The Hand of Confession – Chapter 211

Volume 7: Days of Stargazing at the Inn

A Head

Xiao Tu, she went in here, and then there was no sign of her!

She didn’t know if the murderer was strong or not, but anyway, she felt Mr. Van Gogh was pretty badass; he could actually hold that severed arm and study it without batting an eye. And as he studied it, a strange, fervent look appeared in his eyes.

“This proportion…” Van Gogh murmured, “It should be that person’s…”

Which person was that person??

Beside him, Moustache Tang Song also asked, “Who are you referring to?”

Van Gogh thought for a moment more, then said with certainty, “It belongs to the player who wasn’t present last night.”

Last night…

Last night, they had invited the man who was alone to go wash up with them, but he had refused. Since he had already refused them, why would his severed arm appear on the second floor? What about his other body parts? Had he been dismembered and hidden in different places?

The tall guy, Sanmu¹, witnessing this ability of his for the first time, couldn’t help but question, “You can determine this severed arm just by looking at it?”

Shen Maomao’s heart gave a “thump.”

Sure enough, Van Gogh immediately showed a displeased expression, waving the severed arm around. “Are you questioning me?”

Droplets of blood flew everywhere, splattering his face, but he didn’t care in the slightest. He even reached out his other hand, grabbed the tall guy’s collar, and looked up at him slightly, his eyes quickly filling with red veins like little worms, looking like he wouldn’t back down until he got an explanation.

Sanmu didn’t want to clash with him and said good-naturedly, “That’s not what I meant…”

Tang Song stepped in to smooth things over, “He’s an artist, and artists all have their quirks. He doesn’t like people questioning him, you understand?”

Sanmu patted Van Gogh’s hand and said, “My apologies. I questioned your artistic skill. I’ll be more careful next time? Let’s not waste time here, everyone.”

Van Gogh snorted coldly, released his grip, and, still holding the severed arm, indifferently walked over to Moustache’s side, saying nothing more.

Xia Tian, who had dodged far away, twitched the corner of his mouth and said, “Shouldn’t you put that down first…”

Expressionlessly, Van Gogh loosened his hand. The arm fell to the ground, even bouncing lightly twice. He reached up and wiped his face; the blood droplets on it were smeared, turning into a solid patch of red, making him look more like a fierce ghost than an actual fierce ghost.

After this little interlude, the group finally entered the washroom and began to wash up.

Shen Maomao, on the other hand, led Lou Jingmo by the hand into the women’s restroom.

Given that someone had vanished silently in here before, Shen Maomao didn’t dare close the stall door. Blushing, she took care of her physiological needs. However, when it was Lou Jingmo’s turn, she expressionlessly closed the door under Shen Maomao’s eager gaze, producing a deafeningly loud slam.

Shen Maomao jumped in fright. The men outside thought something had gone wrong inside. Golden Retriever shouted, “What’s wrong?!”

“Nothing!” Shen Maomao touched the tip of her nose, feeling a little like laughing.

What the hell, how could she still manage to laugh in an environment like this? Was it because with Lou-jie around, she had no worries?

She stood by the door, lost in thought. After a while of letting her mind wander, she suddenly realized that Lou Jingmo inside the stall seemed to have been silent for a very long time…

“Are you constipated?” She took two steps forward and raised her hand to knock on Lou Jingmo’s stall door.

There was no response from inside.

Shen Maomao’s heart pounded wildly. She changed from knocking to banging, shouting as she did, “Holy sh#t! Sis, don’t scare me! Where are you?! I’m a coward! F#ck?!”

“What happened?!” Golden Retriever, from outside the door, rushed straight in, with the other four men close behind.

“Lou… Xiao Tu, she went in here, and then there was no sign of her!!” Shen Maomao was on the verge of tears.

“Move aside!” Sanmu said. “I’ll see if I can break it open!”

The two people at the doorway quickly made way for him.

Sanmu clenched his fist, raised his hand, and punched the door, creating a loud bang. The stall door panel didn’t move an inch, but Sanmu’s fist was the first to turn red and swell.

He cradled his hand, hissing and gasping in pain, his eyebrows and eyes squeezed together. “How is this a wooden plank? This is granite, isn’t it?”

Golden Retriever also took out a prop, closed his eyes, and was about to throw it into the stall, scaring Shen Maomao into quickly grabbing his arm. “What do you think you’re doing?! Lou… What if Xiao Tu is still inside? Are you trying to blow her up too?!”

Golden Retriever’s shoulders slumped. “Then what do we do?”

The initial panic had passed, and Shen Maomao regained some of her composure. She reached up and touched the back of her neck, remembering that if something happened to Lou Jingmo, she herself should be the one to die suddenly the next second.

She breathed a sigh of relief, not too concerned about her own safety anymore. However, she still couldn’t be sure if Lou Jingmo was in the stall or not, so she opened her mouth and said, “Who among you is good at jumping? Can you climb up and see if there’s anyone inside?”

The five men hesitated. “This… isn’t quite right, is it?”

Although none of them were exactly good people, the thought of hanging onto the door panel and peeking through the gap at the top—no matter how you thought about it, it seemed perverted, okay?

Shen Maomao rolled her eyes. “It’s already come to this, why are you still worrying about that?”

Golden Retriever helplessly bent his knees. “How about this, you step on me and go up to take a look?”

Shen Maomao raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

Golden Retriever scanned her up and down, then estimated his own capabilities, hesitating, “Maybe ask the big brothers? My frame is quite small.”

Shen Maomao’s smile gradually faded.

Golden Retriever immediately got into position at the doorway, patted his thigh, and changed his tune, “Go ahead and step, Sister Rabbit!”

Beside him, the tall Sanmu kindly offered, “Can you manage? How about I do it instead?”

Golden Retriever: “A man can’t say he can’t do it. I can!”

Since he himself said so, Shen Maomao naturally wouldn’t be polite. With a grim expression, she lifted her right foot and stepped directly onto Golden Retriever’s thigh. Then, using both legs, she pushed herself up forcefully, squashing Golden Retriever down a head shorter. She then clung to the door frame and peeked inside—

“F#CK!” she yelled out, her hands slipping as she jumped straight down, her feet going numb from the impact of landing.

Moustache Tang Song asked, “What’s wrong?!”

As soon as his voice fell, a muffled thud suddenly came from inside the stall. “Thump!” It was very forceful, as if something had slammed against the door. The door panel, which hadn’t budged despite their efforts, began to tremble.

Shen Maomao’s face changed. “Don’t ask, just run!!” After saying that, she turned and dashed out.

At the same time, the sound of impacts from inside the door panel became more frequent, like drumbeats, signaling danger.

The faces of the other men changed, and they hurriedly followed her. The group rushed out of the washroom in a flurry. Shen Maomao, who had run out first, stood guard at the door. After the last person ran out, she slammed the women’s restroom door shut, then gripped the doorknob tightly with her hand, her whole body leaning against the door to prevent whoever was inside from pushing it open.

“Bang!” It sounded like the door panel collapsing. Then, something slammed hard against the door, hitting it five or six times in a row.

Golden Retriever cursed, “What the f#ck is that thing?!”

Shen Maomao’s face was deathly pale. “A head.”

Golden Retriever: “Holy sh#t?!”

“Thump—”

“Thump—”

After two consecutive hits, Shen Maomao was pushed back a small step. The door opened a tiny crack, and a thick, bloody smell wafted out. Sanmu quickly joined her in bracing the door, saying, “Are you okay? Let me and Van Gogh take over.”

Shen Maomao didn’t try to be a hero. “Switch!”

Two tall men pressed against the door simultaneously. The thing inside slammed against it dozens of times but still couldn’t force it open. Gradually, the sounds died down.

Just as the two were about to release their hands, Shen Maomao said, “Don’t! All’s fair in war!”

As soon as her voice fell, the thing inside angrily slammed the door panel once more, followed by a series of clattering and banging sounds, as if someone was kicking a ball around inside.

Xia Tian leaned against the sink, frowning, and asked, “Was your friend harmed?”

“Pei, pei, pei!” Shen Maomao spat three times. “It wasn’t Xiao Tu! It was a man, with a crew cut. His face was a bloody mess, couldn’t see who it was clearly. Just as I climbed up, I saw it placed on the water tank, baring its teeth and smiling at me. If my courage hadn’t been trained up, I would’ve peed my pants by now!!”

Golden Retriever said with relief, “Good thing I didn’t go up, otherwise I’d definitely be having nightmares tonight.”

The sounds inside continued non-stop. From the corridor outside, a man’s voice came, “Who’s this… making so much noise so early in the morning, can’t a person sleep?”

As he spoke, the man rubbed his eyes and came to the washroom, making eye contact with the group, who were in strange postures with grave expressions.

The man’s hand, rubbing his eyes, paused. “What are you all…”

Sanmu’s eyes darted. “We found the murderer! We’ve trapped him inside. Quick, come help me hold the door, I’ll call everyone else over!”

The man didn’t fall for his trick. “Then you watch here, and I’ll go call people, won’t that do?” After saying that, he turned and walked out, shouting as he went, “Everyone, wake up! They’ve caught the murderer!”

Shen Maomao frowned as she watched him leave, unable to resist saying, “Is it okay to let so many people know?”

Sanmu feigned helplessness. “There’s no other way. We can’t just have the two of us guard here indefinitely.”

Tang Song also said, “There’s strength in numbers. No matter how formidable this thing is, it can’t possibly wipe out so many people, right?”

Before long, a crowd had gathered at the restroom door, and the sounds from inside the women’s restroom had quieted down, as if nothing had happened.

“Make way… come, let me in…” An old voice came from behind the crowd. People parted to create a gap. The old Chinese medicine doctor, leaning on a cane, walked to the front with measured steps², looked at the few of them, and said, “You’ve caught the murderer?”

Sanmu nodded. “He’s right inside. He was about to attack us just now.”

The Chinese medicine doctor coughed twice. “Alright then, you men open the door. Let the women and children move back. We’ll tie up that murderer, and once the road is clear, we’ll escort him to the police station!”

Tang Song said, “Old sir, we just finished fighting the murderer. We don’t have the strength to tie him up now.”

The old man said, “It’s not like you’re the only men here!”

As they spoke, the man who had initially gone to call people returned with a rope. “Here, here, I got the rope! A few people come with me and rush in. We’re a bunch of grown men, can’t we take down one person?”

Sanmu and Van Gogh exchanged a look and moved away from the doorway.

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The author has something to say:

I’m three years old, I’m so tired, I want Lou-jie to hold me while I sleep.

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