Flowers of the Departed Souls - Chapter 13

Kelou had seen many kinds of deaths, but never one so bizarre and demonic.

Ge Jianliang was like a purple magnolia tree, with massive flowers blooming on its branches, no leaves. But unlike a purple magnolia tree, these flowers were not blooming on its branches, but in Ge Jianliang’s chest, then extending outwards. The flowers burst through his blood vessels, piercing his muscles and skin, then blossoming on their own. Their appearance had no relation to beauty; on the contrary, it was indescribably demonic and terrifying.

The Departed Soul Flowers became increasingly full and vibrant, while Ge Jianliang’s body became drier and smaller. They were like starving beasts, desperately drawing all the blood from Ge Jianliang’s body. Chi Ziming retreated step by step. So, this was a demonic flower that sustained itself on blood.

When Kelou and the others arrived, the Departed Soul Flowers were in their prime, so everyone present witnessed this horrifying scene, stunned and helpless.

Someone shouted, “Quick, leave this village! The God of Death has truly resurrected! The blood-sucking Departed Soul Flowers are the beloved flowers personally cultivated by the God of Death; he cherishes them like his own life!”

In an instant, the villagers rushed out of the inn, shouting, “The God of Death has resurrected! The God of Death has resurrected—!” Only Kelou and his group, along with Chi Ziming, Luo Bozi, Luo Xiaofeng, and Luo Yifu remained.

What Chi Ziming couldn’t understand was why the recent incidents all occurred inside the inn, and the victims were all guests, one after another. He was the last surviving guest. Was it his turn now?

Forensic doctor Xiao Jiang, putting on gloves, frowned and said, “I’m reminded of a type of plant called dodder, which wraps around its host plant, sucking all its nutrients like a vampire. And this dodder has incredibly strong reproductive capabilities. Although it has no leaves, it has receptors that can sense airborne chemicals, hunting for food by the scent it detects in the air. I think this flower is very similar to dodder, what’s different and terrifying is that it sucks animal blood to sustain itself, and the flowers bloom beautifully and vibrantly. I’ve truly never seen a flower like this.”

He reached out his hand towards the flower, wanting to investigate further. Chi Ziming shouted, “Don’t touch it!”

But Xiao Jiang’s hand had already touched it. Immediately, it was as if a strong magnetic field sucked his hand. His white glove instantly turned red. Everyone was dumbfounded. In a flash, Chi Ziming and Kelou strenuously pulled him away. Xiao Jiang’s face was pale. He took off his glove, and drops of fresh blood dripped from his fingertips.

What a terrifying flower.

“Are you alright?”

Xiao Jiang shook his head. “It’s nothing. Just need a bandage. A minor injury.”

Kelou turned to Chi Ziming. “Did he die like this after he went missing and then returned? Also, where did these flowers come from? Do you know?”

“Yes, when he came back, he seemed fine and was going to take a shower. I called him when he didn’t come out for a long time, and when there was no response, I forced open the bathroom door. I never imagined he would be like this.”

“Do you know where he came back from?”

Chi Ziming shook his head. “I asked many times, but he avoided answering. He originally said he would tell me after his shower, but—”

Kelou pointed to the dirty clothes lying on the floor. “These are Ge Jianliang’s, right?”

“Yes. Oh, and before he died, he said two words: ‘Bird Slope.’ It might be a place name. I’m not familiar with this area.”

Luo Xiaofeng thought for a moment. “It might be a hillside next to Illusion Cliff. I went there when I was little. There are often many black birds gathered there, large and small, a great many. Later, we didn’t dare to go there anymore. The adults forbade us, saying that place was close to Illusion Cliff and very dangerous, and that there were jackals and devils there who would eat people.”

“Illusion Cliff? Is that the Illusion Cliff that experts once measured to contain radioactive minerals?”

Luo Xiaofeng nodded. “People who go there either die from mental derangement, or go crazy or become idiots, except for—” she looked at Chi Ziming, “—him. However, he was unconscious in there at the time, and Uncle Luo ran over and dragged him out. Otherwise, he might have—”

“Oh, we’ll go to Bird Slope later to see what mysteries are there.” He paused. “Which room is Mrs. Zhong’s body in? Take us there to see.”

Luo Xiaofeng nodded and led Kelou and the others to Zhong Dan’s room. She saw that the door was ajar. Xiaofeng murmured to herself in puzzlement as she pushed open the door, “Strange, I clearly locked it.”

At this moment, she stood there motionless. The room was utterly empty. Forget the corpse, there wasn’t even a mosquito. The floor was spotless, with not a trace of blood.

“No, impossible.” She murmured, rushing to the window. A line of blood-words had originally been written there, but now it was bright and clear, with not a single word.

“What is going on here?” Kelou scanned the room from top to bottom but truly couldn’t figure it out. This was supposed to be a horrifying crime scene.

“Ms. Zhong’s body was clearly here! Chi Ziming, my cousin Luo Yifu, and Uncle Luo Bozi all saw it. Her death was exactly the same as Xia Yimin’s, and blood-words were even written on the window.”

“Blood-words? What did they say?”

“The chill of hell—like what, like what—”

“The chill of hell will pursue you like a nightmare, no one can escape,” Chi Ziming, who had just followed them, completed the sentence. “And there was also a name written, an English name: Thanatos.”

“Thanatos? What does that mean?”

“I looked it up. It should be the English name for the God of Death, Thanatos.”

“The God of Death? Does the God of Death really exist in this world? Her husband died so strangely, she died so mysteriously, and now, her body is gone. It’s truly bizarre.”

Police officer Xiao Zhao, who had been following silently, asked Luo Xiaofeng, “By the way, besides you, who else has a key to this room? Are you sure you locked it? The lock appears to be intact.”

Chi Ziming pointed to where Xiao Zhao was standing. “When I came to look for Ge Jianliang yesterday, I came here. It wasn’t locked. I saw Zhong Dan’s body lying in this exact spot.”

Luo Xiaofeng nodded. “Yes, I locked it afterwards. I felt safer with it locked. I have a copy of all the keys here, and my uncle has a copy. He’s the owner here. When it gets busy in the summer, he hires temporary workers, and they also get a copy, but they return the keys when they leave.”

“Who are the temporary workers? Are they regular staff? And where is your uncle?”

“Sometimes when it’s too busy, Uncle Luo Bozi helps out. My uncle went to India in the second half of last year. He loves the culture of ancient countries and antiques, so besides liking to invest, he also loves to travel everywhere. Therefore, he’s often not seen for an entire year. Oh, he’s Luo Yifu’s father, the girl from just now. However, he calls her every now and then. Oh, last time I heard her mention it, her dad went to Thailand again. He called her from in front of the Taj Mahal, telling her to study hard and that he’d take her to play when she graduated.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is. So, it’s just you, your uncle abroad, and Luo Bozi who had keys? No, Luo Bozi must have had a key at some point.” Luo Xiaofeng nodded, her gaze sweeping around, but she didn’t see Luo Bozi. Had he gone back too?

The more Kelou thought about it, the more puzzled he became. “How could a body just disappear like that? And this place was cleaned up so perfectly. Why would the killer take the body away? It’s really strange. What’s so special about hiding a body? It’s not some treasure.”

“No,” Xiao Zhao said, “I don’t think the person who moved the body is necessarily the killer.”

At this moment, Chi Ziming slowly said, “Xiao Zhao is right. You’ve overlooked one person. That person also had a key.”

“Who?” everyone asked almost in unison.

Chi Ziming said, word by word, “Ge—Jian—liang—”