Chapter 1: Chapter 0

The fire in the candlestick on the altar table was completely extinguished by a gust of wind. Only a cloud of white smoke remained. A wrinkled hand frantically grabbed a match. The point of light appeared again. But suddenly, he was startled when

in a dark corner of the house, he saw a young woman, with green lines on her body, wearing torn pieces of cloth and a Morhom shirt dirty with what it was not known if they were fragments of rust or dried blood stains. His face was pale and his expression indicated dissatisfaction. But what was most impressive was that both the eyelids and the mouth were sewn with red thread. His thin lips could not open, and the more he tried to speak out loud, the more crimson blood flowed from the seams.

Namobudhāya map tana bha ka sa ca sappetvāpisāceva. A ḷ avaka ṭ ayopiya khakka ṃ tālapatta ṃ tisvā sabbeyakkha.

Palayanti Sakkasavachiravudha ṃ

A guttural scream sounded amidst the chants. A strong gust of wind blew everything into the air.

Vessuvannassa Kathavutham

Alavakassa Dusavudhaṃ

yamanassa nayanavudha ṃ

Imetisva sabbeyakkha palayanti

When the chanting stopped, everything stopped. Things fell and scattered all over the floor. The previously dense atmosphere returned to normal.

“Grandpa, it can't be that bad. He’s gone, right?” The grandmother rubbed the arm and then the leg of a little boy, who cried and cried.

“It's not like that, Grandma.” White threads were tied around the wrists and ankles of the squirming little boy. “The little boy is with you and he still doesn't understand. I think it is better that we leave him with Luang Pu in the temple.”

The grandmother looked at the child with a smile on her face. He cried until his eyes were swollen and red with pity, he knew they had no choice, so they took him to the temple.

The only ancient temple in the province was built hundreds of years ago. All the monks who reside here are pilgrims. It is often said that if someone has faith, this temple will be visible. The villagers had great faith in one of the monks who resided there, they even made renovations so that it could be lived in without too many difficulties. But for those who did not have faith, the place was scary. This area was said to be a gathering place for ghosts since it is located in an old cemetery. No wonder no one dares to set foot in it at night.

The grandparents, arm in arm, walked towards the ancient temple area. The restless sound of the child did not make the atmosphere any less terrifying. On the contrary, the sound of a cry for breath made the atmosphere doubly lonely.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

The loud knocks on the door of the temple resonated amidst the gusts of wind. When it opened, the sound of the lock on the old wooden door whistled like a sermon.

“Luang Pu…”

“They must decide, no matter how worried they are. The person who has already passed away will not leave. “He wants to live in the same world, together.” Said a cold voice, like a stream of water, that was heard before the grandparents explained anything.

The old monk's voice stopped. The strong wind blew away the leaves and grass. The entire area was like a raging storm. Windows, large and small, opened and closed noisily. It was as if someone was very dissatisfied.

“Luang Pu, this child has no one else. His father died, his mother too, after giving birth to him. We are scared, can you take care of him for us?” said the grandmother with a sigh and speaking with a trembling voice. Since they had taken care of the little boy, the grandparents seemed to have lost their lives, although there were only two people living in the house, at every step, it was as if someone invisible was watching them.

Things always moved by themselves, they even listened to lullabies to help them fall asleep at night. Sometimes, loud crying could be heard. Everything worried them. The little boy cried and cried. Therefore, the elders took him to the old monk and when the little one was in their arms, the screams gradually calmed down and the doors of the temple slowly closed, under the gaze of hungry, thirsty ghosts wanting to possess the pure spirit. .

“You will see things you don't want to see. You will hear things you don't want to hear. Until this misfortune passes, your life will be difficult. Please be strong and patient. I’ll help you get through it.”

— 25 years later -

Inside the chaotic police station, the people who were going to report the crimes walked back and forth fighting with the police officers. Images like this are something that everyone encounters, until they became a common sight, except today something has changed. An officer ran into the station, with a surprised look on his face, walking around and around, as if looking for someone.

“Why are you sweating like that, Lieutenant Khem?”

“I'm looking for the inspector, where is the inspector?”

“The inspector has been out, working on a case since the afternoon. I saw that it was a case of child abduction. Because? Did someone die or something?”

"Someone died!" Lieutenant Khem ran off again before getting on his motorcycle and driving towards the destination he had asked his stationmates about.

He soon stopped in front of a mill on the outskirts of town. Lieutenant Khem walked towards a group of villagers standing around the perimeter. He looked for the inspector until, in the distance, he saw a young man with tanned skin. That figure looked distressed but his demeanor was calm and formidable, which made the officials respect him. His face was sharp and dark, matching his eyes as black as night, which always showed a decisive look.

(From: Hello dear Pavel xD)

“Inspector, Inspector,” Lieutenant Khem ran, looking tired.

"What's happening?"

“We have about two four ones.”

A pair of sharp eyes looked at his subordinate silently, before moving slightly away from the people. The code that Lieutenant Khem said is a code for reporting cases of murder.

“In the forest, Says kilometers from here. The official reported that they had found seven human corpses hanging in the middle of the forest.”

“See you there, cordon off the area. Call the forensic unit and have them go to the scene. Don’t let anyone touch anything until I get there.”

“Inspector Singha, shouldn't you go back to the station and find the culprit?!” A scream from inside caught his attention and he turned to look.

“Oh, arrange for the children to be transported, have them go to the hospital for a physical examination together with the doctor, and please call their parents.” Singha said and walked away towards his own jet black motorcycle, which he hopped on without listening to the calls of his subordinates who were running after him.

"Inspector!!! The suspect is still in the area!!”

….

Inside a house outside the community area, in addition to the light of the full moon, you could see the leaves swaying, even though there was no wind. A child was crying in the night. The police officer who had been ordered to monitor the area and the suspect there could hear his own rapid breathing. He turned around in fear.

“What is that, who is there?” He heard a mysterious voice, and he quickly took out his staff and held it, sweat dripping from his temples and palms. When fear takes over, the human mind simply invents things that scare it more.

Trak.. trak… trak… trak.

An eerie sound was heard, like nails scraping against a piece of wood behind him. He didn't even dare to turn around to look at the scene, because if he did, the image of the seven corpses hanging from the top of the tree would have remained in his mind until the day he died.

"Who is it?" The young policeman squeezed his eyes shut before slamming the baton from one hand to the other. The cold atmosphere did not help him feel comfortable, on the contrary, it made him feel as if he had fallen into another world.

The soft sobs reached his ears like ringing. The more he closed his eyes, the clearer his other senses became. The young policeman had just been appointed a civil servant and had been sent here. He thought he could work comfortably, but he never imagined he would have to face a murder case, especially one so terrifying.

Devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils, devils.

It repeated itself inside, to the point where he couldn't distinguish which were the voices that were sobbing and howling. He only knew that they were so close that it was as if the people crying were around him at that very moment.

“Ah, go away, go away!! Do not mess with me." He waved his staff aimlessly, before being stopped by the hand of a newly arrived person.

"Hey!!!" The young policeman collapsed to the ground, while joining his hands in prayer, and recited… “Namo, namothassa, namothassa.”

"Open your eyes." A low voice, mixed with irritation, told him, causing the new cop to slowly open his eyes and look.

"Inspector!!!"

“Why are you afraid of meaningless things?”

“Oh, just now, I really heard a voice. Right now it was like someone was there. Stay here with me!!”

“Who else would it be, if not that stupid kid?” Singha turned to the witness.

He looked at the seven corpses hanging from the large branches of the surrounding trees in a circle, his piercing eyes staring at their faces, carefully examining them one by one. The moonlight shone, and allowed him to see that on the faces of the corpses, there were red threads sewn over both eyes and lips, causing them to remain completely closed. Some bodies looked like people who had been dead for several days, with the skin swollen, bruised, cracked, and showing traces of the layers of flesh. Some of the bodies were even green, some with purple marks, like bruises on the body, that were beginning to swell. Other bodies were bruised and bloody, as if they had recently died.

Singha then went to the witness, it was a young man, whose skin was white and shiny in the moonlight, but it was not completely clean, because both on his palms and on his body, scarlet blood stains were visible. His tall, slender body trembled, as he sat hugging his knees, holding on tight. August couldn't see the other's face, because the boy kept his head down and murmured something.

“I didn’t, I didn’t, I didn’t.”

“Look up.”

"I did not do it. “It wasn’t my ability.”

Singha crouched in front of the frightened young man. He looked terrified, it was a fear I had seen before.

“Oh, I didn't do it. I really didn't. It was not my ability, it was the work of a ghost.”

The young man looked up and spoke. Seeing him, the young inspector stopped and looked at his pale, smooth face. A pair of beautiful brown eyes with long eyelashes, a nose shaped to match the lips, and tears reflected in the moonlight, caused his head to fill with questions.

The most predominant question was, what is this young man doing here?

It wasn't long before the various units arrived in the area. Everyone was shocked by the situation. A young medical examiner reached out to greet his close friend with a gentle pat on the shoulder

“It will be hard work. Just by looking at the states of some, I can definitely tell that they died several days ago. I see bruises, and some of them smell bad.”

“Someone said that boy was at the scene.” The two turned to look at the boy. The young man looked left and right with a shocked expression on his face.

“Did you see the faces of the seven victims? “It's not just a murder, this is not normal,” the young medical examiner said with some doubt.

“Take pictures of all the evidence and then take the bodies down. There was only a footprint on the ground. Judging by the size, it was that boy's. As for the blood stain, it seems too new to come from a corpse. But there's no way he could have hurt anyone before coming here. I'll take him to the station and then take a blood sample for analysis. Look at this place.”

“What do you plan to do with it? He doesn't have the face of a murderer.”

“Do you think not? “You can’t be judged for having a good face.”

Singha then walked to give orders to subordinates who had gone to the area before returning to his motorcycle.

“Stop him and take him to the station.”

“Yes, inspector.”

Singha looked at the young man again. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but remained silent. The young inspector got on his motorcycle and turned to look at the scene again. A corpse hanging from a tree was illuminated by moonlight. It was like an image from many people's nightmares. But not for Singha. He would find the culprit and bring him to justice.