Chapter 96 Souvenirs, Xinli Hotel

"Chen Mo."

"Chen Mo."

Liu Qingwu called out twice in succession before he was able to bring Chen Mo back to his senses.

"You seem to have guessed who the owner of this footprint is, haven't you?"

Having been in the police force for most of his life, he could tell at a glance what Chen Mo was thinking based on his reaction.

But seeing him shake his head with an expression of disbelief, he couldn't be bothered to continue pressing him.

As the saying goes, there are a great many people who own this type of shoe.

"You all should look in the opposite direction of this footprint."

As soon as Liu Qingwu finished speaking, Xiao Song nodded and led his men away quickly.

It was at this moment, after the forensic examiner unzipped the suitcase, that an incredibly pungent stench of corpse rot erupted completely.

"Ugh!"

Sounds of retching erupted from one side, and soon, it began to spread from person to person.

Of those remaining at the scene, apart from the forensic examiner, Chen Mo, and Liu Qingwu, who could still respond calmly, everyone else was either vomiting or retching.

What made people's pupils shrink even more was the scene inside the suitcase at that moment.

On chunks of black, long-rotted flesh, fat white maggots were crawling in and out of the deceased's eye sockets, ears, and nostrils.

A person had been chopped into pieces!

In fact, the criminal police present had already anticipated this, because the suitcase wasn't particularly large; unless the person was extremely short or a child, it couldn't hold a body.

Not unless the body was chopped into pieces.

"Judging by the degree of decomposition of the skin and flesh, the deceased has been dead for about a month. Based on the hair, the size of the foot bones, and the chest, it can basically be inferred that the victim was female."

"As for the tool used to chop the person up, judging by the marks, it should be a sharp blade, like a kitchen knife."

"These body parts are highly decomposed. If we want to find out if there were any fatal injuries before death, we need to take them back for a more detailed Autopsy."

The forensic examiner reported the current condition of the body.

Liu Qingwu waved his hand, signaling them to follow the procedure. He then looked at Chen Mo, with his hands clasped behind his back.

"It has been a very, very long time since such a heinous homicide occurred in Luocheng."

"And this vicious case happened just after you arrived yesterday."

He said this while smiling and shaking his head, seemingly implying something.

"To a certain extent, this case seems to be specifically for you to handle."

Chen Mo spread his hands, indicating that this had nothing to do with him. It was purely a coincidence.

"Elder Liu!"

A hurried voice approached from afar.

"Elder Liu."

"We found this in the opposite direction of the footprint, which is on the path down the mountain."

Xiao Song was holding a broken red wristband in his hand.

Liu Qingwu took it from him and examined it carefully.

The wristband only had a small silver square on it, with two pinyin characters engraved on it.

"This wristband is a souvenir given to tourists by Xinli Hotel."

"Luocheng is a tourist city, so many places give out souvenirs."

Xinli Hotel?

...

...

At the same time.

Xinli Hotel.

Uncle Wang sat on the sofa in his room, looking restless.

His fists clenched and unclenched from time to time.

Gulp.

The sound of him swallowing saliva came from his throat.

At this very moment, his mood for sightseeing had completely vanished after he returned from outside last night.

He just wanted to shout at the heavens, asking why they were being so unfair to him.

Yesterday evening, after he finished dinner, he accidentally learned from a security guard that a landslide had occurred on a highway. The road was blocked for a long stretch.

For someone like him who loved to watch the excitement, he absolutely had to get to the bottom of such a thing.

If he were in Muhe, he would certainly have to deliberate repeatedly before deciding whether to go or not.

But!

He was now in Luocheng, and neither Chen Mo nor Xiao Liu were around!

No one was jinxing him!

And no one was going to arrest him!

His bad luck had naturally disappeared.

He immediately rushed over. Since the road was blocked for a long stretch, it was very difficult to see the specific situation from the front.

He wanted to know if anyone had died!

How severe the landslide was!

He had to figure these things out.

So he chose to climb the mountain. Although it was night, at his age, he had long since stopped having any qualms about ghosts and spirits.

In the end, he did get his wish and saw the situation of the landslide.

But!

He also saw the things inside the suitcase.

Because it was dark and his eyesight was poor due to his advanced age, he saw the suitcase and smelled a unique stench. But whether it was a person inside! He wasn't sure!

This was also the main reason for his restlessness at this moment.

If it really was a corpse inside, then if he called the police, would he be taken in again, just like before?

If it wasn't a corpse, then that would be for the best.

"Should I go back and take a closer look?"

Uncle Wang was a bit nervous. He really didn't want to go in again.

Escaping Muhe, wasn't that just to live a life where he was in control of his own time? Why was it so difficult!

"Could it be that the case-handling procedures are different in every place?"

He pondered.

He then subconsciously stood up, left the room, and knocked on his daughter's door. As he aged, his child had become his backbone.

—Creak.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

Xiao Qing stretched and glanced at the time on her wrist; it wasn't even nine o'clock yet.

"I have something to tell you."

Uncle Wang looked serious, pushed the door open, and walked in. He then sat on the sofa.

"Dad, don't scare me."

She knew her own father; she had never seen him look so serious on a daily basis. This was the first time she had seen such an expression. As his daughter, it would be a lie to say she wasn't nervous.

"Your father, I, seem to have gotten into trouble."

"..."

After he finished his account, the room fell silent.

Xiao Qing's mouth hung open, her face filled with terror, and her body trembled slightly.

A murder case.

Dismemberment!

Rotting flesh!

Good heavens!

This was too terrifying for her.

Just imagining it a little made her stomach churn.

"Dad, regardless of whether you saw it clearly or not, we have to call the police!"

"Even if you were wrong, they won't blame us, but what if it's real?"

Xiao Qing said anxiously, patting the back of Uncle Wang's hand, urging him.

From the perspective of the vast majority of people, this kind of thing must be reported to the police regardless, letting the police go to the scene to determine the truth.

However, Uncle Wang was among that small minority at this moment. First, he wasn't sure if it was real or not, and second, if it were real, he would definitely be taken in after calling the police.

This feeling was like a revolver with six chambers, three of which were loaded with bullets. Not being sure if it was a corpse was equivalent to not being sure how many bullets there were. And after calling the police, the bullets in the chamber would be fired at him one by one.

This kind of psychological pressure was something that people who didn't frequently enter detention cells couldn't understand.

"Dad, are you afraid that the police will lock you up?"

Xiao Qing seemed to have some insight into her father's hesitation.

That was true; her father had lived an honest and upright life, only loving to watch the excitement. Let alone a detention cell, he probably hadn't even been in a small dark room. She had heard that the lights were kept on while sleeping in there. If he suddenly went in, could he adapt?

Plus, the detention cells were filled with all sorts of people; at her father's age, he would inevitably be bullied if he went in.

"It's not that I'm afraid, it's just that place... how should I put it..."

"It's quite unpleasant."

Uncle Wang rubbed his temples and sighed.

And this appearance of his was naturally interpreted by Xiao Qing as him being stubborn.

"Dad, I know someone who might be able to help you."

Xiao Qing looked toward the room across from hers.