Warning:  description of dismembered cadavers

 

"What, hand it over?" Old Chen raised his head in surprise and asked the person who entered, "Isn't this news spreading too quickly?"

"Yes, just received the call." The captain of the Serious Crime Squad stood beside the partition wall outside, frowning at the scattered limbs inside, "Old Chen, you've all worked hard. Coordinate with them on the current situation and go back to rest soon."

"Okay, I'll go." Old Chen, the most experienced, was also the first to arrive at the scene. The necessary examinations were almost done. He gave some instructions to Jiang Haoran and Xie Bai, then followed the captain out.

Xie Bai also stood up and looked at his attire, his gown, mask, and rubber gloves covering everything except his eyes.

With the coordination work completed, Xie Bai heard Li Dong half politely and half dodging declining the need for additional support from outside, so the Serious Crime Squad and the forensic center staff quickly packed up their things and walked through the cordon, heading downstairs in twos and threes.

Xie Bai followed behind Old Chen and Jiang Haoran. As soon as they left the restroom, he subtly adjusted his appearance. Thickening his eyebrows and narrowing his eyes slightly. It seemed like a minor change, but from the side, he looked like a completely different person. Even those familiar with him wouldn't recognize him at a glance, especially since he always covered his features when appearing before Li Dong and the others.

He instinctively didn't want Yin Wushu to see him blending in among ordinary people now. He didn't want Yin Wushu to know that he still remembered a casual remark made a hundred years ago, he couldn't quite explain his reasoning.

Yin Wushu stood next to the nurse station, his left elbow resting on the counter, holding a piece of oil-yellow paper with faint words on it. As he watched the people leave one by one, he casually rolled up the paper, clenching it between his fingers, turning it around.

Xie Bai could easily imagine this scene even with his eyes closed. For a long time, Yin Wushu had always been like this, seemingly smiling when talking to anyone but also appearing unapproachable and difficult to get closed to. The main reason was his gaze, which seemed extremely profound when fixed on someone but gave off a sense of indifference when swept casually over people.

In fact, he was indeed indifferent...

Because he didn't have a heart at all.

After Li Dong exchanged pleasantries with the police officers there, he was followed by seven or eight somewhat unfamiliar faces, presumably soldiers hastily recruited from the backyard of Tai Xuan Dao to bolster the numbers, used to maintain appearances.

As Xie Bai passed by him and Yin Wushu, he noticed that neither of them showed any change in expression. It seemed they truly hadn't recognized him.

The forensic center staff were inevitably tarnished with bloodstains from the dismembered bodies, so they had no intention of exchanging pleasantries with Li Dong. Instead, they nodded to Old Chen before hurrying into the stairwell.

As they descended to the ground floor, Xie Bai realized he was unconsciously pinching his fingers.

Near the garage, they removed their protective gear. Xie Bai had already reverted to his original appearance. He frowned and straightened his clothes, then said to Old Chen and the others, "I won't be going back to the center. I have something to deal with at home."

"How did you get here? By taxi? We might have picked up some odors. I can't smell anything now, but the taxi driver might." Jiang Haoran remarked.

"I was having dinner across the street before. A friend was there, and he has a car." Xie Bai replied casually, waving his hand and stepping into the elevator.

At this moment, the elevator happened to be empty. Xie Bai stood alone in the middle, silent as he watched the doors slowly close.

"Since we're all going back anyway, why did you follow them downstairs?" A voice suddenly came from behind Xie Bai.

Startled, Xie Bai quickly adjusted his expression and shook out a black mist, covering his eyes, then turned around and asked, "How did you recognize me?"

Yin Wushu raised his hand and tapped on the black cloth covering Xie Bai's eyes, which Xie Bai quickly moved away.

"I raised you from a little kid to the person you are now. I know every bone in your body. Changing your appearance a bit won't fool me." Yin Wushu seemed amused, as if he found Xie Bai's actions too silly to even comment on.

Xie Bai didn't say anything. Instead, he carefully looked at Yin Wushu's face through the black cloth, observing every subtle change in expression, before lowering his head with a cold smirk, "Well, you always know everything. My actions were unnecessary."

After saying that, he ignored Yin Wushu and lowered the black cloth over his hands.

"Do we send those body parts to Tai Xuan Dao for registration first, or do we send them directly to your place? Li Dong and the others are already cleaning up." Yin Wushu asked, seemingly not taking Xie Bai's cold demeanor seriously.

Upon hearing this, Xie Bai paused and looked up, "You let them move the body parts now?!"

Yin Wushu looked surprised, "Can't they?"

"You didn't even go in to take a look and you let them move them? The arrangement of the body parts forms a corpse array. Each piece corresponds to a direction of the zodiac, which is why I came down here blindfolded. You need to see the specific location of each demonic core to determine its type." Xie Bai frowned, then without hesitation, he slapped the door gap, "Open this door! You closed it for almost a minute, thinking I'm a fool."

"A corpse array?" Yin Wushu frowned, "The floor is covered in blood. I just changed my shoes and didn't go in."

He clicked his tongue, seemingly realizing his mistake. While he opened the elevator door, he said, "But it's too late to go back now."

As the elevator door opened, Xie Bai swiftly moved to the entrance of the restroom, with Yin Wushu almost shoulder to shoulder with him, following closely behind.

Suddenly, there were a few banging sounds, and the body parts that had been moved suddenly ignited in front of Xie Bai's eyes, emitting a greenish cold light, looking extremely weird.

In the blink of an eye, all the body parts were burned to ashes, leaving only three dim demonic cores rolling on the ground.

"I just wanted to gather the body parts together..." Li Dong hastily raised his hands to declare his innocence.

Clearly, without Xie Bai's reminder, they wouldn't have noticed the suspicious arrangement of the body parts.

This wasn't something they could easily handle. Moving the body parts of the corpse array would lead to unpredictable consequences, as seen before.

Now, all the traces worth noting had disappeared, leaving Xie Bai with nothing to work with.

"I just wanted to help you save some effort." Yin Wushu also raised his hands and glanced at Xie Bai.

" You're still as capable at causing trouble for me as you were a hundred years ago." Xie Bai said expressionlessly.

"Never mind, since it's already done, let's just clean up here first." Yin Wushu waved his hand to instruct Li Dong and the others.

But then, Xie Bai suddenly blocked his hand and stepped forward, saying, "Wait, there's something stuck in the floor tile crack..."

 

Translator : DarNan