Seeing Crime Scenes in My Sleep

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Corpse Wall

At Huo Qing’s nod, a few people grabbed hammers and began smashing the wall.

The THUD THUD THUD of the hammers made her eardrums ring. Jiang Li stared at the hammers, and her vision began to blur. Twisted, grim, and pained faces appeared on the surface of the wall.

"Wait, hold on!" Jiang Li cried out, clutching her throbbing head.

Huo Qing and the others turned to look back at her in confusion.

Jiang Li’s expression froze as she looked at the wall, which was now perfectly normal. She met the questioning gazes of Huo Qing and Lu Xingye.

"Start from the corner," Jiang Li said, swallowing nervously as she pointed to the bottom-right corner. ’I think that spot was empty just now.’

"Alright." The man wasn’t annoyed and began hammering the spot she’d indicated.

Jiang Li took out her phone and called Wu Ming, asking her to come over.

The THUD THUD THUDDING continued in her ears, then suddenly stopped.

Jiang Li looked up. The man with the hammer was standing there, frozen stiff. His back began to tremble, and the hammer fell from his hand, hitting the ground with a CLANG.

Huo Qing and Lu Xingye stepped forward to look. Their expressions changed instantly. Bones were sticking out of the concrete.

He picked up a nearby crowbar and pried carefully, revealing more bone.

They were arranged in a crisscross pattern, a bizarre and horrifying sight.

Huo Qing didn’t touch it again. "Go, get Forensic Doctor Ning and his team up here."

The officer next to him began taking photos to document the scene.

"Yes, Captain Huo."

Jiang Li moved back to make room. Staring at the bones in the concrete, her face couldn’t help but turn pale.

Ning Sinian came up, carrying his kit, followed by a pale-faced Ge Hong.

As Ge Hong came up, he looked up and his eyes met Jiang Li’s. He immediately looked away, ashamed. ’I can’t believe there’s actually a body in this wall.’

Ning Sinian took out his tools and began chipping at the wall, with several other forensic examiners assisting him.

When Wu Ming arrived and saw the scene, all the color drained from her face, and she instinctively took a step back.

Everyone present wore a somber expression. Their movements were light and careful, fearing they might damage the remains.

Wu Ming came to Jiang Li’s side and took her hand. "Jiang... Jiang Li, why did you ask me to come here?"

Jiang Li leaned over and whispered in her ear.

Lu Xingye glanced in their direction, his eyes narrowing slightly. ’What are they talking about?’

Wu Ming looked at her. "Jiang Li, I want to help, but this is beyond me. Don’t worry, though. My master knows how. He can help."

"Can you get your master to come?" Jiang Li asked, pressing her lips together. ’Based on the faces I saw, there’s more than one.’

"I can. I’ll go get my master to come perform a ritual for them."

Wu Ming’s voice wasn’t quiet, and Huo Qing, Lu Xingye, and Ning Sinian all heard her.

Jiang Li nodded. "Thank you, I’m sorry for the trouble."

Wu Ming stepped aside to call her master.

Ning Sinian and his team had already dismantled a large section of the wall. Remnants of cloth clung to it, outlining the victims’ final postures.

Ge Hong was so shocked by the sight that he was speechless. "This... don’t tell me the whole building is..."

Ning Sinian’s expression was grim. He stood up and turned to look at Huo Qing.

"Based on the contortion of the skeletons, my preliminary assessment is that they were likely trapped within the rebar, then had concrete poured over them and were suffocated to death."

Ning Sinian glanced again at the exposed remains below. "Ge Hong might be right. It’s possible the entire building is filled with them."

At his words, everyone present gasped, a chill running down their spines. To be sealed in such a narrow space and entombed in concrete...

Ning Sinian pressed his lips together and continued his work. The other forensic examiners chipped at the concrete between the skeletons, removing the remains and placing them into nearby boxes.

Ning Sinian looked at the last remaining section, took a deep breath, and continued to chip away at the outer layer of the wall.

In all his years as a forensic examiner, he had seen all manner of gruesome deaths, but facing this many skeletons still sent a chill down his spine.

Suddenly, his hand froze. He stared at a dried bloodstain on the wall. "Over here! Give me a hand!"

Ning Sinian shouted, and the others hurried forward to help him pry the section of wall loose.

An ashen-faced old woman with a missing arm was embedded inside.

Ning Sinian and a colleague carefully removed the old woman’s body, placed it on a stretcher, and prepared to take it back first.

Ge Hong stared at Jiang Li in horror. ’This girl’s guesses are scarily accurate. Could it be... is it real...?’

The thought had barely formed before he dismissed it. He was a forensic examiner, a man of science.

"It seems we can’t use brute force for demolition; we’ll have to do this piece by piece."

Huo Qing nodded. "Forensic Doctor Ning, I’ll leave this area to you. Chen Xiang, go bring in the developer from last time for a thorough interrogation."

With that, Huo Qing took some of his team and headed back to the station.

Jiang Li glanced once and didn’t dare to look again, afraid she’d have nightmares.

"Jiang Li, my master’s here."

Wu Ming pulled Jiang Li downstairs with her.

Downstairs, a short old man was staring at the building, muttering to himself.

"Such a terrible sin... truly a terrible sin!"

"Master!" Wu Ming waved happily at Cao Kun.

"You silly girl. You’ve been down from the mountain for so long, why are you still so impetuous?"

Cao Kun smiled as he walked up to his young apprentice. He reached out and pinched her cheek. "We haven’t seen each other in a while, and you’ve already put on some weight."

Wu Ming puffed out her cheeks and glared at him. "You old coot, hurry up and come with me. This is urgent."

"Hey, hey, my silly apprentice, what’s the rush? Things like this can’t be rushed."

Cao Kun poked Wu Ming’s forehead, his gaze landing on Jiang Li. "Is this the young lady you told me about?"

Jiang Li smiled. "Hello."

Cao Kun looked at Jiang Li, his gaze pausing for a moment on the red cord around her neck. Then he laughed. "Hahaha! Good. Hello to you."

Cao Kun glanced at the building and had Wu Ming lay out his things.

Jiang Li watched as Wu Ming set up a table in a designated spot, placing an incense burner, candles, a copper coin sword, a bell, and other items on it.

The sky gradually darkened. Jiang Li glanced back at the building, the horrific scene flashing through her mind. She turned to Wu Ming.

"Wu Ming, I’m heading out. Just text me how much your master’s services cost, and I’ll transfer you the money."

"Hey now, Jiang Li, what are you talking about? Don’t worry about money," Wu Ming said, wagging her finger playfully.

"Huh?" ’Is it free?’

"We only care about affinity."

Jiang Li’s mouth twitched. "Alright, then. You can contact me later about how much ’affinity’ it is. I’m a coward, so I’m leaving first."

Jiang Li quickly turned and left.

"Master? Master?" Wu Ming waved a hand in front of Cao Kun’s face.

Only then did Cao Kun retract his gaze. "Alright. Let’s begin."

...

On her way back, Jiang Li thought of the location from Qiao Siyuan’s computer. She checked the time and hailed a cab to head there.

"Qiao Siyuan, you haven’t been here in so long. What have you been so busy with?"

"What else? It’s Wu Xueyan, always being paranoid. She’s driving me crazy. And..."

Qiao Siyuan trailed off and changed the subject. "But let’s not talk about that. I hear you’ve gotten some good stuff in recently?"

"We do, we do. Saved some just for you. The price is just a little steep."