The Exorcist

A pair of hands slowly climbed up Xiao Xia's neck.

Those hands were tangled and cracked like dead tree trunks, but they were extremely heavy and hard. With the gloomy cold from hell, they insisted on pulling Xiao Xia down on the sofa.

She couldn't see the owner of the hands, but she felt that the hands were brown with a faint red thread, like bloodstains from scratches.

Outside the window, I don't know if there are people walking on stilts or a classical Chinese wedding is going on, the drums are loud and lively. Only her surroundings were quiet, so quiet that she could hear her own heartbeat, as if the whole world didn't know her struggle.

The office is on the nineteenth floor of an office building.

That is to say, at this height, no sound other than the wind can be heard, and from her position, she can't see out of the window at all. Even if you can see it and hear it, there is no such team passing by on such a busy traffic road. So, even though she was still in a nightmare, she also clearly understood that she had been pressed by a ghost again.

She knew that she would be fine as long as she sat up, but her hands became tighter and tighter, and she was pulled down again when she got up. She clearly 'saw' herself tossing about like a tumbler on the sofa, this teasing aroused the stubbornness in her weak heart, so she resisted even more fiercely.

But it didn't work! The dry hand had grabbed her neck, and kept clenching, clenching, clenching until she was about to breathe.

Suddenly, she inexplicably shouted, "Namo Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva!"

The hands shrank back as if scalded by the heat, with a sharp moan. This gave Xiao Xia a sigh of relief, but before she could get up, the tree hand who hadn't left completely stretched out again as if in revenge. Although hesitant but firm, it was painful but he must take her into the dark. Xiao Xia was startled, and hurriedly recited a few words aloud before struggling to break free.

The clock pointed to twelve forty-five.

At this noon time, Yue Xiaoxia, a female lawyer from Changkong Law Firm, woke up from the sleep of ghosts. There was no sign of any fierce fighting around, she was just lying on her desk, and the experience of taking a nap with her mouth open this time made her humiliately drool on the file.

The well-timed knock on the door made her a little more awake, and the people who followed it made her even more relaxed. It's Xiao Wang, a trainee lawyer at the firm. She is going to meet the client of the new case in the afternoon. Because she is a female lawyer, she cannot meet the criminal suspect in a criminal case alone. She must be accompanied by a male lawyer, so Xiao Wang will accompany her there.

The way to the detention center is long, so go early to save time in the afternoon.

When the afternoon sun shone on her, it made her feel as if the horrible nightmare just now happened in the distant last century.

After graduating from law school, Yue Xiaoxia wandered for a few years before taking the national judicial examination out of desperation. After passing the exam, she became a professional lawyer. Others envy her for her good work, but it is true that everyone has their own difficulties, and only she herself understands that she is not suitable for this industry at all. Her personality is sloppy, soft-hearted, impulsive and emotional, not at all shrewd, resolute, and businesslike. So her disadvantage is unceremoniously reflected in her performance, which has been the lawyer with the lowest winning percentage in the city's largest law firm ever since she started practicing after her internship. If it weren't for the fact that the chief lawyer was her college teacher, she might have been swept out of the house long ago. She knew that her colleagues said behind her back that she was wasting social resources by staying here because of nepotism, but she could only endure it.

Originally, for such bloody criminal cases, the firm generally would not send a female lawyer to take over, and she had never won a criminal case. However, the suspect in this case did not hire a lawyer and may be sentenced to death. Therefore, according to the principle of legal aid, the court designated Changkong Law Firm to fulfill this obligation, and this kind of uneconomical case must of course be handled by someone like her. Latecomers do it.

The case is very simple, the facts are clear and the evidence is conclusive, the key lies in the psychological state of the criminal suspect at that time. However, the case was also very cruel and bloody, which made her terrified.

The suspect is Li Jingming, 42 years old, a math teacher at the No. 3 Middle School of a city key school, living with his wife, son, divorced aunt, and parents-in-law. This family is a family of teachers. Except for the fifteen-year-old son who is still in high school, everyone is engaged in the teaching profession. Li Jingming and his wife even teach in the same school.

According to the reactions of colleagues, friends and neighbors around him, Li Jingming is usually taciturn, gentle and cautious, and has no contention with matters. Compared with his wife's family, his strength is that he is a well-known old man and strict wife control. But more than a month before the incident, Li Jingming suddenly seemed to be a different person. He repeatedly had fierce disputes with his family on various occasions, and even had violent physical conflicts. His personality was very different from his usual personality, as if he was possessed by a ghost.

At midnight on the night of the crime, Li Jingming had another conflict with his wife. After that, he brutally killed his wife, his wife and sister-in-law, and his parents-in-law who had been dissuaded after waking up with a Cuban machete that he had prepared for a long time. His biological son was severely slashed. She was forced to jump out of the window on the sixth floor to escape. She is still in a deep coma and may become a vegetative state.

The crime scene was extremely bloody and appalling.

When the police arrived, they heard a burst of creepy laughter, and the scene of the incident was bloody, there was almost no place for feet in the living room, and four bodies were 'sit' side by side on the sofa. One of the corpses has a head on its leg, and I don't know if it's his own; the head of the other corpse is drooping in front of his chest. Because it was cut off so that only a little skin is connected, it is skewed at a strange angle. ; The head of the third corpse simply rolled to the door, almost overturning the policeman who rushed in, while Li Jingming himself sat on the other sofa, hugging his wife's head and muttering to himself, 'Yes--no-- is not it'.

He didn't seem to notice the break-in and was completely absent, so the police subdued him without much effort. After that, he began to struggle desperately, shouting, "No! Not at all! There are ghosts—there are ghosts!" The shrill wail sent chills down the backs of the entire community.

During the interrogation, he refused to talk about any relevant issues and attempted suicide several times. After being rescued, he began to face the whole incident in silence. Doubts about his mental problems were also ruled out after he calmly and rationally faced the appraisal of relevant experts, so currently only the trial is waiting for him.

It is said that some of the rookie police officers who have been to the scene fainted on the spot, some were tense for a long time, and even the old police officers who had seen some incidents could not keep calm. And until now, the neighbors of Li Jingming's family have not dared to go out after dark. You can imagine the horror at that time. In this regard, Xiao Xia does not think it is difficult to understand. She had seen a few pictures of the scene, just a few pictures, and just a cursory glance made her feel a chill go straight to the bone, and she didn't want to have anything to do with it anymore.

But even though she wanted to stay away so much, even though she was scared to death, she still had to pretend to be calm and shrewd, forcing herself to come to the detention center with all her might, to see the party and maker of this horrific incident.

Today she finally understands why some people say that lawyers are - people who deal with the devil.

"Mr. Li, my name is Yue Xiaoxia, and I'm your defense attorney appointed by the court." Xiaoxia introduced herself with a pretense of calmness, but still didn't have the courage to look the other party in the eye.

Li Jingming's eyes were fixed on the ground without saying a word.

"As your defense attorney, my duty is to protect your legal rights, so I will try my best to help you." Xiao Xia continued to speak, observing the situation. Seeing that Xiao Wang was sitting on her left, there was a sturdy table between her and Li Jingming, and a policeman was standing not far to the right, which reassured her a little. But she immediately discovered that, like a fledgling rookie, she was speaking the opening remarks as usual, explaining the rights and obligations of the criminal suspect, but it was like playing the piano to a cow, and the other party did not respond at all, only highlighting her nervousness.

How can this be!

After all, she is also a lawyer who can practice alone. Although her professional ability is poor and the winning rate is low, she can't show her timidity in front of the younger brother who is still in the internship period! And this is only the first meeting. It stands to reason that she should listen and understand, and at the same time establish a sense of mutual trust with the client, so how can she be flustered? ! Don't be afraid, don't be afraid! With the police here, be strong. Thinking like this, Xiao Xia forced herself to be a shameful mouse, hoping to find a channel for communication.

It was the first time she had taken a close look at her client.

He was small and thin, he should be skinny. Maybe it was natural, or maybe it was caused by the infrequent sunlight after being detained. His skin was abnormally pale, with a faint cyan glow, which made people almost feel the blood vessels squirming under the skin. He sat there motionless, and although he appeared to be quiet and harmless, in Xiao Xia's eyes, it revealed a gloomy aura. Just like his body buried deep in the big wooden chair, even the shadow is curled up in the shadow, as if watching something. If it wasn't for someone to accompany her, Xiao Xia almost suspected that she was not facing a living person, but a wax figure in the movie "The Wax Museum of Horror".

"Then, can you talk about the situation that day?" Xiao Xia swallowed her saliva and had no choice but to use the narrow question method to get straight to the topic, otherwise she knew she would talk to herself until it was dark.

Li Jingming's eyes finally moved. Then, his neck also turned around, from staring at the ground intently to staring at Xiao Xia. But his reaction didn't make Xiao Xia feel better, on the contrary it made her cold hair stand up.

Did no one notice? His neck is twisted at a strange angle, his eyes are sober but full of meaning, this person is abnormal all over, how can he be considered criminally responsible and be prosecuted?

"I didn't kill anyone." Li Jingming spoke suddenly and without warning, as if the voice came from a distant place. "I didn't kill," he repeated softly. "There was a ghost who became my family. He seduced me. He killed. He! Not me! I didn't kill!"

After speaking, Li Jingming suddenly stood up and reached out to grab Xiao Xia's wrist.

"I didn't kill! It's him! It's him! It's that devil! Help me! Help me!"

In an instant, everyone was stunned by this sudden change. Then, the police who were present and then rushed in stepped forward to suppress Li Jingming, who was out of control. And before he was subdued, he shouted at Xiao Xia, who was squeezed into the corner and was terrified, "There is a devil! Trust me, he killed people! It's him! There is a devil—"

After his hoarse shouts disappeared, Xiao Wang said to himself with a pale face: "God, this is the upper body of a ghost!"

No matter if it is a ghost or not, or whether she will be laughed at by her colleagues or blamed by Director Pan, she really doesn't want to continue taking over this case. She is going to quit.

Xiao Xia looked down at her hands and wrists, she knew that there would be black green on them soon. She believed that it must be a ghost paw print, because she really felt the terrifying sense of oppression from Li Jingming just now.

This matter may not be as simple as imagined, and it is not just ordinary horror.

So she's quitting!