Chapter 197

Just as the coffin was opened, Gu Changzheng's heart sank, and a feeling of disappointment rose! Because what appeared before his eyes was actually a skeleton, lying quietly in the coffin.

"How could this be... Could it be that my previous deduction was all wrong?" Gu Changzheng gripped the shovel in his hand tightly with one hand, while the other hand unconsciously touched his chin, his brows furrowed, and he fell into deep thought.

Peng Luzi on the side didn't notice Gu Changzheng's abnormality. He stared wide-eyed at the skeleton in the coffin, clicking his tongue in wonder: "Oh my god! This woman was really tall when she was alive! Look at these leg bones, they've grown to be as long as bamboo poles!"

Hearing Peng Luzi's shouting, Gu Changzheng finally came back to his senses as if awakened from a dream. He steadied himself, followed the direction of Peng Luzi's finger, and immediately felt that something was wrong. In his mind, the photo of Lou Zhen he had seen before flashed rapidly. Although Lou Zhen in the photo was in a sitting position, by inferring from the proportion between her body and the chair she was sitting on, it could be roughly estimated that her height should be around 165 centimeters. However, the skeleton in front of him, even just by a rough visual estimation, could feel that the height of its owner when alive would definitely not be lower than 175 centimeters. Clearly, this skeleton could not be Lou Zhen!

Thinking of this, Gu Changzheng hurriedly bent down and carefully observed every detail inside the coffin. This small space was only about one square meter in total. Besides that creepy skeleton, he couldn't see any traces of anything else.

Gu Changzheng straightened up and said to Peng Luzi with a solemn expression: "Director Peng, please report the situation here to your superiors immediately. We must confirm the true identity of this skeleton as soon as possible."

After hearing this, Peng Luzi showed a look of surprise on his face and muttered to himself: "Could it be... that Lou Zhen is really still alive?"

Gu Changzheng nodded: "Yes, it seems a bit bizarre to say, but actually, I have seen the poison that Lou Honglan confessed to using to poison Lou Zhen. It will indeed cause the brain to hallucinate, but the drug effect only lasts for 12 hours, although inhaling too much will also cause death. And the peyote used to extract this drug is not easy to get in our inland, and ordinary people don't know how to use it, so when Lou Honglan said they let Lou Zhen and her paramour inhale peyote and die, I was a bit suspicious. Although Lou Honglan was vicious, she had limited education and didn't possess any medical knowledge. It's very likely she thought the two people who fainted due to inhaling a large amount of the drug were dead, and that Yan Kefei was already using Lou Honglan to kill Lou Zhen, so he could possess the Lou sisters and also replace Lou Zhen as the leader of the cult by relying on his special relationship with the Lou sisters.

But he had been under Lou Zhen's strong pressure for a long time, so his fear of Lou Zhen was still very strong. Therefore, I judged that the two of them didn't seriously check whether Lou Zhen and that paramour were dead, plus the two might have also thought that even if they weren't dead, they would be suffocated underground, and perhaps this was the real means by which Lou Honglan killed the two of them!"

Hearing Gu Changzheng's words, the few couldn't help but feel a chill all over their bodies. If it was really as he said, then Lou Honglan was too vicious!

Gu Changzheng continued: "At that time, Lou Honglan said she buried the remaining peyote together with Lou Zhen's body. I guessed whether she was afraid that the thing would be used by others to deal with her in the future, so she buried it deep underground with Lou Zhen. Another purpose might also be that she was afraid Lou Zhen wasn't completely dead, so she put the peyote beside her.

But she might not know that without extraction, the peyote cannot exert its effect. She just concealed one thing, which was that she actually put the paramour and Lou Zhen in the same coffin. As for how Lou Zhen crawled out of the coffin and 'returned from the dead', this matter can only be told to us by Lou Zhen in person!"

"Ah? Captain Gu, you found Lou Zhen?" Luo Fei opened his mouth in surprise.

"No!" Gu Changzheng narrowed his eyes, "However, we will be able to see that Lou Zhen very soon!"

———

After sending the remains from Lou Zhen's grave to the Mangshi Public Security Bureau and arranging the relevant testing matters, after saying goodbye to Peng Luzi and others, they set off on the journey back to Zizhen without stopping. Because there, a series of puzzles were still waiting for him to uncover one by one.

The row of storefronts behind Junhe Hospital. One of the storefronts was particularly eye-catching, because just a short while ago, the police discovered a mysterious entrance leading to the hospital basement here. Now, this storefront had been strictly sealed off by the police, but this was not the target of Gu Changzheng's visit this time.

A small supermarket just one wall away from this storefront. The shopkeeper was a woman who looked to be about 60 years old. Her face was full of wrinkles crisscrossing like gullies, and her skin appeared rough and sallow, looking completely lusterless. Gu Changzheng slowly paced into the small shop. The old woman saw Gu Changzheng and said expressionlessly: "What do you want to buy?"

Compared to her facial expression, this voice sounded quite gentle. Gu Changzheng glanced at her, took a photo out of his bag, placed it on the glass counter in front of her, stared at her with his eyes, and said: "Old lady, let me ask you about someone. Do you recognize the woman in this photo?"

The old woman still looked expressionless, narrowed her eyes, and seemed to size up the photo before saying: "Don't recognize! Why? Is she a relative of yours?"

Gu Changzheng suddenly said: "Lou Zhen!" Then he smiled faintly and said: "Her name is Lou Zhen, and these two girls are her twin daughters. Do you really not recognize them?"

The old woman raised her head, but her eyes were sharp and bright, not turbid like an old person of her age. She shook her head and said: "Hehe! Do I have to recognize them?"

Gu Changzheng said: "We found Lou Zhen's grave, but there were no bones of hers inside, only the bones of a man. Do you know where she is?"

A strange light suddenly flashed in the old woman's eyes. Although it was fleeting, Gu Changzheng clearly felt that it was clearly a murderous intent!

"Are you a police officer?" The old woman glanced at a teenager who came out from the back room after hearing them speak and said: "Xiao Hai, this has nothing to do with you. Go inside!"

Gu Changzheng looked up, and although it was just a glance, it gave him a sense of familiarity! Watching him stare blankly at Xiao Hai, a trace of panic actually appeared in the old woman's eyes. This was the first time she had shown panic since Gu Changzheng came in, but at this moment, Gu Changzheng's attention was attracted by the young man named Xiao Hai, and he didn't notice the change in her eyes.