Chapter 55
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Walking corpse
It was grey everywhere, like a cloudy morning.
Ye Zun read the letter carefully, folded it neatly, and put it back into the pocket of his windbreaker.
On the barren riverside, there was nothing but the rocky river bed.
He walked towards the lone grey dusty suitcase that had a sense of presence and opened the suitcase again to examine the corpse inside.
The deceased was a man, young, neither thin nor fat. The surface of the body was intact, with no trauma that could be seen, and there was no sign of being assaulted. There were no traces of secretions from the mouth or nose, and the lips were pale in colour but had no obvious signs of poisoning.
The cause of death was unknown.
The skin was grey and pale, without obvious livor mortis. It was dry and soft like rubber.
In the box and on the body, there was no other information, nothing that can be used for identification.
Ye Zun stood up, found a pair of rubber gloves in his pocket, put them on smoothly, intending to peel off the clothes of the deceased for further inspection.
When he stood up to put on the rubber gloves, the already hazy river wilderness became foggy.
The fog was already there, and when one looked at it at a glance, the dead trees and long roads in the distance appeared boundless, desolate and dead in the grey.
The fog and wind came from the river, but also seemed to go into the river.
While Ye Zun was observing the direction of the wind, a greyish white hand stretched out from the suitcase behind him.
Hands, then arms, then the head, and then the whole body.
The dead body crawled out of the box.
The grey eyes of the corpse were lifeless, like dusty glass beads, reminiscent of the plastic mannequins in shops.
The corpse that crawled up did not do anything strange, nor did it attack Ye Zun.
He just stood up, walked past Ye Zun, and walked straight into the depths of the river.
When Ye Zun realised, he had already walked to the river.
The river was wide, deep, and murky, neither clear nor very cloudy.
Ye Zun didn’t do anything, just standing there and observing the corpse that had already walked towards the river.
Only after the corpse stood up did he discover that the man was tall, more than 1.8 metres tall, with normal short hair. The clothes on his body were simple, a thin long-sleeved shirt and trousers, dusty in colour, like a uniform that deliberately obscured his identity.
Clothes that were reminiscent of prison uniforms, or hospital patients’ gowns.
The corpse walked step by step, maintaining an established rhythm, towards the depths of the river.
There was a faint ripple in the grey water, but it settled quickly.
As if nothing happened.
In the middle of the river was a towering cliff, the top of which could not be seen at a glance. The water flowed towards the canyon on the side of the cliff and into the deep mountains.
The empty suitcase was like abandoned old trash, with nothing left inside.
With his back to the river, Ye Zun walked up towards the bank.
Withered and yellow weeds grew on the side of the road, looking extremely dehydrated, covered with a thick layer of dust.
The trunks of trees were thin, without a single leaf. Only stubby greyish brown branches stretched around.
This place was like a dry autumn in the north.
The road was also dusty, not paved with cement and asphalt, but a dirt road. No footprints could be seen on the hard road.
There was no building in sight, forward or back.
Ye Zun stood there for a few minutes, then walked to the right.
After walking for a long, long time, maybe for an hour, he saw an asphalt road.
……
An unfamiliar young man came to the police station in the town.
“Hello, I want to report a crime. I found a dead body.”
They took a police car to go to the scene, which was much faster than Ye Zun walking by himself.
The police station’s recovery team for bodies started scouting near the suitcase, but the river was deep and wide, and the downstream led to a reservoir in the deep mountains of the canyon, so the corpses were not recovered quickly.
“Let me ask some questions about you ba, how did you find the body.”
Ye Zun handed the folded letter to the inspector.
The inspector’s expression was also grey under the windbreaker, and he read the letter slowly. “What is the name of the client?”
“I don’t know. I am only certain that it is a young male.”
“Why were you here?”
When he was at the police station, Ye Zun had observed that there were no mobile phones used in this area. All calls were made using long-distance landlines.
He was silent for a while, and said calmly, “I received a commission, someone asked me to meet there. When I got there, I saw the letter.”
The inspector’s expression was undisturbed. “The letter said that the body was in the suitcase, why did it appear in the river?”
Ye Zun: “Maybe someone passing nearby saw it and was afraid of causing trouble, so they threw the body into the river.”
The inspector looked at him. “So, there are no witnesses, no body, only a letter.”
“Someone died. I saw the corpse.” Ye Zun’s eyes were rational and calm. “The deceased was male, between twenty and thirty years old, over 1.8 metres tall, well-proportioned, neither fat nor thin, wearing a greyish blue long-sleeved shirt and trousers of the same colour, with a black buzz cut. Maybe a hospital patient, maybe a prisoner.”
The inspector watched him. “There is no body, and we have not seen your client.”
Ye Zun looked back at him. “The body probably weighed about 70 kilograms. The suitcase was very large and heavy, and he had difficulty carrying it alone. Check the vehicles, hotels, and train stations along the route. Young people carrying such suitcases should be a rare occurrence.”
A young police officer walked over from not far away, whispered a few words to the inspector, and briefly rested his eyes on Ye Zun.
The young police officer’s eyes were bright, but his entire body was also grey.
Ye Zun stood beside the police car and looked at them. “If there is not enough manpower, I will go with you.”
They stopped talking and looked at each other, as if they were assessing something.
On the other side of the police car, a figure came out silently and stopped beside the two policemen who were unaware.
Ye Zun’s ring finger flicked unconsciously.
The figure that walked over was grey, 1.8 metres in height, with black hair and a cropped cut, neither fat nor thin, wearing a thin long-sleeved shirt and trousers in a familiar greyish-blue colour.
It was the body that was supposed to be salvaged.
The surface of the corpse was dry, and the eyes like dusty glass beads were lifeless. Standing beside the police, it followed the men’s eyes and watched Ye Zun together.
Ye Zun pressed his fingers on the car* with a slight force. “The body…the body hasn’t been recovered yet?”
[T/N: raws said table but I’m pretty sure they’re still in the middle of nowhere, so, car it is]
“Isn’t it obvious, not yet.”
The corpse’s right hand rose and placed itself on the shoulder of the young police officer who answered.
The young police officer was looking at Ye Zun, unaware of the hand on his shoulder.
The inspector said, “There hasn’t been any progress for the time being.”
As soon as his words fell, the corpse’s left hand also rose and was placed on the young police officer’s other shoulder, and slowly moved to meet in the middle.
Ye Zun looked at them with cold eyes. “Why would he stop there? Carrying such a heavy suitcase, walking in such a place, when he suddenly realised that the suitcase had been switched by someone, and only then did he find that the contents inside had turned into a body?”
The corpse’s fingers that rested on the young police officer’s neck stopped.
The inspector’s face was very calm and quiet. “I don’t know. You should ask your client.”
The lifeless body began to exert force.
The young police officer swallowed several times, subconsciously adjusted the neckline of his clothes with his fingers, and opened his mouth to breathe, as if he was suddenly short of breath, somewhat unable to circulate air.
The light in Ye Zun’s eyes sharpened. “So, he probably didn’t arrive there first before finding the corpse by accident. On the contrary, he already knew what was in the box. On the road or in the train, while he was in the crowd, he discovered the abnormality in the box. He must have been panicked and frightened, so he got off the train in advance and deliberately chose to open the box in such a deserted place to check. After confirming that there was a corpse inside, he left the box and the letter behind in that place.”
The two policemen exchanged a look and continued to observe him with surprise in their eyes.
The corpse behind the young police officer stopped its movements. There was no emotion in eyes that were like glass beads.
Ye Zun continued, “Why did he know no one inhabited that area? It must be difficult to drag a suitcase containing a 70 kilogram corpse along that road. I walked it for almost an hour and it was deserted the whole way. The corpse can be dumped anywhere along the road. Why did he choose such a place?”
Inspector: “……”
Ye Zun: “He must be very familiar with the place, and he didn’t walk there like me. He was driven by a car for a while, and he got off temporarily to confirm that there was a body in the suitcase. After he checked, he left the suitcase and the letter at the place he chose. Then he continued to walk home alone. With the poor condition of the road, there were very few vehicles and people passing by. He chose to get off at that place, so he would need to walk a long way. His house must be in a nearby village. Not too close because he doesn’t want to cause trouble, but not too far because he knows the terrain of the area well enough.”
Ye Zun didn’t give them time to interrupt and immediately followed with, “Go and investigate, college students, or young men who have just graduated, who got out of a long-distance bus or train station, carrying a large and heavy suitcase, transferring to a small passenger car, getting off temporarily, with an urgent matter at home… Just follow these clues to investigate, you will find the client in no time.”
The corpse’s hands loosened from the young police officer’s neck they naturally fell to the sides.
The inspector looked at Ye Zun. “You are very smart.”
“I am a detective.” Ye Zun looked into his eyes and watched the movement of the corpse out of the corner of his eye. He said slowly, “I know. As far as it looks, I am the most suspicious. As the client said in the letter, once he goes to the police, what he will encounter is the same suspicion I encounter now, so he was unwilling to report the crime. But he couldn’t leave the body alone, so he found me. He wrote to me, pretending to be an acquaintance, but he didn’t leave his name or contact information.”
The inspector didn’t speak. The two policemen looked at him together, one not expressing his opinion, the other thoughtful.
Ye Zun: “You guys can suspect me, and you can suspect him. As long as you investigate according to what I said, you will know that there is indeed a client, which can confirm that my words are true. If you find the body, the time and cause of death of the deceased can be determined. If the identity of the deceased is found, the truth will be found, and the innocence of my client will be proved.”
The inspector’s eyes were as calm as a goshawk. “Yes, everything will be clear.”
At some point, the corpse behind them disappeared.
Ye Zun looked at the inspector and said calmly, “You can suspect that I am the murderer, taking the initiative to report to the police after dumping the body, but you need to look at the evidence. These clues and information can confirm my words. I have given a way to prove myself. The identity of the victim is unknown the more time goes by the more difficult it is to trace back to the source. We don’t have much time, sir. Now, can I investigate the case with you?”
“Wait a moment.”
The inspector and the young police officer walked a little further, lit a cigarette, and chatted quietly for a while.
Not long after, the inspector walked over. The corners of the mouth on his cold face were pulled up politely.
“The body hasn’t been found yet, so we decided to assign people to follow your words and find the first witness, which is your client.” He paused, looking at Ye Zun with calm and steady eyes. “You will come with us. Your name is…Shen Yuan?”
“Yes.” Ye Zun looked at him, his voice untouched. “My name is Shen Yuan.”
……
Investigative work was meticulous and boring.
Starting from the train station, there was someone who did see that kind of big box, but they couldn’t remember the owner of the box.
“I’m very sorry, I do have the impression that this kind of box. I think it was a young man, but I don’t have any more information since it happened a few days ago… I can’t help you more than that.”
“Thank you, that is fine. If you remember anything else, please contact us in time.”
“I remember that kind of big box, he was wearing a black windbreaker. His face couldn’t be seen clearly in the dark. The box was too big so he had to pay extra, but he didn’t want to so our chat broke apart.”
“Where was he headed?”
“It seems to be here.” The speaker roughly drew on the map in the inspector’s hand. “He said he was headed here, but I’m not sure of the exact address. From what I heard, he should be going to his big sister’s house.”
The inspector looked at the map and told his colleagues, “You guys continue to investigate. I will go to this area to have a look with this detective*.”
[T/N: I’ll just be using ‘detective’ instead of ‘Mr Detective’ (zhentan-xiansheng), which is a more accurate translation of what they call our MC but that sounds goofy in the mouths of adults. Maybe I’ll use Detective-xiansheng if I forget though]
The sky gradually darkened.
The grey world was getting darker.
The inspector drove the police car and Ye Zun sat in the front passenger seat.
The young police officer sat in the back row.
“Any ideas?” the inspector asked.
“He was in a hurry to go home, at least that’s what the letter said.” Ye Zun said, “If his business is over, maybe he will make a report and contact the local police.”
The young police officer in the back row made a call to the local police station and quickly hung up. “He hasn’t called the police yet.”
Ye Zun didn’t speak anymore. His attention was focused up ahead.
On the side of the road ahead stood a familiar dusty corpse which suddenly appeared, standing lifelessly by the side of the road.
The car drove past the body.
The next section of the road, the corpse was standing in the middle of the road.
The car passed through the corpse smoothly. The corpse passed by Ye Zun’s side.
The young police officer glanced at them. “We have to find him first, or his sister.”
“Don’t worry,” the inspector said while driving, “People who live in that kind of town are all acquaintances. If a stranger comes, everyone will quickly find out.”
Ye Zun was silent.
From the rearview mirror, there were two people sitting in the back seat of the car: a young police officer and a corpse that no one could see, except for Ye Zun.
The corpse sat right behind Ye Zun.
It was almost seven o’clock when they reached the town.
The grey sky was getting even darker.
Ye Zun got out of the car and saw the grey corpse still sitting there.
They entered the small town police station, but there were only the people who were on duty.
“Where is everyone else?”
“We received a report, everyone’s on site.”
The inspector was surprised. “Is it a corpse that came down the river?”
“No, one was dug out by a dog on the mountain.”
It was hard to see if the inspector was disappointed.
“There’s not enough manpower right now, but I can help you contact the nearby residents for a preliminary investigation. If you’re not in a hurry, it’s best to wait for them to come back tomorrow.”
Ye Zun glanced outside. “We’ll do it tonight ba, there aren’t many residents here, we can check them one by one.”
The inspector nodded. “We’ll do that.”
When he walked out of the police station, the corpse sitting in the car was gone.
Ye Zun didn’t know the reason for his appearance and disappearance, but one thing was for sure; when he appeared, if they didn’t have any new ideas or make any progress on the case, the corpse would randomly attack someone around him.
They had to check the houses one by one. The town had a permanent population of more than one hundred, and there were less than three hundred citizens.
They spent five minutes on an average household. The entire job would take almost eight hours.
Halfway through the search, it was already very late.
The inspector said, “This family is an acquaintance and friend of mine. It’s already so late, let’s all sleep here for the night and continue tomorrow.”
A body was just found on a nearby mountain. It was a time when everyone was uneasy and the chances of them being cooperative if they knocked on their doors in the middle of the night were also very low.
Ye Zun nodded.
The inspector’s friend was very rich. This family had a villa covering a large area.
“Everyone in this town is quite rich. Of course, this guy is especially so.”
The inspector led them in, and greeted the host and hostess* with a smile.
[T/N: will be using these instead of male/female homeowner]
“I didn’t know you were coming.” The host was gentle and elegant, with the air of an artist and a businessman. He warmly embraced the inspector. “If I did, we would’ve prepared in advance, to properly entertain an old friend.”
“No need, this is already very good.”The inspector introduced Ye Zun to the host. “This is the detective, assisting us in investigating a case.”
The host raised his eyebrows slightly and smiled politely, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Despite the accident, everyone was well received for dinner.
“Detective, you don’t seem to have a good appetite?” The hostess smiled warmly.
“It is very delicious. I just have an upset stomach.”
Ye Zun glanced at the corpse sitting between him and the hostess, who suddenly appeared during dinner.
After dinner.
The host kissed the hostess’ forehead. “Go and sleep with the kids first ba, I want to chat with my old friend.”
The hostess nodded. “I’ll make coffee and supper for you two, let the children sleep with their aunt* ba.“
[T/N: dad’s sister]
The two children were only four or five years old, both very well-behaved. Their aunt was a young girl with a dull personality. She didn’t say anything throughout the night except for a ‘hello’ the first time they met at dinner.
The children did not resist and obediently followed the young girl upstairs.
“I’ve collected a good stock, let’s enjoy it together.” The host smiled mysteriously, looking eager to try.
The detective glanced at Ye Zun.
The host smiled and invited Ye Zun, “Are you coming too?”
“What?”
“A little hobby between men.”
The detective said to the host, “Alright, there is no need to pull someone you just met into sharing your bad taste.”
Ye Zun: “Thank you, but I want to rest early.”
The host smiled. “That’s a pity, but if there are too many people, this kind of thing is not exciting enough.”
With a mysterious air in their eyes, he and the inspector went to the host’s small screening room*.
[T/N: it’s a home cinema im guessing]
The hostess smiled and shook her head, as if she didn’t care much about their behaviour.
Ye Zun bid her goodnight and went to take a shower.
When he came out, he saw the grey corpse standing in the middle of the bedroom.
Not wanting to fall asleep alone in this situation, Ye Zun walked out of the room and went to find the other young police officer.
The corpse did not follow and was left behind the other side of the door by Ye Zun.
After Ye Zun left, the motionless corpse on the other side of the door turned around, facing the direction Ye Zun left.
It was very strange. Although the bedroom was not small, and the guest rooms were grouped together, Ye Zun did not find the young police officer.
The villa was quiet.
“You’d better go back to your room and sleep well.” There was the voice of a child.
Ye Zun raised his eyes and saw a little boy in pyjamas sitting on the steps leading upstairs. He looked about four or five years old and spoke seriously, like a little adult.
Most of the lights in the bedrooms were turned off and the lights in some other areas diffused over. The surrounding area was not too dark nor too bright.
“Why?” Ye Zun looked at the child who shouldn’t be there.
“People who don’t sleep will disappear.”
Ye Zun paused slightly. “Disappear?”
The little boy looked somewhere not far behind Ye Zun then stood up and shuffled back, hiding at the corner of the stairs. He said a strange sentence, “Baba’s movie will eat people.”
With that, he ran upstairs with a pit pat pit pat.
The young girl who came out facing him had a serious and slightly calm face. She picked him up and walked to the bedroom without saying a word. When she saw Ye Zun downstairs she acted as if she hadn’t seen him, not giving a single greeting.
Ye Zun looked upstairs, then at the private screening room where the inspector and the host entered.
When he turned around, he saw that the grey corpse had appeared to stand not far from him at some point.
Following the gaze of the corpse, he landed on the curtain hanging at the entrance of the home theatre.
A movie that can eat people? What does that mean?
Ye Zun walked over and lightly placed his fingers on the doorknob.
The door wasn’t locked from the inside and opened with a slight twist.
This door wasn’t the only one in the theatre. Looking in from the doorway, in addition to the small projection hall, the interior also led to other rooms.
There were posters and heavy curtains, like an old-fashioned darkroom.
There was the sound of a movie playing inside, but a brief scan over the room revealed an empty interior. No one was there.
Ye Zun opened the door and walked in, then closed it lightly.
The host and the inspector were not in the screening room, and who knows where they went.
There was dim light in the screening room and a plot playing out on the screen, with the sound turned down very low.
The scene showed two men, one sitting on a chair and the other standing with his back to the camera.
The camera was fixed, showing the whole body of the sitting man. For the man facing away from the camera, only his waist and back were exposed.
Just the view of his waist and back gave people an outstanding feeling, like an elegant beast wearing a suit.
The contradictory composition and the mysterious, tense atmosphere instantly caught Ye Zun’s attention. He stood there, watching.
In the movie, the man in the suit stepped aside, and the camera fully captured the man on the chair.
The man sitting in the chair was a middle-aged man with iron-grey hair and a wrinkled face, but he didn’t look very old or weak.
He wasn’t sitting on the chair, he was strapped to it.
The parts where the hands and feet were in close contact with the chair were carefully tied with hemp rope. The rope was tied very carefully. The person who did it seemed to be very patient with a slight obsessive-compulsive disorder, and the rope must be wrapped symmetrically and neatly.
It made Ye Zun let out a short breath of air. In the next scene, the ruffian in the suit showed his true colours. He was a European or American with a deep silhouette, slightly handsome but dangerous.
He smiled calmly, taking his time. The silver tray was full of various small scissors and other lethal weapons.
He placed his fingers on the speechless middle-aged man’s head, like an adult stroking a pet’s hair. “Do not fret, I will cherish you well.”
Ye Zun thought it was an adult movie at first; when he saw that it could be a taboo performance between two men, he was a little worried about the hostess’ marriage.
But when he continued watching, he noticed that things were different from what he thought.
This was indeed a taboo movie, and it was indeed two men who were performing, but it seemed to be different from what he thought.
Ye Zun turned his eyes away, covering his mouth, feeling a little nauseous.
The film was quiet during the run. Except for the occasional low voices of the ruffian in the suit, and the faint muffled voice from the middle-aged man’s throat, there were no special sounds.
But Ye Zun couldn’t continue watching. He didn’t want to stay here for a moment longer.
However, when he wanted to go out, he found the grey corpse standing at the door, watching the movie with eyes like dusty glass marbles.
Ye Zun couldn’t turn a blind eye and walk through the corpse, so he could only stand there.
The movie continued.
Although taboo movies will never be released on the market, this film was not about sex, but about crime.
The images were not bloody, just scary.
The story was not complicated. The man in the grey striped suit was undoubtedly a psychotic murderer. He kidnapped the middle-aged male victim and locked him in his secret studio. Like an artist creating an artwork, he used his precise methods and tools to peel off the man’s skin layer by layer. During the whole process, the middle-aged man remained awake and alive.
The footage was long and detailed, without the gimmicks used in cinema, and the entire skinning process and techniques were recorded without any cuts. It seemed that compared to the crime and story pictured, the focus of the film was to show how to peel off the skin of a living person without leaving any lethal damage.
What disgusted Ye Zun was that there was not a trace of blood in the movie.
The skin carrying fine wrinkles was completely peeled off. When the texture of the skin was separated from the layer beneath, there were many small dots of fat stuck together. The man used a special tool and commented to the camera, patiently explaining and demonstrating with the same patience as a tutor, how to scrape off the fat finely without breaking the skin. The thin layer that was scraped out was like foam.
He peeled off his eyelids, and said in a familiar and confident tone, “During this process, there are many dense pain nerves all over the area, more than a million. This action will stimulate these nerves infinitely. He must be feeling the pain completely and thoroughly.”
Ye Zun turned his back to the screen, unable to take another look.
How painful that must be.
It was the first time he felt that it might be the right thing to do to let the victim die. The process of being skinned alive was truly disgusting and horrifying.
The grey corpse blocked the exit and Ye Zun couldn’t go out, so he immediately found the remote on the table and pressed it a few times all over until the screen went black.
He clutched his throat, panting slightly. The feeling of nausea and fear never dissipated.
After the movie was turned off, subtle voices emerged.
Someone was talking in the next room.
“…it really is a work of art…I don’t know how to pull off that technique, I can’t do it.”
“…it’s just a movie.”
“Haha, do you really think so? Why do I think it looks like a real skinning enthusiast filmed his process to communicate with his colleagues?”
“The camera captured his face, so it can only be an actor.”
“…it doesn’t matter…you sound like someone is actually going to call the police…”
“…how did you get your hands on it?”
“We have our own group where we can share our hobbies…”
The latter of the conversation could not be heard clearly and there was a brief pause.
Without warning, the curtain suddenly lifted.
Ye Zun froze for a moment.
The house host who lifted the curtain and came out was also stunned briefly, as if he didn’t expect that there would be anyone here.
The host was wearing a shirt and suit pants, holding a tray with a lot of strange props on it, small scissors, silver spoons, small knives…all kinds of things, slightly similar to those in the movie.
Ye Zun took a step back.
The host smiled. He walked over disapprovingly, and put down the things in his hands.
“What’s wrong, you couldn’t sleep and wanted to watch a movie together?”
He turned on the movie with a calm expression and fast forwarded.
The fast-forward and jumping scenes let Ye Zun roughly understand the whole plot, along with the fact that the long skinning process lasted the entire movie’s runtime.
“This kind of movie…”
“Better than horror, or any thriller crime movies, isn’t it? A pseudo-documentary, something that looks like the real thing, but, it’s just a movie.”
“Why do you like watching this kind of movie?”
The host smiled. “Some people like to ride roller coasters, some people like hang gliding, some people like climbing mountains, some people like crime stories, I like to watch this kind of movie. Is that a problem? It’s just a movie, it’s made for people to watch. It’s more thrilling and exciting. I felt the same discomfort as you when I watched it for the first time, but when I’m stressed, putting it on relieves the pressure.”
Ye Zun glanced at the tray by his hand. “Like this ah.”
The host also swept his eyes over the things he brought out, smiled and said naturally, “In my own home, this little hobby is just like collecting props from the movie. How about it, would you like to watch it with me?”
“No need. Good night.”
The host watched Ye Zun walk out of the screening room, and said slowly, “Good night.”
……
The corpse at the entrance of the screening room had disappeared.
Ye Zun didn’t let go of the vigilance on his back until he walked out completely.
Then, he saw the hostess busying herself in the kitchen.
“Can’t sleep? Would you like a cup of coffee?” The hostess showed a beautiful smile.
Ye Zun looked at her. “Can we talk? There’s some important things I’d like to say, you can choose a safer place.”
The hostess was a little at a loss. “Oh, this way, please.”
The two walked a little further to a room that was very close to the living room.
Although the other said that no one would disturb them, Ye Zun was not sure about the sound insulation in the room.
He lowered his voice. “Do you know anything about your husband’s interests?”
The hostess smiled. “Those movies? To tell you the truth, it’s a little awkward, but then I thought about it, and how I also have my own little hobbies. And, they’re just hobbies. It’s better than him going out to play with other women, or watching some nasty movies. He is also under a lot of pressure at work, and it’s good to have some channels to relieve the pressure. In our everyday life, he is a good person, and he is very kind to children and animals.”
Ye Zun looked at her solemnly, his tone very calm, “You should look at his expression when he watches those movies. A radiant and glowing smile takes over his face, turning a blind eye to the pain of the victims, regarding the psychotic murderer in the movie as an idol and mentor. He watches those movies like he’s learning in class, and he’s even prepared the same type of surgical instruments.”
The woman was silent, and there was not much surprise on her face. She was apparently not as indifferent as she said.
“With all due respect, your husband’s behaviour points to him having something similar to an antisocial personality disorder. If your relationship has always been good, that is good, but if something changes, what will he do? His love for the psychotic murderer in the movie has already spilled over into reality. The tools are ready, and he only needs one victim for him to practise on. Are you a housewife?”
The woman was silent for a long time. “Actually, I have a hunch, and I also know that this is wrong. I don’t care about his behaviour, but the two children… I always feel that they seem to know something, and their personalities are a bit strange. My husband and I have a similar family background. From when we fell in love to getting married, our relationship has always been very good. Apart from this hobby, he is flawless.”
Ye Zun: “You can talk about this matter with your side of the family and listen to their opinions.”
The woman covered her face with her fingers. “I will tell my family. I have a younger sister who is a psychologist, I’ve already made some hints to her.”
Obviously the results were not ideal.
“Do you have any plans?”
The woman shook her head, looking exhausted. “Really, I’ve stayed at home for too long, and I’ve grown stupid. I have no social competitiveness, but I will take my two children out of this house and live somewhere, and try to find a job.”
Ye Zun: “Don’t reveal your plans. If you want to divorce and move away, you should discuss it with your family in advance. After ensuring that it is completely safe and that he won’t be able find you, then you can bring up the divorce. Don’t provoke him.”
“I understand, thank you, this kind of thing… It’s always been on my mind, but there is no one to discuss this with, so I have been procrastinating.”
“Discuss it with your family first ba.” Ye Zun was constantly very vigilant, worried that the host outside the room would overhear their conversation.
The way the host looked at his wife was undoubtedly with love, but he might not hold much patience for someone like himself who encouraged his wife to leave him.
He was certain that man was not only a fan of psychotic killers, but he was probably testing things himself. Those kinds of eyes and that temperament were not the eyes of normal people.
The question was, Ye Zun saw this, but did the inspector?
As the host’s friend, the inspector’s credibility suddenly became questionable.
Ye Zun came out, but there was no one outside the room. He walked near the screening room; the door seemed not to be closed properly and there was the audio from a movie that escaped the room. It seemed that someone was inside, watching.
He walked quietly upstairs to the bedroom.
The corpse did not reappear that night, and there was nothing unusual that happened either.
When the sun just rose, Ye Zun woke up, washed up, and went downstairs.
The hostess and host, the two children and the young girl were already up and eating breakfast.
“You’re up.”
Seeing Ye Zun, the hostess stood up to serve him breakfast, but Ye Zun refused.
The host read the newspaper and said elegantly, “The inspector is still sleeping. Will you go to work first, or wait for him to wake up?”
“I’ll head off to work with the other police officer first.”
The hostess said with a smile, “I will send this gentleman off.”
On the way to the front door, the hostess’ face darkened, showing an unhappy and unwelcoming indifference.
“After you left last night, I had a long phone conversation with that psychologist sister of mine. She said that my husband doesn’t have that antisocial personality disorder you mentioned at all. He is normal, he just has a little hobby that is different from ordinary people. He hasn’t made any moves or has any intentions to hurt anyone. I hope that in the future, you won’t go around spouting those kinds of nonsensical layman terms. It will affect my husband’s reputation.”
Ye Zun was silent for a while, and apologised steadily, ” I am very sorry.”
“I forgive you, since you meant well. As long as you remember not to say it again.”
Ye Zun looked at her. “Your husband doesn’t know what we discussed, right?”
The hostess looked at him, raising her eyebrows slightly. “Of course.”
Ye Zun glanced into the house behind her. “Where’s that young police officer?”
The hostess looked surprised. “He didn’t stay over at our house last night like you two, you should go to the police station, maybe he’s there.”
Ye Zun walked out. When he turned his head back, he saw the shut front door and the corpse standing behind the hostess in the yard.
……
The new day was still dark and foggy.
There were only people on duty in the police station.
“That officer? Didn’t see him, wasn’t he with you guys?”
Ye Zun suspected that something might have happened to that police officer but he didn’t have any evidence. Everything was just speculation, and he could only wait for the inspector to come back.
He waited from seven until ten.
“Maybe I can accompany you to investigate the remaining households first ba. Maybe the inspector won’t come here, so let’s do our work first.”
Ye Zun nodded. This way, they won’t waste time.
By ten o’clock in the morning, almost everyone in the town was awake.
After checking several houses in a row, they all said that no strangers have arrived in town as of recently.
“The only stranger here is you, Detective.”
Ye Zun looked at the person who spoke. “I heard that the police in the town found a dead body on the mountain, what do you think?”
“It might be someone travelling alone who went too far and had an accident.”
“No one has gone missing here?”
“No, we know everything that goes on around here. Even if something happens, we wouldn’t be stupid enough to turn a knife against our own people.”
“The people in this town seem to be very rich. Is everyone a native?”
“Of course not, almost everyone moved here later on. This is a resort town, the real estate is very expensive. All of us developed first and then moved over.”
“Who is the richest person here? Is it the owner of that house?”
“Yup, you got it, you can tell just by looking at the house, it’s very grand.”
“The hostess is very kind.” Ye Zun said, “Who knows what kind of person the host is, to be able to marry such a woman. “
“Hahahaha, they are all rich people. Everyone envies his wife even more ba. Her husband is handsome and devoted to her. He goes home as soon as he is done with outside business. He has no affair or scandals, he is good at making money and has good taste. He’s a good man.”
After asking several people in several households in a row, it confirmed that the male owner had a very good reputation.
It was almost noon, but the inspector had still not shown up.
Ye Zun looked at the police officer on duty who appeared with him. “Can you come with me to ask the inspector some questions? The hostess of that villa is very beautiful, it might cause some misunderstanding if I go alone.”
The police officer on duty looked very understanding. “This is because you are too handsome ba. If I was the host, I would be hostile to you too.”
Ye Zun didn’t speak.
The two walked towards the largest house in the northern part of the town together.
It was the male owner who opened the door, greeting them politely and enthusiastically, “Please come in, it’s almost noon, if you don’t mind, stay and have lunch together ba.“
The police officer on duty was obviously familiar with the local people. “Then I won’t be polite.”
Ye Zun stood at the doorway and looked in. He felt that the villa was unreasonably cold.
He walked in and took a seat in the living room.
The hostess busied herself, smiling gently and kindly without any abnormalities.
“Excuse me, is the inspector still here?”
The host smiled faintly. “He drank too much last night. He complained about having a headache after he had breakfast, so he went upstairs to sleep again. He should be down for lunch later. Would you like me to call him down?”
Ye Zun stood up. “Which floor is he on, I can wake him. You all can eat first ba.”
The host smiled and said the room number, 404.
The very moment Ye Zun stood up, he saw the disappearing corpse reappear in the room.
The corpse stood upright at the entrance of the stairs, glanced at Ye Zun with eyes like dusty glass beads. He was the first to walk upstairs.
The author has something to say: Ye Zun character in this part of the story is a bit strange, but there is a reason for it
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Walking corpse
It was grey everywhere, like a cloudy morning.
Ye Zun read the letter carefully, folded it neatly, and put it back into the pocket of his windbreaker.
On the barren riverside, there was nothing but the rocky river bed.
He walked towards the lone grey dusty suitcase that had a sense of presence and opened the suitcase again to examine the corpse inside.
The deceased was a man, young, neither thin nor fat. The surface of the body was intact, with no trauma that could be seen, and there was no sign of being assaulted. There were no traces of secretions from the mouth or nose, and the lips were pale in colour but had no obvious signs of poisoning.
The cause of death was unknown.
The skin was grey and pale, without obvious livor mortis. It was dry and soft like rubber.
In the box and on the body, there was no other information, nothing that can be used for identification.
Ye Zun stood up, found a pair of rubber gloves in his pocket, put them on smoothly, intending to peel off the clothes of the deceased for further inspection.
When he stood up to put on the rubber gloves, the already hazy river wilderness became foggy.
The fog was already there, and when one looked at it at a glance, the dead trees and long roads in the distance appeared boundless, desolate and dead in the grey.
The fog and wind came from the river, but also seemed to go into the river.
While Ye Zun was observing the direction of the wind, a greyish white hand stretched out from the suitcase behind him.
Hands, then arms, then the head, and then the whole body.
The dead body crawled out of the box.
The grey eyes of the corpse were lifeless, like dusty glass beads, reminiscent of the plastic mannequins in shops.
The corpse that crawled up did not do anything strange, nor did it attack Ye Zun.
He just stood up, walked past Ye Zun, and walked straight into the depths of the river.
When Ye Zun realised, he had already walked to the river.
The river was wide, deep, and murky, neither clear nor very cloudy.
Ye Zun didn’t do anything, just standing there and observing the corpse that had already walked towards the river.
Only after the corpse stood up did he discover that the man was tall, more than 1.8 metres tall, with normal short hair. The clothes on his body were simple, a thin long-sleeved shirt and trousers, dusty in colour, like a uniform that deliberately obscured his identity.
Clothes that were reminiscent of prison uniforms, or hospital patients’ gowns.
The corpse walked step by step, maintaining an established rhythm, towards the depths of the river.
There was a faint ripple in the grey water, but it settled quickly.
As if nothing happened.
In the middle of the river was a towering cliff, the top of which could not be seen at a glance. The water flowed towards the canyon on the side of the cliff and into the deep mountains.
The empty suitcase was like abandoned old trash, with nothing left inside.
With his back to the river, Ye Zun walked up towards the bank.
Withered and yellow weeds grew on the side of the road, looking extremely dehydrated, covered with a thick layer of dust.
The trunks of trees were thin, without a single leaf. Only stubby greyish brown branches stretched around.
This place was like a dry autumn in the north.
The road was also dusty, not paved with cement and asphalt, but a dirt road. No footprints could be seen on the hard road.
There was no building in sight, forward or back.
Ye Zun stood there for a few minutes, then walked to the right.
After walking for a long, long time, maybe for an hour, he saw an asphalt road.
……
An unfamiliar young man came to the police station in the town.
“Hello, I want to report a crime. I found a dead body.”
They took a police car to go to the scene, which was much faster than Ye Zun walking by himself.
The police station’s recovery team for bodies started scouting near the suitcase, but the river was deep and wide, and the downstream led to a reservoir in the deep mountains of the canyon, so the corpses were not recovered quickly.
“Let me ask some questions about you ba, how did you find the body.”
Ye Zun handed the folded letter to the inspector.
The inspector’s expression was also grey under the windbreaker, and he read the letter slowly. “What is the name of the client?”
“I don’t know. I am only certain that it is a young male.”
“Why were you here?”
When he was at the police station, Ye Zun had observed that there were no mobile phones used in this area. All calls were made using long-distance landlines.
He was silent for a while, and said calmly, “I received a commission, someone asked me to meet there. When I got there, I saw the letter.”
The inspector’s expression was undisturbed. “The letter said that the body was in the suitcase, why did it appear in the river?”
Ye Zun: “Maybe someone passing nearby saw it and was afraid of causing trouble, so they threw the body into the river.”
The inspector looked at him. “So, there are no witnesses, no body, only a letter.”
“Someone died. I saw the corpse.” Ye Zun’s eyes were rational and calm. “The deceased was male, between twenty and thirty years old, over 1.8 metres tall, well-proportioned, neither fat nor thin, wearing a greyish blue long-sleeved shirt and trousers of the same colour, with a black buzz cut. Maybe a hospital patient, maybe a prisoner.”
The inspector watched him. “There is no body, and we have not seen your client.”
Ye Zun looked back at him. “The body probably weighed about 70 kilograms. The suitcase was very large and heavy, and he had difficulty carrying it alone. Check the vehicles, hotels, and train stations along the route. Young people carrying such suitcases should be a rare occurrence.”
A young police officer walked over from not far away, whispered a few words to the inspector, and briefly rested his eyes on Ye Zun.
The young police officer’s eyes were bright, but his entire body was also grey.
Ye Zun stood beside the police car and looked at them. “If there is not enough manpower, I will go with you.”
They stopped talking and looked at each other, as if they were assessing something.
On the other side of the police car, a figure came out silently and stopped beside the two policemen who were unaware.
Ye Zun’s ring finger flicked unconsciously.
The figure that walked over was grey, 1.8 metres in height, with black hair and a cropped cut, neither fat nor thin, wearing a thin long-sleeved shirt and trousers in a familiar greyish-blue colour.
It was the body that was supposed to be salvaged.
The surface of the corpse was dry, and the eyes like dusty glass beads were lifeless. Standing beside the police, it followed the men’s eyes and watched Ye Zun together.
Ye Zun pressed his fingers on the car* with a slight force. “The body…the body hasn’t been recovered yet?”
[T/N: raws said table but I’m pretty sure they’re still in the middle of nowhere, so, car it is]
“Isn’t it obvious, not yet.”
The corpse’s right hand rose and placed itself on the shoulder of the young police officer who answered.
The young police officer was looking at Ye Zun, unaware of the hand on his shoulder.
The inspector said, “There hasn’t been any progress for the time being.”
As soon as his words fell, the corpse’s left hand also rose and was placed on the young police officer’s other shoulder, and slowly moved to meet in the middle.
Ye Zun looked at them with cold eyes. “Why would he stop there? Carrying such a heavy suitcase, walking in such a place, when he suddenly realised that the suitcase had been switched by someone, and only then did he find that the contents inside had turned into a body?”
The corpse’s fingers that rested on the young police officer’s neck stopped.
The inspector’s face was very calm and quiet. “I don’t know. You should ask your client.”
The lifeless body began to exert force.
The young police officer swallowed several times, subconsciously adjusted the neckline of his clothes with his fingers, and opened his mouth to breathe, as if he was suddenly short of breath, somewhat unable to circulate air.
The light in Ye Zun’s eyes sharpened. “So, he probably didn’t arrive there first before finding the corpse by accident. On the contrary, he already knew what was in the box. On the road or in the train, while he was in the crowd, he discovered the abnormality in the box. He must have been panicked and frightened, so he got off the train in advance and deliberately chose to open the box in such a deserted place to check. After confirming that there was a corpse inside, he left the box and the letter behind in that place.”
The two policemen exchanged a look and continued to observe him with surprise in their eyes.
The corpse behind the young police officer stopped its movements. There was no emotion in eyes that were like glass beads.
Ye Zun continued, “Why did he know no one inhabited that area? It must be difficult to drag a suitcase containing a 70 kilogram corpse along that road. I walked it for almost an hour and it was deserted the whole way. The corpse can be dumped anywhere along the road. Why did he choose such a place?”
Inspector: “……”
Ye Zun: “He must be very familiar with the place, and he didn’t walk there like me. He was driven by a car for a while, and he got off temporarily to confirm that there was a body in the suitcase. After he checked, he left the suitcase and the letter at the place he chose. Then he continued to walk home alone. With the poor condition of the road, there were very few vehicles and people passing by. He chose to get off at that place, so he would need to walk a long way. His house must be in a nearby village. Not too close because he doesn’t want to cause trouble, but not too far because he knows the terrain of the area well enough.”
Ye Zun didn’t give them time to interrupt and immediately followed with, “Go and investigate, college students, or young men who have just graduated, who got out of a long-distance bus or train station, carrying a large and heavy suitcase, transferring to a small passenger car, getting off temporarily, with an urgent matter at home… Just follow these clues to investigate, you will find the client in no time.”
The corpse’s hands loosened from the young police officer’s neck they naturally fell to the sides.
The inspector looked at Ye Zun. “You are very smart.”
“I am a detective.” Ye Zun looked into his eyes and watched the movement of the corpse out of the corner of his eye. He said slowly, “I know. As far as it looks, I am the most suspicious. As the client said in the letter, once he goes to the police, what he will encounter is the same suspicion I encounter now, so he was unwilling to report the crime. But he couldn’t leave the body alone, so he found me. He wrote to me, pretending to be an acquaintance, but he didn’t leave his name or contact information.”
The inspector didn’t speak. The two policemen looked at him together, one not expressing his opinion, the other thoughtful.
Ye Zun: “You guys can suspect me, and you can suspect him. As long as you investigate according to what I said, you will know that there is indeed a client, which can confirm that my words are true. If you find the body, the time and cause of death of the deceased can be determined. If the identity of the deceased is found, the truth will be found, and the innocence of my client will be proved.”
The inspector’s eyes were as calm as a goshawk. “Yes, everything will be clear.”
At some point, the corpse behind them disappeared.
Ye Zun looked at the inspector and said calmly, “You can suspect that I am the murderer, taking the initiative to report to the police after dumping the body, but you need to look at the evidence. These clues and information can confirm my words. I have given a way to prove myself. The identity of the victim is unknown the more time goes by the more difficult it is to trace back to the source. We don’t have much time, sir. Now, can I investigate the case with you?”
“Wait a moment.”
The inspector and the young police officer walked a little further, lit a cigarette, and chatted quietly for a while.
Not long after, the inspector walked over. The corners of the mouth on his cold face were pulled up politely.
“The body hasn’t been found yet, so we decided to assign people to follow your words and find the first witness, which is your client.” He paused, looking at Ye Zun with calm and steady eyes. “You will come with us. Your name is…Shen Yuan?”
“Yes.” Ye Zun looked at him, his voice untouched. “My name is Shen Yuan.”
……
Investigative work was meticulous and boring.
Starting from the train station, there was someone who did see that kind of big box, but they couldn’t remember the owner of the box.
“I’m very sorry, I do have the impression that this kind of box. I think it was a young man, but I don’t have any more information since it happened a few days ago… I can’t help you more than that.”
“Thank you, that is fine. If you remember anything else, please contact us in time.”
“I remember that kind of big box, he was wearing a black windbreaker. His face couldn’t be seen clearly in the dark. The box was too big so he had to pay extra, but he didn’t want to so our chat broke apart.”
“Where was he headed?”
“It seems to be here.” The speaker roughly drew on the map in the inspector’s hand. “He said he was headed here, but I’m not sure of the exact address. From what I heard, he should be going to his big sister’s house.”
The inspector looked at the map and told his colleagues, “You guys continue to investigate. I will go to this area to have a look with this detective*.”
[T/N: I’ll just be using ‘detective’ instead of ‘Mr Detective’ (zhentan-xiansheng), which is a more accurate translation of what they call our MC but that sounds goofy in the mouths of adults. Maybe I’ll use Detective-xiansheng if I forget though]
The sky gradually darkened.
The grey world was getting darker.
The inspector drove the police car and Ye Zun sat in the front passenger seat.
The young police officer sat in the back row.
“Any ideas?” the inspector asked.
“He was in a hurry to go home, at least that’s what the letter said.” Ye Zun said, “If his business is over, maybe he will make a report and contact the local police.”
The young police officer in the back row made a call to the local police station and quickly hung up. “He hasn’t called the police yet.”
Ye Zun didn’t speak anymore. His attention was focused up ahead.
On the side of the road ahead stood a familiar dusty corpse which suddenly appeared, standing lifelessly by the side of the road.
The car drove past the body.
The next section of the road, the corpse was standing in the middle of the road.
The car passed through the corpse smoothly. The corpse passed by Ye Zun’s side.
The young police officer glanced at them. “We have to find him first, or his sister.”
“Don’t worry,” the inspector said while driving, “People who live in that kind of town are all acquaintances. If a stranger comes, everyone will quickly find out.”
Ye Zun was silent.
From the rearview mirror, there were two people sitting in the back seat of the car: a young police officer and a corpse that no one could see, except for Ye Zun.
The corpse sat right behind Ye Zun.
It was almost seven o’clock when they reached the town.
The grey sky was getting even darker.
Ye Zun got out of the car and saw the grey corpse still sitting there.
They entered the small town police station, but there were only the people who were on duty.
“Where is everyone else?”
“We received a report, everyone’s on site.”
The inspector was surprised. “Is it a corpse that came down the river?”
“No, one was dug out by a dog on the mountain.”
It was hard to see if the inspector was disappointed.
“There’s not enough manpower right now, but I can help you contact the nearby residents for a preliminary investigation. If you’re not in a hurry, it’s best to wait for them to come back tomorrow.”
Ye Zun glanced outside. “We’ll do it tonight ba, there aren’t many residents here, we can check them one by one.”
The inspector nodded. “We’ll do that.”
When he walked out of the police station, the corpse sitting in the car was gone.
Ye Zun didn’t know the reason for his appearance and disappearance, but one thing was for sure; when he appeared, if they didn’t have any new ideas or make any progress on the case, the corpse would randomly attack someone around him.
They had to check the houses one by one. The town had a permanent population of more than one hundred, and there were less than three hundred citizens.
They spent five minutes on an average household. The entire job would take almost eight hours.
Halfway through the search, it was already very late.
The inspector said, “This family is an acquaintance and friend of mine. It’s already so late, let’s all sleep here for the night and continue tomorrow.”
A body was just found on a nearby mountain. It was a time when everyone was uneasy and the chances of them being cooperative if they knocked on their doors in the middle of the night were also very low.
Ye Zun nodded.
The inspector’s friend was very rich. This family had a villa covering a large area.
“Everyone in this town is quite rich. Of course, this guy is especially so.”
The inspector led them in, and greeted the host and hostess* with a smile.
[T/N: will be using these instead of male/female homeowner]
“I didn’t know you were coming.” The host was gentle and elegant, with the air of an artist and a businessman. He warmly embraced the inspector. “If I did, we would’ve prepared in advance, to properly entertain an old friend.”
“No need, this is already very good.”The inspector introduced Ye Zun to the host. “This is the detective, assisting us in investigating a case.”
The host raised his eyebrows slightly and smiled politely, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Despite the accident, everyone was well received for dinner.
“Detective, you don’t seem to have a good appetite?” The hostess smiled warmly.
“It is very delicious. I just have an upset stomach.”
Ye Zun glanced at the corpse sitting between him and the hostess, who suddenly appeared during dinner.
After dinner.
The host kissed the hostess’ forehead. “Go and sleep with the kids first ba, I want to chat with my old friend.”
The hostess nodded. “I’ll make coffee and supper for you two, let the children sleep with their aunt* ba.“
[T/N: dad’s sister]
The two children were only four or five years old, both very well-behaved. Their aunt was a young girl with a dull personality. She didn’t say anything throughout the night except for a ‘hello’ the first time they met at dinner.
The children did not resist and obediently followed the young girl upstairs.
“I’ve collected a good stock, let’s enjoy it together.” The host smiled mysteriously, looking eager to try.
The detective glanced at Ye Zun.
The host smiled and invited Ye Zun, “Are you coming too?”
“What?”
“A little hobby between men.”
The detective said to the host, “Alright, there is no need to pull someone you just met into sharing your bad taste.”
Ye Zun: “Thank you, but I want to rest early.”
The host smiled. “That’s a pity, but if there are too many people, this kind of thing is not exciting enough.”
With a mysterious air in their eyes, he and the inspector went to the host’s small screening room*.
[T/N: it’s a home cinema im guessing]
The hostess smiled and shook her head, as if she didn’t care much about their behaviour.
Ye Zun bid her goodnight and went to take a shower.
When he came out, he saw the grey corpse standing in the middle of the bedroom.
Not wanting to fall asleep alone in this situation, Ye Zun walked out of the room and went to find the other young police officer.
The corpse did not follow and was left behind the other side of the door by Ye Zun.
After Ye Zun left, the motionless corpse on the other side of the door turned around, facing the direction Ye Zun left.
It was very strange. Although the bedroom was not small, and the guest rooms were grouped together, Ye Zun did not find the young police officer.
The villa was quiet.
“You’d better go back to your room and sleep well.” There was the voice of a child.
Ye Zun raised his eyes and saw a little boy in pyjamas sitting on the steps leading upstairs. He looked about four or five years old and spoke seriously, like a little adult.
Most of the lights in the bedrooms were turned off and the lights in some other areas diffused over. The surrounding area was not too dark nor too bright.
“Why?” Ye Zun looked at the child who shouldn’t be there.
“People who don’t sleep will disappear.”
Ye Zun paused slightly. “Disappear?”
The little boy looked somewhere not far behind Ye Zun then stood up and shuffled back, hiding at the corner of the stairs. He said a strange sentence, “Baba’s movie will eat people.”
With that, he ran upstairs with a pit pat pit pat.
The young girl who came out facing him had a serious and slightly calm face. She picked him up and walked to the bedroom without saying a word. When she saw Ye Zun downstairs she acted as if she hadn’t seen him, not giving a single greeting.
Ye Zun looked upstairs, then at the private screening room where the inspector and the host entered.
When he turned around, he saw that the grey corpse had appeared to stand not far from him at some point.
Following the gaze of the corpse, he landed on the curtain hanging at the entrance of the home theatre.
A movie that can eat people? What does that mean?
Ye Zun walked over and lightly placed his fingers on the doorknob.
The door wasn’t locked from the inside and opened with a slight twist.
This door wasn’t the only one in the theatre. Looking in from the doorway, in addition to the small projection hall, the interior also led to other rooms.
There were posters and heavy curtains, like an old-fashioned darkroom.
There was the sound of a movie playing inside, but a brief scan over the room revealed an empty interior. No one was there.
Ye Zun opened the door and walked in, then closed it lightly.
The host and the inspector were not in the screening room, and who knows where they went.
There was dim light in the screening room and a plot playing out on the screen, with the sound turned down very low.
The scene showed two men, one sitting on a chair and the other standing with his back to the camera.
The camera was fixed, showing the whole body of the sitting man. For the man facing away from the camera, only his waist and back were exposed.
Just the view of his waist and back gave people an outstanding feeling, like an elegant beast wearing a suit.
The contradictory composition and the mysterious, tense atmosphere instantly caught Ye Zun’s attention. He stood there, watching.
In the movie, the man in the suit stepped aside, and the camera fully captured the man on the chair.
The man sitting in the chair was a middle-aged man with iron-grey hair and a wrinkled face, but he didn’t look very old or weak.
He wasn’t sitting on the chair, he was strapped to it.
The parts where the hands and feet were in close contact with the chair were carefully tied with hemp rope. The rope was tied very carefully. The person who did it seemed to be very patient with a slight obsessive-compulsive disorder, and the rope must be wrapped symmetrically and neatly.
It made Ye Zun let out a short breath of air. In the next scene, the ruffian in the suit showed his true colours. He was a European or American with a deep silhouette, slightly handsome but dangerous.
He smiled calmly, taking his time. The silver tray was full of various small scissors and other lethal weapons.
He placed his fingers on the speechless middle-aged man’s head, like an adult stroking a pet’s hair. “Do not fret, I will cherish you well.”
Ye Zun thought it was an adult movie at first; when he saw that it could be a taboo performance between two men, he was a little worried about the hostess’ marriage.
But when he continued watching, he noticed that things were different from what he thought.
This was indeed a taboo movie, and it was indeed two men who were performing, but it seemed to be different from what he thought.
Ye Zun turned his eyes away, covering his mouth, feeling a little nauseous.
The film was quiet during the run. Except for the occasional low voices of the ruffian in the suit, and the faint muffled voice from the middle-aged man’s throat, there were no special sounds.
But Ye Zun couldn’t continue watching. He didn’t want to stay here for a moment longer.
However, when he wanted to go out, he found the grey corpse standing at the door, watching the movie with eyes like dusty glass marbles.
Ye Zun couldn’t turn a blind eye and walk through the corpse, so he could only stand there.
The movie continued.
Although taboo movies will never be released on the market, this film was not about sex, but about crime.
The images were not bloody, just scary.
The story was not complicated. The man in the grey striped suit was undoubtedly a psychotic murderer. He kidnapped the middle-aged male victim and locked him in his secret studio. Like an artist creating an artwork, he used his precise methods and tools to peel off the man’s skin layer by layer. During the whole process, the middle-aged man remained awake and alive.
The footage was long and detailed, without the gimmicks used in cinema, and the entire skinning process and techniques were recorded without any cuts. It seemed that compared to the crime and story pictured, the focus of the film was to show how to peel off the skin of a living person without leaving any lethal damage.
What disgusted Ye Zun was that there was not a trace of blood in the movie.
The skin carrying fine wrinkles was completely peeled off. When the texture of the skin was separated from the layer beneath, there were many small dots of fat stuck together. The man used a special tool and commented to the camera, patiently explaining and demonstrating with the same patience as a tutor, how to scrape off the fat finely without breaking the skin. The thin layer that was scraped out was like foam.
He peeled off his eyelids, and said in a familiar and confident tone, “During this process, there are many dense pain nerves all over the area, more than a million. This action will stimulate these nerves infinitely. He must be feeling the pain completely and thoroughly.”
Ye Zun turned his back to the screen, unable to take another look.
How painful that must be.
It was the first time he felt that it might be the right thing to do to let the victim die. The process of being skinned alive was truly disgusting and horrifying.
The grey corpse blocked the exit and Ye Zun couldn’t go out, so he immediately found the remote on the table and pressed it a few times all over until the screen went black.
He clutched his throat, panting slightly. The feeling of nausea and fear never dissipated.
After the movie was turned off, subtle voices emerged.
Someone was talking in the next room.
“…it really is a work of art…I don’t know how to pull off that technique, I can’t do it.”
“…it’s just a movie.”
“Haha, do you really think so? Why do I think it looks like a real skinning enthusiast filmed his process to communicate with his colleagues?”
“The camera captured his face, so it can only be an actor.”
“…it doesn’t matter…you sound like someone is actually going to call the police…”
“…how did you get your hands on it?”
“We have our own group where we can share our hobbies…”
The latter of the conversation could not be heard clearly and there was a brief pause.
Without warning, the curtain suddenly lifted.
Ye Zun froze for a moment.
The house host who lifted the curtain and came out was also stunned briefly, as if he didn’t expect that there would be anyone here.
The host was wearing a shirt and suit pants, holding a tray with a lot of strange props on it, small scissors, silver spoons, small knives…all kinds of things, slightly similar to those in the movie.
Ye Zun took a step back.
The host smiled. He walked over disapprovingly, and put down the things in his hands.
“What’s wrong, you couldn’t sleep and wanted to watch a movie together?”
He turned on the movie with a calm expression and fast forwarded.
The fast-forward and jumping scenes let Ye Zun roughly understand the whole plot, along with the fact that the long skinning process lasted the entire movie’s runtime.
“This kind of movie…”
“Better than horror, or any thriller crime movies, isn’t it? A pseudo-documentary, something that looks like the real thing, but, it’s just a movie.”
“Why do you like watching this kind of movie?”
The host smiled. “Some people like to ride roller coasters, some people like hang gliding, some people like climbing mountains, some people like crime stories, I like to watch this kind of movie. Is that a problem? It’s just a movie, it’s made for people to watch. It’s more thrilling and exciting. I felt the same discomfort as you when I watched it for the first time, but when I’m stressed, putting it on relieves the pressure.”
Ye Zun glanced at the tray by his hand. “Like this ah.”
The host also swept his eyes over the things he brought out, smiled and said naturally, “In my own home, this little hobby is just like collecting props from the movie. How about it, would you like to watch it with me?”
“No need. Good night.”
The host watched Ye Zun walk out of the screening room, and said slowly, “Good night.”
……
The corpse at the entrance of the screening room had disappeared.
Ye Zun didn’t let go of the vigilance on his back until he walked out completely.
Then, he saw the hostess busying herself in the kitchen.
“Can’t sleep? Would you like a cup of coffee?” The hostess showed a beautiful smile.
Ye Zun looked at her. “Can we talk? There’s some important things I’d like to say, you can choose a safer place.”
The hostess was a little at a loss. “Oh, this way, please.”
The two walked a little further to a room that was very close to the living room.
Although the other said that no one would disturb them, Ye Zun was not sure about the sound insulation in the room.
He lowered his voice. “Do you know anything about your husband’s interests?”
The hostess smiled. “Those movies? To tell you the truth, it’s a little awkward, but then I thought about it, and how I also have my own little hobbies. And, they’re just hobbies. It’s better than him going out to play with other women, or watching some nasty movies. He is also under a lot of pressure at work, and it’s good to have some channels to relieve the pressure. In our everyday life, he is a good person, and he is very kind to children and animals.”
Ye Zun looked at her solemnly, his tone very calm, “You should look at his expression when he watches those movies. A radiant and glowing smile takes over his face, turning a blind eye to the pain of the victims, regarding the psychotic murderer in the movie as an idol and mentor. He watches those movies like he’s learning in class, and he’s even prepared the same type of surgical instruments.”
The woman was silent, and there was not much surprise on her face. She was apparently not as indifferent as she said.
“With all due respect, your husband’s behaviour points to him having something similar to an antisocial personality disorder. If your relationship has always been good, that is good, but if something changes, what will he do? His love for the psychotic murderer in the movie has already spilled over into reality. The tools are ready, and he only needs one victim for him to practise on. Are you a housewife?”
The woman was silent for a long time. “Actually, I have a hunch, and I also know that this is wrong. I don’t care about his behaviour, but the two children… I always feel that they seem to know something, and their personalities are a bit strange. My husband and I have a similar family background. From when we fell in love to getting married, our relationship has always been very good. Apart from this hobby, he is flawless.”
Ye Zun: “You can talk about this matter with your side of the family and listen to their opinions.”
The woman covered her face with her fingers. “I will tell my family. I have a younger sister who is a psychologist, I’ve already made some hints to her.”
Obviously the results were not ideal.
“Do you have any plans?”
The woman shook her head, looking exhausted. “Really, I’ve stayed at home for too long, and I’ve grown stupid. I have no social competitiveness, but I will take my two children out of this house and live somewhere, and try to find a job.”
Ye Zun: “Don’t reveal your plans. If you want to divorce and move away, you should discuss it with your family in advance. After ensuring that it is completely safe and that he won’t be able find you, then you can bring up the divorce. Don’t provoke him.”
“I understand, thank you, this kind of thing… It’s always been on my mind, but there is no one to discuss this with, so I have been procrastinating.”
“Discuss it with your family first ba.” Ye Zun was constantly very vigilant, worried that the host outside the room would overhear their conversation.
The way the host looked at his wife was undoubtedly with love, but he might not hold much patience for someone like himself who encouraged his wife to leave him.
He was certain that man was not only a fan of psychotic killers, but he was probably testing things himself. Those kinds of eyes and that temperament were not the eyes of normal people.
The question was, Ye Zun saw this, but did the inspector?
As the host’s friend, the inspector’s credibility suddenly became questionable.
Ye Zun came out, but there was no one outside the room. He walked near the screening room; the door seemed not to be closed properly and there was the audio from a movie that escaped the room. It seemed that someone was inside, watching.
He walked quietly upstairs to the bedroom.
The corpse did not reappear that night, and there was nothing unusual that happened either.
When the sun just rose, Ye Zun woke up, washed up, and went downstairs.
The hostess and host, the two children and the young girl were already up and eating breakfast.
“You’re up.”
Seeing Ye Zun, the hostess stood up to serve him breakfast, but Ye Zun refused.
The host read the newspaper and said elegantly, “The inspector is still sleeping. Will you go to work first, or wait for him to wake up?”
“I’ll head off to work with the other police officer first.”
The hostess said with a smile, “I will send this gentleman off.”
On the way to the front door, the hostess’ face darkened, showing an unhappy and unwelcoming indifference.
“After you left last night, I had a long phone conversation with that psychologist sister of mine. She said that my husband doesn’t have that antisocial personality disorder you mentioned at all. He is normal, he just has a little hobby that is different from ordinary people. He hasn’t made any moves or has any intentions to hurt anyone. I hope that in the future, you won’t go around spouting those kinds of nonsensical layman terms. It will affect my husband’s reputation.”
Ye Zun was silent for a while, and apologised steadily, ” I am very sorry.”
“I forgive you, since you meant well. As long as you remember not to say it again.”
Ye Zun looked at her. “Your husband doesn’t know what we discussed, right?”
The hostess looked at him, raising her eyebrows slightly. “Of course.”
Ye Zun glanced into the house behind her. “Where’s that young police officer?”
The hostess looked surprised. “He didn’t stay over at our house last night like you two, you should go to the police station, maybe he’s there.”
Ye Zun walked out. When he turned his head back, he saw the shut front door and the corpse standing behind the hostess in the yard.
……
The new day was still dark and foggy.
There were only people on duty in the police station.
“That officer? Didn’t see him, wasn’t he with you guys?”
Ye Zun suspected that something might have happened to that police officer but he didn’t have any evidence. Everything was just speculation, and he could only wait for the inspector to come back.
He waited from seven until ten.
“Maybe I can accompany you to investigate the remaining households first ba. Maybe the inspector won’t come here, so let’s do our work first.”
Ye Zun nodded. This way, they won’t waste time.
By ten o’clock in the morning, almost everyone in the town was awake.
After checking several houses in a row, they all said that no strangers have arrived in town as of recently.
“The only stranger here is you, Detective.”
Ye Zun looked at the person who spoke. “I heard that the police in the town found a dead body on the mountain, what do you think?”
“It might be someone travelling alone who went too far and had an accident.”
“No one has gone missing here?”
“No, we know everything that goes on around here. Even if something happens, we wouldn’t be stupid enough to turn a knife against our own people.”
“The people in this town seem to be very rich. Is everyone a native?”
“Of course not, almost everyone moved here later on. This is a resort town, the real estate is very expensive. All of us developed first and then moved over.”
“Who is the richest person here? Is it the owner of that house?”
“Yup, you got it, you can tell just by looking at the house, it’s very grand.”
“The hostess is very kind.” Ye Zun said, “Who knows what kind of person the host is, to be able to marry such a woman. “
“Hahahaha, they are all rich people. Everyone envies his wife even more ba. Her husband is handsome and devoted to her. He goes home as soon as he is done with outside business. He has no affair or scandals, he is good at making money and has good taste. He’s a good man.”
After asking several people in several households in a row, it confirmed that the male owner had a very good reputation.
It was almost noon, but the inspector had still not shown up.
Ye Zun looked at the police officer on duty who appeared with him. “Can you come with me to ask the inspector some questions? The hostess of that villa is very beautiful, it might cause some misunderstanding if I go alone.”
The police officer on duty looked very understanding. “This is because you are too handsome ba. If I was the host, I would be hostile to you too.”
Ye Zun didn’t speak.
The two walked towards the largest house in the northern part of the town together.
It was the male owner who opened the door, greeting them politely and enthusiastically, “Please come in, it’s almost noon, if you don’t mind, stay and have lunch together ba.“
The police officer on duty was obviously familiar with the local people. “Then I won’t be polite.”
Ye Zun stood at the doorway and looked in. He felt that the villa was unreasonably cold.
He walked in and took a seat in the living room.
The hostess busied herself, smiling gently and kindly without any abnormalities.
“Excuse me, is the inspector still here?”
The host smiled faintly. “He drank too much last night. He complained about having a headache after he had breakfast, so he went upstairs to sleep again. He should be down for lunch later. Would you like me to call him down?”
Ye Zun stood up. “Which floor is he on, I can wake him. You all can eat first ba.”
The host smiled and said the room number, 404.
The very moment Ye Zun stood up, he saw the disappearing corpse reappear in the room.
The corpse stood upright at the entrance of the stairs, glanced at Ye Zun with eyes like dusty glass beads. He was the first to walk upstairs.
The author has something to say: Ye Zun character in this part of the story is a bit strange, but there is a reason for it
Walking corpseIt was grey everywhere, like a cloudy morning.Ye Zun read the letter carefully, folded it neatly, and put it back into the pocket of his windbreaker.On the barren riverside, there was nothing but the rocky river bed.He walked towards the lone grey dusty suitcase that had a sense of presence and opened the suitcase again to examine the corpse inside.The deceased was a man, young, neither thin nor fat. The surface of the body was intact, with no trauma that could be seen, and there was no sign of being assaulted. There were no traces of secretions from the mouth or nose, and the lips were pale in colour but had no obvious signs of poisoning.The cause of death was unknown.The skin was grey and pale, without obvious livor mortis. It was dry and soft like rubber.In the box and on the body, there was no other information, nothing that can be used for identification.Ye Zun stood up, found a pair of rubber gloves in his pocket, put them on smoothly, intending to peel off the clothes of the deceased for further inspection.When he stood up to put on the rubber gloves, the already hazy river wilderness became foggy.The fog was already there, and when one looked at it at a glance, the dead trees and long roads in the distance appeared boundless, desolate and dead in the grey.The fog and wind came from the river, but also seemed to go into the river.While Ye Zun was observing the direction of the wind, a greyish white hand stretched out from the suitcase behind him.Hands, then arms, then the head, and then the whole body.The dead body crawled out of the box.The grey eyes of the corpse were lifeless, like dusty glass beads, reminiscent of the plastic mannequins in shops.The corpse that crawled up did not do anything strange, nor did it attack Ye Zun.He just stood up, walked past Ye Zun, and walked straight into the depths of the river.When Ye Zun realised, he had already walked to the river.The river was wide, deep, and murky, neither clear nor very cloudy.Ye Zun didn't do anything, just standing there and observing the corpse that had already walked towards the river.Only after the corpse stood up did he discover that the man was tall, more than 1.8 metres tall, with normal short hair. The clothes on his body were simple, a thin long-sleeved shirt and trousers, dusty in colour, like a uniform that deliberately obscured his identity.Clothes that were reminiscent of prison uniforms, or hospital patients' gowns.The corpse walked step by step, maintaining an established rhythm, towards the depths of the river.There was a faint ripple in the grey water, but it settled quickly.As if nothing happened.In the middle of the river was a towering cliff, the top of which could not be seen at a glance. The water flowed towards the canyon on the side of the cliff and into the deep mountains.The empty suitcase was like abandoned old trash, with nothing left inside.With his back to the river, Ye Zun walked up towards the bank.Withered and yellow weeds grew on the side of the road, looking extremely dehydrated, covered with a thick layer of dust.The trunks of trees were thin, without a single leaf. Only stubby greyish brown branches stretched around.This place was like a dry autumn in the north.The road was also dusty, not paved with cement and asphalt, but a dirt road. No footprints could be seen on the hard road.There was no building in sight, forward or back.Ye Zun stood there for a few minutes, then walked to the right.After walking for a long, long time, maybe for an hour, he saw an asphalt road.An unfamiliar young man came to the police station in the town.Hello, I want to report a crime. I found a dead body.They took a police car to go to the scene, which was much faster than Ye Zun walking by himself.The police station's recovery team for bodies started scouting near the suitcase, but the river was deep and wide, and the downstream led to a reservoir in the deep mountains of the canyon, so the corpses were not recovered quickly.Let me ask some questions about youba, how did you find the body.Ye Zun handed the folded letter to the inspector.The inspector's expression was also grey under the windbreaker, and he read the letter slowly. What is the name of the client?I don't know. I am only certain that it is a young male.Why were you here?When he was at the police station, Ye Zun had observed that there were no mobile phones used in this area. All calls were made using long-distance landlines.He was silent for a while, and said calmly, I received a commission, someone asked me to meet there. When I got there, I saw the letter.The inspector's expression was undisturbed. The letter said that the body was in the suitcase, why did it appear in the river?Ye Zun: Maybe someone passing nearby saw it and was afraid of causing trouble, so they threw the body into the river.The inspector looked at him. So, there are no witnesses, no body, only a letter.Someone died. I saw the corpse. Ye Zun's eyes were rational and calm. The deceased was male, between twenty and thirty years old, over 1.8 metres tall, well-proportioned, neither fat nor thin, wearing a greyish blue long-sleeved shirt and trousers of the same colour, with a black buzz cut. Maybe a hospital patient, maybe a prisoner.The inspector watched him. There is no body, and we have not seen your client.Ye Zun looked back at him. The body probably weighed about 70 kilograms. The suitcase was very large and heavy, and he had difficulty carrying it alone. Check the vehicles, hotels, and train stations along the route. Young people carrying such suitcases should be a rare occurrence.A young police officer walked over from not far away, whispered a few words to the inspector, and briefly rested his eyes on Ye Zun.The young police officer's eyes were bright, but his entire body was also grey.Ye Zun stood beside the police car and looked at them. If there is not enough manpower, I will go with you.They stopped talking and looked at each other, as if they were assessing something.On the other side of the police car, a figure came out silently and stopped beside the two policemen who were unaware.Ye Zun's ring finger flicked unconsciously.The figure that walked over was grey, 1.8 metres in height, with black hair and a cropped cut, neither fat nor thin, wearing a thin long-sleeved shirt and trousers in a familiar greyish-blue colour.It was the body that was supposed to be salvaged.The surface of the corpse was dry, and the eyes like dusty glass beads were lifeless. Standing beside the police, it followed the men's eyes and watched Ye Zun together.Ye Zun pressed his fingers on the car* with a slight force. The bodythe body hasn't been recovered yet?T/N: raws said table but I'm pretty sure they're still in the middle of nowhere, so, car it isIsn't it obvious, not yet.The corpse's right hand rose and placed itself on the shoulder of the young police officer who answered.The young police officer was looking at Ye Zun, unaware of the hand on his shoulder.The inspector said, There hasn't been any progress for the time being.As soon as his words fell, the corpse's left hand also rose and was placed on the young police officer's other shoulder, and slowly moved to meet in the middle.Ye Zun looked at them with cold eyes. Why would he stop there? Carrying such a heavy suitcase, walking in such a place, when he suddenly realised that the suitcase had been switched by someone, and only then did he find that the contents inside had turned into a body?The corpse's fingers that rested on the young police officer's neck stopped.The inspector's face was very calm and quiet. I don't know. You should ask your client.The lifeless body began to exert force.The young police officer swallowed several times, subconsciously adjusted the neckline of his clothes with his fingers, and opened his mouth to breathe, as if he was suddenly short of breath, somewhat unable to circulate air.The light in Ye Zun's eyes sharpened. So, he probably didn't arrive there first before finding the corpse by accident. On the contrary, he already knew what was in the box. On the road or in the train, while he was in the crowd, he discovered the abnormality in the box. He must have been panicked and frightened, so he got off the train in advance and deliberately chose to open the box in such a deserted place to check. After confirming that there was a corpse inside, he left the box and the letter behind in that place.The two policemen exchanged a look and continued to observe him with surprise in their eyes.The corpse behind the young police officer stopped its movements. There was no emotion in eyes that were like glass beads.Ye Zun continued, Why did he know no one inhabited that area? It must be difficult to drag a suitcase containing a 70 kilogram corpse along that road. I walked it for almost an hour and it was deserted the whole way. The corpse can be dumped anywhere along the road. Why did he choose such a place?Inspector: Ye Zun: He must be very familiar with the place, and he didn't walk there like me. He was driven by a car for a while, and he got off temporarily to confirm that there was a body in the suitcase. After he checked, he left the suitcase and the letter at the place he chose. Then he continued to walk home alone. With the poor condition of the road, there were very few vehicles and people passing by. He chose to get off at that place, so he would need to walk a long way. His house must be in a nearby village. Not too close because he doesn't want to cause trouble, but not too far because he knows the terrain of the area well enough.Ye Zun didn't give them time to interrupt and immediately followed with, Go and investigate, college students, or young men who have just graduated, who got out of a long-distance bus or train station, carrying a large and heavy suitcase, transferring to a small passenger car, getting off temporarily, with an urgent matter at home Just follow these clues to investigate, you will find the client in no time.The corpse's hands loosened from the young police officer's neck they naturally fell to the sides.The inspector looked at Ye Zun. You are very smart.I am a detective. Ye Zun looked into his eyes and watched the movement of the corpse out of the corner of his eye. He said slowly, I know. As far as it looks, I am the most suspicious. As the client said in the letter, once he goes to the police, what he will encounter is the same suspicion I encounter now, so he was unwilling to report the crime. But he couldn't leave the body alone, so he found me. He wrote to me, pretending to be an acquaintance, but he didn't leave his name or contact information.The inspector didn't speak. The two policemen looked at him together, one not expressing his opinion, the other thoughtful.Ye Zun: You guys can suspect me, and you can suspect him. As long as you investigate according to what I said, you will know that there is indeed a client, which can confirm that my words are true. If you find the body, the time and cause of death of the deceased can be determined. If the identity of the deceased is found, the truth will be found, and the innocence of my client will be proved.The inspector's eyes were as calm as a goshawk. Yes, everything will be clear.At some point, the corpse behind them disappeared.Ye Zun looked at the inspector and said calmly, You can suspect that I am the murderer, taking the initiative to report to the police after dumping the body, but you need to look at the evidence. These clues and information can confirm my words. I have given a way to prove myself. The identity of the victim is unknown the more time goes by the more difficult it is to trace back to the source. We don't have much time, sir. Now, can I investigate the case with you?Wait a moment.The inspector and the young police officer walked a little further, lit a cigarette, and chatted quietly for a while.Not long after, the inspector walked over. The corners of the mouth on his cold face were pulled up politely.The body hasn't been found yet, so we decided to assign people to follow your words and find the first witness, which is your client. He paused, looking at Ye Zun with calm and steady eyes. You will come with us. Your name isShen Yuan?Yes. Ye Zun looked at him, his voice untouched. My name is Shen Yuan.Investigative work was meticulous and boring.Starting from the train station, there was someone who did see that kind of big box, but they couldn't remember the owner of the box.I'm very sorry, I do have the impression that this kind of box. I think it was a young man, but I don't have any more information since it happened a few days ago I can't help you more than that.Thank you, that is fine. If you remember anything else, please contact us in time.I remember that kind of big box, he was wearing a black windbreaker. His face couldn't be seen clearly in the dark. The box was too big so he had to pay extra, but he didn't want to so our chat broke apart.Where was he headed?It seems to be here. The speaker roughly drew on the map in the inspector's hand. He said he was headed here, but I'm not sure of the exact address. From what I heard, he should be going to his big sister's house.The inspector looked at the map and told his colleagues, You guys continue to investigate. I will go to this area to have a look with this detective*.T/N: I'll just be using detective' instead of Mr Detective' zhentan-xiansheng, which is a more accurate translation of what they call our MC but that sounds goofy in the mouths of adults. Maybe I'll use Detective-xiansheng if I forget thoughThe sky gradually darkened.The grey world was getting darker.The inspector drove the police car and Ye Zun sat in the front passenger seat.The young police officer sat in the back row.Any ideas? the inspector asked.He was in a hurry to go home, at least that's what the letter said. Ye Zun said, If his business is over, maybe he will make a report and contact the local police.The young police officer in the back row made a call to the local police station and quickly hung up. He hasn't called the police yet.Ye Zun didn't speak anymore. His attention was focused up ahead.On the side of the road ahead stood a familiar dusty corpse which suddenly appeared, standing lifelessly by the side of the road.The car drove past the body.The next section of the road, the corpse was standing in the middle of the road.The car passed through the corpse smoothly. The corpse passed by Ye Zun's side.The young police officer glanced at them. We have to find him first, or his sister.Don't worry, the inspector said while driving, People who live in that kind of town are all acquaintances. If a stranger comes, everyone will quickly find out.Ye Zun was silent.From the rearview mirror, there were two people sitting in the back seat of the car: a young police officer and a corpse that no one could see, except for Ye Zun.The corpse sat right behind Ye Zun.It was almost seven o'clock when they reached the town.The grey sky was getting even darker.Ye Zun got out of the car and saw the grey corpse still sitting there.They entered the small town police station, but there were only the people who were on duty.Where is everyone else?We received a report, everyone's on site.The inspector was surprised. Is it a corpse that came down the river?No, one was dug out by a dog on the mountain.It was hard to see if the inspector was disappointed.There's not enough manpower right now, but I can help you contact the nearby residents for a preliminary investigation. If you're not in a hurry, it's best to wait for them to come back tomorrow.Ye Zun glanced outside. We'll do it tonightba, there aren't many residents here, we can check them one by one.The inspector nodded. We'll do that.When he walked out of the police station, the corpse sitting in the car was gone.Ye Zun didn't know the reason for his appearance and disappearance, but one thing was for sure; when he appeared, if they didn't have any new ideas or make any progress on the case, the corpse would randomly attack someone around him.They had to check the houses one by one. The town had a permanent population of more than one hundred, and there were less than three hundred citizens.They spent five minutes on an average household. The entire job would take almost eight hours.Halfway through the search, it was already very late.The inspector said, This family is an acquaintance and friend of mine. It's already so late, let's all sleep here for the night and continue tomorrow.A body was just found on a nearby mountain. It was a time when everyone was uneasy and the chances of them being cooperative if they knocked on their doors in the middle of the night were also very low.Ye Zun nodded.The inspector's friend was very rich. This family had a villa covering a large area.Everyone in this town is quite rich. Of course, this guy is especially so.The inspector led them in, and greeted the host and hostess* with a smile.T/N: will be using these instead of male/female homeownerI didn't know you were coming. The host was gentle and elegant, with the air of an artist and a businessman. He warmly embraced the inspector. If I did, we would've prepared in advance, to properly entertain an old friend.No need, this is already very good.The inspector introduced Ye Zun to the host. This is the detective, assisting us in investigating a case.The host raised his eyebrows slightly and smiled politely, It's a pleasure to meet you.Despite the accident, everyone was well received for dinner.Detective, you don't seem to have a good appetite? The hostess smiled warmly.It is very delicious. I just have an upset stomach.Ye Zun glanced at the corpse sitting between him and the hostess, who suddenly appeared during dinner.After dinner.The host kissed the hostess' forehead. Go and sleep with the kids firstba, I want to chat with my old friend.The hostess nodded. I'll make coffee and supper for you two, let the children sleep with their aunt*ba.T/N: dad's sisterThe two children were only four or five years old, both very well-behaved. Their aunt was a young girl with a dull personality. She didn't say anything throughout the night except for a hello' the first time they met at dinner.The children did not resist and obediently followed the young girl upstairs.I've collected a good stock, let's enjoy it together. The host smiled mysteriously, looking eager to try.The detective glanced at Ye Zun.The host smiled and invited Ye Zun, Are you coming too?What?A little hobby between men.The detective said to the host, Alright, there is no need to pull someone you just met into sharing your bad taste.Ye Zun: Thank you, but I want to rest early.The host smiled. That's a pity, but if there are too many people, this kind of thing is not exciting enough.With a mysterious air in their eyes, he and the inspector went to the host's small screening room*.T/N: it's a home cinema im guessingThe hostess smiled and shook her head, as if she didn't care much about their behaviour.Ye Zun bid her goodnight and went to take a shower.When he came out, he saw the grey corpse standing in the middle of the bedroom.Not wanting to fall asleep alone in this situation, Ye Zun walked out of the room and went to find the other young police officer.The corpse did not follow and was left behind the other side of the door by Ye Zun.After Ye Zun left, the motionless corpse on the other side of the door turned around, facing the direction Ye Zun left.It was very strange. Although the bedroom was not small, and the guest rooms were grouped together, Ye Zun did not find the young police officer.The villa was quiet.You'd better go back to your room and sleep well. There was the voice of a child.Ye Zun raised his eyes and saw a little boy in pyjamas sitting on the steps leading upstairs. He looked about four or five years old and spoke seriously, like a little adult.Most of the lights in the bedrooms were turned off and the lights in some other areas diffused over. The surrounding area was not too dark nor too bright.Why? Ye Zun looked at the child who shouldn't be there.People who don't sleep will disappear.Ye Zun paused slightly. Disappear?The little boy looked somewhere not far behind Ye Zun then stood up and shuffled back, hiding at the corner of the stairs. He said a strange sentence, Baba's movie will eat people.With that, he ran upstairs with apit pat pit pat.The young girl who came out facing him had a serious and slightly calm face. She picked him up and walked to the bedroom without saying a word. When she saw Ye Zun downstairs she acted as if she hadn't seen him, not giving a single greeting.Ye Zun looked upstairs, then at the private screening room where the inspector and the host entered.When he turned around, he saw that the grey corpse had appeared to stand not far from him at some point.Following the gaze of the corpse, he landed on the curtain hanging at the entrance of the home theatre.A movie that can eat people? What does that mean?Ye Zun walked over and lightly placed his fingers on the doorknob.The door wasn't locked from the inside and opened with a slight twist.This door wasn't the only one in the theatre. Looking in from the doorway, in addition to the small projection hall, the interior also led to other rooms.There were posters and heavy curtains, like an old-fashioned darkroom.There was the sound of a movie playing inside, but a brief scan over the room revealed an empty interior. No one was there.Ye Zun opened the door and walked in, then closed it lightly.The host and the inspector were not in the screening room, and who knows where they went.There was dim light in the screening room and a plot playing out on the screen, with the sound turned down very low.The scene showed two men, one sitting on a chair and the other standing with his back to the camera.The camera was fixed, showing the whole body of the sitting man. For the man facing away from the camera, only his waist and back were exposed.Just the view of his waist and back gave people an outstanding feeling, like an elegant beast wearing a suit.The contradictory composition and the mysterious, tense atmosphere instantly caught Ye Zun's attention. He stood there, watching.In the movie, the man in the suit stepped aside, and the camera fully captured the man on the chair.The man sitting in the chair was a middle-aged man with iron-grey hair and a wrinkled face, but he didn't look very old or weak.He wasn't sitting on the chair, he was strapped to it.The parts where the hands and feet were in close contact with the chair were carefully tied with hemp rope. The rope was tied very carefully. The person who did it seemed to be very patient with a slight obsessive-compulsive disorder, and the rope must be wrapped symmetrically and neatly.It made Ye Zun let out a short breath of air. In the next scene, the ruffian in the suit showed his true colours. He was a European or American with a deep silhouette, slightly handsome but dangerous.He smiled calmly, taking his time. The silver tray was full of various small scissors and other lethal weapons.He placed his fingers on the speechless middle-aged man's head, like an adult stroking a pet's hair. Do not fret, I will cherish you well.Ye Zun thought it was an adult movie at first; when he saw that it could be a taboo performance between two men, he was a little worried about the hostess' marriage.But when he continued watching, he noticed that things were different from what he thought.This was indeed a taboo movie, and it was indeed two men who were performing, but it seemed to be different from what he thought.Ye Zun turned his eyes away, covering his mouth, feeling a little nauseous.The film was quiet during the run. Except for the occasional low voices of the ruffian in the suit, and the faint muffled voice from the middle-aged man's throat, there were no special sounds.But Ye Zun couldn't continue watching. He didn't want to stay here for a moment longer.However, when he wanted to go out, he found the grey corpse standing at the door, watching the movie with eyes like dusty glass marbles.Ye Zun couldn't turn a blind eye and walk through the corpse, so he could only stand there.The movie continued.Although taboo movies will never be released on the market, this film was not about sex, but about crime.The images were not bloody, just scary.The story was not complicated. The man in the grey striped suit was undoubtedly a psychotic murderer. He kidnapped the middle-aged male victim and locked him in his secret studio. Like an artist creating an artwork, he used his precise methods and tools to peel off the man's skin layer by layer. During the whole process, the middle-aged man remained awake and alive.The footage was long and detailed, without the gimmicks used in cinema, and the entire skinning process and techniques were recorded without any cuts. It seemed that compared to the crime and story pictured, the focus of the film was to show how to peel off the skin of a living person without leaving any lethal damage.What disgusted Ye Zun was that there was not a trace of blood in the movie.The skin carrying fine wrinkles was completely peeled off. When the texture of the skin was separated from the layer beneath, there were many small dots of fat stuck together. The man used a special tool and commented to the camera, patiently explaining and demonstrating with the same patience as a tutor, how to scrape off the fat finely without breaking the skin. The thin layer that was scraped out was like foam.He peeled off his eyelids, and said in a familiar and confident tone, During this process, there are many dense pain nerves all over the area, more than a million. This action will stimulate these nerves infinitely. He must be feeling the pain completely and thoroughly.Ye Zun turned his back to the screen, unable to take another look.How painful that must be.It was the first time he felt that it might be the right thing to do to let the victim die. The process of being skinned alive was truly disgusting and horrifying.The grey corpse blocked the exit and Ye Zun couldn't go out, so he immediately found the remote on the table and pressed it a few times all over until the screen went black.He clutched his throat, panting slightly. The feeling of nausea and fear never dissipated.After the movie was turned off, subtle voices emerged.Someone was talking in the next room.it really is a work of artI don't know how to pull off that technique, I can't do it.it's just a movie.Haha, do you really think so? Why do I think it looks like a real skinning enthusiast filmed his process to communicate with his colleagues?The camera captured his face, so it can only be an actor.it doesn't matteryou sound like someone is actually going to call the policehow did you get your hands on it?We have our own group where we can share our hobbiesThe latter of the conversation could not be heard clearly and there was a brief pause.Without warning, the curtain suddenly lifted.Ye Zun froze for a moment.The house host who lifted the curtain and came out was also stunned briefly, as if he didn't expect that there would be anyone here.The host was wearing a shirt and suit pants, holding a tray with a lot of strange props on it, small scissors, silver spoons, small knivesall kinds of things, slightly similar to those in the movie.Ye Zun took a step back.The host smiled. He walked over disapprovingly, and put down the things in his hands.What's wrong, you couldn't sleep and wanted to watch a movie together?He turned on the movie with a calm expression and fast forwarded.The fast-forward and jumping scenes let Ye Zun roughly understand the whole plot, along with the fact that the long skinning process lasted the entire movie's runtime.This kind of movieBetter than horror, or any thriller crime movies, isn't it? A pseudo-documentary, something that looks like the real thing, but, it's just a movie.Why do you like watching this kind of movie?The host smiled. Some people like to ride roller coasters, some people like hang gliding, some people like climbing mountains, some people like crime stories, I like to watch this kind of movie. Is that a problem? It's just a movie, it's made for people to watch. It's more thrilling and exciting. I felt the same discomfort as you when I watched it for the first time, but when I'm stressed, putting it on relieves the pressure.Ye Zun glanced at the tray by his hand. Like thisah.The host also swept his eyes over the things he brought out, smiled and said naturally, In my own home, this little hobby is just like collecting props from the movie. How about it, would you like to watch it with me?No need. Good night.The host watched Ye Zun walk out of the screening room, and said slowly, Good night.The corpse at the entrance of the screening room had disappeared.Ye Zun didn't let go of the vigilance on his back until he walked out completely.Then, he saw the hostess busying herself in the kitchen.Can't sleep? Would you like a cup of coffee? The hostess showed a beautiful smile.Ye Zun looked at her. Can we talk? There's some important things I'd like to say, you can choose a safer place.The hostess was a little at a loss. Oh, this way, please.The two walked a little further to a room that was very close to the living room.Although the other said that no one would disturb them, Ye Zun was not sure about the sound insulation in the room.He lowered his voice. Do you know anything about your husband's interests?The hostess smiled. Those movies? To tell you the truth, it's a little awkward, but then I thought about it, and how I also have my own little hobbies. And, they're just hobbies. It's better than him going out to play with other women, or watching some nasty movies. He is also under a lot of pressure at work, and it's good to have some channels to relieve the pressure. In our everyday life, he is a good person, and he is very kind to children and animals.Ye Zun looked at her solemnly, his tone very calm, You should look at his expression when he watches those movies. A radiant and glowing smile takes over his face, turning a blind eye to the pain of the victims, regarding the psychotic murderer in the movie as an idol and mentor. He watches those movies like he's learning in class, and he's even prepared the same type of surgical instruments.The woman was silent, and there was not much surprise on her face. She was apparently not as indifferent as she said.With all due respect, your husband's behaviour points to him having something similar to an antisocial personality disorder. If your relationship has always been good, that is good, but if something changes, what will he do? His love for the psychotic murderer in the movie has already spilled over into reality. The tools are ready, and he only needs one victim for him to practise on. Are you a housewife?The woman was silent for a long time. Actually, I have a hunch, and I also know that this is wrong. I don't care about his behaviour, but the two children I always feel that they seem to know something, and their personalities are a bit strange. My husband and I have a similar family background. From when we fell in love to getting married, our relationship has always been very good. Apart from this hobby, he is flawless.Ye Zun: You can talk about this matter with your side of the family and listen to their opinions.The woman covered her face with her fingers. I will tell my family. I have a younger sister who is a psychologist, I've already made some hints to her.Obviously the results were not ideal.Do you have any plans?The woman shook her head, looking exhausted. Really, I've stayed at home for too long, and I've grown stupid. I have no social competitiveness, but I will take my two children out of this house and live somewhere, and try to find a job.Ye Zun: Don't reveal your plans. If you want to divorce and move away, you should discuss it with your family in advance. After ensuring that it is completely safe and that he won't be able find you, then you can bring up the divorce. Don't provoke him.I understand, thank you, this kind of thing It's always been on my mind, but there is no one to discuss this with, so I have been procrastinating.Discuss it with your family firstba. Ye Zun was constantly very vigilant, worried that the host outside the room would overhear their conversation.The way the host looked at his wife was undoubtedly with love, but he might not hold much patience for someone like himself who encouraged his wife to leave him.He was certain that man was not only a fan of psychotic killers, but he was probably testing things himself. Those kinds of eyes and that temperament were not the eyes of normal people.The question was, Ye Zun saw this, but did the inspector?As the host's friend, the inspector's credibility suddenly became questionable.Ye Zun came out, but there was no one outside the room. He walked near the screening room; the door seemed not to be closed properly and there was the audio from a movie that escaped the room. It seemed that someone was inside, watching.He walked quietly upstairs to the bedroom.The corpse did not reappear that night, and there was nothing unusual that happened either.When the sun just rose, Ye Zun woke up, washed up, and went downstairs.The hostess and host, the two children and the young girl were already up and eating breakfast.You're up.Seeing Ye Zun, the hostess stood up to serve him breakfast, but Ye Zun refused.The host read the newspaper and said elegantly, The inspector is still sleeping. Will you go to work first, or wait for him to wake up?I'll head off to work with the other police officer first.The hostess said with a smile, I will send this gentleman off.On the way to the front door, the hostess' face darkened, showing an unhappy and unwelcoming indifference.After you left last night, I had a long phone conversation with that psychologist sister of mine. She said that my husband doesn't have that antisocial personality disorder you mentioned at all. He is normal, he just has a little hobby that is different from ordinary people. He hasn't made any moves or has any intentions to hurt anyone. I hope that in the future, you won't go around spouting those kinds of nonsensical layman terms. It will affect my husband's reputation.Ye Zun was silent for a while, and apologised steadily, I am very sorry.I forgive you, since you meant well. As long as you remember not to say it again.Ye Zun looked at her. Your husband doesn't know what we discussed, right?The hostess looked at him, raising her eyebrows slightly. Of course.Ye Zun glanced into the house behind her. Where's that young police officer?The hostess looked surprised. He didn't stay over at our house last night like you two, you should go to the police station, maybe he's there.Ye Zun walked out. When he turned his head back, he saw the shut front door and the corpse standing behind the hostess in the yard.The new day was still dark and foggy.There were only people on duty in the police station.That officer? Didn't see him, wasn't he with you guys?Ye Zun suspected that something might have happened to that police officer but he didn't have any evidence. Everything was just speculation, and he could only wait for the inspector to come back.He waited from seven until ten.Maybe I can accompany you to investigate the remaining households firstba. Maybe the inspector won't come here, so let's do our work first.Ye Zun nodded. This way, they won't waste time.By ten o'clock in the morning, almost everyone in the town was awake.After checking several houses in a row, they all said that no strangers have arrived in town as of recently.The only stranger here is you, Detective.Ye Zun looked at the person who spoke. I heard that the police in the town found a dead body on the mountain, what do you think?It might be someone travelling alone who went too far and had an accident.No one has gone missing here?No, we know everything that goes on around here. Even if something happens, we wouldn't be stupid enough to turn a knife against our own people.The people in this town seem to be very rich. Is everyone a native?Of course not, almost everyone moved here later on. This is a resort town, the real estate is very expensive. All of us developed first and then moved over.Who is the richest person here? Is it the owner of that house?Yup, you got it, you can tell just by looking at the house, it's very grand.The hostess is very kind. Ye Zun said, Who knows what kind of person the host is, to be able to marry such a woman. Hahahaha, they are all rich people. Everyone envies his wife even moreba. Her husband is handsome and devoted to her. He goes home as soon as he is done with outside business. He has no affair or scandals, he is good at making money and has good taste. He's a good man.After asking several people in several households in a row, it confirmed that the male owner had a very good reputation.It was almost noon, but the inspector had still not shown up.Ye Zun looked at the police officer on duty who appeared with him. Can you come with me to ask the inspector some questions? The hostess of that villa is very beautiful, it might cause some misunderstanding if I go alone.The police officer on duty looked very understanding. This is because you are too handsomeba. If I was the host, I would be hostile to you too.Ye Zun didn't speak.The two walked towards the largest house in the northern part of the town together.It was the male owner who opened the door, greeting them politely and enthusiastically, Please come in, it's almost noon, if you don't mind, stay and have lunch togetherba.The police officer on duty was obviously familiar with the local people. Then I won't be polite.Ye Zun stood at the doorway and looked in. He felt that the villa was unreasonably cold.He walked in and took a seat in the living room.The hostess busied herself, smiling gently and kindly without any abnormalities.Excuse me, is the inspector still here?The host smiled faintly. He drank too much last night. He complained about having a headache after he had breakfast, so he went upstairs to sleep again. He should be down for lunch later. Would you like me to call him down?Ye Zun stood up. Which floor is he on, I can wake him. You all can eat firstba.The host smiled and said the room number, 404.The very moment Ye Zun stood up, he saw the disappearing corpse reappear in the room.The corpse stood upright at the entrance of the stairs, glanced at Ye Zun with eyes like dusty glass beads. He was the first to walk upstairs.The author has something to say: Ye Zun character in this part of the story is a bit strange, but there is a reason for it
