Chapter 1: The Immovable Corpse

Calculating rapidly in my mind the costs of water, electricity, and food, it seems that the rise in pork prices has also driven up the prices of other items.

I lit a cigarette, tidied up the familiar layout of the store, and was just about to close the door when a familiar shout suddenly rang out from outside the store.

The sun is somewhat absurdly large. Although Guiyang is known as the Forest City and summers are not particularly hot, the glaring sunlight is quite uncomfortable. I leaned over the counter of the flower shop and changed my position several times, yet I still could not sleep soundly.

I have something I would like to consult you about..." Zhou Yan smirked and said, "Yi Lin, you are indeed the metaphysics expert of our great Guiyang.

Now that the old man has passed away, he has taken with him the secret I have long wanted to know into the grave

When it was my turn to speak, I forcefully recounted the events I had witnessed in Xiangxi during my childhood, including a significant role for the old gentleman in my narrative. Initially, Zhou Yan was able to refute my claims, but as the discussion progressed, he found himself with little to counter, ultimately having to call upon the teacher for assistance

To be honest, I never expected Zhou Yan to invest so heavily in me

At that time, Zhou Yan mocked me in every possible way, even calling me by the nickname of a "feudal superstition propagator." It is easy to imagine how angry I felt upon hearing that.

According to Zhou Yan, he received a call from the bureau around 10 PM last night, informing him that a homicide had occurred in the Dongfeng Community, and requesting him to conduct an on-site autopsy.

The old gentleman in the photograph remains unchanged, his gaunt face slightly showing the passage of time, and his pair of smiling eyes always conveys a sense of kindness

Of course, this was two years ago; today, in 2007, is quite different

Yesterday I was still able to have rice with toppings, but I estimate that tonight I can only have fried rice, and after another day ... ...

Zhou Yan's expression first stiffened, and then he forced a smile at me, gritting his teeth as he said: "Alright... seafood restaurant..."

In fact, I believe that running a flower wreath shop is akin to being a civil servant

At that time, my eyes were constantly gazing out of the car window, looking at the land I had lived on for fifteen years, a land filled with images and stories. I said I wanted to go back, that I did not want to leave Xiangxi, but the old man pretended not to hear.

Your lips are indeed tightly sealed. I smiled wryly and shook my head, choosing not to continue reminiscing. At the same time, I yawned and sat up, propping my head with my hand, listlessly watching the crowd of people coming and going outside the shop

"Damn it," Zhou Yan cursed, then lowered his voice, "My teacher and I examined the deceased and found that the cause of death was not excessive blood loss from the abdominal wound, but asphyxiation"

"Go to the seafood restaurant on Baoshan North Road." My heart skipped a beat; something unusual must be afoot. This fellow is looking at me so obsequiously, he must have something to ask of me.

Looking at the familiar face in the black-and-white photograph, my eyes involuntarily became a bit sore, and scenes from ten years ago suddenly surfaced in my mind, when my grandfather took me from Xiangxi to Guiyang.

The question posed by the teacher is whether ghosts exist, used to illustrate the distinction between materialism and idealism. That day, my luck in drawing lots was quite poor; I drew the negative side, while Zhou Yan drew the positive side.

Wood! Let's go eat!

It is uncertain whether the current generation's filial piety has diminished, or if it is simply more cost-effective to buy cigarettes for the living than to burn vehicles and horses for the deceased. In these times, the business of wreath shops is declining day by day

My expression stiffened for a moment, and I immediately began to murmur to myself.

The last type is pathological asphyxia, such as that caused by drowning, pneumonia, or hypoxia; these phenomena of asphyxia are all classified as pathological asphyxia

Heaven is a person who takes pleasure in slapping others without mercy. Whenever you think you have guessed correctly, he will first give you a slap and then say, "Grandson, you guessed wrong"

My surname is Yi, and my given name consists of a single character, Lin. Aside from my relatively uncommon surname, it seems I have no other notable characteristics

The deceased is a middle-aged man named Luo Dahai, aged forty-five, whose profession is an ordinary corporate white-collar worker

After the old man finished uttering this sentence, no matter how much I pressed him about the reasons for the escape, he refused to say a word.

That was a psychology class and a book debate competition

July 7, 2007

One is to deceive people, and the other is to deceive ghosts

"It's so damn disgusting." Zhou Yan couldn't help but curse, his face pale as he lit another cigarette, taking deep puffs. "There are no signs whatsoever that the deceased was killed by an outsider; he died in his own study, and the room has been examined. There are absolutely no traces of an outsider's intrusion."

For this reason, I did not spare Zhou Yan any face and dealt a direct blow.

Zhou Yan and his teacher conducted a hemoglobin test on the deceased and performed a preliminary examination of the body, during which they made a startling discovery

When a person's temper flares, their mind may not be very clear; that was the situation I was in at that time

With the overwhelming coverage of rising pork prices in the newspapers, the subsequent surge in prices has only exacerbated my situation, as the already meager earnings have become even more strained

At such times, time always seems to pass swiftly; by the time I come to my senses, the sky outside is already darkening.

As Zhou Yan recounted the story, my expression grew increasingly grim, and I could feel a chill creeping up my spine

When seeking help, one is a grandson; when being sought, one is a master. This is the philosophy that the old gentleman often instilled in me

My monthly income is approaching 800, and sometimes, when luck is on my side, earning a little over 1,000 is also quite effortless.

"If you treat, I will go." I am very straightforward, as it seems I only have two hundred left in my pocket

"Get lost quickly, seeing you is annoying, don't force me to take a kitchen knife to chop you." I scolded with a frown

The first type is mechanical asphyxia, which refers to respiratory obstruction caused by mechanical action, such as hanging or being strangled by another person. These are classified as mechanical asphyxia, a type that is relatively easy to identify, as the head and neck of the corpse often exhibit signs of ligature marks.

"Stop right there." I waved my hand. Upon hearing the term 'mysticism,' I genuinely wanted to hit him. I spared him no mercy in my words: "I, the so-called expert in mysticism, have the nickname 'quack.' My grandson, Zhou Yan, often mocked me during his time at university. The door is closed, no further discussion."

The second type is toxic asphyxiation, such as hypoxia of visceral tissues caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, ultimately leading to death

The primary requirement for a wreath shop owner is that when a customer asks if you have a certain item, you must say yes. Even if you do not have it, you should first engage the customer and then persuade them to purchase other items.

I sighed helplessly, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "What exactly do you want to consult about?"

The deceased did not die from excessive blood loss due to abdominal wounds, but rather from asphyxiation

"Isn't it always the case in movies that they talk about checking fingerprints or some such thing, only to ultimately discover it was high-tech crime?" I asked.

"That thing was unexpectedly encountered by me. We must leave; otherwise, the next outcome will be death!" The old man bitterly smiled as he lit his dry tobacco, taking a puff and displaying a face full of fear: "The thing in that cave is not something we ordinary people can contend with..."

Last night, the bureau received a case. Zhou Yan's smoking pace gradually quickened, and after a while of silence, as the cigarette butt burned close to the filter, Zhou Yan shook his head with a wry smile: "It's a troublesome case"

"Speak, what do you need to consult me about?" I buried my head in the food, pulling the plate filled with abalone closer to me, shoveling the food into my mouth from both sides: "Time is precious, hurry up and speak."

After I managed to persuade him, he firmly believed that the technology of the underworld was also advancing, and bought the tank I had folded from yellow paper during my high school years for four hundred and eighty-eight

Upon arriving at the seafood restaurant, I, with a mindset of frugality, requested a private room and chose not to order expensive dishes, opting instead for a few common and reasonably priced seafood selections

In Zhou Yan's explanation to me, asphyxia in medicine is classified into three types

The old man has started rambling again? A Taoist? Does he not fear the ancestral master punishing him

For instance, last time, a portly middle-aged businessman came to buy sacrificial offerings. He mentioned that his elderly father had a particular fondness for military-related items and inquired if I had any paper crafts that could be recommended alongside books

"Last year during the New Year, I went to your house to pay my respects, and then your father got drunk..." Zhou Yan shrugged his shoulders

During my university years, an unexpected debate led Zhou Yan to label me as a charlatan

Turning his head, he saw that it was the wealthy Zhou Yan.

I had thought that everything should proceed in such a plain and uneventful manner, but I was clearly mistaken

Zhou Yan is a wealthy individual, but he is a miserly one, comparable to me in terms of being money-minded. The moment he hears about treating others, his expression immediately turns awkward: "Discussing money damages relationships"

"Talking about emotional matters costs money; if you don't invite me, then just close the door." I glanced at him; whenever Zhou Yan lies, the corners of his eyes twitch. Judging by his current expression, he is definitely hiding something from me

These phenomena, along with the results of the hemoglobin tests, all point to asphyxiation as the cause of death

After graduating from university, Zhou Yan became a forensic doctor, and it has been two years since then. He has encountered at least thirty dead bodies, if not fifty, but he has never seen such a bizarre corpse.

Zhou Yan hesitated for a moment, revealing a rare苦笑 on his face. He took a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to me, while he lit one for himself and began to smoke: "Doesn't your old man often say he is a Taoist?"

When Zheng Zhouyan arrived at the scene and saw the corpse, he nearly vomited.

"What a useless investigation." Zhou Yan's body trembled slightly, his hand holding the cigarette shook continuously, and there was a look of lingering fear in his eyes: "We originally planned to take the body to the morgue at the bureau for further examination, but at that time we realized that the body couldn't be moved at all!"

Like ordinary university students, I rushed to the job market right after graduation in search of my mentor. However, at that time, I realized that the so-called university diploma was utterly useless, and finding a satisfactory job was as difficult as ascending to the heavens

Two plates of oysters, one plate of abalone, one plate of sea cucumber. I originally wanted to order a plate of lobster for Zhou Yan to show off, but seeing his face on the verge of tears, I softened my heart instead

The terms "feudal superstition" and "quack" have completely integrated into my university life during the last two years

The abdomen of the deceased has been completely opened, with both the left and right hands placed inside the belly, each hand tightly gripping its own intestines without letting go. The scene is truly ... ...

When did he tell you? I asked.

"Old man, if I sell the flower shop, will you crawl out from below and strangle me?" I helplessly tilted my head and looked at the black-and-white photo on the shrine.

Although opportunities to deceive the gullible are relatively rare, to speak frankly, deceiving the gullible is indeed a highly profitable endeavor

The people in the bureau all say that the cause of death cannot be determined for the time being, but... Zhou Yan shook his head: "The cause of that person's death is probably not so simple; the abdominal wound is not a fatal area."

As soon as I heard this, I was immediately choked by the smoke in my mouth, laughing and coughing as I asked, "If the intestines are being squeezed, isn't that still a vital area?"

Three months ago, the old gentleman was still alive; three months later, I feel like I am about to sleep on the street

This is an ordinary middle-aged person, but no one would expect that the death of such an ordinary individual would be anything but extraordinary

The reason for this is quite simple; it is not because I have found a talent scout, but rather because I have inherited the old gentleman's flower shop.

I remember that day very clearly; in the dimly lit carriage, the old gentleman shook his head while holding a pipe, looking utterly dejected, while I stood beside him with a bewildered expression, constantly tugging at his clothing

The corpse of Luo Dahai is no different from an ordinary corpse, yet the lips are excessively purplish, and there are signs of bleeding in the eyelids. The appearance of livor mortis occurs earlier than that of a typical corpse, the face is swollen, and there are also signs of bleeding from the teeth

Without work experience, in the eyes of those "Bole" who are casually chatting while smoking, you are certainly not a steed of a thousand miles, at best you are merely a grass mud horse

A meal at the seafood restaurant costs at least 800, which is enough to make this stingy person feel the pinch for a while

"Did he die so tragically from asphyxiation?" I became curious and pressed further, asking, "Did you find out the result in the end?"

Zhou Yan approached me with a bold demeanor and said with a grin, "I'll treat you! Let's go!"