The nights in autumn had grown even colder, and the air seemed to be carrying a layer of mist as it gave off a cold and moist feeling.
After doing a few stretches, Jun Zishu started jogging. She planned to jog from this neighborhood to the nearby square, following the original owner's usual route.
Jun Zishu jogged at a leisurely pace, and Jiang Yinsheng hovered beside her, matching her pace.
Under the illumination of the moonlight and intermittent streetlights, Jiang Yinsheng felt that the lady officer's running posture was very cool.
When Jun Zishu arrived at the square, she switched from jogging to walking.
There was music playing in the square, and the middle area was crowded with several groups of dancing middle-aged women. These women danced to the tune of their brainwashing songs, twisting and turning their bodies.
Skateboarding kids and teenagers could also be seen shuttling through the square, and the street across the square was lined with stalls that sold barbeque and milk tea.
Jun Zishu walked on the quiet periphery of the square, surrounding herself with only greenery and the occasional passerby.
"What's on your mind, Miss Officer?" Jiang Yinsheng asked as she hovered ahead of Jun Zishu before turning around.
"I'm thinking about something that I don't really understand."
"That's a contradictory statement."
"Yes, it's contradictory."
However, humans were contradictory creatures.
"Why are some people willing to hurt others in the name of love?"
"That's not love. That's desire. If a person loves someone, they wouldn't be willing to hurt their loved one," Jiang Yinsheng said as she effortlessly hovered backward, her eyes focused on Jun Zishu. Then, after a moment, she asked, "Do you know what love is, Miss Officer?"
"It's two people liking each other, respecting each other, and taking care of each other, right?"
"That's it. Just stay firm like that. Everyone's view on love is different. There's no need to think about why others would act differently because of love. Everyone's different from each other, after all."
To Jiang Yinsheng, love was a step-by-step process.
She could give her everything for her loved one. She could arrange a lot of serendipities for her loved one. She could also let her loved one do whatever they wanted, even when she had the ability to manipulate her beloved's actions.
Huh…
Jiang Yinsheng was confused. Although she couldn't remember her past, she didn't think that she had anyone she liked in the past. So, why would she have such thoughts?
The air quieted down, and the human and ghost continued their stroll through the night.
…
Ghosts did not require sleep, so Jiang Yinsheng could stay awake all the time.
"Can you let me play with your phone? It's boring when you sleep," Jiang Yinsheng asked as she extended her hands with a longing look on her face.
After thinking about it, Jun Zishu felt that there wasn't anything important on her phone, so she let Jiang Yinsheng have it. She simply reminded the little ghost to charge it for her.
Before going to bed, Jun Zishu asked Little Fairy to inform her if Jiang Yinsheng were to touch something important. Then, after receiving a response from Little Fairy, Jun Zishu went to sleep.
…
When Jun Zishu woke up the next day, she was greeted by the sight of a magnified face.
Even if the little ghost's face looked beautiful, it still created a huge visual impact that scared Jun Zishu.
"Sorry, sorry. Did I scare you?" Jiang Yinsheng hurriedly apologized. She didn't know what had gotten into her.
After getting bored of browsing the internet last night, she had set it aside and turned to stare at Jun Zishu up close. Jun Zishu looked very peaceful when she slept. Her eyebrows that looked stern during the day would soften, giving her a much gentler appearance. So, Jiang Yinsheng couldn't resist the urge to lean against the bed and stare at Jun Zishu's face. Yet, before she realized it, she had gotten fascinated by Jun Zishu's face, and she ended up staring at Jun Zishu's face from dark to dawn.
The first time they met, Jiang Yinsheng had felt that the lady officer before her looked cool and beautiful. It was especially true when Jun Zishu had placed the bottled milk in front of her and covered her body with the jacket. Jiang Yinsheng could feel her heart skipping a beat at the time.
"It's okay."
After straightening her long, messy hair, Jun Zishu got out of bed and went to the bathroom. Then, after washing up and changing her clothes, she got ready to leave for work.
"I really want to follow you," Jiang Yinsheng said, sighing as she looked at the sunlight outside.
"Wait for me at home. I'll see you tonight."
"Okay," Jiang Yinsheng said in low spirits. Then, after waiting for the front door to be closed, she walked into Jun Zishu's bedroom just like she did yesterday.
The bedroom curtains were drawn, a sign of the lady officer's attentiveness.
Standing by the window, Jiang Yinsheng carefully pulled back the curtains and looked at the person driving away downstairs.
After Jun Zishu's car had left her sight, Jiang Yinsheng closed the curtains and sat on the bed.
For some inexplicable reason, she felt a little sad.
…
November 8, light snow.
This was probably the earliest snowfall Lanhai City had ever seen. Snowflakes fell from the sky like cotton wool, and the whistling sound of wind echoed through the air.
Pedestrians on the road walked about busily in heavy clothes and scarves. Though, there would occasionally be one or two people stopping to take a photo of the snowy scene to share with their circle of friends.
Liao Ying changed out of her uniform in the lounge and put on her scarf. Then, she turned off the lights in the store and locked the door.
Liao Ying shuddered when a passing breeze blew at her body. After rubbing her palms together, she pulled her scarf upwards some more and started walking down the street with her bag in hand.
The sky had darkened, so she pulled out her smartphone and used it as a flashlight to illuminate the path ahead.
If Liao Ying followed her regular route, it would take her at least ten minutes to reach home since it involved several detours. If she took a shortcut through an alleyway, though, she could arrive home much sooner.
However, Liao Ying typically wouldn't take the shortcut home. Most people wouldn't take that shortcut, either, since a huge waste bin blocked that alleyway. Specifically, it was the horribly unpleasant smell that deterred others from using that alleyway.
Few people dumped their waste in that waste bin, so the trash collectors would only come to empty it once in a long while. Thus, the waste bin would always have an unpleasant smell, and even naughty children refused to go anywhere near it.
Thus far, Liao Ying had only used that alleyway once when she was almost late for work. Although she nearly fainted from the horrid smell, she had to admit that the alleyway was an excellent shortcut. It shortened the journey that would typically take her more than ten minutes to complete to just two minutes.
It was snowing, so Liao Ying wanted to return home faster today. Thus, after holding her breath, she started pushing on the large green waste bin with a piece of tissue paper isolating her hand from the bin.
However, by the time she had moved the waste bin aside, she couldn't hold her breath any longer and inhaled deeply, nearly fainting from the putrid smell that flooded her nostrils.
Afterward, she tossed the tissue paper into the waste bin, covered her nose with her free hand, and continued on her journey.
After walking past the waste bin, Liao Ying suddenly caught a whiff of an even more unpleasant and putrid smell. However, the smell was no longer her concern as she found another obstacle blocking her path.
It was a person sitting in the middle of the alleyway. The alleyway was quite narrow, so the person had blocked up the entire path with their body.
"Hey…"
Liao Ying took a step back in surprise when she saw this person. Then, when she shined her phone's flashlight onto this person, she found that the other party looked like a man.
"That…"
Liao Ying wondered if the other party was a homeless person or a drunk person. She also started regretting taking this shortcut home.
However, the alleyway's exit was only a short distance away. So long as she crossed this final section, she would be able to arrive back home quickly.
"I'm just passing by… Excuse me…"
Liao Ying gulped and stopped covering her nose, using the freed hand to clutch her handbag instead.
The other party still didn't respond. Although Liao Ying had a strange feeling in her heart, she quickly crossed the man and went on her way. However, when she reached the alley's exit, she couldn't help herself from looking back and shining her flashlight on the supposedly drunk or homeless man. When the light shined on the man, though, Liao Ying nearly had her soul fly out of her body.
She finally realized where the putrid smell came from.
…
When the call arrived, Jun Zishu had just come out of the shower at home while Jiang Yinsheng was doing the dishes for her.
Although it was quite strange to have a ghost help her do the dishes, Jun Zishu couldn't resist the little ghost's enthusiasm.
Jun Zishu didn't order any takeouts because of the cold weather. Instead, she bought some hotpot ingredients from the supermarket and ate hotpot at home.
Jiang Yinsheng couldn't eat, but she still accompanied Jun Zishu during the meal, giving a more lively feeling to the meal.
After the meal, Jun Zishu planned to rest for a bit before doing the dishes. However, Jiang Yinsheng had eagerly taken over the job. Thus, leading to the current situation.
After putting on her trench coat, Jun Zishu got ready to head out.
"I want to go with you," Jiang Yinsheng said as she floated up to Jun Zishu. It was already night right now, so it wouldn't be a problem for her to go outside.
"Mhm."
…
Jun Zishu started the car engine. The snow wasn't very thick right now, so driving wasn't a problem.
"What's the situation?" Jun Zishu asked when she arrived at the brightly lit crime scene.
It was a good thing it was winter and snowing, so there were no pedestrians in the area.
"Over here, Chief," Yang Tianxiao said as she led Jun Zishu to the corpse.
Jun Zishu couldn't help but frown when she saw the corpse. Although the smell the corpse radiated was impactful, the sight of the corpse was even more so.
The owner of the corpse looked like a 20-year-old man or younger. The corpse was covered in a thin layer of blood as it sat there on the icy ground. Alarmingly, the young man's body had been cut open, and practically all of his organs were missing. In addition to his organs, the flesh on his inner thighs was missing, and Jun Zishu could see white bones and the decaying flesh that remained.
Jun Zishu frowned. She guessed that the other veteran officers present must've had the same thought when they saw this corpse.
Cannibalism.
Jun Zishu quickly put on her gloves and inspected the corpse. Although the putrid smell made her nearly vomit the hotpot she ate, she held it back.
Jun Zishu also had a feeling that new trouble was arising.
While Jun Zishu inspected the corpse, Jiang Yinsheng stood beside Jun Zishu. She then circled the corpse with a look of pity on her face.
"We received a call about the body ten minutes ago," Yang Tianxiao said as she suppressed her feelings of disgust. Then, she took off her gloves and pointed at a woman who was being soothed by an officer some distance away and continued, "According to the information, she just got off work and wanted to take a shortcut through here. She was in a hurry to go home, so she crossed the victim's body without paying attention to it initially. However, when she turned around, shone her flashlight on the victim, and saw the state of the victim's legs, she promptly reported the case."
"Send the body in for examination. Check around for any other clues. Check the victim's identity as well," Jun Zishu said. Then, she walked up to the informant and asked the pale woman, "Are you okay?"
"Mhm."
Liao Ying nodded. However, when she recalled the gruesome sight she previously saw, her stomach started feeling uncomfortable again.
"We'd like to trouble you to go back to the station with us and make a statement. We will send you home afterward, is that okay?"
"Okay."
…
After arriving at the station, Liao Ying gave another account of how she happened across the corpse, and the young police officer standing to the side dutifully took notes of her statement.
"Almost nobody ever uses that alley. I only went there because I wanted to go home sooner today. I don't know about anything else."
"Do you know the victim?"
"No, I've never met him before."
"Have you seen any strange people or seen anything out of place in the past few days?"
"No, I think… I didn't pay much attention…"
After failing to get any useful information, Jun Zishu had someone send Liao Ying home while she visited Wang Duoduo.
"Did you find out anything?"
"The deceased's name is Chen Yang, male, 19 years old, a local of the city, dropped out of middle school, and is now a staff at an automobile repair shop."
"Did no one report him as missing?"
"No."
Wang Duoduo shook his head. According to the stiffness of the corpse, the victim should've died for a few days at the very least. Moreover, judging by the treatment the corpse had received, it was likely that the victim had gone missing for more than just a few days.
"Check his social connections, bring a few people to his house afterward, and pay his workplace a visit tomorrow."
"Roger."
Jun Zishu pinched the bridge of her nose as she sat in front of her desk.
This definitely wasn't a simple homicidal case. There wouldn't be a need to render the corpse into such a state if it was simple murder.
The worst and most likely possibility was that a cannibal had appeared in the city. Moreover, it was a cannibal with a penchant for internal organs and thigh meat.
Jun Zishu narrowed her eyes, vaguely remembering a similar case in the original owner's memories.
However, the original owner wasn't the one who solved the case. Instead, she had heard it being mentioned by her master.
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