Chapter Three: The Red-Clad Boy of Chongqing

In the mist-shrouded, undulating hills of Chongqing, there lay a quiet and remote mountain village. It was a place that should have remained a sanctuary of simple, peaceful days, yet its tranquility was shattered by a bizarre and shocking event—like a heavy stone cast into a calm lake, stirring up ripples of horror that would not settle for a long time to come. This was the infamous and chilling case of the "Red-Clad Boy of Chongqing."

It was November 5, 2009—a day that seemed ordinary but was destined to be extraordinary. At noon, the warm sun bathed every corner of the village, yet it failed to dispel the gloom hanging over the Kuang household. Kuang Zhijun’s mother, weary from her labor, returned home expecting to prepare a hot meal for her son, hoping to provide him with the warmth of home amidst the late-autumn chill. However, as she stepped into her son’s familiar room, an inexplicable coldness surged from her feet to her head. The sight before her left her petrified, followed by a scream that pierced the heavens.

Inside the room, Kuang Zhijun hung silently from a ceiling beam. His body was tightly bound by ropes; his hands and feet were tied with professional precision. The knots were complex and firm, as if they were death shackles meticulously crafted by evil hands. Even more chilling was his attire: he was dressed in a red woman’s garment as vivid as blood. The color appeared stark and glaring in the dim room, like flames from hell searing the eyes of all who beheld it. His feet dangled high above the ground with no support beneath them, as if he had been hoisted into the air by an invisible, malevolent force. The entire scene was like a horrific painting from a dark abyss, filled with an eerie atmosphere that defied reason and human nature.

Soon, the terrifying news spread through the village like wildfire. Neighbors rushed over, and upon seeing the scene in the room, their faces were etched with horror and shock. Some even collapsed, muttering prayers to the gods for protection. The police arrived quickly, equipped with professional gear and calm minds, attempting to sift through the chaos and fear to find clues to the truth.

As the investigation unfolded, increasingly baffling details surfaced. The manner of Kuang Zhijun’s death was strange beyond imagination. The position and method of his suspension led many to suspect that some mysterious ritual had been performed in that small room. A tiny wound on his forehead, like a mysterious symbol, seemed to tell of an unknown struggle and agony, yet it was insufficient to explain why he would end his life in such a bizarre fashion.

The police conducted a carpet search of the scene, sparing no corner or inch of floor, but beyond the chillingly suspended body and the eerie red dress, they found no signs of a struggle or forced entry. The items in the room were neatly placed, suggesting that no violent conflict had occurred there. Everything appeared disturbingly calm.

Inquiring among the neighbors yielded little. To everyone, Kuang Zhijun was a quiet, introverted child who got along well with others and showed no signs of bad habits or abnormal behavior. While his grades were not exceptional, he was well-behaved and had never caused trouble for his family or teachers. Why would such an ordinary child suffer such a bizarre and horrific fate?

Yet, just as the police strove to find a breakthrough from realistic clues, a haze of superstition and rumors began to permeate the village. Some elders whispered privately, their eyes gleaming with fear, claiming this was the work of evil spirits—the fulfillment of an ancient curse. They believed that red was a color that easily attracted malevolent entities, and that the boy’s cross-dressing and strange manner of death meant he had been chosen by evil forces as a sacrifice or a target for vengeance. These rumors spread like a virus, plunging the village into panic. People began locking their doors and windows at night, afraid to venture out, as if a pair of evil eyes were watching them from the darkness.

Meanwhile, the online world was ignited by the incident, with various guesses and imaginings flooding in like a tide. Some asserted with certainty that this was a sinister ritual orchestrated by a cult, claiming the boy was a sacrifice offered to a god of darkness in exchange for occult power. Others insisted it was a genuine supernatural phenomenon—a ghost from another world wandering the earth in search of innocent souls to serve as playmates. These baseless claims fermented rapidly online, attracting immense attention and making the truth ever more elusive, like a massive whirlpool dragging more people into its depths.

The police, however, were not swayed by these rumors and superstitions. They knew that behind the seemingly absurd fog, there must be a truth explainable by science and reason. Thus, they intensified their investigation, focusing on Kuang’s family background and personal life.

Through deep investigation, the police discovered that the family was not wealthy. His parents worked away from home all year, struggling to make a living, leaving him to live with his grandparents without the companionship and care of his parents. At school, he was introverted with few friends, often keeping to himself. In the period leading up to his death, the police found an unsettling clue: Kuang had frequently browsed inappropriate content online, which included perverse and twisted material, such as cross-dressing and descriptions of dangerous sexual acts.

This discovery provided a new turning point for the investigation. The police speculated that Kuang had been influenced by this harmful information, leading to severe psychological distortion. Perhaps on that fatal night, alone at home, his inner dark impulses were awakened by what he had seen. He had put on the red dress and mimicked the dangerous behaviors he found online, attempting to satisfy his twisted inner desires. In the process, he had accidentally bound himself too tightly to escape, eventually suffocating in a state of struggle and despair.

To further verify this, the police examined his computer and analyzed his browsing history in detail. They also invited senior psychological experts to interpret his behavior and mental state from a professional perspective. The experts noted that for an adolescent lacking proper guidance and care, exposure to such harmful information was a disaster. Adolescence is a period filled with curiosity and impulse, and because Kuang had not received sufficient attention or proper education at home or school, he had been unable to resist these temptations, falling into a psychological quagmire that led him to his ruin.

Although the police concluded—based on the evidence and investigation—that this was an accidental death caused by psychological distortion and released their findings to the public, the result failed to fully dispel the doubts and fears in people's hearts. Many remained convinced that more mysterious and evil forces were hidden behind the event, and those inexplicable details and coincidences became eternal mysteries to them.

As time passed, the "Red-Clad Boy of Chongqing" incident gradually faded from the public eye, but the shadow it cast remained deeply imprinted on people’s hearts. Whenever night falls, the villagers still involuntarily think of the boy in red hanging from the beam, a chill running through their souls. The incident serves as a warning, reminding people to pay attention to the mental health of teenagers and to be vigilant against the erosion caused by harmful online information. For beneath the surface of seemingly peaceful lives, there may be countless souls like Kuang Zhijun, struggling in the dark, waiting to be saved before they fall into an endless, irreversible abyss of horror.