Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Mountain Blaze (04)

After long hours on the front line, Hai Shu didn't have the habit of recognizing a bed. She lay down and quickly drifted into sleep. Before she fell asleep, she had a strange premonition, feeling that perhaps she would dream of Xiao Yu.

After the incident, she often dreamed of Xiao Yu. The little boy would cry and be unable to speak. His vest had holes in it, and she would feel sad too, wanting to go closer and hug him. But when he looked up, red tears flowed from his eyes. She would always wake up screaming, and on the other side of the wall, her mother and uncle were making quite a commotion.

It had been a long time since she last dreamed of the little boy from her childhood.

In the morning, Hai Shu woke up in shock, sitting on the edge of the bed for a while. Then she grabbed her bangs and forcefully brushed them back.

She had indeed dreamed, but it wasn't Xiao Yu she dreamt about. It was the man in sunglasses she had seen at the bureau earlier that day.

The dream was like a slow-motion scene stretched infinitely. The man walked out of the elevator, heading toward her, and everything around them turned into shadows. He looked at her, then turned to the other side. They kept getting closer and closer, yet they never brushed past each other like in reality.

The dream was so long it felt like a nightmare. If not for her biological clock waking her up, she might have been trapped in it.

Qiao Heng gave the criminal investigation team two days of rest, but Hai Shu, still thinking about Guang Yongguo's death, only took one day off before returning to the city bureau. The main suspect had already been identified as Yin Canxi. On the surface, her motive seemed to be revenge for Xu Qiao, but internally, this motive had been largely ruled out. It seemed more likely she was working for some power, and after leaving Zhou Ping Town with Zhou Jia Jia, her experience had changed her.

But Hai Shu remained cautious, considering another possibility—Yin Canxi might not be the real Yin Canxi anymore.

This guess could easily be verified. Hai Shu had Cheng Wei go to Zhou Ping Town to extract Yin Canxi’s biological samples from the Yin family, Guang family, and Yin Canxi's cosmetics store. DNA testing with Yin’s father and mother confirmed that they were indeed biological relatives.

Thus, the guess was disproven. No one had replaced Yin Canxi.

As for surveillance, the last time Yin Canxi had been spotted was in the outdoor parking lot of City Fifth Hospital. She didn't get into any vehicle, just hurriedly walked by. Since then, her phone and bank cards had not been used, and she disappeared neatly.

The police had already investigated the key figures in Guang Yongguo’s social circle, but had found no leads. People who visited Yue Sheng Villa insisted that they didn’t know what kind of forces were behind it. Guang Yongguo provided a place that catered to their particular fetishes, and in return, they provided him with resources and money. Inquiring about why Guang Yongguo became the owner of Yue Sheng Villa, they said it was none of their business.

There were no breakthroughs with the living, so the only place to start was with the dead. Among the twelve bodies found in Yue Sheng Villa, only Xu Qiao's identity and cause of death were confirmed. Four other bodies in Pit B had been identified, but they came from different cities, and their missing times varied. The investigation by local police was still ongoing. Why did they die? And why were they dissected multiple times after death?

Hai Shu returned to Yue Sheng Villa again. Wen Xu said he had been quite free lately and had come to help her. However, he ended up being of no help and instead kept throwing cold water over her head.

“Captain Hai, I’m telling you, we’re wasting our time. Do you believe me?”

Hai Shu stood in the empty hall of the villa, frustrated by the lack of clues.

Wen Xu said, “Yin Canxi’s disappearance and Guang Yongguo’s case are basically at a dead end. The most obvious clue is those bodies in Yue Sheng Villa. So we’ve fixated on them, hoping to find something on the corpses.”

“But if we can really find something on them, why would Guang Yongguo get them?” Wen Xu laughed. “In other words, why would the person supplying the bodies trust Guang Yongguo to take care of them?”

Hai Shu pressed her eyes, “You’re right.”

Guang Yongguo had avoided answering questions about the origin of the bodies. His subordinates said the bodies appeared out of nowhere in Yue Sheng Villa, used to satisfy customers’ fetishes. This already revealed crucial information: Guang Yongguo knew who had delivered the bodies to him, and he could dispose of them at will. The other party seemed quite at ease with letting him handle the bodies.

Why?

Because the bodies no longer contained any important secrets.

Hai Shu looked down at the Xing Chen Amusement Park below the mountain. Yue Sheng Villa and Xing Chen Amusement Park had originally been one entity, but now, Yue Sheng Villa had long ceased operations, while Xing Chen Amusement Park still had a steady stream of visitors every day. The capital behind Yue Sheng and Xing Chen came from Zhou Di Production and Ping Huang Real Estate. The police had investigated, but both parties insisted they had no involvement with Guang Yongguo. They claimed the actors sent to Yue Sheng Villa were the actions of individual employees, and the company had no knowledge. The implicated employees had admitted to being bribed by Guang Yongguo.

Hai Shu personally went to Ping Huang Real Estate, where she was greeted by a female secretary who smiled warmly, but her official tone was a constant. Halfway through, a man dressed as a lawyer was brought in. He said the company had appointed a lawyer to cooperate with the police investigation, and the lawyer would represent the company in answering any questions.

The man introduced himself as Wang, from Ke Xin Law Firm.

Hai Shu took the business card and recalled the information she had read about Ping Huang Real Estate. “Your company handles Ping Huang’s legal matters?”

Lawyer Wang smiled, “Yes, if there’s anything you need me to cooperate with, just let me know.”

He was polite, respectful, and appeared very cooperative. Hai Shu listened to Lawyer Wang talk for an hour about the company’s development but couldn’t extract any useful information. It was clear that Wang was just sent out to placate the police, and at present, the police had no evidence to initiate an investigation into Ping Huang Real Estate.

“Captain Hai, why are you looking at this so seriously?” Sui Xing entered the office, bending over to take a look. “Ke Xin Law Firm?”

Hai Shu said, “This law firm has been established for less than ten years, but they’ve handled quite a few high-profile cases. These cases involve defending notorious crimes or negotiating lighter sentences for major cases.”

Sui Xing said, “Oh, I know them. Two years ago, there was a case next door they handled. The defendant killed two workers, and they managed to use the family card to convince the victim’s family, getting a fixed-term sentence. It made the neighboring criminal team leader so mad he was blowing smoke from his ears.”

Hai Shu nodded, “That’s how it is now. It’s still a loophole found during the investigation phase. But there’s something strange about Ke Xin Law Firm.”

Sui Xing asked, “Do they specialize in defending ‘evil’?”

“No, they are actually a law firm that primarily serves companies, providing legal support for mergers and acquisitions,” Hai Shu pointed to the display screen. “But they also have a department that doesn’t make money and continuously loses money. This department defends cases involving the death penalty or life sentences.”

Sui Xing thought for a moment, "For the fame, maybe? Many criminal defense lawyers do this."

"But does this fame actually help Ke Xin's core business?" Hai Shu said, "Not only does it not help, but because of the bad social impact, being criticized for standing on the 'evil' side, it will also affect some companies from cooperating with them."

Sui Xing crossed his arms, "That’s true. But why would they do this?"

Since the contradictions in the law firm had existed for a long time, it could almost be concluded that it was a decision from the upper levels. Hai Shu scrolled through the page and saw the four partners of the firm, three men and one woman.

Hai Shu instinctively looked at the only female partner.

Her name was Gao Mingque, a rather unique name. She dressed similarly to the public's impression of a lawyer—efficient and sharp. But what was less common was that she was very beautiful, with sharp, heroic features, yet her eyes and the corners of her lips gave off a gentle and kind aura.

For the next half month, Hai Shu familiarized herself with the criminal investigation scene in Huiyong City, while also pushing forward the investigation of Yue Sheng Villa. Unfortunately, the clues were still limited, and the police from the four areas of Beixin City hadn’t sent any important leads.

Before long, spring truly arrived. The temperature gradually rose, blowing away the chill of winter. While the name Huiyong City might evoke images of gray, dark streets, the city actually had excellent air quality. In spring and autumn, the colors were vibrant, and at this time, the trees along the roads and in the middle of the streets had already bloomed. If you looked at the city from a drone, the whole city was bathed in pink and peach hues.

The annual Guibai Mountain Flower Viewing Festival also began.

Guibai Mountain is located in the southern part of Huiyong City, in Guibai District, adjacent to the central city district, Yan'ai District. It used to be a rural-urban fringe area, but after tourism developed, it became a district. Besides the flower viewing festival in the spring, Guibai District is also suitable for short trips in the summer, autumn, and winter.

Recently, various local apps have been pushing the Flower Viewing Festival, turning it into a photo-editing contest. Hai Shu kept scrolling through and sent a message to Sui Xing: "This mountain is so beautiful, let me see your photos."

Sui Xing replied, "The mountain is beautiful, so why look at my photos?"

Hai Shu: "Haven't you gone to take photos?"

Sui Xing: "Why would I take photos?"

Hai Shu: "You’re a local."

Upon hearing this, Sui Xing rolled her eyes. Yes, she was a local, but she had never gone to the flower viewing festival! The busiest reason was work, but the year before, she happened to be on vacation in early spring and went to Guibai Mountain with friends by car.

Sui Xing: "Guess what happened?"

Hai Shu: "What happened?"

Sui Xing: "We got stuck in traffic the whole way! We were stuck for four hours on the road! Halfway, we got a call from the hotel saying they were full, and there was no room for us!"

Hai Shu laughed, "So you turned back?"

Sui Xing: "No mood to see it anymore, the whole car sang KTV all the way back."

Hai Shu asked again, "When you were a kid, it must not have been this crowded, right? You never went when you were little?"

Sui Xing sneered, "To be honest, I never even heard of any flowers or grass there when I was a kid. The Flower Viewing Festival has only been going on for the past five or six years, and only recently became popular. There's also a very strange local custom, want to hear about it?"

Hai Shu immediately became interested, "What?"

Sui Xing leaned in mysteriously and lowered her voice, "They say if someone dies after the summer on Guibai Mountain, they can’t be buried until the following spring."

Hai Shu’s eyes widened, "Why?"

Sui Xing said, "Because they believe that if someone dies after summer and is buried right away, their soul will be bound. But if they’re buried in spring the next year, they will be reborn."

Hai Shu said, "That legend is quite romantic."

"So, one of the activities at the Flower Viewing Festival is called ‘Born from Death’." Sui Xing explained, "In Guibai District, everyone lives off tourism, and even cremation and burial require an elaborate ritual. Every year during these days, while people are enjoying the flowers on Guibai Mountain, others are holding funerals. People who avoid such things won’t look, but the younger ones are curious. Many people watch flowers while participating in funerals, almost like watching a sky burial. Flower festivals are everywhere, but only here do we have ‘Born from Death,’ which has brought in quite a bit of profit."

After hearing this, Hai Shu was a little interested in seeing it, but Sui Xing rolled her eyes again, laughing, "Give me a break, when do you even have the time?"

On this day, in Guibai Village.

"Old Zhang, do you smell something strange? Why does it smell so bad?" Old Zheng kept sniffing, making a disgusted face.

Old Zhang took a few deep breaths, "There is a smell. Your nose is really sharp."

"What is it?"

"Probably some fertilizer? Heh, these people are so eager to make their flowers bloom better than their neighbors' to attract tourists."

"Fertilizer doesn’t smell like this, though."

"Who knows, it might be a new type of fertilizer? Don’t smell it, let’s go. Didn’t Village Head Liu tell us to hurry up and rehearse at the mountain top?"

Old Zheng and Old Zhang continued on their way, encountering many others heading the same way. Old Zheng asked others if they smelled the strange odor, and people laughed at him for having a smell himself. With flowers blooming all over the mountain, the air was filled with floral fragrance—how could there be any bad odor?

The mountain peak where the villagers gathered was an inconspicuous little mound on Guibai Mountain. There weren’t many flowers here, and it was not open to tourists. The villagers were rehearsing for the burial ceremony, also known as the "Born from Death" ritual.

Guibai Mountain had become wealthy due to the flower-viewing festival. This "Born from Death" ritual was rehearsed every year, with little variation, and the villagers were quite adept at it. Even though they were burying the ashes of their own family members, there was no sign of sadness on their faces. Instead, their faces were glowing, as though death truly was rebirth.

By evening, everyone was drenched in sweat. Village Head Liu waved his hand, dispersing the crowd, but he kept the villagers responsible for crying behind, having them rehearse a bit more to ensure their weeping at the ceremony would seem heartfelt and dramatic enough to move heaven and earth.

Old Zheng hadn’t smelled the foul odor at the mountain peak, but when he got back to the village entrance, the smell returned. He looked around and saw that the nearest house to him was that of Liu Shazi. Old Zheng suddenly realized, then sneered in disdain.

The foul odor came from Liu Shazi's house, which made sense. This fool, who was no longer young, couldn’t find a wife and spent his days picking up all sorts of random things, creating garbage at home. With the weather gradually getting warmer, the trash started to rot, and that’s probably where the smell came from.

At first, Old Zheng thought he should tell Village Head Liu to have Liu Shazi take care of his garbage. Otherwise, the smell would only get worse, and if the tourists smelled it, it would ruin the flower-viewing festival's business.

But on his way home, Old Zheng had a second thought. "Hey, this isn't something I can report to Village Head Liu!" Their village was so big, and every household ran a farm stay business. If Liu Shazi's business was doing well, his would suffer. If Liu Shazi’s yard stank, so be it. It wasn’t on the same path as his house anyway, so the more it smelled, the better! He could drive tourists away, and then Liu Shazi's family could pick up the leftovers!

Three days later, the number of tourists on Guibai Mountain reached its peak. Almost every flower tree had people fighting for photo spots. If someone wanted to take a landscape photo, they couldn’t aim their camera at the trees, or they’d only catch a group of people fighting for a spot, ruining the view.

Many young people, attracted by the local customs, flocked to the burial area, located five kilometers away from the villagers' homes at the foot of the mountain. There, a solemn altar had been set up, with the memorial tablets of each family. White banners and pink flower petals fluttered in the wind, creating a solemn blend of life and death from afar.

Next to the altar was a semicircular, tiered seating area for tourists to observe the ceremony. It looked somewhat like an ancient Roman amphitheater. The formal burial ceremony would start at noon, during which the villagers would bring the ashes of their loved ones who had died since the previous summer to the altar for blessings, before taking them to the mountain cemetery.

However, the tiered seats had been built a few years ago, and there weren’t enough to accommodate the current flow of people. Tourists, eager to secure a good viewing spot, had occupied the seats by early morning. The tourists seated next to each other, with nothing else to do, began to share their travel experiences.

"Aren’t you scared?"

"What’s there to be scared of? I’ve seen sky burials, this is just a pile of ashes."

"Does sky burial stink?"

"It stinks a lot! But ashes, really, there's nothing to fear."

Around 11:00 a.m., the villagers all took their positions. As rehearsed, they brought the urns of their relatives to the altar, and a group of middle-aged and elderly people dressed as shamans began to sing, play instruments, and chant.

If you called it solemn, it was, but there was also a sense of absurdity. If you called it absurd, it was still a ritual.

Just before noon, the ashes were all placed, and Old Zheng suddenly smelled that foul odor from Liu Shazi's house again. He looked around and saw a three-wheeled cart stop outside the crowd. Liu Shazi, carrying a burlap sack, hurried down, seemingly in a rush, almost tripping as he ran.

The young man who had been explaining sky burials earlier widened his eyes. "No way."

Someone nearby asked, "What’s wrong?"

"Isn’t this all ashes? Why do I… why do I smell the sky burial stench?"

"Hey, don’t scare us!"

Liu Shazi limped toward the altar, the sack on his back constantly bumping into the people around him. He walked along a path full of villagers waiting to perform their ritual, who were impatiently covering their noses.

"What is this? It smells so bad!"

"Fool! What are you doing here? What’s it got to do with your family? Go home!"

But Liu Shazi turned around, looking serious. "I’m here! I want to participate in ‘Born from Death’!"

Everyone laughed, and a gossiping voice said, "How are you participating? Does your family have anyone for you? The Liu family only has you left!"

"Hahahaha!"

Liu Shazi persisted and squeezed forward. People around him didn’t want to get close because of the smell, but no one stopped him. Soon, he reached the altar. Just then, the ceremony was about to begin. Village Head Liu took the microphone and gave a speech thanking all the guests. He then asked the villagers, "Has everyone brought up the urns? If so, we can…"

"Wait for me!" A loud, forceful voice attracted everyone's attention. The tourists, who had been looking at Village Head Liu at the center of the altar, all turned to look at the man carrying a burlap sack next to the altar.

The villagers were in an uproar, not knowing what Liu Shazi was doing at this critical moment. Though Liu Shazi was a fool, he was honest and obedient, and never caused trouble in front of tourists. What was going on?

Liu Shazi seemed to be struggling under the weight of the sack. Panting heavily, he climbed up to the altar, step by step, heading toward the place where the ashes were placed. Village Head Liu was surprised, "Liu Shazi, get down!"

But Liu Shazi shook his head firmly and placed the sack on the ground. "Village Head Liu, this year I want to participate too!"

Village Head Liu was anxious and wanted someone to pull Liu Shazi down, but with so many eyes watching, he was worried that tourists would film it and post it online, ruining the reputation of the flower-viewing festival. After thinking for a moment, Village Head Liu could only force a smile, "Who do you have in your family…?"

At that moment, Village Head Liu suddenly realized, his eyes filled with horror as he looked at the sack on the ground. By the time he wanted to shout, it was too late, because Liu Shazi had already crouched down, ripped open the sack, and revealed what was inside—

A body!

A severely decayed corpse!

"Ah!" A piercing scream erupted from the tiered seating as the audience saw what was in the sack. Panic spread through the crowd, causing a chain reaction of fear, almost leading to a stampede.

Liu Shazi stood up, shouting at Village Head Liu, who stood frozen in shock. "Someone in my family died too! I came to participate in 'Born from Death'!"

Tourists ran in all directions, some scattering while others, more courageous, stayed behind to take photos, record videos, or even started live-streaming and accepting tips. The scene became chaotic, and the images from the event quickly dominated local headlines.

The criminal investigation team received the report and immediately set off. As Sui Xing got into the car, she was still a bit dazed and said to Hai Shu, "Are we jinxed? We were just saying we didn't have time to participate in the flower-viewing festival, and now we have no choice but to go!"

Hai Shu sighed heavily.

The police car made its way toward Guibai District but, as expected, got stuck in traffic halfway. Today was the peak of the blooming season, and with the "Born from Death" ceremony, there were a lot of tourists. Some people, after hearing that a body had appeared during the ceremony, thought it was unlucky and didn’t want to go, but they couldn’t get out of the jam. Several fights broke out in the process.

"See? This is why, even though I’m a local, I’ve never attended the flower-viewing festival," Sui Xing said helplessly to Hai Shu after witnessing a roadside dispute.

Hai Shu checked the time, "At this rate, when will we ever get there?"

Sui Xing replied, "Probably by evening. There’s no way to request a helicopter here."

So they had no choice but to wait. Hai Shu focused and started looking through the photos and videos of the festival posted online by tourists, along with the pictures taken by the local police.

Liu Shazi, carrying the body, had been subdued by the police. When asked where the body came from, he insisted that it was his relative, named Xiao Wei, but his family had no one by that name, and there were no records of a missing person by that name locally.

The flower-viewing festival had been held for many years without incident, and not just the villagers but the tourists also knew that only ashes could be used for the ritual. Although Liu Shazi had an intellectual disability, he shouldn’t have been carrying a body to disrupt the event.

The most crucial thing was that the body’s origin was unknown.

Hai Shu immediately thought of the bodies found at Moonrise Villa, her heart tightening slightly.

The police car moved slowly, and Hai Shu tried to browse as much as she could about the flower-viewing festival and the origins of the "Born from Death" ritual. The first flower-viewing festival had been held nine years ago, but initially, it didn’t attract many tourists, and there weren’t many reports online. Six years ago, tourists captured the "Born from Death" ritual on video, and since this event was so unique, it gradually started attracting more media coverage and visitors. In recent years, Guibai Mountain had become quite famous.

Hai Shu searched for more information about the "Born from Death" ritual, hoping to find more reports on the local customs, but there was nothing. The earliest information she could find was from six years ago. Hai Shu raised an eyebrow. She then searched for travel tips for the flower-viewing festival. The tourists were very enthusiastic, listing which mountains had which flowers and what the blooming seasons were like.

Hai Shu nudged Sui Xing, "Why are there peach blossoms, pear blossoms, cherry blossoms, and even late winter plum blossoms?"

At the side of the road, late winter plum blossoms were in full bloom. They weren’t the usual white or yellow ones but a rich, vibrant pink, similar to peach blossoms.

Wen Xu sat in the back seat, silently gazing at the pink plums. No one noticed the deeper look in his eyes at that moment.

The pink plums seemed to dissolve in his tranquil gaze, like a drop of blood slowly seeping from his heart.