Chapter 273

Qi Fei went to Nancheng Hospital and headed straight for the forensic pathologist Xiao Tao upon his return.

"From the time Sheng Tianbao was confirmed dead to when he was sent for an autopsy, only a few short hours passed. Setting aside the investigation into Nancheng Hospital, all procedures were standard. Even if there were errors in between, they wouldn't be enough to cause such severe organ decay." Qi Fei handed the hospital's investigation report to Xiao Tao.

Xiao Tao didn't seem surprised by this result: "It's basically certain that it's not a problem with Nancheng Hospital." As he spoke, he walked over to Sheng Tianbao's corpse and used tweezers to point at its lungs. "This is where I found the decay spots last time. When I came to check this morning, I found several more white spots. The original ones, look, have already turned gray."

Qi Fei was confused: "I don't understand."

Xiao Tao straightened up and faced Qi Fei: "I am very certain that the freezer was operating normally last night. I checked the condition of the other remains, and there were no issues. This means that for some reason unknown to us, this corpse is decaying at an accelerated rate."

Under the pale light, Qi Fei looked at Sheng Tianbao's corpse lying face up and felt that something was amiss.

Just as they were talking, hurried footsteps came from outside, and a moment later, Wu Shanqiu appeared in the forensic room.

"Brother Fei." Wu Shanqiu held onto the door frame, Pan Ting as she said, "News from the hospital: Zhang Yingdi has woken up."

Outside the ward, Xiao Lu, who had been keeping watch at the hospital, reported on Zhang Yingdi's condition after she woke up: "The first thing she did upon waking was ask how her son was. Fearing it would affect her condition, we haven't told her that Sheng Tianbao is dead yet. Additionally, she heard she was hospitalized at Nancheng Hospital and has been demanding to be transferred."

She said she was afraid the hospital would retaliate against her and not treat her properly.

Zhong Kui said irritably: "Heh, is this what they call 'measuring a gentleman's belly with a villain's heart'?"

Qi Fei didn't say much more. The autopsy results of Sheng Tianbao made this seemingly ordinary case develop in a bizarre direction. He urgently wanted to know more clues and quickly walked into the ward.

This was the first time Qi Fei had seen Zhang Yingdi up close. Compared to the arrogance she displayed when causing a scene at the hospital with her son Sheng Tianbao, she now had an oxygen tube in her nose, was lying flat on the hospital bed, and her face was sallow, as if she were a completely different person.

When she heard Qi Fei introduce himself as a criminal police officer from Nancheng, Zhang Yingdi became uneasy: "What does criminal police mean?"

"If it involves criminal offenses, we will participate in the investigation." Qi Fei answered evasively, "You were found passed out at the recycling station, and nearby residents discovered you and called the police. What happened at that time?"

Zhang Yingdi said regretfully: "I shouldn't have turned on that air conditioner, no matter what."

The pen Qi Fei was using to record stopped for a moment. Sure enough, they had turned on the air conditioner.

Zhang Yingdi continued: "The air conditioner in that shop was installed by the landlord. Usually, we couldn't bear to spend the money, but it was just too hot that day. I felt bad for my son, so I told his father and him to turn on the air conditioner to cool off."

"At first, the three of us were quite comfortable, but after a while, Tianbao said he couldn't stand the stench and wanted to open the door to let the smell out."

"His father scolded him for being delicate, saying that in our line of work, we shouldn't even be unable to smell a stench."

"The two of them got excited and started arguing. I was just trying to mediate when I felt a pain in my throat. I thought it was because I was speaking too loudly, and then I couldn't catch my breath. I saw the two of them start coughing too. Thinking something was wrong, I hurriedly wanted to open the rolling shutter door, but before I could take two steps, everything went black, and I collapsed to the ground."

"I asked them how they were, but they didn't say. Officer, tell me, how is Tianbao?"

"He is still receiving treatment." Zhong Kui said to her without hesitation, rescuing the hesitant Qi Fei.

Qi Fei breathed a sigh of relief and was able to continue focusing on the investigation: "Are you sure the rolling shutter door was still closed before you passed out?"

Zhang Yingdi nodded: "Our rolling shutter door isn't electric; you have to pull it by hand. I hadn't even reached it before I passed out. Why?"

"When you were discovered, the rolling shutter door was open, which is why the resident who came to deliver waste found you." Qi Fei said.

"Could it be that his father or Tianbao opened it?" Zhang Yingdi was clearly completely unaware.

"They passed out just like you did." Zhong Kui said coldly from the side.

"I've noted down the matter of you passing out." Qi Fei said as he turned a page in his notebook. "There is another case I need to understand from you. How was Luo Yongmei, your mother-in-law, seriously injured?"

When she heard Qi Fei mention "Luo Yongmei," Zhang Yingdi's entire state tightened up instantly. Almost in an instant, her weak and anxious appearance changed, and her tone became sharp: "My mother-in-law was killed by this hospital! Officer, I want to change hospitals, otherwise, they will treat me to death just like they treated my mother-in-law to death!"

It was as if she had changed into a different person in an instant, from a weak patient to that indignant whistleblower on short-video channels.

However, ever since learning about Luo Yongmei being hit from that enthusiastic citizen, Mr. He, at the recycling station, the police station had successively found witnesses to confirm Mr. He's account: Luo Yongmei had been seriously injured after being run over by Sheng Tianbao's car.

At this moment, Zhang Yingdi's "performance" appeared particularly clumsy in the face of the facts.

Even though she was a mother who had lost her son, it was difficult for Qi Fei to feel much more sympathy for her at this moment.

"We looked at Luo Yongmei's medical records. You said she fell, but our investigation results show she was injured after being run over by Sheng Tianbao while he was reversing. Moreover, we extracted Luo Yongmei's blood samples from your pickup truck. Dr. Li suggested surgery for Luo Yongmei, but you refused. Why?" Qi Fei asked with the tone of an interrogation.

Zhang Yingdi turned her face away: "You are all in cahoots, bullying us for having no money or power! You must have taken benefits from the hospital. I'm going to report your police station!"

Seeing that the questioning had reached a dead end, Zhong Kui took two steps forward, leaned over, and stared at Zhang Yingdi without saying a word.

That gaze made Zhang Yingdi's hair stand on end.

She slowly opened her mouth, her voice having an aged quality beyond her years: "Adi, I died unjustly. What do you and Abao owe me? When will you pay it back?"

As soon as these words came out, Zhang Yingdi was so scared that she immediately curled up into a corner of the bed: "You, who are you?"

"I am your old mother. I'm in so much pain, so much pain I can't speak. I'm going to take you to tell the truth to King Yama. You didn't get away this time, and there will be a next time." Zhong Kui intensified her intimidation.

This time, Qi Fei didn't expose her and even assisted: "This is a famous spirit medium from Sanwu Town who can communicate with spirits. We know exactly how Luo Yongmei died. I advise you not to hide anything anymore."