Chapter Nineteen: Dismemberment

Morning arrived, and I slowly emerged from the haze of unconsciousness. My eyes fluttered open, scanning my surroundings, and there was Mengya curled up beside me, sleeping soundly and innocently.

A sudden confusion gripped my heart. What was happening? I remembered vividly that last night, I was jolted awake by a rhythmic “clack-clack” coming from the kitchen. I rose from bed to investigate and found a figure clad in a white apron, chopping something with a kitchen knife. My legs spasmed with fear—I think I knocked over the mop—and that shadow turned its head to look at me. I fainted instantly. But now, somehow, I was lying in bed.

I glanced again at Mengya, peacefully asleep at my side. That couldn’t be right; Mengya had been missing last night. Was this all another nightmare?

I pondered carefully. No, that sense of reality still lingered so strongly. Besides, dreams rarely leave such vivid memories, do they? Bewildered and unable to make sense of it, I kept turning the events over in my mind.

At that moment, a fist shoved my face aside. Mengya stretched beside me, letting out a huge yawn.

“Where did you go last night?” I asked, my expression grave.

Mengya, still groggy, yawned and squinted at me, rubbing her nose. “What are you talking about? I didn’t get up at all last night.”

“Are you telling the truth?” I pressed sternly.

“Why would I lie to you? What’s wrong with you?” she asked, surprised.

I stared into her beautiful, almond-shaped eyes, searching for any sign of deceit, but she remained perplexed. “What’s gotten into you? Are you losing your mind?” she said.

Seeing a hint of annoyance on her face, and no unusual behavior, I sighed deeply and recounted the terrifying events of the night before.

Mengya listened intently, her focus unwavering. When I described someone butchering meat in the kitchen at midnight, blood splattering everywhere, her eyes widened in shock, cold sweat beading and trickling down her temples.

“How can that be? Why didn’t I hear anything?” she asked, bewildered.

I shook my head in utter confusion. “How should I know?”

Mengya closed her eyes, steadied herself, and reopened them. “I think you must’ve had another nightmare last night.”

I shook my head and waved my hand dismissively. “Impossible. It felt too real to be a dream. Besides, can you remember your dreams so clearly?”

Suddenly, Mengya slapped her forehead. “You’re really hopeless. Why don’t you just check the kitchen? If it was a dream, there wouldn’t be any blood.”

The realization struck me. Of course—if it was all a dream, the blood wouldn’t be there. I hurriedly slipped on my slippers and ran to the kitchen. When I entered, I was stunned.

The white tiles on the kitchen floor and walls were spotless, not a trace of blood anywhere.

Mengya followed, examining the floor and the walls. She slapped my arm. “See? You scared the life out of me, and after all that, it was just another one of your nightmares.”

I said nothing, waving her off, and stepped into the kitchen. When I looked at the wall tiles, a chill swept over me, goosebumps rising instantly.

I glanced at Mengya, yawning at the doorway, and said coldly, “Last night really happened…”

Mengya shivered, her yawn catching in her throat, eyes wide with shock. She was so frightened she couldn’t speak, her jaw trembling.

A cold dread crept through me. My hands shook as I pointed at the tiles above the stove, beside the range hood. “Look, why are these tiles so clean? Think about it. The tiles next to the range hood are always exposed to smoke and grease, even if we eat out often. They shouldn’t be this spotless.”

I took a bamboo toothpick from the cabinet and scraped it along the grout between the tiles. Examining the tip, I handed Mengya a toothpick stained with red residue.

Mengya took it as if it were a death sentence, glanced at it, and tossed it into the trash.

“What… what is this?”

“It’s dried blood, left in the grout.”

Mengya grew anxious. “What should we do? Should we call the police?”

I shook my head helplessly. “If we call the police, they won’t believe us. With no evidence, we’d be sent straight to a mental hospital. For now, we just have to pretend we know nothing.”

Mengya nodded hesitantly, tears welling in her eyes. She wiped them away.

I gently stroked her head, comforting her. I walked over to the bed and unplugged my phone from the charger. As I glanced at my phone, another shiver ran through me, confirming my suspicions about last night’s terrifying events in the kitchen.

The headline read: “Murder and Dismemberment Case in the City This Morning.”

I quickly opened the news alert and read the details.

“This morning, city sanitation workers cleaning near Faming Temple in XC District discovered a black package in a trash bin. Inside was the body of a decapitated man, dismembered and stuffed into the package. The case is under investigation. The victim, surnamed Ren, was twenty-four years old, a young antique dealer from Beijing’s Liuli Market…”

XC District? Faming Temple? Wandering Alley? Surname Ren! Could the victim be Ren Bo? My head spun, and I nearly collapsed.

Mengya saw my distress and rushed to my side. “What’s wrong?”

Clutching my head, enduring the pain, I handed her my phone.

“Snap.”

Mengya’s grip weakened halfway through reading, and the phone dropped to the floor.

“What’s wrong with your hand?” I asked in surprise.

Mengya picked up the phone, hands trembling, and tossed it onto the bed.

“Ren… Ren Bo?” she said, her voice quivering.

I nodded in confirmation, picked up the phone, and dialed a number.

“You know already?” came Jun Master’s cold voice from the other end.

“Was it you?” I asked directly.

Jun Master let out a cold laugh, clearly irritated by my abrupt question.

He was silent for a long while, then laughed icily and spoke slowly: “What if it was? What if it wasn’t?”

“Jun Master, why did you kill them? I don’t know your grudges, but why must you go so far? Since Ren Tai’an is already dead, couldn’t you let Ren Bo live? But instead, you had to kill Ren Bo too, and in such a brutal way. I know people in your line of work don’t value a life like others do; you can cover up these things easily. But we’re all part of the same circle. Did you really have to make it so absolute?” My words and tone were intense.

There was no answer. After a moment, Jun Master hung up.

In frustration, I flung my phone to the floor, its battery bouncing out. Mengya saw my emotions spiraling and hurried over.

“What did he say?” Mengya asked urgently.

“It was Jun Master’s men who killed Ren Bo…” I replied coldly.

Mengya’s expression twisted into something strange—half a smile, half a grimace, haunting and unnatural. I thought she’d lost her mind and shook her shoulders. “Mengya!”

Mengya snapped back to herself, as if emerging from a trance. Seeing me watching her, she waved her hand, her face pale.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

Mengya shook her head, replying coldly, “Nothing. I’m just a bit scared after hearing Jun Master had Ren Bo killed.”

I sighed deeply. “I wish the past could fade away, but the tree wishes for stillness, and the wind won’t relent.” I glanced at Mengya, who seemed mostly back to normal.

“Mengya, drive. Let’s go.”

Mengya blinked, noting the determination in my face. She sighed, tears flowing anew.

I reached out to wipe her tears, gently caressing her delicate cheeks, pulling her into my arms, and soothing her as she sobbed.

“Shh, I’m here. Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid,” I whispered softly in her ear, gently patting her back.

Mengya looked at me, her lips curling into a tender smile, her beauty even more enchanting.

“With you here, I’m not afraid of anything.”

She wiped her tears, her lovely almond eyes gazing at me with devotion. After a long moment, her rosy lips pressed against mine.