Memoirs from Ten Years Ago

Chen Shang had just returned to his guest room when he saw a message from Karis Black. Before long, the mechanical girl pushed open the door, swaggered in, and plopped down in a chair, hugging her knees.

“You’re not seriously thinking of sleeping here with me, are you?” Chen Shang slumped into the chair opposite, a look of confusion on his face.

Karis Black sneered coldly, her tone dripping with disdain. “What are you imagining? Hackers who want to date me could line up from the dark web to social media. You think you’re special?”

“I actually came to ask you something.” After her mechanical fingers flew over the keyboard for a moment, she raised her eyes and asked, “How much more do you know about the Midnight Headsman?”

Chen Shang quickly straightened up, curiosity lighting his eyes. “What’s got you suddenly interested in that?”

Karis Black spun her portable computer around so the screen faced Chen Shang. On it was an image of a long-haired man wearing a bronze skull mask—the notorious Midnight Headsman.

“You once told me the Headsman kills for revenge, and his enemies are the three major sects,” Karis said.

“To be precise, it’s the entire Kunlun District,” Chen Shang added.

At his words, Karis turned her computer back and began typing rapidly again. “I’ve investigated the Midnight Headsman through some unusual channels. The strange thing is, I can hardly find any background information on him at all.”

Chen Shang stretched lazily, his joints cracking audibly. “No way. Even our top hacker can’t dig up anything?”

Karis’s face was serious. “While looking into the Midnight Headsman, I also checked out news from the Kunlun District over the past few decades.”

“What’s odd is, starting ten years ago, something changed in the news from Kunlun District.”

“Changed?” Chen Shang propped his chin on his hand with a smile.

“It’s like reading a novel stretched to a million words, only to find a page missing. If you’re just skimming, you’d never notice, but if you analyze it word by word, you’ll find unnatural gaps in the plot.”

“I’m wondering if someone deliberately erased the Headsman’s past.”

After hearing Karis’s analysis, Chen Shang couldn’t help but stand and clap his hands.

“You’re absolutely right—the Midnight Headsman’s appearance is indeed connected to an event in the Kunlun District ten years ago,” Chen Shang praised. “To infer so much from such subtle clues, you’re even more impressive than I thought.”

“We hackers can only gather what’s out there on the web. As for information that doesn’t exist, that’s beyond my reach.” Karis closed her laptop and looked at him. “So I’ll just ask you directly. Will you tell me?”

“Is there a reward?” Chen Shang asked bluntly.

Karis cocked her head and grinned playfully. “I can promise not to post your personal info on dating sites for men or on underground fight club rosters.”

“Well, I’m eternally grateful,” Chen Shang replied with a laugh. “No matter. I was planning to tell you the truth anyway. After all, if a revenge novel reaches its climax and the readers still don’t know why the protagonist seeks revenge, it would be a pretty lousy story.”

He cleared his throat and called out loudly, “Miss, you might as well come listen in, too.”

No sooner had he spoken than Chiyo Asougi slipped in silently from the window, shutting it behind her.

“This is the third floor, you know. You really clung to the outside wall just to eavesdrop?” Chen Shang exclaimed in amazement.

Truth be told, when he’d seen Chiyo less than ten meters away earlier, he’d assumed she was lurking outside the door.

“Well, go on. What’s the story?” Chiyo turned away awkwardly and cleared her throat.

With everyone assembled, Chen Shang cleared his throat again and began his tale.

......

In a bright, spacious office, a young man with blond hair in a casual suit was poring over something at his desk. The tabletop was already crowded with stacks of files and videotapes.

Before long, an elderly man dressed in traditional robes entered and asked the young man, "Young Master Xu Qing, what do you need from me?"

Xu Qing pinched the bridge of his nose, weary. “Grandpa Yuqian, I’ve hit a wall in my investigation over the past few days, and there are some things I want to confirm directly with you.”

“Ask away, young master,” Yuqian, the sect leader, replied as he settled into the armchair by the wall, turning a jade pendant in his hand, his expression grave.

Xu Qing began slowly. “I’ve read a lot of case files and reports on serial killers, so I know a bit about such criminals. The reason serial killers keep murdering is that they have a ‘motive.’”

“Motive?”

“That’s right. Motive. For example, take the infamous ‘Jack the Ripper’ who made his name in Whitechapel—his motive was a peculiar fixation with prostitutes, so all his victims were sex workers. Or the ‘Pig Feeder Butcher’ from Tieling District, who believed the flesh of adult men was the best pig feed, and only killed strong, adult males.”

Xu Qing bowed his head slightly, lost in thought. “The Midnight Headsman’s killings are brazen, and his victims mostly come from the various sects of Kunlun District. But I can’t discern his motive.”

At this, Yuqian stopped fiddling with the jade and asked slowly, “Is ‘motive’ really that important? We’ve already confined all our disciples to Xianfeng Mountain; you could just interrogate them one by one.”

“When it comes to studying serial killers, ‘motive’ is crucial.” Xu Qing’s expression was earnest. “There isn’t a single serial killer without a motive. No... if a serial killer truly had no motive, killing for its own sake—that would be the most terrifying thing of all!”

“So what do you want to know from me?” Yuqian asked solemnly.

Xu Qing snapped his fingers and nodded. “Today, when I was questioning a few of the sect disciples, I overheard them muttering about the ‘Chumen Massacre’ and ‘ten years ago.’ But when I pressed them for details, they denied everything…”

At this, Yuqian’s face darkened, as if a few keywords had struck a nerve.

“So I wanted to ask you, Grandpa Yuqian,” Xu Qing’s eyes blazed with intensity. “Please, tell me everything you know. We need to catch the Midnight Headsman as soon as possible!”

Yuqian fell silent for a long moment, then finally let out a helpless sigh. “So this secret can’t be kept after all…”

“What do you know, Grandpa Yuqian?” Xu Qing asked excitedly, slapping the desk.

“It all started ten years ago…” Yuqian stroked his white beard, lost in memory.