S.C.I. (Volume I) - Case 3: Chapter 5
The Magic Killer 05 - The Curse
Zhao Zhen's exclamation of "I remember who you are now..." and Bai Chi's retort of "Liar!" left everyone present dumbfounded.
Zhan Zhao asked Bai Chi, "You two knew each other before?"
Zhao Zhen smiled somewhat awkwardly, while Bai Chi lowered his head awkwardly without a word, looking as though he was holding onto some lingering anger.
After a long silence, Zhao Zhen suddenly softened his voice and asked Bai Chi, "You... you don't stutter anymore?"
Hearing this, Bai Chi turned his head and glared fiercely at Zhao Zhen, a faint mist of tears in his eyes, before spinning around, grabbing Zhan Zhao, and saying, "I want to go back first."
"No, wait!" Zhao Zhen hurriedly reached out to pull him back. "Sit for a bit before leaving, we haven't seen each other in so long..."
Bai Chi forcefully jerked his hand away. "You're not allowed to touch me!"
"No touching, no touching..." Zhao Zhen quickly retracted his hand and forced an ingratiating smile.
A thought flashed through the minds of everyone present: Could it be that Zhao Zhen had done something unforgivable to Bai Chi? Otherwise, why would the little guy be so furious?
Bai Yutang arched an eyebrow at Zhan Zhao, his expression conveying: "See that? Even a rabbit will bite when pushed into a corner~~~"
Zhan Zhao glared back at him. "Are you trying to make things even more chaotic?!"—warning him not to stir up trouble!
The elderly butler suddenly let out an "Ah!", looked from Zhao Zhen to Bai Chi, and burst out laughing.
Bao Zheng asked, "What is this? Do they have some past history?"
Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang immediately gazed at Bao Zheng with looks of sheer admiration, thinking to themselves, "As expected of the boss~~~ He asked the exact question on our minds, and managed to pry into the gossip so naturally~~~ Impressive..."
The butler led everyone into the living room, served tea, and recounted a certain little episode from back then~~~
Generally speaking, children who stand out from the crowd rarely have a very happy childhood... Because they are different, they have no friends.
Take Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, for example. Why have they always stuck together? Because ever since they were kids, it has been extremely difficult for anyone else to break into their circle.
Bai Yutang knew that by the age of ten, Zhan Zhao had already mastered three languages and could read extremely thick original foreign-language texts. Zhan Zhao knew that by the age of ten, Bai Yutang could shatter twelve bricks with his bare feet and go toe-to-toe in single combat with police uncles who were many times larger than him. In other words, if Bai Yutang hadn't had Zhan Zhao by his side growing up, and Zhan Zhao hadn't had Bai Yutang, their childhoods would have been entirely lonely. That was because it was simply too hard for them to find other friends.
However, not every gifted child in this world is lucky enough to have a genius childhood sweetheart. Take Bai Chi, for instance, or Zhao Zhen.
Zhao Zhen's mother was French, so he was born in France, and only returned to China with his father when he was around ten years old. Upon returning, Zhao Zhen didn't yet know how to speak Chinese, so... he had no friends. To help his precious son pass the time, Zhao Zhen's father gave him a small white lion named "Lisbon." From then on, Lisbon became Zhao Zhen's only friend.
Bai Chi's childhood was even more unfortunate, because a gentle scholar born into a family overflowing with fierce warriors was like a little white rabbit born into a pack of lions.
Ever since he was little, Bai Chi lived under the strict demands of his elders and in the shadow of a cousin he had never even met. Bai Chi ran slowly, had poor balance, and was extremely timid. His only strong suit was perhaps having an incredible memory and doing mental math quickly... But none of these things won him any praise in the Bai family. Consequently, the lonely little Bai Chi grew up treading carefully in everything he did, and he had no friends either.
What little Bai Chi loved most was borrowing a book from the library that even adults couldn't chew through, and hiding away in a spot where no one else went—somewhere bathed in sunlight where he could see flowers and plants—to read with relish. He had many small secret bases of his own, and his absolute favorite was a small courtyard behind the library, where the elderly gatekeeper would kindly offer him pastries.
After days and weeks of this routine, one day, a very cute, large white "cat" leaped over the low wall.
It seemed hungry, so Bai Chi shared his snack with it—a glutinous rice dumpling. Following that, a firm bond was forged between the human and the "cat."
From then on, every day after school, Bai Chi would bring some food from home to this spot, and the "cat" would invariably arrive on time. The purpose of Bai Chi's trips to the library also shifted from reading books to purely playing with the "cat." That was until one day, a pretty little boy rushed into the courtyard shouting "Lisbon." That boy was Zhao Zhen.
Zhao Zhen had been obsessed with magic since childhood, a trait likely inherited from his famous magician maternal grandfather. His grandfather had also discovered that his grandson possessed exceptional talent, so Zhao Zhen had three hours of magic practice every afternoon. Originally, little "Lisbon" had snuck out to play simply because Zhao Zhen was busy practicing and had no time to keep it company. Gradually, it grew fond of spending time with Bai Chi, and the time it returned home grew later and later—until Zhao Zhen discovered its scheduled disappearances and tracked it down.
Seeing Lisbon having so much fun playing with Bai Chi, Zhao Zhen felt a sense of betrayal. He decided to teach this "little fellow" who had stolen his good friend a lesson.
Children are different. They might all only be as tall as your knees, might both be afraid of the dark, and might both prefer pastries over main meals... But there are still significant differences between children. For example, Zhan Zhao was the kind of angel who would pick up injured small animals from the roadside and nurse them back to health. And Bai Yutang was the kind of little demon who would slip caterpillars into the teacher's chalk box.
By the same token, Bai Chi was a somewhat airheaded little angel, while Zhao Zhen was a somewhat mischievous little demon.
Through tracking down Lisbon, Zhao Zhen became friends with Bai Chi. To his astonishment, he discovered that this slightly dazed kid could actually speak French. Then, after gaining Bai Chi's trust, Zhao Zhen played a cruel trick on him—he lied to him.
That day, Bai Chi went to the library as usual to play with his "cat" and his new friend.
Zhao Zhen smugly told Bai Chi that he possessed magic.
When Bai Chi refused to believe it, Zhao Zhen performed a newly learned magic trick: he transformed a pigeon into a frog—during their interactions over the past few days, Zhao Zhen had learned that Bai Chi was terrified of frogs above all else.
Finally, Zhao Zhen patted Bai Chi on the shoulder three times and announced that he had cast a curse on him: the moment Bai Chi spoke a single word, he would turn into a frog.
Terrified out of his wits, Bai Chi burst into tears and ran away. Zhao Zhen smugly scooped up Lisbon and went home, promptly forgetting all about the incident.
A month later, Bai Chi's mother appeared at Zhao Zhen's doorstep. At first, she merely came to inquire about the situation, because ever since little Bai Chi had returned from the library that day, he had not spoken a single word.
That was when Zhao Zhen realized Bai Chi had actually believed his stunt. When he told Bai Chi that he had already lifted the magic for him, Bai Chi started stuttering whenever he spoke.
Little Bai Chi's stutter never went away, but Lisbon remained his best friend, frequently sneaking out and refusing to return as if Bai Chi were its true master. Out of guilt, Zhao Zhen didn't stir up any further trouble... However, the stutter made Bai Chi's already miserable childhood even more desolate. At school, the other kids mocked him; at home, his parents always looked at him with pity and regret... He became even more timid and disliked talking.
A year later, Zhao Zhen took Lisbon and moved back to France... He didn't say goodbye to Bai Chi. Although Bai Chi hadn't spoken to him once since the trick, Zhao Zhen knew in his heart that if Lisbon left as well, little Bai Chi would become even more lonely and desolate, and he was terrified of seeing Bai Chi cry with eyes as red as a little rabbit's.
In truth, Zhao Zhen had never forgotten this matter. Because of this, no matter where he went as an adult, Zhao Zhen loved wandering around local libraries... hoping that he might run into little Bai Chi again. Only, the child in his memories was a timid little stutterer... The present-day Bai Chi not only no longer stuttered, but he was also a police officer.
It wasn't until he saw Bai Chi hugging Lisbon and rubbing against him that Zhao Zhen recognized the silhouette of that child from back then—he had called him a liar... and he certainly wasn't wrong!
After listening to the butler's narration, Bao Zheng and the others found themselves unsure whether to laugh or cry.
Zhan Zhao blinked at Bai Yutang, his eyes conveying, "He was even more wicked than you were as a kid!"
Bai Yutang nodded. "That's for sure, simply unforgivable!"
Following that, the two of them cast a simultaneous look of disdain toward Zhao Zhen, thinking to themselves, "As expected of Zhao Jue's nephew, it's all in the bloodline!"
Then, the two of them suddenly realized that whenever Bai Chi got nervous or scared, he indeed unconsciously started stuttering... So that was the root cause.
They cast a sympathetic look at Bai Chi. "The poor guy was cursed for a lifetime~~~ How tragic~~~"
"Ahem, ahem~~" No matter how thick-skinned Zhao Zhen was, he still felt he couldn't quite take it, and quickly changed the subject. "Uncle Bao, what was that favor you mentioned needing my help with?"
............
Only then did everyone remember there was serious business at hand. Zhan Zhao took out the photographs of the magic array patterns from the document folder, handed them to Zhao Zhen, and asked, "Do these diagrams have any special meaning? Are you familiar with them?"
Zhao Zhen took the diagrams and began examining them closely, looking through the photos one by one. His brows furrowed tighter and tighter. After finishing the photos, Zhao Zhen pushed the teacups aside on the coffee table and sorted the pictures into two separate piles.
Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang watched his movements with curious incomprehension.
Once he finished, Zhao Zhen leaned back against the sofa and asked, "The white human shape in the middle... is that a body?"
The photos Zhan Zhao brought were all of the magic array patterns left behind after the bodies had been moved. After all, since Zhao Zhen wasn't with the police, showing him photos of the actual corpses wouldn't be appropriate. Seeing him ask, they nodded.
Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "The patterns in these photos were not drawn by the same person."
Bai Yutang looked at the two piles of photos on the table and asked, "You've split them into two piles—does that mean two different people?"
"No, I can't confirm that," Zhao Zhen said, shaking his head. "I can only be certain that one pile of these patterns is correct, and the other pile is wrong."
Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged glances, a faint spark of excitement welling up.
"You understand the meaning of these patterns?" Zhan Zhao asked.
"Mmm." Zhao Zhen nodded, explaining, "The true origin of these patterns lies in the totems of primitive tribes. Originally, they were quite irregular, but later, with the flourishing of alchemy, people classified and organized these patterns, gradually evolving them into fixed styles."
"Alchemy?" Bai Yutang frowned. "Is it really that mystical?"
Zhao Zhen smiled. "Alchemical diagrams have simpler structures, highlighting constellations and various elements... Look at these diagrams." With that, he pointed at the photos and said, "Eyes, gender, snakes... they are no longer concise, abstract symbols, but concrete, physical objects."
Zhan Zhao nodded. "In other words, they evolved?!"
"Clever." Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "They always say you're a genius, and it's no lie... Indeed, these evolved from alchemical diagrams."
"Then what on earth are they?" Bai Yutang asked.
"...Curses!" Zhao Zhen stated. "They are all curses representing divine retribution."
"Divine retribution?" Everyone wore looks of shock and suspicion.
"That's right! Divine retribution!" Zhao Zhen repeated. "The eyes represent the eyes of the Grim Reaper; what causes the death of the cursed person are the evil deeds they once committed. Gender represents unclean relations between men and women; what causes the death of the cursed person is sinful fornication, usually used to curse adulterers or mistresses. The snake represents lies; what causes the death of the cursed person is his deceit toward the world..."
"Then you said just now that a portion of the drawings here were drawn incorrectly... What does that mean?" Zhan Zhao asked, perplexed.
Zhao Zhen said, "Actually, you should have brought me photographs containing the bodies; that would be much more accurate... Because these diagrams have a direct connection to the target of the curse."
"You mean what kind of person should be paired with what kind of diagram is all regulated?" Zhan Zhao asked.
"Ha, ha~~" Zhao Zhen laughed. "Talking to you makes things so effortless, you catch on with just a hint... Exactly. These diagrams are drawn very accurately, just like how professional sorcerers would draw them. But these..." He picked up the other pile. "...are very crude. Evidently, the person who drew these has absolutely no understanding of curses whatsoever."
Bai Yutang picked up a photo, the look of amazement on his face growing more intense. Holding the diagram of Xu Jiali, he asked, "Are you saying this one and the previous ones were not done by the same hand?"
Zhao Zhen pondered for a moment and nodded. "You could say that."
Zhan Zhao looked at the two most recent cases, picked up the ones for Zhang Zhenzhen and Sun Qian, and asked, "Did these two come from the same person's hand?"
Zhao Zhen smiled and shook his head. "I can only say these two diagrams were drawn by professionals. Whether it was the exact same person, I couldn't say... However..."
"However what?" Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked toward him.
Zhao Zhen picked up Sun Qian's photo and said, "The person who drew this one is the most formidable. Want to know why?"
Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged glances, and with simultaneous understanding, they said, "Because the victim was a child, which had never appeared before, yet they drew it entirely right!"
"Good!" Zhao Zhen said approvingly. "Dealing with smart people is just so easy!”