Chapter 223: The Child

2022-05-20

Some people are born to belong to the darkness. Some have always lived underground. People like us who walk in the sunlight tend to overlook what’s beneath our feet. The living dead who claw their way out from below—they’ve always stayed underground. So I can almost be certain the killer is hiding somewhere beneath Xingdong Village.

Maybe, they’re right below where we’re standing right now.

“It’s three o’clock,” Gu Chen announced.

I hurried to check my watch. Sure enough, it was exactly 3 a.m. That meant the killer would soon be reaching out to us online.

Just as the second hand touched twelve, my phone buzzed. Sister Mary sent me a message on WeChat—the killer’s latest demands.

The rest of us scrambled over to take a look:

“Crazy how fast two hours can fly by, huh? It’s already time for us to meet again! By now, I trust you’ve managed to repair all four bowls. Or at least, I hope you have. If even one bowl is missing, our little forensic doctor will be scraping the flesh off her left foot down to the bone. Two bowls missing? Both feet go. If you haven’t fixed a single one, then it’s both legs.

Gotta admit, the kid’s pretty flexible. Oh, by the way, once you fix the bowls, leave them in Dongxing City at the spot I name. But which spot, that’s up to me—I get to play puppet master. Thrilling, isn’t it?

At least, I think it’s pretty thrilling. So, who’s going to play the courier?

Right, my brother thinks the little doc is good-looking and wants to date him. Shame the doc already has a boyfriend, though. Says his name is Wu Meng. Wu Meng, huh? Not exactly a name that rolls off the tongue. How about it—ready to play along? Not that you’ve got a choice.

Because I call the shots here. If you want your precious girlfriend to stay alive, you’d better do exactly as I say.

So, Wu Meng—are you ready?

It’s 3 a.m. now. I want you to be back in Dongxing City by 5.

And Wu Meng, I’ve seen you in person—don’t even think about sending a stand-in.

That’s all for now. See you soon.

After reading the killer’s message, I frowned. Making the trip from Xingdong Village to Dongxing City by car would take at least four hours, even at breakneck speed, maybe three. There was no way we could get to Dongxing City in just two hours.

“The killer only gave us two hours,” Gu Chen said. “No way we’re making it by car, so our only option is—”

Gu Chen and I spoke at the same time: “A helicopter!”

I immediately called Mary. “Mary, send a helicopter for me—right now.”

She replied quickly, “When Team Leader Shao saw the killer’s message, he figured out their plan instantly. There’s already a helicopter on its way to Xingdong Village. All you need to do is wait. Time is tight, even with a chopper, so don’t wander off.”

“I know.” I hung up.

As I set my phone down, a sense of foreboding crept in. The killer had anticipated everything, down to the minute. Spring days meant dawn came early. By 6:30, it would be fully light, and someone like the killer—born of darkness—would never risk being out after sunrise.

So before 6:30, the killer had to complete all their moves. They had to be back in Dongxing City before sunrise. Yet, even at their fastest, that’s a three-hour drive, and the roads out were already sealed. How were they planning to get into the city?

And if the killer can’t get into the city, they can’t take the bowls either. Surely, they wouldn’t drag Guan Zengbin along. So, the killer must be leaving Guan Zengbin underground alone. If we can find him, we could foil the killer without giving them what they want.

But all of this hinges on just one thing—the idea that there’s only one killer.

I’m the only one who actually believes that. Everyone else is convinced there are multiple culprits. If I’m wrong and there are more, I wouldn’t dare take that risk.

So, whatever the killer says, I have no choice but to go along with it.

When the killer ran into us in the woods, they must have realized I was here in Xingdong Village. That’s why the time limit is two hours—just barely manageable with a helicopter. Everything’s been timed right down to the second. Who on earth is this mastermind?

While we waited for the helicopter, I turned to Gu Chen. “Gu Chen, it won’t be long before the others arrive. Focus your search on the underground areas in Xingdong Village—there’s got to be a hidden space somewhere. Guan Zengbin is probably tied up down there right now. And if the killer does have accomplices, keep him safe no matter what.”

Gu Chen nodded, patted my shoulder, and said, “Even if it means my life, I won’t let Guan Zengbin die.”

I spat on the ground. “Don’t you dare die on me, either. You made it through that showdown with Wu Zui, so it’d be ridiculous to slip up here. Bring Guan Zengbin back safe, and I’ll treat you to barbecue when this is over.”

“You better not forget!” Gu Chen laughed.

“I won’t,” I promised.

Just then, Xiao Liu called me.

“Xiao Liu?” I answered quickly. “The killer sent new instructions—I have to follow them, or Guan Zengbin’s life is at stake. What’s up? The helicopter’s almost here.”

Xiao Liu didn’t waste a second. “I’ve been running myself ragged all night, but I finally tracked down Wu Xiufang’s husband. Turns out, he’s dead. After Wu Xiufang died, her husband took their child and disappeared. But the thing is, the child—their son, or maybe their daughter, I’m not even sure anymore—the kid is intersex!”

“I already figured that out,” I said.

“You did?” Xiao Liu sounded stunned. “I went through all this just to dig up clues, and you guessed it just like that? You’re killing me here. But there’s something you don’t know yet: Wu Xiufang’s son, daughter, whatever, actually isn’t even her biological child!”

“What do you mean?” I felt lost for a second.

“So, in her husband’s diary, he wrote about what really happened back then. Wu Xiufang and her older sister Wu Xiufen both had babies at the same time. Thing was, Wu Xiufang’s family hated her marrying this man, because he was born with a deformity—his legs didn’t work right,” Xiao Liu said.

“Go on,” I prompted.

“But Wu Xiufang didn’t care about any of that. She married him anyway. And by coincidence, her sister Wu Xiufen also gave birth on the exact same day. They were even in the same hospital room. The family was against it, but blood’s still blood, you know?” Xiao Liu went on.

After a pause, he continued, “What’s wild is, both babies were born on the same day. Since Wu Xiufang’s husband was an outsider and broke, the family still held a grudge. He was worried his own child would have a miserable life, so he decided to swap the babies.”

“So, Wu Xiufang’s husband switched the two kids?” I asked.

“Exactly. The husband was born with a deformity, but his own kid turned out healthy. However, Wu Xiufen’s baby was the one who was intersex. Just his luck, the husband swapped them. Wu Xiufang always assumed her husband was the reason for her own child’s condition,” Xiao Liu replied.

I shook my head. “Unbelievable.”

“Right? And there was no way he could tell anyone what he’d done, so they just raised the child as their own. But here’s where it gets even murkier: we don’t know if Wu Jianguo was lying or if the husband lied in the diary. Wu Jianguo claims neither he nor anyone else ever saw Wu Xiufang’s kid, but the husband’s diary says the whole family knew the truth.”

“Family secrets stay hidden?” Xiao Liu added. “Anyway, they raised the kid for five years, muddling through. One day, Wu Xiufang went to her job at the factory and never came home. They said it was suicide. After that, her husband saw no reason to stick around and took off.”

Covering my eyes with my hand, I tried to untangle all these threads. Who would’ve guessed Wu Xiufang might’ve died because of her son? Maybe she’d gone to borrow money to pay for Wu Xiufen’s intersex child’s medical treatment. Maybe Wu Jianguo lied, pretending not to know why she needed the money, when really he just refused to help.

“Did the twelve bowls ever come up in any of this?” I asked.

“Yeah. When Wu Xiufang was leaving for the factory, the kid threw a fit—didn’t want Mom to go. So she told the child, ‘If you can draw all the animals on these twelve bowls, I’ll be back soon.’,” Xiao Liu told me.

“And?” I picked up where Xiao Liu left off. “She never came home.”

“That’s right,” he confirmed. “Wu Xiufang hanged herself in the factory.”

In the distance, the roar of helicopter blades echoed closer. I said to Xiao Liu, “I’m on my way. If anything comes up, call Gu Chen.”

“Will do,” Xiao Liu replied.

The helicopter hovered overhead, stirring up a whirlwind. They dropped the rope ladder quickly to save time. I patted Gu Chen on the shoulder, said nothing else, and climbed up. Without even touching down, the helicopter took off straight for Dongxing City.

The whole flight, I couldn’t get Xiao Liu’s story out of my head.

‘When you finish drawing all the zodiac animals, I’ll come home.’ But the wait lasted twenty years.

A wait that ended in nothing but separation—life and death.