Flowers of the Departed Souls

Watching them stumble, dizzy and lightheaded, Shen Liu burst out laughing. He swept his gun across them, then aimed it at Guangming. “You idiots, you fell into the trap! I never thought you’d be so easy to fool, haha! The boss suspected you were an undercover agent from the start and told me to deal with you. In fact, I’ve suspected you since the beginning. I can’t believe you actually walked right into it, step by step. I’ll make sure your entire force is annihilated, with no burial ground for your bodies. Haha!”

But at that moment, a gunshot suddenly rang out. Shen Liu froze, motionless. The bullet passed through his back, and blood gushed out. Then, like a great mountain, he collapsed. Only then did Guangming notice a girl standing behind Shen Liu. She must have been hiding behind that large rock earlier. This person was Luo Yifu.

Luo Yifu, holding the gun, was trembling all over. This was her first time killing someone, but she quickly composed herself. Ever since the incident at the inn and after experiencing so many things, Luo Yifu felt she had grown up in an instant. Yesterday she was an ignorant girl; now, she was an adult, an adult with mature thoughts and a calm mind. Although this growth was a non-normal, rapid surge, she didn’t care what fruit it bore. She only demanded strength, persistence, and steadfastness from herself, until the truth came to light.

“Luo Yifu? Where are Kelou and the others?”

Guangming’s shout roused her from her daze. She unconsciously wiped her face with the hand holding the gun. Yes, she truly couldn’t believe she had just shot and killed someone. It was also a subconscious way to alleviate her tension. “They were captured by the villagers. They seem to be locked in the Vulture’s Lair. Only I escaped.”

Guangming sighed. “So what do we do now? So many of our police officers are injured, and we’ve been led into Illusion Cliff. How can we be a match for the Divine Bird Cult members now?”

“Divine Bird Cult?” Luo Yifu looked at him, puzzled.

“Don’t you know? They have a great assembly here, an annual assembly. A long time ago, they made Luoyang Village one of their strongholds, and now it should be their main base. But these people are very secretive in their actions, using the bird-headed human tattoo as their main symbol, brutally murdering those disloyal to the cult. They are very rampant. Anyone who doesn’t believe in the cult or betrays it will be cruelly killed. Some missing people might have been secretly dealt with by them.”

Luo Yifu suddenly pulled up the sleeve on her arm. “Is it this kind of tattoo?”

Heaven! Luo Yifu’s arm also had a bird-headed human tattoo. Guangming stared at her blankly. “Where did you get that tattoo? When did you get it?”

She shook her head. “I’ve had it since I was little. When I was eight, my dad had someone tattoo it on me. It hurt so much back then.”

“Your dad? What’s your dad’s name?”

“Luo Jialiang.”

Guangming also rolled up his sleeve. The bird-headed human tattoo on his arm was exactly the same as Luo Yifu’s. Luo Yifu exclaimed, “What’s going on? How do you have one too?”

Guangming nodded. “They tattooed this on me when I infiltrated the Divine Bird Cult. Where is your dad now?”

“I don’t know, I truly don’t know. He told me he was in Thailand recently. He hasn’t called these past few days. Could it be, could it be that my dad has some connection to this Divine Bird Cult? No, it can’t be.”

“Not just some connection, but a very significant one. However, this still needs investigation. We rely on evidence to convince people, so I hope you can cooperate with us.”

Guangming took out his phone, originally wanting to call the bureau to have someone check if there was anyone named Luo Jialiang on the Thailand visa list, but realizing there was no cell signal here, he had no choice but to give up.

At this moment, Luo Yifu’s heart was a mix of emotions. Originally, she truly didn’t believe that her father would be involved in the inn’s cases, but now, it turned out he was also connected to this Divine Bird Cult. Her firm support for her father was crumbling. Yes, if he was truly innocent, then how would he explain these things?

Now, only a scattered few had returned from the edge of Illusion Cliff. Several had already gone in, perhaps forever lost there. Standing at the edge, one could feel the radiation it emitted. This Illusion Cliff was truly not a place for humans to stay.

“Let’s leave here quickly. None of us can go inside there. We’ll find a way later. Now, the masked people might have killed my sister, Kelou, and Chi Ziming. Let’s go to the Vulture’s Lair immediately to save them.”

Guangming said as he walked, “What did you just say, ‘masked people’?”

“The masked people locked us in a cage. Then we escaped and met the villagers. Those villagers are truly insane. I’ve never seen them like this, so—almost deranged. You don’t know, the villagers here were originally very honest, simple, and kind. I escaped in the chaos. Later, the masked people appeared again. I think the villagers handed them over to the masked people again.”

Guangming looked at her meaningfully. “The Divine Bird Cult members wear masks, and their positions are determined by the number of beast patterns on their masks’ foreheads. The more patterns, the higher the position. It is said their leader has twelve patterns, but I haven’t seen him.”

Luo Yifu became a bit uneasy because she had once seen such a mask at home. At the time, she was very curious about the mask and asked her father, but her father hid it with a very flustered expression. Later, she never saw it again. The difference was, the masked figures she saw had only two patterns on their masks, while the one at home had twelve patterns. Could her father, besides being a merciless devil, also be the leader of a cult? No, no, it couldn’t be like that.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” Guangming asked with concern, seeing her expression was very off.

“Nothing, nothing. The masked figures I saw indeed had patterns on their foreheads, two patterns. Sigh, now, I just want to rescue my sister. I’m really afraid something might happen to her.”

“Your sister Luo Xiaofeng? She’s a local villager. How did she get captured too? Oh, and you.”

Luo Yifu sighed. “Because she discovered the inn’s secret.” She then told Guangming, piece by piece, how Luo Xiaofeng discovered the basement, how they were locked in the cage, and how they escaped.

Chi Ziming actually had a treasure? Their situation was so perilous. Guangming truly didn’t realize that what was happening here was much more serious and terrifying than he had imagined. And the situation was becoming increasingly complex. No wonder he hadn’t been able to contact Kelou; it turned out Kelou had suffered a lot here and almost lost his life. And Chi Ziming was also a very persistent and strong person. Thinking of Chi Ziming, he suddenly remembered the letter Cai Yilian had asked him to deliver. But now, they were once again in a dangerous situation.

He checked the time. He had told Xiao Zhao to call for rescue from the inn, but Luo Yifu shook her head. “That place is very dangerous now; it’s best not to go.” She thought for a moment and said to Xiao Zhao, “How about this: you go to my house to make the call. The small Western-style house near the main road, before the inn, is my house. There’s only one such house in the village; it’s easy to find. Just say you’re my friend; my mom is home.” She thought, Dad probably won’t suddenly show up at home, right? Xiao Zhao nodded and left.

At this moment, 11:50 PM. Only ten minutes until the swearing-in ceremony.

Guangming sighed. “Let fate decide. We few can’t do anything against them. Even if Xiao Zhao successfully brings reinforcements, it’ll probably take two hours. Sigh, it’s all my fault. I was too trusting of Shen Liu. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have entered Illusion Cliff, with some going missing, some dying, and some injured.”

At this, Guangming’s throat choked up. After all, they were brothers who had gone through life and death with him, and due to his own trusting Shen Liu, they had met with such misfortune. Everything had turned from a sure victory to a complete defeat. The army had died before achieving success. Now they didn’t even have the qualifications to fight them. How could they take an egg and hit a rock?

“Sigh, never mind. Let’s go rescue your sister and the others first.”

A few heavily wounded people waited there for rescue, and a few who could still walk. A group of about six people headed towards the Vulture’s Lair.

At this moment, the moon peeked out from behind thick clouds. Its color was surprisingly yellow, as if its surface temperature was too high, turning it orange-yellow. On it, tree-like cracks could be clearly seen. In Chinese mythology, this was Chang’e’s cassia tree on the moon.

Guangming glanced at it, feeling a bit strange. He hadn’t seen such a peculiar color in many years. Had the cassia tree really bloomed with golden flowers?

As they approached the Vulture’s Lair, they heard the sound of carrion vultures. Two vultures hovered above the cave entrance, like two scouts, as if they had long known they would return, waiting for them there.

Guangming thought for a moment. “How about this: I’ll go and lure them away. You all go in first and wait for me inside.”

Luo Yifu nodded. She was now completely confused about her identity: was she the daughter of a cult leader who had never revealed himself, or a passionate woman fighting for justice and kindness, or an unfilial child? But she was a person with a conscience; she knew what was right and what was wrong. The only thing she didn’t understand was why her father used to tell her stories of suppressing evil and bringing peace, and often told her to love small animals, to have compassion for the vulnerable, and to help as much as possible. How could such a compassionate and kind person do such heinous things? She truly couldn’t believe it, but now, so much had happened, and it was becoming increasingly terrifying and bizarre. She couldn’t understand any of the villagers anymore, and her father had never appeared from beginning to end to explain what was going on and prove his innocence. So how could she feel at ease?

She felt a huge stone in her heart, very heavy, almost suffocating her. Dad, why haven’t you appeared until now? Why can’t you give me a reasonable explanation? Or maybe, the truth isn’t like this. Or maybe Father is really traveling abroad, and these things have no direct connection to him. She could only tell herself this to calm her heart.

Walking through the dark passage, Luo Yifu thought about the encounters of these past few days. She felt as if she had been dreaming all along, and this dream was so long, so perilous, and so confusing. She didn’t know when it would end, when she would wake up. She truly wanted to escape all of this and return to her original peaceful life, but how could she escape?

If not for someone screaming a warning, Luo Yifu would have almost been scratched by a swooping carrion vulture. At this point, the vulture flew past Luo Yifu and pounced on another police officer. The officer didn’t react in time. If not for two people nearby who were quick to react and shot it several times, he probably wouldn’t have been severely injured, but his face would have been disfigured.

However, three more charged in. One was shot down, the other two missed. Two police officers were attacked and scratched. If Luo Yifu hadn’t shot decisively, the consequences might have been severe. Luo Yifu truly felt like she had become the valiant hero she had always dreamed of being, helping the wounded and fighting injustice.

A few people, though injured, continued forward. Fortunately, the injuries weren’t severe. After bandaging them, they continued into the cave. Luo Yifu’s heart was truly uncertain whether Kelou and the others would be inside.

Just then, Guangming also caught up from behind. “Are you alright?”

Luo Yifu nodded. “They’ve sustained some minor injuries, nothing serious. We’ll deal with the wounds later. But I’m worried if Kelou and the others are inside or if they’ve been moved. However, when we ran from the inn, we encountered those villagers who seemed to have gone mad. They captured them and brought them back here, and then I escaped. Perhaps because I’m a local villager, they didn’t make things too difficult for me.”

In fact, Luo Yifu had always wondered why these villagers were so united, so outwardly aggressive. They used to be so nice, sincere, and had no such evil thoughts at all. Had they been brainwashed by the Divine Bird Cult? Were they being used? Or was the Divine Bird Cult using them as scapegoats, shifting all the blame onto them after exploiting them? Who was the person behind all this?

Whoever it was, Luo Yifu now wanted to kill him.

Passing the giant human-faced statue, Luo Yifu stopped. She said to Guangming, “Sister told me there’s a secret room in here, but I think Kelou and the others might not be inside.”

Guangming looked at the strange human-faced statue. “What if they are inside? Can you open it?”

“I don’t know, but I heard my sister say my great-aunt guards this place.”

“Who is your great-aunt?”

Luo Yifu didn’t want to answer that question right now. The situation was too complicated to explain. She was increasingly suspicious that her entire family was involved with this cursed cult and the mysterious deaths at the inn. Even her ancient great-aunt was popping up at this time. It seemed these carrion vultures were probably her pets, making her a complete old witch.

“Are you looking for me?” At this moment, the old woman emerged from behind some rock, saying this sentence, startling everyone. Her appearance probably made most people think she was part of a mural.

Luo Yifu pointed her gun at the old woman. “Where are my sister and the others?”

“Oh my, is that how you treat your elders? Look at how your grandma raised you; unfilial grandchildren are a sin! Child, do you remember? When you were five, I, your old woman, was very fond of you. I held you, and even gave you candy. Oh, right, I also gave you a flower. You know, no flowers grow in this village. Your little face was so excited, tsk tsk, I can’t believe it. It’s been over ten years, and my little girl has grown into such a young lady.”

Luo Yifu was stunned. In her vague memories, there was indeed such an incident. At that time, she, Grandma, and Luo Xiaofeng all lived in the same courtyard. That day, Luo Xiaofeng went out to play by herself and didn’t take her, saying she was too young and unwilling to take her. She cried continuously in the courtyard. At this moment, she felt someone walking towards her. “Little girl, why are you crying?” She looked up and saw a woman who looked somewhat like Grandma smiling at her, but that woman was much younger and prettier than Grandma, and her clothes were also beautiful. Her lips were even painted red, prettier than some of the girls in the village. She stopped crying and looked up at the woman, but said nothing. The woman then continued, “You’re Luo Jialiang’s child, aren’t you?” Luo Yifu nodded. The woman happily picked her up, gave her a few milk candies, said she and her grandma were sisters, and then, as if performing magic, took out a red flower from her bag. “Pretty? Little Yifu?”

Luo Yifu immediately burst into a smile through her tears. It was the first time she had seen a real flower, and it was truly beautiful. At this moment, Grandma entered the courtyard. She was very unfriendly to her sister. “Why are you back? This isn’t your place. Get lost!” Grandma looked at the flower in her hand and gasped in shock. “You actually gave her such a flower!” Grandma snatched the flower from her hand, crushed it thoroughly, and then chased away the woman who claimed to be her sister. Because of this, Luo Yifu was heartbroken for a long time, and from that day until now, because of that incident, she held a grudge against Grandma, feeling that Grandma only loved Luo Xiaofeng and didn’t like her.

At this moment, Luo Yifu suddenly recalled those distant childhood memories, bit by bit. She didn’t know what grudge existed between Grandma and her sister, but yes, the woman in front of her looked exactly like that flamboyant woman of forty or fifty from back then. And at this moment, the image of that flower suddenly flashed in Luo Yifu’s mind. She abruptly remembered that that flower might be the terrifying Departed Soul Flower. No wonder she felt so familiar with the Departed Soul Flowers at the inn, but that flower had never harmed her.

“Great—Aunt—”

The old woman was overjoyed. “You finally remember, don’t you? It wasn’t for nothing that I doted on you back then.”

But Luo Yifu’s face showed no expression. Her voice was very slow, calm and steady like a mature middle-aged woman. “I want to know what kind of flower you gave me that time. Although it’s been over ten years, I believe you haven’t forgotten.”

At this moment, the old woman’s gaze became extremely shifty, as if avoiding something. She didn’t meet Luo Yifu’s eyes. “It was a, it was a very ordinary rose.”

Luo Yifu stared into her eyes. “That was a Departed Soul Flower, wasn’t it?”

“What Departed Soul Flower? This old woman doesn’t know.”

“Stop pretending. That’s a flower that sucks blood.”

The old woman sneered. “The Departed Soul Flowers back then didn’t suck blood, and they didn’t harm anyone. You’re completely distorting my intentions. Even if I’m bad, why would I harm a small child like you?”

Luo Yifu looked at her coldly. “Then when did they start sucking blood? What caused them to suck blood? Making every petal saturated with fresh blood, every petal having a beautiful and vibrant appearance, yet radiating a cruel brilliance in essence?”

“Child, I can’t answer that question. I’m just a useless old woman, old in age, only able to do things like raising birds. Oh, right, did you kill my big birds?”

The old woman’s expression suddenly turned heartbroken. Her facial muscles contorted, and she began to cry, though not a single tear fell. Her gaze, however, became cold. Guangming and the others were utterly exasperated; they truly couldn’t understand what act this old woman was putting on.

“Great-Aunt, they were the ones who harmed us first! If we hadn’t resisted, they would have killed us! If these birds had stayed quietly, why would we harm them? Take me to my sister, please? Are they trapped inside here again?” Luo Yifu pointed to the human-faced statue. She had only heard Luo Xiaofeng mention it; she hadn’t been there herself.

The old woman sighed. “Sigh, you’re much better than your sister. At least you’re still willing to call me Great-Aunt. I’m just an old woman, my elders are long gone, and I have no sons or grandsons in this generation. I’m all alone in this life. Given that you still remember our past affection, I won’t argue with you. But one thing is one thing: I can overlook you harming my big birds, but I cannot take you to see Xiaofeng and the others. I act on principle. And, I accidentally learned that they were taken to that place. If those people knew I told you, my old life would be gone too.”

“So you know where they are? Tell us, we’ll find them ourselves.”

The old woman looked around, confirmed there was no one else, and whispered a few words into Luo Yifu’s ear. Then her eyes darted around; it seemed she was afraid. “You can’t say I told you, otherwise my old life is really gone.”

Luo Yifu nodded. “I won’t. After I ate the candy you gave me, I even kept the wrapper; it’s safely tucked in a book. I won’t implicate you, rest assured.”

Then she turned to Guangming and said, “Let’s go, to Bird Slope.”