Chapter Sixty: Lai San Is Dead!

Li Hong said he didn’t know either. He’d just been tailing Lai San’er and saw that Lai San’er removed the lower door threshold, crawled in from underneath, and then, after getting inside, stood up as if nothing were wrong. He looked just like a perfectly healthy person, walked into the room, and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

Damn it, this guy really is up to something.

I cursed, “Wait for me, I’m coming right now.”

I handed the milk tea stall back to the owner, covered the money the school kids just spent, and took Tang Jingjing with me, heading straight for the abandoned house.

To avoid being seen, I parked the car at the guesthouse. After checking in, I slipped out the back door and walked the rest of the way. I didn’t let Tang Jingjing come with me; the more people, the more likely we’d be noticed—and the murderer was ruthless, who knew if he’d come after us? Tang Jingjing wasn’t happy, but she had no choice but to stay behind.

I texted Li Hong, asking where he was hiding. He replied that he was up in a big willow tree outside the abandoned house, and joked that if I was coming, I’d better bring a quilt or I’d freeze solid overnight and he wouldn’t be responsible.

When I got to the back of the house, I found a row of willows, but couldn’t spot Li Hong anywhere. He really knew how to hide. I pulled out my phone to text him again, but before I could, he dangled down from above and tapped me on the shoulder, scaring me half to death.

I hadn’t even noticed he was right above me—he was so well concealed.

He was wrapped head to toe in willow branches, like he was wearing a ghillie suit. In the dead of night, hidden in the willow, he was nearly invisible.

I grabbed his hand, and he pulled me up. I broke off a willow branch and made a simple disguise for my head.

Li Hong pointed ahead, saying that from here, we could look through the window and see Lai San’er. I glanced inside and saw Lai San’er lying on the floor, sleeping.

I asked Li Hong if he’d really seen Lai San’er stand up earlier.

Li Hong shook his head and said, “Why would I lie to you? Who knew this guy was hiding so much?”

I asked why Lai San’er would pretend to be paralyzed. Li Hong shrugged and grinned, “Who knows what he’s thinking? Probably so he could sneak out at night and steal things—nobody suspects a cripple.”

I thought that was a real possibility.

Li Hong told me, “Get some sleep, I’ll keep watch. We’ll switch when I get tired.”

I nodded. But it was nearly impossible to sleep in that environment. The temperature was low, and a small river ran behind us, making everything damp.

I regretted not taking Li Hong’s advice and bringing a quilt.

Still, exhaustion got the better of me, and I drifted off.

I hadn’t been asleep long when Li Hong woke me up. Groggy, I asked what was wrong. Li Hong pointed toward the house. “Look—Lai San’er is moving.”

I looked through the window. Sure enough, Lai San’er had stood up, moving about like a normal person. He circled the room twice, walked to the door, and peered suspiciously side to side.

I thought he was about to leave and braced myself to follow him, but he only looked around, then pulled his head back inside.

After returning to his sleeping spot, he suddenly stopped and looked up towards our window.

My heart skipped a beat—were we discovered?

Li Hong shook his head. He’d checked twice before; it wasn’t possible to see us from inside, especially with our camouflage and the poor light.

I nodded, but being stared at by a strange man with such a bizarre look was unsettling.

Lai San’er stared in our direction for a full half hour, unmoving. It was unnerving, and even Li Hong began to doubt. He whispered, “Damn, could he really have spotted us?”

In the moonlight, I could see the faintest smirk on Lai San’er’s lips.

Just then, a splash came from behind the willow grove. My heart lurched—what was that? Someone fell in the river?

Upon hearing the sound, Lai San’er’s smirk vanished, and he hurriedly lay down as if nothing had happened, resuming his sleep.

What was going on? It seemed Lai San’er knew what made the noise.

I told Li Hong, “Keep watching him. I’ll check what happened.”

Li Hong nodded. “Be careful.”

I slipped down from the willow and hurried to the river behind the grove.

A large wolfdog was struggling in the water. Relieved, I realized it was just a dog that had fallen in.

I rushed back and told Li Hong it was nothing, just a dog. I asked if anything had happened here.

Li Hong said everything was normal; Lai San’er was still asleep.

I worried aloud, “Doesn’t he need a blanket? Won’t he freeze to death?”

No sooner had I spoken than Lai San’er rolled over, putting my worries to rest.

Seeing Li Hong yawn repeatedly, I told him to get some sleep. He smiled sheepishly, “Getting old—not like I used to be. I’ll nap a bit; you keep a close watch!”

We watched until five in the morning. Lai San’er hadn’t moved an inch, and my sense of unease only grew.

Something was wrong—we had to check on Lai San’er. According to forensic science, even in deep sleep, a person changes position over thirty times a night.

But Lai San’er had lain there unmoving.

I woke Li Hong and said we should check on him now. Li Hong nodded and followed me into the yard.

It was eerily quiet. Our entrance made plenty of noise, but Lai San’er didn’t react—just lay there.

I went over and kicked him. Instantly, a chill ran from my head to my toes—Lai San’er’s body was stiff with rigor mortis.

Damn. I cursed, “Lai San’er is dead…”

Li Hong was shocked, immediately kneeling to straighten Lai San’er and began CPR.

I told him it was too late and to call for an ambulance at once.

Li Hong pulled out his phone and dialed emergency services. I checked Lai San’er over and found he was well and truly dead—he had been for over five hours, judging by the rigidity.

Five hours ago was when we saw him get up and move to the door.

The ambulance arrived quickly and took him away. Seeing the stiff corpse, the doctor didn’t even bother with oxygen, just checked his eyelids and declared him gone.

I asked, “Can you tell how he died?”

The doctor said, “Isn’t this Lai San’er from the village? Probably froze to death. Without an autopsy, I can’t say for sure.”

I was surprised, “You know Lai San’er?”

The doctor explained, “Who around here doesn’t? He was a petty thief, used to be in the underworld, but his greed got him in trouble. Someone broke both his legs—lucky he survived at all.”

I nodded and began a preliminary examination in the ambulance.

But the doctor stopped me, “What are you doing?” I replied, “An autopsy.” He refused, and even the driver protested, saying if I did an autopsy in their vehicle, they’d leave us stranded.

I asked why. The doctor said Lai San’er had been mentally ill, and it was bad luck to perform an autopsy on such a patient in the car—the vehicle would become haunted. He even told me stories about other forensic doctors who’d done such things, and afterward, their cars were cursed; one even crashed into a river with a pregnant woman inside, killing everyone.

I was speechless—I didn’t expect even doctors to be so superstitious.

I had no choice but to have them take us to the forensic lab.

The lights at the police station were still on—someone was on duty. It seemed Little Li was on shift tonight. I went in to call for him, but the duty room was empty.

Strange—where had he gone in the middle of the night?

I called his phone; it started ringing outside the door.

I looked over and saw Little Li approaching, confused. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

I asked, “Where were you just now?”

He replied, “I saw a patrol car pass by and went out to take a look. Looked like one of ours.”

“Oh? Who’s driving out so early?”

Little Li shook his head, “No idea, but it looked like the chief’s car.”

I said, “Forget it for now. Help me get the body down.”

At the mention of a corpse, Little Li panicked. “Whose body?”

“Lai San’er’s,” I said casually.

Little Li was stunned. “Lai San’er is dead?”