Ghost Says - Chapter 2.1

The next morning, Qiao Gang got up and went to buy breakfast. He also brought back a portion for Jian Xia – a deep-fried dough sticks and a large bowl of soy milk.

He walked into the room. The person on the bed was still asleep, with the blanket covering their head.

This kid isn’t afraid of suffocating to death.

Qiao Gang went over and lifted the blanket, about to wake him up.

The moment he saw his face clearly, the smile on Qiao Gang’s face instantly froze.

The once delicate face was now completely distorted. The skin on his face was pale and bluish, with eyes bulging out like a dead fish, staring at him.

It was as if he was looking at him with extreme resentment and fear…

The bowl in Qiao Gang’s hand fell, spilling soy milk all over the floor.

When the police arrived after receiving the report, Qiao Gang was sitting on the sofa in the living room, his face blank.

The lead officer issued orders to seal off the scene, directing personnel to collect evidence. The forensic examiner also conducted an initial assessment.

Qiao Gang watched the police coming and going in the house, feeling a strange sensation as if he was in a dream.

Was what he saw earlier really Jian Xia?

That lively, righteous Jian Xia who occasionally played little tricks?

Just yesterday, he was talking to him, feeding him food.

How could such a person… just die like this?

And his expression…

Qiao Gang couldn’t help but connect this situation with the rumors about Wen Dayong’s death.

A policeman politely asked if he could ask him a few questions. He nodded.

After asking a few routine questions, the evidence collection work inside the house was almost done. The body had been wrapped up and was ready to be sent for autopsy.

The house couldn’t be lived in for now and needed to be sealed off. The team leader told Qiao Gang to pack his things and move to another place temporarily. He said they might need his cooperation later and asked him to leave his contact number.

Qiao Gang understood and expressed his willingness to cooperate with the police.

He took a few changes of clothes and planned to move to the repair shop first. The rest room inside could accommodate him for a couple of days.

A few days later, the police called him over.

At the police station, the captain he had seen that day came to take his statement. The captain’s name was Wang Yi, and he had also handled Wen Dayong’s case previously.

Qiao Gang had a good attitude and cooperated well with their inquiries.

When asked about the day before Jian Xia’s death, Wang Yi repeated his question –

“You said you fed him something before going to sleep?”

“Yes.”

“What time was that?”

“Around 10 PM. I got home at exactly 9:30 PM.”

“… Did you feed him personally?”

“Yes.”

Wang Yi and the person next to him immediately changed their expressions. They looked at each other, then asked again, “Did you see him eat it with your own eyes?”

Although Qiao Gang found his way of questioning strange, he thought for a moment and said, “Not exactly. The light in his room was broken at that time, so I didn’t see his face.”

Wang Yi looked into his eyes, his gaze sharp and powerful, as if trying to pierce directly into one’s heart.

Qiao Gang felt a bit uneasy. Was there something wrong with what he just said?

“According to the information we have, the time of death of the deceased was between midnight and 3 AM on July 20th.” Wang Yi flipped through the autopsy report in his hand, then looked at him.

“In other words, on the evening of July 20th, that night, it was impossible for you to have spoken with the deceased,” Wang Yi said.

Seeing the look of disbelief on the young man’s face across from him, he continued questioning.

“So… how did you feed the deceased?”

“Are we just letting him go like this?” the police officer beside Wang Yi asked.

“What else can we do?” Wang Yi lit a cigarette. “The deceased had comminuted fractures in both hands, cause of injury unknown. Cause of death was myocardial infarction. No other injuries on the body.” He tapped the autopsy report on the table.

“Do you know what a comminuted fracture is? It means the bone is shattered into more than three pieces, also called a T or Y-type fracture. Have you seen the photos? Those hands were completely shattered, like they’d been run over by a tank repeatedly. That’s not just shattering, that’s pulverization!”

The young officer stared blankly at the autopsy report. “Goodness, how did it end up like this?”

“Never mind how it happened, we certainly couldn’t have done it.”

“What about the culprit?”

They couldn’t let the most suspicious person go. After all, Qiao Gang was currently the only one with the conditions to commit murder. Moreover, both victims with the same cause of death had contact with him. How could there be such a coincidence?

Even if he didn’t kill them, it must be related to him!

“Arrest him? On what grounds?!”

Who knows what kind of thing that culprit is!

Wang Yi took a heavy drag on his cigarette.

It had been a long time since he’d encountered such a thorny case…

Qiao Gang left the police station feeling confused and alarmed.

Was the Jian Xia he saw that day… already dead?

The officer just said Jian Xia was already dead at that time, so who was the person talking to him?

If it wasn’t Jian Xia, then who was it? Where was Jian Xia at that time?

Qiao Gang recalled a movie he had seen before, where the murderer moved the corpse under the bed after killing, then lay on the bed. When the female lead returned, she didn’t notice at all and slept on top as usual.

Her dead husband was just separated from her by the thickness of a bed.

He thought about that night, how Jian Xia’s corpse might have been lying under the bed.

Right by his feet.

But his thoughts were immediately overturned. According to Officer Wang, noodles were indeed found in Jian Xia’s stomach.

So on that day… he had fed Jian Xia who was already dead.

Can a dead person eat noodles?

The conclusion should have been laughable, but Qiao Gang couldn’t laugh.

He felt cold.

A cold that penetrated to his very bones.

The environment at the repair shop wasn’t very good. Qiao Gang could only stay there temporarily for a few days. He didn’t want to return to the rented house anymore. From now on, he needed to start looking for a suitable place.

He spent an entire afternoon visiting several housing agencies but didn’t find anything satisfactory. Either the rent was too high, or the houses had various problems.

After being out in the sun all afternoon, Qiao Gang was covered in sweat. Just as he returned to the repair shop, he received a call from Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu had also heard about what happened to Jian Xia. When she heard he was looking for a house, she immediately told him not to bother. Her family had a house left by relatives who had emigrated. They couldn’t bear to sell it, saying they wanted to keep it as a place to stay when they returned to the country in the future, so they asked her family to look after it.

Xiao Yu told him to just move in and stay there. The house was empty anyway, and having someone living there would give it some life. All the furniture was already there. He wouldn’t need to pay rent, just cover some utilities.

Although Qiao Gang was a bit hesitant, he agreed after Xiao Yu’s repeated pleas. He secretly decided he would still pay some rent, as living in someone else’s place for free didn’t feel right. After arranging to meet her the next morning to view the house, he hung up.

Feeling sweaty and sticky, Qiao Gang grabbed some clean clothes and bathing supplies, packed them in a bag, and went out.

He arrived at a nearby bathhouse, paid the deposit, got a key, and headed to the men’s bath area with familiarity.

The bathhouse wasn’t large, divided into two rooms – an outer changing room and an inner bathing area.

Qiao Gang found the locker with his number and started undressing.

The bathhouse was quiet today. A middle-aged man had entered just before him and quickly undressed and went in.

Now Qiao Gang was alone in the changing room.

He took off his shirt, then unbuttoned his pants and was about to unzip them.

Suddenly, he felt like someone was watching him from behind. He turned around, but the room was empty.

Yet the feeling of being watched had been distinct. Qiao Gang shook his head and turned back to remove his pants.

The feeling intensified.

Every nerve in Qiao Gang’s body tensed. He tried to reassure himself mentally, then casually turned around again.

Opposite was a wall with a door leading to the front desk. To prevent people from seeing inside, a curtain hung down to the floor.

Now the curtain was fluttering in the breeze, brushing against the ground.

There was no one there. The room was empty.

When he turned, the feeling of being watched disappeared again.

Suddenly feeling uneasy, Qiao Gang quickly removed his remaining clothes, grabbed his toiletries, and entered the inner room.

Inside, there weren’t many people. The bathing area was simply divided into two parts. The front near the door had shower stalls with showerheads on the walls in two rows. The back had a bathing pool, not very large, able to fit about 20 people.

Since the space was open, everyone could see each other.

The people who came here were ordinary folks, generally easygoing and unbothered by this.

Qiao Gang chose a spot and turned on the hot water. The bathhouse was old and in disrepair, with many pipes broken. The water was either too cold or too hot, hot enough to scald the skin.

Having been here many times, Qiao Gang knew which spots were good and went straight for one.

There weren’t many people showering, only five besides him. Four people were already soaking in the pool, looking quite content.

Occasional chatter could be heard, and Qiao Gang’s tension gradually eased.

He’d encountered too many strange things lately, making him overly suspicious.

Halfway through his shower, the others finished and gradually entered the pool, while two from the pool left.

For men, perhaps the most enjoyable part of bathing is soaking in the tub. After a long, tiring day, relaxing in warm water is the best way to relieve fatigue.

Qiao Gang enjoyed it too. Sometimes he’d come here just to soak, as he didn’t have such facilities at home.

After rinsing off, he took his towel and found a quiet corner of the pool.

But the moment he entered the water, Qiao Gang suddenly felt something strange.

He looked around. Everyone else seemed normal, soaking in the bath. Two who appeared to know each other were chatting quietly, likely about light topics, occasionally chuckling softly.

Everything seemed perfectly normal.

Qiao Gang shook his head, thinking he must be dizzy from the hot shower.

The slight floating sensation in the water was comfortable, and the temperature was just right. He gradually relaxed, releasing the fatigue accumulated from house hunting earlier. He felt a bit drowsy.

The bathhouse closed at 10 PM, so he still had plenty of time.

Closing his eyes, he prepared to take a short nap.

Slowly, his consciousness became hazy. He could hear the subtle sounds around him clearly – water droplets falling from bodies, the pool water being stirred, comfortable sighs, and low whispers.

Everything was peaceful.

In his half-asleep state, something suddenly flashed through Qiao Gang’s mind—

He realized what was wrong!