False evidence

Chapter 400 (This appears to be a fragment of a larger text, possibly related to a government official appointment.)

That time at Zhulin Villa, I was tricked by Gu Haitao and, together with Meng Chao, followed Bai Jing down into the charcoal kiln.

I was possessed by Lü Xin's consciousness, but by chance, Meng Chao found the magic weapon that Lü Xin had used—the Tianpeng Ruler!

Now, Xiao Shen San says that he needs a wooden ritual ruler to handle Jiang Baohan's funeral. Isn't this a coincidence of three meeting four?

I told Meng Chao that I would help him find another way to deal with his family's debts, and that he should send the Heavenly Ruler over as soon as possible.

When Meng Chao arrived, Xiao Shen San decided that the ruler was suitable, so he prepared some incense, candles, and joss paper, and went to the funeral home with us.

On the way, Xiao Shen told me a few things.

At first I felt awkward, but when I met Zhai Yutian, I was even more at a loss as to how to bring it up with her.

Zhai Yutian has a unique profession, but she is very fashionable. However, during this meeting, she appeared somewhat unkempt and looked a bit haggard.

As soon as we met, she poured out her troubles to me, saying that there are not many people working in the funeral industry, and it is even more difficult to find a makeup artist who can do makeup for the dead.

After Tong Jinhan was arrested, she has been extremely busy all by herself.

I quickly seized the opportunity to strike up a conversation, saying, "This time I can help you out."

Zhai Yutian rolled her eyes at me and led me straight to the dressing room.

When I saw Jiang Baohan again, I was filled with emotion and sighed several times.

Zhai Yutian solemnly warned me: "Sighing and lamenting in front of the deceased is a taboo in our line of work."

I nodded, then let out a long sigh.

Zhai Yutian couldn't help but ask, "What is your relationship with the deceased?"

I said, "It's not a blood feud, but it's almost as bad as it is."

Zhai Yutian stopped what he was doing, tilted his head and looked at me: "Just say what you have to say!"

Faced with her directness and seriousness, I realized that the pre-prepared explanation was actually quite absurd.

After hesitating for a moment, I decided to tell her the truth.

“This Jiang Baohan has harmed more than one person. If he were alive today, he would be executed ten times over. He does have a personal grudge against me. My great-great-aunt... you could say he was the one who killed her.”

After I recounted what Jiang Baohan had done to Tong Jiawen, Zhai Yutian stared at me blankly for a moment, then licked his lips and said:

"If I hadn't dealt with you a few times, I would definitely have thought you were mentally ill."

I said, "I know this is a bit unbelievable, but it's all true."

"Then what are you going to do now?"

"I think……"

I reluctantly took out the funeral clothes I had brought.

Zhai Yutian took it out and glanced at it, her eyebrows immediately rising: "Don't you understand the principle of respecting the dead? Even if he was a bad person, he's already dead. Do you think I would allow you to desecrate a corpse like this?"

"What if this was the deceased's dying wish?"

I bluntly stated, "He requested to be cremated in these clothes, and besides that, I have to do his makeup myself! I truly meant no offense to the deceased, but I have to do it!"

Zhai Yutian stared at me for a moment, then his expression softened slightly. He asked, "After preparing the body, are there any other ceremonies?"

I quickly said no need, just cremate him.

Zhai Yutian walked up to me, stared at me for a moment, and then lowered his voice to say:

"I can't say whether ghosts exist in this world, but as a friend, I hope you can have a clear conscience."

I nodded and said seriously, "I understand what you mean. I am a doctor, after all. Even if I have resentment, I would not vent it on a corpse." With Zhai Yutian's tacit approval, I began to do Jiang Baohan's makeup and tidying up.

Because of previous contact, Zhai Yutian had more or less guessed that I would do something unusual with the body.

But when I saw that I had soaked the yellow paper I brought and pasted it layer by layer onto the corpse's face, I couldn't help but angrily say:

"Posting official titles on people's names! What's the difference between this and whipping a corpse?"

"Painting the face with official seal" was a common method of killing in the ancient imperial court. It involved covering a living person's face with layers of wet straw paper, suffocating them to death.

Zhai Yutian is a funeral service professional, so of course he had heard of this method.

I didn't respond to her questioning immediately. Under her intense gaze, I held my breath and quickly pasted all eighteen layers of yellow paper onto the corpse's face.

After the last layer of yellow paper was pasted on, Zhai Yutian's patience reached its limit, and he rushed forward and grabbed my collar.

At that moment, the stiff corpse suddenly twitched and then sat up!
Although Zhai Yutian's job involves dealing with corpses, he was so frightened by this sudden scene that he trembled all over and almost collapsed to the ground.

I was startled when I saw Jiang Baohan's body suddenly move. I grabbed Zhai Yutian and quickly stepped aside.

At that moment, the corpse turned around, stepped off the gurney, and walked stiffly toward us!
I was initially regretting not reminding Zhai Yutian to hold her breath at this moment, but when I turned around, I realized that my thoughts were unnecessary. She was already so frightened by the bizarre scene in front of her that she covered her mouth and nose with both hands and didn't dare to breathe at all.

Fearing that delay might cause complications, I quickly took out the cinnabar brush I had prepared beforehand and swiftly drew a few strokes on the yellow paper covering the corpse's face. Then, I forcefully snapped the brush in two, threw it on the ground, and muttered:

"Jiang Baohan's life has come to an end!"

As soon as the voice fell, the corpse immediately turned around, walked back to the gurney, and lay down on it again.

A full minute passed, and seeing that the corpse was no longer moving, Zhai Yutian finally let out a sigh of relief and asked me, his face deathly pale:
"What just happened?"

I'm still shaken.

Xiao Shen only told me what to do, but didn't explain how things would actually be like that in reality.

"Don't ask," I whispered to Zhai Yutian. "Get him cremated immediately. You...you have to cover for me."

On the way here, there were two things that troubled me the most.

First, Zhai Yutian has great respect for the deceased, so how can I persuade her to allow me to 'desecrate' a corpse like this?

Furthermore, cremation requires a series of procedures. Even if I could persuade Zhai Yutian, if the other staff members saw the current state of the corpse, wouldn't they immediately call the police?

Zhai Yutian and I stared at each other for a while, then he said in a low voice, "Wait here for me for a bit."

After saying that, he walked out and locked the door behind him.

We waited for a full ten minutes.

Zhai Yutian came in again, tossed me a blue work uniform that smelled strange, and told me to change into it and put on a mask.

Afterwards, she personally covered the corpse from head to toe with a white sheet, and helped me push the mortuary out of the dressing room and head straight to the crematorium.

There are not many staff members actually involved in the cremation process; in the short distance of just a few dozen meters, there is no direct encounter with anyone.

When we arrived at the crematorium, there was only one old man with gray hair and long eyebrows standing at the door, who glanced at us without saying a word.

Although Zhai Yutian was a makeup artist, he also understood the cremation process. He walked over and whispered a few words to the old man, who only said, "Furnace number 3."

Seeing Zhai Yutian return, I scanned the location of crematorium number 3 and pushed the trolley over there.

As soon as the oven door opened, an indescribable stench assaulted my nostrils even through my mask.

I don't know if the old man saw what Zhai Yutian and I saw when the corpses were being put into the incinerator.

But I'm certain that as long as he's not deaf, he must have heard that muffled scream from the corpse, just like I and Zhai Yutian did!

(End of this chapter)