Chapter 43

Regret?

Live for today, drink today, get drunk; I've lived this long and never known how to write the two words 'regret'. I thought Ling Yue was threatening me, so I immediately sneered: 'Then let's see who ends up regretting!'

Speaking, he picked up the fish bucket to look for friends; those people had found the livestream room, naturally knowing Ling Yue's conversation with the other party, each with a grim face: 'Since that's the case, then kill the fish.'

They wouldn't bother to elaborate on what a fraudulent streamer is or what regret is—just like a Taoist fortune-teller under a bridge, spouting off whatever comes to mind.

One friend, while scraping scales, said: 'Wang Wu, you don't like sour cabbage fish the most? This one's fat and big, perfect for stewing a pot.'

Wang Wu: 'Alright, this is a wild big black fish; later I'll definitely drink ten or eight bowls of it!'

Wang Wu harbored some thought, depicting the fish in eighteen ways to eat, unaware that the livestream audience was about to laugh themselves sick.

【Huh~ How can this person be so oily, what a good fellow, this is practically an oil field! Go consult the frontier, the motherland needs you!】

【In and out, they're squeezing the streamer, thinking others can't hear? Stupid as hell!】

【All thousand-year-old foxes, what are you playing at here, chatting about strange tales?】

On the livestream screen, every visible comment mostly favored Ling Yue; thinking of what would happen later, Ling Yue pursed her lips.

Then, this group of people began to gut and clean the fish in a flurry, staining the riverbank with patches of blood that soon vanished, leaving the mountains and river as clear as ever.

Many exclaimed, 'Where did this group find such a quiet and beautiful place? It's uncanny!'

Ling Yue frowned; no wonder she hadn't noticed before—directly gutting and washing the fish by the river, truly… 'original broth, original food'.

At that moment, someone was feeling around to remove the bile, suddenly touching a hard object, and his motion froze.

Coincidentally, Wang Wu was nearby: 'Why did you suddenly stop?'

'No wonder I felt the fish was limp; turns out its belly is stuffed with something, like a stone.'

Wang Wu burst out laughing: 'Hahaha, where did this stupid fish come from, actually eating stones!'

'Indeed, it's quite large.'

The friend, rinsing it, also felt curious—what kind of stone, both soft and hard—held it up to the camera.

At that moment, the livestream chatters laughed and chatted, noticing nothing odd, just feeling disgusted: 'Why put everything in front of the camera?'

Wang Wu, meanwhile, was curious, curling his lip with sarcasm: 'No way, no way, surely no one thinks a stone in a fish's belly can prove anything.'

Ling Yue gave a light glance: 'Did I say it was a stone?'

Wang Wu stared.

The next instant, a shrill scream shocked everyone.

The friend holding the so-called 'stone' turned deathly pale, like a bloodless paper person, staring at his palm where the strange 'stone' lay quietly.

This isn't any stone—it's clearly a human finger!

The skin, muscle, and fascia had turned white from soaking; in cross-section, the pallid dead flesh wrapped a small section of white bone—clearly severed at the root.

The reason it felt both soft and hard earlier was because he was pinching a finger, with a layer of skin and meat on the outside and the bone inside.

Half his body twitched as nerves went berserk; in an instant, a chill shot straight to the crown of his head, after which, let alone screaming, his body couldn't move at all.

Wang Wu opened his mouth, like a dying fish, unable to utter half a word. The livestream was like a ladle of cold water flung into a sizzling hot oil pot, instantly exploding.

【Aaaah! Mom! Save me!】

【Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit— a human finger, eaten by a fish?】

【Save our lives, everyone call the police quickly—this is a murder case!】

【Just now I thought these guys were a bit greasy, but now I suddenly feel a bit sorry for them—so many fish, I thought they were eating them with great relish just a moment ago.】

【I'm done, I never want to eat fish again in this life!】

【I'm freezing all over—what the hell is going on? My goodness!】

【Call the police, call the police, call the police!】

The livestream chatters exploded—this is a murder case, truly horrifying!

At that moment, the Orca Live backend, ever since Ling Yue went viral, had been monitoring the livestream staff and immediately reported to superiors: 'Something's happened in the livestream……'

After hearing the whole account, the General Manager gaped: 'What did you say? A murder case appeared in the livestream?'

'What are you standing around for? Hurry up and call the police!'

As a major company, Orca Live has long cooperated with the Cyber Police; without netizens saying so, the higher-ups broke into a cold sweat and decisively reported the incident!

Nonsense—this is a matter of life and death!

Compared to just seeing the chatters, the friends who reacted broke out in a cold sweat—this fish had something inside; what about the previous few fish?

Thinking of the pile of fish meat he'd eaten, the man's throat tightened, his stomach churned, as if those things would soon reach his throat.

He didn't dare think further, trembling as he was about to fling it away, when he heard the host's voice: 'Congratulations, you've won.'

The friend's mind reeled; looking at Ling Yue's calm face, those earlier flippant words turned into resounding slaps that struck his face hard.

She had known all along.

Ling Yue saw him pale with fright, slightly furrowed her brow: 'I suggest not throwing it away; after all, when the police come, this is evidence.'

【Vomiting!】

The friend finally couldn't hold it, flung the finger onto the bank, and collapsed there, vomiting.

This commotion instantly drew others; moving a bit slower, several people each held a scaled, big fat fish, smiling: 'Looks like we're about to clean up—hey, what's wrong with you two?'

Wang Wu saw the fish in his hand, his face turned white instantly: 'You…… 【vomiting】!'

He hadn't finished speaking before he collapsed on the ground and vomited.

The sour stench made people retreat repeatedly; the friend, even more puzzled, muttered something about a weirdo, then sliced open the fish's belly—blood instantly dyed the lake red, and the livestream viewers witnessing this couldn't utter a word.

'What… what is this——'

The man scooped out a piece of white flesh, pinched it—still a bit springy—and everyone, to varying degrees, had an unexpected 'surprise'.

Wang Wu, on the verge of vomiting bile, muttered softly from the side: 'It's human flesh……'

'These fish have all eaten human flesh!'

As soon as the words fell, the man had already glanced at that section of finger; a few people stared blankly for a moment, and the sound of vomiting one after another rang out by the river.

Those big fish that had been fished up, each of them ate a lot, and they kept praising the fish as fat and tender; someone even scooped lake water to cook rice in order to get closer to nature… the original soup becomes the original food.

Looking at them like that, let alone eating, from now on just seeing a fish will make them tremble uncontrollably.

Ling Yue glanced at the backend; it was a message sent by the platform, the other party had already called the police.

She looked at the few people and said: "I suggest you report to the police as soon as possible; the police already know about this matter and need you to locate yourselves quickly." After they reported their location, the familiar online friends instantly recognized them.

【Good grief, isn't this my hometown? That mountain is never open to the outside—how did you sneak in?】

【……What is this? Self-inflicted doom!】

【I've come back after vomiting, I looked at the host's live stream, I just want to say one thing: wild fishing carries risk, eating fish requires caution!】

【Wuwuwu host, please give me a hug QAQ】

Compared to the panicked online friends, Ling Yue remained calm; the group that vomited heart-wrenchingly were not fools, they immediately thought of the cause and effect, wishing they could beat their former selves to death!

Let you show off! Let you spout nonsense!

Looking back, seeing the tranquil lake surface, only feeling waves of chill stabbing straight into the heart.

Ling Yue's gaze was deep and dark, staring at the lake surface teeming with resentment; she didn't know how great a hatred would be needed to act so viciously.

Nearly a hundred million viewers saw it at the same time; it was again a grave criminal case endangering lives. After receiving the police report, the police acted swiftly, and not long after, a group of people heard the sound of police cars.

During this time the live broadcast never ended; Ling Yue saw from the camera the handling police officer, an old acquaintance, Lin Shaoze.

He wore a police uniform, his face expressionless; immediately someone prepared to go down the lake to fish, but Ling Yue called out to him: "Captain Lin, the victim was dismembered, stuffed into a woven bag, then thrown to the lake bottom."

Lin Shaoze's expression shifted; in an instant he thought of her ability: "Is it… they told you?"

Who they are, anyone who has watched Ling Yue's live-stream videos knows, they inwardly exclaim 'I'm going'; even the police believe the host, so what do they have to disbelieve?

Only the few who had provoked earlier, their faces grew ever paler, thinking of their own self-destructive act, they wished they could slap themselves four, five, six, seven, eight times on the face.

People even know the police, how stupid must they be!

Ling Yue nodded: "Not only that."

She furrowed her brows, looking at the water surface shrouded in black mist; it should be fortunate that this is a forbidden zone, aside from a few idle rich second-generation dare to enter, otherwise who knows when more lives will be added to the lake.

How ruthless must a person be to do such a thing?

The black mist grew thicker and thicker; Ling Yue had someone point the phone at the lake surface: the ripples swayed, actually gradually condensing into a pallid human face, half the face above water, half below, floating up and down.

Long, black, wet hair clung tightly to her cheeks, long black hair plunged into the water; as if sensing Ling Yue's gaze, she suddenly turned her head, the hair covering half her face moved on its own without wind, those tightly shut eyes snapped open!

On the gray-white eyeballs, a gray shadow completely covered, no pupils or irises, making people's hearts throb.

It seemed a sticky, moist thing crawled up her body; Ling Yue slightly furrowed her brows, then broke free of this, to her, very low-grade illusion.

The woman kept murmuring low: "Tang, Tang Family Village… Tang Family Village…"

Ling Yue heard her voice, very clear.

When she was silent, no one dared to speak; though her eyes were clear and bright, they inexplicably sent a chill, as if a cold wind blew from all directions through the marrow's gaps, making people tremble from the bones, shivering.

【What is the host looking at? I'm so scared!】

【Such a huge lake, the more I look the more scared I get, the middle is pitch black, as if bottomless!】

【Can't not be afraid? Just after a death, still a dumping ground, just thinking about it makes my calves tremble!】

If one says humans are perverse, the more scared they get the more they're hooked; compared to just now, the live stream's online count actually directly exceeded a hundred million!

Ling Yue's eyeballs were deep black, flashing a faint cold light: "Now we absolutely cannot dredge!"

Lin Shaoze's brows knit tightly.

Upon hearing this, the online friends gave a violent shudder; they endured the fear wanting to keep watching, when suddenly the screen went black with a pop, and a message popped up——

【The host temporarily stops broadcasting due to special circumstances, to be unblocked in one week.】

The online friends who reacted: "……"

I fuck your immortal stone slab, just when I was seeing the exciting part, you actually cut it off!

Countless people complained and cursed the platform. Actually, the platform's person in charge, hearing the curses, wore a face of worry; it's not that they don't want to broadcast, if they continued, not to mention the live room being banned, even the whole platform would have to go down with it!

Ling Yue looked at the blacked-out screen and the popped-up message, pressing her lips tightly.

By the lake.

The team members who had changed into diving gear looked at Lin Shaoze: "Captain, we're already ready."

According to their speculation, there should still be other human tissue at the lake bottom; moreover, based on the decay degree of the body chunks in the fish bellies, the victim should not have been dead more than three days.

There aren't many fish in the lake, they must seize the time to prevent other body chunks from being eaten by fish, so they are somewhat urgent.

Lin Shaoze gazed at the lake surface; the water was clear, the green mountains like dark dye, a cool breeze blew, and at some point the lake surface had already risen a white mist, as if draped in a veil of gauze, making everything hazy.

He furrowed his brows, tone decisive: "No going down."

Something is fishy.

Ling Yue's words kept echoing in his ears; taking another look at the energetic team members, Lin Shaoze decisively refused.

The two were stunned, still wanting to say more, when Cheng Ziming grabbed each of them with one hand and pulled them down: "Who let you act on your own? The captain hasn't spoken yet—do you have any organization, any discipline……"

The two opened their mouths, looked at each other helplessly, wanting to say, "Wasn't it always like this before? What's going on today?"

In a deserted corner, Cheng Ziming alone knocked on a chestnut: "Didn't you hear Miss Ling's words just now? What will happen later!"

Seeing their blank faces, Cheng Ziming then recalled, these two often go on field missions, not staying at the bureau, he explained: "It's the owner of Dahei; the previous villa murder case was solved with her help to the captain."

The two looked at him in shock; Cheng Ziming smiled slightly, everything was self-evident.

Jing Shi.

Ling Yue rose; having sat too long, her whole body's bones stiffened, she slowly gulped down the juice in the cup, feeling her dry throat moisten a bit, then she slowly walked downstairs.

Thinking of what she had just seen, Ling Yue's heart jumped; the part of the 'Compendium of Dao Arts' unlocked in her mind due to the mission's progress became her reliance.

She subconsciously thought, in this situation, having already become a female ghost, what talisman could she use to trap it?

The next moment, the phone in her pocket rang briefly.

Ling Yue opened her phone, her pupils flickered; a line of short text appeared in the WeChat chat box, just like Lin Shaoze himself—concise and forceful.

She answered yes.

Ling Yue never feared trouble, so when she saw that lake, she chose to seize the opportunity.

Downstairs, Da Lao Hu Junjun was still watching TV; the cartoon had reached its end, it boredly yawned, the big cat stretched, lifted its hindquarters high, flicked its soft tail, just like a kitty—both cute and soft.

Seeing Ling Yue come downstairs, it froze stiffly, its movements rigid as it lowered its hindquarters and squatted on the ground, as if nothing had just happened.

Ling Yue laughed and said, "Jun Jun, do you want to come out with me?"

Seeing the car keys in her hand, Jun Jun's eyes lit up; it knew this object, it was a car key, which the master always took when going out.

The huge furry creature shook its big head and eagerly replied, "Yes!"

Then you'd better behave and listen.

The simple big tiger didn't realize that the master had let it come along with the intention of using it as an enforcer; even if it knew, it wouldn't matter, for it is an officially appointed mountain spirit, and even if it's not its own mountain, it can still summon some power.

When Ling Yue arrived, a group of weak-legged rich second-generation heirs were giving statements, having already vomited once, shoulders slumped, faces ashen.

Beside them were the dismembered body parts fished out by the police, placed in professional containers and piled up into a small hill.

Not too much, not too little.

All were the results cut out from the bellies of big fish.

She glanced briefly at the lake surface, where more and more black qi gathered, the humidity heavy; here the temperature was several degrees lower than outside.

Ling Yue stared, entranced, not even noticing when Lin Shaoze had come up beside her.

"Ling Yue." The man's voice was slightly hoarse, his handsome eyes fixed on her: "You said that earlier—why?"

Ling Yue smiled: "Because I saw it."

She had no intention of hiding her ability, and looked again at the lake surface; the thickening fog made one's heart tremble, and at this point the opposite mountains could no longer be seen.

Ling Yue: "Do you see that white mist? To you it's fog, but to me it's soaring black resentment."

Resentment?

Lin Shaoze's gaze darkened as he looked at the talkative girl: "The victim died horribly, suffering extreme pain in life, her corpse mutilated after death, and she was thrown into the water, becoming a water ghost bound to this place."

"If a water ghost finds no substitute, it will remain trapped in the water; if someone had just gone into the lake, she would unhesitatingly drag them down to become a stand-in."

Lin Shaoze looked at her doubtfully; as a cadre's child he knew the ways of those above, and had occasionally seen so-called masters at his grandfather's house, once someone had told him his fate: "Breaking the Army enters destiny, main killing and cutting, producing righteous qi."

Later he became a criminal investigator.

Lin Shaoze fell silent; his over twenty years of scientific education made him hesitate, but reality was that he had encountered such a person again. After a moment of silence, he asked, "You mean we can't go into the water for now?"

Ling Yue nodded, hearing him ask: "How will we investigate the case, and how will we recover the bones?"

She smiled slightly: "I have a way; we don't need soldiers, just need Captain Lin and you to spend a little."

She spoke with certainty, as if everything were under control; Lin Shaoze furrowed his brows and said in a low voice, "As long as we can salvage the remaining bones, you may ask for anything, and if I can do it, it's yours."

Ten minutes later, Ling Yue squatted by the lake; before her, the fan-shaped water surface centered on her was filled with countless opening and closing fish mouths, big and small fish gathered together, and in the sunlight they flashed with rippling light.

The rustling sound crowded into her ears; even with Ling Yue's composure, she couldn't help but frown.

"Quiet!"

She released the aura of the Beast King; the fish shrank back instantly, though there were slippery fish trying to flee, Jun Jun slapped one with a paw, flipping it onto its belly, and the diminutive plush tiger was quite formidable, swishing its tail and asking, "Will you obey or not?"

The fish: "QAQ"

Do they dare not obey? Disobedient fish lose their lives.

At the same time, Ling Yue scattered a handful of fresh fish bait; that small patch of water surface began to struggle violently at a visible speed, like boiling water.

Actually it was the fish fighting over the bait: "Ahhh, so delicious!"

"Mine, mine, mine, all mine!"

"Fragrant food, hand it over!"

"Wuu, I've never eaten such fragrant food in my life; let me die now if I must!"

The exaggerated, excited praise drew countless fish to glance over; a big fat fish, relying on its size advantage, kept eating and gulping, its manner unsightly yet truly enviable to the fish.

More fish floated on the surface, each black fish staring eagerly at Ling Yue, or rather, at the bait in her hand.

Though she had never used the "stick then sweet date" tactic, Ling Yue employed it skillfully, smiling as she scattered another handful: "Want more to eat?"

Ling Yue coaxed: "I still have plenty here, sack after sack; I guarantee you'll eat till you vomit!"

Eat till you vomit?!

The fish were shocked, the fish were envious. JPG

The black fish that grew in the wild tan had plenty to eat and drink, but eating till vomiting was something they'd never heard of; in an instant, pairs of dead fish eyes burst with intense brilliance.

Ling Yue: "As long as you help me with one thing."

She said while opening the feed bag, revealing the fragrant feed inside: "These are all yours."

On the other side, the officers who had just become idle looked toward the lakeside, exactly where Ling Yue was; because of the distance they could barely make out that she was interacting with the fish □□ flow, or perhaps not.

Anyway, after all these years of solving cases, they'd never seen such an investigation— isn't this just causing trouble!

Many gazes fell on Lin Shaoze; it was said that this aloof, dignified captain had been requested.

Quiet speculation drifted into Lin Shaoze's ears; he gave no reaction, and Cheng Ziming immediately put on a stern face: "Cough cough cough."

These people are truly rare and weird; still, if you see them often like him, it wouldn't be strange ^_^

This operation was a joint investigation by the suburban and urban criminal police brigades; their disbelief is understandable, Cheng Ziming doesn't force them, but he also doesn't want them to speculate wildly.

He explained: "Everyone, don't rush; this is Miss Ling Yue, an external consultant invited by our criminal police brigade; results will be out soon."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he heard someone whisper: "What external consultant? Clearly just some internet celebrity; why invite her, to feed fish?"

"What can she do? Isn't investigating cases our police's job?"

Cheng Ziming's eyes narrowed; anyone could tell with a toe that this definitely wasn't someone from their criminal police brigade—they didn't know how formidable Miss Ling was!

Last time when the zoo's black bear escaped and the colleagues returned after working the case, now each of them is almost becoming a police brigade storyteller, saying that when Ling Yue acts, she catches one every time!

Speaking irresponsibly, Ling Yue is currently the legend of their criminal police brigade!

Seeing her stand up and walk back, Cheng Ziming lunged forward.

"Miss Ling, how is it?"

Cheng Ziming asked with a smile, his voice affable; if emotions could be materialized, he would definitely have a big fluffy tail wagging behind him now— all thanks to Ling Yue's abilities.

Admiring the strong is human nature; don't let his usual laughter fool you— he's actually quite motivated.

Ling Yue glanced at him, relaxed: "What do you think?"

Cheng Ziming laughed hehe, convinced there was no problem!

Just as he was about to speak, a commotion suddenly arose behind him; the officers stared dumbfounded, looking at him— more precisely, at the spot behind him where the lake lay.

What happened?

Cheng Ziming turned his head back, and after taking in the whole scene, a chill ran up his spine—