Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 177 Familiar Face
A human face exploded out of the ball!
Everyone on the entire football field turned to look at the hole.

Zhou Zhao's expression hardened. He pushed aside the burly man and squatted down next to the hole. Su Changying, who was in the crowd, also stepped forward and stood protectively beside Zhou Zhao.

The two looked closely and saw that the golden ball had cracked in two because it could not withstand Zhou Zhao's footwork.

In the Great Qi Dynasty, the balls used for Cuju (ancient Chinese football) were often made of bamboo when ordinary children played with them. However, when used in a formal match, the balls were mostly made of leather with soft materials such as hair and feathers stuffed inside. On the battlefield, there were also generals who used enemy generals' heads as balls to intimidate the enemy.

Ji Yun's family was wealthy, and he disliked the original leather, so he had a cover woven with gold thread made for the outside, instantly turning the ball into a glittering gold.

Now the ball has split in two, and everything inside is now exposed.

It was a human face.

"Ah! This is impossible! How could there be a human face inside my golden ball!" Ji Yun finally realized what was happening and moved closer. He only glanced at it before his legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, screaming in terror.

Zhou Zhao ignored Ji Yun and looked into the cracked sphere. The sphere was filled with dense, dark blue hair, like a clump of seaweed floating in the water, which made one's scalp tingle. In the center of that clump of hair, a man's face was clearly visible.

It was an extremely handsome face. Although his skin was somewhat bluish and his eyes were closed, Zhou Zhao felt a strange sense of familiarity when he looked at him.

A gentle breeze blew by, and the face seemed to twitch slightly.

Zhou Zhao's expression hardened, and then he heard Ji Yun scream again from the side!

"It moved! It moved! It moved! The head moved!"

He shouted and scrambled to his feet, his sleeves billowing in the wind as he rose, and his face rolled around a few times.

Ji Yun's face turned deathly pale. At this moment, he could no longer remember anything about Cuju (ancient Chinese football) or imperial officials... He suddenly turned around and tried to run away, but instead bumped into Wu Jiandao, who was standing behind him.

Just as Ji Yun was about to start cursing, he saw Wu Jiandao and let out another scream. Without thinking, he lunged at Zhou Zhao.

"Ghost! Wu Jiandao!"

Ji Yun roared, his voice exceptionally sharp, making it hard to breathe, as if he was about to faint at any moment.

Zhou Zhao, who was crouching beside the ball and examining it closely, frowned. Turning her head, she saw Su Changying's arm reach out and stop Ji Yun, who was already somewhat frightened and going crazy.

Ji Yun, as if grasping at a straw, gripped Su Changying's sleeve tightly. He pointed to the dead face in the sphere, then to Wu Jiandao standing to the side, opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out...

Zhou Zhao's gaze swept across Wu Jiandao's face and then landed on Wu Qingshan. The two of them were frozen in place, as if petrified.

“Three almost identical faces. The dead body in this sphere looks like skin peeled off the faces of the Wu brothers, and it is indeed human skin, not a human head. There is no skull in it, only skin and hair.”

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he stood up.

"The body was supported by a new bamboo frame, which is why we didn't notice anything wrong when we were playing football. The wind that Ji Yun created when he stood up was also because of this, which made it easy to move the face."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he was somewhat horrified.

She had read many case files and handled numerous cases, but this was the first time she had ever seen something as horrifying as removing human skin. As she spoke, she looked at the Wu brothers, Wu Qingshan and Wu Jiandao, with a questioning look in her eyes.

"The deceased looks so much like you two, it's highly likely they were your blood relatives. Do you recognize them?"

Before Zhou Zhao could finish speaking, Wu Qingshan knelt down with a thud.

The people from the Court of Justice standing next to him were all startled, but Wu Qingshan seemed completely unfazed and kowtowed three times.

"This is my father!"

Zhou Zhao was startled and before he could ask a question, Wu Jiandao had already come to his senses. He looked angrily at Wu Qingshan, "Peeling skin, Bamboo Man... Wu Qingshan, how dare you call him father! The murderer is clearly your wretched mother! If it weren't for you two, my father wouldn't be dead!"
You are all murderers! How dare you bear the surname Wu! How dare you play Cuju (ancient Chinese football)! How dare you live a normal life!

As Wu Jiandao spoke, he rushed over and kicked Wu Qingshan in the chest.

Wu Qingshan remained completely still, showing no intention of dodging whatsoever.

Wu Jiandao's kick was both urgent and powerful. If it had hit Wu Qingshan's chest, he would have been seriously injured, if not killed.

Zhou Zhao raised his hand to stop him, but saw Li Youdao's old hand reach out and grab Wu Qingshan's collar, dragging him aside. At the same time, he also raised his foot and kicked Wu Jiandao's foot hard.

The moment their feet touched, they both stumbled and nearly fell to the ground.

Li Youdao hissed and shook his foot, then turned around and slapped Wu Qingshan on the forehead. "What are you doing? We, the Court of Justice, can be heartless, but we can't be mouthless and legless, letting people slander us and beat us? Get this straight, have you been eating for free all day? People are bullying you to the point of blatant disrespect."

As Li Youdao spoke, he gave Wu Jiandao a disdainful look.

“He has the exact same face as you, but he doesn’t have the face to call you ‘Dad,’ so you do? You just kicked your dad in the head, so what face do you have?”

As Li Youdao spoke, he spat, "The Court of Justice and the Northern Army are all here, and you, a mere lowly soldier of the Imperial Household Department, dare to injure people in public! What a shameless person you are!"

Hearing this, Chen Jiyuan couldn't help but pout.

When they were bullied by Xu Jin at the Court of Justice, why didn't Li Youdao stand up for them?

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Li Youdao suddenly turned around and glared at Chen Jiyuan. "You don't have a mouth or hands, and you're blaming me? Have some shame."

Zhou Zhao felt Li Youdao's eyes looking at her, and she shrank back, quickly covering the ball and the face with her clothes. Everyone playing the game looked grim; Li Youdao's words were like knives, piercing their hearts.

Just now, all of them kicked the ball, and kicked Wu Qingshan and Wu Jiandao's father's head.

Even when I wake up in the middle of the night, I feel like cutting my foot and slapping myself across the face.

They are guilty.

As more and more people gathered around, Zhou Zhao gave Su Changying a look.

Su Changying understood and called on the Northern Army officers and the officials from the Court of Justice and the Imperial Household Department to sandwich them in the middle, and the group headed towards the Court of Justice.