Chapter 29: 29

Chapter 29: Strange Smell

“Except for the skull, Wu Tao’s muscles, bones, and internal organs were precisely divided into cubes with a side length of 1 mm.”

Lu Xiaohe pointed at three pictures and arranged them in order.

“This is the segmented bones, muscle, and fat. The muscle and fat are deformed because of corruption, so it took a lot of effort from forensics to discover this pattern. The bones are more obvious—look, the grains are clearly separated.”

The cubes in the picture had a smooth cross-section and an extremely standard shape. They were closer to some kind of industrial product than human bones.

Yin Ren thought about it for a while and didn’t think any kind of evil creature would have such a strange hobby. He tugged on Zhong Chengshuo and said, “Can technology nowadays do this?”

“If the human body is frozen and finely cut under certain conditions, theoretically it can be done.”

Modern humans are so terrible. Yin Ren couldn’t help but click his tongue.

Lu Xiaohe said approvingly, “Indeed, but Wu Tao’s body didn’t have any traces of being frozen, and there was no such condition at the crime scene.”

“To carry out such a crime, this wasn’t something done through improvisation… Lu Xiao… Lu Jie, can we look at Wu Tao’s social relations?”

Like Sun Qinghui said, regardless of the technique, as long as the murderer was a living person, then their motives for killing weren’t that much different than those of an ordinary murderer.

It was very likely the murderer had contact with Wu Tao in some way.

“You’re a bit late there. The police are also having a headache with that.”

Lu Xiaohe slightly frowned. “It’s common for Wu Tao to owe money and not pay it back, and extortion is pretty common. He has hundreds of enemies in terms of money, and he’s also indispensable in gangster fights around Haigu. This guy has committed a lot of bad crimes and offended many people.”

“What’s more disgusting is that this bastard often harasses little girls. He only picks out girls who go into the city for work. He would get drunk first and insult them, then coerce or try to seduce them, then pretend to date them for a few days, and finally kick them to the curb with some bullshit excuse.”

Yin Ren: “Why isn’t he locked up?”

“This man is a frequent visitor to the detention center, so he’s quite smart. He only targets girls who are timid and don’t know how to preserve evidence. The simple ones are deceived by his slick tongue, and they just thought things didn’t work out. The smart ones know something’s up, but they are afraid of retaliation from Wu Tao’s gang, so they don’t dare say anything—since no one reported a crime and there’s no evidence, it’s difficult for the police to catch him.”

As she spoke about the deceased, Lu Xiaohe didn’t have the slightest trace of sympathy.

“Officer Sun has been handling the case steadily. They should now be investigating nearby surveillance records and looking at Wu Tao’s related contacts.” Zhong Chengshuo thought for a bit. “We can put our energy into other areas first.”

After Zhong Chengshuo finished speaking, the two science posts looked at Yin Ren simultaneously.

Yin Ren: “?”

Lu Xiaohe: “I don’t understand the metaphysics angle, so I invite Master Yin to speak.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “Yin Ren, you’re the one who discovered the insect corpses. Do you have any other thoughts?”

Yin Ren was about to pull out his phone and search for human freezing when he retracted his hand resentfully and gathered his hair. “A corpse servant.”

“…What?”

“I don’t know anything about cutting living people into cubes, but a corpse servant can indeed manipulate insect corpses. When I entered the physical examination, there were three insect corpses as one of the props during the Three Divisions of Heaven test.”

Lu Xiaohe slid her chair in front of a computer and typed in a few strings of text. The screens on the wall were instantly covered with results.

“There’s only one lineage of corpse servants left. Central South Qin’s family. There are a total of 79 registered corpse servants in Shian, of which there are only 4 in the Haigu branch. They are all from the Qin family. Wait a minute…”

Lu Xiaohe pulled out a list of employees and quickly locked on one of them.

The call bell rang, and within ten seconds, a middle-aged man with a crying face appeared on the screen. “Lu Xiaohe?”

“Hello Qin Ge. There’s something we need your consultation on. Is it convenient for you to talk right now?”

A few strange sounds of unknown origin came from behind the middle-aged man, which were followed by a burst of black blood that splashed on his cheek. Qin Ge turned his head to look, causing the camera to shake violently. “Wait a minute. Ah, I’ll find a place to hide first… Now, this is good. What’s up?”

“We have a case in hand that may involve corpses.”

“Kid, you know the situation of the Qin family. There are not many corpse servants left, and most of them have joined Shian.” Qin Ge was speaking hurriedly, so his accent leaked. “I’m working every day. How could I go out and cause trouble?”

“Is it possible that it could be a rogue corpse servant?”

Qin Ge: “Not possible. It’s not enough for a corpse servant to have talent. Someone has to teach them. Our family is the only one in China, and we haven’t accepted any foreign apprentices for many years—haa, we can’t even convince our own family members.”

Yin Ren said curiously, “Isn’t the corpse servant quite powerful? Why can you not retain them?”

Thousands of years ago, there were dozens of families who focused on necromancy. The types of corpses raised were divided into men, women, old, and young. All kinds of corpse raising techniques were used with flying colors. Given such a scene, after thousands of years, how was it that there weren’t even over 100 people in this business?

The family tradition was dying, but Qin Ge didn’t seem regretful at all. “Blame that on cremation. There are also laws against vandalizing corpses. More than half the techniques handed down by our ancestors can’t be used nowadays.”

“And there are some techniques in my family… Well, they are quite common. Half of the younger generation went to orthopedics, and the other half became physical therapists. The one third of us that are left aren’t book smart and are forced to inherit the family business.” Qin Ge cracked his knuckles, showing a look of longing.

Zhong Chengshuo: “…” So that’s why you can’t study well.

Lu Xiaohe: “Thank you, Qin Ge. I see. Then I’ll let you go first—”

“Hey, wait. I suddenly remembered something. It seems there have been rogue corpse servants before.”

Qin Ge patted his head.

“I heard this from my grandmother, who heard this from her second master. Nearly a hundred years ago, there was a foreigner who became a corpse servant in the Qin family’s territory.”

“That person didn’t listen to people, nor did he speak human language. No one knew where he came from, but he just walks around hand in hand with carrion corpses every day, shitting and pissing his pants. My grandmother’s second master said that the man was a complete lunatic and soon died of illness.”

Yin Ren got distracted and started playing with the tip of his hair.

Thousands of years ago, he had only heard of a case of a “self-taught” corpse servant. Coincidentally, a lunatic was also involved in that case.

Beside him, Zhong Chengshuo was taking serious notes.

“If it’s really a crime committed by a rogue corpse servant, the murderer may be mentally unstable and very capable, given how he could create such a murder scene in that short amount of time…” Zhong Chengshuo pursed his lips. “But what is the meaning of that murder scene?”

“I have some ideas—I’ll go to the library to get something. You two can rest for a bit.” Lu Xiaohe stood up and walked to the door.

Only then did the two of them realize that Lu Xiaohe’s right leg was a bit lame.

Her sneakers had been specially modified, and the soles on both sides weren’t quite symmetrical. She walked with slightly smaller steps, slower than normal, and her body would subconsciously lean left.

However, Lu Xiaohe walked briskly with her head held high, and soon her figure disappeared from their vision.

Zhong Chengshuo lowered his head and was just about to continue organizing his notes when a fist suddenly stretched out in front of him, causing him to lean back. “What’s the matter?”

“Didn’t you fix my phone for me last night? Here’s my promised return gift.” Yin Ren opened his palm to reveal a keychain.

The keychain had a cream-colored hamster hanging on it, with its two small paws holding a red banner that read “Wealth and Prosperity”. The overall craftsmanship of the keychain was rough, but it wasn’t too bad—in fact, it gave it a rustic and cute look.

Yin Ren kept the “Blessing and Luck” keychain for himself and had already hung it on his cellphone. Lord Ghost King wasn’t too fond of money and firmly believed he needed more luck.

“For me?” Zhong Chengshuo asked as he took the keychain with both hands. His expression showed a bit of surprise.

Yin Ren: “Yes. I treated it with a method I learned at Shian. It can ward off evil spirits. You don’t like it? You can switch models if you don’t.”

Zhong Chengshuo rubbed the plastic keychain for a while, then carefully hung it on his cellphone. Yin Ren thought this person would say something like “a science post doesn’t need it” but who thought Zhong Chengshuo was being extraordinarily cooperative at this time?

The rhetoric that Yin Ren had prepared for so long became useless.

“So you like this kind of thing too.” Yin Ren felt very satisfied with his vision. “Look, it’s quite suitable, no?”

“No one has ever given me a gift like this before.”

Yin Ren: “……”

Yin Ren: “No way.” How could Comrade Zhong Chengshuo be this friendless?

“My parents will give me birthday gifts,” Zhong Chengshuo kept observing the dangling keychain on his phone, “but that’s different.”

“You never got anything from your friends?”

Zhong Chengshuo stated frankly, “From kindergarten to graduate school, I didn’t have particularly close friends. Some suitors would give me gifts, but they were conditional, so I didn’t accept them.”

“No, when you were studying…”

“I have never broken any rules and have been studying hard,” Zhong Chengshuo said confidently.

In kindergarten, while countless children fought for building blocks and toys, he was reading books; in elementary school, while primary students were playing games and collecting cards, he was reading books; from junior high to high school, while boys’ and girls’ feelings started to bud and they began to engage in ambiguity, he continued to seize all his time and read books.

This behavior continued until his graduate student days, when Zhong Chengshuo was promoted to the number 1 book king of University A. Originally, his handsome face earned him a lot of points, but they were all deducted by his behavior of “eating two steam buns for all his meals and spending all his time in the library”.

But wasn’t the focus of school to “study”? Besides, he wasn’t interested in having fun. Zhong Chengshuo felt he hadn’t done anything wrong. Naturally, it wasn’t like he was a complete loner, but for various reasons, most of his “friends” maintained a general acquaintance status.

Under this situation, he only received group messages from them every New Year’s holiday.

“Maybe I have a bad personality.” Zhong Chengshuo concluded.

“Really?” Yin Ren was puzzled. “I think you’re a very nice person.”

In terms of ordinary people, this guy was indeed a bit out of touch, but “out of touch” didn’t equate to being “bad”.

Lord Ghost King reminisced about his former neighbors—they were either focused on making all kinds of racket and causing all kinds of disasters, or they were busy killing the weak, or finding opponents to fight. Of course, those that rushed up to Yin Ren to pick a fight were turned into ingredients for his breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Zhong Chengshuo knew when to get to bed on time, knew how to respect life, didn’t steal his food, and even took the initiative to fix his phone.

How could this comrade of his say that he has a bad personality?!

“As long as you learn to get along with people, you’ll be very popular,” Yin Ren said seriously.

“But I don’t need to be popular.” Zhong Chengshuo touched his keychain again. “And I get along fine with you.”

Silly boy. That’s because I’m not human. Yin Ren sighed in his heart—he had lived sober for nearly four hundred years. If he couldn’t fool a youngling, then he would really live to a dog’s age*.

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Saying referring to living a life in vain.

“In short, the first step is to get along with people. Don’t worry.” Lord Ghost King continued to speak solemnly.

……

The top floor of the Shian Building.

The Evil Spirit pursuit came to an end. Fu Xingchuan’s face finally had more color in it. He was lying on the sofa of the office with a magazine titled “World Tourist Attractions” smothered against his face.

“What do you think?”

It wasn’t Professor Li that was in the office, but Xiang Jiang, whom he was addressing.

Xiang Jiang was still dressed haphazardly like a hobo. He sat expressionlessly in the reception chair with his head lowered as he fidgeted with his cup of coffee.

Fu Xingchuan sighed.

“…If he really has amnesia.”

Xiang Jiang: “If you want to ask me for a second confirmation, I have only one conclusion. There’s no sign of Yin Ren being possessed by a ghost.”

“Right, I didn’t notice anything either,” Fu Xingchuan murmured. “Except for amnesia, this person’s situation is too strange—there’s no record of this person in the face authentication database, and there is no missing person report that matches him. We even specifically asked the big guys to analyze him, and they found no signs of plastic surgery.”

“Yin Ren is good at communication, so he must have been in contact with society. With his appearance, it’s impossible not to have any splashes on the internet, but so far, we have found no videos, photos, or comments about him online.”

“So he should have been exposed to society in his early years and failed to show up for various reasons during his growth period. There are no signs of abuse on his body besides his skin being excessively pale. Not to mention illegal confinement; he could have been imprisoned somewhere for a long time… Regarding this matter though, most people related to the metaphysics would intervene.”

“Metaphysicians imprisonment… Raising human sacrifices? Making corpse puppets? Soul shifting?” Xiang Jiang finally raised his head and moved his face slightly.

“I’m not sure. There are too few existing clues, but he had that dagger. If such a thing could be picked up so easily, our archeologist would be rushing up and beating me silly with it.”

“You can check Sunken Society.”

“Already doing it. Yin Ren is a nominal ghost master. As his senior, your contact with him is indispensable, so help me keep an eye on him. Hao Wenzhe is also watching—Yin Ren GPS position, keyword search records, internal group activities, and data browsing are all being kept under close watch.”

“Nn.”

“You two can discuss it. Issue a comprehensive report every week and hand it directly to me.”

“How long do we have to keep watching?”

“Good question.” Fu Xingchuan lifted the magazine on his face and scratched his unshaven chin. “Keep an eye on him until you are sure who he is.”

Xiang Jiang hummed back with a lack of interest again. “Is there any progress on Hao Wenzhe’s side?”

“One feedback has been collected so far.” Fu Xingchuan slowly put the magazine back on his face.

“What?”

“After Yin Ren joined Shian, the meat consumption in the cafeteria has increased by 2%. The cafeteria also asked the logistics department yesterday if they had any clues as to why.”

Xiang Jiang: “……”

Given that they went in for their shift in the afternoon, work ended in a blink of an eye.

The culprit of the “cafeteria meat evaporation incident” had just finished his meal. Yin Ren was still reveling in the aftertaste of the fatty, honey-flavored char siu pork when his cellphone suddenly “barked” weakly.

How did this happen? This thing had learned reluctance as it only responded with dull “barks” for its ringtone.

[Hu Tao: Boss, are you off work?]

[Hu Tao: Shian is on Jiangxue Road. I remember there’s a Master Bao nearby. Bring me some seaweed and meat floss cake and a milk tart.]

[Hu Tao: @Yin Ren *]

*Secretly watching emoji

Yin Ren: “……”

Why did he have the feeling that the GPS in this app is a bit off? Traditionally, ghost masters communicated with their ghosts in one direction by burning talismans, and even then they rarely did that. Was this the price he had to pay for a paperless office?

[Hu Tao: I’m also your first employee, so you need to provide me with some company benefits. Come on, ghost master. I know you’ve read my messages.]

[Hu Tao: I’m a local, so I know where all the delicious food is. Want my recs? Sister will tell~]

[Yin Ren: I’ve written it down. I’ll buy it later.]

[Hu Tao: ]

“You can go back first. I’m stopping by to get some snacks,” Yin Ren said thoughtfully as he thought about Zhong Chengshuo’s unshakable schedule. “I’ll take the subway. I remember where our home is.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “I’ll join you.”

“Although you have to be present when I spend money, there’s no need to be so strict. I ordered takeout a few times, so I’m familiar with the prices now.”

Yin Ren was confident in his adaptability to society. He had become stronger. At least he wouldn’t be taken for a ride by merchants’ various tricks.

Zhong Chengshuo: “I want to go with you.”

“…To improve your communication skill?”

“Nn, it at least meets the demand of the job.”

Although the motivation was Zhong Chengshuo’s personally, Yin Ren didn’t care. Instead of going straight to the subway station, they walked slowly around two intersections looking for the Master Bao.

The city was full of traffic at this time. An endless stream of people came and went, filling up both sides of the streets. Neon lights flickered among noisy slogans and music playing from loudspeakers. Zhong Chengshuo began to hold Yin Ren’s wrist after he almost got off track due to fried chestnuts.

Yin Ren: “…” Although he didn’t care, the eyes of passersby looking at them felt a bit weird.

It seemed that a thousand years later, people were still not as open. Yin Ren shook his head spiritually and sighed.

“I saw the Master Bao.” Zhong Chengshuo decisively ignored the passersby. His goal was single-minded.

There were a lot of people lined up in front of the shop. The shop exuded a very nice baking aroma. Yin Ren took a deep breath and sucked up all the sweet fragrance. He decided he’d have a few servings of everything. Zhong Chengshuo stood quietly behind him, seemingly unmoved.

Even though the mask covered most of his face, Yin Ren’s long hair and sharp eyebrows were still eye-catching. When it was his turn to buy, the uncles and aunties next to him became enthusiastic. They started chatting and recommending the popular stuff on Twitter. The clerk was happy to see that Yin Ren didn’t refuse any of their recommendations.

After paying, Yin Ren was holding paper bags in both hands, while Zhong Chengshuo shared one side.

Yin Ren took the opportunity to take out an egg tart and gestured to Zhong Chengshuo. “Everyone said it’s best when it’s freshly baked. Try it while it’s still hot?”

A flash of hesitation appeared on Zhong Chengshuo’s face. “It’s not very healthy.”

“Even if it’s poisonous, it depends on the dose eaten.” Yin Ren’s smile didn’t fade. “And the first bite is the most delicious, greatest fun, and least expensive—a good mood is equally important as health. Here.”

Zhong Chengshuo didn’t resist anymore. He lowered his head, leaned slightly, and took a bite of the warm egg tart.

Crunch.

The meringue of the egg tart was crisp and crunchy, the egg filling was silky and slightly sweet, and an explosion of burnt fragrance filled his mouth. The sweet aroma penetrated deep into his tastebuds, as if it were caressing the velvet of his mind. Zhong Chengshuo wiped the corners of his mouth and said, “It’s very delicious.”

“Shee?” Yin Ren directly stuffed the rest of the remaining egg tart into his mouth, making his voice muffled. “Ish yur mood butter nao?”

“Nn.” Zhong Chengshuo nodded firmly. “What benefit does this have for learning how to communicate…?”

Yin Ren glanced at him and put his mask back on. “It’s a great thing to be happy in life, so there’s no need for any deeper meaning. Well, it’s hard to… There are some things you have to experience before you can better understand, ahem, other people’s thoughts.”

Zhong Chengshuo paused. “Speaking from experience?”

“Guess?” Yin Ren curved his eyes.

“…When we go back, let’s buy some fried chestnuts.”

“You catch on quick.”

“I’ll eat one, and the rest will be considered the tuition fee.” After all, it was Yin Ren who really wanted to eat them.

“As expected from an outstanding student certified by Shian. Zhong…”

Yin Ren’s expression suddenly froze. His empty hand moved without a trace, instantly pinching a small black dot into his palm.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just a bug.”

A dead fruit fly was lying in the palm of his hand. Its insect body was shriveled, indicating that it had died some time ago. The corpse had just been flying around them for a while. When it saw the two of them focusing on their conversation, it crept closer and tried to get into Yin Ren’s bag.

The insect corpse had a very light evil qi on it. The person who controlled it was on an abysmal level. Undoubtedly, this was a novice.

The problem was elsewhere…

There was an indescribable smell to that evil qi. From the moment Yin Ren caught the bug, the smell began to quickly dissipate. It was a scent that Yin Ren had never been exposed to before. It made his chest throb, and his hair slightly stood up.

Absolutely unfamiliar, yet all too familiar.

As an inexperienced newborn Evil Spirit, it took Yin Ren a while to determine the source of the subtle feeling.

The smell was extremely weak but decadent, like an ember of a fire buried in the deepest part of the ashes, which could be extinguished at any time.

But there was no doubt that it came from his kind.

…On that insect corpse, there was a faint “smell” of another Evil Spirit.

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