Chapter 137: Chapter 137: Chang’an, Don’t Leave, Okay?

“G-get what? I… I don’t really understand. Besides, aren’t you at your grandmother’s wake? How did you get out?”

Chang’an said, “Just give it back! I saw you crawl up to my grandma’s coffin, steal her golden bracelet, and put it on your own wrist. That was my grandma’s favorite bracelet. My dad had to persuade my mom for a long time before she agreed to let the golden bracelet be buried with her. We’re good friends, aren’t we? Hurry up and give me the golden bracelet so I can put it back. Otherwise, my parents will find out soon!”

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about! What golden bracelet? I didn’t see any!”

Conglin was scared and immediately hid his hands behind his back, but Chang’an grabbed his hand, revealing the golden bracelet on his wrist.

“What’s this? If you didn’t take my grandma’s golden bracelet, then what is this thing you’re wearing on your wrist!”

Faced with Chang’an’s questioning, Conglin didn’t dare to speak. He handed the golden bracelet to Chang’an and said aggrievedly, “S… sorry… If taking this bracelet made you unhappy, I apologize… I… I really didn’t mean to. Please don’t tell my mom about this!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell them!”

Just then, the adults from the village discovered that the golden bracelet on the old lady’s wrist was gone and immediately gave chase.

The place Conglin ran to wasn’t far from Chang’an’s home, and the adults spotted the golden bracelet on Chang’an’s hand at a glance.

Back then, the crowd of adults gave Chang’an a harsh scolding, but he never mentioned Conglin from beginning to end.

After that, their bond deepened rapidly, and they became inseparable friends.

However, the year he turned 18, Chang’an suddenly disappeared, and no one could find him.

Conglin never expected to see Chang’an here.

Seeing the bone fragments in Chang’an’s hand, Conglin burst into tears. “Chang’an… how did you end up like this… Who did this to you? Tell me… Tell me…”

“Back then, after the college entrance exams, you had a huge fight with your family and ran away. I looked for you everywhere but couldn’t find you. I finally thought of looking for you by the deep pond, but then… I don’t know what happened. I just died… I… I couldn’t see the killer’s face. I was in a hurry to find you; I didn’t see anything…”

As he finished speaking, two streams of bloody tears fell from Chang’an’s eyes, and his expression turned sinister.

“But… as I was losing consciousness, I could feel… someone carving something out of my body. The next thing I knew, I was here…”

“Conglin, do you know how much pain I’m in? I’m trapped here every day, unable to move. I call out to them, but they ignore me. It hurts so much, Conglin. Save me…”

Conglin’s eyes instantly reddened. He grabbed his phone, turned, and ran.

[Wait, isn’t that your best friend, Conglin? Why are you leaving? It’s not every day you get to catch up with him. Stay and keep him company.]

[Why do I feel like this is so similar to the Hell’s Den case? The key part is when he said he felt something being carved out of his body. Isn’t that organ harvesting?]

[The streamer is from XX County, XX City, XX Province, right? I just looked it up. A person named Chang’an really did go missing 13 years ago, and no one’s known where he went all these years.]

[AHHHH, it matches! The number of years he’s been missing is exactly the same. This was on the escape route after the Hell’s Den incident. Did Chang’an just walk right into his own death?]

[Call the police! Hell’s Den probably killed Chang’an.]

[I already called the police. Conglin, don’t cry…]

…

When the police arrived, Conglin was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He was instantly consumed by resentment and self-blame.

’Back then, I clearly heard Chang’an calling for me. Why did I have to throw a tantrum…’

’Why…’

His nose tingled as he fought back tears, and he ended up following the police to the station.

After an investigation, it was confirmed that his friend Chang’an’s death was related to Hell’s Den.

When the members of Hell’s Den were escaping back then, Chang’an happened to see them. Fearing he would report them to the police, they killed him on the spot, dismembered his body, and threw it into the deep pond.

After leaving the police station, he was in a daze and never streamed again.

Afterward, a fan asked Shen Zhiyao, “Will Conglin ever stream again?”

Shen Zhiyao replied, “He is living with intense guilt and self-reproach. He won’t be streaming anytime soon. If he does stream again, it will likely be a year from now.”

That “Conglin,” the one who was always online shouting about debunking feudal superstitions, had always wanted to see a ghost.

Because he wanted to know where his best friend had gone. Today, he had his answer.

When the answer he had always longed for was revealed, he couldn’t accept it, and he knew he would never be able to forgive himself.

…

「One day, Shen Zhiyao was cultivating at home when the police suddenly came to her door.」

The doorbell rang, and the one who opened the door was the white-robed female ghost.

When she saw the police, she smiled and greeted them, “Officers, you’re here again? Did you get the wrong door? We didn’t have any burglars today.”

The responding officer was a local patrolman from the precinct. He was the same one who had responded to the burglary at Shen Zhiyao’s home last time.

At the time, seeing that Shen Zhiyao lived alone, he had kindly reminded her to have family come over, as it wasn’t safe for a young woman to live by herself.

He never thought that such a quiet and delicate young lady would get mixed up in a case like this.

“We’re here to see Miss Shen. Where is she?” the police officer said, getting straight to the point.

“Whatever it is, come in and talk,” Shen Zhiyao said, having heard the commotion downstairs. She instructed the white-robed female ghost to make tea for the officers.

Sitting in the living room, the officer asked directly, “Miss Shen, were you at Yunshan Alley at midnight last night?”

Shen Zhiyao said, “That’s right.”

The officer exchanged a glance with his colleague and said, “A mother and son who lived in Yunshan Alley died yesterday.”

Shen Zhiyao frowned. “What? You suspect me?”

The officer shook his head. “According to the forensic examination, the mother and son died by suicide. But their deaths are strange. Why would a perfectly fine mother and son suddenly kill themselves? We checked the surveillance footage, but unfortunately, all the nearby feeds were lost. However, we saw you at the intersection across the street. At 11:56 PM that night, you passed through that intersection and entered Yunshan Alley. So, we came to ask where you went and when you left. The Zhang Family lived in a single-story house. Did you notice anything unusual when you passed by?”

Shen Zhiyao replied in a flat tone, “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Miss Shen, may I ask what you were doing in Yunshan Alley so late at night?”

“Taking a walk.”

“Taking a walk? Miss Shen, don’t you find that excuse a bit ridiculous? Who goes for a walk in the middle of nowhere in the dead of night?”

“Is there a law that says you can’t take a walk in a remote place at night?”

The rhetorical question stumped the officer.

Shen Zhiyao explained patiently, “I couldn’t sleep last night, so I went out for a walk. When I reached Yunshan Alley, I felt the place was very quiet and peaceful, so I went to have a look. I had no idea anything had happened there. If I’d known in advance that there’d be trouble, I definitely wouldn’t have gone.”

The police just found Shen Zhiyao a bit suspicious, but Zhang Lin and his mother had indeed died by suicide. There wasn’t a single trace of homicide.

On the police’s end, aside from seeing Shen Zhiyao go there, they had no other evidence to prove she was connected to the incident.

Therefore, although their hearts were filled with doubt, after some routine questioning, they had no choice but to take their leave.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep