Hugh Thompson began his instructions. Behind the hospital, there was a small path leading to the residential area. He told Xu Li to act here, then took out a photo. In the photo, the man wore a white coat, his smile confident and handsome, looking mature and reliable. Standing beside him was Hugh Thompson.
I looked carefully once again. Hugh Thompson—I really couldn’t believe it, and I couldn’t accept it. But no matter how I looked at it, it was him. It was Hugh Thompson.
It was exactly the same—his clothes, his expression, everything. There wasn’t the slightest difference. Then, Hugh Thompson took out a Silver Talisman and stuck it to a tree beside the path. I didn’t know what this talisman was for.
Time ticked by. Hugh Thompson hid in the woods next to the path, watching quietly. Xu Li looked nervous. Hugh had told him—just aim for the heart, and it would be enough.
Xu Li was still very afraid. Around 3 a.m., I saw a man coming down the path, looking exhausted. He was strong—much stronger than Xu Li. Though tired, his steps were still light.
At that moment, Xu Li jumped out, holding a knife.
“Hand over your money.”
“A robbery? Heh.”
Dr. Liam Chen didn’t look afraid at all. He walked toward Xu Li step by step. Suddenly, I saw the Silver Talisman that had just been stuck to the tree beside the path flash with silver light and fly onto Dr. Liam Chen’s back. In an instant, I saw Dr. Liam Chen’s face fill with shock—he seemed to be bound by some force.
Xu Li rushed forward, knife raised, about to stab Dr. Liam Chen in the chest. But at that moment, he panicked—the knife fell from his hand to the ground. Xu Li was so scared he collapsed, sitting on the ground. He was still afraid, after all.
"Hmph, you don't even have the guts for this, yet you dare to commit robbery? Tell me, who sent you here..."
Just then, I saw Hugh Thompson dart out from the woods nearby. With a swift motion, he snatched up the knife and stabbed it precisely into Liam Chen's chest. I stared in shock, my eyes wide as I looked at Liam Chen, unable to believe what I was seeing.
At that moment, a strange smile appeared on Hugh Thompson's face as Liam Chen whimpered.
"Who are you really..."
Before Liam Chen could finish his sentence, I saw Hugh Thompson twist the knife a few times. Liam Chen stared blankly, eyes wide, then collapsed to the ground. The look in his eyes before death was deeply unsettling. Witnessing all this, my trust in Hugh Thompson shattered in an instant.
Then, Hugh Thompson pulled out the knife, dragged Xu Li over, and forced him to hold the knife. He even smeared some blood onto Xu Li.
"I can't do this anymore, I can't!"
Xu Li cried out in terror, but Hugh Thompson only gave him a wicked smile.
"If you don't want to, you can end up like that one."
Hugh Thompson said this, pointing at Liam Chen who was already lying on the ground.
"Alright, now you can go turn yourself in. Don't even think about running, or else..."
Then, under Hugh Thompson's direction, Xu Li took the knife and went to the nearby police station to confess. The memory ended here, and I returned once again to this so-called murderer's Memory Space.
"Hugh, why?"
I spoke in a low voice, then in a rush, I exited the murderer's body. Instantly, everyone stared at me anxiously, including Hugh Thompson. I gave a cold, powerless laugh.
"Ethan, what's the situation?" Li Guohao immediately asked. But I could only force a bitter smile and shake my head. Even now, I can't believe that Hugh Thompson, standing before me, is the one who killed Liam Chen. He's the real murderer.
I pushed Li Guohao aside and walked toward Hugh Thompson.
"Hugh, where were you last night?"
I stared at Hugh Thompson, asking him word by word.
"What exactly did you see?"
Hugh Thompson asked, and I immediately roared in anger.
"Tell me, Hugh, what were you doing last night? Where were you, and with whom?"
I trembled with emotion. Li Guohao came over and held me back. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists, while the rest of the Ghost Burial Squad looked on in confusion at me and Hugh Thompson.
"Last night, I went home to see my wife."
Hugh Thompson said, and I gave a bitter laugh.
"With whom?"
"Alone."
Hugh Thompson remained unfazed as he spoke. I laughed, then shook my head repeatedly. At that moment, my heart felt unbearably heavy. Everything seemed to collapse. The trust I had in Hugh last night crumbled like an earthquake.
Everyone now looked utterly confused, staring at me and Hugh Thompson. The atmosphere in the room instantly dropped to freezing.
"Why did you kill Liam Chen, Hugh? Answer me, say something!"
I demanded, and for a moment, the rest of the Ghost Burial Squad were in utter disbelief.
I did not kill Liam Chen.
Hugh Thompson's expression remained unchanged.
At that moment, I thought of something—the members of the Immortality Society had no cheeks. Instantly, I shouted.
Stop!
Everyone turned to look at me. Trembling, I explained that someone from the Immortality Society might be impersonating Hugh Thompson, but at that moment, Howard Lee rushed out like a madman. We were all confused.
Hugh Thompson took out his phone and called Old Eccentric. Calmly, he explained everything to Old Eccentric.
Go do a luminol blood test, Hugh.
On speakerphone, Old Eccentric spoke. At that moment, I saw Howard Lee walk in, looking unsure of what to say, holding a black plastic bag. When he opened it, the smell of blood filled the room.
It was the clothes Hugh Thompson wore last night when he killed Liam Chen.
Hugh, did you really go see your wife last night?
Then, following Old Eccentric's instructions, we went to the police station, temporarily handed Xu Li over, and got forensic staff to perform a luminol blood test on Hugh Thompson.
Howard Lee called Hugh Thompson's wife.
Everyone looked dejected. I couldn't let go of everything in my mind. At noon, the test results came out—they matched. Hugh Thompson did have Liam Chen's blood on him. Faced with all the evidence, Hugh said nothing and was handcuffed. Howard Lee escorted him away.
The rest of the Ghost Burial Squad also learned that Hugh Thompson's wife hadn't seen him last night. Some decided to go to the East District, where she lived, to look for witnesses. It seemed no one wanted to believe Hugh was the murderer.
I entered Hugh Thompson's body and saw his memories. Everything was just as I'd seen in Xu Li's mind—Hugh didn't argue, instead he was very quiet.
My heart hurt—all the evidence pointed to Hugh Thompson as the murderer.
Perfect physical evidence, no alibi. I wanted to probe more of Hugh Thompson's memories, but found some parts were inaccessible, just like my classmate, Zheng Jun—impossible to see.
Now, Hugh Thompson was handcuffed. We waited on the hotel rooftop for the helicopter to pick us up.
Hugh Thompson looked at me calmly.
Ethan, the rest is up to you.
I didn't know how to answer him, didn't know how to face him. My mind was in turmoil. Old Eccentric also ordered strict secrecy—no one except those involved was allowed to speak of this to any other Ghost Burial Squad member.
Ethan, I did interact with the Immortality Society in the past.
Suddenly, Hugh Thompson said quietly. I stared at him, eyes wide.
A long time ago, before I joined the Ghost Burial Squad, I was kidnapped by the Immortality Society. When I woke up, I was in a sewer. They offered me a deal, but I refused.
Hugh Thompson spoke, his gaze full of determination and confidence as he looked at me. Just then, the helicopter arrived.
'Hugh can't be the murderer!' It was Lan Ruoxi—she shouted as soon as she got off the helicopter. But Hugh just smiled and said nothing, boarding the helicopter by himself.