The Origin of the Painted Skin Ghost

As the Dodge entered the Green Grass community, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

For outliers like Qin Jin and Alessa, sleep is not a necessity; they just need to appear to be.

After a quick wash at home and drinking the deer blood he had brought in the car the night before, Qin Jin drove Alessa to school and then headed to the police station.

As soon as the car stopped at the entrance, Qin Jin saw the principal almost run to the car and call out through the window:

"Officer Qin! Officer Qin!"

The window rolled down, and the principal lowered his voice, almost sticking his whole head in:

"Have you heard? Ms. Kate... something happened! Oh my god, it's all over the school. So many parents called first thing this morning."

Seeing the principal's dejected expression, Qin Jin knew that the investigation last night must have alarmed them. However, he took this opportunity to show some goodwill, not only to appease people but also to repay the principal for her leniency towards Alessa yesterday.

"Headmaster, yes, Ms. Kate is indeed... well, murdered!"

Qin Jin's steady voice, besides its usual languidness, carried a hint of heaviness:

"I am now in charge of this case. I can't say too much about the specifics, but I can assure you that this case is not targeting the school or the students, and everyone's safety is guaranteed."

He took out a contact card for his group and handed it over:

"Of course, if there are any problems at the school, or if the teachers feel uneasy, they can contact me at any time."

The principal felt as if he had been granted a pardon; the fear on his face instantly turned into gratitude. He accepted the business card with both hands, nodding repeatedly.

"Thank you! Officer Qin! You've been a great help! I... I know what to say now. Don't worry, I won't say anything wrong."

His gaze toward Qin Jin was filled with trust and reliance; this statement effectively put an end to the unpleasantness that had occurred in the office yesterday.

After bidding farewell to the principal who expressed his deepest gratitude, Qin Jin drove back to the office of the Second Group of the Canyon Branch.

It was still early, and the office was empty. He made himself a cup of coffee, poured most of it into the sink, and then carried the remaining liquid to his desk.

I had just sat down when I heard footsteps outside the door.

The first to return were Detective Willie and Sherry, who had been tracking the vehicle. Exhausted, they staggered into the office. Sherry went straight to the tea table, while Willie placed a printed route map in front of Qin Jin.

"Qin! The car has been found, but the person is missing."

"What's going on?"

"The car came out of the Walls apartment building, headed west towards the Hollywood Hills, and then disappeared between two surveillance cameras."

Just then, Sherry's coffee arrived. Inspector Willie took it, put it away, and then continued:

"We contacted the Hollywood precinct for help, and we found the car in a quiet corner of a side street. The keys are still there, but the person is nowhere to be found..."

The Hollywood Hills? This area, located northwest of Los Angeles and on the outskirts of the Santa Monica Mountains, is a hub for Hollywood stars, directors, designers, and business elites.

While it may not be as luxurious as Beverly Hills or Hidden Hills, it is still one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Los Angeles, with impeccable privacy protection.

There is almost no public surveillance here. Although every household has its own private security and surveillance system, it is simply a pipe dream to try to access their surveillance footage!

"This is troublesome!" Qin Jin exclaimed with disgust. "That place is practically the perfect hiding place for the Painted Skin Demon, and also the perfect hunting ground... It's a swamp for us!"

He looked up at Willie and Sherry: "You've worked hard. This is indeed a tricky situation. We need to think of another way!"

Just as the three of them were drinking coffee and racking their brains to figure out how to cause some trouble in Hollywood Hills, the office door was pushed open, and Jack and Herman returned, their faces full of excitement.

It's clear that their investigation has made progress.

Sure enough, the two didn't even bother to make coffee before coming straight to Qin Jin:

"We asked a lot of people at the nightclub, piecing together the information, and finally got a clear picture of Aurel's situation..."

Herman took out his phone, opened the notes app, and began to speak:

"Aurelia applied for a job at the nightclub about a month and a half ago. She mainly dances... that kind of dance, which many customers like, and many people ask her to dance alone."

"We specifically inquired about the nightclub's staff. Since she arrived, one person initially went missing, followed by three others who resigned via text message. The most recent one was Carl, a waiter from four days ago. His relationship with O'Reilly... seems to be good."

"We even asked her where she came from, but nobody knew! She seemed to have appeared out of nowhere; her past was a complete blank."

At this point, Jack added:

"There's another special case. Yesterday afternoon at four o'clock, after O'Reilly arrived at the nightclub, she quickly left, citing feeling unwell. The greeter at the door said that a car seemed to be following her, but he couldn't remember the license plate."

Tracking? Who could that be? An exorcist, a judge, a hybrid angel, or even a Chinese Taoist priest? Or perhaps it's some dark creature it has provoked—a werewolf, a vampire, a demon…

Both are possible! But given this situation, there's no way to make a judgment.

However, this gives the Painted Skin Ghost a motive for killing Kate—

It wasn't that there was a problem with its skin, but rather that it encountered danger and decided to change its skin to escape, leaving a flaw. As a result, the hair wasn't completely dissolved before it was stuffed into the sewer!

These things aren't really related to finding the whereabouts of the Painted Skin Ghost; to find its behavioral patterns, we need to dig deeper...

"We can investigate these people's houses," Qin Jin said confidently after thinking for two minutes.

"If I'm not mistaken, they were eaten. Look in their garden, basement, garage, the nearby woods... I think you should find some leftover bones!"

Willie, Herman, and Shelly, who were drinking coffee, all froze!

Only the patient with sedative cholera seemed slightly better, perhaps because of previous contact, but still appeared somewhat uncomfortable.

Clearly, everyone was not psychologically prepared for the idea of ​​being eaten, leaving only remains, and felt somewhat disgusted by it.

Qin Jin rested his chin on his hand and stared at the reflection in the cup for a while before continuing:

"If we can hold on, we'll check the homes of these missing people later, ask Frank for their return, and dig up the places I mentioned to find the remains."

Jack and Herman both agreed, but Qin Jin shook his head: "No, Jack isn't going. This matter... Inspector Willie, you and Herman go. The search should be safe. Jack, come with me to Hollywood Hills!"

Then he immediately added, "Your scratches have healed, and you can eat other things starting today!"

"Wow!" Willie and Herman exclaimed excitedly immediately, and Sherry asked in real time:

"Qin! What about me?"

"You have other work," Qin Jin said slowly, rubbing his hand against the rim of his coffee cup.

"The Painted Skin Demon skinned Aurelius and used her as a dancer. Although she has no relatives or friends, surely the original owner of the skin must have had friends and family? She's disappeared. What do you think her family will do?"

"They'll call the police!" Sherry's eyes lit up. "I understand. I'll stay in the office and check the missing persons records to try and find this person's original identity."

Qin Jin nodded: "Yes. But you should be careful, the name O'Reilly might be fake, you need to see the photo. Also, if you can't find it in Los Angeles, look in other cities, nearby ones."

"clear!"

Everyone got busy and took their positions. At this moment, Constanze approached Qin Jin:

"What's going on? What are we supposed to do?"

Qin Jin recounted how the Painted Skin Ghost escaped into the Hollywood Hills, and then said:

"Come with me and see if we can find any trace of that thing."

"Hmm, no problem—" At this point, Constantine suddenly realized:

"Wait a minute! It's normal for us to go find the Painted Skin Ghost, but what's the point of all that stuff?"

Dante also realized that Qin Jin's arrangements could only find traces of the Painted Skin Ghost's past, but were not very useful for finding it.

Qin Jin offered no explanation, only stating casually:

"I'm just curious."

Now it was Constanze's turn to be a little confused.