Chapter 177: Corpse Manipulation (1/2)

While I was rescuing the victim, the suspect Chen Da was subdued by Xiaotao and the guards and they tried to interrogate him. I walked towards them and heard a guard explaining nervously, “I just kicked him a little… I didn’t even use that much strength, I swear!”

“Kicked him a little my ass!” cursed Xiaotao. “You’re going to the police station with me later!”

I asked her what happened exactly. It turned out that after subduing Chen Da, they couldn’t get him to say a single word. One of the guards lost their temper and kicked Chen Da in the stomach, which caused him to fall to the ground. When they checked, they found that he’d already stopped breathing.

I touched Chen Da’s carotid artery and confirmed that he was indeed dead. But the feel of his skin unnerved me. it felt dry and stiff, just like a corpse. I put my ears against his chest and listened. I was taken aback. I checked it again and again, then tried moving his joints.

At last, I sighed and announced, “This is a dead man!”

“Yeah,” said Xiaotao. “We know.”

“No, I mean…”

I looked around at the guards and paused. This would be another bizarre case. It would be better if I kept the details secret for now.

When the police arrived, Mr. Huang walked towards me holding a cane. He had just witnessed my actions in the chaos. He looked me up and down and asked in a strange voice, “What kind of family do you belong to, boy?”

It was the first time Xiaotao’s father ever spoke to me, so I naturally behaved as politely as I could.

“We’re just normal working people,” I answered.

Mr. Huang nodded and said, “You kept your calm very well in times of distress. You seem to be a capable young man.”

He then called Xiaotao to his side and said something to her. I didn’t hear what he said, but Xiaotao kept yelling back at him saying things like, “You have no right to intervene!” and “I will never marry him!”

A police officer went to Xiaotao to report something and she coldly declared, “We’ll talk later, Father. I have work to do.”

The police took the body away and we got into a police car. Xiaotao said, “Guess what my father just said to me? He told me to break up with you for the sake of the family business and marry that idiot.”

“Perhaps in the eyes of a businessman, financial benefits always outweigh love and affection…” I lamented.

“I’ve always hated being born into this family,” Xiaotao confessed. “I wish I was born in an ordinary family. By the way, what were you trying to say back then?”

“Right, it’s about the dead suspect. He seemed to have been dead for a week.”

“What?” Xiaotao exclaimed with alarm. “But how is that possible? He clearly died in front of me back then!”

“Yet his body and internal organs show the signs of rot that indicates he’s been dead for a week.”

“So he’s a walking corpse?” Xiaotao was dumbfounded.

“Have Chen Da and the head of Ronghua Pharmaceuticals ever been in conflict with each other before?” I asked.

“Not that I know of,” Xiaotao shook her head. “One had a delivery company, and the other sells drugs and medicine. They’re obviously not competitors. Besides, people with a public profile like Chen Da wouldn’t get his hands dirty and attack his enemy himself, much less in public!”

I called Dali and asked him to bring my tools to the police station.

“You’re gonna bother me even during the holidays?” he complained.

“Sorry,” I replied, “I’ll buy you a nice meal later.”

After arriving at the police station, Xiaotao told me to give her a minute because she’d like to change back into her normal clothes. I took off the watch that she gave me and said, “The act is over now, so take this back. I’m not used to wearing something so expensive.”

“Don’t be silly,” she laughed. “I told you it’s a gift! It’s yours now!”

I relented and put the watch in my pocket. Xiaotao was gone for a while and returned in her usual uniform.

“I can finally move freely again!” she remarked.