Deity Investigation Report

Chapter 6 The Castle Monster (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

In fact, Han Su recognized this person the moment he saw him.

This person is also a family member of a victim; he is the brother of the girl with the ponytail who died on the second floor of the castle.

Over the years, besides that wealthy couple, he was the one who contacted him the most. However, this only applied to the first few years. Starting six or seven years ago, Han Su hadn't seen him much, as if he had suddenly disappeared.

He dared not relax, slowly raising his head to look at the other person, tightening his grip on his backpack: "I've already told you everything I know."

"Believe it or not, I have nothing more to say to you."

Song Chushi sensed Han Su's wariness, so he abandoned his plan to shake hands, nodded, and said, "I know."

"I didn't return to Qinggang City this time to bring up old matters with you, Mr. Han. I just wonder if you would be interested in finding a place to sit down and have a chat?"

"Ok?"

Han Su was slightly taken aback and looked up at him.

A few minutes later, Han Su and he sat down at a wonton shop next door, where two bowls of wontons with salted egg yolk filling were placed in front of them.

Song Chushi took off his glasses, grabbed a tissue to wipe them, and said softly to Han Su, "When this happened ten years ago, no one had a good time."

"At the time, many people thought you were lying, or that you had lost your memory and instead had some unrealistic fantasies, so they kept waiting for you to recall some valuable clues."

“But I believe you, Mr. Han.”

“I saw what you looked like right after you escaped. The fear on your face was real. Afterwards, I reviewed the video of you being questioned by the police many times, and studied all the schedules of your class at that time, the time of your disappearance, and the time of your escape.”

"Although we didn't find the dark castle you mentioned, judging from the timeline, the location of the incident should indeed be not far from where you described."

"Over the years, so many forces have conducted in-depth investigations, turning that entire area upside down, yet they have found no clues. This is inherently unreasonable."

"..."

Hearing what the other person said, Han Su raised his head in surprise.

Ever since he told the police about the Dark Castle when he was a child, no one—newspapers, experts, victims' families—has ever believed him.

Aside from Xu Ji, who believes everything he says, this person is the first of his kind.

He paused for a moment, put down the spoon in his hand, and said softly, "So, the reason you came to see me is..."

"Before my sister's accident, I didn't really believe in the existence of the supernatural or ghosts. I am a PhD from Qinggang University and a researcher on the application of remnants of the radiation era. I believe in science and logic, not those ethereal things."

Song Chushi let out a soft breath, gently rubbing his temples, and slowly said, "But in the past ten years, in order to find out the truth about my sister's accident, I have investigated a lot, including some unfounded rumors."

"I……"

He seemed to want to say something, but then stopped and said to Han Su, "I'm having some doubts, Mr. Han."

Han Su listened carefully to his words, and a slight thought stirred in his heart.

The person in front of me is no ordinary person.

In this world, all relics and even records related to the radiation era are the most dangerous and difficult to access. The Executive Council has even passed legislation prohibiting anyone from getting involved without approval. The fact that this person was able to enter this field speaks volumes about their ability.

"I've discovered that there seem to be many things in this world that don't follow the logic of reality."

Song Chushi slowly began, "I came here today to ask you if you could help me recall what happened back then?"

"And what about the monsters you saw in the Dark Castle?"

"..."

When Song Chushi made this request, he seemed somewhat apologetic, as if he also felt that it was impolite to force someone who had escaped the clutches of evil for ten years to relive painful memories again and again.

Han Su was somewhat surprised by his plea.

After a moment's thought, he slowly nodded and said, "Okay."

Actually, if Han Su had been asked to describe these things ten years ago, when he had just escaped, he wouldn't have been able to explain them clearly, because he was too flustered at the time and didn't have time to observe all the details in the castle.

But now, the repeated trips back and the repeated escapes have only made everything deeply imprinted in his mind.

Upon hearing this, the other person was overjoyed and quickly took out a notebook and a sharpened pencil.

"I don't need to go into the details of how this happened."

"It was a group of students from our class who went to the science museum together. We were young then and didn't know the way, so we don't know how we ended up there."

"That place should be a castle, or rather, a prison, or even a tower, because it seems to have many floors connected by spiral staircases, and on each floor there is a monster..."

As Han Su began to recount the story, his tone seemed devoid of intonation: "The monster guarding the gate was a man with a face as white as porcelain, wearing a black suit. He was very tall, probably... three meters tall, and very thin, with countless withered vines wrapped around his body..." As Han Su narrated, Song Chushi's pencil scratched across the paper, making a rustling sound, as if he were sketching the monster.

Its skill level is quite good; it bears some resemblance to the monsters I've seen before.

Unfortunately, no matter how realistic the drawing is, it cannot capture the oppressive feeling of a ten-year-old child facing that monster.

"We were all sitting on the school bus when we felt a sudden jolt, and it seemed like it got dark. When we opened our eyes, we were already in that courtyard filled with the stench of decay."

Sitting opposite Song Chushi, Han Su slowly recounted: "That man with skin like porcelain led us into the castle."

"Many monsters sat around the long table, as if they were having a meal. They were speaking in a language we couldn't understand, or rather, it wasn't speaking, but just the howling of monsters, their language."

"..."

When Song Chushi heard this, his eyebrows and eyes twitched slightly, and he became much more serious.

Han Su continued, "They stared at us as if we were toys or food, and then they carefully selected and led the children they had chosen upstairs."

“A disobedient child started crying and was smashed to death by the monster in the black apron. Blood splattered all over our faces, and then all the children forgot to cry. They couldn’t understand how a child’s head could rot like a watermelon and he wouldn’t cry.”

"They were pleased with our quietness, so they examined us more closely, looking at our eyes, teeth, the lines on our palms, eyebrows, and ears. Some of the monsters seemed very excited, and some even drooled."

"A monster, shrouded in a black robe like a noblewoman, chose a girl with a ponytail..."

"There was a female monster with only half a body, who made a goat-like laugh. She picked up a little boy wearing glasses..."

"There was also a monster wearing a trench coat, with a body like a giant. He carried away a girl who looked like a doll, wearing a white dress and a birthday crown on her head..."

"By the way, her name is Li Xiaoman. She is the daughter of the chairman of the Magic Box Group. Over the past ten years, she and her husband have often come to me to ask about her whereabouts."

"..."

Song Chushi's hand, which was drawing a sketch, seemed to tremble slightly.

After a long while, he looked at the drawings he had made and whispered, "These are the things that were reported in the newspapers: the Withered Steward, the Lady of the Flesh Horns, the Worm Monks, and the Pale Giant..."

Han Su scoffed: "Yes."

When Han Su was first released, the police department questioned him repeatedly, and the reporters who were staking out the area managed to obtain the records of his questioning and published them in lengthy articles.

Although no one believed Han Su's words, the case had a huge impact.

They still reported the details of Han Su's account, even giving the monsters he described corresponding code names.

However, the scene reported at the time was very large, but it was quickly forgotten. Unexpectedly, Song Chushi still remembered it.

After a long silence, Song Chushi finally raised his head: "And then?"

Han Su looked at him calmly and slowly said, "Later, I escaped."

"That girl with the ponytail was very brave, even a bit reckless. Although she was young, she must have been very focused on training and was very skilled. She jumped out, knocked over the candlestick, and started a fire. The children were terrified and started crying."

"..."

At this point, Han Su paused for a moment, looking at Song Chu's expression. He did not show any obvious sadness, but his face seemed to become somewhat blurred.

That is his sister.

Han Su sighed softly and said, "Because of that fire, or rather, just because the children were disobedient, the monsters were very agitated. I took advantage of the chaos to run out through the door that was not yet closed and disappeared into the rose bushes next to me."

"I only remember climbing over a lot of thorns and vines, and then running nonstop without daring to look back, until a search and rescue team saw me."

"Afterwards, I pointed out the direction of the castle to other people, but as you know, there was nothing there."

"..."

Han Su did his best to satisfy Song Chushi, telling him everything he knew, even drawing out the mysterious symbols from his memory, and telling him with certainty that these were the clues.

Song Chushi also took very careful notes, not missing any details, but he suddenly stopped sketching as the conversation was nearing its end.

His eyes seemed to suddenly become shrewd and sharp at that moment, completely unlike his usual tired appearance: "Mr. Han, ten years have passed, and you still remember so many details?"

Looking into the scrutinizing eyes of the other person, Han Su suddenly grinned.

She said softly, "For the past ten years, I've often dreamed of going back to that hellish place."

“I relive that experience again and again; I can’t forget it, even in my dreams, I try to rescue the other children again and again…”

(End of this chapter)