HPDBC Chapter 317: Gong Alley
Chapter 317: Gong Alley
Chapter 317: Gong Alley
“It’s him?!” Fatty felt a chill run over him. Butler Zhou was Xuan Ji’s father. Then, there were those strange ghost plays and the mad Elder Huang... A scary conclusion appeared in his mind. This was a carefully calculated revenge, a revenge held by a father against his daughter’s killer.
“Doctor,” Fatty asked quickly, “How did you tell something was wrong with Butler Zhou?” Compared to this answer, Fatty was more curious about how the Doctor managed to reach this conclusion based on current clues.
“When we visited the kitchen,” Jiang Cheng moved along the wall so as not to attract unnecessary attention, “I tried the food in the kitchen. Other than the portion meant for us, the others are light in flavours and taste.” Worried about Fatty’s comprehension level, he continued, “Those who sing eat light. They need to protect their throat. That is a habit of theirs.”@@@@
Fatty gasped, “Was that how you managed to guess their identity?”
“No.” Jiang Cheng answered, “I was only curious at the time.”
“Doctor,” Fatty followed him and asked, “Are we going back now or going to Gong Alley?”
“Gong Alley.”
“Okay.”
When they arrived at Gong Alley, Fatty was shocked. Gong Alley might have been called an alley, but he realised that the alley was large and contained several hundred homes. If they had to search through them one by one, it would take them all day.
To Fatty’s surprise, after asking the nearby hawkers, one hawker who was blind in one eye leaned on his cart selling Tang Holu and asked, “Are you talking about Manager Zheng?” He pointed down a path that branched off the main road, “They stay in the Bing House. Go in through here. Turn left at the first junction, and you’ll come across it. It has the largest yard.”
They soon found the corresponding yard. Perhaps it was their mind. Fatty felt a chill wind picking up, even if he just stood outside the place.
Jiang Cheng walked towards the sedan. When he lifted up the curtain, Fatty’s heart winced. A paper bride sat inside the sedan. She wore a red dress and veil. The bride had her hands on her knees as if holding something in place. Fatty couldn’t see what it was from his angle. Fatty had a feeling this bride would eventually come alive.
The Doctor pulled a wooden box that was painted red from the bride’s hands. The bride didn’t move. She didn’t turn into a ghost.
He opened the box. A book sat inside. The book looked worn. The cover was greatly eroded. Thankfully, the words inside were still legible. Fatty stretched his neck to look. The book felt like a secret manual in wuxia novels.
“Doctor,” Fatty was anxious because Jiang Cheng read through the book and said nothing. “What... is the book about?”
Jiang Cheng took a deep breath and looked at Fatty. The latter swallowed nervously and didn’t dare to say anything.
“Xuan Ji was killed by Elder Huang,” Jiang Cheng said, “Butler Zhou wanted to use us and the killer to... summon his daughter’s soul.”
Fatty croaked, “Soul summoning?”
Jiang Cheng nodded and pointed at the book, “This book contains such a method. Using a ritual and replaying the murder process at midnight, you can summon the victim’s soul back.”
Fatty whispered, “Doctor, what ritual...”
“Human-skin drum,” Jiang Cheng answered.