Chapter 8 Chapter Five Praying Mantis (Part 1)

"The sinking pool must have its own set of criteria for its own judgment, or only at a certain time, making a promise will work. That's why I insisted on interviewing Ms. Shi." The so-called coma, the most severe stage of disturbance of consciousness, is a state of high inhibition of higher nervous activity.When in a coma, the clarity of consciousness is extremely reduced and there is no response to external stimuli. In mild cases, defense reflex and vital signs may exist, but in severe cases disappear.Coma can not only be caused by central nervous system lesions, but also the consequences of systemic diseases, such as acute infectious diseases, endocrine and metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, poisoning and electric shock, heat stroke, altitude sickness, etc. can all cause coma.

But my coma was markedly different, at least not because of the disease, but because of the self-protective function of the brain.This is what Shi Yueying told the doctor after I woke up.So why do I have amnesia? The causes of amnesia can be divided into psychogenic amnesia, brain trauma and dissociative amnesia, mainly due to the disruption of consciousness, memory, identity or the normal integration function of the environment, thus causing trouble to life, but these symptoms are It cannot be explained by physiological factors. The patient does not know who he is and experiences many "selves".

Now, I really don't know who I was before, but I am very sure that there is only one of me, and I will not have the phenomenon of being overwhelmed by the memories of the past and changing my personality from time to time. At least not yet.Of course, when I need it, there will be a lot of knowledge emerging from nowhere in my brain. That knowledge is often at your fingertips and very convenient, which also makes me more interested in my former self.In fact, I really wanted to find out my lost personality, but I couldn't help being involved in the weird incident of the Shi family, and I still can't get out.Where did my luggage go?Who stole it and for what purpose?What's in the luggage?Who was I?Why have such a wealth of knowledge?Why did I spend so much time learning these things?And who wants to kill me?

All in all, many questions kept pouring out when I was lying quietly on the hospital bed.My curiosity is like a blazing fire, and I almost burn myself completely. My heart is itchy, and I wish I could run out immediately to investigate clearly. But reason tells me that this matter will not be too easy, it is better to investigate the Shi family's problems and make plans after the truth is revealed.After all, I am also very interested in the affairs of the Shi family! The ward I was in was still the one I had when I lost my memory. It seemed that I had a special fate with this room.When I woke up, Shi Yueying was sitting on the chair next to me, with her head resting on her arms, lying on the hospital bed, she didn't seem to have slept well.Maybe I made a lot of movement when I sat up, and she woke up immediately, showing a bright smile, wiping her eyes with her hands and saying, "Are you awake? The doctor said that you will wake up by yourself in a few hours. He really hit the spot. Hmph, if you have any serious problems, I'll see if I don't demolish this crappy hospital!"

...This straightforward girl has such a personality that I can't understand it, but I like it very much. "How long have I been in a coma?" I asked while rubbing my forehead. My head still hurt a little. The human body is amazing. It is said that when Niuniu fell from upstairs, she only hit my spine and did not directly impact my head.But just because of this indirect shock, I lost my memory, and it also made me unconscious once or twice. "About seven hours, nineteen minutes and five seconds." She answered without thinking. "So it's past ten o'clock?"

"Ten forty-one." "Oh, how is your brother-in-law going?" My headache subsided like a tide, and my spirits improved a lot. "There wasn't much progress. The police came here, asked some questions routinely, made a record and left." Shi Yueying's expression was a little strange. "Why, there is some inside story in this matter?" I immediately became interested. "Well, this inside story is a bit big!" She looked around carefully, and whispered in my ear: "According to the news from the network above my sister, brother-in-law and his extramarital lover may not have committed suicide, the murderer There is a third person!"

"What else?" I continued to ask. Seeing that I was neither surprised nor surprised, Shi Yueying was surprised instead, "Could it be that you already knew?" "Basically, from the description in the press release and the information conveyed in the photo, their death cannot be done by two people, and there must be a third-party external force." I said lightly: "I noticed that the corpse in the photo Those irregularly arranged jagged scars? "It has appeared on both corpses. If you compare the two corpses, you will know that the scars are extremely skillful, and the jagged parts are neat and tidy. They are obviously from the same person. If they cut each other with a saw, It is absolutely impossible to create such similar saw marks that are almost exactly the same. Besides, the strength difference between a man and a woman is huge, and unpredictable factors must be ruled out when evading. The conclusion is that there must be a third party on the scene. Possibly the murderer."

Only then did Shi Yueying figure it out, and hastily took out the copy of the document, comparing the photos one by one.Looking up for a long time, his face turned pale, "Then who killed them?" "I don't know. Maybe it's your brother-in-law's enemy, or maybe it's the woman's ex-lover. In short, the other party is definitely a master murderer. Faced with that situation, his hands didn't even shake at all. Look at the marks he cut with a saw, There is not even a scratch. It is unbelievable!" I said slowly: "Maybe, their enemies paid for the murder."

"Then tell me, is my sister also in danger?" Shi Yueying asked nervously. "I don't know. We'll ask Ms. Shi about the specifics later. Ask her what happened in that family, and what enemies does her husband have. If it's her husband's enemies, she will be in trouble!" I thought for a moment, then turned over and got out of bed, "I can't sit still, there are too many clues to check, I can't stay in the hospital and get rusty. Yue Ying, help me with the discharge procedures, let's go to the black market first !" When I returned to Shi's home from the black market, it was already past one o'clock in the afternoon. Ms. Shi and her daughter disappeared, and they couldn't get in touch with their mobile phones, and they kept shutting down.Shi Yueying was a little absent-minded, so we sat in the living room watching TV, the atmosphere was very depressing, no one was in the mood to talk, and we didn't know what soap opera was playing on TV.After waiting for another half an hour, her cell phone finally rang.She glanced at it and handed it to me, "It's from a black market hospital." I couldn't wait to connect, and slowly lowered my hand after listening.For some reason, I felt a sense of powerlessness all over my body, as if I couldn't find a way to focus on this matter that was beyond the routine and imagination, it was empty, and I couldn't handle it.

"What's the result?" Shi Yueying's voice was trembling slightly, it is estimated that she is not usually nervous now.I swallowed my saliva forcefully, and said in a hoarse voice: "According to the blood test from the hair and traces, it's the same person!" "How, how is it possible!" Shi Yueying stammered, obviously unacceptable. I am silent.Shi Yueying's brother-in-law, Yang Mingran, died in a place about 90 kilometers away, more than three hours' drive away. But at the same time as he died, his blood actually flowed out from a scar on the wooden floor on the second floor of his villa ninety kilometers away. No matter who told this matter, no one would believe it.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes and collected the specimens myself, I'm afraid I would also think that the person who told me about it had just escaped from a lunatic asylum.But the fact is right in front of me, and I have no ability to overthrow it. "What's going on here?" Shi Yueying felt very scared, so she moved to my side, desperately trying to find a place to sneak in.So she got into my arms. "Don't ask me, I want to know too." I smiled wryly, and patted her back lightly, "But don't you think it's strange? According to you, Niuniu used to be a well-behaved child, but recently she didn't understand Miao starts to act strangely and say some incomprehensible things. "Recently, your sister is often pressed by ghosts on the bed. She sleeps very badly. She claims to see a green shadow sitting on her and pressing her down. And I have seen a green phantom appearing near the villa more than once. And that weird footprint in the garden. The same marks on the wooden floor as on your brother-in-law and mistress... I think there are reasons for everything, but we haven't touched those reasons yet!" "When will we get in touch? When everyone is dead?!" Shi Yueying was a little emotional. "I think it's time to ask Ms. Shi some questions." I thought for a while and said, "Maybe, she can give us the answer." Just as I was speaking, the doorbell rang. Murphy's law says that the more you hate someone, he will appear in front of you all the time, but when you want to see someone, you can't find him. I'm afraid this law doesn't work for me. When I want to find someone, but I don't deliberately look for her, that person will come to my door automatically.The guests who came were a man and a woman.The woman is about twenty-four or five years old, with ponytails and white casual clothes. She is not beautiful, but she gives people a capable and healthy feeling; the man is thirty years old, tall and strong, which is unique to northerners. . "Hello, we are reporters from the Jiangling Morning Post. My name is Yi Jiang. This is the photographer, Qin Han; we want to interview the hostess here." The woman smiled appropriately and explained her intentions readily. "You are Yijiang?" I was a little surprised. "You know me?" She didn't seem so surprised. "I know you, but I know you, you don't know me." I laughed: "I've been reading the news you wrote recently. The urge to read on." "Thank you." Yijiang blushed a little from my praise. "Okay, I'll cut to the chase, I know why you're here." I sat on the sofa, motioned for them to sit down, and inadvertently gave Shi Yueying a wink.Shi Yueying was very polite, she stood up and asked the servant to pour tea, and when the tea was served, I slowly said: "You guys want to come for an interview, sorry, we refuse!" "Why?" Qin Han, the photographer behind Yijiang, turned red immediately. He was indeed a big man from the Northeast, with a straight temper. Yi Jiang waved his hand at him, and asked calmly, "I don't know what to call you two?" "She is Ms. Shi's younger sister, Shi Yueying." I pointed to Shi Yueying, and I pointed to myself, "I am her boyfriend." Hearing that I introduced myself as her boyfriend, Shi Yueying immediately Bleeding with shame, he lowered his head and neither admitted nor denied it. "Can you represent Ms. Shi herself?" Yi Jiang said softly, but her words were a bit aggressive. "Of course. After all, the Shi family is a big family. Big families have a common problem, that is, they are afraid of being ashamed." I smiled and looked into her eyes, "My husband lived with other people, leaving her alone in an empty room, and finally died in the vacant room." If it is not exposed to the mistress, this is not something worthy of promotion. If it is not exposed, no one will want to mention it. I think that neither Ms. Shi's family nor Ms. Shi herself is willing to be interviewed." "I think this is just a one-sided guess of Mr. Yijiang." Yi Jiang shrugged, "It's better to invite Ms. Shi out first. If she is really unwilling to accept an interview, we will leave immediately. We will never force it." "Leaving this aside, I have a personal question to know. Is Miss Yijiang following this news thread for the sake of the newspaper or out of curiosity?" I asked lightly.This question is very thoughtful. I got the news manuscript written by Yijiang early this morning, but there was no report on this matter in the Jiangling Morning Post this morning. It is estimated that Ms. Shi's family put pressure on the newspaper to block the incident, and Yijiang Jiang's press release was also withheld.Here I have to mention Ms. Shi's family.The Shi family is very powerful in this city. Although this family is not the capital, it can be called the most powerful family.Their forces are rooted in various power organs in the city, deeply entrenched and intertwined. If they want to block a small incident, it is really a trivial matter.What's more, this matter was very disgraceful in the first place. "The senior management of the newspaper should have warned you not to investigate this matter again, right? Miss Yijiang, I know you are a person with great curiosity, but you are not stupid, just because of a rich and powerful family The son-in-law of a married woman died tragically in his mistress's house, so he risked losing his job to investigate the root cause. You know, it's hard to find a job now, even if a very talented woman like you wants to find this job again, It's also extremely difficult. Unless, this incident is really worthy of your persistent investigation, even at the expense of losing your job." I smiled brighter and brighter, "Perhaps, this matter is not simple, it is so profound that it cannot be described with common sense!" This time it was Yijiang's turn to turn pale, she looked at me, and stammered after a long time: "You Who is it?" "Sorry, I don't know who I am." I smiled wryly, "In short, when I woke up, I was already caught in this incident, and now it's difficult to get out." "What do you mean?" Yi Jiang became more and more confused as he listened. "This is a private secret, you don't need to know, let me continue to speculate about your goal." I took a sip of tea and leaned comfortably on the sofa, "I spent a little time yesterday, looking up your writing Some of the news, found a lot of interesting things." "First of all, on Wednesday, May 30, 2007, three strange corpses were found in the Seine-Marne-Marne River district that day, two females and one male. They died extremely strangely. The internal organs of the two female They were all cut off piece by piece by the murderer with a kitchen knife and fed into the stomach of the male corpse. The cause of the death of the male was that the stomach ruptured and the internal organs suffered a lot of oppression. At that time you wrote in the news that 'the three deceased had an ambiguous relationship and were suspected to be triangular It’s just that I don’t know why the murderer used such cruel methods to kill the three victims, and what is the relationship between the three victims and the murderer?’ I think this is the beginning of your curiosity.” After a pause, I continued: "Then, on Thursday, June 7, 2007, two men and two women died tragically in Building B of Qingyang Community. I won't repeat the details of the incident, I believe you know better than me. "In short, although you said in the article that 'Yu, Zhou, Li Wen, and the men surnamed Zhang all showed traces of being combed with iron brushes, which is very similar to the ancient torture -'combing'. And all four of them have The specific relationship is that Zhou is Yu's wife, and Zhou has an affair with a man surnamed Zhang and Li Wen at the same time. "I don't know the cause of the death of the four people, and whether it is necessarily related to this." In fact, it is Secretly conveying a message - this incident, there is a fifth person at the scene, and that person is the murderer!" "Finally, the son-in-law of the Shi family, Yang Mingran died at his mistress's house. The two of them who had a good relationship suddenly cut each other in the early morning, and both fell into the well and died. Not only that, but there was also a kind of death that neither of the deceased could possibly cause. The jagged scars, which may also be a message of the presence of a third party." I deliberately slowed down my speaking speed, and slowly asked word by word: "Miss Yi Jiang, please tell me the answer, do you think that these three cases are all committed by the same perverted killer?" Yijiang's whole body trembled, and she didn't speak for a long time, as if she was struggling with something in her heart. "Okay, I've said everything I need to say. Now is the time for Ms. Yijiang to show her sincerity. If you have enough sincerity, I'm afraid we can cooperate to find out the culprits of these incidents. , I am very interested. What's more, we only know three of this disorderly serial murder case, and there may be more hidden in other corners of this city, but they have not been discovered!" I followed the temptation and kept bewitching her: " Say everything you know, and we'll work together!" Finally, Yijiang raised her head resolutely, exchanged glances with Qin Han beside her, bit her lip, and slowly uttered three words: "Sinking Pool!" "What?" I didn't understand for a while. "Sinking Pond, this is the truth we found!" Yijiang explained: "Believe it or not, there are indeed many strange deaths in this city that have not been reported, but the only connection between them is only one place, that is, It's a drowning pool." "I'm sorry, I don't quite understand. What exactly is the drowning pool you are talking about?" I was a little confused. "I know this." Shi Yueying tugged at the corner of my clothes, "The Shensi Pond is located in the west of the city, about 50 kilometers away in the mountains of Zhucun. It is very famous. It is said that it is composed of two wells, one son and one mother , which is also commonly known as the mother-child well, the two wells are about 1.5 kilometers apart, but the legends inside are interlinked. Because the water in the two wells is kept at the same level regardless of spring, summer, autumn and winter. Not too much, a little bit less, very balanced. And no matter what the weather is like in the four seasons of the year, there will be no shortage of water, which is amazing!" "That's right!" Yi Jiang took over the words: "'Sinking', in the dialect of this place, is also pronounced as 'promise'. So 'Sinking Pool' is also 'Promise Pool'. It is said that if in this Zimu In front of the well, the man stands at the child well, and the woman stands at the mother well, shouting the same promise at the same time, and the two will be happy. However, this is just a joke." Yijiang sneered: "I found out a month ago that there were strange deaths in the city, and the protagonists were all lovers. The more I checked, the more frightened I became. They died in completely different ways, but they all died very Miserable, some are even so miserable that people will never think that they used to be real people. "At the beginning, I thought that there was a perverted killer behind these cases, but gradually, my thoughts began to change. The sinking pool, and finally I found that the sinking pool was the only connection among all the dead. Each of them, I once made a promise in front of the sinking pool, but I broke my vow. Divorce, betrayal, affair, so they all died without exception!" I shuddered, "You mean, they broke their vows in front of the sinking pool, and then the sinking pool killed them?" I shook my head in disbelief and smiled wryly, "This conclusion is too imaginative!" "I'll tell you that it's impossible for you to believe it. After all, it's too much beyond common sense. However, I don't ask you to believe it now!" Yi Jiang also smiled wryly, with a slightly haggard smile, "Mr. The oath is divided into two parts. "The first part is the goal you want to achieve, for example, I love you, we must be together, never betray, and be happy forever. Then there is the second part, if the punishment is not achieved, for example, eat the heart of a third party to die, They were "washed" and died by ancient torture, etc. Without exception, those people fulfilled the death method they promised when they swore. And not only the two of them will die, but even those related to them will directly participate in and destroy Those who promise between them will die in the same way!" I rubbed my forehead, "If it's really like what you said, Shenchen Pool is a very famous place, and people with rough nerves like Yue Ying will know it when it becomes famous, then there must be many people who make a special trip to make a wish. Knowing that the feelings of modern people are inherently weak, the divorce rate this year is even ten percent higher than the marriage rate. Divorce is the greatest betrayal for human beings. Those who have made a wish in front of the promise pool and betrayed each other , and even divorced people, there must be more, but not everyone died. Only a few died, how can you explain this?" "This is the truth I want to find out!" Yi Jiang said slowly: "Sinking Pond must have its own set of criteria for judgment, or it will only work when a promise is made at a specific time. That's why I insisted on interviewing Ms. Time." "Do you think my sister and brother-in-law also made a promise in front of the promise pool?" Shi Yueying asked nervously. "It's very possible. After all, the death of your brother-in-law Yang Mingran and his mistress is so abnormal that the police can't find out. It is estimated that this case will be settled in the end." Yi Jiang nodded. "Then what do you mean, my sister will die in the same way as she promised?" Shi Yueying's face turned pale. "I don't know about this, your sister, she is an exception. That's why I insisted on coming to interview at the risk of losing my job." Yi Jiang explained with a solemn expression: "Generally speaking, in all the 'Sinking Pool' cases I have seen, all the relevant parties are at the same time, that is, the time difference will not deviate from the range of 20 minutes. Dead. But your brother-in-law died at 3:19 am yesterday, and her mistress also died at 3:9 am. But your sister is still alive and well, so I am also very confused." "I see. You came to interview mainly because you want to know if Ms. Shi has ever made a wish in front of the sinking pool, and if so, what kind of wish did you make, right?" I pondered for a moment and said, "No I'll help you with your questions." "Thank you, this is my business card, please call me if there is any result." Yi Jiang nodded, took out a business card and handed it to me, then stood up and left with her partner. I sent them out, and sat on the sofa thinking motionlessly. "Hey, what are you thinking?" Shi Yueying was obviously absent-minded, and finally couldn't help pushing me with her hands. "It's nothing. Yueying, do you believe what she said?" I looked up and asked. "No, I don't know." She replied hesitantly. "It seems that you believe it. Hey, it's a bit funny. Although it's illogical and unbelievable, I actually believe it!" I smiled wryly and took a deep breath. "Yueying, is there any effective way to contact your sister, if this is true, I'm afraid, she will be very dangerous!" Before she could call to contact her, the phone rang hastily...