Chapter 47: Xueqing’s Past
“She’s out of danger, just lost a lot of blood. She might not wake up for a while.”
“That’s great.”
In the hospital on Black Street, after waiting for a few hours outside the operating room, good news finally arrived.
I let out a sigh of relief, my back slumping from the chair, my shoulders going limp.
The one who informed me of Xueqing’s safety was Nana. It was thanks to her help that Xueqing received treatment promptly. Otherwise, the situation might have become even worse.
“I don’t know how you found her. That place has multiple barriers. If you don’t go in the right direction, you’ll encounter a ghost wall. Forget about reaching the end, you won’t even be able to get out.”
“Mr. Shadow guided me inside.”
“Mr. Shadow?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
I saw the plump figure of Shadow waving behind Nana, likely signaling me not to reveal his existence.
Mr. Shadow played a crucial role in finding Xueqing this time. He’s a great benefactor who helped me immensely, and I will never forget his kindness.
I remember when I first joined Investigation Department’s Class 6, Ms. Akiko mentioned that Mr. Shadow was looking for his ‘main body.’ I should help him look for it too.
Nana noticed the direction of my gaze and looked back, but Mr. Shadow had already disappeared.
“What are you looking at?”
“Nothing. Instead, I have something I want to ask you. You knew Xueqing couldn’t perform Oniification without Xuan’er’s soul, yet you didn’t stop her and just watched her go to her death?”
“We didn’t know where she was going beforehand. Besides, those ghouls set up such an obvious trap, and she still walked right into it. Even without the power of Oniification, she still went.”
I couldn’t understand it, but I could guess that Xueqing had her own reasons. I had never understood this reason before, and now I had to understand it.
“Can you tell me about Xueqing’s past? I want to know why she’s so obsessed with hunting ghouls. The organization must have had a reason for taking Xueqing in as an external employee, right? I don’t believe you recruited her just because of her ‘talent.’”
After crossing her arms and remaining silent for a while, Nana confirmed my gaze again. Realizing that she could no longer evade the issue, she slowly began to recount the past.
“Eight years ago, there was a plane crash. All ninety-six passengers and nine crew members perished, including four children. Jiang Xueqing was one of them.”
“A plane crash? Was there a malfunction?”
“Later checks revealed that the plane had no malfunctions, so it was classified as a human error accident due to the captain’s inexperience.”
A human error accident. If it were that simple, there would be no need to continue. This meant there was an inside story. Was this related to Xueqing’s obsession with killing ghouls?
“Yes?”
Nana nodded and said sternly.
“Yes, a group of ghouls attacked that plane, for reasons unknown. These ghouls were exceptionally powerful, each one being a Great Ghoul. Classified by the organization’s anomaly levels, they all had B-class strength. That’s a level requiring a large number of personnel to suppress, and there wasn’t just one, but a group. Why they attacked the plane is no longer important. What’s important is that Xueqing was on that plane, and this is likely why she hunts ghouls now.”
“You don’t need me to explain the habits of ghouls, do you? And the way these ghouls ate was disgusting. You can’t imagine the scene on the plane; it was worse than rice fields gnawed by locusts.” Unlike Xuan, who had to eat out of instinct, the other ghouls all ate humans. Ghouls are relatively weak among ghouls and only feed on corpses, and do not actively attack humans. But other ghouls are not so eco-friendly. Xueqing was in that hell on earth at the time? And she was young then. She surely wasn’t traveling alone, meaning her parents were also persecuted by ghouls?
“At that time, Jiang Xueqing’s parents and older sister all died. Yet, at only nine years old, she survived and was eventually discovered and taken in by the organization.”
“Xueqing… How did she survive?”
A thought of ‘that’s great’ welled up in my mind, but doubts also arose. If it were just an ordinary plane crash, it might have been possible to survive by chance. But the truth was that the plane was attacked by ghouls. Then why did they spare Xueqing?
“Ah, at that time, we had the same questions as you. Never mind why those public enemies of humankind didn’t eat her, the most crucial thing is ‘why was she still alive?’”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you think she was unharmed when we found her? No, she couldn’t even be considered ‘alive.’ When we found her, she was buried in the rubble, clutching her mother’s severed hand. Almost none of the bones in her body were intact. Broken bones, internal organ displacement… any one of these could easily kill a person, yet all of these were concentrated on her, and she didn’t die.”
“How is that possible?!”
To survive injuries of that magnitude wasn’t a matter of resilience or strong will. An ordinary person absolutely couldn’t have survived.
“Because she had already become a murderous ghoul.”
“Even before Xuan gave her a soul, Jiang Xueqing was already a murderous ghoul. This is also why she could easily control Oniification.”
“What did you say?”
A murderous ghoul is a human possessed by a ghoul, who trades their body and soul for power, but the price is continuous killing and sacrifice. Murderous ghouls are essentially puppets working for their ‘employer,’ the ghoul possessing them. They must kill people within a specified time to feed the ghoul, or they will be eaten themselves. But how could Xueqing be one?
“Yes, the same kind of murderous ghoul you’re talking about. These people, after gaining the power of ghouls, surpass ordinary humans and exist between human and ghoul, enjoying killing. That’s why they’re called murderous ghouls. Jiang Xueqing has always dealt with these murderous ghouls, but in reality, she is one of them.”
“Xueqing isn’t!” Xueqing is definitely not one of those degenerates!
In short, with the power of a ghoul, she survived. It can be known that the ghoul that gave Jiang Xueqing power was quite formidable, capable of preventing her from dying even after suffering such severe injuries. However, her body was so damaged that ordinary treatment couldn’t heal her.
At this point, Nana looked back at the closed operating room door with a reminiscent expression and said.
“Although the ghoul’s power saved Jiang Xueqing’s life, it also rejected treatment methods using other anomalous items. It’s as if they made her ‘wish she were dead.’ Perhaps that ghoul simply did it out of malice.
“Why would that ghoul do that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Maybe it was on a whim. The way these異類 think is never something humans can understand.”
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Complex emotions welled up in my heart—partly thankful for that ghoul’s ‘whim’ that saved Xueqing’s life, and partly enraged by its torment of Xueqing’s life.
“At that time, we were helpless and could only watch. It was then that those madmen from the R&D department unexpectedly proposed a solution: to perform physical modification on Jiang Xueqing, using Jiang Xueqing’s own potential to heal herself. I approved and changed her ‘physical growth’ to ‘physical growth,’ which is why she has always maintained the appearance of a nine-year-old.”
“So that’s why.”
This was why Xueqing never grew up. Replacing ‘growth’ with ‘growth’ (‘成长’ to ‘生长’). Although only one character was changed in writing, achieving such a feat was absolutely not simple. It was a miracle those guys could come up with such a method. Although the R&D department members were already secretly called ‘Explosion Geniuses’ and respected, it seemed they could still be useful in critical moments.
“So, the reason Xueqing has always hunted murderous ghouls is…”
“She must kill within the ‘designated time,’ or she will suffer ‘backlash’ and die. And Jiang Xueqing chose to hunt ‘killer’ murderous ghouls. This was also to find the ghoul possessing her.”
“Is that ghoul still alive?”
“Yes, and it has never appeared once, not even leaving a trace. It also never ate the murderous ghouls Xueqing killed. It’s probably just hiding its tracks.”
Why would it do this?
“Jiang Xueqing kept hunting murderous ghouls just to find that ghoul. But I didn’t expect her to be so persistent. Knowing she couldn’t use Oniification anymore, she still went to throw herself into danger. Even if she wouldn’t die easily, it was still too risky. If you hadn’t arrived in time, she would have been doomed this time.”
Yes, even knowing this, she still went. It shows how important this matter was to Xueqing. What kind of feelings did she have while searching for that ghoul? Was it for revenge? Or was it for… Only by asking her could I know. I decided to ask Xueqing properly when she woke up. But what is this lingering unpleasant feeling in my heart? Am I jealous? Jealous of that… Is this also because my hidden emotions are amplified?
“Speaking of which, you seem to have used Destiny Power?”
“Hmm? Oh, yes. What’s wrong?”
“You seem to have greatly frightened the girls from the General Affairs Department.”
“I was a bit impatient at the time and just gave the order directly.”
“That’s a small matter, but you’d better not use it carelessly. Some people are closely monitoring your actions.”
Monitoring me… But I don’t feel any gazes. I haven’t met a stalker more skilled than Lan.
“I understand.”
“Speaking of which, aren’t you going to see her?”
“Hmm? Who?”
“Who else could it be,” Nana gestured downwards with her chin, “the one below. She misses you dearly.”
Stepmother… Should I go see her?
