The sky was overcast, brewing a heavy rain. The town police arrived first. Qin Feng showed his credentials, "This body fell from above. Can you identify it?"

The police officer approached the body, immediately covered his nose, and stepped back, frowning, "Who would be so malicious to leave a body here?"

"A teenage boy, probably from around here."

"Let me ask around. Are you staying here or going into town?"

Qin Feng looked up at the sky, "Let's move the body to the police station first. It looks like it's going to rain."

The two policemen looked at each other, reluctant to move the decomposing body, unsure of what to do. "How do we transport it? The town is several miles away."

"Put it in my car."

Flies were already starting to gather around the body. The policemen looked at Qin Feng's car and said, "Alright."

Qin Feng wrapped the body in a blanket, and with the help of another policeman, placed it in the car. Once inside, he handed Lin Fan a piece of paper, "Cover your nose."

Lin Fan opened the window and stuck her head out to breathe fresh air, "Do you suspect murder?"

Qin Feng nodded, "The county coroner will be here soon."

As the car started, it began to rain heavily. The rain pounded on the windshield, making a loud noise. The rain was so dense that Lin Fan quickly closed the window. The road ahead disappeared into the rain and fog, with heavy rain pouring down.

Lin Fan shivered, and Qin Feng glanced at her, "Cold?"

Lin Fan quickly shook her head and smiled, "Just looking at this rain makes me feel cold."

Qin Feng slowed down, turned off the car's air conditioning, but the stench of the body lingered. After a brief silence, he turned the air conditioning back on. The smell was unbearable.

"Are you scared?"

Lin Fan thought for a moment, turned to Qin Feng, and smiled, "Nothing to be scared of."

It took an hour and a half to reach the town. The rain had stopped by then, and the car pulled into the police station yard. The two policemen who had been shrinking back ran over when they saw Qin Feng, "Need any help?"

"Find a place to put the body."

They looked around and finally pointed to a room in the corner. "Over there."

After moving the body, Qin Feng conducted a simple examination and confirmed his suspicion. The boy had been strangled, but Qin Feng couldn't understand why his feet were in such a condition.

"Can you identify the body?"

"Come inside for some water. We'll go ask around."

In the small duty room, Lin Fan and Qin Feng squatted to wash their hands. Lin Fan was preoccupied with thoughts about the body, not noticing how close she was to Qin Feng. When Qin Feng looked up, he saw Lin Fan very close. She seemed unafraid of anything, which was a good trait.

"What are you thinking about?" Qin Feng's deep voice sounded above her. Lin Fan looked up and almost bumped into his chin, leaning back. Qin Feng grabbed her arm to steady her. He handed her a paper towel to dry her hands and then dried his own. He took off his smelly coat and hung it on a chair. It started raining again outside. He stood under the eaves, looking at the distant, layered mountains.

Lin Fan pulled up a chair and sat down, checking the weather forecast on her phone. It would be raining for the next few days, so she probably couldn't go home.

At five in the afternoon, the county police arrived, but they hadn't identified the body yet. Qin Feng met with them. The coroner examined the body as Qin Feng explained the situation.

In the summer, a month-old body was already decomposed. It had been sealed in a coffin, so there were no flies or maggots. But now, flies were buzzing around. The town had poor conditions, with no air-conditioned rooms.

Qin Feng swatted at the flies, "How is it?"

"Male, fourteen to sixteen years old." The coroner had worked with Qin Feng before, during the Wang family village case. "Based on the decomposition, the time of death is around a month ago. The fatal wound is this ligature mark on the neck, probably from a rope." The coroner cut open the skin on the neck. "The neck bones are fractured. The new injury is from the fall, the old injury from the strangulation. His stomach is empty, no food."

Lin Fan watched the autopsy, thinking about how hard the coroner's job was.

"Two ribs are fractured, injuries sustained before death."

Suddenly, loud cursing in the local dialect came from outside, "Who the hell dug up my son? My son was buried properly—"

Qin Feng took off his gloves and went outside. A short, thin man rushed over, "Where's my son? Are you in charge? Who dug up my son?"

Qin Feng scratched his ear, annoyed by the noise. "Was the coffin on the road yours?"

"My son died. Where else could I put it?"

"How did your son die?" Qin Feng looked down at him, "Was it a natural death?"

The man was speechless, his face turning red after a while, "He committed suicide."

"Would someone committing suicide need to tie their hands?" Qin Feng strode to the other side, "Take him to the interrogation room."

"What are you doing?"

"Just go."

The interrogation room at the town police station was filthy. Qin Feng touched the table and his hand came away covered in dust. One of the officers quickly brought a cloth to clean the bench. He whispered to Qin Feng, "This man caused a fuss all the way here. He's from Shiliang Village. It's suspicious how he found out his son was taken away from such a distance. He doesn't seem like a good person."

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Qin Feng nodded and sat down when the old man was brought in.

"What’s your son's name? How did he die?"

"Is it any of your business?"

"As a criminal case, it is my business." Qin Feng knocked on the table, raising his voice, "Your son didn’t commit suicide; he was murdered."

The old man opened his mouth, "You're lying."

Qin Feng stared at him without speaking. The officer beside him said, "You better confess what you know, or you’ll be the one facing the death penalty for this."

Qin Feng silently glanced at the officer, who then slapped the table, "Tell us how your son died. Why did you place him on the road?"

"Minors can't be buried. I didn't place him on the road; the kiln cave where I put him is the closest to my home."

Qin Feng looked at the officer, who nodded, "There's indeed such a rule; minors can't be buried."

"What’s your son's name? How old was he? How did he die?"

"Cui Yang, fifteen." The old man said, "The boy was sensitive. I scolded him a bit about his studies, and he got upset. Those days, I was working in a neighboring village, and his mother was at the county hospital taking care of my younger son. When I got home after work, he had hanged himself in the middle of the room—" The old man covered his face, seemingly in pain.

"How did he hang himself?"

"How does anyone hang themselves? He put a rope around his neck."

"Anything on his hands?"

His cloudy eyes shifted, then he shook his head, "I don't remember."

"What about his feet?"

"I don't remember either. When can I take my son’s body back?"

"I told you, he was murdered, not a suicide. This is a criminal case. You can't take the body back until it's resolved."

The old man’s eyes widened, "Now his body belongs to the state? I already told you he committed suicide. Why can't I take the body back?"

Qin Feng: "What’s your address? Where did he hang himself? I need to see the scene."

With such people, you had to be firm.

It was already dark when Qin Feng left the interrogation room and went straight to the room where the body was kept. The coroner had finished the autopsy and handed the report to Qin Feng, "Homicide, strangled first, then hanged, which caused the two ligature marks. There are binding marks on his feet, likely from a heavy object hanging for a long time, causing the entire foot to turn dark blue."

"Was it done before or after death?"

"After death."

The twilight deepened, with no light at all. The old man's home in Shiliang Village was very remote, taking two hours to reach. So they had dinner in town and drove there.

They arrived at Shiliang Village at nine. The village had very few residents, not even dogs. Getting out of the car, Lin Fan's feet got muddy. She steadied herself by holding onto Qin Feng and scraped the mud off her shoes.

Qin Feng looked back at her and held her arm.

"There are only nine households." The young officer was talkative, "The young people have all gone to work in the cities, leaving about seven or eight old, sick, and weak who can't go out and sleep early."

The old man led them down a dirt slope. Qin Feng held Lin Fan with one hand and observed the surroundings with the other. Lin Fan whispered to Qin Feng, "I think I’ve been here before."

Qin Feng acknowledged with a hum.

They soon arrived at the old man's house, which had no main gate. The door to the house was made of wood, with two panels. Upon pushing open the door, there was a large beam running horizontally. The old man said, "He hanged himself right here."

The house had three rooms, with a table in the middle holding an incense burner. Beside the burner was a weight. Qin Feng stepped forward to touch the weight, but the old man lunged at him, trying to grab him. The police officer beside him restrained the old man. He craned his neck and screamed, "Don't touch it! Don't touch it."

Qin Feng tested the weight, his face turning cold as he looked at the old man. "What's the meaning of hanging the body with a weight?"

The old man's face turned ashen, and Lin Fan, standing behind, spoke up, "I've heard it can be used to calm spirits." She stepped forward, observing the surroundings. The house felt heavy with negative energy. Looking towards the altar, she said, "Is it painful being trapped here?"

The old man's pupils contracted sharply, staring intently at Lin Fan.

Lin Fan couldn't actually see anything but felt the strong emotions: sadness, pain, and the eternal inability to reincarnate, trapped in that place.

She turned back to the old man and smiled, "You killed him, didn't you?"

She looked up at the beam; there was nothing there. The house had a faint smell of blood, very faint, as it had been over a month since his death.

"He was your son. Why did you kill him?"

Lin Fan walked towards the adjacent room. Qin Feng didn't follow but kept glancing in her direction to keep an eye on her. Lin Fan turned on the light in one of the rooms and, after a quick look around, came back to ask Qin Feng for a flashlight.

Qin Feng handed her the flashlight.

The air smelled of salty tears, blood, and the stench of decaying flesh. Lin Fan turned on the flashlight and pulled out a wooden box from under the bed, finding a hemp rope inside.

"Is this what you used to kill him?"

The old man struggled desperately as Lin Fan dragged the box out, presenting it as evidence. Regardless of the old man's denials, the evidence was conclusive. As they were leaving, Lin Fan noticed a wooden plaque on the table that looked familiar. She picked it up and was examining it when Qin Feng, having not seen her outside, returned. Lin Fan stood under the light, focused on the wooden plaque.

"What are you looking at?"

Lin Fan put the plaque down. "What's this for? My grandmother had one like it."

Qin Feng took a picture with his phone and put the plaque back. "I'll ask around and find out."

They returned to the town at eleven. The old man remained silent, and they were too tired to press further. The police station had beds, but they were in a shared room, so the officer Lin Yu took them to his own home.

"You two are a couple, right? Are you here for tourism?"

The road was pitch black. Afraid Lin Fan might trip, Qin Feng held her arm.

Lin Fan blushed and was about to shake her head when Qin Feng replied, "Yes." Lin Fan's mind buzzed. On the plane that day, he had said, "Wait until you grow up," with no further explanation.

After that, Lin Fan didn't catch much of the conversation, her mind stuck on the question, "Are you two a couple?"

"You'll stay in this room. There's a water pipe outside, and the toilet is at the door. Call me if you need anything."

"Thanks."

Lin Yu left, and Lin Fan noticed the small room had only one bed, making her blush even more. "I'll go wash my face."

Qin Feng took off his coat and started making the bed.

When Lin Fan returned after washing her face, Qin Feng asked, "Do you need to go to the bathroom?"

Lin Fan shook her head, looking at the bed. "I'll sleep inside?"

"Yes." Qin Feng walked out without looking at her. "You go to sleep first."

He stayed outside for a while, and by the time he came back, Lin Fan was almost asleep. She opened her eyes as he got into bed, lying on the outside. Lin Fan closed her eyes again, and Qin Feng turned off the light, asking, "Not asleep yet?"

"No."

"What did you see today?"

"I didn't see anything," Lin Fan replied softly. "Just felt that place was familiar. There was a strong emotion, like he was trying to tell me something."

"What was he trying to tell you?"

"That his father beat him, his father killed him, and his father trapped his soul there, never to die or reincarnate." Lin Fan paused before continuing, "He couldn't understand why. He hadn't hurt anyone."

"You felt the victim's emotions?"

"I don't know, but the information was very clear."

Qin Feng placed his hand on Lin Fan's face. "Sleep."

His voice was low, his palm dry and warm. Lin Fan said, "I've definitely been to Shiliang Village before. I want to go again tomorrow. It feels very familiar, but I can't remember when I was there."

"I'll take you tomorrow." Qin Feng withdrew his hand.

The next day, Lin Fan woke up to the sound of talking. Opening her eyes, she saw the blinding sunlight outside. Squinting, she got up and went out to find Qin Feng eating breakfast.

He was wearing a black T-shirt, sitting on a small stool, his long legs looking cramped.

Lin Fan went to wash her face, and Qin Feng looked away.

The phone rang, and he answered, "This is Qin Feng."

"Okay, I'll be there soon."

He took a bite of the remaining half of a steamed bun and walked out, "The old man confessed. I'm going to check."

Lin Fan, half-washed, hastily wiped her face and ran after him. "I'll go with you."

Qin Feng broke off the uneaten half of the bun and handed it to Lin Fan. "What are you curious about?"

"I’m curious why he killed his own son."