Seeing Crime Scenes in My Sleep

Having learned from past incidents, Zhou Tiancheng had long ago stationed someone to watch her closely. Seeing that something was wrong with Zhang Qingzhi, they immediately stepped forward to restrain her.

"Save me! You have to save me!" Zhang Qingzhi desperately clung to the police officer beside her. She would rather die than end up like Sun Cong and the others.

Zhou Tiancheng and Lu Xingye repeatedly watched the surveillance footage of Guo Tianqi and Chen Kai.

The two had sat for a while before leaning back and falling asleep. There was nothing out of the ordinary about them at all.

"How is Zhang Qingzhi doing?"

"She’s stabilized."

The two had no choice but to keep staring at the monitors.

Zhang Qingzhi was truly terrified now. She was the only one who had seen what Ruan Zhixia looked like when she died, and the scene just now had been so vivid.

It was as if Ruan Zhixia had really appeared right in front of her.

But now she couldn’t see anything. ’Is this just a hallucination brought on by my fear?’

"I want to see Yang Ziyi! I want to be locked up with him!"

Zhang Qingzhi was so scared she burst into tears. Images of how Sun Cong and the others had died flashed uncontrollably through her mind, replaying like a slideshow.

Zhang Qingzhi’s emotions spiraled further out of control.

Guo Tianqi and Chen Kai were woken by the noise and looked over.

Guo Tianqi glanced at the clock on the wall. Half a day had already passed.

Zhang Qingzhi and Yang Ziyi were screaming and shouting like lunatics.

One claimed she was seeing Ruan Zhixia, while the other wanted to strangle Zhang Qingzhi. The police had been run ragged all night.

Guo Tianqi stood up and stretched. "Officer, our time is up. Can we go now?"

Zhou Tiancheng glanced at the time and had no choice but to release them.

After the two of them walked out of the police station, Zhou Tiancheng had a colleague follow them.

"Ruan Zhixia, I was wrong! Don’t come any closer! You’re already dead, why are you still haunting me?"

Zhou Tiancheng watched the scene, a headache brewing.

Guo Tianqi said goodbye to Chen Kai and headed home. Just as he turned a corner, he saw someone who had clearly been waiting for a long time and couldn’t help but take a step back.

"What do you want? This is a society governed by law, and we’re right near the police station."

Miao Anji walked toward Guo Tianqi. The jingling of his silver ornaments made a pained expression flash across Guo Tianqi’s face.

Guo Tianqi clutched his head. The injury he had forcibly suppressed with a Gu Worm yesterday was beginning to backlash.

"That Gu Worm... it’s not very poisonous. I... I have my reasons."

Watching Miao Anji approach, Guo Tianqi felt a sense of dread rise in his heart.

"What do your reasons have to do with my Sister?" Miao Anji stared at Guo Tianqi, toying with the Bone Flute in his hand.

The moment he saw the flute, Guo Tianqi fell to his knees. "Zhixia was killed by them."

"Holy Master, you know that we people of Miaojiang only ever commit to one person in our lifetime. Now that Zhixia is dead, I don’t want to live either, but I must avenge her."

"She could have lived! She didn’t have to die."

Guo Tianqi’s body trembled as he collapsed on the ground, sobbing. "We endured for so many years... I was just one step away from taking her back to the village."

"Zhixia was brutalized by Zhang Qingzhi and the others, but she could have survived. But on her way back after escaping, she ran into Chen Meihua. It was Chen Meihua who provoked her into jumping into the river and killing herself."

"My life is worthless, but I can’t accept this!"

Guo Tianqi thought of the information he’d dug up, and a sharp pain lanced through his heart. Zhixia had woken up then, she’d made it back from the mountain, but Chen Meihua had goaded her into suicide by jumping into the river.

As for her body, he had tried every method he could think of but couldn’t find it, so his only hope was to rely on the police.

The Heart-Eating Gu that had been planted in Guo Tianqi’s body since childhood began to flare up, causing him to break out in a cold sweat and tremble violently in pain.

Miao Anji looked down on him, watching his agony. "What does this have to do with my Sister?"

’It’s not my business if he wants to settle his debts. But of all the things he shouldn’t have done, he never should have involved my Sister.’

"Holy Master, you’ve all been investigating, but Zhang Qingzhi and the others are still alive. This was the only way. Just give me one more day. Just one day, I’m begging you."

Guo Tianqi grabbed Miao Anji’s pant leg, his eyes pleading.

"I... I’ll give you my Life Gu. Just... just consider it an apology to your sweetheart."

A flicker of displeasure crossed Miao Anji’s face. He stomped his foot down, and Guo Tianqi spat out a mouthful of black blood.

Miao Anji corrected him in a cold voice, "Wrong. That’s my Sister."

’Only Sister cared if I was hungry or cold. The people in the village only ever cared whether my Gu cultivation was successful.’

’As for my life, besides Sister, no one else would care.’

"COUGH, COUGH... To... to apologize to your Sister!"

Guo Tianqi coughed up another mouthful of blood and repeated himself.

The pressure from Miao Anji’s foot eased slightly. "You think you’re worthy? Don’t taint my Sister’s eyes with your filth."

Miao Anji thought of Jiang Li’s words and ultimately let Guo Tianqi go. ’If Sister doesn’t like it, I just won’t do it.’

"Th-thank you."

Guo Tianqi watched Miao Anji’s retreating figure. A vague memory surfaced—back in the village, he had seen the villagers place a child of about one year old into a pit of vipers.

’To think that he’s grown up so much.’

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH." Guo Tianqi clutched his chest and got up. He glanced at the police officer not far behind him, immobilized by a Gu Worm, then turned and headed back.

’Three more lives left. Everyone who ever harmed Zhixia must die.’

’It’s a pity I left the village too early. My skills are unrefined, so I can only use my own lifeblood to feed these worms.’

’But it’s enough.’

Back home, Guo Tianqi grabbed some medicine nearby and swallowed it. He turned to look out the window. ’Zhang Qingzhi, Yang Ziyi, Chen Meihua... tonight is the night you die.’

"Not good, Captain Zhou! Chen Meihua has gone crazy too! She keeps slapping herself in the face—she’s already knocked out two of her own teeth!"

"What are you standing around for? Tie her up!"

Zhou Tiancheng hurriedly ran off to check on Chen Meihua.

"I have a nasty mouth... I’m the one who hurt you... I’m sorry..."

When he entered, Chen Meihua, despite being handcuffed, was relentlessly slapping her own face.

Zhou Tiancheng stopped in his tracks. ’Chen Meihua really wasn’t telling the truth. It looks like she’s also connected to Ruan Zhixia’s death.’

After she was restrained, Zhou Tiancheng stared at Chen Meihua.

"How exactly did Ruan Zhixia die?"

"When I was coming back from the hospital, I ran into her coming down the mountain. I didn’t do anything, I just said a few words..."

Chen Meihua’s lips trembled, but she hesitated to continue.

"What did you say!" Zhou Tiancheng slammed his hand on the table.

"I... I just handed her a mirror. I said, ’You look like this now, do you really think Guo Tianqi will still want you?’"

"And then... SPLASH... she just jumped into the river next to us. It was dark, so I ran away."

As soon as Chen Meihua finished speaking, blood trickled from her mouth. She had bitten her tongue and killed herself.

Zhou Tiancheng’s fists clenched, the veins on his arms bulging as he watched helplessly while Chen Meihua died right in front of him.

’The one using the worms... I think I know who it is now.’

"Captain Zhou, bad news! Something’s happened with Zhang Qingzhi and Yang Ziyi, too."

Someone pounded on the door behind him. Zhou Tiancheng’s head was throbbing, but he was a police officer. He couldn’t just ignore it.

"What happened to them?"

Zhou Tiancheng seemed strangely calm. Or perhaps it was because he had already guessed the outcome.

"Zhang Qingzhi said she had to use the restroom. While she was in there, she pried off a piece of metal from the door."

"She... she... skinned herself."