Chapter 4, The Dead

Da Meng stepped forward with determination and said loudly: "Perhaps there is no direction right now, but I simply do not believe that what you said could possibly be the work of a ghost. Because I do not believe that ghosts exist in this world."

Da Meng still could not accept it, shaking his head while looking at the newspaper and smoking in silence. Finally, Da Meng lifted his head and looked at me with a bewildered expression. I knew it was difficult for him to comprehend this; it had overturned his worldview. It was quite normal for him to be unable to accept it immediately.

Da Meng laughed heartily: "Let me tell you, I am an atheist. Don't talk to me about these things. I really don't understand why those people are afraid that the gods and spirits won't know when they do good deeds, yet they fear that the gods and spirits will know when they do bad deeds. The gods and spirits have it tough enough. Now you say it was the work of a ghost; don't say I don't believe it, even if I do believe it, how am I supposed to explain it to my superiors? How am I supposed to explain it to the public? It's truly ridiculous."

I shook my head: "This is illogical. It does not make sense in principle. Would you consider this a motive for crime?"

I waved my hand to stop Da Meng's words: "I do not wish to believe these things either, but some things exist as facts. You can evade them, but you cannot deny them."

Da Meng was momentarily at a loss for words. After a snort, he said, "Perhaps it is written in other books; he might have learned it from there."

Da Meng fell silent again. After a long while, he said: "We have indeed conducted a preliminary investigation. The decapitated victim is named Sun Ximing. The only similarity with the skinned Huang Xiaobin is that they are both single and live alone. I wonder if this criminal is targeting these solitary individuals"

I let out a hum: "Still a dark-faced one."

Da Meng pondered for a moment and said, "If what is stated here is true, will there still be cases of disembowelment, dismemberment, and mutilation of internal organs?"

I glanced at Da Meng and said, "Are you interrogating the suspect?"

I shook my head: "You are too naive. With your intelligence and my intelligence, after reading this book, will you learn the techniques within? Tell me, how was that human skin removed so completely, without any knife marks? What tools were used?"

Da Meng stroked his chin and said, "So what should we do? Are we just waiting for the next tragedy to occur before we confirm it?"

I picked up the newspaper, sat down in a chair, and began to read carefully. It contained an obituary. The deceased was quite well-known in the business world and was considered a prominent figure here as well. Therefore, it was featured on the front page, accompanied by a large photograph. The individual was the chairman of the Far East Group, renowned on the Forbes list, with a net worth in the billions. His name was Qi Zhongwei. The individual was the chairman of the Far East Group, renowned on the Forbes list, with a net worth in the billions. His name was Qi Zhongwei

I let out a bitter laugh: "You still have the heart to cherish beauty. How did the on-site investigation go? Hurry up and share the pictures."

Da Meng looked down upon him: "Lu Long! We are all studying criminal investigation, studying science, how did you turn into a charlatan? The unsolved cases of the Republic of China are not necessarily unsolved even now. Perhaps some people have also read this book and are imitating the methods described within to commit crimes?"

However, he was still sitting here yesterday, chatting with me, and talking about his daughter. I was drenched in cold sweat, recalling an incident from my childhood. Could it be that I am encountering a ghost again? I tried my best to calm myself down, wanting to clarify this matter. Why do these deceased individuals seem to be so fond of me? They all come to find me. Moreover, I had already promised him and accepted the money. Now that I want to return the money, there is no way to do so. Why do these deceased individuals seem to be so fond of me? They all come to find me. Moreover, I had already promised him and accepted the money. Now that I want to return the money, there is no way to do so. Because no one would believe what I say. I lit a cigarette from mhetushucom.com and took a deep puff. Gradually, I calmed down. Looking at the old man's smile, I suddenly felt he was very pitiful. Furthermore, given the current situation, I must find his daughter no matter what, especially since I now have a lead.

Da Meng inexplicably opened the book and found the case I mentioned, examining it carefully. After a while, Da Meng closed the book and said: "Is this a coincidence?"

Da Meng snorted, "I don't care; anyway, I didn't see it, so I don't believe it. Unless you can prove it to me."

Da Meng looked at the date, his eyes wide open and mouth agape. I shook my head: "You see, the date on this newspaper is from the day before yesterday, which means that the wealthy man named Qi Zhongwei had already passed away by then. Tell me, who did we see yesterday?"

I said nothing and silently walked back to the office. Sitting in the chair, I took out a cigarette, tossed one to Da Meng, and lit one for myself.

Da Meng inquired: "What is the matter?"

Da Meng was taken aback: "If it wasn't done by a human, could it have been done by a ghost"

Da Meng blinked and asked, "Simple?"

Da Meng was unconcerned: "What do you think? If I didn't know for certain that you didn't commit this case, I would really take you back and interrogate you thoroughly"

I continued, "You can take your time to digest this matter; I have other things to attend to"

I shivered slightly and frowned: "It's not impossible."

Da Meng was taken aback and exclaimed, "What?"

I sighed and said, "Brother, I truly do not understand how you became a detective. Take a good look at the date on the newspaper."

I said: "Regarding the matter of Qi Zhongwei's daughter, I have some leads. It is said that she was abducted by a trafficker with the surname Huang. I asked Sun Wei to check, and he said that the trafficker's name is Huang Xiaobin, residing at No. 15, Qingshui Hutong"

Da Meng looked at me in silence and exclaimed, "What are you pretending to be profound for? Speak up!"

I shook my head and tossed the newspaper in front of Da Meng. I stopped speaking, as I did not know what to say. Da Meng picked up the newspaper, glancing at it while muttering, "What does this mean? There is evidence in this newspaper. Hmph!"

Da Meng took a couple of puffs from his cigarette, regaining his composure, and said: "I say, Long Ge, please don’t make me anxious. Just tell me what happened. Yesterday you were speaking quite seriously. Today, there really has been a case. You didn’t see it, did you? The head was just lying next to the body, and the body was sitting in a chair. The ground was covered in blood. The eyes on the head were wide open. Ah! If only those eyes were cameras, they could have recorded the murderer. You didn’t see it, did you? The head was just lying next to the body, and the body was sitting in a chair. The ground was covered in blood. The eyes on the head were wide open. Ah! If only those eyes were cameras, they could have recorded the murderer. Did you see the expression on our captain’s face? It was as bad as it could get, simply ... "

Da Meng pouted and shook his head: "Bring out the evidence."

Da Meng nodded: "Indeed, it's been quite a mess. They said they haven't eaten for two days. Their cheeks are sunken in. It’s heartbreaking to see."

This is the same as the name of the elderly person who came to me for help in finding his daughter. Perhaps it is just another case of a shared name, but that large photograph cannot be deceived. It is clearly that elderly man, with his refined demeanor, a smile on his face, and his appropriate attire; it is indeed him. I am not very interested in business, nor do I care how much money others have, so I am not aware of such a famous person. Even now, I have no understanding of this individual. I merely consider him a lonely old man, and I never even thought of asking him for money, even though he had already given me one million through the - picture - book. I am not very interested in business, nor do I care how much money others have, so I am not aware of such a famous person. Even now, I have no understanding of this individual. I merely consider him a lonely old man, and I never even thought of asking him for money, even though he had already given me one million through the - picture - book. I never expected him to be such a celebrity, a person famous for his wealth. What is even more surprising is that the date on the newspaper is from the day before yesterday, which means this person had already passed away the day before yesterday.

I smiled and said: "Your current attitude is just a form of evasion. The appearance can be similar, and the name can be the same, but what are the chances that both are in the same city? The most important thing is the temperament. Do you know? Temperament is something that is very difficult to imitate. The moment I saw it, I knew that the person in the photo in the newspaper must be Qi Zhongwei."

I shrugged my shoulders: "What do you think? If it's a coincidence, isn't it too coincidental?"

Da Meng raised his hands in a gesture of helplessness: "I was in a hurry and didn’t bring it. But it will be uploaded to the intranet shortly. We can take a look. Hey! How come you’re interrupting? Quickly tell me, how did you know that such a case would occur?"

I nodded, stood up, and walked to the edge of the bookshelf. I pulled out the book "Records of Cases from the Republic of China" that I often read and handed it to Da Meng: "Take a look, there is a case about Huang Er here"

I sat back down in the chair and lit a cigarette: "Sometimes, it is hard not to believe. Perhaps you, esteemed elder, are on the imperial payroll, shielded by royal favor, untouched by malevolence. Yet, those things still exist objectively; it is just that you are unaware of them."

I shook my head helplessly: "Although I do not wish to say this, the fact is that it is indeed the case. If you currently have no suspects, we can only wait. However, I now feel that this case may not necessarily have been committed by a human"

I still couldn't take in the words that followed. I'm afraid no one cared about the captain's performance; apart from Da Meng, no one else seemed to matter. I said lightly, "Have those two newly transferred girls thrown up again?"

I shrugged my shoulders and said, "To be honest, I had too much to drink that day. After learning about your case, I recalled the case described in this book. The book only briefly mentions other cases, focusing primarily on the skinning case, which left a deep impression on me. If this case had occurred recently, I would definitely have spoken up and suggested that you connect it with other cases. But that was during the Republic of China era. The book only briefly mentions other cases, focusing primarily on the skinning case, which left a deep impression on me. If this case had occurred recently, I would definitely have spoken up and suggested that you connect it with other cases. But that was during the Republic of China era. What can I say? I could only make a casual prediction after drinking too much, and I didn't expect it to turn out to be true. However, you need a motive and evidence; where am I supposed to find that for you?"

When he saw the front page, he fell silent. His eyes were fixed on the newspaper, and the expression on his face gradually changed. Finally, he lifted his head, pointed at the photo in the newspaper, and said, "Isn't this your client? How did he die? He was fine just yesterday?"

I exhaled a smoke ring: "Perhaps you have really seen it, but do you not know?"

The sound of knocking startled me from my contemplation. I looked up at the wall clock; it was 5:30 PM. I got up to open the door, and Da Meng rushed in energetically. Before I could say anything, Da Meng spoke rapidly, "Tell me, what do you really know? If you don't know, then you must be guessing. How can your guesses be so accurate? Why don't you take another guess and tell me who the murderer is?"

I let out a bitter laugh: "Fine, even if he has studied. Then why did he kill this person? Take another look at the beheaded and the skinned; what is their connection?"

Da Meng woke up, still shaking his head: "No, no, there must be something wrong. Perhaps it just looks similar, or maybe it is his twin brother. In any case, I just do not believe that what we saw was the ghost of Qi Zhongwei"

I glanced at Da Meng and after a while said, "I know it is very simple for a case to occur."