Corpse Retriever.

Chapter 78

The most direct threat is statement.

At this time, even Yin Meng, who was standing next to them, was considering where in the school would be suitable to bury the person.

Yin Meng's nature would not allow her to act so decisively.

But as long as the boy patted his thigh and said "bury it", she would definitely pick up a shovel and dig a hole immediately.

Because she knew that the boy could tolerate Runsheng's stupidity, but would never give herself a chance.

Similarly, if even the companions believe it to be true, then the "threatened party" will naturally no longer have any remaining hope.

Sun Hongxia even couldn't help but suspect that the young man in front of her would rather bury her alive than tell the truth.

"I said……"

Li Zhuiyuan turned his head and looked at the still open shop door.

Yin Meng walked over, closed the shop door and locked it.

Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Have you been to her room?"

"No."

"Take her to her room."

"it is good."

Yin Meng lifted Sun Hongxia up and wrapped her arm with one hand, which was a locking technique.

Before Li Zhuiyuan went downstairs, he took a can of soda from the drinks rack, opened it and took two sips, then took another can.

When we arrived at the basement, the door of Sun Hongxia's room was open and the space inside was quite large. Just as Xue Liangliang had said before, the only drawback of this room downstairs was that the lighting was not that good, but everything else was good.

However, there were two altar tables in Sun Hongxia's room, creating a very depressing atmosphere.

There are two altar tables, one big and one small. The big one is about the same size as a dining table in a normal family, while the small one is as small as a bench.

There was a portrait of a girl on the large altar, and a portrait of a boy on the small altar.

Two altars are placed opposite each other, one high and one low. Next to the boy's portrait on the small altar, there is a cushion made from old clothes strips.

The candles and incense burners on the altar showed no signs of use in the past two days.

Sun Hongxia was leaning against the bed, half sitting and half kneeling.

When Li Zhuiyuan walked in, he took a sip of soda and held another can in his other hand.

Yin Meng instinctively raised her hand to take it.

But the young man sat down beside the bed and placed the other bottle at his feet.

Oh, it turns out it wasn’t for myself.

Li Zhuiyuan doesn't like sweet drinks, but now he feels a little dizzy and he needs to replenish sugar.

Sun Hongxia tried to speak several times but hesitated.

The most taboo thing in interrogation is interruption in the middle, which can easily make the interrogator reorganize his psychological defenses and give rise to the hope of continuing to deal with you.

But Li Zhuiyuan didn't care. "Explanation of Yin and Yang Physiognomy" could help him tell whether most normal people were lying. At the same time, he preferred to take the initiative.

Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the portrait of the boy on the small bench and asked, "What's your son's name?"

Yin Meng was a little surprised. She originally thought that the portrait of the girl on the high table was Sun Hongxia's daughter, and it might also be related to the faceless man with long hair. Unexpectedly, the one in Sun Hongxia's family was a son.

Sun Hongxia: "My name is Zhao Junfeng."

"What about this girl?"

"My last name is Qiu, and my name is Qiu Minmin."

Li Zhuiyuan finished the first can of soda and opened the second can: "What bad thing did Zhao Junfeng do to Qiu Minmin?"

Sun Hongxia: "Fengfeng insulted Minmin in the toilet and killed her."

"Student of this school?"

"um, yes."

"What happened a few years ago?"

"Seven years ago."

"Qiu Minmin's family is also in the school, right?"

Sun Hongxia pursed her lips, she seemed reluctant to speak, but the boy just glanced at her, she shuddered, and finally said it out loud:
"Yes, her mother is here."

"My patience is limited."

"Qiu Minmin's mother, whose surname is Ran, is the dormitory manager of your building."

Yin Meng, who was in the same room, felt that her brain was not enough.

Rather than saying that the boy was asking questions, it would be more accurate to say that he was seeking confirmation from Sun Hongxia. But the question is, how did the boy know these things?

Could it be that he knew about it in advance?
This is impossible. If we had known about this in advance, things would not have developed to this point.

In fact, these things are very simple to look at. The layout of the large and small altars can make one imagine the scene of Sun Hongxia often kneeling on the cushion and apologizing to the girl with her son.

The ages of the boys and girls in the portraits are consistent with those of college students. Sun Hongxia claimed to be a local in her speech, but in fact she had an accent from another province.

It is not easy to get a formal job in the school logistics department, but it is easy to be a temporary worker. The salary and benefits are definitely better than working diligently as a handyman in Xue Liangliang's store. Later deduction shows that she was deliberately concealing her identity and that she was not simply working to earn money.

With a strong sense of guilt, he stayed in school most likely to atone for his sins. Qiu Minmin is already dead, so the object of atonement should be her family.

Li Zhuiyuan was just using the most normal logic to make a reverse deduction, and then asked Sun Hongxia to check the answer. The fact that they happened to match was also a matter of luck.

"You know Qiu Minmin is still in school, and she's right here."

Sun Hongxia nodded: "Yes, she often dances upstairs at night when no one is around. She used to attend various evening parties at school and she dances very well."

"Why didn't she take revenge on you?"

"When I 'saw' her at first, I was also scared, but I thought that this was my son's fault, so even if she was a ghost, it was only right for her to kill me to vent her anger. During that time, I often knelt in the dance studio upstairs and begged her to kill me.

But...she didn't.

Later, after so many years, I got used to it.

Maybe she thought that letting me die so easily was too easy for me, so she wanted to keep appearing by my side to torture me and take revenge on me. I accept that."

"possible?"

"That's my guess."

"No, this is not your guess. You don't have the brains for it."

Sun Hongxia: “…”

"Did Qiu Minmin's mother, Aunt Ran from our building, tell you?"

Li Zhuiyuan remembers that the name written on the work badge on her desk was: Ran Qiuping.

"Yes, that's right, she said those words to me, and I'm grateful to her for that."

"Think before you speak next time. I don't want to correct you a second time, or I'll bury you alive, along with that Ran Qiuping."

Runsheng made a mistake in his professional ethics this time, but it should still be understandable.

But the problem now is that the people he is worried about and wants to protect are not that simple, and they may be joining forces to actively target him and others.

People are planning to kill you, so why bother with any fuss?

"I, I know."

"What does Ran Qiuping think about Qiu Minmin still being here?"

"She told me that her daughter still had resentment, and she wanted me to be with her, waiting for the day when Minmin came to her senses and it was gone. Then my sins would be redeemed."

Yin Meng thought to herself: Is the dormitory manager raising corpses?

Li Zhuiyuan took another sip of soda and felt that it was not quite like that.

Qiu Minmin was being controlled, and the being that controlled her was very scary. This didn't seem like something Ran Qiuping could do, unless she was consciously performing when she first met him.

In addition, the most fundamental contradiction is that Ran Qiuping is Qiu Minmin’s biological mother... why does she control her daughter who died tragically?
Unfortunately, Sun Hongxia couldn't get any more useful clues here. She could continue asking, but she wouldn't get much value.

Because she had been brainwashed by Ran Qiuping into a devout redeemer.

Whether the murderer's family should be condemned by public opinion is not a question that Li Zhuiyuan needs to consider now.

He only knew that if Ran Qiuping could really "cultivate" and "control" this level of dead ghosts to become her accomplices, then she would not need to let Sun Hongxia do things for her and confess and pray to him.

There must be a secret here because it doesn't make sense.

"How did Zhao Junfeng die?"

"He took his classmates hostage while escaping and was shot dead by the police at Jiangjun Mountain." Sun Hongxia looked at her son's portrait. "He never repented until his death, and his death was so simple. If he had been tried and punished by the law, I would have felt better. This is my fault. I gave birth to him and I didn't teach him well. He turned into a beast and harmed people."

"Who is the student being held hostage?"

"do not know."

"How did you deal with his body?"

"Here." Sun Hongxia bent down and took out an urn from under the bed. "Do you want to see it?"

"Open."

Sun Hongxia opened the lid, and Li Zhuiyuan reached in and grabbed a handful. It was definitely ashes.

"Do you have any relatives?" Li Zhuiyuan asked.

"His father died early, and I have no relatives here."

"Tie her up and control her first."

"Okay." Yin Meng picked up the net that trapped Sun Hongxia and controlled her. Before using something to block her mouth, Yin Meng stood up and walked to the boy's side and asked in a low voice, "I don't think you've asked Qiu Minmin why she attacked us?"

"go ahead."

Yin Meng turned her head and looked at Sun Hongxia: "Tell me, why did Qiu Minmin attack us?"

Sun Hongxia said blankly: "I don't know."

Yin Meng: "You don't know?"

Sun Hongxia looked at the altar: "Could it be because you guys came and lived next door to me that I couldn't burn incense and paper for her these two days?"

Yin Meng blocked Sun Hongxia's mouth.

Obviously, she didn't believe this reason either.

Li Zhuiyuan walked out of the room, and Yin Meng immediately followed him after locking the door from the outside, asking, "Why did she attack us?"

"If you want to think about it in a complicated way, it should be our arrival, or specifically some of the actions of you, Runsheng and Xiaohei that offended her."

"What about the simple side?"

"You are a hidden criminal. Suddenly one day you find that all the houses next to you are occupied by police officers. Would you think they are here to arrest you?"

"It's that simple?"

“It doesn’t matter why she attacked us, what matters is that she attacked, and if we hadn’t arrived in time, Runsheng might have died in her hands.

What we need to do now is to fight back.”

Yin Meng's expression changed, and he said, "Then we should hurry up and catch that dormitory manager now."

"Qiu Minmin has already run away. Do you think Ran Qiuping knows about it now? It's too late to hurry up."

Yin Meng suddenly felt that she shouldn't talk so much in front of the boy. It had no other effect except proving that she was stupid again and again.

The two returned to Building Nine. The lights in the dormitory manager's office were still off, so Yin Meng tried to pry open the window.

"Snapped!"

The lights inside came on.

Yin Meng, who had just pried down the window, watched Li Zhuiyuan walk in from the office door, which was not locked.

The boy looked at her and said, "Put the window back."

"okay."

The office is not big, with a desk, a bed, a cupboard, a wardrobe, and a cloth bag hanging on the wall with the dormitory number written on it and the key underneath.

The only clue of some value was a large teacup at the foot of the table, which had traces of burning.

Li Zhuiyuan lifted the teacup, took a closer sniff and smelled it; it smelled like paper ash.

After Yin Meng installed the window, she walked in, looked around, and said, "She ran away?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "I'm really afraid that she will stay here and wait for us."

If this is the case, it means that Ran Qiuping has someone to rely on.

However, his team suffered a great loss of strength after losing Runsheng and Tan Wenbin.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the cloth bag and felt under his dormitory number, but there was no key.

Looks like I need to change the locks.

"Yin Meng."

"Yes!" Yin Meng straightened his chest and waited for instructions.

"Go back to the store now and take care of Sun Hongxia. Then tomorrow morning, go to the infirmary and bring Tan Wenbin back."

In comparison, when it comes to the ability to investigate things, Zhuangzhuang is much better than Mengmeng.

"What about you?" Yin Meng explained, "There's no one around you, I'm worried about your safety."

Li Zhuiyuan pointed upstairs and said, "It's getting late. I'm going upstairs to sleep."

"sleep?"

"Well, my head feels a bit uncomfortable and I need to rest."

"What if..."

"There is no chance of that happening. Qiu Minmin has been beaten to pieces. If Ran Qiuping had any other means, she would not have escaped. We are very safe now."

As Li Zhuiyuan walked out of the dormitory management office, he reminded them again: "Remember to turn off the lights."

Back in his own dormitory, Li Zhuiyuan picked up the wash basin, placed the whip at the bottom of the basin, and walked to the sink. There is no reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days. It is time to rest and take a bath.

As Wei Zhengdao wrote in his book: We represent the right path.

Who is the righteous one who makes himself nervous and timid every day?

I had just filled the first basin of water, poured it over my hair, and was applying shampoo to my hair when I heard footsteps behind me.

Li Zhuiyuan was washing his hair as usual. He had a good hearing and could remember some people's footsteps even if he only heard them once.

"Oh my god, Brother Prodigy, what a coincidence!"

Lu Yi, 1.85 meters tall, is a typical northern man.

"Hello."

"Brother Shentong is taking a shower too? Uh no, what a coincidence, Brother Shentong is also taking a shower."

"Ah."

"Why did Prodigy come to school so early to report?"

"Catch ghosts."

"Haha, Brother Shentong, you are really humorous."

Li Zhuiyuan rubs soap on himself.

"Wow!"

Lu Yi also poured a basin of water on himself.

"Phew, cool!"

Then, Lu Yi looked at Li Zhuiyuan and rolled the towel tightly around his hand:
"Brother Shentong, let me rub your back."

"Need not."

"It's okay. That's how we rub mud on each other in the bathhouse."

Having said that, Lu Yi was ready to get started.

"Brother, it's really not necessary."

"Snapped!"

At this moment, the whip that Li Zhuiyuan had placed next to the sink slipped down.

Lu Yi looked at it with wide eyes and asked in surprise: "Brother Shentong, do you people in Nantong use this thing to take a bath? How do you use it? Does it work?"

"Brother, I'm done."

"Oh, okay, how about a midnight snack? I'll cook some dumplings in the dormitory. Can I give you a bowl?"

"Won't the power go out?"

"What a coincidence, my buddy and I have the right major, so the electricity in our dormitory won't trip."

"No more, thank you brother."

"Then come to my dorm tonight and hang out. I can play the guitar."

"Aren't you going to have tutoring tomorrow?"

"No classes tomorrow, take a rest."

"Then go to bed early."

"Hey, Brother Prodigy, you haven't told me where you're catching ghosts?"

"It's in the dormitory."

Li Zhuiyuan walked away carrying the basin.

"Haha, Brother Shentong is really good at joking." Lu Yi picked up the basin, and before he poured water on it, he shivered. Then he quickly rinsed it and ran back to his dormitory.

After returning to the dormitory, Li Zhuiyuan first pushed two chairs behind the door, then opened the dormitory window, and finally lay down on the bed.

Close your eyes and sleep.

I slept well until dawn and the discomfort in my head was significantly relieved.

I got out of bed, got dressed, moved the chair away, washed up, came back, sat at the desk, and started writing the investigation plan.

Just as I finished writing, I heard the footsteps of Tan Wenbin outside.

The dormitory door was pushed open, and Tan Wenbin poked his head out: "Brother Xiaoyuan, I brought you breakfast."

Xiaolongbao, fried dough sticks and soy milk.

While having breakfast together, Li Zhuiyuan handed the plan to Tan Wenbin. Tan Wenbin picked it up and glanced at it. After confirming that there were no questions, he folded it and put it in his pocket.

There are only two things on the list, one is the investigation into the case of Zhao Junfeng and Qiu Minmin, and the other is the investigation into Ran Qiuping.

The latter only requires visits, while the former needs to find the files, and it would be best if they could contact the police who participated in the investigation of the case that year.

"Brother Binbin, does your father have any connections?"

"I think so. My dad was later transferred to Shigang. He has a large network of former classmates and colleagues. Besides, if my dad doesn't work, we still have my grandpa and my grandfather. They are both veteran policemen. But I need some time, Brother Yuanzi."

"No rush. The one that died yesterday won't be able to recover in a short time. We have plenty of time. We should be able to wait until Brother Runsheng recovers."

"Runsheng is recovering well. When the doctor came to check his wound this morning, he said that he is stronger than a cow. When Yin Meng came to replace me, he also brought some ointment that Aunt Liu left behind."

"Ah."

"Do you need to contact Brother Liang?"

"It has nothing to do with Brother Liangliang."

"No, what I mean is, it's such a fun thing, why don't you ask Brother Liang to join us?"

"Forget it. I'm afraid he'll find another excuse to go back to Nantong to investigate."

"Pfft...hahaha!"

After Tan Wenbin finished laughing, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Brother Xiaoyuan, doesn't that mean there's no one around you?"

"Someone."

After Tan Wenbin left, Li Zhuiyuan put some things into his schoolbag, then walked to the door of a dormitory with the schoolbag on his back and knocked.

Soon, the door was opened and Lu Yi seemed to have just woken up.

"Hey, Prodigy brother."

"Brother, name a price, I'll hire you for a day, and you come with me."

"Ha!" Lu Yi bent down slightly and hugged Li Zhuiyuan. "What are you talking about? Brothers should talk about something. Why talk about money? Wait, I'll brush my teeth."

After Lu Yi quickly washed up, he locked the dormitory door and said, "Let's go, Brother Shentong, where are we going?"

"General Mountain."

……

General Mountain was formerly known as Guanyin Mountain. Later, because Yue Fei once fought against the Jin army here, it was renamed General Mountain.

This is not a very famous tourist attraction, but it has mountains, water and beautiful scenery. It is a very good holiday resort around the city.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't have any specific purpose when he came here. The main reason was that he could handle Tan Wenbin's affairs by himself, so he just came here to try his luck.

If he really anticipated the danger, he would not have called Lu Yi to join the team at the last minute.

Li Zhuiyuan climbed to the top of a hill, took out a compass, and began to observe the feng shui here.

Lu Yi, who was standing nearby, originally thought that the boy was calling him to go on an outing, but when he saw that the boy had even taken out a compass and was observing seriously, he suddenly remembered what the boy said last night.

Damn, is there really a ghost in this dormitory?
Li Zhuiyuan changed the observation position on three hilltops in succession, and found nothing unusual except that he observed several auspicious spots.

But when we reached the fourth hill to observe, we found a very strange area.

The Nine Bends lead to a secluded place, where a hidden dragon lurks in the abyss. Paying homage to the main city, one seeks to borrow the royal aura.

This can almost be called a standard place for water burial.

But because it is so standard, it is normal for the alchemist or the water monkey to like it.

So, there is a temple there.

The ancients had the custom of building a temple in places that were prone to problems, such as haunted places, mass graves, and ancient tombs.

Now we can build schools.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the entrance of the temple. The temple was very small and there was a plaque that read: General Temple.

There are Buddhist and Taoist things inside, but there are no monks or Taoists, only a few management staff, and no admission fee is charged.

However, not long after he walked in, Li Zhuiyuan realized something was wrong. Although this temple was a bit out of place, no matter what kind of temple it was, there would be a sense of centrality and peace inside; there was only a distinction between strong and weak.

But this temple gave people a greasy and sticky feeling, and vaguely, Li Zhuiyuan also smelled a faint stench of water corpse.

His nose was not naturally sharp, but since he had smelled it, he probably couldn't be wrong.

But what kind of death would be hidden in the temple?
Li Zhuiyuan hesitated. If it was Runsheng instead of Lu Yi who was following him at this moment, he could continue his investigation openly.

However, after all, I came here to try my luck. If I encounter something special and just retreat, it would be a waste of effort.

I'd better just take a look, just look, don't do anything, I'm a tourist.

Li Zhuiyuan followed the intensity of the stench of the corpses in the water and gradually walked to the entrance of the main temple.

Lu Yi also smelled the smell and even sneezed. He pointed around and said, "There are so many ginkgo trees planted in this temple. I always thought they smelled very good."

Li Zhuiyuan ignored him and stepped into the hall. There was a mighty statue of a general inside, with a metal plate hanging below it with the words "Great General" written on it.

This is not Yue Fei, because this is clearly Mo Liqing, the sword-holding one of the Four Heavenly Kings in "Investiture of the Gods".

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the cushion and knelt down.

Seeing this, Lu Yi next to him also knelt down.

In his eyes, the child prodigy holding the compass has become somewhat mysterious.

Li Zhuiyuan sniffed carefully and determined that the source of the stench of the water corpse was at the bottom of the statue of the general.

The statue of the general stands on a stone platform, and there is a crack in front of the platform, proving that there is probably a layer inside that can be pushed and pulled out.

At this point, the normal procedure would be to go undercover and continue the investigation in depth.

But Li Zhuiyuan held back.

The stench of the corpse in the water was evenly distributed, proving that even if there was a dead body lying inside, it was sleeping.

It might be just like the peach forest in front of Big Beard’s hometown, which was a suppression layout made by our ancestors.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up and suddenly heard Lu Yi next to him kowtowing and asking the general to bless his parents with good health.

Li Zhuiyuan could only interrupt him: "Don't bow."

"Ah?" Lu Yi was stunned for a moment, "Then..."

"Follow me." Li Zhuiyuan performed a set of gift-receiving movements. It was a bit complicated and he did it very slowly.

Lu Yi watched and learned, and when he finished, he stood up and left the futon with the young man.

It is fine to worship in ordinary temples and Taoist temples to seek emotional value, but things like death are inherently evil. Even if it doesn't actively harm you, but is just close to you, you may be tainted with bad luck, unless you are very blessed, in which case you don't care.

As for praying to the dead to seek protection, that is actively seeking to be involved in cause and effect, which is too unlucky.

Li Zhuiyuan began to observe the general's statue, and Lu Yi followed behind the boy.

Although the boy is young, he has a special temperament that makes people want to listen to him unconsciously and think that what he says is right.

After observing for a while, Li Zhuiyuan found something wrong.

The layout here should have been a very standard [Breaking Evil], but now it has been changed by someone.

Li Zhuiyuan touched a crack in the ground with the tip of his shoe, which was artificially dug out later.

This made the young man feel familiar, because he liked to borrow the original Feng Shui layout and make modifications.

However, the person who later revised this part was not very capable.

He just broke the effect of [Breaking Evil], and if he could operate it himself, he could directly change it to [Gathering Yin].

However, we can only draw a circle on the map for now. We don’t know whether the things here are related to Qiu Minmin, so we shouldn’t create unnecessary trouble at this time.

Everything will have to wait until we get specific information about the case from Tan Wenbin before we can make the next decision.

"Let's go, Brother Lu."

"Hey, good."

The two were about to walk out of the hall when two people happened to walk by under the corridor opposite. Both were men, one old and one young. They both had work badges on their chests. They must be the staff here.

The old man has gray hair and walks with his hands behind his back, but his folded hands are turned inward, with his shoulders sunken and his shoulder blades raised.

This is the posture of carrying a corpse.

Moreover, it is a kind of movement inertia developed from carrying corpses for many years. Even on ordinary days, he will naturally maintain this body posture.

When Uncle Qin was teaching him the basic skills, he once said that he didn't need to take time out to practice, he could practice while working.

That old man is one of those people who has mastered this skill to the highest level.

Young people also have this tendency, but it is not obvious yet. Obviously, they should be the successors of the old men.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't expect that he would meet a corpse retriever here.

However, he had no intention of going forward to say hello, because it was possible that the gap in the layout was caused by them.

The old man and the young man separated after walking a distance. The young man continued forward, stopped at the door of a room that looked like an office, and knocked.

The door was opened, and a woman was standing at the door, talking excitedly to the young man. The young man seemed to be comforting her, but his hands behind his back were clenched, and he was obviously very impatient to deal with the woman in front of him.

However, the two parties in the conversation did not know that this scene had fallen into the sight of others.

Li Zhuiyuan pulled Lu Yi's clothes and motioned him to follow him out of the back door of the hall.

After the two of them walked out of the hall, they quickly walked out of the General Temple. When they got outside, Lu Yi finally couldn't help but ask:
"Brother Shentong, wasn't that woman our dormitory manager?"

(End of this chapter)