In theory, once the house is sold, it shouldn't be revisited. I called Huang Ju to ask how long it had been since Hong Xingchen sold the house, and he told me it had been over a month.
This means Hong Xingchen returned to the house after selling it. If he turned it into someone else's property and secretly bred European bullet ants, then when the time comes, we wouldn't be able to easily track him down, and we would only think of Min Xue Min.
However, this couldn't escape my keen observation. Of course, we still haven't found any direct connection between Hong Xingchen and the European bullet ants. These paintings alone aren't enough. At best, they can only prove that Hong Xingchen is an insect enthusiast.
But with so many coincidences, it seems we are getting closer to the truth.
I seemed like a piece of wood standing still, when Hong Xingchen's daughter curiously asked, "Officer, what are you doing?"
I was startled and quickly cleared my throat, saying, "Nothing, your father is very talented in art, his paintings are really good."
I said this to cover up my surprise. Then, I searched Hong Xingchen's room again. Aside from some paintbrushes and other painting tools, I didn't find anything else.
I had no choice but to leave the room. As I was going downstairs, Hong Xingchen's daughter kept talking: "My father's art pieces were once exhibited. I think one of them, called 'The Queen Ant's Feast,' was sold for over 1.6 million."
"Really?" I responded casually. For such high-end art, I neither understood nor was interested.
I said there were other matters at the police station, so I bid farewell to Hong Xingchen's daughter and left. On the way to Shuiyu Town Police Station, Zhao Simeng called to inform me, "I've verified both bodies, and the cause of death is the same—death by European bullet ant bites. The female victim's name was Lai Miaocui."
"Didn't we fail to find any DNA?"
"Hehe, with my abilities, how could I not find it?" she replied.
She explained that by using the principle of vinegar steaming bones, she had extracted DNA from the victim's bones.
What "steaming bodies and bones"—it was hard to understand, but since Zhao Simeng could do it, I figured she had her expertise.
When we arrived at Shuiyu Town Police Station and stepped into the forensic department, many forensic experts were praising her, saying, "This forensic assistant from Fuming City's police station is amazing! She was able to extract DNA from the victim's bones!"
"That's right! We were completely at a loss, but she solved it so easily!"
I saw Zhao Simeng being complimented nonstop. It seemed I had missed an exciting autopsy process earlier.
One of the forensic doctors told me, "When Zhao Simeng dissected the body and extracted one of the victim's bones, she used a syringe to draw out the bone marrow, then started to break down the substances in the marrow, eventually extracting DNA from the victim!"
"I see."
Amid their excitement, I instructed Shuiyu Town's technicians to investigate Lai Miaocui's identity. When we checked, it turned out that Lai Miaocui was Hong Xingchen's wife!
But his daughter had said her mother had disappeared five years ago. How could she have appeared at this time?
Some young people had discovered her body. Based on the current state of the corpse, it seemed that she had died less than a week ago.
Zhao Simeng said, "If the body had been kept under special conditions, it could have lasted for five years."
"What conditions?"
"Extreme low temperatures, combined with a newly developed freezing drug from abroad."
I had never heard of such a thing, but Zhao Simeng said she recently read a report that someone had developed this drug, and there were many successful cases.
Freezing drugs? Coincidentally, Hong Xingchen also worked in the pharmaceutical industry. If he really had developed such a freezing drug, it would be possible for him to freeze his wife for five years and then bring her back to life.
But why did the body appear at the old house at this particular time? That was unclear.
I suddenly thought of those young people. Maybe asking them could provide some clues since they were the first to encounter the body.
I quickly told Zhao Simeng to come with me. After we got the address of the Gaogang City Psychiatric Hospital, we quickly arrived at the designated location.
Before reaching the psychiatric hospital, I had already asked Huang Ju about the young people's details. The ones who had gone to the old house were three college students, around 20 years old.
The first one was Guan Tianhan, the president of the school's paranormal club. The second was Zi Qiaoxiang, his girlfriend, and the third was Qiao Tianlu, another member of the club.
It seemed that they didn't go out of curiosity but because their school club had assigned them to write a report on haunted houses, so they had visited the old Qing Dynasty house with rumors of hauntings.
Unexpectedly, they had truly encountered something there. When I arrived at the psychiatric hospital's front desk, I showed my police badge and asked, "Is Guan Tianhan here?"
"Guan Tianhan, are you his friend?"
I said I was a police officer investigating the case. The receptionist's attitude immediately softened as she quickly typed on her keyboard. Soon, she found some information and said, "Guan Tianhan and two other college students were recently admitted. Their condition seems to be bad, so you'll have to wait until their emotions stabilize before seeing them."
"When can we see them?"
"Wait a moment, the doctor will give him some medication."
About 10 minutes later, the nurse said Guan Tianhan's condition had improved, and she led us upstairs.
When we entered room 304 on the third floor, a psychiatrist had just come out and reminded us, "Guan Tianhan's emotions are still unstable. Please be careful when you speak to him."
"I understand," I replied as I walked into Guan Tianhan's room.
When he saw us, Guan Tianhan looked at us curiously but didn't speak. I showed my badge and said, "Hello, Mr. Guan, we are the police. We heard you went to the old Qing Dynasty house..."
Before I could finish, Guan Tianhan suddenly began shouting and gesturing wildly, "The Qing Dynasty house, upstairs, there's a strange sound! It's still with me, it's so scary! It says: 'Don't come up, or you'll die!'"
Shouting, Guan Tianhan stood on the bed, ranting and raving, staring at the ceiling, then looking at the walls around him and the stairs outside!
It seemed like he wasn't in a psychiatric hospital at all but in that old Qing Dynasty house!
Suddenly, he pointed to the stairs and yelled, "Someone's rushing downstairs from the third floor! He's choking our necks, saying we deserve to be punished! He's coming!"
"Don't come! I don't know anything!" Guan Tianhan gritted his teeth and put his fingers in his mouth, his face full of terror. I said, "Calm down, Guan Tianhan. What exactly happened when you were at the house?"