Chapter 33 Not all ghosts are willing to reveal their evil deeds...
"……pink clouds?"
After a moment of silence, Jiang's mother seemed to wake up from a dream and asked in return.
She stood frozen in place, the candlelight casting a long, swaying shadow on the wall.
After a long silence, she lowered her eyes, sighed, and shook her head.
"Forget it. I'll just disappear. She probably doesn't want to see me anyway."
Chu Ci was taken aback. "Why?"
She remembered that Jiang Caixia had a good relationship with her younger brother and mother, and that Jiang Caixia worked hard to earn money to improve her family's life.
Logically speaking, Jiang's mother shouldn't have refused.
Lin Ming frowned. "Is it because of Meng Zehai?"
"Meng Zehai?" Mother Jiang tilted her head in confusion. "Who is that?"
"That pretty boy who cheated Jiang Caixia and then resold her," Chu Ci explained.
Jiang's mother then muttered to herself, somewhat realizing what was happening, "Oh, it was him..."
Chu Ci glanced at Lin Ming, who happened to be looking over at her.
She asked silently, "Didn't you mention Meng Zehai to her before?"
"I did mention it," Lin Ming replied silently, "but she doesn't seem to remember."
It's unacceptable that he didn't even remember the person who indirectly caused his daughter's death.
Moreover, judging from Jiang's mother's appearance, she didn't seem to hate Meng Zehai that much.
If it were the landlady, she would have wanted to kill Meng Zehai.
Chu Ci pursed her lips and looked at Jiang Caixia in the mirror.
Jiang Caixia looked at her in the mirror.
His pale, lychee-like eyes stared straight at her, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something.
Chu Ci's brow relaxed, and she hurriedly asked, "Jiang Caixia, what do you want to say?"
Jiang Caixia didn't say anything, but her mother was startled.
"Aci, who are you talking to?"
She frantically groped in the air with both hands, seemingly trying to find Chu Ci's location.
"You just called Caixia's name? Why did you suddenly call her Caixia?"
She tried to move forward, but it was as if something was pressing down on her, and she couldn't move no matter how hard she tried.
His face turned deathly pale instantly.
"Aci...Aci?"
Jiang Caixia, clinging to her mother's back, stiffly turned her head to look at her mother's face, which was covered in cold sweat, and remained silent for a long time.
"..."
Chu Ci couldn't see the emotions on Jiang Caixia's face, but she knew that Jiang's mother stared at her profile for a long time until the incense had burned halfway before she finally made a move.
She gently pressed her face against her mother's face and closed her eyes with longing.
A line of dark red tears flowed from the corner of her eye, down her nose, and onto Jiang's mother's face.
"mom……"
Feeling a cool sensation on her face, Jiang's mother trembled as she reached out to touch it, only to find sticky water stains.
He brought his hand close to his eyes for a closer look; it was dark red.
"..."
Looking at the blood on her hands, Jiang's mother's breath hitched, and her body trembled like a leaf.
"Rainbow... Rainbow Clouds?"
"pink clouds!"
With Jiang Caixia on her back, she reached out aimlessly around the room, tears streaming down her face.
"Caixia, is that you, Caixia?"
"You've come to see Mom? Where are you, Caixia!"
She cried and called out Jiang Caixia's name.
Seeing her helplessly groping around the room, Chu Ci and Lin Ming exchanged a glance, a hint of doubt flashing in their eyes.
They were both initially suspicious of Jiang's mother, but judging from her appearance, it didn't seem like she was the one to suspect her.
"Aci!"
Unable to find Jiang Caixia, Jiang's mother headed towards the only bright spot in her career.
He grabbed Chu Ci's hand. "Aci, I just heard Caixia calling me! Is she at home? Can you see her?"
Chu Ci was momentarily distracted, and by the time she came to her senses, Jiang's mother had already grabbed her hand.
Jiang Caixia's magnified ghost face was right in front of her, so frightening that her breath caught in her throat and her head tilted back slightly.
"Auntie, can you tell me... why you didn't want to see Caixia just now?"
Mother Jiang: "..."
She was taken aback by the question, and her agitated emotions gradually calmed down.
Silently turning around, she groped her way to sit on the edge of her bed, staring blankly at the floor, no longer speaking.
"Aunt."
Chu Ci stared at Jiang's mother in the mirror and pressed, "I can see that you love your daughter Caixia very much. Don't you want to know who killed her?"
She kept staring at Jiang Caixia as she asked this question, but Jiang Caixia, who was lying on her mother's back, did not react.
Just like before, she stared intently at her mother's profile, as if trying to imprint that face into her mind.
"Jiang Caixia!"
Seeing that the incense stick was getting shorter and shorter, Chu Ci ignored everything else and stared at Jiang Caixia in the mirror, questioning her.
"You died and your body was left to rot in the wilderness. You died such a gruesome death. Don't you want the murderer to pay the price?"
Jiang's mother trembled, but did not look up.
Jiang Caixia, who had been staring at Jiang's mother, stirred slightly, her lychee-like eyes looking over, and she tilted her head in confusion.
"pink clouds!"
Seeing that she finally reacted, Chu Ci felt relieved, her voice softened, and she pressed on:
Do you remember who killed you?
Jiang Caixia stared at her blankly, as if trying to figure out who she was.
After a while, just as the incense was about to burn out, she suddenly pointed towards the doorway.
Chu Ci, Lin Ming, and Shen Xiu looked up and saw the doorway being pushed open.
Jiang Yuan pushed open the door and entered. The hallway behind him was lit. His entire face was shrouded in darkness, giving him an inexplicably sinister look.
"Huh?"
He scratched his head, holding the convenience bag in his hand.
"The light bulb burned out? Why is the house so dark? We even lit candles."
He turned on his flashlight and pointed it at the roof, illuminating the entire room.
"Excuse me, Sister Ci, and two other officers. Please wait a moment while I change the light bulb."
He put down his things and started bustling around.
Chu Ci looked in the mirror.
As the incense burned out, Jiang Caixia in the mirror also disappeared.
Jiang Yuan quickly changed the light bulb, and the room lit up again.
He looked up at the lit light bulb, clapped his hands, and said, "Okay, this time I bought a good light bulb, it shouldn't break again."
"Sister Aci, are you done with your work?"
"Yes, I'm done."
Chu Ci put away the scriptures and candles in front of the mirror.
"It's getting late, you and Auntie should get some rest. The two officers and I will be leaving now."
"good."
Jiang Yuan saw them out.
Chu Ci walked behind Lin Ming and Shen Xiuhe, and suddenly stopped.
Turning to Jiang Yuan, she asked, "When is your sister's seventh day memorial service? Auntie has difficulty moving around, and you're all alone, so you might not be able to manage. I can come and help out then."
Jiang Yuan's smile faded slightly. "...No need, Sister Aci. I've already asked the aunt next door for help, so we won't be too busy."
"I see," Chu Ci nodded. "Alright, you guys take a rest. If you get too busy later, you can come to me."
Jiang Yuan nodded and watched them walk away.
As they walked downstairs, Chu Ci and Lin Ming both seemed lost in thought.
Shen Xiuhe stood under the streetlight, bathed in light, rubbing his cold arms and letting out a long sigh.
"It scared me to death! The way Jiang Caixia was clinging to her mother's back was more terrifying than a horror movie!"
If he were to encounter ghosts twice more like this, he felt he could apply for a job as a ghost movie director.
“However,” he rubbed his arms, then changed the subject, “do you think Jiang Yuan could be the murderer?”
At that moment, Jiang Caixia was pointing towards the door when Jiang Yuan happened to push the door open and come in—it was too much of a coincidence.
Lin Ming shook his head, "I'm not sure, but we can't rule out Jiang Yuan's suspicions."
They had never suspected Jiang Yuan before, after all, he was the victim's younger brother, and the neighbors all said that the siblings had a good relationship, and Jiang Yuan had no opportunity to commit the crime.
But this time, it was the deceased himself who identified the person.
It seems they need to change their approach and thoroughly investigate this Jiang Yuan.
"Miss Chu?"
Chu Ci was lost in thought, and Lin Ming called her several times before she came to her senses.
"What?"
"what's on your mind?"
"No, I wasn't thinking about anything."
Chu Ci rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed inwardly.
She had always thought that mass-producing the Spirit Incense was a good way to solve cases, but after Jiang Caixia's incident, she realized:
It seems that not all ghosts want revenge on the people who killed them.
If someone doesn't want to talk, even if you can see ghosts with psychic incense, you won't get much useful information out of them.
She scratched her head dejectedly, feeling that the "Heaven and Earth Bank Pass" reward was really hard to get.
Lin Ming glanced at the time. "Miss Chu, it's getting late. Let me and Inspector Shen take you home."
“No need,” Chu Ci shook his head. “It’s not far. There are still public buses running. I can go back by myself.”
Shen Xiuhe got into the car first: "The case of the five-faced female corpse in Kwun Tong District has not yet been solved. It's best for a young and beautiful lady like Miss Chu not to act alone."
“Inspector Shen is right,” Lin Ming followed him into the police car. “I have to take Inspector Shen back, and it’s on my way to take Miss Chu as well.”
"On the way?" Chu Ci nodded. "Then I'll trouble you, Inspector Lin."
"It's not too much trouble."
Just as Lin Ming started the car and was about to leave, his mobile phone suddenly rang.
Shen Xiu helped him connect, and an unfamiliar male voice came through.
"Inspector Lin, the complete autopsy report for the Jiang Caixia case is out. When are you returning to the police station?"
Lin Ming's expression changed. "I'll go back right now."
He hung up the phone. "I'm sorry, Ms. Chu, I have to go back to the police station now."
Before he could say anything else, Chu Ci quickly asked, "Can I come along?"
Lin Ming's face showed a troubled expression, while Shen Xiuhe waved his hand.
"Miss Chu has helped us so much, of course we can all come together!"
He nudged Lin Ming with his elbow, "Don't worry, even if my brother disagrees, he'll still be there to cover for me!"
Lin Ming sighed helplessly, "Miss Chu, if you hear or see anything later, don't tell anyone."
"Okay, don't worry, I know the rules."
The car soon arrived at Kowloon City Police Station.
Lin Ming led her and Shen Xiuhe straight to the forensic office.
The forensic doctor sitting in front of the computer was taken aback when he saw that he had brought two more people with him.
"Inspector Lin, what are you doing...?"
Lin Ming introduced, "This is Inspector Shen's younger brother, a colleague of his at Kwun Tong Police Station. This is..."
He got stuck when introducing Chu Ci's identity.
Chu Ci smiled at the forensic doctor and said, "Hello, my name is Chu Ci, and I am a special consultant invited by Inspector Lin."
How can a medium who can meet face-to-face with the deceased not be considered a special advisor?
"Special advisor?" The forensic doctor looked at Lin Ming with a puzzled expression.
Lin Ming touched the tip of his nose and nodded guiltily.
"Okay." The forensic doctor handed the autopsy report to Lin Ming and led them into the back workshop.
There were two beds in the workroom. One bed was empty, and Jiang Caixia, with pale skin, was lying on the other bed.
"The final autopsy report was pretty much what you guessed, Mr. Lin, but there were two suspicious points."
The forensic doctor gestured for them to look at the livor mortis in front of Jiang Caixia's body.
"The formation of livor mortis on a corpse is caused by gravity."
"For example, if a person dies lying on their back, the lividity will generally be concentrated on the back, waist, buttocks, and neck, while avoiding areas of compression. This is because the compressed areas will form pale indentations due to the compression of capillaries."
"But the distribution of livor mortis on Jiang Caixia's body is very strange. She was found lying on her back. The distribution of livor mortis should be concentrated on the back, waist, buttocks and neck."
"But in reality, the lividity on her body was mainly on her face, chest, abdomen and the front of her thighs."
As the forensic doctor spoke eloquently about his profession, Chu Ci felt as if she had returned to the time when she and her colleagues in the criminal investigation team discussed corpses.
She subconsciously replied, "So Jiang Caixia was moved after her death. Her death scene was not the rural village where she was sold, but someone deliberately dumped her body there after killing her."
“That’s right.” A hint of a smile flashed in the eyes behind the forensic doctor’s glasses. “That’s right, it seems that the special consultant that Inspector Lin found is very professional.”
He continued, "Previously, Inspector Lin suspected that Jiang Caixia had returned to the city before her death based on the time of her death. Now, there is another piece of indirect evidence supporting this speculation."
Chu Ci didn't dare to look at Lin Ming and Shen Xiu's probing gazes, and quickly changed the subject, "Then what is the second suspicious point?"
The forensic doctor gestured for them to look at the autopsy report.
"I found two lacerations on Jiang Caixia's lower body, indicating that she had been raped."
“Inspector Lin told me before that she had been trafficked to a rural village, so I thought the lacerations on her genitals were from that time.”
"But later I discovered that the two wounds were not the same."
"One laceration has a scab on the edge, indicating it's an old wound. The other laceration has jagged edges and no signs of repair, indicating it's a new wound."
“So,” he pushed up his glasses, “I suspect that the murderer raped Jiang Caixia before killing her. I suggest that when you investigate the case, you can start with Jiang Caixia’s romantic history.”
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