Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 165
Waste text was a script for communicating with ghosts and deities, and there wasn’t just one type. There were several, with different versions for ghosts, monsters, and gods. Today, some unknown families may still passed down these scripts, but almost no one understood them in their entirety. Dong Zhi only started to grasp them after reading the notebook from Long Shen, and then hearing more about waste text from him.
Upon hearing the term waste text, Captain Yin had no particular reaction, but Chang Qing exclaimed.
“It’s the script that communicates with the spirit world?”
Dong Zhi nodded. “Can you read it?”
Chang Qing: “No, but I sensed you could, so I pretended to be surprised for your sake.”
Dong Zhi: …
He turned to Captain Yin. “Have you searched the library and the victim’s family home?”
Captain Yin: “We have, including the cafe the victim frequented. No one has seen the book.”
He added, feeling somewhat frustrated, “The book doesn’t seem related to the case at all, but we found this inconsistency during our investigation. We’ve been stuck and just want some answers.”
Dong Zhi understood. “Sometimes, an initially irrelevant clue may later become pivotal. Have you looked into the person who borrowed the book before Su Huan?”
Captain Yin: “We did but found nothing substantial. The victim had a simple family background, and the person responsible for his car accident had no connection to him. It all seemed accidental, but there’s one odd detail. The library’s records show that he borrowed the book but never returned it. Friends and family claim they never saw the book. Yet, strangely, the book was later borrowed by Su Huan, which means—”
Dong Zhi interjected, “The book returned itself.”
Captain Yin nodded, running a hand through his thinning hair with a bitter smile. “Right. If not for that, we wouldn’t have thought of bringing you in.”
Dong Zhi said, “You take the lead on the case. I’ll follow the book’s trail.”
Although the Special Administration Bureau had the authority to take over a case midway, Dong Zhi had no intention of usurping Captain Yin’s efforts. Grateful for Dong Zhi’s consideration, Captain Yin now looked at him with newfound respect. “Thank you, Director Dong.”
The two shook hands.
Dong Zhi said, “I’d like to visit the crime scene and then the library where the victim worked. You can just assign an assistant to guide me.”
Captain Yin promptly agreed and had a young detective named Xiao Zhao assist Dong Zhi throughout the case.
Xiao Zhao, new to the force, was intrigued by the Special Administration Bureau, observing Dong Zhi with a mix of curiosity and restraint, clearly wanting to ask if he could show some magical tricks.
At this moment, Kan Chaosheng returned, first giving Chang Qing a disdainful look, then handing Dong Zhi the information he had gathered.
Upon close observation, Dong Zhi realized that Chang Qing hadn’t lied. Chang Qing’s master had credentials as a Taoist priest and had always been practicing deep in the Taibai Mountain. Chang Qing had followed his master since childhood, and although he grew up in modern society, he was mostly isolated from modern civilization. It was not until his master advised him to venture outside that he traveled from Shaanxi to Huai’an, getting into various humorous situations along the way. This also explained why he had never heard of the Special Administration Bureau.
Clearing him of suspicion, Dong Zhi said to Chang Qing, “If you can assure me that you won’t act rashly or hurt Kan Chaosheng, I can unshackle you. But you must stay with me for the next few days until this case is closed.”
Chang Qing, puzzled, asked, “Now that monsters can roam freely and even join government agencies, won’t that blur the lines between humans and monsters and create chaos?”
In front of Xiao Zhao, Dong Zhi didn’t want to elaborate. As it was lunchtime, Dong Zhi asked Xiao Zhao to take them to a nearby restaurant. While Xiao Zhao was ordering food, Dong Zhi told Chang Qing, “As I’ve said, as long as one abides by the law and morality, any species can live in modern society. Apart from Kan Chaosheng, there are many others like him in the Special Administration Bureau. We have special duties, like another domain of public servants.”
Chang Qing nodded. “I understand.”
He glanced at Kan Chaosheng and said, “I’m sorry.”
Kan Chaosheng sneered and turned away, ignoring him.
When Xiao Zhao returned, they stopped discussing monsters. After lunch, they arrived at the residence of Deng Bin and Su Huan, which was the murder scene that was sealed off by the police. The body had been removed, but the bloodstains remained. It looked chaotic, and had any of Deng’s family been present, they would’ve been terrified. Yet none of the four individuals, including the childlike Kan Chaosheng, seemed affected.
Xiao Zhao explained, “The rest of the place is clean. Only the living room was the scene. The victim didn’t struggle much. The blood appeared after her death when her heart and brain were extracted.”
After examining the scene, Dong Zhi found no anomalies, especially no familiar demonic qi, implying Su Huan’s death might not be related to any demons. He asked, “After Su Huan’s death, where did Deng Bin go? Did you check the surveillance?”
Xiao Zhao looked uneasy. “The footage shows him leaving the underground parking elevator. But there’s a blind spot after he exits, and we couldn’t find any more footage of Deng Bin until we located him at the club.”
Dong Zhi asked about the timestamps for Deng Bin at the club.
Xiao Zhao said, “No issues there. He was seen entering and exiting after the crime.”
Dong Zhi noticed that Xiao Zhao seemed to have more to say, so he remarked, “If you have any opinions, feel free to share.”
Xiao Zhao hesitated. “In fact, all the clues are pretty clear. Deng Bin is indeed the prime suspect. That illustration book or whatever it is, has nothing to do with the case.”
In other words, he didn’t think this case would have any mysterious or supernatural twists. It was just a typical case of a broken marriage, where an enraged husband committed murder. The act of extracting the heart and brain, though gruesome, wasn’t unprecedented in murder cases. It just showed that Deng Bin had a dark soul, was cold-blooded, and possessed an antisocial personality.
Just then, both Dong Zhi’s and Xiao Zhao’s phones rang almost simultaneously. Dong Zhi answered and saw his master’s name on the display. Despite being at a crime scene, a smile tugged at his lips.
“Master.”
“It’s me.” The familiar voice of Long Shen said, “I saw the pictures you sent. Those waste texts might not have a specific meaning.”
“What do you mean?” Dong Zhi asked.
Long Shen elaborated, “It doesn’t point to a particular meaning. It’s like a random combination of Chinese characters. But I guess it might be a talisman written in waste text, meant to seal the book.”
“So, there might be something in the book?”
“Maybe. The pictures are blurry, and I can’t see clearly. Be careful. I’ll come over later.”
Dong Zhi wanted to say more but felt it inappropriate given the company. He was about to hang up when Long Shen made a remark, causing Dong Zhi to blush and end the call quickly. He noticed Xiao Zhao looking anxious.
“What’s wrong?”
Xiao Zhao looked nervous; a reaction unexpected from a trained professional. Hearing his next words, Dong Zhi understood the concern.
“The book… it’s back!”
Dong Zhi and his team had initially planned to inspect the corpse. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, they hurriedly left the crime scene and headed to the library.
The book Xiao Zhao mentioned was an illustration book once borrowed by Su Huan before her death. After Su Huan’s death, the book disappeared. The police had checked the library and found no record of the book being returned. But just recently, a librarian, while arranging new books onto the shelves, accidentally discovered the book.
Since Captain Yin had shown them a photo and inquired about it previously, the librarian immediately recognized it and notified the police.
When Dong Zhi and his team arrived at the library, the book was already taken out separately, waiting for them on an office desk.
Chang Qing, upon seeing the book, exclaimed with surprise.
Dong Zhi asked, “What’s wrong?”
Chang Qing stopped Kan Chaosheng from reaching out to touch the book and frowned, saying, “I thought I saw a vague shadow moving on the cover, but when I blinked, it disappeared. I don’t think I was seeing things.”
Kan Chaosheng retorted with disdain, “What you’ve said is as good as saying nothing!”
Chang Qing stated seriously, “I have an innate intuition about supernatural beings. This book must be related to one.”
But when Dong Zhi opened the book, everyone was stunned.
It was completely blank, with no content.
“Could it be written with invisible ink?” Xiao Zhao speculated. “Or maybe, a glow-in-the-dark one?”
“No.” Dong Zhi touched the pages. They didn’t feel like paper but more like fabric, an odd texture.
“Did we find any record of the book’s donor or buyer?” he inquired.
Xiao Zhao shook his head. “No record.”
Chang Qing suddenly leaned closer and sniffed. “Do you smell that? A scent coming from the book.”
Xiao Zhao replied, “It’s sweet, like a perfume. I thought it was the fragrance from the librarian who greeted us earlier.”
Kan Chaosheng sniffed vigorously. “It has a fishy scent.”
Suddenly, a wild thought occurred to him. “What if the murderer is hiding inside the book?”
A thought struck Dong Zhi. “Where are the surveillance photos of Deng Bin leaving his house after the murder? Bring them quickly!”
Xiao Zhao was puzzled, but seeing Dong Zhi’s urgency, he drove back to retrieve them.
Half an hour later, Dong Zhi, looking at the photos, took a deep, chilling breath.
“Is there something special about the photos?” Xiao Zhao leaned in, still noticing nothing.
Dong Zhi pointed at the image of Deng Bin and said, “He has no shadow.”
There should have been a light near the entrance of the surveillance area. The dim light at the time was casting a slanting light on the doorway. As Deng Bin came out of his house, hands in his pockets, walking naturally, in every single sequential photo, Deng Bin had no shadow.
Xiao Zhao felt more than just a chill in his heart; he began to question his entire worldview and beliefs that he had held for decades.
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