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The three of them, caught up in their struggle, accidentally bumped into the coffin resting on the Wooden Frame. The coffin swayed slightly before toppling heavily toward the Grave Pit. The force of the impact dislodged the coffin lid, revealing that the seven nails had merely been affixed to the lid and were not secured to the coffin itself.
The lid crashed to the ground and bounced aside, while the corpse inside was flung out due to inertia, tumbling into the adjacent Grave Pit. A flash of red fabric caught everyone's attention, drawing their gaze. The three fighters halted, staring blankly at the Grave Pit, frozen in place.
Their mouths gaped wide enough to fit an egg.
Jiang He stepped forward a few paces to the edge of the Grave Pit, finally catching sight of the body that had fallen in and what that fleeting red had been. There were two corpses in total within the Grave Pit, cramped together; a female corpse lay against a Male Corpse, resembling a couple in love, peacefully asleep in each other's embrace.
The Male Corpse's head had been stitched back together, though poorly done; they could see the black thread used for stitching across his face, resembling a dark worm resting there. Whether it was a trick of the mind or due to their elevated viewpoint, it appeared as if the corners of his mouth were turned up in a smile.
One of the Male Corpse's severed arms seemed to cradle the female corpse gently at her waist.
The female corpse lay sideways atop the Male Corpse, dressed in a form-fitting red gown. Her pale arms and legs contrasted sharply with her vivid attire, creating a striking tableau. Her hair obscured her face, making it impossible to discern her features.
Yet everyone who beheld this corpse felt they already knew who she was.
Madam Wang felt her legs give way beneath her and collapsed onto the ground, staring blankly at the Grave Pit. Xu Yiman rushed to support her. Wang Kun also knelt down, cradling his head in his hands and tearing at his hair in despair.
Old Shao glanced at Yuan Jun and then back at the Grave Pit. Yuan Jun understood Old Shao's intent; he steadied himself against the edge of the pit and jumped down with a grunt, landing on a narrow space that barely allowed for footing. He slowly bent down and gently pushed aside the female corpse's hair.
"This person... this person is Wang Yedan," Yuan Jun said as he lifted his head.
"Well done, you two!" Wang Kun shouted. "Your son committed suicide, and now you want to kill my daughter? I’ll take you both down with me!"
With that, Wang Kun lunged again toward Lu Wei, who refused to back down: "Your daughter's fate has nothing to do with us; this is old karma—this is retribution for my son!"
The sounds of their scuffle filled the air. Shao shouted, "Stop causing trouble! This isn’t the time for your bickering. Once the autopsy is complete, I’ll give you both a chance to settle things."
Jiang He looked into the distance; on the mountainside, he could see the sun dipping below the horizon, its light already dimming. A full moon hung above them in a darkened sky.
Old Shao turned toward a diesel generator outside the spirit hall and instructed them, "Start up the generator for lighting; we need to examine these bodies."
The diesel engine let out a rumbling sound, illuminating the dimly lit shed with several incandescent lights. Yuan Jun and Jiang He partnered to carry Wang Yedan's body outside, placing it aside for Xu Yiman to conduct an autopsy.
Everyone had already noticed the long strangulation mark on Wang Yedan's neck. The direction of the mark was horizontal rather than vertical, indicating that the force was parallel to Wang Yedan. A simple deduction led to one conclusion: someone had used a rope to strangle Wang Yedan from the front, killing her.
Madam Wang could not bear to see this scene. She sat aside, covering her eyes with her hands, yet one eye occasionally peeked through her fingers, watching Xu Yiman's actions. Wang Kun held Madam Wang close, silently gazing at their daughter's body, tears streaming down his cheeks without a sound.
Zhao Xiu and Lu Wei walked back to the candles, relighting the two long-lasting lights.
The faint glow of the candles could not compare to the electric lights, but the two seemed to cherish the flickering flames like precious pearls, unwilling to let them extinguish.
Xu Yiman used tweezers to pick up debris from around the corpse's neck, examining it closely. After a moment, she spoke: "This is hemp rope; it's very common in the village—almost every household has it, right?"
Xu Yiman turned to Lu Wei and Zhao Xiu.
Lu Wei nodded. "People in the village use this stuff to tie bags."
Xu Yiman nodded in agreement. "The hemp rope has deeply embedded itself into Wang Yedan's neck; the fibers have pierced her skin. Look closely at her fingernails."
With that, Xu Yiman gently lifted the deceased woman's hand. "There are fragments of hemp rope in her nails."
Everyone looked and indeed saw debris lodged in her nails, along with Wang Yedan's fingers curled in a spasm—indicative of post-mortem convulsions.
"This indicates she struggled while alive," Xu Yiman said as she set down Wang Yedan's hand. "If I were to speculate, the murderer must have been behind Wang Yedan. Taking advantage of her unguarded moment, they used hemp rope to strangle her from behind and killed her."
Madam Wang was already sobbing uncontrollably upon hearing Xu Yiman's calm description.
Wang Kun exclaimed, "It must be them! You two killed my daughter!"
Lu Wei replied, "If you want evidence, pity us for Luben. The police investigated and concluded my son committed suicide; we accepted that. But my son died for your daughter! Not only did your daughter refuse our proposal for a marriage between our families, but she also insulted my son multiple times. Now look—karma has come! Why don't you admit it? Your daughter committed suicide!"
Old Shao shook his head and said, "A person can indeed find ways to commit suicide, but they cannot climb into their own coffin."
Jiang He slowly said, "It was the Criminal Consultant who killed her."
With that, Jiang He took out a phone, which belonged to Wang Yedan. "Although the Criminal Consultant randomly sent a WeChat Video, he deliberately filtered out Wang Yedan. On Wang Yedan's phone, there was only the last message that came through. This means that when we were making our choices, Wang Yedan had no idea who the Criminal Consultant was, and therefore she was not on guard."
Old Shao thought of the note that the Criminal Consultant had left for Wang Yedan. Perhaps to Wang Yedan, the Criminal Consultant seemed like someone who could resolve her confusion and helplessness. It was undeniable that the Criminal Consultant was adept at manipulating people's psychology; everyone knew that the deceased should be prioritized, and while they were investigating Luben, they forgot that it was the living who needed comfort.
Once a person is dead, they know nothing; it is the living who require guidance. The Criminal Consultant exploited this fact, using no violence at all to lead Wang Yedan here willingly. Wang Yedan likely had no idea where Luben's home was, and by the time she realized something was wrong, it might have been too late.
During this time, the Criminal Consultant had been with Wang Yedan, which meant that the video had been pre-recorded and this case had been meticulously planned in advance.
The noose had long been tightened around Wang Yedan's neck; now, the Criminal Consultant was simply pulling it tighter.
Xu Yiman continued, "The body has just begun to stiffen; the time of death is less than two hours ago."
"Two hours?" Jiang He replied. "That means when we were approaching the village, Wang Yedan had just died."
"Yes," Wang Yedan confirmed.
Jiang He added, "So this aligns with the time on the phone. The murderer not only had to kill Wang Yedan in a short span of time but also needed to place her in the coffin! Besides you all, who else could have accessed the coffin?"
Not long after entering the village, a funeral procession began moving out of it; this interval was less than half an hour. Therefore, during this time frame, only the murderer could have accessed the coffin.
Suddenly, Jiang He recalled the black lines on the Male Corpse's face that resembled worms. The black lines contrasted sharply with the corpse's pale complexion; even someone with poor eyesight could easily notice this color difference. But which mortician would be foolish enough not to understand such a simple principle?
This indicated that whoever had embalmed the body was not a professional mortician. Only a mortician would have had prolonged access to the corpse—long enough to kill someone and then nail them into a coffin.
"Take me to see the person who embalmed your son immediately!" Jiang He stood up and quickly addressed Zhao Xiu and Lu Wei.
"Huh?" The two were still processing what he said.
"Take me to see him right now! That person is undoubtedly the one who killed Wang Yedan!" Jiang He insisted.
"Lu Wei, you take them," Zhao Xiu said calmly, not in a hurry at all. "I will keep an eye on these two everlasting lamps; we cannot let them go out again. The Yin Yang Master has already passed, and these lamps must remain lit. If someone deliberately extinguishes them, isn't that just asking for retribution?"
"What do you mean?" Wang Kun pointed at Zhao Xiu.
Zhao Xiu smiled lightly. "What could I possibly mean? The situation is quite clear."
"Why are we still arguing?" Old Shao had already started down the mountain. "Take us down immediately."
Lu Wei picked up an old-fashioned flashlight from the table and led everyone down the mountain, illuminating the path.
"Where did you get that person who dismembered the body?" Old Shao asked as he hurriedly followed everyone down.
Lu Wei replied, "The Yin Yang Master brought him along. We paid together, so we don't know where he came from."
"The Yin Yang Master," Old Shao muttered.
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