Flowers of the Departed Souls - Chapter 43

After Guangming received the call about an incident at the museum, he also called Chi Ziming. “That female corpse found in the Vulture’s Lair, the one from the museum, is reportedly missing. The old watchman was scared out of his mind. Do you want to come and see with me?”

He knew that now, Chi Ziming was more familiar with Luoyang Village than any of them. And regarding the female corpse from Luoyang Village, Chi Ziming might know a thing or two, after all, he had stayed there for so many days. Meanwhile, Kelou was still in a coma, sustained by IV fluids.

Chi Ziming, upon hearing this, shrieked, “Ke’er? You mean Ke’er is missing?”

These past few days, he had been consumed by the grief of losing Xiao Yilian and his memories of her, to the point of forgetting this matter. Yes, Ke’er. Now, he was the only one who knew Ke’er’s true situation. Had Ke’er truly revived? Or had her corpse been stolen? How could he be so indifferent, disregarding her life and death? She might have rushed out rashly, completely unfamiliar with this world. If she encountered bad people, especially those from the Divine Bird Cult, wouldn’t she be finished?

“I’ll go immediately.”

He knew he had to change his mindset and live, not forever wallow in the sorrow of losing Xiao Yilian. And in these days of extreme grief, a certain resolve in him grew stronger: to understand the truth of Luoyang Village and the Divine Bird Cult, to avenge the tragic deaths of the inn guests and Xiao Yilian’s entire family, to ensure the true culprits received their due punishment. Only then could their souls rest in peace, and this was his meaning for living now. Yes, he must bring those villains to justice, one by one.

He went to the museum, where many people had already gathered, along with several police officers. Guangming, seeing Chi Ziming approach, waved him in. “Old Uncle Zhang, the watchman, kept shouting ‘She’s alive! She’s alive!’ We couldn’t get anything else coherent out of him. He’s been sent to the psychiatric ward for treatment. What does ‘alive’ mean? Did that Liangzhu female corpse come alive? And that scared the old man like that, and then she ran away herself? That’s too strange; she’s been dead for thousands of years.”

Chi Ziming looked at him, saying word by word, “If I said yes, would you believe me?”

Guangming froze, staring at him with wide eyes, but said nothing. At this moment, they had already entered the ancient corpse room. On site, several technical personnel were collecting evidence.

Chi Ziming followed Guangming to the coffin. The exquisite coffin was empty, except for some luxurious silk and special spices spread at the bottom, and the jade yue was also gone. Had Ke’er truly revived and then run away? If so, who would she go to? She understood nothing and was dressed in strange clothes; others would think she was acting. Chi Ziming suddenly felt anxious.

Chi Ziming looked at Guangming and said, “I have a premonition that she shouldn’t be far from here, and—she has come alive—” Guangming looked at him, staring for a full five seconds, then gave instructions. “Immediately search the surrounding area. See if anyone has seen a woman dressed in ancient attire.”

It seemed he was beginning to believe what Chi Ziming said.

However, they didn’t find Ke’er in a short time. And strangely, no one had seen such a woman appear. So, did she truly come alive? And where did she go? Did this woman from Liangzhu truly possess the art of flying and escaping?

Guangming pondered for a while. “We found her in Luoyang Village. After all, she lay there for such a long time. Do you think she might have run back to Luoyang Village? Or perhaps she didn’t truly intend to go to that place; it’s just a kind of subconscious urge that makes her involuntarily want to return to that place?”

As for Luoyang Village, to Chi Ziming, although he never wanted to touch that place again, and didn’t even want to mention those three words, he understood that he was still inextricably linked to Luoyang Village. He couldn’t just cut ties with it. Why were so many bizarre and baffling incidents frequently happening in that village? Was it truly cursed? A village cursed by the God of Death?

At this moment, a sound suddenly flashed in Chi Ziming’s mind: Ding—dong—ding—dong—ding—dong— followed by Xia Yimin’s terrifying face, and Zhong Dan’s face. He seemed to be muttering to himself, “Bell chime, bell chime. When Xia Yimin died, I think I heard a bell chime. And Zhong Dan too, yes, both had bell chimes.”

Guangming didn’t clearly hear what he was saying for a moment. “What bell chime are you talking about?”

Chi Ziming nervously grabbed Guangming’s arm. “Before the guests at the inn died, I also heard three bell chimes. It should be the sound of the grandfather clock, probably coming from that large grandfather clock at the village entrance.”

Guangming abruptly clapped Chi Ziming’s shoulder. “Do you know that when the Divine Bird Cult’s swearing-in ceremony ended, there was also a bell chime, also three chimes? Afterward, they left, and the villagers suddenly disappeared. No one knew where they went. Then, when we left, it appeared again. I’m sure you heard it too.”

“Oh, right, I also remember that after we escaped from the basement, when those villagers surrounded us, I also heard a bell chime. Does this bell chime have some kind of mystery within it?”

Guangming nodded. “Psychiatrists can use rhythmic ticking sounds, swaying candlelight, and swinging pendulum clocks to hypnotize people.”

At this moment, they almost simultaneously shouted two words: “Hypnosis!”

Yes, the guests who frantically gouged out their own eyes and committed suicide in enclosed rooms, the villagers who were sometimes senile and sometimes mad as if sleepwalking, and the masked figures with graded hanging clocks on them—how much like people controlled by inner demons they seemed! And the masked person wearing the complete beast-stripe mask was the controller.

“You’re saying that large grandfather clock is a giant hypnotizer? It hypnotizes and suggests to people. The hypnotized people are controlled by it. And certain specific individuals, like Xia Yimin and Zhong Dan, might have been given particularly terrifying suggestions, which is why they did things that ordinary people couldn’t imagine.”

Guangming nodded. “This also aligns very well with psychological principles. Advanced psychologists can do it. However, there’s one person, Ge Jianliang’s death, that we’ve overlooked. He’s different from those two; he died from blood being sucked by Departed Soul Flowers. We analyzed the powder of the Departed Soul Flowers and found that it has an extremely ancient history. It grew in the Cretaceous period, with a history of hundreds of millions of years. Flowering plants first appeared in the Cretaceous, also known as angiosperms. But at the end of the Cretaceous, life on Earth experienced another major extinction event. Large numbers of ruling reptiles on Earth’s surface disappeared; dinosaurs became completely extinct. More than half of the plants and other terrestrial animals also disappeared simultaneously. We still haven’t researched exactly what kind of flower this is, but it had already become extinct at the end of the Cretaceous. So, its existence is very strange. Besides that, it also has a strange ability to consume blood, secreting gastric juices like an animal. And once it touches blood, it becomes incredibly greedy, able to hold ten, twenty, even hundreds of times its own volume in blood, like a leech. So, this flower, though it looks like a plant, also has animalistic abilities. It’s truly an evil and terrifying flower!”

Chi Ziming suddenly remembered the flowers in Ge Jianliang’s bag before he died. Before, he had never thought about this question. Why would he pick these flowers? His mind instantly conjured the scene from his first visit to the Realm of Qingxu, that quiet and ancient city, where many Departed Soul Flowers also bloomed beside the city walls, like the souls of those who had left the human world long, long ago. But at that time, those flowers didn’t harm people; they weren’t as terrifying as they were now.

Moreover, there were such flowers by the sea in Luoyang Village. Was the Realm of Qingxu hidden deep in the sea? Or was it on the edge of Luoyang Village, just not belonging to ordinary, normal space? And Chi Ziming remembered that every time he entered the Realm of Qingxu, it was after entering Illusion Cliff. Could that Illusion Cliff be the passage to that space? And the only way? But ordinary people would be confused by it, their sense of time and space disoriented. Was this why they suffered mental problems? The more Chi Ziming thought about it, the more he felt this matter was gradually making some sense.

And something even more important surfaced: the bell chime. Everything changed after the bell chime. Could the bell chime have awakened their animalistic, bloodthirsty side, no longer silently decaying like stone flowers?

Guangming offered Chi Ziming a cigarette. “What are you thinking about?” He suddenly remembered something. “Oh, I forgot you don’t smoke. No, wait, you seem to have started again.”

Chi Ziming smiled. “I think we still need to go to Luoyang Village again. The key is Ke’er, and that mysterious grandfather clock.”

“No,” Guangming corrected him unhurriedly. “It’s the person who rings the mysterious grandfather clock.”

“Let’s go back. I don’t think we’ll find anything. Let’s go to Luoyang Village in a couple of days. I think if Ke’er isn’t in the city, she must have gone to Luoyang Village.”

“Hmm, I’ll drive you home.”

Chi Ziming got into Guangming’s car and went home. After getting out of the car, he stared blankly at the flying car exhaust for a long while before going upstairs.

He opened his room door, intending to turn on the light. He felt the atmosphere today was a bit different. In the living room, there seemed to be a shadow. He turned abruptly. There was indeed a person in the living room, standing motionless like a statue.

He shouted, “Who is it?” and rushed to the switch, turning on the light.

A face as dry as tree bark and full of wrinkles, had almost pressed against his.

44. Eerie Dream
The person standing in front of Chi Ziming was none other than Luo Xiaofeng’s biological grandmother, the long-missing Grandma Luo Xiaofeng. Chi Ziming simply couldn’t imagine how she had gotten here, how she had found his house. What was even more horrifying was that she had entered Chi Ziming’s house without a key. Looking at her dry, dark, and lifeless appearance, Chi Ziming’s teeth suddenly began to chatter. “How did you get in? Are you a human or a ghost?”

The old woman let out a dry laugh, a laugh that sounded like grinding wheels scraping against steel, indescribably harsh and raspy. “Young man, I can tell you’ve been troubled lately. When you went out, you hadn’t locked the door, so I just came in. But I’m not as disoriented as you are; after I came in, I remembered to close the door. Tell me, how could an old woman who can’t get in without a key be a ghost?”

Chi Ziming looked at her with some confusion. He had indeed been very disoriented lately, and truly wasn’t sure if he had forgotten to lock the door when he left. However, now, he didn’t want to get entangled in this question.

“Madam, why are you here? And what’s going on with your sister? Xiaofeng and the others thought she had harmed you.”

The old woman sighed. “Do you know, I feel ashamed of everyone in my entire family. My sister, my two sons. Sigh, I’m just an old bag of bones now; I really don’t want to bring up those old, rotten affairs. And, we’re all old. My eldest son and daughter-in-law died long ago, that is, Luo Xiaofeng’s parents. They died in a car accident while on a passenger bus going to Shanghai. The bus fell from a cliff, and all thirty-plus people on board perished. The bodies were so burned that you couldn’t tell who was who. I collected a few bones and took them back to Luoyang Village for burial. I didn’t tell Luo Xiaofeng about this. When she was little, I was afraid of hurting her, but now that she’s grown, it’s even harder to bring it up. And she never asked. It’s just sometimes when I saw her looking at the road outside the door, her eyes filled with anticipation, I realized that she actually missed her parents. My youngest son, Luo Jialiang, was rebellious from childhood, and extremely intelligent, always messing with strange things. My grandson, Luo Xiaojie, was the same. But Luo Xiaojie, such a good child, suddenly disappeared, no body, no trace, and Luo Jialiang didn’t seem sad at all. I truly don’t know what’s wrong with this family. Sins committed in a past life.”

Luo Xiaojie? Chi Ziming cautiously asked, “If Luo Xiaojie is still alive now, how old would he be?”

The old woman counted on her fingers. “He’d be twenty-nine.”

Chi Ziming felt a little confused. Did the old woman come to visit me today just to chat about family? Or does she have nowhere to stay, and needs…

“Oh, right, Madam, your sister?”

“Her? She’s crazy all the time. She’s old enough to be in her grave but still the same. She suddenly returned to Luoyang Village a while ago, saying she was poisoned by some ‘eagle poison.’ If she doesn’t get rid of this poison, she’ll turn into a carrion vulture and can only eat corpses. And she said a spirit told her in a dream to guard a thousand-year-old preserved corpse, and she had to guard it with her life, without fail. If that corpse revived, it would cure her eagle poison. She actually believed it completely, but she didn’t want others to doubt her, so she came to me, asking me to replace her, since I look so much like her. I originally didn’t want to bother with her; our sisterly relationship wasn’t very good. But she said she was already gnawing on corpses, and if I didn’t save her, she would just die in front of me. Her character means she keeps her word. Seeing as we’re sisters after all, I agreed to her. She settled me in the city, and she took my place for a while. The person you saw the first time wasn’t me; it was my sister. However, she often tells me about things in the village, so don’t think I’m senile just because I’m old.”

So that’s how it was! Then, was Ke’er with her sister, Luo Xiaofeng’s great-aunt, now? At this moment, the old woman’s eyes seemed to see through him. “When are you going back to Luoyang Village? Take me back too. I’m still used to the village. I can’t sleep well here. Sigh.”

Chi Ziming quickly waved his hand. “No, no, something happened there recently. Oh, because the case at the inn hasn’t been solved yet, it’s still very dangerous there. No one can go there now. How about I take you back to the village another day, after the truth comes out? The Public Security Bureau is fully investigating this case now; it will definitely be solved quickly.”

Chi Ziming tried to make the lie sound convincing enough to persuade the old woman. The old woman’s expression, which had started confused, became much more relieved. “Oh, is that so? Are my granddaughters doing well?”

“Very well. Madam, you should go back and rest early. It’s late. I’ll see you back.”

“No need. I live downstairs from you, hehe. My old sister arranged it.”

Chi Ziming’s eyes widened. This old woman lived downstairs from him, and he had no idea! But thinking about it, he had been in Luoyang Village all this time. It made sense, but it still felt so unbelievable.

He still saw the old woman downstairs and stopped by to look at her room. There was nothing different; it was a very simple rental room. The old furniture was left by the landlord. He truly couldn’t imagine that the old woman’s sister had found a house so close to his. Was it purely a coincidence? If so, it was too much of a coincidence.

After returning, he felt very tired. He looked at the photo of him and Xiao Yilian by his pillow. Xiao Yilian’s smile was still radiant, but it had already been shattered by him. He sighed and lay down to sleep.

In a haze, he felt himself back in Luoyang Village. Besides being dead quiet and dark as usual, there were many carrion vultures flying in the sky, as if this place had long been abandoned by the sun and the entire world, becoming their paradise instead.

Chi Ziming wandered dazedly. He felt every breath of air he inhaled carried a sinister smell. How had Luoyang Village become like this? His foot tripped on something, almost making him fall. When he looked closely, it was actually a rotting corpse! He was instantly horrified. Wasn’t this Luo Pangzi, the villager? Then he discovered human corpses everywhere under the dark, muddy ground. Some of them he had seen before. A few carrion vultures were perched on top, calmly pecking at the corpses. These people seemed to have been dead for a very long time. What happened to Luoyang Village? He looked at the corpses and didn’t find Luo Xiaofeng or Luo Yifu, which slightly eased his heart.

Would they be alright? Where did they go? He called out their names loudly, running and shouting, but the entire village was like death itself, emanating a decaying smell. When he ran to the inn, he gasped deeply. The entire sea was filled with vibrant, enchanting Departed Soul Flowers, pushing and crowding, like a sea of flowers. The Departed Soul Flowers still surged violently, covering every crack in the inn. They looked so beautiful, so beautiful, beautiful enough to suffocate, beautiful with a kind of demonic madness and arrogance. Yet, every petal carried venom.

Then, he saw a woman in a white dress walk out of the inn, carrying a bamboo basket. She casually picked a Departed Soul Flower and tucked it into her hair. He felt his heart leap into his throat. He opened his mouth but couldn’t make any sound. The woman, however, was still perfectly fine, continuing to pick flowers. When her face turned to him, Heaven, Xiao Yilian? It was Xiao Yilian? She, she’s still alive?

Chi Ziming felt he couldn’t do anything, couldn’t say anything. He could only stand there blankly, watching Xiao Yilian pick those terrifying flowers like a puppet. She didn’t seem to notice him, picking them as if no one else was around. What was strange was that the flowers didn’t harm her. Finally, the basket was full.

Then, she walked out of the inn’s courtyard. Chi Ziming followed leisurely behind her. Why was she picking these flowers? Where was she going? Xiao Yilian consistently ignored him, as if Chi Ziming, to her, was a person from another world, invisible, untouchable, inaudible.

Xiao Yilian walked through the pebble path, the one connecting the inn to the main road, and continued forward. Her vibrant colors sharply contrasted with the gloomy, dead hues of Luoyang Village, so Chi Ziming felt he couldn’t possibly lose her.

She continued onto the main road, through the fields. Beyond the large fields was the center of the village. At this point, a few carrion vultures flew towards her. She showed no sign of evading them; on the contrary, she extended her hand, as if welcoming them. This made Chi Ziming even more horrified.

Finally, she stopped at the place where Chi Ziming had first arrived. Here, there were many corpses of villagers; the scene was gruesome. She surveyed the surroundings, seemingly very satisfied with the scene. She walked to the side of a corpse and squatted down. Chi Ziming watched with bated breath, wondering what she was going to do.

What happened next left Chi Ziming even more dumbfounded. Xiao Yilian took a Departed Soul Flower from her basket and inserted it into the corpse’s heart area. The flower seemed to grow many soft tentacles, constantly expanding, contracting, and then expanding again, while the corpse continuously shrank and shrank. All organic matter seemed to be consumed by this flower. In no time, only a black, human-shaped imprint remained on the ground, indicating that a person, or perhaps a group of animals, had once lain there. Other than that, nothing was left; it was completely obliterated.

A word suddenly flashed in Chi Ziming’s mind: Corpse Dissolving Water. No, it should be Corpse Dissolving Flower. Corpse Dissolving Water would still leave some residue, but this flower eliminated corpses cleanly and thoroughly. So, it turned out that besides sucking blood, Departed Soul Flowers could also dissolve corpses. It was too terrifying! Killing someone and then making them disappear without a trace, completely untraceable. People who once lived in this world, alive, with their joys and sorrows, laughter and tears, just silently evaporated.

Xiao Yilian calmly dealt with one corpse after another. Carrion vultures circled around her. Eerie blue phosphorescent fires flickered. The sky was endlessly dark, large black clouds were pulled in clumps by the wind. All around, the eucalyptus leaves rustled and flew, rolling on the ground. Newly fallen leaves mingled with decaying ones, as if long-awaited fusion. This scene made Chi Ziming feel that all of this was unrealistically cold and terrifying, and Xiao Yilian was no longer the lover in his heart.

He felt very sad. As Xiao Yilian was dealing with the last corpse, he wanted to turn and leave. He didn’t want to watch anymore, but he didn’t know where to go. He seemed unable to go back, and couldn’t find his way back to the city.

He stood up, feeling very discouraged, and almost bumped into something. Heaven, it’s Xiao Yilian! She’s actually standing in front of him, expressionless, as if she had never known him. He softly called out, “Yilian,” but she didn’t respond, only staring straight at him. After a few seconds, a meaningful smile suddenly appeared in her eyes. This smile made Chi Ziming think she had recognized him, and he joyfully extended his hand. But his hand froze halfway.

Because he saw her hand slowly pluck the Departed Soul Flower tucked into her hair and offer it to him. Chi Ziming didn’t take it, didn’t dare to take it. However, Xiao Yilian’s smile at this moment grew wider, so wide it was almost frantic. She, with lightning speed, thrust the flower into Chi Ziming’s chest.

Chi Ziming felt his limbs shatter, evaporate, and disappear like boiling water. He mumbled, “You must not be Xiao Yilian, you must not be…”

“Xiao Yilian” suddenly ripped off her face. It was a young, unfamiliar, handsome, man’s face. He said softly in a strange tone, “Do you know the God of Death?”