Chapter 61: Orphan Resentment (Part 21)

Warning: Graphic depictions of a crime scene.

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Xiao Muyu’s chest tightened. She quickly stepped forward, pulling Shen Qingqiu back.

Although unsure, Shen Qingqiu figured something was wrong. She cautiously asked, “What did you see?”

Xiao Muyu pointed to the doll, then wrote a few words in Shen Qingqiu’s palm while speaking: “It looked at you.”

Zhang Yangfeng and the others were instantly creeped out as they stared at the doll.

“Y-you didn’t see that wrong, did you?” Huang Junfeng swallowed hard, his voice trembling. Their fear of dolls far outweighed their fear of Qu Muxi and the other ghosts.

“Everyone, be careful.” Xiao Muyu was still gripping Shen Qingqiu’s arm. Her eyes remained on the doll while shifting cautiously toward the contents of the other lockers.

Little Xiao Mei’s locker was filled with neatly folded dresses with a bow placed on top. It matched her fondness for beauty. However, the items had been locked away for so long that dust had settled over them.

Xiao Qin’s locker also contained children’s clothes but piled messily.

Shen Qingqiu lightly patted Xiao Muyu’s hand and glanced down at it.

Xiao Muyu had been in constant tension and only now realized what she was doing. She promptly released Shen Qingqiu’s arm, avoiding eye contact.

But when Shen Qingqiu went to check another locker the next second, Xiao Muyu’s gaze couldn’t resist following her. It was an automatic reaction beyond her control, which frustrated Xiao Muyu.

Shen Qingqiu stepped closer. With a sharp clang, she plunged her dagger into the locker. The gleaming blade stood before the doll, proud and threatening. Only then did Shen Qingqiu begin carefully examining the other lockers.

While Xiao Muyu had grown used to it, the others couldn’t help but silently shout ‘F*cking awesome!’

After a while, Shen Qingqiu pulled something out of Xiao Qin’s locker. Those standing farther away squinted to make out the item in her hand.

It was a strand of black thread.

Its thickness and color resembled hair, but upon closer inspection, it clearly didn’t belong to a human.

Hou Liang summoned his courage to ask, “Is that a doll’s hair?”

Xiao Muyu nodded. “It should be.”

“Then Xiao Qin, and you too, Liu Pei, match a doll with black hair. So, you can directly narrow your choices to Little One, Little Three, and Little Four,” Huang Junfeng said excitedly. However, he soon looked troubled. “And what about Xiao Yue? Is there really no clue for her?” Huang Junfeng’s corresponding child was Xiao Yue.

Shen Qingqiu spread her hands in a shrug. She turned, retrieved her dagger, and slammed the locker door shut with her backhand, locking the doll inside.

Liu Pei suppressed his gladness and said calmly, “Let’s not rush. There might still be other clues. We haven’t even found the boys’ room yet.”

Zhang Yangfeng voiced his agreement. The group continued down the left side of the hallway. Their search this time went surprisingly smoothly. The room next door belonged to Xiao Han and the other two boys.

Xiao Muyu examined the room’s layout. She and Shen Qingqiu didn’t rush forward this time. Instead, they let the most eager Zhang Yangfeng and Hou Liang step up to search for clues.

This room was just as dusty as the last. Similarly, clothes filled the first locker they opened. However, beside the clothes was a small first aid kit.

Hou Liang opened it and found rubbing alcohol, bandages, iodine, and other supplies for treating external injuries. There was also a roll of messily unraveled bandage with brownish stains all over it.

They examined the stains. Hou Liang stared blankly at them.

Zhang Yangfeng unrolled the bandage with a grim face, then showed it to Xiao Muyu and the others.

“Bloody handprint.”

Xiao Muyu frowned deeply. The handprint sparked some recognition within her.

Hou Liang’s fingers trembled as he clutched the edge of the locker. He murmured shakily,

“It’s… it’s very similar to the one on Jia Wenlong’s shoulder.”

“So, it belongs to Xiao Qiu?” Yang Rui carefully tried to recall.

“Not just Xiao Qiu. Look closely. There are two prints here, different sizes. One belongs to Xiao Qiu, but the other is also a child’s—either Xiao Han or Xiao Yan.”

“What does that mean?” Zhang Yangfeng struggled to work it out.

Xiao Muyu didn’t immediately reply. Her gaze surreptitiously shifted to her own arm.

“Let’s keep searching for more traces,” she said finally.

No one wanted to give up. A shared, unspoken belief had settled among the group. Now that they had understood some things, perhaps the current Qu Muxi and the eight children would no longer actively hinder their investigation.

Their persistence paid off. They uncovered something new—a copy of Pinocchio.

When Xiao Muyu caught sight of the book, her expression subtly shifted.

Shen Qingqiu noticed immediately and leaned close, whispering, “What’s wrong?”

Xiao Muyu glanced at her before writing in her palm: “It’s Xiao Qiu’s.”

Hou Liang flipped through the pages. He stopped abruptly at one. Someone had underlined a sentence unevenly.

[Lies are easy to spot. There are two types: one makes the liar’s legs short, and the other makes their nose long.]

The page bore several wrinkled, round stains as if tears had wet it. Two words were etched deeply beside the passage.

[Lie! Lie!]

The words left impressions on the back of the page, a testament to the intense emotions of the person who wrote them.

“Xiao Qiu wrote this? What does it mean? Come to think of it, he was reading Pinocchio this morning and said some strange things to Miss Xiao.” Zhang Yangfeng recalled the events of this noon, his thoughts in disarray.

Xiao Muyu never let jumbled details bog her down when considering a problem. After scanning the evidence, she spoke decisively.

“There’s no need to overthink this. It could only point to two things—either someone had deceived Xiao Qiu, or he had deceived someone.”

“Deceived him? We’ve pretty much pieced together the orphanage’s story. For him to hold such hatred for someone who deceived him, the culprit must’ve been among those eight men. There’s likely more to it than we know. But right now, we need to focus on tonight’s game.” Hou Liang was still uneasy. He began going back and forth around the room, hoping to stumble upon more clues related to the dolls. Sadly, he yielded nothing.

“There are still two places we haven’t checked,” Xiao Muyu reminded them.

“Where?” Zhang Yangfeng, Liu Pei, and the others asked in unison.

Xiao Muyu raised her hand and jingled the keys in her grasp. “The two bathrooms on the second floor.”

Everyone’s eyes lit up before they surged en masse toward said bathrooms. As Qu Muxi had explained yesterday, the first was the boys’ bathroom. There wasn’t a single drop of water, and a thick layer of dust coated every surface, leaving the place filthy.

The bathroom’s layout was simple. They could see everything at a glance and found nothing of interest within.

“Why is there nothing here?”

“Let’s check the other one.” Xiao Muyu strode out. Her instincts told her the girls’ bathroom would hold some clue.

As the key slid into the lock, it met resistance. The mechanism felt stiff and heavy. Xiao Muyu twisted with all her might until a faint click sounded.

When the door unlocked, she noticed it felt abnormally heavy. She couldn’t hold on to it. The key slipped out along with her hand. The iron-clad wooden door swung open and slammed loudly against the wall.

*BANG!*

“*Hiss!*”

“Ugh… *cough, cough!*”

A pungent stench instantly hit them in the face. Some drew sharp breaths through clenched teeth upon seeing the scene inside, while others turned away, barfing.

The bathroom looked like hell on earth. If one sought to describe it truthfully, it resembled a grisly crime scene.

Pools of blood coated the tiled floor, flowing towards the drain in the corner. That was nothing compared to the blood splatters on the white walls, ceiling, toilet doors, and porcelain sinks. It all seemed rather exaggerated.

The group stood almost dumbfounded. Even the least imaginative among them could easily picture what had transpired here.

The stench of blood had long been buried by time, replaced by a suffocating, sour odor of decay.

“This is the murder site,” Xiao Muyu murmured.

In her mind’s eye, she could almost see Qu Muxi and Big Xiao Mei luring those scum here one by one, then tearing them apart, dismembering them. The terrified men crying and begging for mercy on the floor. The incongruous, small bloodstains on the floor and the faint indentations in the coagulated pool seemed to have formed in their frantic kowtowing. Everything was so realistic it felt like a replay.

Xiao Muyu suddenly shook her head from the trance. A chill crawled up her spine as she swept her gaze around the room.

All seven of them had stepped into the bathroom without realizing it. They were now at least five steps away from the door!

“No, get out!” Xiao Muyu pulled Shen Qingqiu along but was still a step too late. The door’s edge grazed her fingertips as it slammed shut in front of them.

Everything plunged into darkness. The door didn’t just cut them off from the outside world; it also sealed away all light.

“Ah!” A terrified scream rang out, shocking them to their cores.

The lights that should’ve stayed off during the day suddenly flickered on!

But the scene illuminated by the lights only made their blood run cold.

The eight dolls that should have only appeared at night stood before them, staring directly at them.

Even someone as resilient as Shen Qingqiu felt tingles across her scalp. She gripped Xiao Muyu’s arm and staggered backward, a sensation as cold as ice spreading on her back.

Huang Junfeng and Hou Liang were so frightened that they fell to the floor. Huang Junfeng covered his face with both hands, not daring to look at the dolls’ ghastly pale faces.

Xiao Muyu inhaled sharply. Cold sweat dripped from her forehead as she pressed hard against her chest.

After retreating a few steps, Shen Qingqiu instinctively glanced at Xiao Muyu, whom she was shielding behind her. But that single glance made her expression change again.

On Xiao Muyu’s arm…

Before Xiao Muyu could react, Shen Qingqiu pulled her to the front. She hid herself entirely behind Xiao Muyu.

Amidst the chaos, only Zhang Yangfeng, holding Yang Rui protectively, noticed Shen Qingqiu’s action. He couldn’t help but find it odd.

Xiao Muyu was caught off guard. Yet, despite her bewilderment, she shifted her position to cover Shen Qingqiu well.

The eight dolls scanned each person like customers at a meat vendor. Their gazes brought an oppressive dread.

What caught Xiao Muyu’s attention the most was the doll Xiao Jiao had been holding the previous morning. It was the same one found in her locker earlier—Little Five.

Xiao Muyu endured her palpitations to examine it. The doll turned its marble-like eyes to meet hers. A doll’s expressive yet fundamentally inhuman gaze was unnerving to stare into. Xiao Muyu’s entire body tensed.

Suddenly, the doll laughed. The sound, childish at first, grew sinister and acrimonious. “Where’s the other one? The one who pulled my hair?”

Xiao Muyu had no idea what Shen Qingqiu was up to. But as the doll interrogated them, Shen Qingqiu straightened and stepped out from behind her. At the same time, she discreetly traced a few words into Xiao Muyu’s palm.

Xiao Muyu’s expression tightened, fixing her gaze on the doll before her. After a moment, she subtly gestured with the hand hidden behind her back.

As the doll’s attention shifted to Shen Qingqiu, Xiao Muyu felt nervous. She could sense the dolls’ malice growing far stronger. Their bloodlust was apparent.

“Tsk, tsk. Your hand’s still intact. That doesn’t fit, now, does it!?” Black energy erupted from Little Five’s stiff face toward Shen Qingqiu.

Xiao Muyu’s face paled as a crack resounded. Shen Qingqiu groaned, clutching her right hand as she dropped to her knees.

This attack was far more brutal than when Shen Qingqiu had been thrown. Xiao Muyu crouched to examine her. Shen Qingqiu’s face had gone pale, her forehead beading with cold sweat. Her right arm hung limply, quivering involuntarily. There was no mistaking it. The doll had broken her hand.

At the same time, two of the dolls turned their attention toward Shen Qingqiu: Little Two, the one with many little braids, and Little Seven, whose face was delicately innocent. Little Two had the most intricate and refined appearance among the dolls. It stared at Shen Qingqiu with an emotionless expression. A doll without expression exuded an even colder, more ominous aura.

Xiao Muyu rarely displayed intense emotions during instances. She knew that overwhelming feelings could cloud judgment. But at this moment, she could feel a fire rising within her chest, burning away any fear or hesitation. She turned her head to glare coldly at the doll that had struck Shen Qingqiu—Little Five. Her gaze was so sharp it seemed like it could pierce through the doll.

Little Five, however, appeared entirely unruffled by Xiao Muyu’s glare. Instead, it continued cheerfully, “Okay, there’s your lesson! Now, get up quickly. We need to prepare for the game.”

It turned to greet each person in turn. Its enthusiastic demeanor was alarmingly different from the previous night.

At that moment, everyone realized with dread. The game last night was merely a warm-up.

Xiao Muyu’s face darkened terribly. She looked at Shen Qingqiu’s forcibly broken arm, wanting to touch but didn’t dare. What worried Xiao Muyu more, however, were Shen Qingqiu’s ears. If Shen Qingqiu couldn’t hear clearly, it would impact her ability to participate in the game.

As Xiao Muyu helped her up, Shen Qingqiu noticed her gloomy expression, her near-tearful face, and her brows unconsciously furrowed tight. Shen Qingqiu forced a smile despite her pallor. She glanced at Xiao Muyu’s arm and handed her something.

When Xiao Muyu took the item, her gaze naturally fell on her own arm. A small handprint had appeared there at some point. In fact, Xiao Muyu had already suspected it in her mind.

She looked down at the thing in her hand. It was a single strand of brown hair left behind by the face peering at them from outside the window that first night. That face had belonged to a doll—specifically, Xiao Jiao’s doll.

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Author had something to say:

Xiao Shen got punished for plucking hair.
Xiao Shen: Well, isn’t that the bald truth.
Xiao Xiao: My wife, just pluck them out if you want!
Xiao Shen got hurt. Xiao Xiao is very pissed.