It’s Him – Ch30

Reincarnation and Rebirth

For contemporary internet users, every so often, a piece of content emerges that sparks a nationwide discussion.

Most of the time, it’s about murder cases—especially those that are twisted, bizarre, or unsolvable. The more mysterious and impossible to crack the case, the more it captures the public’s attention.

However, the buzz usually only lasts for a brief period.

This time, however, was different.

The case began with a serial murder, where the victim allegedly reincarnated and even drew a picture of the killer’s appearance. This alone was enough to garner attention, but because there was no follow-up, the heat quickly faded, only to be overshadowed by another event.

That event was a missing persons case involving Zhao, a teacher from Pingcheng Middle School, who was also identified as the killer in the sketch. The online community dug up every detail about Zhao.

He was a teacher at a prestigious school, divorced in middle age, with a son who had already been accepted into graduate school.

Not a single person who knew him had anything negative to say. Everyone seemed like they were paid shills, repeating, “He’s got a good temper, a good personality, never loses his temper.”

Is that normal?

Even a clay statue has a temper. Who can claim to never get angry?

Netizens speculated that Zhao’s disappearance had to be related to the victim’s family!

But as usual, netizens’ attention was easily diverted, and with no new information, the focus shifted elsewhere.

Soon, news broke that the victim’s family had kidnapped and imprisoned Zhao.

Kidnapping, imprisonment, and abduction.

This became the trending topic for an entire day.

Even after Zhao was rescued, most netizens still believed that he was the killer.

A few days later, the entertainment journalist who was always quick to capitalize on the latest trends— the one who had been livestreaming from a tree—sensed the opportunity in this case and knew exactly what the public wanted.

She pressed on and continued to dig for more information. She uncovered a significant lead while interviewing people in the neighborhood where Zhao had lived during his childhood.

Up until then, netizens had mostly been surfing the web, unaware of what was happening offline. But this reporter, whose job relied on finding such stories, was on the ground, uncovering vital details.

The information she found was explosive—Zhao’s father had been imprisoned for violent crimes, regularly beating people, and the worst incident involved breaking two ribs. His mother had run away with his younger sister.

“Do you know why his mother ran away with his sister, but not with him?”

“He once cut open his sister’s stomach. But because he was so young, it was covered up.”

The reporter didn’t mention that people in the neighborhood had attributed this incident to Zhao taking the blame for his father.

Modern internet users, growing up in an era of information overload, all come with a built-in data analysis system.

A violent father, a childhood filled with brutal actions, including killing a young child.

This was practically a textbook case for a killer.

However, a small group of netizens shifted their focus back to the origins of the case—

“Did the girl who claimed to have reincarnated say anything else?”

“She hasn’t appeared again. I always thought she was lying.”

“I’ve been messaging her, but she hasn’t replied.”

“She definitely won’t show up now. In a sense, it was her drawing that sparked the whole thing.”

“Why isn’t the police saying anything?”

“They can’t explain it either. Think about it. She’s just a high school student. All she said was that it was a dream, and she drew a person she saw in that dream. She’s in her final year, preparing for the college entrance exams. What can the police do?”

“I really want to know, is her reincarnation story true? Did she ever find her previous parents?”

“If I remember correctly, none of the victim’s families have come forward. I have a friend with access to some inside info, and if the reincarnation story is true, it could be a form of comfort for the families.”

“An insider just came forward! According to my sources, they’ve confirmed that the girl really did recognize her past life. It’s not just a ploy for attention, and it’s not a lie. She remembers the house she lived in, the pattern on her cradle, and even the dog she used to have…”

“Is the insider telling the truth?”

“Same question!”

“Yes, it’s true. I can’t say much because it might affect the girl’s college exams, but the recognition is real.”

In an instant, the focus shifted back to the topic of past and present lives.

Offline, whether among classmates or colleagues, everyone who met was talking about it.

Human beings are genuinely curious about the ultimate question: “What happens after we die?”

During breaks, Li Xun’s class was no different. They weren’t discussing trivial things, but rather, this topic.

“If reincarnation is real, then a person can have four biological parents—previous life’s and this life’s.”

“Maybe even more, from previous previous lives.”

Li Xun, feeling listless, just listened to their half-hearted chatter.

“But if reincarnation is real, then the soul is a person’s true identity, and the body is just a vessel for the soul,” a group of high school seniors even treated it like an academic debate. “But the population is growing. There can’t be enough souls for everyone.”

“Maybe some souls are newly created, while others have reincarnated dozens of times. I’ve always felt like I’m too old. My soul must have been reincarnated many times, but unfortunately, I don’t remember any of it. Every time I reincarnate, I have to retake the college entrance exams. It’s miserable.”

Li Xun didn’t participate in the conversation. She was too absorbed in her phone, browsing the information online.

The discussions on the web were getting louder, with everyone focused on reincarnation.

Li Xun joined in, scrolling to catch useful details.

And soon, the story was reignited.

“The Qian family has issued an official statement. Does this mean they’re looking for their child’s reincarnation? [link]”

Li Xun clicked on it. It was from Qian’s company’s official website.

“Mom and Dad miss you so much. If you remember, come find us.”

Netizens were stunned. Did this mean they were accepting reincarnation as real?

“Looks like if you live long enough, you’ll see everything.”

“Before, I’d only heard of people impersonating someone’s reincarnated child, but at the time, their family was vague and didn’t directly acknowledge or search for the child. Now, they’re actively looking, so does this mean the previous reincarnation claim was true?”

“These victim families must be connected. They’ve probably recognized their past child.”

“This child is so lucky. Their parents are still looking for them in the next life. I can’t even imagine how happy I’d be if I woke up one day and was told I have another set of parents who love me so much.”

“If reincarnation is real, I can’t imagine how complicated human relationships will become.”

“They don’t have other children. If their past child really reincarnated and they’ve recognized her, then all their assets must belong to her.”

“It’s not just about money. It’s about love. I really envy the soul who’s loved like that. I now have a dream material for tonight.”

“Is the dream material about someone being killed?”

“Calm down. No way would anyone believe someone just claiming they’re reincarnated. You’d have to have some kind of connection to the body from your past life.”

“I’ve had dreams where I was killed too. Maybe I’m the one.”

“People have tried. It’s obvious none of them are. You can’t just claim to be someone’s reincarnation. You have to at least remember some past life details, right? I heard at the front desk of their company that some guy claimed to be their boss’s son reincarnated.”

“Has any woman tried it? If they were a son in their previous life, maybe they reincarnated as a daughter.”

“It’s just a biased way of thinking. People probably wouldn’t expect their child to change gender in their next life.”

Zhao, watching these discussions, found them somewhat amusing.

He thought it was funny.

If it were really a case of biased thinking, anyone who showed up now would be quickly dismissed.

The initial reports never mentioned gender, but because the photo released showed a small bald child in clothing that didn’t seem like something a girl would wear, everyone assumed it was a boy.

The police didn’t correct this at the time. He guessed that they initially thought the child might have been misidentified as a boy, and since they were afraid that the traffickers would realize their mistake and kill the child, they didn’t dare say it was a girl.

When the child disappeared, they knew it wasn’t a trafficker’s doing, but they never corrected the information.

So only the family and the killer knew that it was a girl.

Once again, he enjoyed the feeling of being the only one who knew the truth while everyone else remained in the dark.

It had been a long time since he had felt this way.

It was truly fascinating.