WBICDPH Chapter 20 Part 2

Lin Jin took the files and skimmed through them. As he read further, he frowned slightly.

He placed the files he’d found together with Han Ao’s.
“Outcast status… outcast status… all outcast status.”

Six sheets of paper lay side by side. All the victims were registered as belonging to the outcast class. Looking at the dates—

“The most recent was three years ago. The other five cluster around six to seven years back. None of these six cases was ever closed. They’re very likely related to our mission.”

“Uh…” Han Ao nodded, still looking confused. “I have a question—what does ‘outcast status’ mean?”

“In ancient times, society was divided into scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Outcasts were a special class beneath even those four, also called the base people. They did what were considered ‘base professions.’ For example, these six women…”

Lin Jin paused slightly as he looked at the words on the page.
“They were prostitutes.”

Han Ao slapped his palm against his hand.
“I get it! That’s why these missing persons cases didn’t cause much of a stir and why the fat official didn’t remember them. All the missing people were outcast prostitutes—at the very bottom of society. Even if they vanished without a trace, hardly anyone would care. At most, someone would file a report, and that’d be it. And since this case involves ghosts, ordinary people could never investigate it properly. So it just kept piling up year after year, right?”

Lin Jin nodded and gave him a thumbs-up.

Then he flipped through the pages again and froze.
“They have one more thing in common.”

“What?”

Lin Jin pointed to a line in the files.
“Manting Spring.”

At last, they had a breakthrough. Lin Jin folded the six pages and tucked them into his clothes. Together with Han Ao, he took his leave of the official and headed straight for Manting Spring.

Snow had been falling over Zhongyun City all day without stopping.

It had already piled past the soles of their shoes. Under the warm glow of lanterns, the white snow reflected tiny points of light.

“I’ve noticed something, Lin Jin,” Han Ao said as they walked. “You may love to eat, but when it really matters, your brain works pretty fast. You’re actually kind of reliable. Being around you gives me this weird sense of safety.”

“…Liking food and being smart aren’t mutually exclusive!” Lin Jin protested helplessly.
“It just happens to match my skill set, okay? I’m great at puzzle games.”

“But you’re terrible in a fight.”

“Being bad at fighting and being smart aren’t mutually exclusive either!!”

Zhongyun City was far livelier at night than during the day. Lanterns lined the streets, vendors who hadn’t been out earlier appeared, and the scent of food filled the air. Still, Manting Spring stood out as the most bustling place of all—its lights brighter than anywhere else. Even from this distance, Lin Jin could see shadows moving behind the windows and hear faint laughter drifting out.

Changing the subject, Han Ao stared nervously at the building.
“Hey, Lin Lin… are we really going into a brothel next? We’re just investigating a case—can’t we come back tomorrow morning?”

“You mean walking into a brothel in broad daylight? That’d be way too obvious and would tip them off. And have you ever seen a ghost cultivator openly roaming around during the day?”

“I’ve never seen a ghost cultivator at all,” Han Ao shot back, then suddenly realized something.
“Wait—neither have you! How can you be sure the local ghosts don’t come out during the day?”

Lin Jin was stumped. He coughed lightly.
“That’s how it is in horror movies! Ghosts like in The Ring always come out in the dead of night to scare people, don’t they?”

“That’s not true! Sadako is a Japanese ghost. The Ghost in the Mountain Village is a local one, and people got killed in broad daylight in that movie!” Han Ao argued earnestly.

They were passing through a remote area of Zhongyun City, walking down an unlit back alley. Lin Jin felt a chill crawl up his spine.

“Do we really need to be discussing this right now?”

“It’s important! Think about it—what are the key elements of ghosts killing people in movies? What’s the trigger that pulls the protagonist into the事件? Something strange? A strange person? Or hearing some inexplicable—”

“Ah!!!”

Before Han Ao could finish, a scream cut him off.

He jolted and stammered out the last word,
“A… a scream?”

“There’s ghostly energy!” Lin Jin was badly startled as well. He pulled out the soul-summoning banner at his waist, which was shaking violently. Fighting the urge to turn and run, he focused and realized the sound had come from Manting Spring.

And more than that…

“Don’t you think that voice sounds kind of familiar?”

At his reminder, Han Ao replayed the terrifying moment in his head.
“Yeah… now that you mention it, it does. It feels like I heard someone crying like that not too long ago.”

They fell silent for a moment, then looked up at each other at the same time and spoke in unison:

“Miss Shuang’er!”