Chapter 106: Prologue

Blood Bagua Disk

Tonight's moon was unusually bright, yet it was shrouded by a layer of blood-red mist, making the originally elegant moonlight look eerily sinister, and even the air seemed to carry the scent of blood. The night at two in the morning was exceptionally quiet, with only the leaves rustling as they were rubbed by the wind. No one would pay attention to the strangeness of the night sky.

A Honda off-road police car roared over, and with a beautiful drift, the car stopped in front of the forensic building. The car door opened, and a pair of slender legs stepped out of the car gracefully. The person who arrived was a young woman, tall and thin, no less than 175 centimeters, with short, fine hair that was refreshing and neat. Her plain white shirt was a bit wrinkled. In the middle of the night, her spirit looked exceptionally good, her eyes persistent and firm.

Gu Yun narrowed her eyes slightly and looked up. There was still a room lit up in the pitch-black building—the autopsy room on the thirteenth floor! Her lips curled slightly. Zhuo Qing didn't answer the phone; nine times out of ten, she was still dissecting a corpse! She walked into the building, and the gatekeeper uncle immediately walked out. Seeing who it was, the uncle smiled familiarly, "Captain Gu, here to find Forensic Doctor Zhuo again?"

Gu Yun nodded and replied, "Yes."

"I saw the lights in the autopsy room when I was patrolling just now. She must still be busy. You two are really hardworking!" It was already two in the morning; one was still dissecting, and the other had to come over to wait for data. The criminal investigation line was really not easy to do.

Gu Yun smiled slightly, skillfully pushed open the door to the stairwell, and strode toward the thirteenth floor with her long legs. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't take the elevator; she didn't have claustrophobia, just simply too lazy to wait.

Watching that slender back disappear into the stairwell, the gatekeeper uncle shook his head with a wry smile, "Two workaholics." He had been a gatekeeper in this building for more than ten years and had seen many workaholics. For young people, being able to endure hardship was a good thing. These two kids would definitely be promoted in a few years!

Walking into the thirteenth floor, the lights in the corridor were still on, but the doors to all the offices were already locked. Gu Yun didn't go to the autopsy room but leaned against the door of Zhuo Qing's office, thinking about the serial murder case that had occurred recently.

Half an hour later, shallow footsteps approached from far to near. Gu Yun squinted and looked over. Zhuo Qing walked out of the autopsy room looking exhausted, and her recorder, Xing Lan, followed closely behind her, full of fatigue, holding a box of evidence.

"How is it? Is the autopsy report out?" Just as they approached the office, they were blocked! Looking at Gu Yun, who was leaning against the doorframe and full of energy, Xing Lan wailed, "Captain Gu, you are too exaggerated! It's three in the morning!"

Gu Yun raised her brows lightly and smiled, "So?"

Drooping her shoulders in frustration, Xing Lan replied helplessly, "So please wait a moment. I will organize it immediately, and there will definitely be results before dawn!" No wonder Captain Gu and Doctor Zhuo could become good friends; both were workaholics!

Watching Xing Lan walk into the office with her head hanging, Gu Yun raised her voice and smiled, "Thank you!"

Zhuo Qing had already opened her exclusive office opposite. Gu Yun followed her in immediately. Before she could speak, Zhuo Qing's unique, cold, low voice rang out slowly, "Why, the night is long and you have no desire to sleep?"

"Go to hell!" Rolling her eyes at her, Gu Yun scolded, "Women have been killed frequently this month. Director Li's eyes are almost spitting fire. Now, the people in the second criminal investigation team don't distinguish between day and night!"

There was something faintly reflecting light at the door of the office. Gu Yun walked over and picked it up to see. It was a small golden disk inlaid with a Bagua pattern. Since it was in an evidence bag, it should be evidence.

Walking to Zhuo Qing, Gu Yun asked, "What is this?"

Seeing what was in Gu Yun's hand, Zhuo Qing cursed secretly. Xing Lan, this girl, was always so careless; she could even lose such important evidence! Sitting up straight, Zhuo Qing replied, "Found in the deceased's pocket. After the colleagues in the inspection department inspect it, it should be in your hands."

Hearing that it was evidence for this case, Gu Yun immediately regained her spirit. The office only had a small desk lamp on, so she simply opened the blinds and studied it carefully by the moonlight, which was unusually bright tonight. Staring intently at the object in her hand, Gu Yun didn't notice at all that the dark night sky was gradually covered by scarlet flowing clouds when she held the Bagua disk up to the moon.

Strange, it was clearly golden when she looked at it just now, so why did it turn red now? Could the back be golden? Turning it over to look closely, the other side was also the same blood-red Bagua pattern, and the whole small disk seemed to be faintly glowing with red light. How could this be?!

"Hiss—" Feeling puzzled, her hand suddenly hurt.

Zhuo Qing got up and walked behind her, asking, "What's wrong?"

Looking down at her finger, she saw a deep bloodstain on her index finger, and a few drops of bright red blood fell on the evidence bag. Gu Yun smiled indifferently, "Nothing, don't know what scratched it."

The wound on her finger was very deep, and blood was still dripping. Gu Yun's nonchalant look made Zhuo Qing frown. Zhuo Qing took medicinal cotton from the bookshelf nearby, pressed it on Gu Yun's wound, and hummed coldly, "Press the wound!"

Gu Yun rolled her eyes. Wasn't it just a small scratch!

The medicinal cotton pressing the wound was soon soaked with blood again. Zhuo Qing's sharp eyes flashed. What was so sharp that even stopping the bleeding was difficult? Taking the object from Gu Yun's hand and looking at it, Zhuo Qing was shocked, "How could this be?!"

What made the usually cold and arrogant Forensic Doctor Zhuo lose her composure! Gu Yun also curiously stretched her head over. Upon seeing it, Gu Yun also exclaimed in surprise, "Blood... it seeped in!"

The blood drops that were originally outside the transparent evidence bag were gone. The blood actually appeared on the blood-red Bagua pattern! How could there be such a thing? The blood penetrated the evidence bag...

"Disaster!" After a pause, the two exclaimed in unison, "This report will be hard to write."

The two looked at each other and smiled wryly, having a headache over how to explain why Gu Yun's blood appeared on the evidence. Neither of them noticed that the bloodstain that seeped into the Bagua disk was flowing along the arc-shaped groove into the center where yin and yang intersected... The moment the blood fell into the center, the Bagua disk suddenly emitted an extremely strong red light. Zhuo Qing and Gu Yun didn't react in time, only feeling the world go black, and fainted to the ground.

The light flashed and disappeared. In the main forensic autopsy room, there was still that small desk lamp, and two figures lay fainted on the ground.

The wound on Gu Yun's hand that was bleeding profusely had recovered as before, without a trace of a scar. The Golden Silk Bagua Disk lay steadily beside them, without any abnormality. Outside the window, the moonlight was clear, and everything was so peaceful.

A torrential rain accompanied by the sound of thunder, and the strong wind blew the dilapidated windows until they were swaying and rattling! In the side room of a small broken temple, three young women were curled up. The bright red wedding dress looked exceptionally eerie in this pitch-black, sinister temple filled with the scent of decay.

A flash of lightning passed, and finally, their appearance could be seen. All three were in their prime, their left faces beautiful enough to make all women jealous and men admire. It was just a pity that two deep knife marks were slashed on their right cheeks, almost ruining the entire right cheek. In this night of thunder and lightning, they looked quite ferocious.

"I am not reconciled!" Staring stubbornly at the rain curtain outside the broken temple where thunder and lightning were intertwined, Qingfeng bit her lower lip until it almost broke and bled.

Slowly raising her head and leaning on Qingfeng's shoulder, Qing Mo comforted her in a small, sensible voice: "Second Sister, don't be afraid. I heard that the Prime Minister Lou you are going to marry is a rare gentleman, outstanding in both literature and martial arts. He... shouldn't treat you badly." The most pitiful one was the eldest sister, who was going to be sent into the palace. Legend had it that the Qiongyue King was moody, bloodthirsty, and domineering. How could the gentle and quiet eldest sister bear it!

Qingfeng sneered, "Who cares!" Turning around, she held her eldest sister's hand in one hand and her little sister's hand in the other, roaring fiercely, "I hate it! Why does a single word from the Qiongyue King allow him to do whatever he wants! Why must the incompetence of the Emperor be borne by our Qing family! Why did he kill our parents, and we still have to be sent as tribute gifts to please Qiongyue!"

Gently stroking Qingfeng's face, which had become distorted due to roaring and hatred, Qing Ling sighed softly: "Just because Qiongyue is the hegemon of the Six Kingdoms, worshipped by all countries. Just because the Emperor is the monarch of a country, and if the monarch wants his subjects to die, they have to die! Who told us to be just a few women who couldn't even truss a chicken!" Fate had never been in their hands.

Shaking off Qing Ling's hand, Qingfeng stood up abruptly, turned her back, and replied unwillingly: "So what if we are women! I just won't go to Qiongyue!"

Looking at Second Sister's stubborn back and then at Eldest Sister's worried face, Qing Mo said timidly: "Even this face that everyone admires, we have ruined it, and they still want to send us to Qiongyue! Second Sister, we can't change anything at all, can we?"

Gently stroking her cheek that still hurt to the heart, Qingfeng took a deep breath and gritted her teeth: "Even if I die, I, Qingfeng, will never be at the mercy of others! Especially that person, who is still a foolish king with his hands stained with the blood of my parents!"

Qing Ling was shocked and urged: "Feng'er, what do you want to do?"

Slowly turning around, Qingfeng clenched her hands into fists and said firmly: "Sister, I want to stay in Haoyue, stay by my parents' side. Even if what stays behind is my corpse!"

As if to cater to Feng'er's words, a mysterious white lightning struck down. The bright light shone on Feng'er's face, and Qing Ling saw her determination.

Forget it. Holding Qingfeng's hand tightly, Qing Ling suddenly felt relieved. She smiled faintly: "Good! Sister will accompany you. Anyway, living for me has already lost all meaning." Not having to think about everything she would have to face in the future might be a kind of relief!

Qing Mo, who was half-squatting on the ground, also stood up hurriedly, grabbed their hands, and urged: "Whatever the sisters do, I will do. Mo'er, no matter what, will not leave you!"

Qing Ling hesitated, looking at Mo'er's innocent face with heartache. She perhaps didn't understand the meaning of death yet. She was only fifteen years old!

Facing Mo'er's pair of pure, big eyes, Qingfeng also felt heartache. But thinking of the cold-blooded butcher who was famous on the battlefield she was to be given to, she immediately shuddered and said: "Eldest Sister, Mo'er is so innocent and kind. Leaving her alone in the world will only make her suffer. Today, let's have a family reunion in this broken temple!"

Looking at the three hands intertwined, Qing Ling suddenly felt warm in her heart. As if to convince herself, Qing Ling nodded hard and said: "Good! A family reunion is best!" The three looked up at the roof beam and smiled at each other in understanding. This was the first time they had laughed since their parents passed away, because after today, they would never be separated again!

The three nimbly untied the red silk belts from their waists, stripped off the gorgeous red clothes, wore only plain white undergarments, and lightly threw the red silk over the roof beam. Standing on the dilapidated square table, they put their necks into the red silk without hesitation.

Qing Ling looked at the sisters beside her, closed her eyes, and whispered: "Feng'er, Mo'er, in the next life, we will still be sisters!"

"Yes!" Qingfeng and Qing Mo nodded hard. The three held hands, kicked the square table, and the red silk suddenly tightened. Three fresh lives gradually passed away.

The soldiers escorting the Qing sisters to Qiongyue were resting in the main hall of the broken temple. Seeing that the rain was about to stop, it suddenly had a trend of torrential rain again. Lightning and thunder became more crazy, as if they wanted to split this already swaying broken temple to pieces.

One of the soldiers shrank his neck. It was still spring, and he had never seen such heavy rain in spring since he was born! He casually swept a glance at the side hall where the Qing ladies were. This look almost scared him to death. Under the white light of lightning after lightning, three straight shadows were swinging back and forth in mid-air, their clothes fluttering! With a strange cry, the soldier tumbled and fell in front of Li Xu, exclaiming: "Ghost... there is a ghost!"

"What?" Li Xu was startled. Following the soldier's line of sight, the three swaying shadows also gave him a cold sweat! The Qing ladies had hanged themselves! Li Xu hurriedly stood up and kicked open the door of the side hall, only to see red clothes all over the floor and three pairs of bright red embroidered shoes dangling in front of his eyes! Li Xu took a step back in fright and shouted in a panic, "Quick, quick, quick! Get them down!"

A group of soldiers were in a mess and finally got the three women down. All three were dark-faced, their eyes closed tightly.

Li Xu stared at Qing Mo, who was on the far left, and urged: "How is she?"

The soldier carefully touched Qing Mo's breath and replied: "She... is dead."

Li Xu pointed to another one with a trembling hand and urged: "This... what about this one?"

After the soldier probed the breath, he withdrew his hand. Seeing Li Xu's pale face, he didn't dare to answer, only shaking his head lightly.

All dead?! Li Xu broke into a cold sweat. These Qing sisters were the tribute candidates designated by the Qiongyue King. Now that they were dead, how could he keep his life! I fear Haoyue Kingdom could not escape this disaster! Just at the moment when Li Xu was in despair, the soldier suddenly shouted: "Master, this one still has breath!" Although it was very weak, it was definitely still alive.

"Really? Great! Quickly get her into the carriage, quickly invite a doctor!" Finally, one was still alive. Li Xu directed the soldiers to put the wedding dress on Qing Ling in a mess, having no heart to care about the other two corpses on the ground.

The thunder outside the broken temple rang one after another, and the dazzling white light was like sword after sword. The corpses on the ground looked even more lonely and cold. The soldier was afraid, but he couldn't bear to leave the two pitiful women exposed in the broken temple. He picked up the wedding dress on the ground and covered them carefully. Just as he was about to stand up and leave, a red light different from lightning flashed by, and the two people on the ground who had no breath suddenly opened their eyes—

"Ah—" The soldier's scream resounded through the broken temple! Li Xu, who had walked outside the main hall, scolded impatiently: "What are you screaming about again?"

"She... they..." This time, the soldier couldn't even speak, just crawled out of the side hall in a mess.

Could two female corpses scare him like this? Li Xu was suspicious and walked into the side hall again, only to find that the two women who had no breath just now had their chests and abdomens rising and falling slightly as if by a miracle! Although their eyes were closed tightly, their complexions were not so blue and purple!

"It is truly heaven's blessing, heaven's blessing!" Li Xu was overjoyed. They were not dead! His life was finally saved! "Come here, come here, take them away!"

In the wind and rain, the soldiers carried the two out of the broken temple. Just as they were about to send them to the carriage where Qing Ling was, Li Xu suddenly called out: "Wait."

These three people were disfigured and committed suicide. Since they didn't die this time, it was hard to say what kind of trouble they would cause next time! After some calculation in his heart, Li Xu said in a low voice: "Separate them, put one in a carriage, and do not allow them to see each other again. Also, put Mizui Powder in the water they drink. You must send them to Qiongyue alive!"

"Yes." The three were immediately stuffed into three carriages. Before arriving at Qiongyue, they would have no chance to see each other again, and no chance to walk off the carriage.

Qing sisters, don't blame me. If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves. Who told you to be beautiful enough to topple cities, who told you to be talented, who told you to be famous in the Six Kingdoms! The women designated by Qiongyue Kingdom, let alone disfigured, even if you die, you must die in Qiongyue. Everything is fate!

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 107 =====