Oaths of Vengeance

I saw a series of small, dainty cat paw prints appear on the corpse's skin. I blew some oil ash again and found another pair of cat paw prints on the dead person's right arm.

This discovery shocked everyone present. Luo WeiWei asked in wonder, "I remember the victim didn't raise cats at home. Where did these cat prints come from?"

"This must be the key to unlocking this case!" I grasped a clue out of thin air.

"No way. How could a few cat prints prove anything? It can't be that a cat committed the murder, right? Maybe it was the neighbor's cat that happened to wander in." Luo WeiWei guessed.

I pointed at the cat prints, "Look closely, these prints are very clean."

"Aren't cats always clean? My cat at home likes to lick its paws when it has nothing to do." Luo WeiWei said.

Huang Xiaotao suddenly realized, "I get it. The victim's body was covered in blood, but these prints didn't get any blood on them."

I smiled slightly, "Finally someone understands!"

Luo WeiWei refused to admit defeat, "Maybe they were left earlier?"

I explained, "These prints were stepped on the body, so the victim must have already collapsed when they were left. My intuition tells me these prints are vitally important to this case!"

Luo WeiWei still looked unconvinced. I called to the policemen, "What are you waiting for, come take pictures!"

The officers responded and hurried to get the camera.

After examining the corpse, I took out some yellow paper from my pocket, divided it into three piles, found a copper basin to burn them in, and chanted a rebirth mantra for each of the three deceased. Then I swore, "Everyone, Song Yang hereby vows in the name of my ancestor, forensic investigator Song Ci, that I will definitely avenge you. Go and reincarnate soon!"

As soon as my voice fell, a strange gust of wind made the flames in the basin sway back and forth, as if something was responding to me from the netherworld. Luo WeiWei watched wide-eyed and mouth agape.

Soon, the police came back with the camera and took pictures of the prints on the corpse as evidence. I called for everyone to gather.

With all present, I said to Huang Xiaotao, "Inspector Huang, please allow me to take over from here!"

Huang Xiaotao was startled for a second before reacting with a smile, "Go ahead and take command, I'm not the lead this time. The three of us are here to assist you."

I instructed them to print out the photos of the cat prints, one copy for each person, to go back and investigate the scene, asking around to see if anyone nearby raises cats or if there are stray cats that appear locally, and compare the prints.

I didn't have high hopes for this lead, but with so many police at my disposal, it would be a waste not to make use of them. Solving cases is like combing hair, you have to filter out information bit by bit to find clues.

After handing out the assignments, I asked a policeman, "Where is Bai Yidao?"

"Bro Bai went home."

"He's got some nerve! Tell him to come back immediately, otherwise he's off this task force." I yelled furiously.

After what had just happened, these policemen now feared me somewhat. That officer said he would call Bai Yidao right away. I dismissed them for now.

Huang Xiaotao laughed, "Not bad, Song Yang. You've got quite the official air about you now."

"Haven't you heard the saying, don't judge a book by its cover?" I retorted.

"Huh? What do you mean, am I a pig?" Huang Xiaotao raised a pink fist threateningly.

"No no, I misspoke!" I waved my hands hurriedly.

I covered the corpse with a white sheet and said to Luo WeiWei, "Please take us to the evidence room."

"Alright, follow me." Luo WeiWei nodded.

Leaving the morgue felt like going from the North Pole to the tropics. Huang Xiaotao took off her coat while exclaiming, "Phew, it was freezing in there. Being a medical examiner really isn't easy."

"That's true. Working long-term in that kind of environment, many examiners develop arthritis and rheumatism." Luo WeiWei explained.

I thought to myself that this was already good compared to ancient times without refrigeration technology, when corpses could only be kept in cool, shaded rooms or cellars, but decomposition still couldn't be prevented. Hot weather was especially deadly. Undertakers had to wear pure robes that covered their whole bodies in sweat, working in rooms filled with the stench of death and swarms of flies. Many contracted lung diseases and skin conditions from inhaling too much corpse gas. That work environment was truly hellish!

Our group arrived at the evidence room. Luo WeiWei greeted the manager on duty, and we went inside. Huang Xiaotao seemed confused and asked, "Isn't security here too lax? Such an important place, yet we just walked right in? No one even checked our IDs?"

Luo WeiWei explained, "We're all internal personnel anyway, it's not like someone would steal evidence."

Huang Xiaotao said, "You can never be too careful. Evidence getting stolen would be a huge headache. I suggest you report this to the commissioner."

Luo WeiWei dismissively answered, "I know, I know!"

The evidence room was a very spacious hall, with rows of metal shelves inside. The room was well-ventilated with dry air. Luo WeiWei located the relevant evidence for this case by number, sealed in transparent plastic bags with labels.

We picked them up one by one to examine. They were the victims' personal belongings - cell phones, wallets, clothes, and some broken bowls and chopsticks.

I noticed a few numbers were missing and asked Luo WeiWei about it. She answered, "Those were the murder weapons, currently being tested by forensics. I can take you there later if you want to see them."

"No need for now." I opened up the cell phone to look through it. The victim was a produce supplier. In the three days since his death, the missed calls and unread messages were frighteningly numerous. I said to Huang Xiaotao, "Let's take this phone and have someone filter through it later for any notable leads."

Huang Xiaotao took it and put it in her pocket.

We didn't find anything else of note among the other evidence. I asked Luo WeiWei, "Is the evidence from that case three months ago here too?"

"It's here!" Luo WeiWei nodded.

We went to that shelf and examined the evidence one by one. The police's evidence storage limit was 30 days, but since the entire family in that case had died with no one coming to claim expired evidence, these items had remained here all this time.

The Wushou Police Department really wasn't afraid of trouble, even moving nearly everything from the victims' home here. There was even a cute beckoning cat statue, how was that evidence?

I counted the item numbers, nothing seemed to be missing. I then said to Luo WeiWei, "Let's go take a look at the scene!"

"Which case's scene?" Luo WeiWei asked.

"The current one." I replied.

"The police sealed off the scene already. If you want to look..." Luo WeiWei suddenly blushed, probably remembering the bet she lost to me earlier and now had to be our free driver: "I'll take you there!"

Huang Xiaotao checked her watch, "It's 10 AM now. After we're done, I'll treat everyone to Peking duck for lunch at Binsatang Restaurant."

"You really are true to your word!" I said.

"Of course, I'm a woman of principle." Huang Xiaotao laughed, then suddenly noticed Wang Dali had been silent the whole time, "Huh, Dali, you foodie didn't react when you heard Peking duck? That's very abnormal for you."

When Wang Dali spoke, I noticed his voice sounded very muffled, "Bro Song, I think I caught a cold."

"You must have caught it from the freezing morgue earlier. Why don't you go rest for now?" I suggested.

"Oh, then I'll go get a room at an inn and sleep it off. I won't be joining you today..." Wang Dali nodded.

Huang Xiaotao asked Luo WeiWei, "We've traveled a long way. Don't you have a place prepared for us to rest?"

Luo WeiWei said, "Let me ask the team leader."

We left the evidence room. Because we'd taken out an evidence item, we filled out a form at the evidence room manager's desk. And because we were going to the scene later, Luo WeiWei also brought along a set of keys that were stored in evidence.

After a brief phone call, Team Leader Liao soon arrived, apologetically saying, "Sorry for the poor hospitality. The commissioner mentioned earlier to book you all nice rooms at a nearby hotel, I'll take you there now."

Huang Xiaotao waved her hand, "No need, we still have to go to the scene. Just take Mr. Wang Dali there, that's fine..."

I asked Huang Xiaotao to go get the car first, and accompanied Wang Dali and Team Leader Liao to the hotel. On the way, I bought some cold medicine for him. Team Leader Liao booked a relatively high-end hotel and asked how many rooms we needed.

Wang Dali had caught a cold and might run a fever, so he needed someone to take care of him. Huang Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao definitely could not be in the same room, so I said three rooms.

After booking the rooms, I took Wang Dali upstairs, boiled some hot water for him, and told him to get plenty of rest. Wang Dali listlessly said, "Oh, this time I dragged everyone down and still need you to take care of me, I'm really sorry."

"Don't say stuff like that, it makes me feel distant. By the way, is your nose stuffy?" I asked.

Wang Dali nodded.

I took a Suhe pill and handed it to him, telling him to hold it in his mouth. As soon as Wang Dali put it in his mouth, he perked up instantly: "Damn, Yangzi, what kind of medicine is this? It's so refreshing and clears my nose right away!"

I explained it to him, and Wang Dali kept praising it: "This pill is so effective. Why don't we start a business selling these pills after we graduate? Get a patent too. It will definitely make a fortune."

I thought about it, this idea didn't seem bad!