Starting with dissecting ghost stories

Back in the car, Lu Wenying was still somewhat dazed as she recalled Shen Xing's words.

Shen Xing's assessment of the situation was accurate and professional.

His explanation was logically consistent... it was just different from Lu Wenying's assumption.

If other technicians said the same thing, she would have to refute it.

Unfortunately, the person who gave this explanation was Shen Xing, who far surpassed him in terms of knowledge, experience, and professionalism.

She couldn't refute Shen Xing's statement.

But Lu Wenying's intuition kept telling her that the truth shouldn't be like this.

Is it really that simple? A textbook example of a paranoid gambler, under the influence of drugs, developed increasingly severe paranoia, ultimately killing his wife, daughter, and cousin, before committing suicide at the crime scene?

Lu Wenying gripped the steering wheel with both hands, slowly lowered her head, and tried to think.

The body, the body hasn't been found yet...

There are also surveillance cameras in the surrounding area; by checking them, we can find out who Li Ya has been in contact with.

Lu Wenying still had a sliver of hope, though she knew it was very slim... The surveillance in the old city was practically nonexistent.

"drop!"

Lu Wenying accidentally bumped her forehead against the horn on the steering wheel, and a sharp horn sounded. An old man in a white vest who was passing by was startled and pointed at the car, cursing a few times.

Lu Wenying quickly rolled down the car window to apologize, and then, regaining her composure, drove away from the park's parking lot under the cover of night, heading towards the compound.

Shen Xing was also preparing to go home.

He stayed a little longer after the trace evidence inspectors cut open the film, and gave them some simple on-site guidance.

Some people at the scene were initially unconvinced, but when they learned that he was originally the top forensic doctor in the provincial department, they stopped expressing their dissatisfaction. Many even began to ask if the provincial department had any more advanced techniques.

Shen Xing also had a brief technical exchange with the trace evidence examiners at the scene.

His purpose in doing this was to add an extra layer of insurance and leave more footprints at the scene.

When I first came to the recording studio, I didn't take any protective measures, so it's inevitable that I'll leave some traces.

Shen Xing had already prepared his response, but he wanted to avoid trouble if possible.

Now that the scene has been further damaged and there are no surveillance cameras around the old town, the probability of finding oneself is now almost zero.

Lu Wenying's invitation eliminated the last chance to find Shen Xing—but even if she found him, she could only remain in doubt, unable to convict him.

When Shen Xing arrived at the apartment building, he sped up a bit.

He still smelled of the scene, and he didn't want to keep that smell on him any longer.

However, when he passed by Grandma Zhang's stir-fry shop, he saw Grandma Zhang sitting at the door looking around.

Behind Granny Zhang, the small shop was not open as usual; the roller shutter was half-drawn, revealing a void of darkness inside.

She seemed to be waiting for someone, and upon seeing Shen Xing, she stood up, smiled, and waved to him.

What's wrong?

Although he didn't want to pay attention, Granny Zhang was now a key figure in the case, and he didn't want to show any signs of being different from usual.

Shen Xing turned his bike around and rode towards Granny Zhang's direction.

The bicycle was parked next to the shop. It was already 9:30, and almost all the surrounding shops were closed.

"What's wrong, Grandma?" Shen Xing's expression was somewhat worried, and his smile seemed inappropriate in the current situation.

"Come on, Ah Xing, it's been a long time since you've tried Grandma's cooking, hasn't it?"

Grandma Zhang acted as if nothing had happened, beckoning Shen Xing into the shop. She hunched over and squeezed inside, then turned on the light and tried to push the roller shutter door up.

"No need, Grandma, I can come in." Shen Xing bent down and squeezed inside, glancing around the shop.

The stir-fry shop didn't seem to be open all day, but on the innermost counter, there was a notebook, a pen, and a pair of reading glasses, along with a large light blue lace photo album, which didn't look like an accounting notebook.

Seeing that Granny Zhang was turning on the gas and the stove, Shen Xing said, "No need to trouble yourself, Granny."

For a moment, he was unsure what Granny Zhang wanted to do; her current emotions seemed to be beyond Shen Xing's comprehension.

Shouldn't one usually be more grief-stricken after losing a family member?

Shen Xing couldn't persuade her, so he didn't stop her anymore and quietly watched as Granny Zhang served him a plate of fried noodles a few minutes later.

"Don't mind it, I'm just an old lady with no skills, this is all I know how to do." Grandma Zhang packed another portion into a white plastic box, filling it to the brim, and placed it on Shen Xing's table. "Take this back for my little sister."

Shen Xing picked up his chopsticks but didn't touch them. He looked at Granny Zhang in front of him with some curiosity.

Grandma Zhang sat sideways opposite Shen Xing, staring blankly at the stove. After a while, she began to speak to herself.

"The old man passed away early, and this was all the skill I learned from him. Back then..."

The old lady continued talking to herself, and at first Shen Xing responded intermittently, showing great patience.

"Since moving here, I've been alone every day." The old lady glanced at the table at the back of the shop where the photo albums were placed. Li Xiaohua usually did her homework and drew pictures there.

"You must have been very lonely back then," Shen Xing continued to chime in.

"Grandma, there's no such thing as being lonely," Grandma Zhang shook her head and smiled, her smile tugging at the wrinkles on her face. "Every New Year's Eve at noon, Awei brings you all here for our New Year's Eve dinner."

"But I really dislike the day after the Lunar New Year when the leftovers I brought home are stuffed into the fridge. How am I supposed to eat all that food by myself?"

"After Xiaohua's mother brought her over, life became a little easier. Then you all moved back, and I was thinking that I would have someone to have New Year's Eve dinner with this year."

The "Awei" that Granny Zhang mentioned should be her adoptive father, Shen Jingwei.

At this point, Granny Zhang paused, her thin lips trembled, and she turned to look at Shen Xing.

She reached out and grasped Shen Xing's hands, her cloudy eyes welling up with tears.

"Ah Xing, I know you're the best. Tell Grandma, did that gambler kill Fatty? He's a drug addict." Grandma Zhang gripped Shen Xing's hand tightly as if she had grasped a lifeline. "The police won't tell me. They asked me who called me for that gambler's address, but I won't tell them."

"Tell Grandma, was it that heartless beast who killed Fatty...?"

Shen Xing remained silent for a while. Just as he often couldn't understand his sister's way of thinking, he was now also unsure about Grandma Zhang's thoughts.

However, I have already been to the scene today, and judging from Shen Xing's style, he will tell me the truth in a reasonable and reasonable way.

"I went to the scene today." Shen Xing tried to hide his sadness as much as possible. "It was murder... I estimate the police will close the case in a few days."

"I knew it, that damn poisoner was up to no good... He never celebrates his birthday, but he changed his ways this year? I ruined Fatty... I killed her..."

She looked down at her hands, her lips parted and she breathed, feeling like she wanted to sneeze but couldn't, and wanted to howl but couldn't make a sound.

She suddenly looked up at Shen Xing in front of her, her eyes filled with hope, and said, "Tell Grandma, did that dead ghost suffer any pain in his death?"

The sudden turn of the question made Shen Xing instantly wary.

Why would she suddenly ask herself these questions? She was no longer a police officer and had never even seen a corpse directly.

"Judging from the photos of the scene that Officer Lu gave me, Li Xiaohua did not show any fear on her face, so she must have died unconscious," Shen Xing paused and said, "As for Li Ya, he must have died in great pain, even more painful than he appears in the photos. The police are not ruling out the possibility that someone else killed Li Ya and are still investigating."

Shen Xing initially dissected the body repeatedly with the intention of destroying it, and Li Ya's level of suffering must have been comparable to torture.

Not to mention, Shen Xing did not use anesthesia, and Li Ya was almost fully conscious as he continuously felt Shen Xing cutting into him.

"Okay...okay..." Granny Zhang said "okay" several times, murmuring, "He really deserves to die, he really deserves to die...the police shouldn't have investigated, he deserves to die..."

Grandma Zhang's emotions began to rise, but she quickly recovered, withdrew her hand, wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, and stood up.

"Grandma will pack it up for you so you can take it home and eat it..." She got up and packed up the untouched fried noodles in front of Shen Xing, putting them together with Shen Yuan's portion into a transparent plastic bag, and handed it to Shen Xing.

"Thank you, Grandma. I'll head back now." Shen Xing took the bag, but Grandma Zhang didn't let go.

"Don't worry, Ah Xing, Grandma won't tell." Grandma Zhang forced a smile at Shen Xing. "It's all Grandma's fault for giving birth to him and letting that ghost live for so long... Why didn't he die by my hand?"

Shen Xing didn't say anything more. He simply offered a few words of comfort before slipping out of the half-open roller shutter door.

Granny Zhang's behavior was unusual, and Shen Xing suspected that the police had instigated her to try and extract information from him. However, he handled the situation well, and his words were consistent with his public persona. Even afterward, the police could not use the recording to question Shen Xing about leaking case details.

After Shen Xing left, Granny Zhang sat on the last table for a long time, until late at night.

Before her was a photo album. She put on her reading glasses and flipped through the album again. It was full of old photos.

At first, it was just her alone, along with her parents.

Behind them, the young "old man" also entered the frame with a smile.

Later, Li Ya, Li Xiaohua, Shen Jingwei, Shen Xing, and Shen Yuan all appeared in the album, but Li Xiaohua appeared more often.

After reviewing her notes one last time, she took off her reading glasses, walked to the stove, and laboriously disassembled the small gas cylinder underneath.

After struggling to drag the gas cylinder out of the shop, she didn't close the roller shutter door. Instead, she picked up a wooden plaque, tied the gas cylinder to it, and lifted it up.

A full liquefied petroleum gas cylinder weighs nearly 30 kg, which is about the same weight as a six or seven-year-old child.

Carrying this weight, she walked unsteadily through the night.

After an unknown amount of time, she arrived at the entrance of the video arcade. She tore off the police tape, put down the gas cylinder, took out a set of keys, tore off the police seal, unlocked the door, and dragged the gas cylinder inside.

After closing the door, she turned on the light.

The interior decoration was still the same as she remembered, carrying her memories.

"hiss......"

She turned on the gas valve.

"How come you didn't die by my hand...?"

Granny Zhang's voice was already tinged with resentment.

"That beast... even in death, its vengeful spirit lingers."

The strong smell of rotten cabbage had completely masked the original odor in the room.

The liquefied gas spread across the ground like water, thick and cold.

"Fatty, Grandma's here to keep you company. Grandma won't let you be bullied by that deadbeat down there either..."

The match is struck and lit.

"Buzz".

The gas accumulated to a critical point and exploded when a tiny spark was generated.

The air in the entire space was instantly filled with flames. The air in the enclosed space expanded rapidly due to the heat, and the pressure inside found its weakest outlet—the glass window.

"boom--!"

Glass would shoot out like shattered diamonds, and flames would spew from the windows.

An elderly man, all alone, chose a place filled with nostalgia, joy, resentment, and a mix of other emotions, and rekindled old memories.