Chapter 110: The Matricide Case

“I’ve looked…” Li Jiankang gave a bitter smile. “But an organization did come to find me. They said they would take over, and after the demolition, I could move out immediately. But… they’ve been talking about demolition for a whole year now, and nothing has started yet.”

Qin Ye nodded. “Go on.”

Li Jiankang finally took a sip of water. He pulled down his mask, revealing lips pale and drained of all color. Clearing his throat hoarsely, he said, “Since that day, Lingdang disappeared.”

“I thought it was over too… I renovated the house again. It’s not that I don’t want to leave, but… I simply don’t have the financial means.” He sighed deeply. “I can only endure day after day in this terrifying room…”

“Every night… I feel something watching me. Right by my bedside… after midnight, it’s always there…” He trembled again. “It just stares at me, unwavering… I try desperately to open my eyes, but I can’t…”

“My room is supposed to be mine alone… but I’m not the only one here. Do you know what that feels like? It’s driving me nearly insane!”

His voice rose sharply, then he gasped for breath, pausing for several long seconds before continuing in a hoarse whisper, “In September, Lingdang appeared again.”

“Still on the night of the fifteenth, I… heard a cat’s meow. The door was closed, but then it started scratching it frantically! Screaming like mad!”

He grabbed Qin Ye’s hand suddenly. Qin Ye raised an eyebrow; the other’s hand was icy cold, with just a faint trace of warmth.

Visible to the naked eye, cold sweat dripped down Li Jiankang’s face. “You might not believe it… my door is a smooth security door. When the light’s on, you can vaguely see reflections.”

“I…”

“I saw… behind me… a figure! There really was a shadow!!! It was just standing there, looking at the door from the same perspective as I was!!”

“There’s someone else in my house!!”

He finally lost control and screamed out. Qin Ye squeezed his hand, then let go. A full minute passed before Li Jiankang calmed down.

Like a soul detached from his body, his spirit seemed utterly drained. He rasped, “Since then, I haven’t returned home. I rented a room next door and only dare to go back during the day…”

“Please… help me.” He gripped Qin Ye’s hand persistently, his voice choking with emotion. “That place is a haunted house… it has to be! I want to go back; my wife and child’s things are still there! That investigation office said only those who reply to the post can help me.”

“I understand.” Qin Ye nodded and stood. “Today is the fifteenth of the month. At midnight tonight, I’ll go to your house.”

With that, he strode off briskly.

Paper Crane perched on his shoulder as Qin Ye rounded a corner without looking back, immediately pressing against the wall. “Is he still there?”

“Yes.” Arthas replied lazily.

“Watching me?”

“Yes.” Arthas glanced at him unexpectedly. “I have to admit, you’re clever and perceptive. Even in my days, I wasn’t this sharp. What do you suspect about him?”

Qin Ye leaned against the wall, brows furrowed. “Not suspicion.”

“But the only expression he showed seemed off.” Arthas rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “You know the era I’m from, when wars raged. I’ve witnessed countless deaths. His expression is typical of severe blood loss.”

“And a lot of it.”

Arthas remained unmoved. “Maybe he’s just sick?”

“Maybe I’m just nitpicking.” Qin Ye said flatly. “There’s one more thing—my appearance.”

“With my face, so stunning in this peaceful era, and yet he’s unmoved…”

“Speak plainly,” Arthas said coldly.

“Cough… I mean, I look like a high school student. If he were normal, what do you think he’d do?”

Before Arthas could answer, Qin Ye answered himself: “Even in desperation, he’d be suspicious. Or if he saw how young I look, he’d warn me not to go. His friend was at least about his age, an adult man, and dead. As an ordinary person unaware of the supernatural, he has no doubt? He’s convinced a high schooler can help him?”

Arthas sighed softly, no smile. “So, you were born in a time of war and have never died until now.”

“Not luck… Your appearance deceives many. Your crisis intuition far surpasses ordinary spirit cultivators.”

Qin Ye smiled. “Yes, as a husky, my keen sense of smell is my strength… Before coming, I checked carefully. No matter which way I approach, leaving Café No. 4 means passing here. I’m waiting for someone.”

Time passed swiftly.

In the remaining hours of the afternoon, Zhou Xianlong announced the latest point standings again. Qin Ye immediately noticed he was no longer alone at the top.

Instead, he was tied for first place.

“First place, S9527, faculty points 10, accepted ‘Lost Trail’ mission. Difficulty C.” “First place, S4532, faculty points 10, accepted ‘Dangerous Building’ mission. Difficulty C.”

Someone had caught up…

More than that, most people’s scores had risen slightly.

“As expected, cultivators among mortals aren’t idle…” Qin Ye closed his phone, leaning against the wall to rest his eyes.

Panic was not his style. Now, he needed to seize time.

With two sharing first place, whoever finishes first will truly be number one! Knowing this school, there might even be bonus points!

The early spring dusk fell quickly. Shortly after six o’clock, footsteps sounded, quick and urgent.

As they rounded the corner, Qin Ye smirked wickedly and whistled. “Sweetheart, you’ve been checked and eliminated.”

“Damn it!!!” A yell rang out. The blond youth jumped back, sitting hard on the ground. Blushing, he stared fiercely at Qin Ye, chest heaving heavily. After a dozen seconds, he leaned on the wall to stand.

“Damn! You scared the life out of me!”

Qin Ye shrugged. Indeed, this street was facing demolition, and all afternoon only one older lady had passed by.

His scare was genuinely… refreshing.

“Why aren’t you leaving?” The youth dusted off his butt, panting.

“Waiting for you.” Qin Ye raised his brow, smiling. “Shift ended at six. I’ve waited two hours.”

“For what?”

“To see if the prophet lost.”

“…” Does injuring someone count as bodily harm? What’s the standard for self-defense? Does verbal abuse count? Waiting online, it’s urgent.

“Oh, right.” The youth seemed to remember something. He grabbed Qin Ye and ducked into an alley, his expression serious. “Are you really going to that haunted house tonight?”

Qin Ye looked him squarely in the eyes. “Why? Is that haunted house famous?”

“Don’t go!!” The youth was almost frantic, trembling uncontrollably, voice barely above a whisper. “That place… is truly haunted…”

“If I had money, I would’ve moved long ago! Don’t go! Seven people have gone missing there! It really is a haunted house! No one dares come within ten meters!”

Qin Ye’s expression grew serious. He nodded. “Don’t worry, you’ve successfully earned a favor from a Yama King. After death, I’ll make sure you have a good place.”

“…” What exactly defines reasonable self-defense? What’s excessive? Does verbal attack count? Urgently waiting online.

“I’m not joking!” The youth glanced around, shivering again and gasping cold air. “Li Jiankang… his house… is not clean. Don’t you know about that famous case a few years ago?”

Before Qin Ye could ask, he spoke deliberately: “The matricide case.”

Qin Ye’s eyes flashed as a memory suddenly surfaced.

It was a very notorious case.

The parents worked far away, leaving their young son at home. When they returned, they found their twelve-year-old son had fallen into bad habits: smoking, drinking, fighting, skipping school. To correct him, they stopped working away and stayed home.

However, long separation had caused a rift in the family, and the son wouldn’t listen. One day, when the son was smoking again at home, the mother, unable to persuade him, angrily took a belt and beat him. Unexpectedly, the son fought back, and in a rage, grabbed a kitchen knife.

He hacked the mother over twenty times, killing her instantly.

But that wasn’t the end.

The son changed into clean clothes, threw the knife into the sink. That night, he answered several calls from his mother, replied to WeChat messages pretending to be her, and even used her tone to ask his homeroom teacher for sick leave.

The next day, neighbors sensed something was wrong and called the grandfather, who came to open the door. Even then, the son remained calm, telling the grandfather, “Mom went out; she’s not home.”

Because there was no blood on the first floor, the grandfather didn’t suspect anything. The son even went with his younger brother to have breakfast at the grandfather’s house.

It wasn’t until noon that the grandfather realized something was wrong and went upstairs, finding the blood-soaked scene and his daughter hacked beyond recognition.

Afterward, since the son was under the age of criminal responsibility, he was released without charge.

The whole internet was ablaze; the case impacted the nation for a full year. Qin Ye remembered it clearly.

“That’s…” Qin Ye took a deep breath, looking at the street.

“Tianxi Fourth Street, Li Jiankang’s son Li Cheng, and his wife Song Jiafang,” the youth bit his lip. “Since that day… every night at midnight, you can hear the sound of a belt beating a child in Li’s house… along with endless angry shouting, tearing sounds, even… knife cutting flesh…”

“But Uncle Li can’t hear it. We hear it all too clearly! There are ghosts there… really ghosts! Don’t you dare go!”

Qin Ye’s mind raced rapidly. After a few seconds, he said gravely, “Didn’t he say his son died?”

“I don’t know…” The youth looked around nervously. “That’s the scariest part… his son… disappeared.”

“Not just missing, but truly vanished without a trace. It’s like… like Aunt Song took him away!”

Qin Ye nodded. “One last question.”

“Do you know Lingdang? A little black cat.”

“What black cat?” The youth looked confused. “Never heard of it.”

Qin Ye looked him straight in the eyes. “The cat Li Jiankang raised.”

“Impossible.” The youth trembled, a chill running through him. “He never kept a cat! Think about it, he’s away all year. The son was a left-behind child; who would take care of a cat? No cat… I’ve never seen any black cat at their place!”