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墨書 Inktalez
Autopsy Results appeared before everyone, and Old Shao flipped through the reports, his expression growing increasingly somber. He then requested the body registration forms from Zhang De. After comparing the documents, Old Shao discovered a shocking fact: "The first body was delivered two days ago, and the Entrails were stolen; the second body arrived two days later, and again the Entrails were taken; the third body was delivered one day later, and the fourth two days after that..."
Old Shao distributed the Autopsy Results for everyone to see: "Each time a new body arrives, the killer always receives news within a day or two. No more than three days pass before the killer comes to the morgue to remove the body's Entrails, which means..."
Jiang He picked up where Old Shao left off: "It means that whenever a body is brought in, the killer is always able to find out immediately."
Old Shao nodded and said, "This is bad; we have already alerted the snake by stirring the grass."
"What does that mean?" Yuan Jun asked.
Old Shao put away the Autopsy Report and explained, "If we follow usual circumstances, when a body is brought in, the killer would naturally come to dissect it and take away the Entrails, or hide the body after its Entrails have been removed. As long as we wait here in the morgue, we would eventually catch the killer."
"But," Old Shao shook his head, "since the killer knows when a body will arrive, they will also know that police officers have visited the morgue. Given how cautious they are, they certainly won't return here to dispose of a body again. Now, if we want to catch them, we can no longer wait passively; we need to take proactive measures."
Yuan Jun nodded in agreement: "That makes sense. But how does the killer know when a new body arrives?"
"That's something we need to ask Zhang De," Old Shao said, looking at Zhang De, who was sitting nearby.
Zhang De quickly stood up: "I have no idea, brother. I'm just responsible for this crematorium. My job is simply to take calls from my office and send people to transport bodies to the morgue; after that, I don’t get involved at all. I don’t even know what condition the bodies are in, let alone what Entrails have been removed."
Old Shao waved his hand dismissively: "Don't be so scared. How many people are there who can know immediately when a new body arrives?"
After pondering for a moment with a furrowed brow, Zhang De replied, "There are probably six of us in total: myself as the person in charge, two subordinates in my office, two drivers of the corpse transport vehicles, and that old man who guards the place. Other than that, there’s no one else."
Then Zhang De looked out of the window toward the Guardhouse: "Could it be that old man? I know everyone else well enough; they don't seem like they could do something so twisted."
Old Shao stood up and said: "We can't jump to conclusions yet, but I lean toward it not being him. However, if it were that old man, where could he hide so many Entrails? The Guardhouse is just that small—barely ten square meters—enough for a bed and a desk but hardly any room for anything else."
"This is simple enough," Yuan Jun said. "While we're busy running around in a frenzy, this old man is just lounging about, sleeping soundly in his room. We need to check on him; we can't let those Entrails be hiding in there. It's pitch dark inside his room, and he didn't even bother to turn on the lights last night. I wonder who he thinks he's scaring with candles."
Old Shao nodded and replied, "I don't think he's the murderer, but it wouldn't hurt to take a look."
The group arrived at the Guardhouse, which was still shrouded in darkness. Yuan Jun knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside.
"If he doesn't come out soon, I'm going to kick the door down," Yuan Jun shouted.
After a few loud knocks, an elderly man appeared at the door and opened it, revealing his wrinkled face.
"What do you want?" the old man asked.
Jiang He noticed that the old man was wrapped in a military coat, as if he had hurriedly thrown it on to answer the door.
"Turn on the lights and let us check," Yuan Jun instructed.
The old man glanced at Yuan Jun and then at the group behind him. "I'm trying to sleep here; what are you all doing?"
Zhang De looked at the old man and said impatiently, "Old Wei, just do what the Officer says. I'm also trying to get some rest, and I rushed over here too."
Old Wei muttered under his breath. It seemed that since Zhang De was his superior, he reluctantly shot a sideways glance at Yuan Jun and said, "Come in then, but I don't have any electric lights; you'll have to use your flashlights."
With that, Old Wei stepped aside.
To be honest, the room was indeed cramped. Once they entered, there was barely enough space for everyone to turn around. The beams from their flashlights illuminated a bed pressed against the wall, covered with a dark blanket that looked like it hadn't been washed in ages. The quilt on top was relatively clean and lay open at that moment.
It appeared that this old man had been sleeping.
On one side of the bed, there was a desk. The outer layer of leather had worn off, revealing the wood underneath. Above the desk lay a piece of glass, under which were some photographs. As the flashlight illuminated the glass, it reflected slightly, and Jiang He could faintly see that they were black-and-white photos, likely quite old.
On the glass sat a thermos, next to which was a teacup; aside from that, there was nothing else on the desk. The desk had no drawers, and underneath it was completely empty, with a chair placed askew beside it.
To the left was the window of the guardhouse, which at that moment had its curtains drawn.
In the center of the room stood a stove, which was currently sealed shut, with a teapot perched on top. Waves of residual heat emanated from the stove, indicating that it was still burning. Old Shao felt a sense of familiarity with this type of stove; during his time, his family relied on such stoves for warmth. People like Jiang He’s generation had hardly ever seen one.
The stove had a chimney that extended through a hole in the wall to vent smoke outside.
A few pieces of honeycomb coal were piled beside the stove, along with a broom and dustpan—these were all the possessions in the room.
The room was not large; with just two glances, one could take in everything, and three would allow one to see all the items present.
Old Shao looked at the elderly man who appeared to be slightly older than himself and felt an indescribable emotion. The sparse belongings in the room were pitiful; there wasn’t even a single entertainment device. He wondered how this old man had spent so many years alone and what he did to pass the time.
“Don’t you have a radio or anything?” Old Shao asked.
Old Wei glanced at Old Shao and replied, “No.”
“Then what do you usually do for entertainment?” Old Shao asked again.
“What? What is entertainment?” Old Wei didn’t understand Old Shao’s question.
Old Shao had to simplify his words: “What I mean is, how do you usually pass your time?”
Old Wei pointed to the bed and said, “Sleep.”
Yuan Jun scratched his head and asked, "Is it just about sleeping?"
Old Wei replied, "Young man, at my age, being able to lie in bed and sleep is the greatest blessing. I can eat my fill without worrying about anyone else. I have no children, no companions. If I can't sleep, that would truly be a punishment from the heavens."
Suddenly, Jiang He shone his flashlight at Old Wei. The sudden brightness made Old Wei quickly shut his eyes. Jiang He noticed that Old Wei had heavy bags under his eyes and deep dark circles.
"What are you doing, you silly boy?" Old Wei shouted.
Only then did Jiang He put away the flashlight, not saying a word.
Yuan Jun shone the light under Old Wei's bed. Aside from a few cockroaches scurrying away and some candy wrappers, there was really nothing else.
"Do you live here?" Yuan Jun asked.
"Yes," Old Wei said as he sat on the bed. "I stay here at night; this is my home. When I get old and can’t move anymore, when I can’t earn money, I’ll just lie down in that freezer. It’s convenient and saves money on hiring someone for my funeral. I've already talked to him about it; I can lower my salary. I just have one wish: after I die, he can help take care of my body—whether to cremate or bury me is fine, just don’t let me be eaten by wild dogs or cats."
He said this with a smile.
Old Shao, a criminal police officer, had come to terms with life and death at his age, but he still found it hard to be so carefree. This old man had already arranged for his own funeral in such a light-hearted manner.
People come into this world bare and will leave it bare as well; nothing can be taken with them.
Old Shao sighed and said, "You seem to have accepted life well. Doesn’t life hold any joy for you anymore?"
Old Wei suddenly chuckled and said, "What joy can life bring? I've earned enough money; I probably have enough for my coffin already. I don’t want anything more. Are you here to catch the Corpse Robber or just to chat with an old man? If there's nothing else, I'm going to sleep."
Old Wei tightened his military coat; older people seem to be very sensitive to temperature. For Yuan Jun and the others, it was still warm enough to wear short sleeves.
"Then we won't disturb you any longer," Old Shao waved his hand and said to Old Wei, "We'll take our leave now."
Yuan Jun sighed and remarked, "It seems that Old Wei really isn't a Corpse Robber after all."
Old Shao nodded, rubbing his chin as he pondered, "But what do you think? If a person is this lonely, what are they living for?"
Xu Yiman also felt a sense of melancholy. She said, "I once read a book that suggested the meaning of life is simply to live, nothing more. Although such a life seems meaningless, staring death in the face, what else can one do? Better to live poorly than to die well. If I were to end up like this when I grow old, I'd rather be dead and have my body donated to a medical school."
Old Shao turned to Zhang De beside him and said, "Regardless, Old Wei has no sense of responsibility; he wouldn't even notice if there were more or fewer corpses."
Zhang De nodded in agreement. "Well, it can only be this way. You can't expect someone for fifteen hundred to patrol and check on the bodies; it would probably take at least fifteen thousand for someone to dare come."
"Give me a copy of the list and information for those six people you mentioned earlier," Shao the Elder instructed. "These six individuals who can provide immediate information about the condition of the corpses are all suspects."
Zhang De replied, "But I'm innocent..."
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