T/N: Hey guys. Just to let you know that the posting schedule for Phantom Skeleton Painting will be going back to normal. Thank you for the patience while I finished the other novel.
Chapter 78.2 Ghost Market
In the afternoon, Lin Banxia was awakened by the ringing of the phone.
He opened his eyes in a daze and saw Song Qingluo’s back and the exaggerated scratches on it. His ears, which had finally cooled down, began to feel warm again. He reached out and patted randomly around the bed. When he got to the still ringing cell phone, he picked it up and saw that it was Li Su calling.
Li Su said angrily: “What are you two doing? Are you planning to elope? Why are you not answering the phone?”
Lin Banxia said: “No.” As soon as the sound came out, he regretted it a little, because his voice was so hoarse that he almost felt like he could cough up blood.
Li Su asked doubtfully: “You have a cold?”
Lin Banxia: “Well… yes, I have a cold.”
“Oh, what about Song Qingluo?” Li Su said, “Why isn’t he answering the phone? I’m so fucking anxious that I’m about to come to your house to capture him.”
Lin Banxia was thinking about what to say, but Song Qingluo next to him was woken up. He stretched out his hand without hesitation, took Lin Banxia’s mobile phone and said, “If you have anything to say, just say it.” The deep voice sounded very impatient.
When Li Su heard this, he didn’t say anything for a long time.
Song Qingluo said: “Say it or not, otherwise I’ll kill you.”
Li Su said: “Tell me, damn it, when did you two get together? Is it appropriate to do this in broad daylight?”
Song Qingluo sneered: “It’s none of your business.”
Li Su was a little helpless: “Okay, it’s none of my business. The recorders just passed by and found the seller. They’re waiting for you to meet up and go there together. You guys should get up quickly. Otherwise, they really will send me to find you.”
Song Qingluo hung up the phone with a hum, then came over naturally and kissed the corner of Lin Banxia’s lips: “Get up.”
Lin Banxia said: “Okay…”
The two of them went to take a shower, changed their clothes, and went out to meet the recorders.
Sure enough, the recorders were already waiting for them at the agreed place. They were a man and a woman. The woman seemed to know Song Qingluo. She stood on tiptoes and waved happily to the two of them, shouting: “Mr. Song, this way.”
Song Qingluo walked over and said straight to the point: “Where is he?”
“The person is in City C.” The girl said, “Did you know that there is an old building over there in City C? It’s the area that is about to be demolished.”
Song Qingluo shook his head, but Lin Banxia remembered: “You mean the apartment building that used to be the family compound in the factory area?”
“Yes, that’s right.” The girl smiled and extended her hand to Lin Banxia, ”Hello. My name is Li Xinyu and this is Yi Xinhe. Are you Mr. Song’s partner, Mr. Lin?.”
Lin Banxia thought this girl looked quite smart, shook hands with her and said, “Hello.”
“Then shall we go directly there now?” Li Xinyu said, “What do you think, Mr. Song?”
Song Qingluo asked: “Have you brought any weapons?”
“I only brought two daggers.” Li Xinyu said, “It should be enough in the city, right?”
Generally speaking, they did not have the right to carry thermal weapons for cases regarding heretical objects in urban areas unless they were extremely dangerous. Thermal weapons required a request, and the superiors may not approve it. Of course, that was unless the heretical objects showed great danger.
“Let’s go and check the situation first,” Song Qingluo said.
The group got into the car and headed towards the old city.
In the car, Song Qingluo put on the pair of black thin silk gloves as usual and took out the dice he carried with him. There was only one dice for each of the monitors. This dice was held by Song Qingluo from beginning to end. Lin Banxia had never touched it.
The numbers Li Xinyu and Yi Xinhe drew were normal, one was twenty and the other was twenty-five. This was the first time Lin Banxia saw such a low number. He thought that maybe it was because the place they were going was very familiar, so they didn’t feel as nervous.
Song Qingluo said: “Has the background check of the person who went to the ghost market been clear?”
“It’s clear, he’s just an ordinary company employee, his name is Wei Zhimao.” Li Xinyu flipped through the information, “Twenty-six years old. Grew up in City C. From his resume… I would describe him as ordinary. It couldn’t be a better fit.”
“No history of contact?” Song Qingluo asked.
“No.” Li Xinyu said, “If it is truly a heretical object, it should not have been registered.”
Song Qingluo said: “Are there any other related incidents?”
Li Xinyu said: “Nothing has been found so far.”
Song Qingluo didn’t say anything, but he remembered it when Lin Banxia said: “By the way, when I went to work yesterday, my colleague told me that a case happened in the park a few days ago, and the situation was similar to Lu Yinyin. There was also a person who suddenly said there were worms in his stomach and dug open his stomach with his hands.”
Li Xinyu was stunned when he heard this: “Mr. Lin has another job?”
Lin Banxia responded casually: “It’s a part-time job collecting corpses.”
Li Xinyu: “…” These monitors are indeed not normal people.
Song Qingluo frowned when he heard this. He pondered for a moment: “Be careful when you go there later. I feel that the situation is not normal.”
Lin Banxia: “What’s wrong?”
Song Qingluo said: “Creatures infected by heretical things are called companion creatures, and items infected by heretical things are also called companion objects. No matter which type they are, there will be an alienated atmosphere on them, but the hairpin I got from Lu Yinyin’s family… I can’t feel the presence of this kind of atmosphere. In this case, there are two possibilities. One is that the hairpin is not a heretical thing, and the other is that this heretical thing has very special characteristics.”
Lin Banxia: “For example?”
Song Qingluo: “For example, it can transfer.”
Lin Banxia: “…”
Song Qingluo said: “Of course, it’s just a guess.” However, they all knew very well that 90% of Lu Yinyin’s changes were related to heretical things, so the possibility was more likely to be the second one mentioned by Song Qingluo.
The car drove for more than two hours and finally arrived at the old city mentioned in Li Xinyu’s information. This place was only about twenty minutes away from the ghost market, so it was no wonder that the man always went there.
The narrow alleyways crossed between old apartment buildings. After walking for a while, Lin Banxia felt that the style here was incompatible with the outside. It was like entering a completely strange world.
“He lives in Building 13, 6-4.” Li Xinyu hesitated, “But where is Building 13…?” The buildings were densely packed and there were no signs. When they walked in, it was like walking into a huge maze. Not to mention finding the target, even the way back was a bit confusing.
Lin Banxia said: “Should we ask the people nearby?”
Li Xinyu said: “This is the only way…”
The group looked around and found an old lady sitting in the shade of a tree nearby. Li Xinyu walked over and called in a low voice: “Grandma.”
The old lady raised her eyelids and glanced at her: “Huh?”
“Do you know where Building 13 is?” Li Xinyu asked.
The old lady said: “Why are you looking for Building 13?”
Li Xinyu said: “I want to find someone.”
The old lady said, “Who is it?” She narrowed her eyes, “I am very familiar with this area. Tell me, who are you looking for?”
Li Xinyu hesitated for a moment and said, “Wei Zhimao.”
“Oh, that boy from the Wei family.” The old lady said, “Why are you looking for him?”
Li Xinyu said: “We are his friends and we want to talk to him about something.”
“Really.” The old lady squinted her eyes. “That’s Building 13 over there. You can go over there.” She pointed to an apartment building in the distance.
“Okay.” Li Xinyu thanked her.
While the two were talking, Lin Banxia, who was standing nearby, noticed that several more people came out of the building behind the old lady. Those people were of different genders and ages, and all had no expression on their faces. They all turned toward them and stared.
Lin Banxia didn’t know if it was an illusion, but when he first saw these people, he felt that they looked about 70% similar. However, after taking a closer look, they had nothing in common.
After Li Xinyu asked about the location of Building 13, she stood up and headed over there.
Lin Banxia glanced at Song Qingluo and found that he was also staring at the people in front of the building.
“What?” Lin Banxia asked.
Song Qingluo shook his head and said nothing.
There are only six floors in the 13th building and Wei Zhimao lived on the top floor. In order to prevent any mishaps, Lin Banxia was arranged to wait on the first floor while Song Qingluo led the two recorders up.
Taking this opportunity, Lin Banxia took stock of the surrounding environment. He had to say that the environment there was much better than the alley outside. There was no sewage and no garbage. Except for the old building, it was just an ordinary community.
Anyway, with nothing to do, Lin Banxia took out his mobile phone and planned to check if there was any other information on the Internet. However, as soon as he lowered his head, he felt that something was not right. It felt like… someone was watching. Lin Banxia raised his head and looked around, but saw no one. However, when he carefully observed the nearby houses, he suddenly felt a strong sense of violation.
Lin Banxia took a closer look and discovered that… in the corridor of the apartment building behind him, the things placed at the door of every house were all the same.
The shoe cabinet and a chair seemed to have been copied and pasted, even the placement was the same. Did they purchase it collectively? Lin Banxia was thinking about it and observed it more carefully. It was okay when he didn’t observe it, but once he started paying attention, he suddenly found it a little creepy, because it was not only the shoe cabinet. Even the styles of shoes in the shoe cabinet were exactly the same. The first pair were blue slippers, the second pair was red high heels, the third pair, the fourth pair…
There were six floors, and on every floor and every house, the same things were placed at the door.
Lin Banxia realized something was wrong, quickly took out his cell phone and called Song Qingluo, but for some reason, the call wouldn’t go through, as if something was interfering with the cell phone signal.
“Ah!!!” Yi Xinhe’s exaggerated cry came from upstairs. When Lin Banxia looked up, he felt a drop of liquid fall on his cheek.
The author has something to say:
Song Qingluo’s post: Lovers are so strange. It seems to be fine at first, but not after the thirteenth time. Are you tired of me?
Reply: Dude, are you here to show off?
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