Военный советник и принцесса

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Volume 1: The World of the Spirit Hunters

1. Mysterious Death (1)

"Ma Guiping! Hurry up, they're about to leave!" Li Li shouted in front of the bathroom door. "You always remember to go to the bathroom when you're about to leave, it's so annoying!"

"You go first, tell them to wait a moment, I'll be right there," Ma Guiping said from inside the bathroom, his voice muffled through the door.

"Then hurry up, I'm going out first—don't forget to lock the door." Li Li said as she walked out of the hotel room, slamming the door shut. The clicking sound of her high heels on the hard marble floor gradually disappeared into the corridor.

"They even rush me to use the toilet, it's so annoying," Ma Guiping muttered to himself as he sat on the toilet. Ma Guiping and Li Li were a married couple, and they had come to this coastal city as part of a tour group organized by Ma Guiping's work unit. However, since the tour was paid for by the company, the unit leaders had chosen a remote and poorly equipped hotel for them to stay in. When they arrived, the hotel was completely empty.

After a flurry of settling in, the colleagues started clamoring to go swimming in the sea, and a chartered car was already waiting outside the hotel. If they missed the car, getting to the beach would be quite troublesome, so Li Li was very unhappy that Ma Guiping was going to the toilet at this time, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Ma Guiping didn't care about Li Li's dissatisfaction at all. Now that he was alone, he felt much more at peace. Everyone has to use the restroom sometimes, Ma Guiping thought. Going to the toilet now was definitely better than searching for one on the street. Besides, even if he missed the bus, he could just spend some money to find another one; there was no need to rush. Sigh, women can be quite annoying sometimes.

Ma Guiping and Li Li were staying in a standard room, which, besides the bedroom, only included a bathroom/shower. Ma Guiping sat on the toilet, facing the showerhead, idly watching the water slowly drip. Actually, Ma Guiping didn't like traveling. The thought of the constant movement during a trip filled him with a strange sense of dread. To put it bluntly, he was lazy. It was precisely because of his lack of exercise that Ma Guiping was rather overweight, though not to the point of affecting his health. In his own words, he was a nimble fat man. The reasons Ma Guiping decided to join this tour group, besides the fact that it was organized by his work unit and didn't cost him anything, were also because of the prospect of going to the seaside—after living inland for so long, seeing the sea felt quite nice.

Ma Guiping's stomach was still hurting, though not too badly, but he decided to sit a little longer. He stopped staring at the dripping showerhead and started looking at the tiles on his floor. Strangely, ever since he entered the bathroom, an indescribable feeling had been bothering him, like a piece of chewing gum that he couldn't shake off, sticking to the back of his head. Now, as he was almost finished relieving himself, this feeling resurfaced.

Ma Guiping had a similar feeling before. It was an experience of walking alone at night. Although it wasn't for very long, the pitch-black streets, the shadowy tree shadows, and the echoing sound of his own footsteps were unforgettable. It felt like… like someone was following him, coldly watching him. If he stopped, that person would approach him and grab him by the neck. This feeling accompanied him all the way until he entered his building and the motion-activated lights came on, which eased the feeling somewhat. Even so, in the dead of winter, it still left him drenched in a cold sweat. To be honest, it was a truly awful feeling.

But now that feeling seemed to have returned, even more intense and unrestrained. That cold gaze, even the unusual panting, lingered around him. It made him panic. He turned to look for toilet paper, but found nothing. He cursed, but the only response was a very soft, chuckle.

Ma Guiping recalled his usual practice of listening to music with headphones, where his exceptionally keen hearing, which he was so proud of, could easily detect even the faintest harmonies. The laughter that rang out at this moment did not escape his ears either—he was absolutely certain! Moreover, the laughter was unlike the directional laughter he usually heard; it was as if the sound from his high-fidelity headphones was surging in from all directions, making it impossible for him to discern where it was coming from.

A chilling sensation he had never felt before immediately spread from the top of his head down to his body, making Ma Guiping feel as if every hair on his head stood on end. A strong shiver ran through him, and he broke out in a cold sweat. Ignoring the lack of toilet paper, he grabbed a disposable towel, quickly cleaned himself up, and stood up to walk towards the door.

But the door wouldn't open.

2. Mysterious Death (2)

The bathroom door opens inwards, and the locking mechanism is only located on the inside. To lock the door, a key is required from the outside. Ordinary tenants have no need for or access to this key, and besides, Li Li certainly wouldn't have locked Ma Guiping inside the bathroom when she left. The fact that the door is unlocked from the inside but still can't be opened indicates a broken lock.

Ma Guiping, as if in disbelief, twisted the doorknob back and forth with all his might, making the door rattle loudly. But this damned door just wouldn't open. Perhaps it was deliberately messing with him, breaking the lock at this crucial moment. He tried to kick the door open, but it was an inward-opening door, and he figured he couldn't kick it open anyway.

Suddenly, Ma Guiping felt a cool breeze on the back of his neck, making him feel itchy, as if someone eating an ice pop was blowing on him. The breeze wasn't strong, but the icy temperature still chilled him down despite his sweaty brow. There was no one else in the bathroom, so where was the breeze coming from? There was indeed an exhaust fan in the small room, but it had long been broken due to disuse, and Ma Guiping hadn't felt any airflow at all while he was there. In other words, the cool breeze on his neck couldn't have come from anyone other than a person.

Ma Guiping didn't dare turn around for a moment. Large beads of sweat slowly rolled down his forehead.

It was utterly quiet all around. Ma Guiping could only hear his own heavy breathing. He deliberately took a deep breath, held it, and strained to hear anything behind him. There was no sound. There couldn't possibly be anyone else here who didn't know. But the aura he felt just now was too real; it couldn't possibly be his imagination.

Logically speaking, Li Li should have been impatient by now that Ma Guiping had been dawdling here for so long, especially with a whole carload of people waiting for him. Had they all left without waiting for him? But Li Li wasn't familiar with his colleagues; would she go to the beach alone? Probably not. She wouldn't go alone; she would definitely come back to find him. He wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Ma Guiping mustered his courage and slowly turned around. There was no one there; he was the only one in the bathroom. Although the lighting was dim, it was exactly the same as when he had entered. However, something was definitely off. Besides the laughter and the air currents, he felt uneasy all over. Ma Guiping felt his heart pounding, his eardrums throbbing, and he felt slightly dizzy. These uncomfortable feelings suddenly made the word "ghost" pop into his mind.

He didn't know how long he had been in this room, but it felt like a long time. However, ever since Li Li's voice disappeared in the corridor, he felt as if he had been isolated by this bathroom. Suddenly, it was as if everyone had forgotten about Ma Guiping's existence and left him to fend for himself here.

Ma Guiping leaned against the door, noticing that the tiles under his feet weren't perfectly square. Instead, one tile seemed to be slowly changing, the vertical grout lines appearing to curve, making that tile look rounder. The change gradually expanded, making Ma Guiping feel that the tiles under his feet, and even the tiles on the walls, were beginning to deform. The entire bathroom seemed to have lost its vertical lines, transforming into a crumbling, collapsing cave. From within the cave, it seemed as if a pair of blue eyes were watching him from afar. These weren't human eyes; they had curved, blade-like pupils. Aside from the eyes, he couldn't see its face or hear its voice.

As if receiving an order, he trembled as he pulled a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket. He didn't take out the cigarette, but instead lit the lighter.

His gaze lingered on the lighter, as if seeing its tiny flame for the first time. Ah, the flame was warm, flickering like a fluffy little chick; he really wanted to touch it.

Ma Guiping reached out a finger to touch the flame. He felt nothing anymore, watching as the flames slowly engulfed his entire body. Dressed in long sleeves and trousers, he was now a human torch. In the bright firelight, he heard his own sigh, as if his soul were leaving his body. He also heard a series of joyful laughs; this time, he recognized it as a woman's laughter. He looked towards the cave one last time, and his eyes slowly closed.

3. Entrusted

It was late at night when Li Hong received Li Li's call. She had just finished washing up and was getting ready for bed. When the phone rang, Li Hong inexplicably felt that this call was unusual. She hesitated for a moment before picking up the phone.

The call was from Li Li, who was in an unfamiliar city hundreds of miles away. She was crying uncontrollably. Li Hong comforted her while asking what had happened. After a long conversation, Li Hong finally understood. It turned out that Li Li's husband, Ma Guiping, had died mysteriously on the afternoon of the day he arrived at their tourist destination. The police investigation concluded that his body had spontaneously combusted. Only his right hand remained intact at the scene, which was confirmed to be Ma Guiping's. The rest of his body had been completely burned to ashes. Other flammable materials at the scene, such as towels, showed no signs of burning. In other words, Ma Guiping went to the toilet before leaving home that afternoon, and in the 15 minutes he stayed there, his body spontaneously combusted, leaving only his right hand.

Li Li simply couldn't believe such a conclusion, so she asked Li Hong, who worked in forensic medicine, to help investigate what exactly happened to Ma Guiping during the 15 minutes he was in the toilet.

After hanging up the phone, Li Hong found herself breathing heavily, her heart pounding, and her whole body covered in cold sweat as if she had just taken a shower—she was a little frightened. Although she hadn't been working as a forensic pathologist for very long and had been to many crime scenes, she had never encountered such a bizarre situation before.

Li Li was Li Hong's high school classmate; the two were inseparable best friends during their school years. However, she didn't have much of an impression of Ma Guiping, only remembering him as a short, chubby man who worked in computer sales. Li Hong had even attended their wedding. Hearing this devastating news, she was still shocked by Li Li's description. However, Li Li's description was frequently interrupted by crying, making it impossible to get a clear picture of the situation from the phone. It seemed that going to the scene in person was essential to uncover the truth.

Clearly, Li Hong didn't sleep well that night. The next morning, after asking for leave from work, Li Hong quickly packed her things and set off. She arrived at the scene in the afternoon.

The hotel where Ma Guiping's tour group stayed was a four-story building. Besides the main building, there was a small lake surrounding it, with two bridges connecting to gravel paths on either side. The lake water was flowing and not very deep, so the water quality appeared quite good. However, due to the lack of tourists and poor hotel maintenance, the bridges were rather dilapidated, with one wooden bridge even showing signs of being unsafe. Walking on these unlit paths and bridges at night, with few pedestrians, would give one a very unsafe feeling.

The main building's exterior is relatively better; the white walls, having been recently painted, still look quite grand. The main building's lobby is large and is used as a restaurant, with guest rooms on either side that appear identical from the outside. Ma Guiping and Li Li's room is on the first floor, the second room to the right after turning right from the lobby entrance, number 104.

Li Li's eyes were completely swollen, and she looked extremely haggard from not having slept all night. Upon seeing Li Hong, tears welled up in her eyes, and she couldn't speak, only pointing to the half-open door. Li Hong almost cried herself, but she held back, squeezed Li Li's hand tightly, and turned to walk towards the scene.

The scene was the bathroom in room 104, and the bedroom had already been sealed off by the police. Li Hong showed her identification and explained her relationship with the victim before she was allowed to enter the scene. Li Hong wanted to see the first forensic doctor who arrived at the scene, and the police guarding the scene agreed to make the necessary contact for her.

Li Hong pushed open the door, and the entire bathroom was revealed to her.

4. On-site

The bathroom was brightly lit by tungsten-halogen lamps set up by the police, the light reflecting off the white tiles and creating glaring spots. The small bathroom reeked of burnt protein, a nauseating smell. The bathroom was a long, narrow rectangle. On the floor lay a pile of black ash, surrounded by a ring of yellowish oily substance. The unburnt right hand had already been taken away by the police.

The bathroom was simply furnished. To the right of the door was a sink, cluttered with disposable toiletries such as soap and toothbrushes. The sink was dry, and the drain was parched, like a thirsty throat gaping open. Above the sink was a small mirror, its lower part splattered with evaporating water droplets. Only the upper part, a small area, still reflected a clear image. Li Hong saw her own bloodshot eyes and disheveled hair plastered to her forehead in the mirror.

To the right of the sink is the toilet, but there's space for the drain in the middle, leaving a gap between the toilet and the sink. The drain is dry, with only some residual yellow sand. Above the toilet is a stainless steel towel rack with a white disposable towel hanging there, completely dry, stiff, and lacking any softness—it must have been unused for a long time.

There was only a small gap between the toilet and the innermost wall. An electric water heater and a broken, dusty exhaust fan were mounted on the wall, while the showerhead was installed on the left wall, directly opposite the toilet. The showerhead showed no signs of running water and hung listlessly. On the entire wall facing the toilet—the wall to the left of the bathroom door—only this showerhead hung there.

The ashes were in the open space between the sink and the toilet. Clearly, this area was a space where people used to move around, but at this moment, it was completely occupied by ashes. On the ceiling facing the ashes, there were thick, black soot marks left by smoke, and the entire ceiling was basically blackened. Only the area facing the ashes was the thickest.

Wearing shoe covers, Li Hong slowly walked around the bathroom. Judging from the surrounding items, nothing had been burned by the spontaneous combustion, and apart from the ceiling, the walls showed no signs of smoke or fire. If it weren't for the ash and thick soot on the ceiling, no one would believe that a living person had simply vanished completely.

Li Hong walked to the bathroom door and carefully checked the lock. The lock had been broken from the outside, meaning the person outside had forcibly broken it to enter, suggesting the deceased had locked themselves inside while using the toilet. If the person inside was sitting on the toilet, they wouldn't be able to easily unlock the door for the person outside.

Li Hong was now back at the door. She reached out and turned off the tungsten-halogen lamp, then switched on the bathroom's original incandescent light. The long, narrow bathroom instantly went from being blindingly white to being enveloped in a dim, yellowish light. The contrast was so great that Li Hong couldn't adjust for a moment. The bathroom was now back to how it should have been. Perhaps Li Hong's eyes had been dazzled by the bright light; looking at the bathroom now, it felt as if she had suddenly entered a prison, with the surrounding objects appearing indistinct and unnatural. Li Hong shook her head, closed her eyes for a moment to dispel the illusion she had just seen, and then went back into the bathroom.

A feeling of being watched welled up inside her.

There was no one else in room 104 except her, but she suddenly felt as if someone was coldly staring at her from behind. She turned around and saw only the half-open door behind her. The corridor was empty, and the police had already kept unauthorized personnel out of the hotel. It seemed that she was the only person in the entire building.

She found her hallucination somewhat amusing, and then continued to investigate the scene.

The bathroom, no longer the pitiful sight it had presented under the harsh sunlight, seemed to have transformed from a wretched creature into a supreme being, coldly observing the disheveled woman. Everything in the room remained unchanged, yet all the objects seemed restless, clamoring to leave. Li Hong was utterly astonished by her own perception. She rose from beside the ashes and surveyed the surroundings once more.

Yes, there was definitely an unsettling atmosphere here, as if her arrival had disturbed something. That something was lurking in the shadows, carefully observing her. If she wasn't careful, she might bump into it. It followed her, reaching out its hand, wanting to touch her.

Li Hong turned around again to look behind her. Still, there was nothing there.

She left the bathroom and took a deep breath. She didn't like it there; she didn't like the feeling of being watched and observed.

Just then, a voice came from outside the door: "Officer Li? The forensic doctor is here."

5. The Mystery of Spontaneous Combustion

After Li Hong stepped out of the room, the unease she had felt earlier immediately vanished. Although the lighting in the hall wasn't great either, it was definitely much better than being in the bathroom.

The police officers guarding the scene brought in a lean man; his nimble, slender fingers revealed that they were the hands of someone who frequently dissected corpses. He introduced himself: "I am a forensic doctor from the city's criminal investigation team. My name is Yue Ling, Yue as in Yue Fei, and Ling as in sharp and fierce."

"Hello, my name is Li Hong, and I am a teaching assistant in forensic anthropology at the Medical School of Forensic Medicine. Because the deceased is a friend of mine, I hope to assist the police investigation this time."

"Oh, I thought it was an expert sent down from above to investigate. But you are an expert too, although it doesn't seem quite in accordance with regulations to have you participate in the investigation. Let me report to the squadron leader first."

The bureau quickly approved Li Hong's request. After all, it would be great to have someone help with such a strange case, and Li Hong wasn't just an ordinary citizen; she was considered an expert. Therefore, the bureau's response was very straightforward.

Yue Ling began to explain the situation to Li Hong:

“Although I am just a forensic doctor, my colleague who took on the case thought the matter was too strange, so he notified me first. I was the second police officer to arrive at the scene; the first one to arrive was just a 110 patrol officer.”

"How did the person who reported the case describe it? Around what time did they report it?" Li Hong took out her notebook and asked while taking notes.

"Around 2 PM, the 110 emergency call record came in with this strange call for help, saying that someone was trapped in the bathroom and it was on fire, and people outside could only see smoke coming out of the door. The original report time was 1:36 PM. The 110 patrol officers arrived at the scene around 1:45 PM, by which time someone had already forced open the bathroom door, and the scene was already in that state. After the patrol officers described the situation, the 110 transferred the case to the accident investigation department."

Was Li Li the one who reported the case?

"No, you mean Li Li, the deceased's wife? No, it's not her, it's the deceased's boss. Li Li had already fainted at the time, and no one heard any cries for help. At first, we didn't know there was anyone in the bathroom until Li Li called out the deceased's name and fainted. That's when we realized the deceased was still in the bathroom."

"What was the scene like when you arrived?"

"It looks pretty much like this now, except that the unburned hand is left on the side of the toilet, about 3 centimeters from the ashes. The cross-section is from when it was burned, and there are burn marks on the surface. The body of the deceased has been completely reduced to ashes."

"Have you investigated the yellow, oily substance nearby?"

"Yes, that's melted fatty tissue."

"Is there any useful information left at the scene?"

"No. The comrade from the accident investigation department who is in charge of fires told me after inspecting the scene that apart from the deceased being completely burned, no other items had burned. However, the sink and walls were heated up, and the doorknob was very hot. Moreover, no traces of any accelerants, such as gasoline, were found at the scene."

"Has the clothing the deceased was wearing at the time been investigated?"

"The top was a cotton shirt, but the pants are unclear; the deceased's lover doesn't remember."

Did the deceased drink alcohol at lunch?

"No."

Did the deceased have a smoking habit?

"have."

After jotting down some key points in her notebook, Li Hong stopped asking questions: "That's about all my questions. I'll talk to Li Li about it later. At the moment, the conclusion that it spontaneously combusted isn't entirely accurate; it definitely didn't start burning itself."

"You mean, someone set the fire?"

"It should be. It's just that it's quite rare for it to burn so thoroughly in such a short time."

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m wondering about. The human body is 80% water, so it’s unbelievable that it could burn so completely in such a short time without any accelerant. But it seems unlikely that someone set it on fire.” Yue Ling slowly shook his head and said.

“That’s right. If it were arson, the detectives would have found some clues. But the person who set this fire must have been himself,” Li Hong said with certainty.

Yue Ling's mouth dropped open: "He burned himself to death? He committed suicide?"

"That's my initial guess."

What evidence do you have?

"There is no direct evidence at present. However, since the human body cannot burn on its own, and no one went in to start a fire, and the deceased had a smoking habit, I infer that the deceased died in an accident."

“That makes some sense. But isn’t this kind of accident too strange? A cigarette butt burned a grown person down to just a hand?” Yue Ling shook his head again.

"Have you heard of the 'wick effect'?" Li Hong asked.

No. Does it have anything to do with this?

"It's very relevant. The most widely accepted explanation for spontaneous human combustion in academia is the 'wick effect,' also known as the 'candle effect.' The human body doesn't burn on its own; it's ignited by a source of fire similar to a candle flame. Generally, the clothes worn by a drunk or unconscious person catch fire, the skin burns off, and the subcutaneous fat melts and flows out. The clothes, soaked in liquefied fat, become the 'wick,' while the body fat acts like 'wax,' continuously providing fuel for combustion. Thus, the corpse burns slowly like a candle until all the fatty tissue is burned away."

Yue Ling looked up and asked, "What about the remaining hand?"

Li Hong continued, "Body parts not covered by clothing won't burn because melted fat needs clothing as a 'wick' to burn fully. However, when liquefied fat flows into these parts of the body, it will burn the skin there, and the deceased's remaining palm skin does indeed show signs of burns. In addition, burning fat produces thick smoke, which explains why the bathroom ceiling was blackened. Some melted fat will flow out of the body and onto the floor, but since there's no clothing to act as a wick, it won't burn and will remain."

Yue Ling nodded slowly: "That makes sense."

But Li Hong said thoughtfully, "We can explain why he burned so completely, but we can't explain why he didn't call for help after his body caught fire—there was a sink and shower nearby, which could have easily extinguished the fire. So far, all deaths from spontaneous human combustion have involved people who were drunk or unconscious, but the deceased shouldn't have been in that mental state at the time. The accident happened, and he died so silently..."

6. The Mysterious Guest (1)