I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 395 - 395 394. The kid next door_1

Chapter 395: 394. The kid next door_1 Chapter 395: 394. The kid next door_1 “What’s up?”

Lu Ban and Shia perked up their ears, ready to hear some gossip.

Shia didn’t notice another doughnut mysteriously disappeared from her bag.

“An urban legend.”

Cui Siter seemed to be aware and spread his hands to explain.

“Legend has it that in the slums of the Abandoned Capital, sometimes at night, you might come across a woman. If you kindly take her in, or have some ill intentions and try to abduct her, chances are you’ll encounter misfortune and be found dead somewhere in the sewer the next day, with your corpse in a terrible state. There are many similar tales, and different regions even have different versions. They’re mainly used to scare children into not going out to play at night.”

“I see.”

Lu Ban said, understanding.

“So it turns out, we have similar rumors on our side too, claiming that if you don’t sleep at night, you’ll be snatched away by the Night King of the forest, fried in a sizzling hot pan of oil until fragrant, then seasoned with some salt and pepper, stir-fried until golden brown on both sides, and finally spiced up with chilies and salted fish…”

Shia’s description gradually turned into a recipe for a late-night snack.

“Please stop for a moment, my friend.”

Cui Siter interrupted Shia’s culinary directions.

“What’s the Night King?”

Lu Ban asked, curious.

“It’s a legend from our place, said to be a monster that defeated the Winter Wolf hundreds of years ago and dominated the night, specifically used to frighten children who refuse to go to bed.”

Shia said seriously.

“…”

Lu Ban pondered for a moment. The one who had defeated the Winter Wolf, wasn’t that himself?

Who would have thought that his deeds from years ago would still be passed down and even evolve into the big bad monster used to prevent children from crying at night?

What would Shia think if she knew he was the very Night King?

Lu Ban thought it might be better to stick to discussing how to add chilies and salted fish.

“The salted fish should be soaked in water first… I mean, so, this rumor is just that, a rumor, not something strange?”

“Who knows? People die on Black Street every day. Sometimes, to cover up crimes, it’s convenient to create some handy urban legends to take the blame.”

Intending to pull out his pipe, Cui Siter changed his mind considering the place he was in and put it back.

“However, this person was indeed seen with at least one woman before his death.”

Lu Ban nodded.

“How do you know?”

Shia reached into the paper bag, only to find that the doughnuts had vanished without her knowledge. She was slightly puzzled but still crumpled up the paper bag and stuffed it into her pocket.

“There’s a scent of perfume on his body. Look, his innards have been preserved so intact, the scent around him at the time has been enclosed along with them in the glass.”

Lu Ban’s True Sight provided him with additional clues.

“Did he have any female patients that day?”

“There shouldn’t be any.”

Cui Siter shook his head.

“A bartender from Black Street injured his leg while drunk, a factory worker suffering from lung disease caused by prolonged exposure to pollution; these were the two patients he saw that afternoon.”

“There wasn’t any Call Girl that got beaten up or a woman who had to work outside for her family’s sake that came to the clinic?”

Lu Ban inquired.

“No.”

Cui Siter closed the notebook.

“Take another good look at these organs for any clues,” he said.

“Looking at this really does take a toll on the body, can you bear to let me see?”

“Of the people present, you’re the least qualified to say that.”

Unable to resist, Cui Siter pulled out his pipe, struck a match, and lit the tobacco. He took a deep inhale, allowing the slightly irritating smoke to fill his lungs, bringing with it a mild hallucinogenic relief to his nerves. He glanced again at the corpse blooming with Glass Flowers. Had it been before, Cui Siter might have already lost his Sanity and suffered various stress reactions, but now, he was completely capable of standing in front of the corpse, all smiles and chatter.

All this change came from the Silent Lands.

As his missions in the Abandoned Capital increased, Cui Siter began to sense that the Pollution plaguing this world was gradually overflowing, breaking through the confines that once restrained it.

Perhaps one day, the dream world built by that author from the Ancient Capital will become stark reality, and monsters will roam the streets of the Abandoned Capital.

“Hmm, what’s this?”

Lu Ban observed carefully again and noticed something—a bit of color seemed to be sticking to the parts of the organs close to the skin.

This color wasn’t noticeable usually, only under the match light provided by Cui Siter in a dark environment could one clearly see it.

“It’s probably dye; such stains are common by the factory. The factory has been very busy lately, and many people have fallen ill. Doctor Howes sometimes helps some of the sufferers as well,” he remarked.

Cui Siter leaned in for a closer look as well.

“Could this have been brought in by a worker from that factory?”

Shia found the corpse blooming with Glass Flowers to be filled with a sense of eeriness, and moreover, it seemed more like an expression of some intense emotion.

Because Doctor Howes’s face wore an expression of extreme pain and surprise; he must have endured considerable suffering.

There are many kinds of murder, and Shia had killed many times herself.

To simply kill is just to end a life; murder is a means to an end, a process to achieve some other aim.

But for the one who initiated the Glass Flowers, it was clear that murder was the goal. He killed Doctor Howes in such a manner specifically to make him suffer and endure hardship.

“Did he have any enemies?”

Shia asked as she fished out a bag of small biscuits from the crevices of her armor, which she had secretly stashed away.

Crunch, crunch—

The sound of chewing biscuits echoed in the morgue, causing considerable torture to one’s stomach.

“I’ll take one too,”

Lu Ban said as he reached out and took a biscuit from Shia, only to find that the biscuit in his palm had disappeared.

“Doctor Howes’s enemies… he virtually had none. He was a good neighbor to everyone. After graduating from medical school, he worked as a doctor in a hospital for a while, then set up his own clinic. He charged low fees, sometimes even helping the poor. Perhaps some of his colleagues didn’t like him?”

Cui Siter explained, then added,

“Of course, it’s not to say that good people won’t die and bad people will for sure. Maybe he had a dark side that we didn’t know about, or he got involved with someone he shouldn’t have. It’s quite normal in the Abandoned Capital.”

“We could visit his clinic and then inquire with the supplier later,”

the distinguished detective of the Abandoned Capital said.

“No problem,”

The three of them thanked the staff and left the funeral home. Not far from there, just a block past the teahouse where Lu Ban and Cui Siter had met, was Doctor Howes’s clinic.

The place was sealed off and guarded by the police. Common people were not allowed to enter.

By then it was the afternoon, and the sunlight began to grow ambiguous, dipping westward, lazy, and the clinic became dim.

Walking into the clinic, Lu Ban smelled a strong disinfectant odor.

He saw that the clinic’s sick beds had been cordoned off, and that was where Doctor Howes’s body was discovered.