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Hearing my words, everyone's attention focused on the pattern of Li Xiaojuan's uniform. Previously, I had only thought that the design on Li Xiaojuan's outfit was strange, but I couldn't quite figure out what it was. However, when Li Xiaojuan turned her back to me, I suddenly felt that this thing resembled the fleeting shadow we had seen earlier in Luo Ding.
The face of the person in front appeared larger than a normal human face, but the body was thin, making it look like a large head was attached to a person's torso.
Out of curiosity, I asked, "Really? But what is this thing?"
Li Xiaojuan shook her head and said, "I don't know. I just thought this design looked impressive, so I had my boyfriend draw it."
At that moment, Wang Ang, who had been somewhat timid until now, spoke up: "This is called the Flying Head Man. It's a type of monster from our country's folklore. The Flying Head Man looks like an ordinary person during the day, and they are usually women. At night, their heads detach from their bodies and fly around to scare people."
Seeing that we were intrigued by his explanation, Wang Ang seemed to finally find confidence in his familiar territory. He continued, "For those with lesser magical powers, their heads will fly away still connected to their necks. But for those with greater powers, they can completely detach their heads and go out at night, returning just before dawn."
I asked, "Can these things pass through glass?"
Wang Ang shook his head and replied, "If that were the case, it would be serious! Generally speaking, Flying Head Men aren't very powerful. Even if you encounter one at night, there's no need to panic. After all, they only have a head; you still have hands and feet—just kick it away. But if they reach a certain level of mastery, they can kill anyone they want and go anywhere without being stopped."
"Is that true? It sounds so bizarre; how come no one has ever seen one?" Li Xiaojuan scoffed at this.
To be honest, if I hadn't seen that fleeting giant face in Luo Ding, I might have dismissed such strange tales as mere gossip. But until the matter was thoroughly investigated, I couldn't make any definitive conclusions about the Murderer's methods.
Seeing that Li Xiaojuan didn't believe him, Wang Ang grew anxious: "Just because no one has seen them doesn't mean they don't exist! If you have time, go check out some cryptozoology forums; there are plenty of posts proving that Flying Head Men exist. In some places in Southeast Asia, people even use ghost-raising techniques to keep Flying Head Men as pets."
It seemed that Wang Ang had quite a bit of knowledge about these things. He was now on a roll and spoke passionately. It appeared that there were no self-doubting individuals in this world; everyone could find their confidence in specific fields.
Wang Ang wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and continued: "Actually, originally the Flying Head Man wasn't considered a monster. In 'Sou Shen Ji,' it was recorded that during the Three Kingdoms period, General Zhu Huan from Wu Kingdom had a maidservant. This maid looked just like an ordinary person during the day, but one night Zhu Huan discovered something unusual about her."
"That night he woke up and found that his maidservant had no head."
"The next morning, Zhu Huan thought he must have been dreaming but kept an eye on her. Later on, the maid's head flew out again. This time Zhu Huan understood what was happening. He noticed that his maid's body was still alive despite the absence of her head; however, no matter how he moved her body, it did not respond."
"Some people thought she was ominous and wanted to kill her. But Zhu Huan stopped them; after all, she had served him for quite some time and had never shown any ill intent towards him. So he spared her life. The next morning, her head indeed flew back through the window."
At that moment, Zhu Huan suddenly had a brilliant idea and covered the maid's body with a quilt. The head, unable to fly back onto the neck, spun anxiously by the bedside. As the light grew brighter, the woman's head seemed to lose strength and fell to the ground.
The head on the floor sighed and cried, looking as if it would soon perish. Zhu Huan quickly pulled back the quilt, and upon seeing its neck, the head exerted all its strength to fly up, soon reconnecting with its body. In a moment, the maid returned to normal.
Only then did the maid understand what had happened; she was from the Baiyue Flying Head Tribe. The people of the Flying Head Tribe had a unique trait: at night, their heads would detach and fly away, but they did not harbor any malicious intent. Although the Flying Head Tribe meant no harm, they were still different from ordinary people, so Zhu Huan gave the maid some money for her journey and sent her away.
I shrugged and said, "So, does that mean the people of the Flying Head Tribe are conscious beings and not ghosts?"
Wang Ang continued, "I'm not done yet; you'll understand once I finish."
A long time passed since that incident. As Wu Kingdom expanded, Zhu Huan began leading his army southward. At this time, he encountered a tribe that referred to themselves as the Flying Head Tribe. They were brave and skilled in battle, and Zhu Huan struggled to conquer them. Then he suddenly remembered his former maid was one of them. At that moment, an idea formed in Zhu Huan's mind.
That deep night, Zhu Huan ordered each soldier to carry a copper basin. The soldiers were puzzled; they didn't know whether they would live or die in a midnight raid, so why carry a copper basin? It would be inconvenient in battle. But Zhu Huan reassured them, and thus they marched into the tribe.
The valiant Flying Head Tribe was eerily quiet at night. The soldiers feared an ambush while Zhu Huan remained cheerful. Upon entering their camp, they discovered that all the men and women of the tribe were sound asleep; not one stirred. In the dead of night, visibility was poor, so Zhu Huan led his men to place their copper basins around the necks of the sleeping members of the Flying Head Tribe.
Other strategists suggested that Zhu Huan take advantage of their slumber to kill them all, but Zhu Huan waved his hand dismissively. This way he could achieve victory without shedding blood and allow his soldiers to rest right there. While others dared not sleep, Zhu Huan slept soundly. When dawn broke, thousands of heads flew into the camp from outside. The soldiers were so frightened that they dropped their armor and fled in panic. Yet Zhu Huan remained calm and told everyone not to panic.
Indeed, those heads hovered inside and outside the house but could not return to their bodies. As daylight brightened gradually, those heads lost strength and fell like hailstones onto the ground, each closing their eyes in death. Thus, Zhu Huan achieved victory without bloodshed and defeated the Flying Head Tribe; the story of their downfall became legend.
After hearing this tale, everyone couldn't help but sigh in amazement. Regardless of whether it was true or false, it certainly sounded extraordinary. I looked at Wang Ang and said, "Are you implying that the Flying Head Man's previous life was one of these Flying Head Tribe members? Wasn't the Flying Head Tribe exterminated?"
Wang Ang nodded then shook his head. "Yes, they were exterminated, but there are always a few who escape. These individuals fled and went into hiding. They harbor deep hatred for us Han people and are determined to eradicate us because from their perspective at that time, Zhu Huan was an invading force."
"Later on, some of these Flying Head Tribe members fled to Southeast Asia where they learned local shamanistic practices for raising spirits; thus falling heads ceased to be a unique ability of their tribe."
Wang Ang finally exhaled deeply after finishing this story for us.
I spoke up, "Is the Flying Head Man something that is cultivated by humans?"
Wang Ang nodded and replied, "From what I understand, the current Flying Head Man is a type of ghost cultivation technique. It seems that certain conditions must be met for this kind of ghost to be created; specifically, the person must have died with immense resentment. Moreover, when they died, their head and body must be separated. Only such a ghost can be cultivated into a Flying Head Man."
Lu Zhiqiu was killed by someone, and she must have harbored great resentment at the time of her death. Additionally, Lu Zhiqiu's head was indeed separated from her body. Could it be that Lu Zhiqiu was turned into a Flying Head Man by Lu Xiangyang? At the time of Kori Chiu's death, Lu Xiangyang was only about ten years old, and it was clear that Lu Xiangyang's parents did not inform him about Lu Zhiqiu's murder. So how could Lu Zhiqiu possibly have been made into a Flying Head Man?
I asked, "I have a question. If this deceased person meets all your conditions but has been dead for seven years, is it still possible to turn them into a Flying Head Man?"
Wang Ang nodded and said, "That is definitely possible. Those who die unjustly cannot reincarnate; these vengeful spirits wander among us. If someone knowledgeable in this ghost cultivation technique finds them, it is very likely that they can turn that ghost into a Flying Head Man. The more vengeful the spirit, the stronger its abilities and the greater its potential harm!"
Although I didn't believe much of what Wang Ang was saying, this situation seemed too coincidental. Could it be that Lu Xiangyang truly mastered some secret techniques from the South Seas and could create a Flying Head Man himself, then have his sister kill those thirteen people one by one?
I looked at Wang Ang and asked, "Where did you learn all this?"
Wang Ang smiled and said, "It's all from random readings. The reason my relationship with Lu Xiangyang is good is that we share common interests. Usually, Lu Xiangyang enjoys researching these things with me. The concept of the Flying Head Man appears in many paranormal magazines, but I'm not really clear on how to cultivate ghosts or how to refine a Flying Head Man."
At this point, Wang Ang sighed and continued, "If only Lu Xiangyang were here; he’s braver than I am and often dares to play spirit games alone. He even tries cultivating ghosts himself. If it were him here, he would definitely provide you with more methods. But now... who knows what he’s up to?"
I shrugged; after all, I had come here specifically to find Lu Xiangyang. If I knew where he was, perhaps I wouldn't need him at all.
Where on earth could Lu Xiangyang have gone?
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