Chapter 113: The Woman in the Water Jar [2]

Because the disemboweled corpse was too gruesome for ordinary students to look at, Yan Yu left the others at the village hostel and took only Fatty, Hao Zhuang, and Zhang Qi with him.

For now, Zhang Qi’s appearance remained deeply suspicious. Yan Yu did not trust him to be left alone with the other students, so he needed to keep him within sight at all times.

Butcher Li’s body was still lying in his own courtyard. Because the manner of death was so bloody and horrific, no one dared to touch it, and the villagers were waiting for the police to arrive.

“Young man, are you sure you want to see the body?” the village chief asked as he led the group to the entrance of the butcher’s house.

Yan Yu nodded. “I am a medical student. Before the real forensic examiner arrives, I might be able to provide a rough assessment.”

“In that case, follow me inside.”

The village chief pushed open the gate. A farm woman sat in the yard, cradling a small child; both were crying with hoarse, hysterical sobs.

The village chief sighed. “With Butcher Li gone, his wife and child are truly suffering.”

Yan Yu glanced at them and realized he had seen this woman and child before—they were the same pair who had been bullying the crazy woman by the creek outside the village.

Dawn had just passed, and the eastern sky was already turning a pale, fish-belly white; the light from the torches was no longer necessary. The village chief gestured toward the woodshed to the south. “The body is in there. Go take a look for yourselves.”

Yan Yu led the others forward. They could smell the thick stench of blood from a dozen paces away. Fatty’s face turned pale, and his legs went weak. “Boss, can I stay back?”

“No.” Yan Yu was firm, forcing them to move forward.

Butcher Li lay in his woodshed, his body splayed in a star shape against a pile of firewood. His chest had been carved open by a sharp blade, his internal organs looted, leaving only exposed, blood-red ribs. A length of intestine was still hanging out. His expression was one of extreme agony, his eyes bulging wide as if he had seen something terrifying before he died.

The moment Fatty and Hao Zhuang saw the scene, they began to retch. No matter how much Yan Yu urged them, they refused to take another step closer. Zhang Qi, however, though looking grim, did not react as exaggeratedly as the others.

Yan Yu turned back and asked, “You’re not afraid?”

“I’m older, so perhaps my psychological tolerance is a bit higher,” Zhang Qi managed to explain.

“An ordinary person would be terrified by this sight, unless, Uncle Zhang Qi, you’ve seen something even more horrific than this?” Yan Yu teased.

A flash of imperceptible sharpness flickered in Zhang Qi’s eyes before he replied, “Before I became a travel photographer, I worked for a few years as an on-site photographer for the criminal investigation team. I’ve photographed plenty of corpses.”

“I see.”

Yan Yu turned back, silently examining the body.

“The disemboweling was clean and decisive. It would require not only a sharp blade but also immense strength. Even an adult couldn’t manage to open a torso with a single stroke like this.”

“All the organs are gone; the killer’s motive is very clear. The throat was slashed—no wonder he couldn’t call for help.”

“There is a large amount of dirt inside the wound, which indicates that Butcher Li struggled violently before dying, yet he lacked the power to resist. That must be because the killer slashed his throat with the very first strike.”

Hearing Yan Yu’s analysis, the village chief’s face turned pale. “Young man, what else have you determined?”

“Every sign indicates that the killer severed his throat first, then, while he was still conscious, disemboweled him, forcing him to watch as his own organs were ripped from his body…”

“My husband, you died so miserably!” the butcher’s wife wailed.

It was hard to imagine what kind of psychopath would use such a brutal method to kill. Yan Yu looked at Zhang Qi. “Uncle Zhang Qi, you’ve worked in this field. Aside from what I’ve said, have you noticed anything else?”

Zhang Qi shook his head. “Your analysis is very comprehensive; I have nothing to add.”

“Boss, this place is too ominous. Can we go outside and talk?” Hao Zhuang said, pinching his nose.

Yan Yu took one last look at the body and said slowly, “You all go outside. Give me one minute.”

“This…” The village chief hesitated. After all, it was a crime scene; leaving it to a student seemed improper.

“Auntie Li and her child can stay here.”

“Very well.”

Fatty and the others, eager to leave, followed the village chief out. Once Yan Yu closed the door, he immediately returned to the side of the corpse. He did not care about the farm woman or the child; the reason he had asked everyone to leave was merely a pretext to get rid of Zhang Qi.

Fixing his gaze above the butcher’s body, Yan Yu whispered to Zhao Qingqing, who was beside him, “Is Butcher Li’s soul nearby?”

“He only just died, so his soul remains in his body,” Zhao Qingqing replied.

“Keep watch for me.”

After giving his orders, Yan Yu stepped up to the butcher and silently closed his eyes.

For the recently deceased, the soul is still relatively intact. Using the technique of Soul-Entering to discern grievances at this moment would allow him to see memories with greater clarity.

Soon, Yan Yu’s breathing grew shallow. He crouched there, as if he had fallen asleep.

…

“Mother of my child, Wang Yong asked me to deliver two jin of pork to him. I’m heading out.”

“What time is it? Delivering pork? Are you trying to go see the widow at the end of the village?”

“Oh, listen to you. Wang Yong said there’s good news and insisted I bring two jin of pork to celebrate. If you don’t believe me, why don’t you go deliver it? It’s at the melon shed at the foot of the North Mountain.”

“Go to hell.”

Yan Yu opened his eyes. He found himself holding the wrapped pork, pushing the door open to leave the house. However, just as the door clicked shut, a dull thud came from the water vat in the yard.

“Another stray cat?” the butcher cursed under his breath, preparing to go over and check.

It was the dead of night, and the village was silent. The butcher walked toward the vat, gently lifted the lid, and looked down. There was nothing inside.

“Strange, I clearly heard something just now. Did I have too much to drink?”

“Must have been the drink. That grandson Wang Yong, dragging me to drink with those students, kept bragging about how beautiful city women are… Damn it, who doesn’t know city women are beautiful? But are we even in their league? Ha.”

The butcher laughed at himself and looked into the vat again.

That single glance frightened the butcher out of his wits!

In Yan Yu’s vision, the water in the vat did not reflect the butcher’s rough, greasy face, but rather—a woman.

The woman’s face was terrifyingly white, her eyes bulging so far they seemed ready to pop from their sockets. She was smiling directly at Yan Yu.

The woman’s mouth was enormous, nearly half the size of her face. Yan Yu could see her teeth, her roots, and her gums. Her face rippled in the water as if she were about to lunge out at any moment!

“Am… I… beautiful?” the woman in the vat asked with a smile.