Number 035 - Death of the Wild Cat (6)

"I'm going to find that cat. I'll stay here to look for it, you guys continue the investigation."

"Uh, is that cat difficult to deal with?"

"It must have consumed quite a few souls, its power has greatly increased, but it's not an evil spirit or a vengeful ghost. It won't attack innocent people."

"If you ask me, we should just drop this matter. Su Zhuoqin and those people brought it upon themselves. They deserved to be eaten by the cat. Right, Ling?"

"Living beings are living beings, and dead souls are dead souls. Since they are ghosts, they shouldn't walk in the mortal realm. Even if they don't attack people, those who encounter them will be affected."

"That... that's true."

"I see Zhou Yanghui's yang energy is very weak, and his mental state is already compromised. That cat is likely trying to slowly drain his yang energy, not devour his soul. His ancestors and the paper money and incense burned for them can't support him forever. That Zhu Bin probably died the same way. You go investigate the other two roommates and ask Fei Wen to confirm about the cat."

"Okay."

May 1, 2006. Investigation revealed that one of the other two roommates, Wang Shuangning, disappeared in 2003, and the second, Fan Le, died suddenly in 2005.

May 2, 2006. Interviewed the client regarding Wang Shuangning. Audio file 03520060502.wav.

"Mr. Fei, Zhou Yanghui mentioned a cat to us, a very strange one, that seemed to seek death. Do you have any recollection of this?"

"I... I don't remember."

"You previously told us that of the five roommates at the time, besides Su Zhuoqin and his two colleagues, the remaining two were one who returned home and another who changed jobs and moved. Could you clarify, are you referring to Wang Shuangning, the one who moved, when you said that?"

"Yes, Fan Le went back home, and Wang Shuangning moved. What's wrong?"

"We have now learned that Wang Shuangning disappeared in '03."

"This... How is that possible? He, he really moved! He got a new job, the pay was quite good, he treated us to drinks, I watched him pack his things, with his luggage..."

"With his luggage what?"

"He... he... that day..."

"Mr. Fei, what happened that day?"

"That day, that day! That was the day of the farewell dinner. When we were going back, Su Zhuoqin caught the cat! The cat you just mentioned! It was that day! Wang Shuangning did it, they even said something about commemorating it, Wang Shuangning delivered the final blow! When he left, he took the cat's corpse with him to help us dispose of it... Yes, it must be like that, that's why he disappeared... It must have been that cat..."

"Think carefully, are there any other details you might have missed?"

"Hmm... I don't think so... It must have been that cat that killed Wang Shuangning..."

May 4, 2006. Heard a cat's meow. Audio file 03520060504.wav.

"Hello, did you hear that? That's a cat, right?"

"It's a cat's meow. Mr. Fei, you don't need to worry, they can't get in."

"They really can't get in?"

Meeeow--!

"Ahhhhhh!"

"Mr. Fei, calm down."

"I'll go take a look."

"Be careful when you open the door, don't let the cat in."

"How could that happen?"

Tap, tap, tap... creak-- bang.

Giggle giggle giggle...

"What's that sound?"

"He's shivering. Alright, the idiots went to look, it's fine now, go to sleep. Yawn--"

"I, I, I... I can't sleep..."

"Mr. Fei, the cat's meowing has stopped, it's fine now."

"Really?"

"Really, there's no more cat meowing."

"Hoo..."

Creak--

Meow!

"Ah!!! It's in! It's in!!"

"Mr. Fei..."

Bang. Tap, tap, tap...

Meow meow! Meow--aoao!

"Quick, save me, you guys save me! Don't let it come near!"

"Idiot, what are you doing!"

"Doing what?"

"Why did you bring the cat in?"

"This is the cat the boss said was problematic! See, I caught it right away."

Meow! Meow!!

"Huh, is it really that one?"

"That's right, a calico, and look, it's covered in bloodstains. This part on its head, that's from when Su Zhuoqin smashed it before, right?"

"We still need to confirm. I'll draw some blood from it and take it for testing tomorrow."

"Idiot, how did you even catch it?"

"I ran out and saw it. It was probably injured and couldn't run."

"Its limbs are fine."

Meow meow meow meow meow meow...

"Whoa, it's quite agile! Why didn't it run away just now? Is it hungry?"

"Get it out of here! It's going to kill people! It's the one that killed someone!"

Meow meow meow meow...

"It's so noisy, looks like we won't be sleeping tonight."

"I'll lock it up for now. We'll deal with it when the boss gets back."

"I'll go get it something to eat."

"Someone call the boss!"

Attached: Photo of a stray cat; Blood sample 03520060504.

May 5, 2006: Fei Wen reported missing, bloodstains found at the scene. Cat shows no abnormalities. Blood sample 03520060505 extracted.

May 5, 2006: Audio file analyzed. Audio file 03520060504G.wav.

"...Meow meow meow meow..."

click!

"What's wrong with the cat's meow?"

"I heard a human voice, Su Zhuoqin's voice, very clearly. He said he was Su Zhuoqin and to save him, then he said to kill him, calling Fei Wen's name."

"What on earth is going on? Is Su Zhuoqin's ghost attached to the cat?"

click!

"...Meow meow meow meow..."

"The rest is more of the same, all telling us to kill it. It seems like it really wants to die."

"If I were stuck with a stray cat, I'd want to reincarnate quickly too."

"But, only Su Zhuoqin? What about Kong Rongde?"

"Who knows? When is the boss coming back?"

"He said yesterday he hadn't caught the cat's ghost yet and wouldn't be back for a while, telling us to keep an eye on the cat here. I sent him the photo yesterday, but the signal was bad, he hasn't received it yet."

Meow--meow--

"Tsk, the cat's meowing again. Mushroom, did you hear Su Zhuoqin speaking?"

"Mushroom?"

"I'm thinking about something. Su Zhuoqin only speaks when the cat is meowing. Perhaps, it's not that he's attached to the cat, but that he became the cat."

"You mean, his soul is inside the cat's body?"

"Wait a moment, I'm going to record its current meow."

Attached: Audio file 03520060505.wav.

May 5, 2006: Cat's meow analyzed. Audio file 03520060505G.wav.

"...Meow meow meow meow..."

"Mushroom, how is it?"

"Gulp! This..."

"Hey, don't keep us in suspense!"

"This is, Fei Wen's voice."

"Uh..."

"You don't mean..."

"It's Fei Wen speaking. He's asking us to save him, or else to kill him quickly."

"Could it be that whoever killed the cat gets trapped inside its body?"

May 5, 2006: Keyboard provided to the stray cat for text communication.

Attached: Document 03520060505.doc.

"Last night, I kept hearing the cat meowing. You closed the door, gave me earplugs, and headphones. I buried myself under the covers, but nothing worked. The meowing sounded like it was right next to my ear. I couldn't take it anymore! So, I killed it. I killed it while you were sleeping. When I killed it, I saw something float out of its body. I was so scared my legs went weak. It took me a while to see clearly, it was Su Zhuoqin. Su Zhuoqin seemed very happy and even smiled at me. I was stunned. Then the cat's corpse moved. It suddenly jumped up, pounced on me, and bit my face."