The Murder Scene

"We're here," Zhang Zhiyuan said. "This should be Yenie Holy Hall."

"Make way! Don't block the path!" Several people in coarse linen robes carried a stretcher up the steps and hurried through the hall.

As they passed Zhang Zhiyuan, he glanced over without thinking and saw a bloodstained person lying on the stretcher.

"What are they saying?" Qiao James asked.

"They're telling us not to block the way," Zhou Zhi said hesitantly. "Why doesn't this place look like somewhere people pray?"

"Let's go inside first." Zhang Zhiyuan led the way into the hall, with the others close behind. Though the building was imposing, its gray-white stone columns, each seven or eight meters tall, supported the entire vaulted ceiling, and there were no guards along the way. They made it inside without any trouble.

There were even more people here, and the scene was more chaotic. Some hurried back and forth, while many others sat or lay around. Along one wall by the windows stood a row of simple wooden beds, with many women in black veils moving among them. A foul smell hung in the air.

"This is... a hospital?" Naruko asked in surprise.

"Looks like it. I don't think proper hospitals existed in this era." Zhang Zhiyuan nodded. "To win over believers, these nuns often do charitable work. Helping the sick is a good way to do that."

"That explains it," Zhou Zhi said, looking enlightened. "I remember there was a famous nurse who was a nun herself..."

"Hey, what are you people doing here? We're busy. Could you stop standing around in the hall and getting in the way?" Someone abruptly cut him off.

Everyone turned toward the voice and saw a petite woman standing with her hands on her hips, questioning them. She was dressed just like the other nuns, except for a red armband tied around one arm, probably to distinguish her from the others.

"Do you have someone being treated here? If you're looking for someone, go to the front desk. You don't belong here." Her tone was plainly displeased. Unlike the timid passersby, she seemed not to notice the weapons on their backs and showed no fear.

"Sorry, we're not here to see anyone. We'd like to ask you a few questions," Zhang Zhiyuan explained. "My name is Zhang Zhiyuan. What should I call you?"

"Jian... Zhi...yuan?" She repeated it awkwardly. "All right, strange name. I'm Jenny. Like you, I don't have a surname." She seemed not to have expected such polite manners from them, and her irritation eased.

"I... actually do have a surname. Never mind, it's not important." Zhang Zhiyuan coughed twice. "Miss Jenny, are you in charge here?"

"I don't manage the hall. I just look after the patients, but I know pretty much everything that goes on here. What do you want to ask?" She lifted her chin. Her meaning was clear: ask your questions and leave.

"There was a brutal murder here, wasn't there?" Zhang Zhiyuan led her to a corner of the hall and lowered his voice. "About half a month ago..."

Jenny's expression darkened. "Why are you asking about that? The police have investigated several times and we've already told them everything—"

"I know. They didn't get anywhere," he said as calmly as he could. "But just because the police failed doesn't mean we will. Someone important hired us to look into it again. We might get results."

"...But it's been so long."

"That's true. We can't rely on the original evidence anymore, but I have my own methods," Zhang Zhiyuan insisted. "All you have to do is take us to the scene."

Jenny was silent for a long while. At last, she turned and said, "Follow me."

The group followed the nun to a side chapel outside the main hall.

"This used to be where we treated the most seriously injured patients." Jenny pulled up her veil as she spoke, then pushed open the wooden door. "But ever since that incident, this place has been cursed. Now we can only use it as a morgue."

A horrendous stench of decay poured out of the room, and everyone covered their noses.

"Damn, it stinks!" Qiao James said with a frown. "You go ahead. I'll wait outside. I can't understand what she's saying anyway."

"I'm not going in either." Naruko brushed at her sleeve. "I'm allergic to bad smells."

"Fine. You can all wait outside." Zhang Zhiyuan gave them an exasperated look. "I'll go in alone." He stepped inside and quickly surveyed the room. It was small, no more than thirty square meters, with high windows around the walls. The fading light of dusk slanted into the room, casting a dim grid across the floor.

In the light, he could see many black marks still clinging to the stone tiles, almost certainly the result of blood soaking into the floor.

"The murder must have happened late at night. No one knows how the killer got in or how they managed to subdue so many patients," Jenny said haltingly. "Vina was the first to discover what had happened. She was on the early shift. From what she said... the scene was horrifying. Several people had been cut apart and then pieced back together. The blood was so thick it clogged the gap beneath the door..." At that, she covered her mouth, a gagging sound rising in her throat.

Clearly, it was not a pleasant memory for her.

"You don't have to go on. I know the rest." Zhang Zhiyuan took out a notebook and sketched the room's layout. The beds had since been replaced with morgue tables, but the room's general arrangement was still the same as it had been half a month ago. He had already confirmed the murder scene's location using the photographs. Once he was done, he asked, "By the way, what did you mean when you mentioned a curse?"

"The Crimson Curse." Jenny's fear showed in her face. "The hall spent two days thoroughly cleaning this room, but afterward, patients who came here started dying for no apparent reason, their bodies covered in red sores before they died. Later, it wasn't just the patients. We could be cursed too... In the end, the head nun had no choice but to order everyone out of the side chapel. It's been left just as you see it now."

"I see." Zhang Zhiyuan looked thoughtful. "This must have happened in the main hall too, right?"

"How did you know?" Jenny looked at him in surprise. "It did, but not as often as here."

"I have a friend who's a scholar of medicine... and knows quite a bit about curses. In return for your help, I'll tell you one way to fight the curse." Zhang Zhiyuan smiled. "Before treating or tending to patients, wash your hands with boiling water. And bandages, splints... anything that might touch a wound should be boiled too. That might be enough to keep the curse in check."

"What? You want us to boil things in water? It's a curse!" Jenny looked at him as if he were talking nonsense. "And have you seen enough? Don't you need to ask about more details?"

"Yes, this is enough." Zhang Zhiyuan headed for the door. "Thanks again for your help, Miss Jenny. I don't think the killers will get away with it forever."

"So, what have you figured out?" Outside the side chapel, Qiao James shrugged at him.

"The decisive clue." Zhang Zhiyuan was now confident. "Let's get back to the cabin. If I'm right, the killer will soon strike again."