Chapter 124: Extra—Iron Hook (Part Two)

Jin Ling: “The chair was placed right next to my bed. At first, no one was there, but a moment later, a person dressed in black suddenly appeared there.”

Jin Ling wanted to see his face clearly, but the man was sitting with his head bowed. His long, messy hair covered his face. Only a pair of snow-white hands were visible on the armrest.

She quietly adjusted the mirror. However, as her wrist moved, as if suddenly realizing something, the woman slowly raised her head.

His face was covered with dozens of bloody scars.

Wei WuXian was not surprised, while all the juniors were shocked and speechless.

“Wait a minute?” Lan JingYi placed a bowl of porridge in front of Jin Ling, “A female ghost? How could it be a female ghost? Are you so scared that you saw the wrong thing…”

Jin Ling replied with a chuckle, “Anyone can call me stupid except you. Although there was blood and hair everywhere so I couldn’t see what she looked like, both her hairstyle and her clothes were typical of young women. That’s right. We’re just looking in the wrong direction.” He continued, “Even if there was indeed resentful energy lingering on the iron hook, the one haunting the White Room might not be the Hook Hand.”

Lan JingYi, “Didn’t you take some more time to examine her face or something… Maybe we can use her facial features, like a beauty mark or birthmark, to find out her identity.”

Jin Ling snorted, “You think I didn’t want to? I wanted to, but the ghost saw the reflection of the moonlight in the mirror and immediately looked this way. The mirror then reflected its eyes, and I accidentally made eye contact with it.”

If one were caught spying on a spirit, one should not continue searching. One should immediately put down the mirror and close one’s eyes, pretending to be fast asleep. Otherwise, one might arouse the creature’s bloodlust, increasing its killing intent. Lan JingYi, “That was close, that was close…”

Comments were coming up at the table, “But the thief didn’t see a woman in his eyes.”

“Just because he didn’t see it doesn’t mean it wasn’t there. Maybe the thief was looking the wrong way…”

“No, that female ghost—why is she a female ghost? Who is she!?”

Lan SiZhui, “That woman’s face was covered in dozens of scars, so she was most likely one of the many victims of the Hook Hand. What Jin Ling saw must have been the afterimage of her resentful energy.”

The shadow of resentment energy refers to the endless repetition of a situation in which a spirit accumulates a large amount of resentment energy. This usually occurs before death or an event that the spirit hates.

Jin Ling: “Yes. As seen in the mirror last night, the White Room has completely different furnishings than it does now. It looks like an inn. Before the Bai people settled, there was most likely an inn here. That inn is where the woman killed herself.”

Ln JingYi, “Oh, oh. By the way, from the information we gathered, someone did mention that Hook-Handed Man could easily break the locks of inns. He often sneaks in in the middle of the night, harassing women who are out alone!”

Lan SiZhui, “And the room where this girl or mistress was killed, happens to be in the same location as the White Room of the Bai residence!”

No wonder the Bai clan head insisted that there were no unsolved cases or unexpected deaths at the Bai residence. They weren’t deliberately making excuses, but were truly innocent—this had nothing to do with them at all!

Jin Ling took the porridge and took a sip, pretending to be calm, “I knew it wouldn’t be that easy. Ah, never mind. We have to face this, sooner or later.”

Wei WuXian, “Jin Ling, take a nap later. We have more work to do tonight.”

Lan JingYi glanced at his bowl, “You still have some food left, Senior Wei. Wasting food is bad.”

Wei WuXian, “I’m done. Eat some more, JingYi. You’ll be on the front lines tonight.”

Startled, Lan JingYi almost dropped his bowl, “Huh? Me?? W-What front line?!”

Wei WuXian, “Jin Ling couldn’t finish his observations yesterday, right? Today we’ll finish his observations together to find the root of the problem. You’ll take the lead.”

Lan JingYi paled, “Senior Wei, did you do something wrong? How could it be my fault?”

Wei WuXian, “Of course not. Gaining experience, right? Everyone has their turn, everyone has their chance, everyone has to go. SiZhui and Jin Ling have already left. I’ve already decided that the next one will be you.”

“Why did you decide that the next one would be me…”

Of course, Wei WuXian wouldn’t directly say that among them, Lan JingYi was the only name he remembered, besides Lan SiZhui and Jin Ling. He simply patted his shoulder, encouraging him, “Good! Look at the others. They all want to go, right?”

“The others? They’ve long since disappeared from the conversation!”

No matter how hard Lan JingYi protested, in the middle of the night, he was still pushed in front of the White Room.

Several long benches were spread out in front of the White Room, filled with rows of people. Each person was poking holes in the window paper. Soon, the windows were filled with tiny holes, creating a terrifying sight.

Making a hole in the window itself, Lan SiZhui thought,  I still feel that… this can’t even be considered ‘spying’ anymore. With so many holes, we might as well knock down all the windows…”

As expected, Lan JingYi was dragged to the front seat by Wei WuXian. From here, he could see things very clearly. If this were a show, he would be sitting in the best seat, which even wealth couldn’t guarantee. However, Lan JingYi didn’t want this ‘best’ at all.

Sandwiched between Jin Ling and Lan SiZhui, she shivered, “Can I sit somewhere else…”

Wei WuXian paced to the side, “No.”

Everyone who heard him felt that Wei WuXian’s sharpness demonstrated how well he had mastered Lan WangJi’s methods. Some even chuckled. Wei WuXian, “What a relaxed and pleasant mentality. Very good, very good.”

Lan SiZhui, who had been unable to restrain himself a moment ago, quickly calmed down. Wei WuXian turned to Lan JingYi again, “Look, I don’t even have a place to sit. Don’t be so ungrateful.”

Lan JingYi, “Senior, can I give you my seat…”

Wei WuXian, “Tidak.”

Lan JingYi, “Then what can I do?”

Wei WuXian, “You can ask.”

With no other choice, Lan JingYi could only turn to Lan SiZhui, “SiZhui, if I faint later, y-you have to let me copy your notes.”

Lan SiZhui didn’t know whether to laugh or not, “Alright.”

Lan JingYi let out a sigh of relief, “Then I can stop worrying.”

Lan SiZhui encouraged him, “Don’t worry, JingYi, you can definitely persevere.”

As Lan JingYi expressed his gratitude, Jin Ling patted his shoulder and said in a reassuring tone, “Yes, don’t worry. If you faint, I will definitely wake you up right away.”

Lan JingYi, startled, slapped her hand away, “Shh, shh. Who knows what you’ll do to wake me up.”

In between the whispers, a soft red light shone from the paper window, as if someone had turned on a red light in the dark room.

The crowd immediately fell silent, holding their breath.

Light seeped out from the small holes, making the pair of eyes that peeked out appear bright red.

Lan JingYi raised his trembling hands, “Senior… W-why does this room look so red? I’ve never seen a red shadow like this before. Was there a red light in the room when it happened?”

Lan SiZhui whispered, “It wasn’t a red light. It was because of the person…”

Jin Ling, “That’s because that person has blood in his eyes.”

Amidst the red light, something new suddenly appeared in the room.

A chair. And someone sitting on it.

Wei WuXian, “Jin Ling, is this what you saw yesterday?”

Jin Ling nodded, “But I wasn’t clear last night. He wasn’t sitting in a chair… He was tied to a chair.”

Just as he said, the woman’s hand, which was placed on the armrest, was tied tightly with rope.

Just as the juniors were preparing to investigate further, a dark shadow flashed across the room. Another figure appeared.

Strangely, there was another ‘person’.

And this other person is also missing his eyelids and lips. He can’t blink or close his mouth, revealing his bloodshot eyes and glowing gums. He’s a thousand times more terrifying than the legends describe!

Lan JingYi exclaimed, “Hook Hand!”

“What happened? Has the hook melted yet? Why is the Hook Hand still here?”

“So there are two spirits in this room??”

At this point, Wei WuXian asked, “Two? Actually, are there one or two spirits in this room? Can someone explain?”

Lan SiZhui, “Satu.”

Jin Ling followed up, “One. The Hooked Hand in the White Room is not an actual spirit, but rather a shadow that imitates the scene of his death, which the woman resurrected with her vengeful energy.”

Lan JingYi, “It was indeed a shadow, but it didn’t lessen the fear one bit!!”

As they spoke, the face slowly approached the wooden door. It grew closer, clearer, and more terrifying. Even though everyone knew it was just a shadow, that the iron hook that held the Hook Hand’s vengeful energy had melted, that the shadow would never actually pass through the door, there was only one thought that made the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end:

He saw them!

If the poor thief happened to see this sight while he was spying on the White Room at night, it would be no wonder he would be so frightened that he would have a heart attack.

The face came closer until it was less than a foot from the window, paused for a moment, then turned and walked towards the chair.

In unison, the juniors finally began to breathe again.

Inside, Hook-Handed paced the room, the old wooden planks creaking beneath his feet. Outside, however, Jin Ling sensed something was amiss.

He said, “There is something that has been on my mind for some time.”

Lan SiZhui, “Ada apa?”

Jin Ling: “That shadow was indeed the scene before the woman’s death. But when most people face a serial killer, would they be that calm and not make a single sound? In other words—”

He continued, “The woman was clearly conscious. Why didn’t she scream for help?”

Lan JingYi, “Is he scared to death?”

Jin Ling, “It won’t be to the point where she won’t make a single sound, and won’t even know how to cry. When most women are extremely scared, wouldn’t they start crying?”

Lan SiZhui, “Is his tongue still there?”

Jin Ling, “There’s no blood in his mouth, so that should be it. And even though he’s missing his tongue and can’t speak, he should still be able to make sounds.”

Sandwiched between the two of them, Lan Jingyi looked like he was going to die right then and there, “Can you two not use such a calm tone to talk about such a scary thing, right in front of my ears…”

One of the boys said, “Could it be that because the inn was quiet or because there was no one else there, he knew there was no point in shouting, so he decided not to do anything?”

Lan JingYi, who had the clearest view, finally had a reason to say, “I don’t think so. Look at the shadows. There’s no dust on the furniture, which means it must have been used frequently. It’s impossible for no one to be there, otherwise, he wouldn’t have chosen to rest here.”

Jin Ling, “Looks like you’re not completely an idiot. After all, whether or not there are people around you is one thing, and whether or not you scream is another. For example, if someone was chasing you in the middle of nowhere, even if you knew no one could help you, you would still scream for help, right?”

Wei WuXian clapped his hands lightly, whispering, “Wow. You expect nothing less from Sect Leader Jin.”

Jin Ling blushed, hissing, “What are you doing? Don’t bother me, okay?!”

Wei WuXian, “If something like this bothers you, then you still need to improve your concentration. Look, look—Hook-Handed is going to do it!”

Instantly, everyone turned their heads. The Hooked Hand took out a rope and wrapped it around the woman’s neck, pulling her slowly.

The sound of a rope being tightened!

So this is the root of the strange sounds that the Bai clan head said came from the White Room every night.

Under the pressure, the dozens of wounds on the woman’s face bled profusely, but she remained silent. Their hearts clenched at the sight. Someone couldn’t help but urge, whispering, “Scream, scream for help!”

However, contrary to their expectations, the victim remained motionless, while the attacker did. The rope immediately loosened. Hook Hand pulled a gleaming iron hook from behind his back.

Outside, the boys were both terrified and anxious, eager to jump in and scream for the woman at the top of their lungs until the whole town woke up. The back of the Hook Hand blocked their view. A hand reached out. From where they were, they could only see the back of the hand on the armrest. Suddenly, the veins on the hand popped.

Even at this point, the woman still didn’t make a sound!

Jin Ling couldn’t help but start to doubt, “Does he have a mental disorder?”

“What do you mean by mentally abnormal?”

“Like… retarded.”

“…”

While calling someone retarded may sound cruel, in a situation like this, it’s likely true. Otherwise, if he were a normal person, how could he remain so unresponsive, even in a situation like this?

Feeling his head hurt from watching, Lan Jingyi turned his head away. Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, whispered, “Look carefully.”

Reluctance was visible on Lan JingYi’s face, “Senior, I… I really can’t watch anymore.”

Wei WuXian, “There are things hundreds, even thousands of times worse than this. If you can’t even face it head-on, you shouldn’t even hope to do anything else.”

Hearing this, Lan JingYi calmed himself down before gritting his teeth and turning around, continuing to watch the scene with a pained expression. However, just then, something happened—

Opening her mouth, the woman bit down on the iron hook!

The incident was so shocking that the row of boys all stood up in shock.

And inside the room, Hook Hand also looked stunned. He pulled his arm, but for some reason he couldn’t pull the hook out of the woman’s teeth. Instead, the woman—along with the chair—pounced on him. The iron hook he had intended to use to bite off someone else’s tongue had somehow sliced ​​through his own stomach!

The youths screamed loudly. They almost all clung to the door, as if trying to force their eyes into the White Room to see everything clearly. Hook-Handed Man paused in pain from his wound. As if remembering something, he lunged at the woman’s chest with his right hand outstretched, ready to gouge out her heart. The woman rolled on the ground with the chair, avoiding the attack. However, with a loud ripping sound, the cloth on her chest tore.

In this situation, the children don’t even have time to decide whether to look or not.

What surprised them the most was that the ‘woman’s’ chest was flat with the open ground.

How can this be called a ‘woman’—this is a man wearing women’s clothes!

The Hook-Handed Man leaped forward, grabbing his opponent by the throat with his bare hands, but he forgot that his hook was still stuck in his opponent’s mouth. The man spun to the side, his iron hook slicing through the Hook-Handed Man’s wrist. One hand was trying to strangle him, the other was trying to draw blood—at that moment, the two were in a stalemate…

Only when the rooster crowed and the red light disappeared did the shadow finally disappear.

And the boys around the entrance of the White Room were already shocked speechless.

Only after a long time had passed did Lan JingYi finally stutter, “Th-Th-Th-Those two…”

Everyone had the same thought in their head:

Most likely both of them will end up dead, right…

It was shocking. The spirit that had been tormenting Bai’s residence for decades was not the Hooked Hand, but the hero who killed it.

The discussion got heated.

“Who knows? So this is how Hook Hand was brought down…”

Come to think of it, this was the only way, wasn’t it? After all, the Hook Hand was quite mysterious. No one knew where he was. If he didn’t pretend to be a woman and lure him out, he would never have caught him.

“But it’s so dangerous!”

“That was indeed dangerous. Look, the hero himself fell into his own trap and was bound, right? As a result, he was at a disadvantage from the start. Otherwise, if the two of them had fought head-on, how could he have lost so thoroughly?!”

“Yes, and he couldn’t scream for help. The Hook-Handed Man had killed so many people. Even if a normal person heard him, they would probably be killed…”

“That’s why he didn’t say anything no matter what happened!”

“He chose to die with her…”

“How could this hero’s story not exist in legend!? How absurd.”

“That’s common. Compared to knights and heroes, people much prefer the legend of serial killers.”

Jin Ling analyzed, “When the dead refuse to move on to the next life, it’s usually because they have unfinished business or unfulfilled desires; when those without complete bodies refuse to move on, it’s usually because they never found their missing body parts. The reason behind her ghost lies here.”

Even if it were an obstacle, it would be difficult to part with something that had been carried for decades, let alone a piece of meat in one’s mouth.

Hearing the story, Lan Jingyi had long since felt respectful, “Then, let’s quickly find his tongue, so we can burn it and let him move on to the next life!”

Everyone was eager to get to work, jumping up and down, “Yes, how can we let such a hero die without a complete corpse?!”

“We have to start searching. From the tombs west of the city, to all the Bai residences, to the old house where Hook Hand lived—we can’t miss a single place.”

Full of excitement, the children rushed out the door. Before they left, Jin Ling turned and looked at Wei WuXian.

Wei WuXian, “What’s wrong?”

As the juniors discussed, Wei WuXian didn’t make a single comment confirming or refuting their guesses, which somehow made Jin Ling feel anxious, suspecting that they might be wrong. But after a moment of thought, he felt like they hadn’t missed anything, so he replied, “Nothing.”

Wei WuXian grinned, “Then just look for it. Be patient.”

So, Jin Ling stepped out the door.

It was only a few days later that he realized what Wei WuXian meant when he told him to ‘be patient’.

Previously, they had only found the iron hook with Wei WuXian leading Lan SiZhui in just over an hour. However, this time, Wei WuXian didn’t help them search for the tongue, leaving them to do it at their own pace. They searched for five whole days.

When Lan SiZhui jumped up, holding something in the air, the rest of the group was almost exhausted.

However, despite their disheveled appearance from jumping around the graveyard, their clothes dirty and stinking, the group was almost elated. That was because after Wei WuXian heard them, he told them the truth sincerely: without any outside help, they had achieved it in just five days—in fact, many cultivators would have given up after seeing no results in ten days or half a month.

The group was wild, jumping around the severed tongue. It was said that those contaminated by dark energy would turn dark. Rather than being dark, the object was nearly black, hard to the touch, and radiating energy. It was almost impossible to tell that it was once a piece of human flesh. If not for this, it would have long since rotted away.

After several exorcisms, they burned off his tongue. It seemed the problem was finally over.

With so much going on, things had to come to an end no matter what.

So, regarding tonight’s hunt, Jin Ling felt more or less satisfied.

But before that satisfaction could last for a few days, the Bai clan head went to Koi Tower once again.

This is what happened. After they burned the hero’s tongue, peace did indeed last for a few days. But it was only a few days.

On the third night, strange sounds were heard again from within the White Room, growing louder by the day. By the fifth night, all the residents of Bai were unable to sleep.

This time, it erupted with a loud bang, more terrifying than before. The sound wasn’t that of a rope being pulled or flesh being cut—it was the sound of a person!

According to the description given by the Bai clan chief, his voice was extremely hoarse, as if someone was using a tongue that hadn’t been used for years. No one knew what the words were, but it was undoubtedly a man shouting.

After screaming, she also cried bitterly. At first, it seemed weak, but gradually, it grew louder. Finally, she was practically wailing at the top of her lungs. It was heartbreaking, yet terrifying. Especially in the Bai residence, people could hear her from three blocks away. Even passersby felt goosebumps.

Jin Ling was also anxious. It was nearing the end of the year, so he was overwhelmed with work and didn’t have time to take care of things himself. Therefore, he sent some disciples to check on the situation. Upon their return, they reported that apart from the terrifying screams, there had been no other damage.

Besides disturbing the neighbors.

When they were handing over the night hunting notes, Lan SiZhui mentioned this to Lan WangJi and Wei WuXian. After Wei WuXian heard this, he took a pastry from Lan WangJi’s table and ate it, “Oh. That’s nothing to worry about.”

Lan SiZhui, “There’s nothing to worry about… even though she’s screaming like that? Theoretically, after her wish is fulfilled, her soul should have passed away.”

Wei WuXian, “It’s true that souls can die after their wishes are fulfilled. But have you ever thought that perhaps the hero’s true wish wasn’t to find his tongue so he could be reincarnated?”

This time, Lan JingYi finally got a Jia. Just the thought of not having to copy anything anymore made him so happy he wanted to cry beside her. But then, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “So what? Every night he can howl so loudly that no one can sleep?”

Surprisingly, Wei WuXian actually nodded, “Exactly.”

Lan SiZhui was shocked, “Senior Wei, why is this happening?”

Wei WuXian, “Earlier, didn’t you conclude that the hero didn’t want to harm innocent lives, which was why he restrained himself as much as possible while being tortured by the Hook Hand and refused to make a single sound?”

Lan SiZhui sat up straight, “Yes. Is something wrong?”

Wei WuXian, “It’s not that there’s anything wrong. But let me ask you—if a serial killer held a knife and swung it at your face, drawing your blood, slicing your face, strangling your neck, pulling your tongue out, how terrifying would that be? Would you be afraid? Would you want to cry?”

Lan JingYi thought about it for a moment before answering with a pale face, “Please!”

Lan SiZhui, however, put on a serious expression, “It is stated in the sect rules that when one faces danger…”

Wei WuXian, “Don’t shy away, SiZhui. I’m asking you whether you’re afraid or not. Just tell me, okay?”

Lan SiZhui blushed, his back straightening even more, “I—”

Wei WuXian, “Kamu?”

Lan SiZhui answered honestly, “I can’t say I’m not afraid. Ahem.”

After he answered, he glanced at Lan WangJi anxiously.

Wei WuXian laughed out loud, “Why are you shy? When humans feel pain or fear, they get scared, they want to be helped, they want to scream, shout, and cry—isn’t that what makes us human? Tell me, yes or no. HanGuang-Jun, look at SiZhui—he’s afraid you’ll punish him and is peeking at you. Say yes, quickly. If you say ‘yes,’ that means you also agree with my point of view, which means you won’t punish him.”

With his elbow, he gently poked Lan WangJi’s stomach, as he was marking the notes with his back straight. Without changing his expression, Lan WangJi answered, “Yes.”

After speaking, he wrapped his arms around Wei WuXian’s waist, locking him in place so he wouldn’t mess around, and continued marking the notes that had been handed in.

Lan SiZhui’s cheeks reddened even more.

Wei WuXian struggled a bit, but since he still couldn’t get out, he decided to maintain this position as he continued to lecture Lan SiZhui, “So, holding back his screams does make him a hero, but in truth, it also goes against human nature.”

Lan SiZhui tried hard to ignore his position. After thinking for a moment, he felt a little sympathy for the man.

Wei WuXian, “Is Jin Ling still depressed about this?”

Lan JingYi, “Yes, Young Miss-… uh, Young Master Jin doesn’t know which part is wrong either.”

Lan SiZhui, “Then, how should we deal with such a spirit?”

Wei WuXian, “Let him scream.”

“…”

Lan SiZhui, “Just let him scream?”

Wei WuXian, “Yes. Once he’s satisfied, he’ll leave on his own.”

Instantly, half of Lan SiZhui’s sympathy was given to the residents of Bai’s residence.

Fortunately, despite the hero’s numerous grievances, he had no intention of harming anyone. The strange noises in the White Room gradually ceased after a few months. Presumably, after the hero died, he was finally able to scream as loud as he could before finally dying, and living his new life contentedly.

The fate of Bai’s inhabitants was truly miserable. For a long time, they tossed and turned in pain, unable to sleep at night. The White Chamber became famous again.