novelraw Chapter 82 : Dark Heart Suspects a Ghost
Chapter 82 : Dark Heart Suspects a Ghost
Chapter 82: Dark Heart Suspects a Ghost
As the saying went, “The city is full of tricks, I’d better go back to the countryside.”
But even the country roads were slippery, and people’s hearts were even more complicated.
Looking at the corpse before him, Levi felt that this saying was just right.
Fortunately, this time the first to discover the body was Little Red Riding Hood.
She had originally come in place of her grandmother to deliver some food and medicine to Aunt Dabil.
When she arrived and knocked on the door, no one responded.
Out of curiosity, Little Red Riding Hood pushed the door open, and then she saw the crime scene.
Frightened, she hurriedly came to find Levi.
This time, Levi had also learned his lesson.
He sent Little Red Riding Hood to notify the priest and the village chief, then cleared a two-meter radius around the cabin door.
By the time other villagers, having heard the news, came rushing over, the village chief and the priest had already kept them outside.
Only then did Levi, eating hotpot and humming a tune, stroll into the murder scene to begin his examination.
The houses in this village were actually not much different from ordinary ones, and their functions were quite similar too.
The corpse of Fraser, who had died yesterday, still lay on the wooden boards in the living room, not yet buried.
According to Little Red Riding Hood, the custom here was that the deceased must stay one last night in their own home, and only be sent off the next morning.
So logically speaking, today should have been Fraser’s funeral day.
Now… it might have to be postponed.
After bypassing Fraser’s corpse in the living room, there were two pale bodies in the bedroom inside.
From the footprints, Levi could already guess what had happened last night.
Most likely, Fraser’s wife had been crying, and Fraser’s elder brother was comforting her.
Then, he helped her into the bedroom, and while comforting her, they ended up clinging together — at least that was what the footprints suggested.
Levi even suspected that, judging from their behavior, this was not their first time.
Considering that during his investigation, he had heard that Fraser’s elder brother’s wife had died many years ago and he had remained single ever since (which was why he often took his drunken younger brother home), it was not impossible that he and his younger brother’s wife had secretly been having an affair.
Hmm, especially considering that he often paid for his younger brother’s drinks… could that money have had another meaning?
Unfortunately, this time Levi could not rely on diaries to figure out the truth.
Country folk could barely read a few characters, not to mention that they were not like well-educated young men — who would bother writing a diary out here?
Alright, enough of the gossip.
Time to examine the bodies.
Levi collected his thoughts, then walked to the window and looked at the two corpses.
Roger’s body lay face down on the bed, with wounds very similar to his younger brother’s.
Clearly, it had been a fatal blow, another claw strike from behind.
But the woman’s corpse was strange.
Her eyes were wide open, her mouth agape, a look of horror frozen on her face — as if she had seen a ghost.
Nothing like the blissful look one would expect after moments of passion.
But thinking about it, it was reasonable.
The man had his back to the killer, while the woman had been facing him.
Even if Roger had initially blocked her view, once Roger was killed, she naturally saw the attacker, and it was only natural for her to show such terror.
Then there was the woman’s wound… somewhat unusual.
Levi narrowed his eyes, staring closely at the wound on her chest — four sharp gashes pierced directly into the center of her chest, then violently tore downward, nearly splitting her entire body open.
This immediately reminded Levi of the Courtesan Killer case.
Only that killer’s cuts had a certain sense of surgical beauty, with precision, symmetry, and closure.
But this wound clearly looked like the work of a beast — brutal and savage, tearing so violently that her internal organs had spilled out… hmm?
Following the wound downward, Levi seemed to notice something, and his brows furrowed.
As expected, things had gotten troublesome.
After thoroughly examining the corpses, Levi called the village chief and the priest inside.
As for the rest outside, once the initial excitement was over, most had already dispersed.
“How is the situation, Detective?”
The village chief was a man in his fifties, balding, his expression grave as he nervously stared at Levi.
“From the traces, the wounds are very similar to those that killed Mr. Fraser yesterday.”
Levi did not say “identical.” In fact, although they were very similar, his 【Trace Inspection】 skill indicated that there were subtle differences.
Put simply, Fraser’s fatal wounds had been made by a left claw, while this time, both victims had been killed with the right claw.
Normal enough — maybe the killer just wanted to strike with both hands?
“So… they really were killed by a werewolf?”
Both the village chief and the priest had stiff expressions.
Clearly, even now, they struggled to accept such a fact.
“Possibly. At least from the wounds, they were not caused by human tools. And humans could not make such wounds with bare hands.”
“Oh, Almighty God…”
Hearing this, the priest quickly grasped the emblem of the All-Seeing Eye and muttered a low prayer, while the village chief only frowned deeply.
Levi merely observed them briefly before continuing.
“But if it was the work of a beast, then there’s one problem.”
“What problem?”
“Where did the beast come in from?”
Levi spread his hands, glancing around the room.
“Judging from the size of the claw marks, whatever this beast is, it’s about the size of a full-grown horse.
But the windows in this house clearly couldn’t fit such a beast.”
He pointed at a nearby window.
Unlike in the city, village windows were small, barely the size of a human head, and covered with wooden planks.
Of course, the main reason for this design was that glass was difficult to come by.
“Couldn’t it have come through the door?”
The village chief offered his doubt.
“Yes, the door was indeed open at first. But there are no signs of impact or claw marks on it.”
Given the state of the two victims, Levi was certain they had heard nothing, otherwise they would not have been so relaxed.
And he had checked the lock.
The locks here were simple, even crude.
Since there were no marks on either the lock or the door, the killer had either picked the lock or used a key.
Only then could he have entered without alerting the two lovers in the bedroom.
“Oh, and there’s another matter. I hope you can provide me with some clues.”
“What matter?”
“The woman was pregnant. I found an undeveloped fetus in her body, about three months along.”
This was the problem Levi had discovered from the female victim.
Although uncertain if it was related to the case, he still explained it.
This was also thanks to Doctor Doolittle’s 【Diagnosis】— truly deserving his reputation as a gynecologist for courtesans.
One look and he was always spot on.
Levi only needed a careful glance to judge whether a woman was pregnant, and even how many months along… though this expertise was utterly useless to him.
He was no gynecologist.
“Heavens…”
Upon hearing Levi’s explanation, the priest grew even more uneasy.
He clutched his holy emblem, closed his eyes, and muttered in prayer.
Levi only stared at the two before speaking again.
“So, I want to ask you something… about Mr. Fraser’s elder brother Roger, and Mr. Fraser’s wife. Were there any rumors about them?”
“Y-You mean… what exactly?”
“Exactly what I said.”
Although for police, motive was not the most important factor, sometimes in solving cases, it still helped.
Fraser’s death had been widely regarded as bad luck — that he had gone alone to relieve himself by the haystack and been attacked by a beast.
But Levi had always been suspicious.
With so many people around, why only him?
Now, discovering Fraser’s wife was pregnant, and possibly had an illicit relationship with Fraser’s elder brother — a relationship that might have lasted quite some time — Levi naturally considered this angle again.
After all, the story of Pan Jinlian, Ximen Qing, and Wu Dalang had endured through the ages.
No matter the time or world, such tales remained the same.
The only question was: in this story, who would play Wu Song?
“I haven’t heard any strange rumors.”
The village chief shook his head.
As for the priest… he said nothing.
But his silence already said enough.
Knock knock knock.
Just as Levi was about to have a private talk with the priest, the door was knocked again, and Little Red Riding Hood anxiously ran inside.
“S-Something’s wrong, Village Chief, Detective!”
“What is it?”
“Everyone says they’re going to kill the wolf!”
Little Red Riding Hood’s face had gone pale, her lips tightly bitten.
“They said if they don’t kill the wolf, then everyone will end up like Fraser’s family! So they decided to hunt the wolf!”
“What nonsense!”
At this, the village chief could no longer contain himself.
“What wolf are they hunting? Do they even know where it is!?”
“They said they’re going to the cave from last time! They claim the wolf was there before, so it must be there again!”
“Fools! A bunch of fools!”
The village chief stormed out in anger, the priest hastily excusing himself to follow.
As for Levi… Levi couldn’t be bothered.
As the saying went, “When heaven sends rain, a woman must marry, and if she wants to reform, let her be.”
These villagers wanted to seek death on their own, and Levi felt he had no reason to stop them.
Moreover, he believed that a monster capable of picking locks — whatever it might be — was not something villagers with hunting rifles could deal with easily.
Besides, he always felt that this village’s legend of the Wolf God was strange from the very beginning.
But now……………
Levi glanced at Little Red Riding Hood.
“You know, in the village, who is more familiar with the matter of eliminating the Wolf God before?”
“Ah, you’ve asked the right person!”
Hearing Levi’s question, Little Red Riding Hood immediately answered with excitement.
“My grandmother has always lived in the village, she knows more about the village’s affairs than anyone else! I’ll take you to see her!”
“Mm……………”
Yesterday it had been too late, so Levi had declined the old lady’s invitation to dinner.
Now… it was still early.
“Then I’ll trouble you to lead the way.”
To Levi’s surprise, Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother’s home was not inside the village, but rather in a secluded wooden house on the outskirts.
He had to say, in Levi’s eyes, this place was clearly not associated with safety.
“Welcome, young man.”
Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother looked already seventy or eighty years old.
Her whole body was stooped, her skin sagged loosely from her arms and face, and she leaned on a cane.
The old woman’s room looked somewhat cluttered — a small table, a small chair, rather inconvenient for someone tall.
A thick fragrance of incense lingered throughout the house.
When Levi stepped inside, he nearly sneezed from the strong scent.
“Hahaha, forgive me, young man, it’s just a small hobby of an old woman.”
Seeing Levi frown and rub his nose, the grandmother smiled kindly and poured Levi a cup of tea, sitting opposite him.
Little Red Riding Hood went behind her grandmother to massage her shoulders.
“Grandma, the detective wants to ask you about what happened decades ago, when everyone hunted the Wolf God.”
“Ah, that matter……………”
The grandmother sighed and looked toward Levi.
“What is it, young man? Do you think what’s happening in the village now is connected to that?”
“Perhaps, perhaps not.
But I still want to hear you tell it — it may help in this case.”
Facing the elder, Levi remained respectful.
“Ah, I heard earlier, those young men have gone hunting, right? How amusing. It reminds me of that time years ago. Back then, those young men were also full of spirit, holding rifles and spears, marching into the mountains, saying they would hunt the Wolf God and rid the village of its disaster…”
The grandmother sighed again.
“I don’t know the exact details. I only know that when they came back, they had lost quite a few men. Two young men died, and four were wounded… Everyone returned carrying the wolf’s head, laughing and chatting as they brought it back to the village. Then the village held a bonfire celebration — it was truly lively. But… some said that killing that wolf brought a curse…”
“A curse?”
“Yes.”
The grandmother nodded.
“The four young men who were injured — they were the bravest in the fight against the Wolf God.
Though they killed it, they were wounded.
And after that, over the years, their wives all died one after another, for various reasons.
Some disappeared, others died by accident… So there was a rumor that, when they killed the Wolf God, they were cursed by it — that’s why they lost their wives.”
“Roger wouldn’t have been among them, would he?”
Hearing this, Levi narrowed his eyes.
The deceased Fraser’s elder brother Roger’s wife had indeed died years ago.
And by his age now, thirty years ago he would have been a young and vigorous man — it was very possible he had joined that hunt.
“That’s right, Roger, Cohen, Mick, and Cornis.”
Mick.
Another familiar name.
Levi remembered that the tramp who had falsely accused him of stealing the wolf’s head had been named Mick, and his age also matched…
“Who is Cohen?”
“Cohen was the village blacksmith. But he died of illness a few years ago. Fortunately, he had two sons — Charlie and Tommy — who inherited their father’s trade. Hehe, they’re doing fairly well.”
“And Cornis?”
“He is now the village priest.”
“…………………How interesting.”
Hearing the grandmother’s words, Levi’s expression subtly changed.
Up to this point, he realized that among the people he had met in relation to this case, quite a few were connected to that old Wolf God hunt.
“（&（……&*%……&%”
As Levi pondered, noises gradually came from outside.
The grandmother lifted her head, gazing toward the window.
“Oh my, what’s happening?”
“Grandma, sit here, I’ll take a look.”
Little Red Riding Hood pressed her grandmother’s shoulders, seating her on the sofa, then hurried out.
“Click.”
The door shut, and the room fell silent.
Levi picked up the teacup, only to notice that the grandmother was staring at him with her somewhat clouded eyes.
“You are an interesting young man.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Levi lifted the teacup and took a sip.
“Hehe, no need to thank me. I’ve seen many people in my life, but rarely one as interesting, and so handsome, as you. So… I must tell you something.”
“What is it?”
Hearing the seriousness in her tone, Levi sat upright, staring at her.
She remained leaning on the sofa, as before.
“The Wolf God’s curse is real. This village is cursed. I am old now and cannot escape. But that child is still young, so… consider this my request. I hope you can protect her. This is the only thing I can still do for her.”
“The curse is real?”
Levi fixed his gaze on the grandmother.
“Can you explain in more detail?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to explain. It’s just… it’s a feeling. I can sense something, something evil hidden in this village. But that’s all I know. I am old, with dim eyes and weak body. I can’t even lift a rifle to protect myself. So, I hope that child can leave this village, go to the big city, and stay far away from this barren and evil place…”
“Then, can you tell me what made you think so?”
“………………………”
The grandmother closed her eyes.
“Once, there were many animals near this village. Birds, mice, martens… But now, they’re all gone, all fled. They fear this place, because there are bloodthirsty souls here… Have you noticed you’ve never heard the sound of birds?”
“Mm……………”
Hearing this, Levi realized something was off.
Normally in the countryside, birdsong should be abundant.
Yet since he had arrived, he indeed hadn’t heard any birds.
He hadn’t noticed before, but now that the grandmother mentioned it… it was truly suspicious.
“Grandma! Detective!”
Little Red Riding Hood burst through the wooden door, panting heavily.
“The hunting party is back — and they’ve killed the wolf! They brought back its corpse!”