Seven thousand and seven

Case Report: At 4:23 a.m. today, a homicide occurred at Chen's Food Stall, No. 127 Xiangchun Lane, North City. Preliminary police investigation identified the victim as Chen Taojin, male, 35 years old, owner of Chen's Food Stall...

Haunted by the murder on the plane yesterday, Zhou Ya came to the villa at noon to deliver the clothes, shoes, and various daily necessities she had just bought for Shen Xiaotang. She also stayed for lunch with her. As soon as she sat at the dining table, she immediately opened her phone to scroll through social news.

What she saw made her gag.

Hearing the noise, Shen Xingyan, sitting beside her, looked over in confusion. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing,” Zhou Ya said, but her face was pale and tense.

She shouldn’t have been so curious, especially not while eating, to recklessly open the comments below.

Many local residents had left messages saying they heard noises for a long time last night. They claimed that when the police arrived after receiving a report at dawn, the murderer had brutally dismembered the stall owner and even cooked the body parts into dishes...

After calming down somewhat, Zhou Ya reopened her phone and this time searched directly for keywords like “airport murder.”

In fact, as early as yesterday afternoon, photos had flooded the internet showing them being stopped at security in Y City Airport, with over a hundred knives and other weapons found in Shen Xiaotang’s backpack and suitcase.

The two faces of Shen Xiaotang and Shen Xingyan, strikingly similar, became the basis for various gossip by marketing accounts online, spreading rumors such as “Top celebrity Shen secretly married with a daughter.”

Shen Xingyan’s own terrifying public attention pushed these topics to the top of trending searches.

Shen Wensheng also noticed, though he did not connect this to the late Shen Xinyi. Naturally, the online marketing accounts dragged him into the fray as well.

Since last night, Shen Wensheng had repeatedly called Shen Xingyan, but without exception, all calls were rejected.

At first, Zhou Ya wanted to suppress the trending topics quickly, but then she reconsidered—it might be possible to turn this bad news into a useful opportunity.

“Xingyan.”

After a moment, Zhou Ya hesitantly looked at Shen Xingyan. “It’s gone.”

“Gone what?”

“The news. They’re all gone.”

An hour ago on the way here she could still find the reports, but now not a trace remained.

Zhou Ya glanced suspiciously at Shen Xiaotang, who was eating contentedly nearby.

Such a major social news story suddenly wiped so clean could only mean one thing—official intervention.

Could it be that what Shen Xiaotang said last night was actually true?

* * *

Within less than twenty-four hours, two murders occurred back-to-back, putting considerable pressure on the A City police.

Case one: the victim was attacked with a kitchen knife on the plane and died from blood loss after thorough forensic examination.

Case two: the victim was dismembered with a kitchen knife after closing hours at dawn, then cooked, and finally killed with a fatal stab.

Because the murder weapon in both cases was an ordinary kitchen knife, a police officer speculated, “Could these be serial killings?”

Captain Zhang, leading the investigations for both cases, pondered, “We can’t rule out the possibility.”

However, just as they were actively investigating, they suddenly received an order from above to halt all work, stating that these cases would be handled by a special team.

At noon, an elderly man with graying hair arrived at the police station with two much younger men, presenting identification.

Captain Zhang respectfully addressed the elder, “Old Miao.”

As they reviewed the case files, a recently hired young male officer whispered anxiously, “Captain Zhang, what’s going on?”

Zhang shot him a stern look and lowered his voice: “Just do your job and don’t ask too many questions.”

The three apprentices with unusually keen hearing overheard the exchange but paid it no mind.

When they reached the page containing Shen Xiaotang’s interrogation transcript, Miao Guangming’s expression twisted in surprise. “The knife creditor?”

Beside him, Miao Ke was curious. “You mean the knife creditor who only deals in divination and trade?”

Miao Guangming nodded.

“Wait—if she asked the victim whether he wanted to buy a knife from her, doesn’t that mean she had already divined something? Then why didn’t she save him?” Miao Jie, who had just finished reading the transcript, looked puzzled.

Miao Guangming frowned.

Just then, the phone rang.

Soon after, a police officer rushed in to report, “Captain Zhang, there’s a new report!”

The latest murder occurred less than a thousand meters from the police station, in Sunshine Residential Complex.

The informant was a female resident living directly opposite the victim’s building. She was hanging clothes on her balcony when she inadvertently witnessed a man committing the crime.

The woman’s voice trembled heavily on the call: “It was a man, with his mouth wide open, gnawing…”

The officer clearly heard a chilling, blood-curdling scream from the man on the other end of the line.

Realizing the murderer was still at the scene, Captain Zhang immediately dispatched officers.

Hearing the sounds over the phone, Miao Guangming instructed Miao Ke to carefully preserve the page containing Shen Xiaotang’s interrogation notes, then hurried to Zhang.

“I suspect this is the same killer. We must follow up.”

Zhang’s face darkened upon learning more about Miao Guangming’s identity.

...

“Apartment 1204, Building Five. Here it is.”

As Zhang finished speaking, Miao Jie slammed his palm on the door lock.

The door instantly flung open.

Miao Guangming rushed inside first, followed closely by Miao Jie and Miao Ke.

However, just as the police reached the doorway and prepared to enter, the door suddenly slammed shut with a loud bang, locked from within.

Miao Ke shouted angrily from inside, “Nobody come in!”

“Captain Zhang, what now?”

Zhang’s expression was grave. “Keep watch outside for now.”

In truth, even if they wanted to enter, it was impossible.

No matter how many officers pushed and pulled, the door refused to budge.

Inside the room,

Miao Guangming, Miao Ke, and Miao Jie had already burst in ahead of the police. The killer remained, back turned to them, amidst a pool of blood so vivid it was almost blinding, centered around the corpse.

More horrifyingly, the killer, dressed in garish, multicolored clothes and possessing a grotesque appearance, was crouched, biting into one of the victim’s arms.

Sensing someone’s approach, the figure did not panic but lifted its head, revealing a bizarre smile. Its massive head and gaping blood-stained mouth clearly showed what it was gnawing.

The two apprentices, having never witnessed such a gruesome scene, gasped sharply.

Miao Guangming, experienced and composed, steadied himself, silently chanting an incantation as he wielded the Seven-Star Sword to strike.

The fused form of the Seven-Star Sword, known as the Combined Sword, can split into two and is highly effective against evil spirits. Crafted from a century-old peach tree struck by lightning, its blade inscribed with talismans, its power was immense.

The sword pierced the figure’s body; a piercing howl filled the room, and instantly the entity dissolved into swirling black smoke.

Relieved to have exorcised the evil spirit, Miao Guangming relaxed.

Miao Ke and Miao Jie breathed a sigh of joy. “Master...”

But in the next instant, the spirit reformed before their eyes, unscathed, and resumed biting into the victim’s arm unabashedly.

Startled, Miao Guangming struck again without hesitation.

This time, the sword pierced the spirit’s head. As before, it dissipated into black smoke.

The three remained vigilant, refusing to relax.

Sure enough,

the feared scene repeated.

The spirit reassembled yet again, ignoring their presence, and continued its grisly feast.

It tore through the victim’s two arms with alarming speed and had begun on other parts.

“How... how is this possible?” Miao Guangming backed away, shielding his apprentices until pressed against the wall.

Two strikes had failed to harm the spirit, leaving Miao Guangming hesitant to attack again and worried for their safety.

The only sounds in the room were their heavy breaths and the eerie crunching of the spirit gnawing on the corpse.

At this rate, the body would be completely consumed soon—and then, perhaps, they would be next.

“Ma-Master...” Miao Ke’s voice trembled. “What kind of creature is this?”

It’s like it can’t be killed!

Miao Jie looked on anxiously.

Miao Guangming was about to answer when a loud, satisfied burp interrupted him.

The spirit lifted its head and emitted a chilling laugh that sent shivers down their spines.

“Heh heh heh...”

Miao Jie and Miao Ke trembled with fear.

After laughing, the spirit suddenly vanished into thin air.

Scanning the room nervously, the two apprentices feared it was hiding, waiting to strike.

But this time, it seemed gone for good.

Relieved, they finally relaxed.

Miao Guangming returned to examine the corpse.

The others hurried over to find only a pile of cleanly picked bones scattered in the blood pool.