Chapter 164 - 164 Twenty-one

Words : 1427 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

164: Twenty-one. The hole in the forehead 164: Twenty-one. The hole in the forehead “` For most people, graveyards are not the most comfortable of places to be. Even if they have family members buried there. It’s not just because it is the resting place of the deceased, or the sensation of being watched by every standing tombstone that symbolizes the bones below. Crucial to this sentiment is the presence of the mortuary that houses the bodies. On this account, the mortuary is far more frightening than the graveyard. After all, the latter is made up of nothing more, at most, than tombstones with the photographs of the deceased—whereas the former contains rows of cold, stiff corpses. Belfast, Holy Father District, graveyard. The sprouting green buds of withered trees on the street side brought a touch of life to the desolate and solemn graveyard, unfolding tombstones of varying heights, all encircled by an iron fence that stood halfway up a person’s height. The carriage stopped outside the graveyard gates, and Lu Li, holding an umbrella, got out and walked into the misty veil of the graveyard in the rain. On both sides of the pebbled path, the tombstones stood weather-beaten and some of them tilted at odd angles. As darkness approached, objects in the distance began to hunker down into obscurity, blurring into one, making these far-reaching clusters of tombstones difficult to discern. At the end of the path was a large church with sculptures of divinities wielding twin weapons perched on the spires, pristine as new. That was also the reason Anna capitulated so easily. No matter whether churches were of any use in ages of calamity, a ghost entering here was like a mouse venturing into a cat’s domain. Lu Li found a nun and expressed his desire to visit the mortuary to see Claire’s body. “Excuse me, may I ask who you are...?” the nun asked politely. “Watch Town Police Station officer, Lu Li.” With Deputy Chief Valentine, Lu Li had nothing to fear. “Okay, please wait a moment.” The nun went aside, and after a short while, a muted conversation could be heard. “Officer David, I’m Sister Mama from Holy Father Church. There’s an officer named Lu Li who’d like to... um, let me just ask him.” “You’re Lu Li, right?” Sister Mama put down the phone, approached Lu Li with a gentle tone, and after getting his confirmation, she returned to the phone, “His name’s Lu Li, yes. Officer David, do you know him?” There was a reflective silence on the other end of the line for several seconds, and just when the atmosphere started to get awkward, the voice finally came through, “I’ve just asked the deputy chief, and he said that the officer was indeed sent by him to investigate the mortuary, and that you should cooperate with his actions.” “Okay, I will do so.” After hanging up, Sister Mama, her ample figure concealed by the wide nun’s habit, came back to Lu Li’s side, “It’s been confirmed, please follow me.” “Thank you.” Lu Li folded up his umbrella as he passed beneath a tall angel sculpture at the entrance and followed Sister Mama into the church. The church was spacious and lofty, the colorful stained glass occupying most of the wall space, inlaid with images. Below, on the long benches, a smattering of believers in ragged or bright clothes sat scattered, heads lowered, murmuring prayers. Their figures echoed in the complex high structures, forming a series of echoes like a Mass. Passing row after row of seats, moving toward the confessional near the hall, brushing past it, he was led deeper into the church. They made their way until finally, Sister Mama stopped in front of a bright silver, heavy iron door. Lu Li looked around; the corridor’s end was the graveyard’s back door. It seemed that one could come directly here without passing through the church. “Please wait a moment while I fetch the keys.” “Bring the information sheet for the bodies in the mortuary as well,” Lu Li said. “Certainly.” Sister Mama turned away with a gentle smile. Perhaps due to a deep prejudice against religion, and the fact that Sister Mama’s mature appearance and figure were quite at odds with the term ‘nun’, Lu Li remained on guard in this place. A few minutes later, Sister Mama returned with a jangling set of iron keys and a parchment ledger. Lu Li took the ledger, thanked her, and opened it. Claire, section D, cabinet 6. He easily located Claire’s “dwelling.” His finger lightly tapped on the name, and Lu Li looked at Sister Mama: “Open it please; I’ll go in myself, you can stay outside.” “May the Lord protect you.” Sister Mama made a circular motion in the air in front of Lu Li’s chest and turned to unlock the metal door. Creak, creak— “` The door was slowly pulled open, and it seemed as though a white mist was emanating from the morgue, a chill cold air hit the face. Familiar incandescent light spilled from the ceiling. The temperature was very low; it looked like the bodies in the morgue would be well-preserved. Mama stayed outside, Lu Li entered the morgue, and all sound was blocked from the outside world, leaving only the morgue’s cleanliness, chill, and dead silence. He suddenly noticed something and listened intently. There was a faint, almost non-existent sobbing echoing through the cold, silent morgue. It seemed to come from behind the walls of the church, and yet, it did not. Rows of iron cabinets emitting a cold aura were neatly aligned against the wall, Lu Li walked past these mortuary cabinets, approaching section D. Click— As he passed a mortuary cabinet, the sound of a mechanism came from behind. Hum— The ghastly white incandescent lights above suddenly flickered, brightening and dimming erratically. Lu Li turned his head to look back and saw that one of the mortuary cabinet’s external levers was in the open position. When he had passed it earlier, it, like all the other mortuary cabinets, was closed. Squeak—creak— In the midst of a slow, grating sound, the cabinet door opened leisurely, revealing a slowly widening crack. A slender hand suddenly rested on the mortuary cabinet door, closing it again. Feeling the resistance on the other side of the palm, Lu Li’s dark pupils narrowed, he flicked open the holster, and his hand grasped the flintlock pistol. In that instant, Lu Li sensed the malice around him, as well as the nearly dense presence of weak souls in the morgue, possibly seven or eight, or even more. “Quiet.” Lu Li shouted in a low voice. The resistance on the cold cabinet door vanished instantly. Click— The lever turned on its own, and a locking sound came from inside. Lu Li put away the Spirit-Calling Gun, his dark eyes meaningfully lingered on several cabinets for a moment, and without further ado, he walked to cabinet number 6 in section D. He twisted the lever, pulled out the bed from the iron cabinet, and lifted the white cloth. A mummified woman’s body, which seemed to have been exposed to harsh weather, appeared before him. Lu Li had never seen Claire, but that did not prevent him from identifying her through her features. Lu Li quietly observed the nearly mummy-like emaciated body, his dark eyes suddenly fixed, falling on Claire’s forehead. On her head, which had hardly any hair left, there was a strange crack on her forehead. This crack seemed to be a hole, not like a gunshot or puncture from a sharp instrument, thinner than a pinky finger by half, where one could faintly peek inside the brain through the orifice. After pushing the bed back into the mortuary cabinet, Lu Li moved to an adjacent cabinet. Thump thump thud— Lu Li raised his hand and knocked, saying simply, “Two questions. First question: Do you remember the body that I just opened in the mortuary cabinet? Second question: If you remember, does she have a ghost?” Seconds went by, then dozens of seconds, and after half a minute, a cold, slow, elderly voice came from inside the cabinet. “...no...no.” Each “no” corresponded to one of the questions. “Okay, thank you.” Lu Li thanked and left the morgue without looking back. Not long after he left, a series of subtle whispers began to echo throughout the morgue.

Chapter 164 - 164 Twenty-one

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