The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 273 Yingdi
Qi Fei went to Nancheng Hospital and then went straight to the forensic doctor, Xiao Tao.

“From the time Sheng Tianbao was confirmed dead to the time his body was sent for autopsy, only a few hours had passed. Regardless of the investigation at Nancheng Hospital, all procedures were performed according to regulations. Even if there were mistakes along the way, they wouldn't be enough to cause such severe organ decomposition.” Qi Fei handed the hospital's investigation report to Xiao Tao.

Xiao Tao didn't seem too surprised by the result: "It's basically certain that it's not a problem with Nancheng Hospital." As he spoke, he walked to Sheng Tianbao's body, took out tweezers, and pointed to its lungs. "This is where I found the decomposition spots last time. When I came to check this morning, I found a few more white spots. Look at these original ones, they've already turned gray."

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

Xiao Tao straightened up and said to Qi Fei, "I'm pretty sure the freezer was working properly last night. I checked the other bodies, and there were no problems. This means that this body is decomposing faster for some reason we don't know."

Under the stark white light, Qi Fei looked at Sheng Tianbao's corpse lying face up and felt something was off.

As they were talking, hurried footsteps came from outside, and soon Wu Shanqiu appeared in the forensic room.

"Brother Fei," Wu Shanqiu said breathlessly, leaning against the doorframe, "the hospital has given us news that Zhang Yingdi has woken up."
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Outside the ward, Xiao Lu, who was waiting at the hospital, reported on Zhang Yingdi's condition after she woke up: "The first thing she asked when she woke up was how her son was. To avoid affecting her condition, we haven't told her that Sheng Tianbao is dead yet. Also, after hearing that she was hospitalized at Nancheng Hospital, she kept asking to be transferred to another hospital."

They said they were afraid the hospital would retaliate against her and not give her proper treatment.

Zhong Kui said irritably, "Ha, is this what they call judging others by one's own petty standards?"

Qi Fei didn't say much. The autopsy results of Sheng Tianbao had caused this seemingly ordinary case to take a strange turn. He was eager to know more clues and quickly went into the ward.

This was the first time Qi Fei had seen Zhang Yingdi up close. Compared to her previous arrogance when she and her son Sheng Tianbao caused trouble at the hospital, she was now lying on her back on the hospital bed with an oxygen tube in her nostrils, her face pale, as if she had become a completely different person.

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

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

Zhang Yingdi said regretfully, "I shouldn't have turned on that air conditioner."

Qi Fei paused his note-taking; sure enough, they had turned on the air conditioning.

Zhang Yingdi continued, "The air conditioner in that shop was installed by the landlord. We usually don't want to spend the money, but that day it was so hot that I felt sorry for my son, so I told him and his father 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 it dissipate.

His father scolded him for being spoiled, saying that those of us who do this kind of work can't even stand the smell.

The two of them got into an argument in a fit of anger. I was trying to break it up when I felt a sore throat. I thought it was because I was talking too loudly, but then I couldn't breathe. I saw the father and son start coughing too, and realizing something was wrong, I hurriedly tried to open the roller shutter door. But after taking only a couple of steps, everything went black, and I fell to the ground.

I asked them how the father and son were doing, but they wouldn't say. Boss, please tell me, how is Tianbao?"

“She’s still receiving treatment,” Zhong Kui told her without hesitation, relieving the hesitant Qi Fei. Qi Fei breathed a sigh of relief and could continue focusing on the investigation: “Are you sure the roller shutter door was closed before you fainted?”

Zhang Yingdi nodded: "Our roller shutter isn't electric; you have to pull it by hand. I fainted before I even got there. What happened?"

“When you were discovered, the roller shutter door was open, which is how the residents who came to deliver the recyclables found you,” Qi Fei said.

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

“They’ve passed out just like you,” Zhong Kui said coldly from the side.

"I've noted down the fact that you fainted," Qi Fei said, turning a page of the notebook. "There's another case I need to ask you about: how did Luo Yongmei, your mother-in-law, get so seriously injured?"

When Qi Fei mentioned "Luo Yongmei," Zhang Yingdi tensed up instantly. Almost immediately, her previous weak and anxious demeanor changed, and her tone became sharp: "My mother-in-law was killed by this hospital. Boss, I need to switch hospitals, otherwise they will kill me just like they killed my mother-in-law!"

It was as if she had transformed into a different person in an instant, from a weak patient into the indignant whistleblower on the short video channel.

However, since learning about Luo Yongmei's accident from Mr. He, a kind-hearted citizen at the recycling station, the police have successively found witnesses who confirmed Mr. He's statement that Luo Yongmei was seriously injured when Sheng Tianbao ran her over with his 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, Qi Fei found it difficult to feel much sympathy for her at this moment.

“We’ve reviewed Luo Yongmei’s medical records. You said she was injured in a fall, but our investigation shows she was run over by Sheng Tianbao while he was backing up. We also obtained a blood sample from Luo Yongmei in your pickup truck. Dr. Li recommended surgery for Luo Yongmei, but you refused. Why?” Qi Fei asked in an interrogative tone.

Zhang Yingdi turned her face away: "You're all in cahoots, bullying us because we're poor and powerless! You must have taken bribes from the hospital, I'm going to report you to the police station!"

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

Zhang Yingdi felt uneasy under that look.

She slowly opened her mouth, her voice sounding much older than her age: "Adi, I died unjustly. When will you and Abao repay what you owe me?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yingdi was so frightened that she immediately curled up in a corner of the bed: "You, who are you?"

"I'm your mother! I'm in so much pain, I can't even speak! I'm going to take you all to tell the King of Hell the truth. You didn't make it this time, but there will be a next time!" Zhong Kui threatened her even more fiercely.

This time, Qi Fei didn't expose her, and even helped her out: "This is a famous sorceress in Sanwu Town. She can communicate with spirits. We know exactly how Luo Yongmei died. I advise you not to hide it anymore."