him about their neighborly relationship.

“What happened to him is really not ordinary.” Zhu Sheng shook his head and clicked his tongue in amazement. “I don’t know if he’ll be able to come back to himself, but with the situation like this, odds are no one will dare take the risk.”

“What do you mean?” Since coming back, Dongzi had been sitting on his bed in silence. This was the first thing he’d said.

“It means he’s doomed,” Zhu Sheng said, arching a brow. He drew a hand across his neck like a knife. “You get what I’m saying?”

“Screw that!”

Dongzi shot to his feet at once, shouldered Zhu Sheng aside, and headed for the door.

“Hey, hey!” Zhu Sheng and Liu Yong hurried to drag him back.

“Zhang Donglai, are you crazy? Where are you going?”

“To save Uncle Liu!”

“You almost got your brain sucked out by him and you still want to save him?”

“He didn’t mean to hurt me!” Dongzi struggled with all his strength, babbling out an explanation. “Really! He was tricked! He didn’t mean to hurt anyone! He can be cured! He doesn’t deserve to die!”

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At that, Zhu Sheng turned to look at Liu Yong.

Liu Yong was silent for a moment, then said, “Uncle Liu’s daughter, Liu Nanzhi — Zhang Donglai gets along pretty well with her.”

“Yong-ge!” Dongzi glared at him furiously.

“I’m not saying your feelings are wrong,” Liu Yong said, frowning at him. “But when it comes to Demon Pool contamination, this isn’t just about a few people. Have you thought about what happens if Uncle Er really can’t be saved?”

Dongzi froze, his struggles weakening.

He was hot-tempered, but not stupid. A bit of thought was enough to see what would happen if they let someone in that state go.

Liu Yong pressed the point. “By then, you won’t just be putting others in danger. You might be putting Nanzhi in danger too.”

Dongzi’s mouth twisted, and he stopped struggling completely.

“You’re just being stupid,” Zhu Sheng said, tapping him on the forehead. “What would you do if we let you out? Who are you, exactly, that anyone would listen to you?”

Dongzi flared up again and started struggling all over.

“Zhu Sheng…”

Liu Yong really felt this guy had been named wrong. He should have been called Chu Sheng — “early bell.”

“I’m just trying to wake him up sooner.” Zhu Sheng pouted, pinning Dongzi easily with one hand as he patted Liu Yong’s shoulder with the other.

“Tell me I’m wrong.”

“This kind of thing has nothing to do with small fry like us.”

Nothing to do with us, huh…

Liu Yong frowned, quickly running through everything that had happened the previous day in his mind.

He lived in that same resettlement block. How had he never heard of something this bizarre?

Thinking of that “wealthy merchant” who had come straight for him yesterday morning, he lifted his chin and, under the startled gazes of Zhu Sheng and Dongzi, slowly said, “Not necessarily.”