Chapter 122: Killing Two Birds with One Stone

This time, Ji Linmo did not rush to leave. Instead, he switched on his flashlight and carefully observed the corpse of his "younger sister," Ji Xiaoling.

The sister, dressed in her school uniform, lay curled in a ball, pale and cold. Milky-white maggots squirmed on her cheeks, dropping onto the faded, washed-out fabric of her uniform. She appeared to have decayed even further since his last visit. Ji Linmo put on the gloves he had brought and brushed aside her hair, which was dampened by corpse oil. He saw a purple mark around her neck and dark brown ligature furrows. It was clear that she had been strangled to death with a rope.

After a moment of thought, Ji Linmo opened her uniform to examine her body further, confirming that she had indeed been strangled to death. Unexpectedly, her expression did not look twisted, and the spaces under her fingernails were clean, as if she had not struggled at all. But why?

Ji Linmo grew increasingly puzzled. Compared to other ways of dying, strangulation was not instantaneous; it was a relatively painful and slow process. Someone being strangled would inevitably struggle desperately before death, likely clutching fragments of the assailant's clothing or hair. Yet, his sister’s expression in death looked far too peaceful, as if she had not offered the slightest resistance.

Unable to fathom the reason, Ji Linmo stopped hesitating. After sealing the wooden barrel tightly with glue, he picked up his flashlight to give the attic one last thorough inspection. Under the beam of light, tiny dust motes danced in the cramped space. Aside from the barrel containing the corpse, the attic was completely empty, as if it had been intentionally cleaned out beforehand. Perhaps the attic had been tidied up after his sister died there?

Just then, Ji Linmo caught a glimpse of something in a dark corner. Wait, what was that? He reached down and picked it up; unexpectedly, it was a syringe. The needle, lacking a cap, glinted with a cold, sinister light under the flashlight.

"Cthulhu Laboratory."

Seeing the small print on the syringe, Ji Linmo’s confusion deepened. How could something like this be in the attic of his own home? Was it meant for his sister? And what was the deal with the laboratory label? He increasingly suspected that his parents had killed his sister, but he lacked concrete evidence.

In this home, almost all traces of his sister had been erased. She did not even have a bedroom of her own. Where had she slept before she fell ill? Surely, a girl wouldn't have been made to sleep in the living room?

"4. The younger brother has become a different person lately. Beware of him! Do not, under any circumstances, enter his room!"

The thought of the text message his sister had sent him crossed his mind. Wait... Qin Feng’s bedroom? Ji Linmo looked up. He realized that his own bedroom, being the master bedroom, was much larger than the others—certainly enough for two people to sleep in. Could it be that when his sister was alive, the two brothers had actually shared a room? Was Qin Feng’s bedroom actually his sister’s original room? In other words, Qin Feng’s bedroom likely held many clues regarding his sister!

The thought sparked suspicion, but given his sister's warning, Qin Feng’s bedroom was extremely dangerous and strictly off-limits. Ji Linmo had a vague plan forming, but his immediate priority was to move the body. He hoisted the sack containing his sister’s corpse, climbed down the ladder, and left the attic.

Just as he was tiptoeing toward the window sill, a harsh ringtone suddenly blared.

"Ring-a-ling! Ring-a-ling! A little cutie is calling you!"

A small pink cell phone on the bedside table began to vibrate violently.

Oh no! Ji Linmo quickly grabbed the phone and powered it off. But the "Father's" snoring had already stopped. The entire bedroom fell into a deathly silence, save for the rustling of the wind outside the window.

"Son, what are you doing here?"

A cold voice, suppressing fury, boomed like thunder. "Father" sat up in bed. With his bandages gone, his body was covered in sores, and his intestines spilled out as he rose, looking like a living, speaking corpse. Without waiting for Ji Linmo to speak, "Father" jumped off the bed, his legs covered in prominent post-mortem lividity.

"What do you have in that sack? Open it up!"

Looking at the bulging sack, Father’s eyes were bloodshot, and a faint purple light flickered within them, appearing terrifyingly bizarre in the night.

[Alert! You have provoked the target. Please act immediately to avoid death!]

"Dad... it’s just some old things I cleared out from the room that I don't need anymore." Ji Linmo looked at his father, his face emotionless.

Clearly, "Father" had guessed what was inside the sack. The veins on the back of his hands bulged, and he looked ready to lunge and kill Ji Linmo at any moment.

"I told you to open it!"

"Dad, if you want to see so badly, I won't stop you."

Ji Linmo slowly opened the sack. A foul, fishy stench immediately wafted out. Inside the reeking bag were various odds and ends—gloves, crumpled paper balls, and other miscellaneous trash.

A look of shock flashed across Father’s eyes; he seemed unable to believe the contents were merely these items. The man, covered in corpse spots, instinctively glanced toward the attic, a movement that Ji Linmo caught immediately.

"I’m asking you, why are you coming into the bedroom in the middle of the night?"

After a brief silence, Father’s expression twisted. He stared intently at Ji Linmo, as if he would kill him the moment he detected a single lie. But Ji Linmo remained calm, meeting his gaze steadily.

"Dad, I came to find you because I have something to tell you. I hope you can check on my brother's room. When I was cleaning up earlier to take out the trash, I realized my brother hasn't come out all evening, and I'm very worried."

Father looked at Ji Linmo suspiciously, as if trying to find a flaw in his story. But Ji Linmo’s face, etched with concern, showed not a hint of deception.

"You’d better not be lying to me..."

After a short pause, Father coldly dropped these words. Choosing to believe Ji Linmo, he strode toward Qin Feng’s bedroom.

At that moment, Ji Linmo crouched down and pulled out the item he had kicked under the bed earlier. The sack containing his sister’s corpse was silently dragged out.

Thankfully... he had been fast enough and had used two sacks. As for letting his father investigate Qin Feng’s bedroom, it was truly killing two birds with one stone.