Chapter 107 Those in the Painting

The murder investigation at Zhu Chenhao's house continued, and all three bodies had been recovered.

Compared to his mother and wife, Zhu Chenhao was fortunate, as his body remained intact. The autopsy revealed that he had died of poisoning.

Therefore,

the investigative direction shifted.

Why were his wife and mother brutally murdered, their bodies desecrated, with missing parts found in the garden and sewer, while he simply sat in the car and took poison?

A strong possibility was that Zhu Chenhao, for some unknown reason, went insane, murdered his wife and mother, and then committed suicide.

Then,

his daughter escaped and wandered onto South Street, where she collapsed.

Another possibility was that Zhu Chenhao was not the killer, but the real murderer was enamored with him, torturing his wife and mother before granting him VIP treatment, allowing him to die decently by poison, without defiling his corpse.

Of course, there was also the possibility that the real killer was someone else. Zhu Chenhao returned home to find his mother and wife murdered, then, disheartened, abandoned his daughter and poisoned himself, not even thinking of calling the police to seek justice for his dead relatives.

For the police, the first line of reasoning was most appealing: blame everything on a dead man, and the case would be closed, saving countless troubles.

Not that the police were deliberately shirking their duty; people always have their own inertia. Moreover, Zhu Chenhao's method of death was indeed peculiar, coupled with Zhu Shengnan's long-term abuse, suggesting that this family likely had serious mental issues.

Once someone is labeled as "mentally unstable," their actions become more understandable.

"Officer Chen."

Zhang Yanfeng lit a cigarette and walked behind Officer Chen.

Officer Chen glanced at Old Zhang and said, "I'm a little tired."

Zhang Yanfeng smiled. If any other man heard a beautiful woman say that, he would habitually say, "Then go home and rest early.

Drink more water?

Boil some jujubes with brown sugar?"

But they were on a case; they were police officers, and couldn't just leave to rest.

"As for clues..."

"You go find the clues. I believe you already have something in mind." Officer Chen looked at Zhang Yanfeng. "It's just that I still feel something is a little strange, though I can't quite put my finger on it."

Zhang Yanfeng nodded. He decided to discuss it with his boss later. Wait, wasn't his boss with him at the crime scene?

Where had he gone?

Zhang Yanfeng walked back into the villa and paid special attention as he passed the small room with the shrine.

Suddenly,

he froze.

Because he realized

that painting,

the two "Child-Sending Ghosts" in the painting,

were gone!

In the painting, there was only one male child.

"Why, why,

why are you all like this!"

Zhu Shengnan's eyes were completely white,

a tragic white, a chilling white.

At that moment,

the auras of the vengeful female ghosts were also exploding, like burning black flames.

Zhou Ze swatted away the vengeful ghosts blocking his path and charged directly towards Zhu Shengnan.

She really was a cute girl,

but Zhou Ze had no choice.

There wasn't much time for endless thought, recollection, struggle, and hesitation.

This wasn't some sentimental drama that could be fast-forwarded or slowed down.

At the moment, there wasn't much to think about or consider.

He had to suppress the situation, control it,

to prevent greater disaster!

However, just as Zhou Ze's fingernails grew long again, almost becoming sickle-shaped,

beneath Zhou Ze's feet,

two black hands suddenly appeared.

They appeared without warning, and Zhou Ze didn't notice them,

but they appeared so strangely,

and instantly grabbed Zhou Ze's ankles.

Zhou Ze stumbled, using his fingernails to brace himself on the ground, before looking back at his feet, only to find that the hands he had glimpsed were gone.

"Hiss..."

Suddenly,

an icy feeling appeared on his neck.

Two gaunt hands had silently grabbed Zhou Ze's throat.

Zhou Ze thrust his hands backward,

enough to pierce the guy behind him,

but he hit nothing.

"Uncle, if you don't help me, someone will."

A smile appeared on Zhu Shengnan's lips.

It wasn't a sneer,

nor was it sarcasm,

but a genuine smile,

because even if her family, even the doctor uncle who had just treated her, was unwilling to help her and wanted to hurt her,

there were still two uncles in the painting

who would stand firmly by her side.

She said

the people in the painting moved.

Grandma didn't believe it,

so she called the uncles out.

Grandma died,

but the look of shock on Grandma's face before she died

meant that Grandma believed.

Grandma had been praying for the Bodhisattva to appear, praying for Heaven's blessing.

Now it had really manifested.

So, Zhu Shengnan felt that Grandma had died appropriately, and she should be very happy, right?

Dad was the same, and Mom was too.

They believed it too, and they were looking forward to it, right?

Otherwise, how could they have condoned or even helped Grandma torture her in front of the painting?

Yes, right?

It must be.

This feeling of being cared for, loved, and accompanied,

is so good.

"Who is it!"

Zhou Ze turned his head sharply, only to find that the shadow behind him was retreating rapidly, and his fingernails had failed to hit it.

Then, another shadow appeared beside Zhou Ze, blocking him from Zhu Shengnan, its hands seeming to be pinching something, making an obscure sound:

"Ohm!"

Zhou Ze felt his vision blurring.

Damn it,

was this the same old trick?

Zhou Ze took a deep breath,

bit his tongue, and took a step forward, his vision returning to normal.

Boss Zhou was truly well-versed in illusions.

Not that he had painstakingly cultivated them,

but he was the one being cultivated.

It was like a disobedient child who was often beaten with a belt by his father. If one day his father suddenly hit him with a feather duster, he would shout:

"Awesome."

"Thank you, uncles. I'm taking my friends with me. My friends miss their homes, miss their parents, and especially miss their little brothers."

Zhu Shengnan waved at the two shadows,

then,

turned and left.

The vengeful ghosts naturally followed her, everything in good order.

"Don't go!"

The moment Attorney An saw the vengeful ghosts around him suddenly disappear, he immediately rushed forward. Attorney An wasn't a ghost official in Tong City, but he had bet his future on Zhou Ze.

If Tong City was thrown into chaos because of the vengeful ghosts, Zhou Ze would be finished, and his hopes would be dashed. So, he felt a strong sense of responsibility in this matter.

But the second shadow that appeared sidestepped and swiftly blocked Attorney An.

"The underworld has its order, the law of death is merciless, suppress!"

Attorney An thrust his left hand forward, intending to suppress this unknown shadow first.

The white seal swept towards the shadow.

But the shadow blocking Attorney An suddenly let out a low shout:

"The underworld has its order, the law of death is merciless, absolve!"

The white seal dissipated.

Attorney An looked like he had seen a ghost.

Zhou Ze was also stunned.

What had that thing just shouted?

At this moment, the shadow behind Zhou Ze also suddenly spoke:

"The underworld has its order, the law of death is merciless, bind!"

Black shadows began to surround Zhou Ze.

Little Loli's tongue arrived in time, lashing out at the shadows like a huge whip, blocking them.

"Old An, what the hell is this?" Zhou Ze shouted.

Attorney An was also baffled.

"Is it a relative of yours?"

Zhou Ze shouted again.

However, after only a brief delay,

when Zhou Ze looked over there, he found that Zhu Shengnan's figure had disappeared.

Damn it!

Night had

completely fallen,

and there were fewer pedestrians on the streets than during the day. The dim streetlights flickered intermittently, perhaps due to unstable voltage.

On the road,

a little girl walked slowly forward.

She really was walking alone,

because no one could see

the group of female children following behind her.

They were like kindergarten students walking home in a line after school, but they were very quiet, even deathly silent.

"If you hadn't gone for that last supply drop, we would have made it into the circle, and it would have been a two-on-one!"

"Bullshit, that last survivor was definitely cheating. It wouldn't have mattered if we got into the circle or not."

Two young men with dyed punk hairstyles walked over from across the street, arguing.

"Hey, little girl, all alone?"

One of them bent down, looked at Zhu Shengnan, and reached out his hand.

What he didn't know was that

around him,

there were nearly a hundred invisible female children, all of them looking up at him, and

all of them were smiling!

Zhu Shengnan looked up at the yellow-haired punk.

Her expression was

very innocent

and very vulnerable.

"There are a lot of thieves around here, it's not safe. Do you live nearby?"

"Mmm."

Zhu Shengnan nodded.

"Then hurry home. Don't wander around outside alone."

The yellow-haired punk reached out and touched Zhu Shengnan's head, reminding her again, "Go home quickly."

"Mmm."

After saying that, the yellow-haired punk and his purple-haired friend walked away.

The hundreds of invisible female children watched their figures slowly disappear around the corner of the street,

with a hint of

regret.

"Hey, I thought you were interested in that little girl," the purple-haired punk teased.

"Fuck you. I'd be interested in your mom before I'd be interested in a little girl. I'm not that much of a beast.

That little girl is so cute. It's not safe for her to be wandering around alone at night."

"Okay, okay, you're a good person, you're a good person."

"Good my ass. If it was a bigger girl, I would have hit on her.

Let's go, let's go. Let's go back to the factory and get some sleep. We have to work tomorrow."

"Going back to the factory already? Didn't we say I'd treat you to an internet cafe and you'd treat me to barbecue skewers?"

"Barbecue my ass. I'm broke. Remember, remember, I'll treat you next time."

"Why are you always like this? You just got paid yesterday, how are you broke?"

"I sent the money home. You know, my sister is about to go to college.

I sent her the money so she can buy an iPhone,

so she won't be looked down upon in the dorm."