Chapter 217: The Corpse

At the end of April, traveling all the way from the north to the south felt like falling from early spring straight into summer. Luo Qi, a person who grew up in the north, already felt the stifling heat was hard to bear; after getting out of the car and walking only a few steps, he felt his clothes becoming damp, though he couldn't tell if he was sweating himself or if the air was just too humid.

A cordon had been set up around the water's edge, with over twenty people moving in and out. About half were wearing police uniforms, but Luo Qi could tell that the other half, despite not wearing uniforms, were also police; their gazes and mannerisms revealed they were not ordinary citizens. There were two cars without police lights, one of which looked like a funeral vehicle. As Luo Qi walked nearby, he happened to look down from a higher vantage point and saw a stretcher carrying a body bag being brought up.

Today was a rare sunny day, but at this moment, the sunshine was no more comfortable than the rain; the sun steamed a continuous flow of water vapor out of the damp ground, moistening the air. The clothes on Luo Qi's body quickly stuck to him uncomfortably. He walked slowly toward the police, confident that some of them must have already noticed them.

He scanned the crowd, searching within it. Finally, among a group of police, he noticed a middle-aged man with a sharp gaze. Across the crowd and the river, the man locked eyes with him for a fleeting moment. Luo Qi shifted his gaze away and, like a busybody, walked toward the vehicle carrying the corpse, making a show of peeking. Several uniformed police officers told him to move away, though they were still relatively polite.

The middle-aged man was talking to several people who looked like criminal investigators, pointing in Luo Qi's direction as he did so. Two police officers walked over; one was very burly, the other lean and capable, with slightly dark skin. Luo Qi pretended not to notice them, walking slowly along the cordon by the riverbank, observing the operations in the river channel. Several police officers wearing water gear were salvaging items from the riverbed. Luo Qi knew the river water here was not deep, but fishing things out of the water was certainly not a pleasant job.

The two police officers finally caught up to Luo Qi and stopped him. The thin one began by lecturing him on civic duty, such as why a cordon is called a cordon.

Luo Qi cooperated with the police's persuasion and education with a good attitude, yet he couldn't help but look like an older, unruly child who let everything go in one ear and out the other. As soon as the police officer's lecture came to an end, he immediately asked, "Officer, what happened here? Did someone die in the river?"

The burly police officer glared at him, "It has nothing to do with you, you know? What are you doing here?"

Luo Qi smiled slightly, as if listening to some sound in the wind. It took him two seconds to react to the police officer's question, "My family and I are on a self-driving tour here. I heard there was an obscure Ancient Town here, not like those hot spots like Zhouzhuang or Wuzhen, which are packed with tourists everywhere, making it impossible to enjoy. But as soon as we arrived, we saw you had blocked the road. Are we unable to play today? What happened, did someone jump into the river here?"

The two police officers exchanged a glance, and the burly one asked fiercely again, "Did you arrive here only today?"

Luo Qi again delayed for two seconds before laughing, "That's right, we were strolling around the Confucius Temple in Nanjing last night. I see this water isn't deep; can someone really succeed in committing suicide here? It is suicide, right?"

The police officer ignored his question and ordered sternly, "Show me your highway toll receipts."

Luo Qi laughed for a moment, as if his reactions were destined to be a beat slow, "That's no problem, the toll receipts should still be in the car and haven't been thrown away. Do you want me to go get them?"

"Wait a moment, no rush." The thin police officer suddenly stopped him. Luo Qi noticed the police officer was observing his ears, but seeing nothing unusual, the officer smiled and circled him, "You're an interesting young man. Why is it that whenever I talk to you, it's like there's a network lag? You always have to be two seconds slow. Do you need to find a 4G signal just to get your brain online?"

Luo Qi smiled, "Have you not investigated the cause of death yet?"

The police officer snorted and scrutinized Luo Qi carefully. Luo Qi suddenly unbuttoned his collar to show him that he was indeed not wearing any earpiece, nor was anyone giving him orders from afar.

"Has the identity of the deceased not been investigated either?" Luo Qi said while re-buttoning his collar, "Where are you keeping the body tonight?"

No one answered Luo Qi's question, yet Luo Qi's expression was one of understanding, as if some invisible person had already answered his doubts. The criminal investigator, who could be considered a veteran of many battles, suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable. He couldn't help but look up at his surroundings, which remained empty, damp air.

From a little further away came the sound of car doors opening and closing. The police officer immediately turned his head to look behind him. A tall, slender man stepped out of the car and was leaning against the door, peering over toward them.

Luo Qi raised his arm and waved in that direction.

"Is he with you?" the police officer asked, observing the person before him cautiously.

"My brother," Luo Qi said with a smile.

"A model?" The police officer took another look at the man standing by the car, but even he himself didn't quite believe his own judgment. Being unable to determine a person's profession was rare in his experience. He had a vague feeling that the man was extremely dangerous; if the person before him didn't send out a safe signal, things would be very difficult to handle.

But then again, causing trouble in front of dozens of police officers? He felt that was absurd. He looked at his brothers; none of them felt there was any problem. They were still by the river on a bright, sunny day.

Who would have thought that the young man before him would suddenly start laughing, "Officer, you really are a sensitive person."

He was taken aback, staring at the person before him in astonishment. Deep within his pupils, it seemed as if dark flames were burning. No matter how he looked at him, he was just a handsome boy-next-door, not a brutal criminal, yet the flames in his eyes made him very uneasy.

"Why don't you take me to have a few words with your boss?" Luo Qi suggested.

For some reason, he felt this was feasible. Pushing the person to the boss's side—the boss could handle it better. He exchanged a glance with his partner, as if it were routine; no one felt there was anything wrong with this.

Luo Qi bypassed the small bridge over the river and reached the opposite bank. The two police officers led him straight through the cordon, and the middle-aged criminal investigation captain looked at him with suspicion.

He greeted them and then familiarly leaned in, "Hey Officer, has your bureau found out the identity of the deceased?"

The middle-aged investigator held his phone, looked at him blankly for a while, and said, "As of now, no such person has been found."

"What about the cause of death and physical characteristics of the deceased?" Luo Qi asked casually.

"The preliminary judgment for the cause of death is drowning," the middle-aged investigator said, then seemed to hesitate for a moment, but continued anyway, "The deceased is female, approximately twenty-something years old, should be under thirty..." He suddenly froze, as if some force had made him hold back the rest of his words. Luo Qi smiled, leaned in close, and draped his arm over his shoulder like a good buddy, whispering, "No need to say it. Think carefully, have you seen her before?"

The face of the deceased surfaced in his mind. He could outline the young woman's appearance; death and the river water had not yet overly altered her features, and she could not yet be called truly terrifying.

"Hmm," Luo Qi whispered, "The clues about where food was ordered from here aren't worth following at all, and there's nothing inside the Ancient Town either; it's not worth going in at all."