Chapter 331
As soon as we mentioned sanitary napkins, Dali harped on and on, trying to convince me that our ultra-thin night pad was the most comfortable among all the brands. He claimed it felt like he was wearing nothing. He even asked me to give it a try when I had time. In order to do sales, he insisted confidence in my own products were paramount.
Naturally, I refused. But on second thought, with Dali’s professionalism, how could our business fail?
Xiaotao headed back to the station alone while I stayed in the store and followed Dali around, familiarizing myself with the business. "Has Ye s.h.i.+wen left?" I asked.
"No, he wants to invite us to dinner tonight. We’re going somewhere only adults can play. Would you like to join us?" Dali lecherously arched his eyebrow.
"I won"t go to that sort of place!” I retorted. “You better not get caught up with this habit!"
"Is there anything wrong with bowling?" Dali turned to me innocently.
I muttered an expletive under my breath. This idiot deliberately led me on!
I originally wanted to tell him about Deng Chao’s return but I swallowed down the words, thinking that Deng Chao was only trying to stir up the pot with a few serial murders. However, the events that later transpired proved me wrong.
I went back to school to pick up something and in the evening, Xiaotao called to inform me that they found the vehicle.
I rushed to the scene–an old residential area. Local residents had reported a truck parked there since the afternoon, causing serious inconvenience to the residents. Unfortunately, they didn’t see the owner of the truck.
In the open s.p.a.ce, there was a light truck that had been converted into a refrigerated truck. After checking it through the DMV, the police found that the truck was lost for two days during a fis.h.i.+ng trip.
The officers waited for my arrival before opening the truck. Seeing the crowd of onlookers that had gathered around us, I said, "Cover the door with some cloth so these civilians can’t see a thing.”
"Do you suspect there’s something inside?" asked Xiaotao.
"Just to be safe,” I explained. “I don’t want to cause any panic."
"You’re more and more careful now," chuckled Xiaotao.
An officer climbed up the roof of the truck and covered the door with a tarpaulin. We slid under the tarpaulin and unlocked the refrigerator door, only to be greeted by another corpse. The officers gasped in alarm.
"How did you guess?" wondered Xiaotao.
"This location is very similar to the one where the first body was dumped!” I surmised. “It"s old and disorganized, and there are no surveillance cameras nearby. I don"t think the murderer would make such a fuss about disposing of a stolen vehicle. But also, my impression of Deng Chao led me to this conclusion... "
Xiaotao raised an eyebrow, "What is your impression of him? Do you think he’s an intelligent criminal?"
"No,” I said, shaking my head. “In my opinion, he’s always had strong self-esteem. He even resembles me in certain aspects. I aim to shock with my words, while he does with actions, which is why I’m certain he left us a surprise."
I instructed the others not to enter the truck except for Xiaotao and myself. Xiaotao looked knowingly at me as soon as I closed the door behind us. I took out three items from my pocket: two pills sealed in wax and a small portable incense burner.
Like the previous body, the victim had a Hongtashan cigarette between his lips and a slit in his throat, but his body was frozen with bits of ice.
I placed the first pill into the incense burner, lit it, and fumigated it around the body, red-violet smoke floating from within. Xiaotao subconsciously covered her mouth and nose but soon dropped her hand to her side. Sniffing the air, she cried, "It doesn’t smell bad at all! There’s even a faint floral fragrance."
"This is a kind of incense made from the root of the photinia plant!"
"What does it do?"
“Nothing much on its own!” I replied.
After our surroundings were filled with smoke, I placed the second pill into the portable incense burner and told Xiaotao to watch carefully. Soon, black smoke permeated the air filled with fragrance, like ink in water. At first it was erratic, but a human figure gradually appeared in mid-air.
Xiaotao exclaimed but I hissed, motioning for her not to talk. This sort of smoke was so sensitive that even a murmur could disrupt the process.
Right then, the human form was divided into two parts, one kneeling on the ground with his head in his arms, partially overlapping with the victim while the other standing in front of the former who very much looked like Deng Chao. The two men maintained this position for five minutes as if they were talking. Then, the man standing waved his hand and the kneeling man collapsed.
That was the end of this miraculous picture, and the black smoke slowly drifted back into the incense burner.
Only then did Xiaotao dare to speak, "It"s amazing. It"s like watching a movie. What sorcery is this?"
I explained that the black smoke was actually a kind of bacteria that was harmless to the human body. It had an extremely keen ability to capture the breath of the living. My ancestors discovered its magical characteristics and named it “Soul Returning Incense.” The Soul Returning Incense was usually in a dormant state, and only the photinia could temporarily awaken it. Grandpa once used it when he was tracking down the Jiangbei Daggers.
The Soul Returning Incense could reproduce the scene of the crime for a short period of time, but there was a strict restriction–it could only be used in a closed environment. I expected it might come in handy tonight, so I went back to school in the afternoon to fetch it.
Xiaotao gave a thumbs up, "Amazing! It’s nothing short of a miracle!"
"Let"s continue a.n.a.lyzing the scene!" I urged.
From the Soul Returning Incense, we clearly witnessed the victim having a conversation with the murderer for about five minutes before his death. From this, we could infer what the murderer was interrogating him. After successfully obtaining information, he killed the victim with a slit across the throat.
The victim was a man of about thirty years of age, gentle in appearance, and from his clothes, a white-collar worker.
I picked up his right hand and noticed there were some old scars caused by corrosive chemicals on his fingernails and ligature marks on his palm, which seemed to be left by s.n.a.t.c.hing an object out of his hand, perhaps a briefcase.
I dug into the dead man"s pocket, then found an identification card on his chest that read: Director x.x.x of Xinghai Biochemistry Research Inst.i.tute.
"It’s highly unlikely for a senior researcher and Deng Chao to have any enmity,” remarked Xiaotao. “Looks like this is another kill order from the organization."
A sliver of doubt reared its head. Was this really the case? Could Deng Chao be cooking up a big conspiracy?
There was nothing else worth investigating so Xiaotao and I got off the truck. Only when Xiaotao called the research inst.i.tute did I realize the high level of confidentiality involved. The inst.i.tute refused to reveal the project the victim was working on.
"It seems we’ll have to make a trip down to the inst.i.tute in person!"
So far, my thoughts revolved around Deng Chao"s motives. Xiaotao asked me if I would like to go with her but I replied, "No, I’d like to be alone and organize my thoughts."
After I went back, I found an empty cla.s.sroom to perform the Triple Divination Technique but failed to obtain anything.
The next day, Xiaotao called to inform me that the second victim studied organic chemistry. Shortly after he was murdered, someone accessed the research inst.i.tute’s system. The information that Deng Chao tortured from the victim must have been the access code. Among the accessed contents were neurotoxins newly developed by their research inst.i.tute.
When I heard the word “neurotoxin,” I was ill at ease. "Could Deng Chao be planning to carry out a large-scale terrorist attack?” I wondered out loud. “Wait a minute. The day after tomorrow is our graduation ceremony. Returning at this point in time cannot be a coincidence."
Xiaotao inhaled deeply, "Do you think he’ll take his revenge on you at the graduation ceremony?"
"From his point of view, I’m the one who destroyed his life and made it impossible for him to graduate,” I said. “He wants me to suffer the same fate!"