Chapter 8: Green Ghost, Red Ghost, Black Ghost, and White Ghost

The first time Uesugi Muneyuki smelled the stench of a corpse, it left an impression that would last him a lifetime; this was not a physiological odor, but one at the genetic level, a stench unreachable from deep within the human genome. This smell was like a steel nail, driven deep into the human brain, piercing through it, leaving behind a terrible, unforgettable sensation. Even if pulled out, the pain would not cease, but rather, it would double.

In reality, the foulness of corpse stench almost exceeds every other unpleasant odor; it is nearly a form of materialized spiritual corruption.

This spiritual corruption is almost immune to defense; wearing a few layers of plastic clothing is of no use. Perhaps only specialized protective suits and gas masks can resist it slightly, while ordinary clothing and rubber gloves are completely unable to block it in the slightest.

Furthermore, it has a chilling adhesiveness; it drills through the surface skin, lingering and wandering inside the human body. No matter how many times one showers or sprays perfume, this smell cannot be removed.

Even after a month or so, that smell will still appear faintly in the nasal cavity, making one lose their appetite and suffer endlessly.

Legend has it that the stench of a corpse is a fear signal engraved deep within the human genome. Over the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of years that humans have evolved from ancient times to the present, humans have encountered countless instances of discovering the corpses of their own kind in the wild. For humans who lived by eating raw meat and blood and tilling the land with fire, this was an extremely dangerous sign—it meant a lethal threat was nearby, and one had to be on guard.

And this alarm, engraved deep in the genes, has been passed down to this day.

Uesugi Muneyuki thought to himself, no wonder those few police officers were all standing outside and refusing to come in; it turns out they also really dislike this smell!

Damn old geezers, you just wait.

Just as Uesugi Muneyuki was trying to suppress his physiological discomfort, the Qinghui Stone beneath his right hand suddenly flashed with light. A gentle, cool, minty sensation immediately dispelled all the foul stench and physiological discomfort. The corpse-stench particles floating in the air were wiped out by the power of the Qinghui Stone, and they could no longer touch Uesugi Muneyuki himself.

Hmm, Uesugi Muneyuki gave the stone inside his right hand a casual name; considering it always emitted a sky-blue light, he would call it the Qinghui Stone.

Professor Okochi, however, had no reaction; it seemed this old fellow was already used to it.

"Where is the body?" Protected by the power of the Qinghui Stone, Uesugi Muneyuki was instantly freed from the shroud of corpse stench, which made him feel much better. He asked the firefighter next to him, "Where is the body?"

Uesugi Muneyuki's super-fast adaptability astonished Okochi and the few firefighters nearby, and the few police officers standing outside the room were even more amazed.

This kid isn't even afraid of corpse stench; perhaps he's naturally cut out to be a Forensic Pathologist!

"Over here." The fully equipped firefighter pointed to the closet.

The furnishings inside the apartment were simple, a typical civilian Japanese-style decor. The floor was covered with tatami mats, and the simple Japanese-style room—one room and a living room—could not be called very clean. Many corners showed signs of long-term disrepair, and the vintage-looking chandelier and stove felt as if one had returned to the Showa era.

Seeing the scene inside the closet, even the battle-hardened Professor Okochi narrowed his eyes slightly.

Lying inside the closet were two elderly people. The male elder was wrapped in a blanket, pressing down on the female elder. Without exception, they both had gray hair and hunched bodies, and it looked as if they had been dead for some time.

The male elder's body had already begun to rot; flies and maggots were clearly visible even after the firefighters had handled the scene. Reddish-brown and black corpse fluid had soaked through the blanket, emitting a foul odor.

However, the female elder's body was largely intact, with only slight signs of decay. Her abdomen had already begun to dissolve, the subcutaneous tissue appeared pale green, and there were some scars on her body, clearly fresh wounds.

Uesugi Muneyuki and Professor Okochi exchanged a look, both showing strange expressions.

A lonely death?

But there were two elderly corpses at the scene.

A lovers' suicide? A collective suicide?

But the degree of decay of the corpses...

Uesugi Muneyuki pondered the content he had memorized from forensic medicine books.

After a person dies, the glycogen in the body's muscles decreases and lactic acid increases. Lactic acid affects the activity of adenosine triphosphate in the human body, causing the muscles to contract and the joints to stiffen. At this point, the corpse becomes like stone, exhibiting Corpse Stiffness.

However, as the proteins in the corpse begin to decompose, Corpse Stiffness begins to disappear after about 20-24 hours of death, at which point the corpse begins to rot.

Generally speaking, the decay of a corpse begins first in the gastrointestinal tract; the lower abdomen is the first to dissolve, the cornea begins to cloud, the subcutaneous tissue of the human body begins to turn pale green, and a large amount of putrefactive gas is produced. At this stage, the corpse is known as a "Green Ghost."

As further decay accelerates, the green color begins to fade, and the smell of decay attracts flies to lay eggs. The corpse will appear reddish-brown, and a large amount of putrefactive gas will cause the corpse to begin to swell significantly. At this stage, the corpse is known as a "Red Ghost," though there is also a technical term for it, called "Giantism."

As decay deepens further, the internal organs, soft tissues, and muscles of the corpse begin to melt, forming a black-brown liquid that flows out of the body. At this stage, the corpse is known as a "Black Ghost."

As all the skin, organs, soft tissues, and muscles dissolve completely, leaving only white bones, the corpse is then known as a "White Ghost."

Therefore, the changes in a corpse follow the process of gradual decay: Corpse Stiffness—Green Ghost—Red Ghost—Black Ghost—White Ghost.

But the scene before them made both Uesugi Muneyuki and Professor Okochi frown.

The male corpse above was clearly already a Red Ghost, while the female corpse below was still only a Green Ghost.

The time of death did not seem to match up.

Clearly, Professor Okochi held the same view. Uesugi Muneyuki was almost instinctively about to awaken the Soul, but before he could raise his hand, he abandoned the idea.

For now, what would he communicate with the Soul about? The last communication was triggered inexplicably, and Uesugi Muneyuki did not understand the mechanism behind it.

Suppose communicating with the Soul required consuming extra "Po"? Suppose there was a time limit to communicating with the Soul?

Wait a moment; it would be better to redeploy and understand the specific situation first.

Having gained a preliminary understanding of the situation of the corpses, Uesugi Muneyuki came out of the apartment.

By this time, besides the few police officers, the outside was already surrounded by onlookers, the vast majority of whom were community aunties and old ladies in their forties, fifties, seventies, or eighties. People were discussing the matter in a hubbub, and the police officers who had arrived were pulling up yellow tape, standing with their hands behind their backs, saying nothing in the face of various inquiries.

"How is it? My great Forensic Pathologist, little brother Uesugi, can you confirm if it's suicide or homicide?" Seeing Uesugi Muneyuki come out, Assistant Police Inspector Tanaka immediately came up and asked eagerly. The old geezer nudged Uesugi Muneyuki with his shoulder, gesturing to the surroundings with his mouth.

Thirty or forty people had already gathered around, all waiting for the police's answer.

"What exactly is going on?" Uesugi Muneyuki did not answer the question directly; instead, he asked, "Why is it said that it might be homicide, but it cannot be determined?"

"The situation is like this." Seeing this, Koban Chief Ito took the initiative to describe the information the police had gathered.

There were two deceased: the male head of the household was named Ishizaka Masato, 79 years old, and the female head of the household was named Ishizaka Hiroko, 75 years old. Their children had already passed away, and they had no relatives or friends. After retirement, the couple lived in this civilian apartment, getting by on their pensions and odd jobs.

This couple was somewhat well-known at the Koban because the wife had developed Alzheimer's disease, commonly known as senile dementia, several years ago. She often couldn't find her way or recognize people, and would ask about place names from decades ago. The Koban knew her well; every time, the husband would come to the Koban to pick her up, and bowing and apologizing subconsciously had become a part of the husband's life.

But the problem was not that simple. According to what the Koban knew, the wife not only suffered from Alzheimer's disease but also successively suffered from high blood pressure, diabetes, arrhythmia, salmonellosis, atherosclerosis, colitis, arthritis, lichen, gout, and myocardial infarction.

All of this was taken care of by the husband alone, so the couple lived an extremely miserable life.

"You mean, it's possible that the husband couldn't bear this pressure anymore, so in an extreme situation, he chose to end the wife's life and then chose to commit suicide?" Uesugi Muneyuki understood.

"Yes, we have such suspicions." Police Sergeant Naito nodded immediately: "You saw the scene, right? Don't you think it's a bit strange? It looks like... Mr. Ishizaka was pressing Mrs. Ishizaka underneath him? Hmm... suffocation?"

"If you put it that way, indeed, then the motive for murder exists." Another Police Sergeant, Kuwabara, also said: "So this is a case then?"

"Not quite. We just asked the neighbors nearby, and they all said that the couple was very loving. Mr. Ishizaka never had any complaints; no matter how hard or troublesome it was, he did his best to take care of his sick wife." Detective Takasaka, however, raised an opposing opinion: "The surrounding residents all say Mr. Ishizaka was a good man!"

"Little brother Uesugi, did you find anything? Is the autopsy result suicide or homicide?"

The few police officers argued endlessly. Assistant Police Inspector Tanaka, Koban Chief Ito, and Detective Takasaka thought it was suicide, while Police Sergeant Kuwabara and Police Sergeant Naito believed it was homicide—that the husband simply could not bear taking care of a wife who was riddled with diseases and had senile dementia, so he killed his wife first and then committed suicide to end the painful life.

After hearing this, Uesugi Muneyuki had an idea in his mind.

Then the key to this matter lies in whether the husband committed suicide together with his wife, or killed his wife first and then committed suicide?

Judging solely from the superficial autopsy results just now, it should be the latter, because one is already a "Red Ghost" while the other is still a "Green Ghost," which shows that the two did not die at the same time, and the interval between their deaths should be more than a day.

Furthermore, it is reasonable that the husband could no longer endure it, given that his wife suffered from dementia.

Next, all that was needed was... Uesugi Muneyuki returned to the scene.

The Qinghui Stone shimmered, and as the light condensed, the Dead Souls of the husband and wife were awakened under the will of Uesugi Muneyuki.

Amidst the ghostly green light, the Souls of the husband and wife rose; unexpectedly, before Uesugi Muneyuki could even open his mouth to ask, the gray-haired wife struggled to reach into her pocket, and when she discovered she could not reach it, she became anxious, crying in distress, and stuttered: "Masato... the candy... is gone, the candy... can't find it..."

"The candy has been here all along, Ko, it's right here." The equally aged husband also had teary eyes; he held his wife tightly and pointed to his own mouth with his finger: "The candy has been in my mouth all along! Look!"

"Sob, sob... the candy is still there... Masato... likes it."

After the husband comforted his wife, he smiled very earnestly at Uesugi Muneyuki: "Apologies, my wife has caused you worry."

"Mr. Ishizaka, I am Uesugi Muneyuki, a Forensic Pathologist from Tokyo Medical and Dental University. It is unfortunate that we meet under these circumstances. I possess some... special abilities. I awakened you only because I wish to ask you a question..."

Uesugi Muneyuki briefly recounted the situation as he understood it.

"What?" Who would have thought that before Uesugi Muneyuki could even finish, the husband was already beyond furious; he was like an aging lion, bursting forth with that last bit of carefully hoarded energy while his life hung by a thread: "To actually say that I... killed Ko? How... despicable! How could I possibly have killed Ko?! These thieves of national tax money! Even at this point, they are unwilling to let us go? What exactly did we do wrong? We have already done everything in our power not to add trouble to society!"

"So, you are saying it was suicide?" Uesugi Muneyuki's expression remained unchanged; he realized the power of the Contract Law had been triggered.

"No, my wife, she died a natural death." When the husband, Mr. Ishizaka, mentioned this, he closed his eyes in pain: "When I got up that morning, I wanted to wake my wife, but when I called out to her, unlike usual, she no longer responded."

"I knew, I always knew, that such a day would surely come. Ko was riddled with illness, so I decided then and there to commit suicide by taking poison. I had long been prepared; I was prepared to leave this world together with my wife."

Mr. Ishizaka gave a desolate smile: "My wife is my life; if she dies, I will not live either."

"You committed suicide by taking poison? What kind of poison did you take?" Uesugi Muneyuki pressed.

"Sleeping pills."

"Japan stipulates that sleeping pills require a prescription from a nearby doctor to be dispensed in large quantities; otherwise, one can only purchase one pill at a time, and a single pill is only 1mg. It takes at least 100mg of sleeping pills to cause rapid death. How did you prepare such a large quantity?" Uesugi Muneyuki frowned.

"Didn't I say? I had long been prepared." Mr. Ishizaka still smiled miserably: "I don't know how you did it, but I truly died by suicide. Since you know, please, by all means, help us. I don't matter, but I don't want my wife to suffer a second injury!"

The Contract was complete.

The Soul Communication suddenly cut off here; Uesugi Muneyuki felt a wave of exhaustion, and the light of the Qinghui Stone on his right hand faded.

The husband said he committed suicide by swallowing sleeping pills at the same time, and the wife died a natural death, so why did the timing not match up?

Uesugi Muneyuki looked at the stacked corpses again; the husband on top had turned into a Red Ghost, while the wife underneath was still a Green Ghost.

Uesugi Muneyuki was still thinking when a light rain began to fall outside; Pipa~ amidst the lightning and thunder, the pale lightning shone upon the husband's rotting corpse.

The young Forensic Pathologist was stunned for a moment; suddenly, he surveyed the north-south orientation of the small hut.

Got it!

He knew what was going on!

Updated, asking for a ticket~ If there are many tickets, I will update another chapter today~

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(End of this chapter)