Lin Feng followed Uncle He's gaze and saw that there was a police car parked at the funeral home today.
"What's going on, Uncle He?" Lin Feng asked curiously. Why is there a police car here?
Uncle He held up two fingers. Lin Feng quickly lit a cigarette for him. Uncle He took two puffs and scoffed, "What a lousy smoke."
Lin Feng nearly choked internally. This is a premium brand! he thought.
Uncle He finished the cigarette in two puffs, then took out his pipe for a couple of contented draws before speaking slowly, "The 13th November murder case has been solved. Today, the city's narcotics squad went to bust a group of drug dealers. They met with violent resistance, two officers were injured, and one drug dealer was killed. After running the fingerprints, it turned out that the dealer was the culprit in last year's 13th November murder case."
Lin Feng was stunned. The 13th November murder case!
Wasn't that the Blue Mission 2 case I took on?
Wait, Blue Mission 2 is still open. Did they catch the wrong person?
He recalled the news report: on November 13 last year, wealthy businessman Chen Qi and his family of six were killed in their villa in the northern suburbs. The villa had two security guards and intact surveillance, but the killer had left behind only one fingerprint. Chen Qi was a well-known entrepreneur in Nanyang, who made his fortune in the clothing business with assets worth billions. He had a good reputation and no known deadly enemies.
So, the case became the city's biggest unsolved mystery of the year.
Lin Feng walked over to the police car and saw a crowd gathered around the body. The funeral director was greeting a man in his fifties—someone whose face frequently appeared on television: Qian Tieshan, the director of the Nanyang City Public Security Bureau.
"Director Wang, we'll leave this man with you. Once the death certificate is issued, you can proceed with the cremation. Of course, out of human decency, we'll give his family a week to hold a vigil, so we'll store the body in your morgue for now," Director Qian instructed solemnly.
Director Wang nodded. "Director Qian, don't worry. Leave it to me."
Director Wang's face lit up with pride. Having the head of public security personally come to the funeral home was a great honor for him.
Lin Feng walked to the side and glanced at the body being carried in.
The deceased looked to be in his early forties, emaciated, with sallow skin and needle marks on his arms—the typical appearance of an addict. Lin Feng thought to himself: If this guy could kill Chen Qi's whole family without a sound, then I, Lin Feng, could be the grandmaster of all assassins.
Lin Feng squatted down and placed his fingers on the corpse's throat, chest, and abdomen, channeling spiritual energy into the body. The corpse twitched violently. This was the soul-calling technique taught to him by Niu Meng. Humans have three souls and three spiritual centers, which harbor three corpse worms. Certain soul-calling methods can temporarily restore bodily functions at the stroke of midnight, commonly known as "summoning the soul," though it only lasts a short while.
Lin Feng thought he was being discreet, standing in a corner while performing the technique, but suddenly his arm was yanked painfully. A sharp voice came from behind: "What are you doing, touching the body like that?!"
Lin Feng's arm was locked in a tight hold, and his head was shoved down, causing him to crash face-first into the corpse.
Damn it! Lin Feng cursed inwardly. Face-to-face with a dead man—this is beyond unlucky!
The commotion caught everyone's attention. They turned to see a strikingly handsome policewoman restraining a young man, who grimaced in pain but couldn't fight back.
Director Qian turned his head and, upon seeing the policewoman, was momentarily taken aback. "Jiang Wan, what are you doing?"
The policewoman replied, "Director, this man was acting suspiciously, touching the body. I suspect he has ill intentions."
Ill intentions?
Lin Feng's arm throbbed as if it were broken, and he sucked in a cold breath. I'm a mortician. What's wrong with me touching a body?
Director Qian frowned, his face turning grim. The 13th November murder case had weighed heavily on him for nearly a year. After all, it was Chen Qi—one of the most influential businessmen in Nanyang. Every leader in the city had some connection with Chen Qi. The constant pressure from Chen's relatives and the higher-ups had even turned Qian Tieshan's hair white.
Now that the case was finally solved, and yet someone still wanted to tamper with the body?
Do they not respect me, Qian Tieshan, at all?
"Which department are you from? What are you doing tampering with a body?!" Qian's voice boomed with the authority that naturally comes from being in a high position for a long time.
The nearby police officers, already on high alert, turned hostile eyes on Lin Feng. Director Wang, recognizing Lin Feng's face, hurried over to smooth things over. "Director Qian, it's a misunderstanding! This is Lin, from our funeral home!"
Funeral Home?
Qian Tieshan's stern demeanor softened a bit, though he still looked skeptical. He gestured for the female officer to release Lin Feng.
"Wang, what's going on?"
Sensing Qian Tieshan's tone, Director Wang quickly explained, "Director Qian, he's our mortician. He was probably just checking the body."
Director Wang was polite, but Lin Feng, rubbing his sore arm, wasn't as restrained. "Director, that girl's got a heavy hand. I think I'll have to claim this as a work injury!"
The female officer twisted Lin Feng's arm behind his back again, her voice sharp, "Who are you calling 'girl'?"
Lin Feng found himself pressed down again and shouted, "What else are you? A man? Ouch... Let me go! Is there no justice? Can cops just bully people like this?!"
Director Wang's heart skipped a beat as he saw Qian Tieshan's expression and thought, Uh oh, Lin might have offended him.
Qian Tieshan frowned deeply but then waved his hand. "Wan, let him go."
The female officer finally released Lin Feng, pushing him aside.
"Comrade Lin, we've been awake for two days straight trying to catch the killer. Wan's temper may be a bit short, so I hope you don't take it personally," Qian Tieshan said calmly. He couldn't really arrest Lin for simply inspecting a corpse, after all. In the end, it was just a case of Jiang Wan being overly cautious.
Lin Feng, still sore, glanced at the female officer who had just restrained him.
She was young, no more than 24 or 25, with delicate features, long legs, and about 170 cm tall. She was glaring at him coldly, her expression unfriendly. Lin Feng had seen many women before, but this was the first time he had encountered such a stern beauty.
"What are you staring at? Do I have flowers on my face?" the officer snapped at him.
Lin Feng touched his nose and coughed awkwardly. "Miss, if you keep being so fierce, aren't you afraid you won't be able to get married?"
His remark left the officer fuming. "Whether I get married or not is none of your business!"
Lin Feng shamelessly continued, "If you were a bit gentler, I might consider it."
The surrounding police officers were all in awe of Lin Feng. No one in the criminal investigation team dared talk to Captain Jiang like that. This guy had nerves of steel! As they watched Jiang Wan's face darken in anger, a few officers stifled their laughter.
Qian Tieshan, meanwhile, wasn't impressed. His opinion of Lin Feng had soured. This young man was too glib and didn't seem very reliable. But he had heard that working in a funeral home was stressful and that people in that line of work often had peculiar personalities.
Qian Tieshan waved his hand to defuse the tension. "Alright, enough bickering. Wang, I'll be going now. The murder case will be closed in three days. Someone will come to verify the identity of the killer's body, just as a formality. But in the meantime, don't let anyone touch it."
Qian Tieshan shot a meaningful glance at Lin Feng as he spoke.
Director Wang got the message immediately. "No problem."
Lin Feng suddenly leaned in close to Director Wang and whispered, "Director Wang, wasn't this case unsolved? How did it close all of a sudden? You're telling me this junkie killed Chen Qi's entire family? That's ridiculous!"
Seeing that Qian Tieshan hadn't left yet, Director Wang quickly elbowed Lin Feng. "Shut up, Lin! Director Qian personally led the arrest. How could they have caught the wrong person? Besides, the evidence is conclusive. Why are you worrying?"
Lin Feng's mouth dropped open in surprise. "I heard the only evidence is this guy's fingerprint at the crime scene. Is that really enough?"
One of the police officers, having overheard Lin Feng's skepticism, shot him a glare. "Kid, you don't know what you're talking about. The crime scene had tight security, and no other trace of the killer was left behind. A fingerprint is more than enough to make him the prime suspect."
Lin Feng countered, "Shouldn't there be a confession from the killer? People are wondering how a drug addict could pull off a murder like that—especially against a wealthy family. And he died before even giving a statement? By the way, officer, how did he die?"
The officer's mouth twitched, and he suddenly shivered.
Lin Feng looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun hadn't even set yet. What was with the shivering?
Looking around, Lin Feng realized something strange. Several of the surrounding officers had uncomfortable expressions on their faces.
Qian Tieshan's face darkened, and he gave Lin Feng a long, hard look before turning away and calling out, "Let's move out."
Qian Tieshan was clearly upset. The other officers followed behind him in silence, afraid to even breathe loudly. Director Wang hurried over to see them off.
"What was that all about?" Lin Feng scratched his head in confusion.
As the police car drove away, Lin Feng felt someone tap him on the shoulder.
He turned around and realized the sun had set. The body on the ground was now in the shadow of the funeral home building—and it sat up.
"I was beaten to death! Except for Qian Tieshan, none of those people are cops."