Premier tome de la série Le Magicien Oolong Qui suis-je

Chapitre 41

We both gasped and took another step back. Upon closer inspection, we realized it was a design with walls within walls. The skeleton was quietly leaning against the narrow space formed by the two walls.

"Who is this?" Li Yang's voice was hoarse.

I slowly turned around and stared at Li Yang, saying, "How should I know!"

"So, what do we do now?" Li Yang asked again.

I stared at him blankly for a long time before finally uttering two words: "Call the police!"

**********

The red lights on the police car roof kept flashing, illuminating the entire second-floor space. The skeleton looked even more eerie and terrifying in the swaying red light.

"How did you know there was a corpse in the wall behind the mirror?" Baiyun, who was next to me, leaned close to me and asked in a low voice.

Heh! I chuckled dryly, shrugged, and was speechless. Should I tell her about Yin Xue?

"Will you examine the body or should I?" Seeing that I didn't answer, Baiyun didn't press the matter further and began asking about the candidate for the autopsy.

I sighed. Baiyun was here on official business, after all, and it was really embarrassing to keep asking her to do the work. "I'll do it!"

"Are you sure you can do it?" Xiao Ren looked at me cautiously from the other side. I could tell that in Xiao Ren's eyes, I was probably no different from a supernatural monster!

"Don't worry, I'm not that fragile." I waved my hand, snatched the gloves from Xiao Ren, put them on, and walked back to the skeleton. Just as I was about to move, a piece of drawing paper fell from behind the skeleton with a snap.

What is it? I frowned, bent down to pick up the drawing, and unfolded it. It was an oil painting, but because it had been mixed in with rotting corpses and cold walls for so long, the paper felt uncomfortably damp, and the once vibrant colors had faded considerably. However, one could vaguely make out a temple standing almost suspended in mid-air on a verdant mountain. The temple was quite magnificent, with its pavilions and towers, simple yet elegant. In one of the open windows, the back of a graceful woman leaned against the wall, her long hair fluttering in the mountain breeze, obscuring her face. Unfortunately, there was a large bloodstain on the painting, probably from the corpse.

"What is it?" Everyone had already gathered around, and I handed the painting to Chen Kai.

"What a strange building! It's practically suspended there!" Li Yang looked at the painting and nodded in surprise.

"Huh? Isn't this the Hanging Temple?" Baiyun suddenly said.

"The Hanging Temple?" the crowd asked curiously.

"This Hanging Temple can be described as a miracle in the history of ancient Chinese architecture. The ancients built the temple by driving piles into the cliff face, making the completed temple appear as if it were suspended in the air from a distance. There are quite a few temples like this in the province I came from!" Baiyun explained to everyone.

"Is there really such a building? It looks comparable to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World," I said, raising an eyebrow. It seems our country already possessed such advanced architectural skills in ancient times!

"If you look at it more closely..." Baiyun took the painting and examined it carefully.

"How is it?" Li Yang asked hurriedly.

"It looks a lot like one of the hanging temples in our province! What's its name again~~~~~?" Baiyun tilted her head, looking deep in thought, and finally exclaimed excitedly after a while, "I remember now, it's Longyi Temple!"

"Easy Temple? Is this temple easy to build?" Li Yang had obviously misheard.

"It's the 'lóng' in 'hazy' and the 'yī' in 'lost'!" Baiyun rolled her eyes at him helplessly.

The Longyi Temple? I looked thoughtfully at the oil painting, then turned to look at the disfigured corpse. What was the connection between the two? How were these two things related to the whole case? The whole incident was like the morning mist that permeated my mind.

Volume Two: The Devil's Left Eye, Chapter Thirteen: An Unexpected Gain

Volume Two: The Devil's Left Eye, Chapter Thirteen: An Unexpected Gain

Standing blankly in front of the remains found in the partition wall of the unfinished building, the laboratory, which wasn't very big to begin with, suddenly seemed empty, perhaps because there was only one living person there! I gave a bitter smile and plopped down in a chair.

"Lin Xiao!" Li Yang burst through the door without warning, rushed to my side, and said, "We found out. The deceased in that public housing unit was named Jiang Tao."

"What do you do?" I asked without looking up.

“He’s the owner of an antique shop!” Li Yang pulled up a stool and sat down in front of me.

"Oh?" I immediately looked up at Li Yang. So, there are three victims in this mysterious case so far. The first victim was an unemployed person involved in antique trafficking and smuggling; the second was an abstract painter and art professor; and the third was an antique shop owner. At first glance, it seems only the professions of the first and third victims have some connection. But the fact is, all three died from the same cause: their throats were neatly slit, causing profuse bleeding, and their left eyes were gouged out. Another common point is that all three victims visited an abstract art exhibition. Of course, this conclusion was drawn after an abstract art book was found in the first victim's home.

"It seems we need to organize the clues," Li Yang said, glancing at the skeleton on the autopsy table.

"Organize? Do you have any ideas?" I asked.

"Although the clues we have at hand seem messy right now, if you think about it carefully, there is still a certain connection between them!" Li Yang said confidently.

"Alright, I'm all ears." I crossed my legs, ready to listen to Detective Li's analysis.

“Alright, let’s start with the art exhibition!” Li Yang said calmly, “A strange abstract art exhibition has appeared in that unfinished building. The painter is An Ran, but he himself hasn’t shown up. There’s only a strange man whose name we don’t know. And within our circle of acquaintances, a total of four people have visited the exhibition: Zhang Yuqiang (an antique dealer and smuggler), Hu Rui (an abstract painter and art academy professor), Jiang Tao (an antique shop owner), and you. Each of you took a copy of the abstract art book. I can’t be sure if the other three visited the website in the book, but you definitely did, and you even received an email from the so-called anonymous person.”

“Next,” I continued my analysis, “the three people died one after another, all from the same cause. The strange thing is that their left eyes were all gouged out, and it’s even possible that the deceased gouged them out themselves.”

“Not bad,” Li Yang said, “Then comes the most bizarre part: the discovery of this skeleton!” Li Yang pointed to the dissection table behind him.

“And that painting!” I added.

"Alright, these are the direct clues we've obtained. And then there are the clues from the subsequent investigation." Li Yang paused, then continued, "Based on our round-the-clock investigation over the past few days, we know from the first construction contractor who discovered the body that the unfinished building was commissioned by a young man named An Ran three years ago. An Ran offered a very generous price, and the contractor quickly agreed and started construction. However, one thing must be noted: the design of this unfinished building was provided by An Ran himself, and the contract specifically stipulated that no changes could be made. The entire project was completed quickly, almost within a few months, but at this point, the owner, An Ran, suddenly proposed stopping construction and insisted on installing a mirror on a wall on the second floor."

"Wait a minute!" I interrupted Li Yang and asked, "So, where's that partition wall? Was it planned in advance?"

"No, that's not it. I just asked the contractor and he clearly told us that this partition wall wasn't in the original design drawings," Li Yang replied.

"So where did this partition wall come from?" I asked.

“I’m afraid An Ran added it herself,” Li Yang said. “The contractor said that one night when he went to inquire about the reason for the work stoppage, he saw An Ran covered in cement, as if she were doing some kind of cement work, and he also noticed that there were newly built marks on that wall. Unfortunately, he was too concerned about the reason for the work stoppage at the time, so he didn’t take it to heart. It wasn’t until we asked her about it today that she suddenly remembered it.”

"Oh!" I nodded, then asked, "So, what's the reason for the work stoppage?"

"I don't know!" Li Yang shrugged and said.

"You don't know? Didn't you say that the contractor asked An Ran?" I asked in surprise.

"The problem is that the contractor said he couldn't get any answers from her. An Ran simply refused to continue construction without any reason and stopped providing further funding."

"So, does that mean An Ran buried the remains inside the partition wall?" I asked.

“We can assume that for now, but don’t you think it’s not right?” Li Yang asked.

Something's not right? I carefully considered Li Yang's words and immediately understood. Indeed, if I were the murderer and hid the body in the partition wall, I would rather continue the entire project. That way, the original hiding place would be completely concealed by the completed room. But An Ran chose to stop the work and instead installed a mirror. Isn't that too strange? Any normal person would find the placement of the mirror inappropriate.

"So, it seems that unless he intends to leave the city immediately, he has no choice but to stop the construction?" I asked Li Yang for his opinion.

"Possibly! Perhaps he was afraid that the secret of hiding the body behind the wall would be accidentally exposed if he wasn't there, so he installed a mirror on the wall to cover it up. Also, after the construction stopped, it would become an unfinished building, and usually no one would go to such a place. That's why his secret could be hidden for so long," Li Yang said.

"So, the key to the whole case is An Ran!" I stood up and said, "But we found on A Bao's computer that An Ran disappeared five years ago. So where was he two years before he came here to ask for the building to be built? Also, the money for building this building is not a small amount. Where would a small-time painter get so much money?"

“But what if we think he’s from a family of tomb raiders? Wouldn’t that make the money so easy?” Li Yang stood up and said.

"Do you believe what Tian Niang said?" I asked.

“It’s not about believing, it’s about hypothesizing. And if we think about it this way, then it explains why two of the deceased were related to cultural relics. Tomb raiding—cultural relic smuggling—antique shops, these three can be linked together!” Li Yang was dissatisfied with my prejudice against Tian Niang.

“Okay, even if what you’re saying makes sense, how do you explain the masked man?” I asked.

“It’s simple, he’s the man who invited you to the art exhibition!” Li Yang made his decision.

Really? I frowned slightly, feeling a little uneasy. Although their clothes and walking styles were very similar, I still felt uneasy.

"Oh, right, and that oil painting!" Li Yang suddenly interrupted my thoughts, saying, "It's very likely painted by An Ran. Didn't you say that An Ran's specialty is oil painting of figures and landscapes?"

"That's right, but why is it with a corpse?" I realized I had more and more questions.

"Maybe An Ran accidentally dirtied the painting when burying the remains, and then casually buried it in the partition wall as well," Li Yang reasoned.

"Alright! You're absolutely right. So, Detective Li, could you please tell me how all of this relates to the murder case?" I asked impatiently.

"I think, of course, these are all just guesses!" Li Yang stroked his chin and said, "If these three people are all members of a tomb raiding group and An Ran is the leader, then maybe it's a series of murders caused by internal disputes over the distribution of spoils within the group?"

"Great idea!" I nodded approvingly, then poured cold water on Li Yang's idea: "Then why did these three people gouge out their own left eyes? Also, don't forget I've attended art exhibitions too, does that mean I'm part of a tomb raiding group? And who is this skeleton? Don't tell me it's also part of a tomb raiding group!"

"Hey!" Li Yang glared at me and said, "I was just guessing, don't take it so seriously, okay?"

Don't take it seriously? Good heavens, have I been using my brain for so long just for fun? Rolling her eyes helplessly, just as she was about to give Li Yang a good talking-to, Bai Yun knocked on the door and entered.

"Why are you still here? Aren't you going to have lunch?" Baiyun asked us as she walked over with a smile.

"Okay, I'm coming!" As soon as I heard there was food to eat, I decided to let Li Yang go for the time being and headed towards Baiyun.

"Ah! I want to go too!" Li Yang shouted. Where there are beautiful women, he would naturally be there too.

After a rare pleasant meal, the three of us returned to the laboratory. As we walked, I suddenly remembered something. With so many unexpected things happening lately, I had completely forgotten about one of the simplest and most useful tools! With that thought, I immediately pulled Li Yang and Bai Yun into the office.

“A crime puzzle? We really forgot about that!” Li Yang took out a stack of transparent plastic sheets from the file box. The sheets were covered with various separate drawings of facial features.

“Great! Let’s do a jigsaw puzzle now and hopefully find the face of the man who took me to the art exhibition. Maybe we can find it in the police records!” My confidence soared as I said this. Even if the police couldn’t find it, Abao could always find it. Of course, that was assuming Abao had already fixed her precious computer.

"OK!" Li Yang excitedly made a gesture, and I described the man's facial features while Li Yang and Bai Yun began to work together on the crime puzzle.

After a lot of effort, the puzzle was finally completed with the joint efforts of the three of us. Although the face depicted by piecing together several facial feature pictures was not very lifelike, it was close enough in terms of appearance.

Just as the three of us were about to buy a few bottles of Coke to celebrate, a sudden commotion came from outside the door.

"I want to see the forensic doctor, I want an autopsy!" A male voice, as loud as a pig being slaughtered, came from afar, mixed with Chen Kai's words of comfort and the dissuasion of some bystanders.

The sounds of the crowd grew closer, and in the blink of an eye, the office door was rudely pushed open, and a young man with sticky, wet hair barged in, while Chen Kai looked like he was about to explode.

It turns out to be Zhu Wei, the son of former deputy mayor Zhu Zhenhua!

"Hey, you!" Zhu Wei yelled, pointing at me. "What was your name again? You perform an autopsy! I need to know the real cause of my dad's death!"

"My name isn't Ai, it's Lin Xiao!" I rubbed my temples. The arrogance of the sons of high-ranking officials is truly foolish.

"You're going to perform an autopsy anyway!" Zhu Wei said arrogantly!

“But your mother won’t allow it!” Chen Kai said, patting Zhu Wei on the shoulder as he saw my troubled expression.

"She's not my mother!" Zhu Wei spat in disgust, "She and her lover... ahhh!"

Zhu Wei suddenly pointed at the crime puzzle still in Li Yang's hand and shouted, startling us!

"How did you get a portrait of the adulterer?" Zhu Wei's words stunned us all. This man was actually the former mayor's wife's lover? This was unbelievable!

"This is just a sketch of a criminal suspect. As for your demands, can we discuss them privately?" Chen Kai tried his best to suppress his displeasure, grabbed Zhu Wei, and dragged him out of the office without giving him a chance to speak. Only Zhu Wei's incessant nagging and Chen Kai's kind words echoed in our ears.

"Does he look like he's lying?" Li Yang looked at the jigsaw puzzle in his hand, then turned to us and asked.

"Does he have any reason to deceive us?" Baiyun countered.

Indeed, judging from his surprised expression, he didn't seem to be lying. So, the mysterious man he mentioned who had sought out Xi Zhen's lover is this very man? In that case, isn't Xi Zhen a huge clue? Could there be some secret hidden behind her? Is her relationship with this mysterious man truly that of adulterers, as Zhu Wei claims? It seems Zhu Wei's commotion has given us an unexpected bonus!

Li Yang's figure rushing towards the door interrupted my thoughts. I immediately grabbed him and asked, "Hey, where are you going?"

"No need to ask, of course we should go find Xi Zhen and get to the bottom of this!" Li Yang replied without hesitation.

"But do you think a woman would so easily reveal her lover?" Baiyun asked from a woman's perspective.

"I don't care, it's better than sitting here and daydreaming." Li Yang waved to me and said, "Want to come with me?"

"I need to perform an autopsy!" I looked at Baiyun beside me with a troubled expression. The understanding beauty immediately smiled at me knowingly and said, "Go ahead, I'll do the autopsy for you!"