Chapter 389: Three Photographs 

There was something different about the feeling of autumn. The sun still blazed warmly in the sky, but the breeze brushing against the skin was cool and refreshing.

Xiao Yu and Mu Qingwu lounged in deck chairs on the balcony, enjoying the autumn sunlight.

Until a business vehicle came to a stop outside the villa gates.

Wang Dong stepped out and waved at them with a grin.

“Every time I see Brother Wang ‘the Dog’, I get a bad feeling,” Xiao Yu muttered through a grin. “I’ve got a bold idea.”

“I suggest you put that bold idea away,” Mu Qingwu teased with a mock glare. “Violence is never the answer.”

“Hey, you two, give it a rest already,” Wang Dong shouted from the yard. “You’re really not going to open the door and let me in?”

“Oh-ho, Sister, look at that,” Xiao Yu said deliberately loudly. “Doesn’t Brother Wang look extra special today?”

“Haha!” Mu Qingwu couldn’t help but laugh.

Her little brother was just too wicked. How could he describe someone like that?

Wang Dong, “…”

‘What the hell did he just say?’

First, Xiao Yu helped his wife back into the living room. Only then did he head out and open the gate.

“Are we still brothers or not?” Wang Dong glared. “I came all this way just to bring you smokes. One whole case.”

“Heh.” Xiao Yu gave a forced, skin-deep smile.

“What the hell is that look?” Wang Dong grumbled. “Do I look like I’m here to collect a loan from you or something?”

“Just so you know, I’m on vacation.” Xiao Yu wasn’t buying it. “I don’t want to take on any cases right now. I just want to spend time with my wife.”

“Ah, well…” Wang Dong laughed awkwardly. “I never said I had a case.”

“With how you lie, I’ve seen at least eight hundred of your kind on TV,” Xiao Yu scoffed.

“So you really don’t want the smokes?” Wang Dong waggled his brows.

“Only kids want everything.” Xiao Yu crossed his arms. “Adults know better.”

“Come on, bro. Don’t be so heartless.” Wang Dong sighed. “Your big bro is in a bit of trouble here. I wouldn’t have come all this way if it weren’t important.”

“I said—” Xiao Yu began.

“Why not let Brother Wang come inside?” Mu Qingwu stood by the door, holding her back and her baby bump, smiling softly.

Xiao Yu sighed inwardly.

***

Inside the living room.

Wang Dong glanced at Mu Qingwu’s belly. “Sister-in-law, you’re due soon, right?”

“Mhm, just a bit over two months away.” She nodded with a warm smile.

“I’ll definitely be there when the time comes.” Wang Dong grinned wide.

“My wife’s having a baby, what the hell are you showing up for?” Xiao Yu shot him a strange look.

“Uhh…” Realizing his slip, Wang Dong scratched his head awkwardly. “Just a figure of speech.”

“The more you explain, the guiltier you look.” Xiao Yu rolled his eyes. “So what is it?”

“Actually… it’s nothing that serious.” Wang Dong glanced briefly at Mu Qingwu, then continued, “It’s just a case.”

“I’ll go rest for a bit,” Mu Qingwu said gently as she stood up. 

Xiao Yu didn’t move to help her. Because Bai Ting had already appeared at her side.

Xiao Yu gave a helpless look as the two women left. “What level?”

“Class C.” Wang Dong’s smile faded into a serious expression.

‘Class C special case…’

Xiao Yu’s mouth twitched. “What kind of case?”

“You might not believe it when I say—hey, where are you going?”

Before he could finish, Wang Dong saw Xiao Yu start to stand and quickly called out to stop him.

“You already said I wouldn’t believe it. Why would I bother listening?” Xiao Yu tilted his head and squinted at him. “Cut to the chase already, will you?”

“I want to, but…” Wang Dong grimaced. “Do you believe ghosts exist?”

Xiao Yu, “…”

‘Is this guy out of his damn mind?’

“See? I knew you wouldn’t believe it.” Wang Dong raised his hands. “Honestly, I don’t either. But six people are dead already. All of them… were killed by a ghost.”

At this point, the logical thing to do would be to get up and walk away. And that’s exactly what Xiao Yu was thinking.

Six people dead? Killed by a ghost?

Would Wang Dong really joke about something like this?

“Tell me what happened,” Xiao Yu said, his tone turning serious.

He didn’t believe in ghosts. But if even National Security agents were leaning toward the supernatural—wasn’t that strange in itself?

“We’re not sure either.” Wang Dong pulled something from his pocket and handed it to his younger brother. “Just look at this first.”

Frowning slightly, Xiao Yu took the photographs.

Three in total.

The moment he laid eyes on the first one, his hair stood on end. A chill ran down his spine.

The background of the photo was pitch black, like ink. And standing in that blackness was a woman in red. What made the image so disturbing were her eyes—blood-red and glowing. They were seductive, wicked, and grotesquely twisted.

But it wasn’t the eyes that chilled the soul—it was her face.

The top half of her face looked normal. But the lower half had no skin. Raw, bloody flesh. A mouth exposed down to the gums and bone-white teeth.

Xiao Yu could tell at a glance this wasn’t makeup.

It was real.

The woman in red had her hands raised.

Hands stripped of flesh, showing nothing but white bone.

With his knowledge of human anatomy, across two lifetimes, Xiao Yu could instantly tell those were human hands. Real bones.

Everyone knows that if a hand is reduced to bare bones, it shouldn’t be able to move.

But in the photo, those skeletal hands moved. One of them held a spirit-calling plate. The other gripped a blood-soaked dagger.

A long moment passed.

Xiao Yu finally moved to the second photo.

Still the woman in red. But this time she was eating. Her mouth was open, and in it was a human eyeball. A real one.

Then came the third photo.

The woman in red floated in front of a person.

Yes—floated. She was clearly hovering in the air. Her bony hands clutched the person’s head. She opened her skinless jaw and bit into the flesh of his skull.

Xiao Yu recalled a saying:

There’s no evil you can’t fight. But if there is run like hell.