Before going to the Gates of Hell, Chen Zhao had heard Blackie mention it twice.
The first time was when they’d first discovered it. The second time was when changes had occurred to the gates and they’d realized that someone in town was doing some sort of ritual.
The changes meant that someone was doing sacrifices.
The fire had occurred after Blackie’s first mention and before his second mention. Eight people died in the fire. Did they all get sacrificed?
If this was true, the situation would become clear. Trede Pemton had either caused the fire himself or had Deppler do it for him.
He was clear that he had to face great compensations after the fire. He transferred his assets by hiding the state of the winery. If everything went smoothly, he could announce bankruptcy and then he wouldn’t have to pay with his own assets.
Deppler wanted to use this to blackmail Trede. Instead, it pissed Trede off. He decided to go full out and just sacrifice Deppler.
Pierce South looked at Chen Zhao. “It looks like you thought of something.”
Chen Zhao glanced at him and then said to David, “Let’s go.”
“You’re leaving just like this?”
David glanced at Pierce. “What, you want us to kill you?”
“Fine, bye.” Pierce shrugged.
…
“Chen, did you think of something?”
“I feel like Trede might really be the culprit.”
“Are you sure?”
“No. I don’t have any evidence.”
“Tell me your analysis.”
After Chen Zhao told David his ideas and thought process, David was convinced. “You said that there needs to be more sacrifices to complete the Gates of Hell, right?”
“Yes.” Chen Zhao nodded.
“How many lives are needed to complete it?”
“Thirteen.”
“If the eight victims of the fire were sacrificed, as well as Deppler, then there are four more. Or could the sacrifices have started before the fire?”
“What do you mean?”
“Have there been any other murders in Mountain Town before the fire? Any suspicious deaths?”
Chen Zhao suddenly remembered another case that had happened earlier. It had been a serial killer though. On the surface, it looked as if the serial killer had committed suicide.
Chen Zhao had still talked with Melson, who hypothesized that it wasn’t suicide. Chen Zhao hadn’t thought much about it before. After all, he was a wanted criminal that had nothing to do with Chen Zhao.
Now, it seemed very suspicious.
He told David, who thought for a moment and said, “First, we must confirm whether the victim had been called to the town or had come here coincidentally.”
Chen Zhao’s eyes flashed. “The victim lived in a duplex. A wanted criminal can’t be rich enough to live in a big house like that.”
“Do you know the landlord?” David asked.
“No, but Bant must know. Let’s go ask him.”
…
There weren’t many people in the town. It wasn’t hard to find the owner of a house. After Chen Zhao and David returned to town, they went straight to Bant.
“Bant, are you home?”
A while later, Bant opened the door. He was very happy to see Chen Zhao and David. This was probably the only thing that could make him happy after Ken was taken away by the police.
“Chen, David, come on in.”
“Bant, do you remember that wanted criminal that died in the duplex across from the restaurant?”
“Yeah, why? Does it have something to do with Deppler’s death?”
“We suspect that it was done by the same person, so we want to know the owner of the duplex.”
“It belongs to the old witch Winry Gargamel.”
“Old witch?”
“Yeah, she’s a really weird and eccentric old lady,” Bant said. “No one in town likes to interact with her. She’s scary.”
Chen Zhao exchanged glances with David. The nickname “old witch” made them feel like she was related.
“Does she do anything strange?”
“There are always dead animals around her house. The one I remember the best is my childhood dog, called Ken.”
“Wait…you said that your childhood dog was named Ken?”
“Yes, that’s why I named my son Ken. I named him after my dog.”
“Okay, let’s continue.”
“I was only eight years old. One day, I realized that Ken was gone. I looked everywhere and finally found that Ken was hanging before the old witch’s house. My parents fought with her because of this too.”
“If she did it, she wouldn’t hang the dog in front of her house, right?”
“I don’t know if she did it, but my parents were sure. They said that the old witch has some past records.”
“You’re in your forties now, right?”
“Forty-eight.”
“This means that this even happened 40 years ago. That old witch should be quite old now, right?”
“I don’t know how old she is, but she has to be much older than my parents.”
“Your parents…”
“My dad is 78 years old.”
“So how old is older than your father?”
“I think she was in her sixties back then.”
Forty years ago, Bant’s father was 38 while the old witch was almost 30 years older than him. This meant that she was already over 100 now.
Both Chen Zhao and David gasped. Bant looked at them. “Chen, is this related to the old witch?”
“I’m not sure yet,” Chen Zhao said. “Does she usually live in the duplex where the serial killer died?”
“No, her house has been empty for a long time. I wouldn’t have known that she rented out if that guy didn’t die in there.”
“Where does she live now?”
“Outside of town. Do you want me to drive you there?”
“No need. Just tell us the address. This might be dangerous, so don’t get involved.”
“No, I can’t have you two take risks.”
“Bant, don’t act emotions and don’t worry. David and I are pretty good at fighting. We can take on three or four guys like you, let alone an old 100-year-old witch.”
After leaving Bant’s house, David asked, “Chen, is there some spell that can make you live that long?”
“I don’t know. You should find an expert, like Sienna.”
“But Sienna isn’t as powerful as you. How would she know if you don’t know?”
“Not necessarily. How would you know that she doesn’t know if you don’t ask her?”
“Fine, I’ll call and ask.”
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