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"So, I definitely need to go to the Black Forest Bar to investigate again. How about it, interested in coming together?" Li Yang put his arm around my shoulder and asked.

I glanced at Li Yang; his face was beaming with excitement. This kid seemed to get even more excited when faced with a difficult case. My heart suddenly skipped a beat, and my eyelids twitched a few times—this wasn't a good sign. But fate is always so strange, holding a grip on things we can't escape. And so, I inexplicably blurted out, "Sure! Who's afraid of who!" But everything that happened afterward made me want to slap my present self a few times.

"That's great, you're a true buddy!" Li Yang was overjoyed, his eyes narrowing into slits with laughter!

Book One: Three Ghost Stories of the City, Chapter Four: The New Beautiful Colleague

Book One: Three Ghost Stories of the City, Chapter Four: The New Beautiful Colleague

After seeing Li Yang off, he said he needed to prepare for his trip to the Black Forest Bar that evening. I knew he was actually thinking about what to wear to a bar. I didn't care; my looks would definitely attract some pretty girls. Unfortunately, my heart had already died the night Yin Xue left. I once thought time could heal this wound, but I was wrong. It never truly left me; it became something called memory, deeply stimulating me in my recollections, constantly reminding me.

Why become a forensic pathologist? Simply because Yin Xue's death was so inexplicable. People said she chose death because she was heartbroken after arguing with me. But I know that's impossible. She loved me too much; she would die for me, but she would never use death to tell me of her sadness. She once told me, "Xiao, if you don't love me anymore, please tell me sooner rather than later. But don't think I'll do anything foolish, because I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, even if you no longer love me. You know, as long as I can love you, it doesn't matter if I'm alone for the rest of my life, it doesn't matter." So, she didn't commit suicide, and she couldn't have. Therefore, I gave up a promising future as a surgeon and became a forensic pathologist.

I raised my glass, and the sunlight refracted through it, dazzling me. This was a gesture Yin Xue liked; she loved looking at the sun through a glass of water like this. She said it felt wonderful, like the feeling of being loved. I put the glass down and sighed. The sunlight and the glass were still there, but she was gone.

"Xiao Lin, come to my office for a second!" Old Cao, my colleague and also my boss, poked his head in from outside the door. "Let me introduce you to a new colleague, she's a beauty!"

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. There was actually a beautiful woman who was a forensic doctor. It seemed that either Old Cao's taste was flawed, or this woman's professional orientation was truly awe-inspiring.

Following Lao Cao into the office, I saw a tall, slender figure standing by the window. Because of her flowing hair, I couldn't see her face clearly. I could only vaguely make out the graceful curve of her profile and her slender neck hidden within her cascading black hair—fair and flawless. I'd heard it said that you can tell a woman's age by her neck, because while the neck isn't as pampered as the face, it reflects the marks of time more clearly. And such a neck, so fair and delicate, gave me an irresistible urge to touch it. A woman like this couldn't be too bad! It seems Lao Cao, though old, still has a good eye for beauty.

"Xiao Fang, let me introduce you to a colleague!" Old Cao said to the woman. The woman turned around, and indeed she was a beauty! Willow-leaf eyebrows, red lips, bright, sparkling eyes, a delicate nose—but her expression was rather serious, lacking a touch of tenderness. If my older sister's beauty was modern, then this woman was a beauty with a distinctly classical charm.

"This is Lin Xiao, the youngest forensic doctor here, he's got a bright future!" Old Cao hurriedly praised me to her, it seems he's determined to fulfill his bold claim of introducing me to a girlfriend, even though I've repeatedly refused, he seems quite enthusiastic about it.

"Hello, my name is Fang Lei, Fang as in square and round, Lei as in flower bud." Fang Lei's tone was indifferent, but a strange look flashed in her eyes. I suddenly had the feeling that I was actually a corpse under her command to be dissected, unable to hide.

"Hehe, Lin Xiao, Lin as in double wood, Xiao as in carefree." I rubbed my hands together, thinking about how to find a suitable excuse to escape first.

"Forensic Doctor Lin, I heard you've been in charge of several recent female death cases. I'd really like to see those bodies. Could you take me to see them and discuss the cases?" Fang Lei's tone was more of an order than a question.

"Oh? You're going to work so soon? Why don't you take a break first?" I tried to ease the overly serious atmosphere and kindly reminded you.

"No need, let's start now!" Fang Lei left no room for negotiation, eager to see the corpses. I finally understood why she became a forensic doctor; she's a complete workaholic.

"Okay!" I shrugged. Looks like I'm going to be busy again today. I looked at Old Cao next to me, who winked at me hard and smiled ambiguously. Good heavens, does he think Fang Lei has feelings for me? Now I'm in deep trouble.

"Please!" I reluctantly led Fang Lei out of the office. Fang Lei didn't say a word the whole way, walking behind me, but I felt like I was being watched by her with very bright eyes.

As soon as I entered the lab, I turned around to speak to Fang Lei, only to see her quickly close the lab door and lock it from the inside. No, no way! Was she planning to rape and then kill me? Oh, sorry, I misunderstood. I watched her walk towards me, feeling awkward. Was she going to... you know... you know? My charm isn't so great that a woman would fall in love at first sight and throw herself into my arms!

"Um, um, what do you want?" I puffed out my chest; I didn't want her to look down on me, after all, I'm still a man! Unfortunately, before I could finish speaking, the woman reached out to me with incredible speed. Instinctively, I raised my hand to block, but then I heard a "smack," and a yellow piece of paper was stuck to my wrist. Looking closer, I saw it was a piece of paper covered in strange, garbled characters, like the kind of talisman used for exorcising evil spirits in TV shows.

Huh? Exorcism, talisman? Am I a monster? Does she think this is a TV drama?! I was about to explode with anger and start cursing—don't think I won't offend her just because she's beautiful. But the cool breeze emanating from the talisman and reaching my wrist immediately calmed me down, and my anger vanished without a trace. The coolness gradually spread throughout my body, a refreshing and soothing feeling like the coolness after a summer bath.

"Thankfully, you were only slightly affected by ghostly energy. This Guanyin talisman should be fine from now on." Fang Lei breathed a sigh of relief. "What about those corpses?"

"Guanyin Talisman? What is that? What's going on?" I was a little confused. What was all this about?

"It's like this," Fang Lei said with a serious expression. "I'm a disciple of the Emei Sect, and my master is Abbess Qingyi. I just noticed some ghostly energy on you, so I used a talisman to purify it for you. This Guanyin talisman is specifically used to purify those affected by ghostly energy, so don't worry, there are no side effects!"

"Emei Sect? Nuns?" I think my brain must be in a state of shock right now. There have been quite a few strange things happening lately, quite a few indeed.

"To put it simply, my master observed the stars at night and discovered that this city has a strong ghostly aura and a very ominous sign, so he sent me to investigate. I heard that several bizarre murders have occurred here in succession, so I wanted to see those corpses!" Fang Lei explained.

"Oh, really?" I think my performance must be terrible right now, but any normal person would be no more at ease than me when faced with things like the Emei Sect, talismans, ghost energy, or astrology—things that you only see in books or on TV.

“I initially suspected those cases might be related to the strange celestial phenomena Master mentioned, but after seeing you, I'm pretty sure they are. The ghostly aura on you probably came from dissecting and examining those corpses!” Fang Lei said, walking to the dissection table and yanking off the white sheet covering the body. A wisp of black energy immediately rose from the corpse, rushing towards Fang Lei. This forced me to swallow back what I was about to say.

"A mere trick!" Fang Lei snorted dismissively, her jade-like hand waving as several yellow talismans flew out and easily adhered to the corpse. The black mist, as if a living creature had been shot, trembled and swirled violently, while the yellow talismans acted like suction cups, drawing the black mist in. The talismans slowly turned black, and the black mist vanished. What surprised me even more was that the talismans slowly melted, dissolving into the corpse's interior.

"Special abilities?" My mouth must have been agape enough to fit an egg.

"It's magic!" Fang Lei was clearly annoyed by my ignorance, her tone harsh. "From now on, I'm in charge of these corpses!"

"What? No way!" I firmly rejected her unreasonable demands. I couldn't abandon something I had taken on halfway.

“You’re just an ordinary person, you can’t solve this!” Fang Lei’s eyes were full of confidence. “I’m a forensic doctor and I also know magic, I’m much more capable than you.”

“I don’t care if these corpses have any ghostly aura like you mentioned. I only know that you can’t back down when you’re doing something. Besides, I’m more experienced than you and I know this case better. And,” I looked at Fang Lei, who was very proud, but she had the right to be proud, “you don’t need to take everything on yourself!” A faint look of loneliness suddenly appeared on Fang Lei’s face, but she quickly became serious again.

"I don't want to say anything more. Anyway, I'm not giving up. If you insist, then you should talk to Lao Cao yourself and see if he agrees to transfer the case." I played my trump card. Although Lao Cao is usually joking around, he is not careless at all when it comes to work. In fact, he can be described as strict. He would definitely not let a novice take on this tricky case.

Fang Lei looked at me without saying a word, clearly unsure about asking Lao Cao to take over the case. I saw hesitation in her eyes and immediately pressed my advantage: "If you insist on handling this case, I can agree to go with you. How about it?"

"Okay!" Fang Lei replied quickly, "But you have to promise not to tell anyone that I know magic."

"Don't worry, I won't tell," I replied. Even if I did, how many people would believe me if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes?

Volume One: The Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Five: An Alternative Forensic Examination

Volume One: The Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Five: An Alternative Forensic Examination

"Okay, Dr. Lin, have you conducted any forensic examinations on them?" Fang Lei took a white coat off the hanger and put it on, then took out a pair of autopsy gloves from her pocket and put them on as well.

"Just call me Lin Xiao." I looked at Fang Lei in her white coat and felt an inexplicable sense of harmony. "I've already done the tests. The cause of death should be cardiopulmonary failure caused by an excessive secretion of adrenaline. In other words, he was scared to death."

"Then, you don't mind if I take another look, do you?" Fang Lei smiled professionally and cunningly, which reminded me of an animal called a fox.

"Please make yourself at home!" I gestured generously, curious to see what this beautiful forensic doctor was really up to, acting so mysteriously.

When dissecting a corpse, I usually make an incision behind both ears, cutting down to the throat in a Y-shaped incision, and then cutting all the way through. The feeling of the scalpel cutting through the skin and muscle is strange, completely different from cutting pork or beef with a kitchen knife. Although, in reality, a dead person is no different from other animals, the thought that this person might have been laughing and crying just moments before is still unsettling. However, my professional knowledge prevents me from being as afraid of corpses as others. Sometimes, a corpse is the best evidence, so you must be extremely careful to find the secrets hidden within it. Please forgive me for using "it"—yes, no matter how glorious it was in life, after death, it can only be called "it."

Not every forensic pathologist follows a single procedure. Old Cao, for example, likes to X-ray the entire body before making any incisions. He says he needs to see everything clearly before drawing conclusions, and X-rays are a great tool for seeing things very, very clearly. I don't know what Fang Lei's approach is, but it should be quite interesting, because I've already seen her place the scalpel towards the body's forehead. Is she planning to cut open the head too?

Fang Lei's fingers were very white and slender. I suddenly thought of the phrase "jade scallion" to describe fingers. Such hands should be more suited to needlework, but unfortunately, they were holding a cold scalpel. What a waste! I couldn't help but sigh. It seems I've been sighing quite a lot lately.

The scalpel deftly pierced the corpse's forehead, and with a gentle stroke, a thick, black liquid flowed out. "Huh? I didn't know about this trick?" Fang Lei used the scalpel to collect a little of this black blood, took out a yellow talisman from her pocket, and then, just like eating bread and jam this morning, carefully smeared the black blood from the scalpel onto the talisman. Holy Mary, thank goodness I didn't have bread and jam for breakfast this morning!

The yellow talisman, once stained with black blood, instantly turned completely black, as if it had just been burned. Fang Lei couldn't help but frown. I suddenly realized that there was a unique charm to her frowning, making one feel an irresistible urge to protect her. How ironic, such a beautiful woman, yet she was standing next to a corpse.

Fang Lei seemed to be working on her forensic examination. She put aside the talisman and scalpel, picked up the corpse's hand, and examined it carefully. Fingernails are usually one of the places for forensic examiners must examine, as they often contain important evidence: skin tissue, blood samples, or clothing fibers. Unfortunately, however, these corpses' fingernails were completely empty.

"Have you tested their blood samples?" Fang Lei asked me.

"Yes, but no sleeping pills or drugs were found in the blood." I took the test report from the table next to me and handed it to Fang Lei.

"Thank you," Fang Lei politely accepted the report, glancing at it only briefly. "Where's the microscope? I'd like to take another look."

I raised an eyebrow. It seemed this beautiful colleague didn't quite trust my work abilities. However, considering her strange testing method earlier, I didn't get angry. Instead, I pointed behind her, thinking she might have some other unusual methods. I was also curious to see how this forensic doctor with magical abilities conducted her tests.

Fang Lei turned and walked towards the microscope. I followed, taking the blood samples from the corpses from the small freezer where they were stored and handing them to her. Fang Lei took the blood samples but didn't immediately put them under the microscope. Instead, she took a small box from her pocket containing sheets of blue, transparent test strips, no bigger than a fingernail. I immediately recognized these as containers for blood samples; usually, a blood sample is first dripped onto a glass slide, and then a test strip of this type is placed on top. Fang Lei carefully used tweezers to remove the original test strip and replaced it with one she had brought herself. Did this woman have a habit of bringing her own test strips? I wondered where she got them from! While I was wondering about her habit, she had already placed the blood samples under the microscope and begun to observe them.

After a while, neither of us spoke. She was examining the blood sample, and I was observing her. A beautiful face, a wonderful figure—I had been so focused on her unusual testing methods that I hadn't noticed how good her figure was. Curvy and shapely, her long legs, even tucked into her pants, exuded sexiness—she was comparable to Yin Xue! The thought of Yin Xue immediately killed my interest in observing the beautiful woman. Memories of that night, of Yin Xue's snow-white skin and soft, warm body, seemed to resurface instantly.

"Lin Xiao, Lin Xiao!" Fang Lei's voice called out, pulling me back from my memories.

"Oh, what's wrong?" I was a little embarrassed; I shouldn't be daydreaming at work, right?

"Come and take a look." Fang Lei gestured for me to look at the blood sample under the microscope. I bent down suspiciously. I had been studying this blood sample for a long time, and theoretically there shouldn't be anything I hadn't seen! But what I saw under the microscope really startled me. I saw some black particles multiplying and spreading at a certain speed, while the original blood cells were bursting one by one, generating more black particles.

"What is this?" I turned to Fang Lei, only to find myself right in front of her face, just centimeters apart. Suddenly, such a beautiful face loomed large before my eyes, and my heart skipped a beat. Is this what it feels like to be smitten? A blush crept across Fang Lei's face. Damn it, my heart skipped another beat. If this continues, I might die young.

"I'm sorry." I quickly straightened up and jumped to a safe distance. The blush on Fang Lei's face disappeared, replaced by her serious expression again. What a spoilsport!

"This test strip is specially made, tempered by my master's Great Compassion Vajra Mantra and Five Elements Stone. It can reveal the severity of the ghostly influence on the deceased simply by touching the blood. As for the talisman you just mentioned, it's a test for vengeance. If the paper turns red, it means the person was murdered; if it's reddish-yellow, it means the person was raped before death; if water droplets form, it means the person drowned; if black smoke forms, it means the person was burned to death; and if it's blue, it means the person committed suicide."

"So it's black?" I was a little overwhelmed. "If your 'testing for injustice' paper is so convenient, what's the point of having police?"

“That means,” Fang Lei said gravely, ignoring my mockery, “that they were killed by ghosts, and with a great deal of resentment! And the test results also prove that these people did not die easily; they were all killed by ghosts, and their deaths were horrific. The blood of the deceased has been completely corrupted by ghost energy. If the bodies are not disposed of quickly, there is a possibility of them turning into zombies.”

"What? A zombie resurrection?" My head must be twice as big now. My materialistic beliefs are in danger of being shaken after going through so many trials.

"You don't believe me?" Fang Lei's expression was a little impatient, clearly feeling helpless towards someone like me who has no magic.

"How can I believe that? A zombie apocalypse! You think it's just spoiled food?" I rolled my eyes at the beautiful forensic doctor, my mind racing. She didn't seem to be lying, but how was I supposed to deal with these bodies? The case wasn't closed yet, and the higher-ups would never approve cremation. Were I just supposed to throw them all away? Old Cao would be furious if that happened!

"I do have a plan, but I need your help." Fang Lei's tone was persuasive, as if she were casting a net, just waiting for me, this innocent, pitiful, and innocent little animal who had committed a heinous crime, to walk right into it.

Unfortunately, I, being the little animal I am, completely lacked any sense of awareness and stupidly replied, "What kind of help?"

"If the deceased were killed by a ghost, the only way to help them pass on is to take them back to the place where they died and perform a ritual," Fang Lei said casually, as if she were simply throwing a bag of trash into a bin.

"Please, these are corpses, not just anything else! And there's more than one. I can't magically transport these corpses to the scene of the accident!" I hoped Fang Lei had another idea; I didn't want people to think I had a penchant for stealing corpses.

"It doesn't have to be a complete corpse, just the heart is fine." Fang Lei answered me calmly. I immediately felt that she had grown two horns on her head and a triangular tail swaying in front of me.

"Don't expect me to do such a chaotic and inhumane thing."

"This isn't inhumane; this is helping them!"

"If they're going to try to justify themselves, then killing them will be a way to free them from this predicament."

"It's different. Do you want to wait for the zombies to turn into zombies?"

"I don't want them to turn into zombies, and I don't want them to. Please, I just want to do my promising career as a forensic pathologist in peace!"

"Wait until they turn into zombies and see how you do your job as a forensic doctor!" Fang Lei threatened me fiercely.

I sighed again. Why did this thankless task have to fall on my shoulders? If I didn't believe her, I was afraid that the corpses would really turn into zombies, since these corpses were indeed strange.

“It’s illegal to do this, my dear lady.” I pleaded with Fang Lei, explaining the seriousness of the situation, hoping this fanatic could change her mind.

“Take them out quietly, no one will notice. Anyway, these corpses are all under your control.”

"This isn't a matter that will be noticed by others; it's a matter of professional ethics. Do you expect me to steal from someone in charge?"

"Forensic doctors sometimes remove parts of the deceased, don't tell me you've never cut off a hand or foot, or dug out a heart or lung for examination."

"..." I started sweating. This beautiful woman's choice of words was very inappropriate.

"I'm doing this to conduct a forensic examination, it's just a little unconventional."

"..." I continued to sweat; it seemed she was still very confident in her argument.

"If you don't do it, I'll do it myself!"

"..." I'm going to faint, my god, who's going to save me?!

Book One: The Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Six: A Journey to the Lake of Hearts

Book One: The Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Six: A Journey to the Lake of Hearts

I finally understand why heroines in martial arts novels are usually beautiful. It's because if everyone's martial arts skills are roughly the same, men who have a chivalrous heart and want to befriend the beautiful woman in front of them and eventually develop a romantic relationship with her are usually unable to resist her moves. Of course, the likes of Dongfang Bubai and Yue Buqun are an exception. And that's how beautiful women easily defeat all kinds of heroes and dominate the martial arts world.

And so, I was naturally defeated by Lady Fang. After all, she was a disciple of the Emei Sect, from a prestigious lineage! Losing was one thing, but why did I feel like banging my head against the steering wheel? Was it because Fang Lei in the back of the car was laughing too smugly, or because the bag of human hearts in the seat next to me smelled so pungent?