Chapter 43: Family Massacre

That night, the police officers drove me to a large mansion.
With its garden and pool, it was clearly a wealthy household.
Several police cars were already parked in the yard, and a cordon had been set up at the entrance.
I was led into the mansion, and throughout this process, I still didn’t know how to react.
Logically, I should have been sad, but I didn’t even know Xia Yubing’s family.

As I followed the police through the grand gate of the mansion, a strong smell of blood assailed me.
On the marble floor of the great hall were several drag marks of blood, and on the walls were bloody handprints and traces of dripping blood, instantly giving me a terrible premonition.
Many criminal investigation experts were taking photos, collecting blood samples, and recording clues everywhere.
A police officer came forward to report to the chief officer: “When we arrived, we only saw this grim scene.
The entire family has been murdered, and we can’t even distinguish how many bodies there are, nor identify who these bodies belong to.
We’ll have to wait for the autopsy to determine.”

I was very puzzled, how could they not even distinguish who the bodies were?
It wasn’t until the police led me to see the bodies that I understood the reason.
These victims had all been found from various parts of the mansion, laid out in the great hall, covered with white cloths.
There were seven bodies in total.
I noticed that several police officers had placed incense burners and braziers in front of the bodies, burning paper money for the deceased.
One of them was mumbling to himself.
The general meaning was: the evil ghost that killed you has been shot by the police.
We have avenged you.
There’s a head for every grievance and a master for every debt.
Please rest in peace.

Then he took out a scroll and began to recite sutras for the deceased.
Although not a monk, he recited them very skillfully and convincingly.
He definitely wasn’t reciting them for the first time.
I had a feeling that the police must frequently perform this set of procedures, possibly for every homicide case.
Combined with Yi Zhiqiu, a practitioner of Daoist magic, also cooperating with the police, it was certain that the police encountered no small number of supernatural events.

“Miss Xia, you need to prepare yourself mentally.
The following sight might be a bit unsettling,” the officer guarding the bodies asked me.
After I nodded, he lifted the white cloth.
Beneath the white cloth was a mummy.
It had no skin, its flesh and blood seemed to have been drained, leaving only a layer of black-red jerky clinging to the human bones.
It looked fresher than a mummy, but not like a body that had only recently died.

“Ugh!” I felt a wave of nausea.
The moment I saw the mummified body, I did feel an instinctive repulsion and disgust, but having prepared myself mentally, I wasn’t as scared.
Moreover, I had already seen the true appearance of the Painted Skin Ghost, which was somewhat similar to these mummified bodies, so I wasn’t too severely frightened.
The mummified body was beyond recognition, without even a trace of facial skin remaining.
No wonder the police couldn’t pinpoint their exact identities, but they could still make educated guesses based on height and gender.

“Among these victims are three females and four males.
We suspect the female victims are Mrs.
Xia and two maids, and the four male victims are Mr.
Xia, his private driver, and two security guards,” the police officer reported.

To be able to afford maids, security guards, and a driver, this family must really be rich.
It was a pity for these working-class people; their wages might not have been much, yet they were harmed by the Painted Skin Ghost.

“Miss Xia, have you remembered anything?
Or do you recognize them?” the officer turned and asked me, probably thinking that Xia Yubing, returning to the home where she grew up, might recall something.

“I, I don’t know anything,” I said, shaking my head with a pale face.
I didn’t need to fake it; any normal person would feel scared seeing such a bloody and cruel scene.

“I’m sorry, Miss Xia, we didn’t mean to upset you, but we thought it might help you regain your memory, and perhaps provide some more clues.
However, at least the evil ghost that murdered your family has been apprehended, so you no longer need to live in fear,” the officer said.

“Thank you, if there’s nothing else, I don’t want to stay here,” I said, mainly afraid that he would ask me more questions about the Xia family, which I truly knew nothing about.

“Okay, it’s indeed too cruel to keep you here.
Go out and rest for a bit,” the officer agreed.

I quickly stood up and turned to leave.
As I walked out, I heard a police officer nearby sigh sympathetically: “Poor child, becoming an orphan in just one day.”