Free Web NovelChapter 1757: Chapter 1009: Human Pillar (Part 2)
The scream was bone-chilling, lasting for over a minute, and then Yamada Kengohei’s tense body suddenly went limp, his head tilted to the side, silent.
After half a minute, Yang Xiao dared to step forward, checked Yamada Kengohei’s breath, and then let out a long sigh, "He’s dead."
Yamada Kengohei’s death was almost inevitable. If it were them being targeted by the Ghost, they would also prefer to die early to avoid more torment.
Yamada Kengohei’s screams still echoed in the depths of their minds. Even if they survived this ordeal, the scene would remain an indelible nightmare in their hearts. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
"Who has seen a similar scene?" Yang Xiao turned his head to the others. "Or experienced a similar task, any suggestions?"
But everyone shook their heads, even the veteran Qingshui Cangjie, whom Yang Xiao had high hopes for, found the scene in front of them disturbingly bizarre.
Tong Han stepped forward intending to inspect the body, but Qingshui Cangjie stopped him first, "Wait, don’t move the body, send someone to call Mr. Takeda."
Mitsuo Takeda, a police inspector, was skilled at post-mortem examinations. Professional matters should be handled by professionals.
During this waiting time, they didn’t sit idle, immediately spreading out to inspect the room. But just like last night in Kato Atsushi’s room, they found no extra clues, no scratches, or stabs.
Judging by Yamada Kengohei’s death scene, the attack was unanticipated, happening suddenly. Yamada Kengohei hadn’t even had time to leave the bed.
"It seems Mr. Yamada hid something from us; he’s no newbie. The room’s setup was elaborate." Qingshui Cangjie pulled out a mirror from the wardrobe, wrapped in layers of red cloth, face down.
"It’s normal, and I’m sure he’s not the only one." Hasegawa Hideji commented casually.
Worried about another conflict erupting between the two, Yang Xiao arranged for Sato Shouta to stay in the hallway, keeping him apart from Hasegawa Hideji, as Sato couldn’t contribute much here.
Soon, hurried footsteps approached down the corridor, many in number from the sound.
Leading them was none other than Mitsuo Takeda.
Jiu Shan Sha Yue and Beiyu Ye also arrived, their gazes inadvertently brushing over Tong Han’s face as they approached, relieved to see their teammate unharmed.
After Mitsuo Takeda’s examination, it was confirmed that the Ghost who killed Yamada Kengohei was the same one who killed Kato Atsushi last night, both injuries nearly identical.
Mitsuo Takeda, gripping a ballpoint pen, circled around the body, gesturing incessantly. Beiyu Ye crouched beside the body, observing briefly, then looked up and asked, "Mr. Takeda, what are you thinking?"
Mitsuo Takeda paused his movements, slightly furrowing his brow, "Strange, why are the wounds like this?"
"How so?" The curious query drew Yang Xiao and the others closer.
Mitsuo Takeda flipped the partially undressed corpse face down, pointing to its back, "Look here, the scars are almost all concentrated on the back, buttocks, thighs, and arms and forearms, and palms. So far, I haven’t seen any wounds above the waist, neither slashes nor stabs."
"The same was with Kato Atsushi last night, which seems not to be coincidental," Mitsuo Takeda added.
Tong Han assisted in repositioning the body, keeping it face down, arms naturally at its sides, with clothes and pants removed. Mitsuo Takeda drew a horizontal line across the back using the pen.
This line revealed clearly to Yang Xiao and others that all these scars lay below the line, roughly corresponding to everything below the waist, without exception. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
This indicated that the Ghost intentionally avoided injuring the head, face, chest, and abdomen, which was highly suspect.
"What does this mean?" Nishimura Yuna looked at the body, raising her head in inquiry.
"It’s about the position and angle of the stabs," Jiu Shan Sha Yue suddenly spoke.
"Exactly!" Mitsuo Takeda had Beiyu Ye position himself facing a wall, back to the group, passing the pen to Heize Lin to simulate the attack on Beiyu Ye.
Grasping the pen tightly, Heize Lin mimicked a swift and fierce stabbing motion, clearly skilled.
"Alright, notice Mr. Heize’s grip on the pen; he holds it in a reverse grip. This type of grip has a high degree of concealment, with tricky attack angles, especially suitable for close-quarters combat and stealth assaults. But mastering this requires high proficiency with the weapon, usually only achieved by experts. Mr. Heize is such an expert." Mitsuo Takeda explained, "Yet, the wounds on the body don’t match this style; they were inflicted with a standard grip."
"Mr. Heize, please switch to a standard grip and continue the attack." Mitsuo Takeda nodded.
With the change in stance, Mitsuo Takeda asked Heize Lin to slow down his actions for better observation. The demonstration indeed resulted in scars similar to those on the corpses, but Heize Lin found it awkward, as raising his hand naturally targeted Beiyu Ye’s head and upper body. This had nothing to do with his gang habits but was simply a more natural movement.
"Mr. Heize, try crouching lower and repeat," Mitsuo Takeda suggested.
Heize Lin lowered his stance, attempting another strike, which then left scars at a much lower location.
"Are you suggesting the killer was short, possibly a child?" Hasegawa Hideji immediately grasped Mitsuo Takeda’s point.
"Exactly, think about where we’ve found the Ghost hiding—small cupboards, fridges. Can adults fit into these places?" Yang Xiao linked this to his own thoughts.
"But they died in bed, not standing," Nishimura Yuna couldn’t help but interject, feeling their investigation was off-track. While Kato Atsushi was one case, Yamada Kengohei died right in front of them.
"You’re mistaken, Miss Nishimura. This isn’t Yamada Kengohei’s death scene, at least not the primary one. He was trapped by the Ghost elsewhere and killed, akin to another nightmare, where injuries in this spectral dream were reflected in our ’reality,’" Beiyu Ye, now the demonstration model, turning his head slightly, explained.
"What do you mean?" Nishimura Yuna struggled to understand Beiyu Ye’s implication.
"Mr. Beiyu’s explanation makes sense. When we first entered, the body was lying sideways, with his left arm pinned underneath, yet look now, covered in scars despite being supposedly unreachable under normal circumstances."
"He wasn’t tortured to death by the Ghost here; his body was left, but another ghostly dream did the killing, dragging him into another world," Yang Xiao analyzed.
Simultaneously, Yang Xiao recalled something terrifying: the Ghost’s killing method paralleled their entry into this task—a Nightmare World where they’d left their bodies in reality.
At this moment, their four bodies remained in the Ju Mountain Family’s secret prison all along.
What this meant was unclear to Yang Xiao, but he had a strong sense of foreboding, feeling that Jiushan Cangxuan hadn’t told them the truth.
Nevertheless, with Jiu Shan Sha Yue present, an undeniably distinguished figure among the younger generation of the Ju Mountain Family, Yang Xiao did not believe the Ju Mountain Family would risk the life of such a promising youth.
Moreover, his own status was significant—a special envoy to Japan from the Patrol General Bureau. Should anything happen to him in the Ju Mountain Family residence in Japan, regardless of reason, Jiushan Cangxuan would face accountability.
"Looks like we’ve made some progress. This Ghost is likely a child, with the real method of murder dragging victims into the Ghost Dream World for torment and slaughter, thus explaining the absence of mortal wounds on the victims."
Qingshui Cangjie continued, "If this hypothesis holds, I suspect this child Ghost was buried alive beneath our feet, used as a human pillar driven into the foundation."
