Grocery Store No.514

On Sunday, December 10, 3020, because of Lu Hao’s persistence, Ling Hua’an agreed to accompany him to the East Lake for fishing.
Along with Yan Yu and Sun Ming, also Wang Lei, who no one could see except Ling Hua’an.

East Lake Park is an AAAA(A4)1 tourist attraction developed by the Huacheng government.
Because it is early winter, most of the flowers and trees in the park have already entered the deciduous stage.
Walking on the long sidewalk, the golden fallen leaves are rustled by the wind.
One after another fluttering and fall, like golden snow, which is a beautiful sight.

Picking off the fallen leave on his head, Ling Hua’an put it on the tip of his nose to smell it.
He said with a smile, “The smell of winter, the scenery should be beautiful now.”

Lu Hao grabbed the fallen leave and also followed Ling Hua’an to sniff it.
He frowned and said, “Where is the smell, and even if the scenery is beautiful, it’s not as good as one-tenth of my brother.”

Ling Hua’an understood Lu Hao’s mind and said with a smile, “you really have a glib tongue.”

“No, I’m seeking truth from facts.
If you don’t believe me, you can ask Yan Yu-ge  and Senior Sun Ming.”

”Sun Ming agreed and said, “Lu Hao is indeed right about this.
Laoban, the people around you don’t even bother to look at the scenery, they are all stealing glances at you.”

Although Yan Yu didn’t speak, he responded softly.

Even Wang Lei said in Ling Hua’an’s ear, “Laoban, they are telling the truth.”

What Sun Ming said was indeed the truth, but all the passers-by cast a curious glance at them, not for anything else, just because everyone in the group was so good-looking.

Ling Hua’an said with amusement, “you have learned to be glib with this bratty boy.”

The four of them walked around the East Lake, talking and laughing.
There is a special fishing area for people who love fishing.
The fish they have caught must be bought at the market price before they can be taken home.
When they came to the fishing area, they found a place where there were few people, and they began to set up camp.
Although they were not fishing enthusiasts, they prepared a lot of items such as fishing rods, hooks, fishing floats, and fishing bait.
There are even brackets and fish baskets, which are all bought from specialized fishing gear stores, and they are all the best things in the store.

“Ge, it’s ready.
You can just throw the rod.” Lu Hao hands the fishing rod to Ling Hua’an.

Ling Hua’an pushed the fishing rod and said with a smile, “I’m sitting here basking in the sun, listening to music, and won’t be involved in fishing.”

“Ge, it is not easy to come here.
If you don’t participate, it means you didn’t come.
Don’t worry, I’ll be your eye.
And I’ll never let a fish slip through the net.”

Ling Hua’an couldn’t beat Lu Hao, so he reluctantly picked up the fishing rod and reminded, “You all stay away, don’t get hurt unintentionally.”

Everyone responded, but no one left the place.
Ling Hua’an felt his heart warm and helpless at the same time.
He touched the fishing line and waved the fishing rod lightly, and the hook was thrown out.

“How about it, is the location okay?”

“Yes, of course.
Ge, sit down, we’ll wait for the fish to take the bait now.”

With Lu Hao’s help, Ling Hua’an sat on the stool.
He looked at the lake, and heard Wang Lei’s voice in his ears, “Laoban, there is something in the middle of the lake.”

Ling Hua’an nodded.
Although he couldn’t see the surrounding scene clearly, he could clearly see that there was a ghost in front of him at a distance of more than ten meters, looking at the angler on the shore with cold eyes.

Looking at the length of the hair, the ghost should be a woman with a pale face, blood, and tears hanging from the corners of her eyes.
Black energy entangled around her body along with her white dress in the water.
She seemed to notice Ling Hua’an’s gaze, and her cold eyes looked over.
When she saw Wang Lei, an inexplicable light flashed from the bottom of her eyes.

“Eh, the fish is drifting, I seem to have seen the fish drifting a bit just now.”
Lu Hao stared at the drifting fish, and patted Ling Hua’an’s arm excitedly “It’s really moving, it’s really moving! Ge, hurry up.
Pull the rod and don’t let the fish run away.”

It did move, but in Ling Hua’an’s eyes, it was not the fish that moved.
But the female ghost, who was swimming towards the shore.

“Laoban, there is so much resentment on that female ghost!” Wang Lei said with some fear.

Ling Hua’an didn’t speak.
He grabbed the fishing rod and pulled it, but couldn’t pull it at all.
He turned to Yanyu and said, “Yan Yu, come and help.”

Yan Yu responded and came to Ling Hua’an’s side, took the fishing rod, and pulled it hard, but it didn’t get pulled.

Seeing this, Lu Hao said excitedly, “It seems to be a big fish.
Yan Yu-ge, let me help you.
”

With Lu Hao’s help, the two pulled the ‘big fish’ out of the water.

 Lu Hao said in disbelief, “It’s not a fish, it seems …… to be a person.”

“Sun Ming, take Lu Hao far away and call the police.”

Sun Ming looked at the corpse in the lake and his face changed.
He pulled Lu Hao away from the shore.
The female ghost had already come to Ling Hua’an at this time.
Wang Lei hid behind Ling Hua’an and whispered, “Laoban, why does she keep looking at me?”

Ling Hua’an didn’t answer and stared up and down at the female ghost.
Although her face was pale and swollen, she could still see that the female ghost was good-looking before her death.
She was wearing a long white dress, which was wet and attached to her body.
The small abdomen was hollowed out a hole, and the bloody intestines flowed out, dyeing the white long skirt red.

“Who are you?” The female ghost’s voice was sharp and piercing.

Ling Hua’an didn’t say much, he took out a bell from his pocket and chanted the incantation silently.
The bell rang softly, and the female ghost who had just been in front of him disappeared.
Apparently, she had already been put into the bell.

The female ghost who was inside the bell kept struggling.
The bell vibrated and made bursts of crisp sounds.
Ling Hua’an frowned slightly before biting his finger and tapping on the bell.
A drop of fresh blood was printed on the bell.
After the female ghost gave a scream, she immediately calmed down.

Seeing this, Wang Lei could not help but breathe a sigh of relief, and said with lingering fears, “Laoban,  her resentment is even stronger than Jiang Changping.”

“If I’m not mistaken, they disemboweled her during her delivery.
One body with two lives, that’s why she has such a big resentment.”

“One body and two lives?” Wang Lei frowned and said angrily, “the murderer is too crazy.”

Yan Yu cut off the line on the fishing rod and tied it to a big tree to prevent the body from sinking to the bottom of the lake again.
Glancing at the people who were watching around before coming to Ling Hua’an, Yan Yu asked softly, “Hua’an, have you found anything?”

“En.
We’ll talk about it when we get back.
”

About fifteen minutes later, the siren sounded loud, and several police cars stopped on the shore of East Lake.
Jiang Chengyan walked over with his work badge.
When he saw Ling Hua’an in the crowd, he couldn’t help but be stunned.
He walked quickly to the front and asked with concern, “Hua’an, why are you here? Are you injured?”

Ling Hua’an shook his head, “We found the body and reported it.” he answered briefly.

Jiang Chengyan looked around, then asked, “Then you are here for a winter trip?”

Yan Yu replied lightly, “Yes, the body was found while we’re fishing.
“

While the three of them were talking, Yao Min followed closely.
He looked at Jiang Chengyan and Ling Hua’an alternately then smiled, “I wonder why Captain walked so fast, it turned out Ling Dage is here.”

Jiang Chengyan’s face heated up and he glared at Yao Min, warning her not to talk nonsense.
Ling Hua’an smiled slightly but did not answer.
A life is at stake, now is really not the time for small talk.

Jiang Chengyan seemed to have thought of this too, and said, “Yao Min, it was the body found by Hua’an and the others.
You should take a statement from them.
Hua’an, when something happens here, this place will be blocked, so you’d better go back when you’re done giving statements.”

Ling Hua’an nodded and said, “Go ahead, we’ll go back later.”

 Yao Min looked at Ling Hua’an, then turned her eyes to Yan Yu.
She took out the notebook, and asked, “Handsome guy what’s your name, the date of birth, and your contact information? ”

“Yan Yu, born on September 5, 2995.
Phone number 198****1232.”

“Born in ’95, so you are 25 years old.
Where do you live and what occupation are you doing now?”

“Is this related to the case?” Yan Yu looked at Yao Min coldly.
Yao Min was startled, then smiled and said, “Mr.
Yan, don’t think I’m annoying, I’m asking this is purely a formality.”

Yan Yu replied patiently, “I live in Jiamei Villa Area and now run a company.”

“He is already the owner of the company at the age of 25, Mr.
Yan is really young and promising.
Seeing that Yan Yu did not respond, Yao Min couldn’t help but pouted her lips and said, “What are you doing here and how did you find the body?”

“We came for a winter trip.
When we’re fishing, the fish hook caught the clothes of the deceased and pulled the body under it.”

Yao Min gradually entered the working state and asked, “Who are you here with? When did you arrive here, and what time did you find the body?”

“Four.  Me, Hua’an, Lu Hao, and Sun Ming.
We arrived here around 9:30 and found the body at around 10:00.”

Yao Min finished recording, looked up at Ling Hua’an, and said, “Ling Dage, the statements have been recorded.
You can leave.”

“Okay, let’s pack up and go.”

“Ling Dage, the things around the scene should not be packed, according to the regulations we have to take them away for inspection, we will return them when there are no problems after inspection.”

“Okay.
Go ahead, we will go first.”

The four left the lake and drove back to Ling Hua’an’s house.
Although Lu Hao didn’t see the tragic state of the corpse, he was still frightened.
His face was a little pale, and he said with lingering fear, “Ge, I will never go fishing again.”

Ling Hua’an rubbed his hair to calm him down, “It’s okay, don’t be afraid, Ge is here.”

Lu Hao hugged Ling Hua’an and acted coquettishly, “ge, will you dislike me for being timid?”

Ling Hua’an said with amusement, “If I dislike it, can you become bold?”

“Then I’ll go train my guts! Compared to those horrible things, I’m still most afraid that Ge will dislike it.”

“You are my younger brother, connected by blood, why would I despise you? It’s noon, what do you want to eat, let Yanyu cook it for you.”
To avoid Lu Hao’s wild thoughts, Ling Hua’an changed the subject.

“En, en.
I really want to eat something delicious to suppress the shock, let me think about it.” Lu Hao thought about it and finally said, “I want to eat hot pot and mushroom soup pot.
It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten, I miss it.”

Ling Hua’an took out his mobile phone and handed it to Lu Hao, and said, “Okay, let’s eat hot pot.
You and Sun Ming go to the supermarket and buy whatever you want.
Yan Yu and I will prepare mushroom soup at home.
Do you know the payment password of the phone?”

“I know, then we’re going.”

After sending Lu Hao and Sun Ming out, Ling Hua’an looked at Yanyu and said, “Yan Yu, you go to prepare the mushroom soup.
I’ll go to the study.”

Yan Yu knew that he couldn’t help in this matter, but he still urged to say, “be careful, call me if something happens.”

Ling Hua’an nodded and comforted him, “don’t worry.
She can’t hurt me.”

Yan Yu helped Ling Hua’an to the door of the study.
Ling Hua’an took out a paper talisman and said, “You put this paper talisman on the door.
It’s strong and can’t fall off.”

Yan Yu answered, “Okay, don’t worry.”

Ling Hua’an didn’t say any more, he pushed open the door and walked into the study.
To prevent accidents, he also put a paper talisman on the inside of the door.
Taking the bell out of his pocket, Ling Hua’an silently recites the incantation.
The bell vibrated and made a screeching sound, followed by a gust of chill wind that blew the books on the desk.

“Who are you?” The shrill voice sounded and could almost penetrate a person’s eardrums.
The female ghost suddenly appears, grabbing Ling Hua’an with sharp fingers.

Ling Hua’an calmly said, “I can help you to find your child.”

The female ghost’s movements stopped abruptly.
Her fierce eyes became blank, and she whispered, “My child…my child…”

Seeing this, Wang Lei breathed a sigh of relief, although he was sure that Ling Hua’an would be fine, but seeing the scene just now, he couldn’t help but worry.
His body also subconsciously went to block, but Ling Hua’an grabbed his wrist.
But before he could put his heart in his stomach2, the female ghost who was calm just now became emotional again.
The blood and tears in the corners of her eyes were even redder, in stark contrast to her pale face, and she looked even more terrifying.

“Who are you and how do you know I have a child? Did you kill us? Did you kill us! ”The female ghost’s voice was more mournful than before.

“I’m a spirit guide.”

“Spirit guide? What is it?”

“It’s someone who specializes in helping resentful ghosts to resolve their grievances and help them reincarnate.”

“How can I be sure you’re not lying to me?”

“If I wanted to perish you, your soul would have been scattered long ago.”

Ling Hua’an tone was very light.
But he managed to make a shocking effect on the female ghost.
She looked at Ling Hua’an and asked, “Why are you helping me?”

“There is one thing I think you made a mistake.
It was you who came to me, not me who came to you.
Ling Hua’an paused,  then said, “I can help you, but you have to pay the corresponding reward.”

The female ghost seemed relieved to hear the words and said, “What do you want?”

“It depends on what you have.”

 “What do I have ……” The female ghost’s expression became bewildered, “What do I have …who am I…who am I …… Why can’t I remember anything?”

“Because you died in vain, you were trapped in resentment, which affected your memory during your lifetime.
As long as the resentment is resolved, you will naturally regain your memory.”

There’s another way to restore memories but needed the ability to be strong enough.

“Then your reward…”

“I want one-third of your net worth.” Ling Hua’an walked to the desk, opened the drawer and took out the ink pad and contract, and said, “If you agree, just press your fingerprints on it.”

“I also have a condition.
If you agree, you can do whatever you want.”

Ling Hua’an said lightly, “If your child is already formed and has a soul, I will help you find it.
If not, there is nothing I can do.”

“Okay.”  The female ghost hardly hesitated and put her own fingerprints on the contract.

Ling Hua’an took the contract and asked directly,  “try to recall what you still remember.
Anything is fine.”

The female ghost frowned as she thought, several broken images flashed in her mind.
She tried hard to catch it, but she could only think of one image and said, “I only remember one pair of hands, one of it holding a scalpel.
And there was a tattoo on the wrist.
I don’t remember anything else.”

“Then do you remember what that tattoo was like?”

“It is a kind of red flower with many petals, curled, and slender stamens.”

”Red flower…” Ling Hua’an repeated the words of the female ghost softly.
He took out the cinnabar from the drawer, mixed it with water, spread out the paper, picked up the brush, and drew a picture in three or two strokes, “Look, do you think it’s this kind of flower?”

The female ghost went around Ling Hua’an and looked at it, and said excitedly, “It’s this kind of flower!”

Wang Lei asked curiously, “Laoban, what kind of flower is this? ”

“This is a red spider lily, also known as the other shore flower.
It is the only plant that can grow by the Wangchuan River.””This is the other shore flower.
It’s really beautiful!”

Ling Hua’an sighed, “It’s very beautiful. The other side flowers grow by the Wangchuan River, one after the other, the beauty is shocking to the eyes.
It is said that the fragrance of the other side flowers has a magical power, which can make people recall their past lives.
So those who want to see them will stop unconsciously, cry bitterly, feel regretful and depressed or even have smiles all over their faces.
There are two fairies guarding the other side of the flower named the flower demon Manzhu and the leaf demon Shahua.
They have guarded the other side of the flower for thousands of years, but they have never met each other.
Because the flowers bloom without leaves, and the leaves are born without flowers.”

“I heard this story before.
Later, Manzhu and Shahua missed each other too much, so they disobeyed God’s other and met secretly.
After being discovered by the Gods, they entered reincarnation and were forbidden to see each other in life and death.” Wang Lei also followed with a sigh,  “If it’s true, it’s too tragic.”

“The flower language of the other side of the flower is endless love, a precursor to death, and the call of hell.”
Wang Lei asked curiously, “Then this other shore flower is really unlucky, why do they tattoo this?”

“Holding a scalpel, it shows that this person’s occupation should be related to medical.
They should be a staunch atheist, but they have spider lily tattoos that symbolize hell, which is contradictory to itself…”

Ling Hua’an pondered for a while, “maybe they or the people around them are now terminally ill and cannot be cured by modern medicine, so he changed his mind.”

Wang Lei’s eyes lit up when he heard the words, and said with a smile, “Laoban, you are so smart, you can think so much with just one pair of hands and one tattoo.”

Seeing the female ghost thinking, Ling Hua’an asked bluntly, “Did you think of something again?”

The female ghost frowned and said, “The medicine smell is very strong.”

“It seems that I guessed right.
If you think of anything in the future, just tell me directly.
Don’t hide anything, okay?”

The female ghost nodded, “Okay.
”

Ling Hua’an took out the bell from his pocket and said, “I will temporarily put you in the bell.
After the truth is revealed and the grievances are resolved, there will be an underworld messenger who comes to pick you up.”

Ling Hua’an put the female ghost into the bell, then he looked at Wang Lei, and said, “Wang Lei, you go to the police station, I want to know her identity.”

Wang Lei nodded, “guaranteed to complete the task.”

Ling Hua’an took off the paper talisman on the door, he opened the door and walked out.
After Wang Lei greeted to leave, he went straight through the door and went to the police station.

When Yan Yu heard the movement, he turned off the gas hood.
Walked out of the kitchen hurriedly to find Ling Hua’an, and asked, “How is it?”

“I’m not sure about the identity.
Let’s wait until we find her identity.”

“Okay, call me directly after you find out.”

***

In the meeting room of the criminal investigation team, Jiang Chengyan walked into the door, glanced at the people, and said, “Since everyone is here, let’s start the meeting.”

Jiang Chengyan paused for a while, then continued, “The deceased, a female, is about 25 to 30 years old and 165 cm tall.
The time of death was preliminarily inferred to be 7 days ago which was on 3 December.
The cause of death is temporarily unknown, but it is definitely not drowned.
Because we didn’t find anything about the identity of the deceased at the scene, all we have to do now is to determine the identity of the deceased.
Because the deceased has been soaked in the water for a long time, it has been beyond recognition.
Even if the technology recovers, it will take time.
While waiting for it, let’s start with the missing persons.
Liu ran, Wang Bin, I’ll leave this task to you, focusing on screening pregnant women among the missing people; the deceased has been pregnant for at least eight months.”

Liu Ran said angrily, “Eight months? That child is already formed, the murderer is really crazy!”

Although Su Ke’s autopsy report has not been released yet, they can guess the form of the deceased after being a police officer for so many years, but the facts are too cruel and they don’t want to think about it.

Li Tong sighed, “ai, I hope that child is still alive.”

“So for the sake of that child’s chance of survival, we must solve the case as soon as possible and find the murderer.” Jiang Chengyan glanced at everyone with a serious face, “Li Tong, Zhang Liang, did you find any monitoring equipment by the lake where the body was found?”

“It’s relatively remote and there is no monitoring equipment, but there is only one road heading to the fishing area.
As long as we can retrieve the camera on that road, the trace of the murderer could be found.”

“Don’t forget, it’s a natural lake, and the water is alive.
The place where the body is found is not necessarily the place where the body was thrown.
So before jumping to conclusions, you must first go to the tourism administration department to investigate, understand?”

“Yes, Captain, we will investigate and implement it after the meeting.”

Jiang Chengyan nodded, “Okay, that’s it for today’s meeting.
If the others have nothing on hand, they can join with two groups to investigate.
Then the meeting dismissed.”

Everyone got up and left the meeting room, while Jiang Chengyan went to the forensic department.
After knocking on the door of the autopsy room, Jiang Chengyan pushed the door and straight in.
Su Ke glanced back and asked, “Didn’t you just leave? Why did you come again so soon?”

“How’s it going, are there any new discoveries? ”

“You have only been gone for a few minutes and you have demanded a new discovery.
Do you think I am a God? ”

Jiang Chengyan said seriously, “Yes, you are like a God in our team.”

“Stop flattering!” Su Ke glared at him angrily, then changed his voice and said, “It’s not that I didn’t find anything.”

Jiang Chengyan’s eyes lit up and hurriedly asked, “What did you find?”

Su Ke opened the victim’s lower abdomen along the wound, pointed to the inside, and said, “The abdominal incision is flat, layers are opened, and the child is taken out.
The technique is proficient and professional.
The murder weapon should be a professional scalpel.
This murderer is most likely a professional surgeon.”
“Murderer? So the cause of death has been determined?”

“Actually, the cause of death is clear at a glance, but it has just been verified.
Such a large wound is not sutured, and it is placed there carelessly.
It will not take long for people to die from excessive blood loss.”
“Then is there a drug residue in her body? ”

“You want to know if she was injected with anesthesia before her death, right?” Seeing Jiang Chengyan nodding, Su Ke continued, “although the time interval is too long to detect the drug reaction, judging from the flatness of her abdominal wound and the absence of other binding injuries on the body, it can be inferred that the killer anesthetized her before the operation, and died before the anesthetic lost its effect, so she died without pain.”

“Su Ke, how heartless do you think the killer would be doing such a thing?”

Su Ke said with a bitter smile, “I know it’s not appropriate to say so, but compared to the previous splitting case, this victim is much luckier than Jiang Changping, at least she died unknowingly and did not experience any pain.”

“Is there anything more painful than the separation of mother and child?” Jiang Chengyan’s emotions were a bit agitated.

Su Ke was startled, then took off his gloves and said, “It’s already afternoon, and I haven’t eaten lunch yet.
So you can accompany me to eat something.”

Jiang Chengyan took a deep breath, and adjusted his emotions, “I’m sorry, I was a little emotional just now.
What do you want to eat, I’ll treat you.”

“That’s what you said, so I have to think about it.” Su Ke took off his protective suit and said while washing his hands, “I heard that there is a western restaurant on the street next door, and the steak in it is very good.
Why don’t we try it?”

“Go there for a meal, my half-month salary will be gone.
Su Ke, you are so cruel!”

“You’re a big fat sheep delivered to the door, if not me who will  slaughter you, who else?”

Footnotes:

In China, the tourist attractions rating system ( 旅游景区质量等级) is used by the Chinese authorities to score the quality of the attraction in terms of safety, cleanliness, sanitation, shopping, and transportation (distance to nearest airport…).
There are five categories: A (or 1A, the lowest level), AA (2A), AAA (3A), AAAA (4A) and AAAAA (5A, the highest level). ↺ to become not worried/relieved/in peace. ↺