S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 6 Chapter 39

The Card Murderer 39 – Mirror

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When Zhou Li reappeared after being kidnapped, she didn't feel like Zhou Li anymore.

She pointed at the photo of the bandaged woman, indicating that her current identity was that of the legendary "female ghost".

No one in the room actually believed in the existence of a female ghost, of course but then again... wasn't there an "expert" present? So everyone decided to consult him.

They all turned to look at Zhang Yu, meaning – Master, can you tell whether she is possessed?

Zhang Yu looked completely bewildered. He hadn't seen Zhou Li before, so how was he supposed to know what was going on with this young lady? But her appearance was indeed a little eerie, especially those eyes... she didn't seem like someone to be trifled with.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue, on the other hand, had taken a strong interest in Zhou Li. The two of them were even hoping she really was "possessed". That would make her a rare specimen indeed.

Speaking of rare specimens, Zhan Zhao suddenly thought of someone and picked up his phone to send a text message.

Compared to the "scientific spirit" of Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue, Bai Yutang would never believe in the existence of possession by ghosts, no matter what.

Considering that Zhou Li was an avid enthusiast of stage plays, at one point even rehearsing several productions at once, it was hard to say whether she had psychological problems or was simply putting on a performance with nothing more than her acting skills.

The real question was – why?

The very fact that Zhou Li had been kidnapped and then returned was highly suspicious. Judging by the way the murderer handled the first two cases, he clearly wasn't a merciful person. On the contrary, he was cunning and ruthless.

If he had let Zhou Li go, there must have been a reason for it...

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue closely observed Zhou Li's every move, and after a few minutes of visual inspection, the two exchanged a glance.

The exchange yielded nothing.

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao – What's the situation?

Zhan Zhao shook his head – No idea, a new species!

Bai Yutang frowned – She can't seriously be possessed...

Since a visual assessment was useless, they might as well just ask.

Zhan Zhao picked up the photo of the bandaged woman and asked Zhou Li, "What should we call you?"

Zhou Li looked at the photo and tilted her head back. "I'll have to think... What was I called originally?"

Everyone frowned at her – How could there be an early and late version of your own name?

"Then for now, I'm called..." As she spoke, Zhou Li glanced down at the name badge pinned to her clothing. "Zhou Li."

Zhao Hu shifted his chair further back and nudged Ma Han – It feels just like that horror film we watched a few days ago, right? Looks like this one's been asleep for centuries and just got awakened, then returned from the dead by borrowing a corpse!

Ma Han gave him a speechless look – If you're so scared, why do you watch so many horror films?

"So you..." Zhao Jue paused to organise his words, his tone surprisingly polite for once. "How did you get here? And what's your purpose in coming?"

Bai Yutang also thought the questions were quite useful, but something about them just felt off.

"I was simply summoned," Zhou Li looked at her fingernails. She noticed some dirt under them and seemed rather dissatisfied. "As for what I'm supposed to do, that's something you'd have to ask the one who summoned me..."

"And where is the one who summoned you?" Zhan Zhao followed up.

Zhou Li shook her head. "When I opened my eyes, there was a black sack over my head. The moment I could see anything, I was being thrown out of a car..."

She spoke while spreading her hands.

Zhao Hu observed her for a moment and nudged Ma Han again. "Looking at her like this, there's really not much difference between the ghostly sister and the real one, so what's the point of summoning her?"

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue were also watching Zhou Li – Right, after all this talk, do you have any tricks you can show us?

Zhou Li raised her hand and made a slashing gesture across her neck. "This is how I'm usually used..."

Zhan Zhao stroked his chin and asked, "You mean you were summoned, took over Zhou Li's body, and then used this body to commit suicide?"

Zhou Li nodded. "But the timing isn't fixed. Before dying, I should have a few other tasks, like killing someone else, for example..."

"What's the difference between drawing a five and a seven?" Zhan Zhao asked next, pointing to her tattoo.

"Seven means selected, five means not selected," Zhou Li replied with a smile. "Seven means there'll be a next time. Five means not only is there no next time, but those around you will be affected too, they'll become expendable."

Everyone looked at Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue – It sounds like a normal sentence in Chinese, but once you break it down, not a single word makes any sense.

Zhan Zhao shook his head with a look of disgust – Cult! Cult!

Zhao Jue agreed as well – Typical feudal superstition.

Bai Yutang, however, didn't care whether Zhou Li was superstitious or not. What concerned him more was the fact that Zhou Li was a victim, the one who had been kidnapped, and they couldn't just lock up a victim.

But if they let her go, and based on what she'd said, whether she ran off to kill someone or ended up killing herself, the police would be held responsible.

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao – She seems to have some mental issues, can we send her to a hospital for evaluation, or keep her under temporary observation for a while?

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue both shook their heads – The problem is she isn't ill at all. We can't lock her up just because she believes in superstition or reincarnation, right?

However...

Zhan Zhao gestured towards the adjoining interview room – After all, she was kidnapped, and she's quite strange. We can investigate and detain her for a while.

"Do you remember how you were kidnapped?" Bai Yutang followed Zhan Zhao's train of thought.

Zhou Li shook her head.

"What about the ritual?"

Zhao Jue suddenly asked with great interest.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"Ritual?" Zhou Li turned her head to look at Zhao Jue.

Zhao Jue nodded. "You mentioned earlier, seven means there will be a next time, and five means you were not selected... So, since you're a seven, it implies the spirit occupying your body can move somewhere else, right? Is that what it means?"

Zhou Li's eyes moved slowly, as though she were weighing something, but in the end, she actually gave a small nod.

"Then you must be able to recreate the ritual." Zhao Jue proposed, "How about this..."

Zhao Jue pointed at Zhang Yu. "We happen to have a shaman here. How about you give us a demonstration of the summoning ritual, and let the shaman appraise it."

Everyone looked at Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu has no objection, after all, it was a rare opportunity, and he could 'learn something new'.

"Then it's settled," Zhao Jue helped to make the decision.

"In order to hold the ritual, certain conditions must be met."

Everyone smiled slightly – Finally getting to the point.

"What conditions?"

"We have to find the person who summoned me and break the contract before the next summoning can be carried out."

Zhou Li subtly turned the tables. In other words, to hold the ritual, they had to solve the case first. After all that effort, it turned out to be a waste of time.

However, judging from Zhou Li's clarity of thought and quick thinking under pressure, everyone suspected she was far from being just a victim. What if this whole thing was a performance... Could she actually be the murderer, disguised as the victim?

Just as everyone was hesitating, Zhou Li suddenly spoke again. "Although I don't know who summoned me... a ritual can be done to reverse-deduce their identity."

No one had expected the plot to take such a strange turn – It can be deduced in reverse?

"I'm going home to shower and change," Zhou Li glanced down at her dirt-covered clothes. "You prepare a setting with a bit more atmosphere, and get plenty of mirrors ready. See you in a bit."

With that, Zhou Li turned to leave. Bai Yutang suggested the police escort her for her own safety. Zhou Li seemed to be indifferent, she just shrugged.

Bai Yutang arranged a police vehicle to send her back and assigned Luo Tian and Qin Ou to follow her.

As soon as Zhou Li left, everyone began discussing this bizarre turn of events...

"She's clearly acting," Ma Han gave his opinion.

Zhao Hu agreed. At first glance, it seemed eerie, but upon closer inspection, it was all acting.

"Could it all have been planned by her?"

"What's the motive? If she's the murderer, isn't she walking right into the trap? And if she's here to help us solve the case, why did the murderer let her go?"

"What if she wasn't kidnapped by the murderer at all?"

"She staged the whole thing herself?"

Everyone was speculating about Zhou Li's intentions.

Suddenly, Bai Chi seemed to remember something and asked Jiang Ping to replay the footage they'd taken earlier from the university's drama club.

Jiang Ping looked at him. "You sure? Didn't it make you dizzy last time?"

Bai Chi nodded, saying he'd just remembered something.

So Jiang Ping projected the video onto the large screen.

The footage was so shaky it felt like it had been shot with a foot, not a hand. With wobbly, strange angles, it was no wonder Bai Chi had felt nauseous watching it before.

After watching for a while, Bai Yutang frowned. "Something's off..."

"You think so too, Brother?" Bai Chi tapped his own head.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue were both sitting with their eyes closed, resting.

Sometimes extremes led to reversals, people who were too smart and had photographic memory could have particularly strong reactions to such chaotic visuals.

By comparison, Ma Han and Zhao Hu didn't seem nearly as affected.

"Were they really there to test their courage?" Zhao Hu voiced his doubts. "The footage is shaky, yes, but the camera's always pointing forward, it never pans backwards or to the sides."

"And none of them spoke," Ma Han also found it strange.

Bai Yutang frowned, as if he'd heard something odd, and asked Jiang Ping to turn up the volume.

Jiang Ping increased the volume until they could clearly hear footsteps and breathing. Amidst the breathing, there was a strange muffled whimpering sound.

Zhao Jue had recently been hearing the family dog whimper around Bai Ye, it was that same sound.

"Sounds like someone making noise with their mouth covered," Bai Yutang listened carefully. "And the footsteps, there's a sense of dragging and shoving in them..."

After a few more moments of shaky footage, the video suddenly sped up... as though they'd been startled and scattered. But even then, there were only sounds of running and panting, no one spoke, let alone screamed.

"They weren't there to test their courage," Bai Yutang gave his analysis after watching twice. "They must've brought someone with them, probably abducted someone, and that person escaped halfway through. They split up to chase after them, but probably didn't catch them..."

"Or maybe they caught them... killed them..." Zhan Zhao shook his head. "Buried the body in the mountains, then went home as if nothing happened."

"No wonder no one reported the person missing..." Bai Yutang found that there was something wrong with this group of students. After thinking for a moment, he asked Jiang Ping to replay the video again.

By this point, not only Bai Chi and Zhan Zhao, but even Jiang Ping and Gongsun were feeling nauseous, this footage was deeply unsettling.

But Bai Yutang seemed completely unaffected. He even adjusted his viewing angle in rhythm with the shifting perspective of the camera.

Everyone else felt dizzy looking at it.

Zhao Jue clicked his tongue in mild disdain – Freakish sense of balance.

"Pause there," Bai Yutang signalled for Jiang Ping to freeze the frame.

Jiang Ping hit pause, and everyone squinted at the blurred image on the screen.

"Is that a mirror?" Bai Yutang pointed at a patch of light grey in the dark area of the frame.

"Looks like it," Jiang Ping zoomed in as much as possible.

As the image of the mirror enlarged, everyone's brows furrowed. A figure they all recognised appeared in the mirror.

Zhan Zhao picked up the photo of the bandaged woman from the table and held it up to compare with the reflection.

Everyone frowned – In the mirror, they could clearly see the bandaged woman lifting the hem of her skirt.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: May 1, 2025 by Angel

Edited: June 29, 2025 by Soojin