Lin Fan put down her phone. The water in the kitchen was already boiling, bubbling loudly. She went to turn off the heat, and her phone rang again. It was a message from Qin Feng.
"Try not to go out. I'll be on a business trip for two days."
Lin Fan replied, "Okay."
The feeling of being cared for was nice. After breakfast, Lin Fan went to the study. Just as she was about to start studying, Qin's mother called, and she quickly answered. "Auntie?"
"Fan Fan, what are you doing at home?"
"Do you need something?"
"Not really. Can you accompany me shopping?"
"...Okay."
"I'll wait for you at Century Plaza."
It was cloudy outside, so Lin Fan made sure to pack an umbrella. The subway was not crowded, and she found a seat and started browsing Weibo. Someone sat down next to her, and Lin Fan scooted over a bit.
Continuing to scroll through Weibo, she noticed a cold, bloody smell. She turned to see a middle-aged man in black clothes sitting next to her, looking somewhat familiar. Lin Fan turned back, her hand pausing on her phone. She turned to look again.
The man had a morgue identification tag on his wrist. Lin Fan pursed her lips and took a deep breath. He wasn't human, but she didn't know what he was for now. At the next station, the subway stopped.
People started to board, and a girl whispered, "Do you smell that? It's awful."
Lin Fan looked down and saw blood on the floor. The man had found some clothes somewhere, covering half his face. He kept his head down, and Lin Fan had never seen anything like this, not knowing if he was human or a ghost.
The smell of disinfectant mixed with blood, unique to the morgue, which Lin Fan was familiar with.
Finally, they arrived at Century Plaza. Lin Fan got up and walked towards the exit, and the man followed. His movements were stiff. Wherever he walked, he left bloody footprints. Lin Fan glanced again and finally remembered. This was the ghost she had seen last night when she left the amusement park. But how did he have a body now?
Exiting the subway, Lin Fan looked back to see the man walking in another direction. She couldn't help but shout, "How did you get out?"
The man stopped. Lin Fan looked in his direction. "What do you want?"
He slowly turned back, lifting his face to look at Lin Fan. She was startled. Half of his face was bloody and mangled, his cloudy eyes staring at her. Lin Fan took a half step back, then steeled herself and lifted her chin. "How did you escape from the hospital? If I'm not mistaken, you're already dead, right?"
The man kept staring at her. Lin Fan was afraid he'd hurt someone since she had seen him. She didn't say anything more, just watched him. Thunder rumbled in the sky as he walked towards her. Blood pooled more and more at his feet. Lin Fan glanced at the darkening sky. She felt for the stainless steel water bottle in her backpack, ready to use it as a weapon if necessary.
He stopped close to her. Lin Fan could clearly smell the stench coming from him and rubbed her nose. "What do you want? You can't go far like this."
"Looking for my child." His voice was strange, hoarse and rough, like sandpaper scraping glass. It made Lin Fan feel very uncomfortable. With people around, she said, "Let's talk somewhere else."
The man silently stared at Lin Fan. She said, "I saw you yesterday. Who were you chasing?"
"My child—" He struggled to get the words out.
Perhaps because he didn't seem like a bad person, Lin Fan's fear gradually faded. She said, "A lot of people will see your face here. Follow me."
She crossed the road, heading to a secluded spot behind the mall. The man followed. His walking posture was odd, his legs unable to bend.
Lin Fan rubbed her nose again, the smell was overwhelming, and there was a heavy sense of gloom around him.
"My child is missing. I'm looking for him—" He said with difficulty, "I was hit by a car and died. I couldn't do anything. Yesterday, I saw that person. I wanted to catch him, but I'm a ghost. I can't touch him, so I returned to my body."
There's a hospital at the starting point of this subway line. Judging by the time, he had been out for about an hour. The ice on his body was melting, thin blood trickling out.
"You can't go far like this," Lin Fan frowned. "Where is your child? I'll call the police."
He seemed confused, thinking hard, then shook his head numbly. "I don't know."
"Then how are you going to find him?"
"I'll find him eventually. My child."
"Was your child kidnapped? What's your name?"
He shook his head. "I just want to find my child."
Lin Fan gathered her courage to look at the identification tag on his wrist and memorized his details. She said, "The police will help you find your child. You should return your body."
She didn't know why a ghost would be walking around with his own body. Seeing him up close, she guessed he was just holding on with his frozen body. His abdomen was sunken, likely from the car accident. Once the ice melted, he definitely wouldn't be able to stand.
"Then I'm leaving."
He turned to go. Lin Fan frowned, "Where are you going?"
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"To find my child." He didn't look back, walking numbly forward.
Lin Fan didn't dare to stop him. She called Qin Feng and explained the situation. "What can I do now?"
"Xiao Wang is in Jiangcheng. He'll be there soon."
"Okay."
After hanging up with Qin Feng, Lin Fan's phone rang again. She quickly answered, "Auntie."
"Are you here?"
"Yes."
"Where are you?"
"I'm heading to the front entrance now."
Five minutes later, Lin Fan met up with Qin's mother. She pulled Lin Fan towards the mall but then frowned and turned back, "What's that smell on you? It's strange."
Lin Fan sniffed, "Is there?"
"Then I must have been mistaken." Qin's mother took her to a jewelry store and picked out a finely crafted necklace, pulling Lin Fan over to try it on. "This is really beautiful."
Lin Fan's phone rang. She quickly answered, hearing Xiao Wang's voice, "Where are you? I just arrived at Century Plaza."
Lin Fan took off the necklace and told the person on the other end, "I'll be there right away."
She put down the phone and bowed apologetically to Qin's mother. "I'm really sorry, but I have something urgent to take care of."
"What’s so urgent? Do you need me to go with you?"
"No, Qin's colleague is here. I'll go first, okay?"
Qin Feng's colleague looking for Lin Fan? Qin Feng's colleagues were definitely police officers. What could they want with Lin Fan?
"Are you sure there's no problem?"
"It's work-related for Qin. I need to give his colleague some documents." Lin Fan used Qin Feng as an excuse, telling a little lie. "Auntie, I'll come back later to accompany you."
"Take care."
Lin Fan hurried downstairs and saw Xiao Wang in a police uniform at the entrance. She quickly ran over. "Brother Wang."
"Just call me Wang. Adding 'Xiao' makes it sound like 'little bastard'."
Lin Fan: "..."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know, but I have his information."
"What's his name?"
Lin Fan gave Xiao Wang the information. He noted it down and started walking, with Lin Fan following closely. "Did you hear about the child that went missing from the amusement park yesterday?"
"I saw the news, but it's not our case. The East City precinct is handling it."
Xiao Wang had come by electric scooter. Lin Fan glanced at the back seat, and Xiao Wang gave her a look. "If Qin finds out I took you along, he'll kill me. He said not to involve you in cases."
"He won't know if you don't tell him." Lin Fan's curiosity was piqued. The man was chasing a car yesterday and now he's out with his body today. "I'm really curious what kind of person he is."
Half an hour later, they arrived at the police station. Xiao Wang entered the information, and his face suddenly changed. After a moment, he looked up at Lin Fan. "This man is dead."
"How did he die?"
"A car accident." Xiao Wang looked at Lin Fan in confusion. "Are you sure it was him you saw?"
Lin Fan didn't nod, instead saying, "Is his body still there? Was the car accident an accident?"
"I'll check."
Xiao Wang quickly got the information. "It was a hit-and-run. The case isn't closed yet, and the body is in the morgue."
"Can I see the body?"
Lin Fan was quite an unusual person. When they first met, she often coincidentally appeared at crime scenes. But the evidence always showed she wasn't involved. Xiao Wang had asked Qin Feng about it, but Qin Feng had changed the subject, so they hadn't discussed it further.
"Why are you so interested in the body? What's the connection between the person you saw on the subway and this body?"
"I don't know either. I need to see the body to tell you."
After a brief silence, Xiao Wang nodded and stood up. "Alright, let's go."
---
"What? The body is missing? How could it be missing?"
"I don't know."
"Is there surveillance?"
"Yes."
Xiao Wang stared at the monitor, feeling a chill as he watched the body walk out the door. This was beyond comprehension. He and Lin Fan exchanged glances, and the security guard's eyes were wide. After a brief silence, Xiao Wang coughed. "Did someone carry the body out? Or maybe he wasn't dead? Otherwise, how could he walk out?"
He copied the surveillance video and left the monitoring room, rubbing the goosebumps on his neck. Turning to Lin Fan, he asked, "Could it have been the body you saw?"
Lin Fan pretended to be scared. "No way, right?"
"This is so... unscientific." Xiao Wang scratched his head and shivered. "I'm going to the East City precinct. Do you want to come?"
"I have nothing else to do."
As they left the hospital, Xiao Wang looked at the cloudy sky. "It's like seeing a ghost in broad daylight!"
Lin Fan silently thought to herself, I did see a ghost. I even met a walking corpse on the subway. "What is Qin doing on his business trip?"
"There was a vicious murder in K City. Qin was sent as an expert."
Lin Fan climbed onto Xiao Wang's electric scooter. He didn't say anything the whole way, probably still in shock. His face didn't look good. After getting the documents from the East City precinct, the forensic doctor said, "Confirmed dead. The autopsy is done. There's no way he's alive."
Xiao Wang was silent for a moment, then handed the surveillance video to the precinct detective. "Here's the surveillance. The body walked out."
"It walked out? The body walked out!"
It was too shocking!
At noon, Xiao Wang treated Lin Fan to rice noodles. Lin Fan sent a message to Qin Feng, who replied, "Go home after lunch. Don't get involved in this. We'll talk when I get back."
Lin Fan thought for a moment and replied, "Alright."
"Did that person have any family?" Lin Fan put her phone away and asked.
"No. His wife divorced him, and his child was reported missing three years ago and never found."
No wonder he was obsessed with finding his child. Three years had passed. Where would he go to chase traffickers? How would he chase them, dragging that rotting body?
"Qin told me to go home right away."
"Alright, we'll contact you if we find any leads."
"Thanks."
Finding a nearly rotting body shouldn't be too difficult. After lunch, Lin Fan went home. On her way, she received a news alert. A child went missing at XX Amusement Park in Jiangcheng, suspected to be the work of a trafficking gang. If you see any suspicious individuals, please report immediately.
Lin Fan closed her eyes and leaned against the railing.
What kind of obsession could someone not let go of, even after death? Was it really just to find his child?
She got off at the nearest stop to her neighborhood, shouldering her bag as she walked towards her apartment complex. Once inside the building, Lin Fan felt someone behind her. She quickly turned around, but there was nothing there.
She pressed the elevator button, went upstairs, and took out her keys to unlock the door. Suddenly, a cold air flashed behind her, and something came at her. Lin Fan swiftly dodged and reached for the short sword she kept by the entrance. She drew it and stabbed backwards. Ouyang Yu was surprised by Lin Fan's resistance; he swung his palm at her. Lin Fan didn’t hesitate and continued her attack, the blade sharp and smelling of blood.
Ouyang Yu narrowly avoided her strike, landing at the other end of the hallway. He licked his lips. “You've grown bolder.”
Lin Fan stared at him, gripping the short sword tightly. She didn’t know when Ouyang Yu had gotten in, nor what he wanted. Gritting her teeth, she suddenly changed her approach and spoke in a low voice, “Xiao Yuzi, you’ve been trying to kill me for so long, what exactly do you want?”
Ouyang Yu's expression changed drastically, and he froze. After a brief silence, he lunged at her, his eyes red with fury. She wasn’t her, just a half-dead orphan. “You’re courting death!”
Lin Fan raised her sword to block him, but Ouyang Yu struck her hard, slamming her into the corner. Her teeth cut into her lip as she hit the wall and fell heavily to the ground. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, she raised her chin, realizing she had made a mistake.
That dream must have been wrong, perhaps reality was different from what she had dreamed. Lin Fan had overthought it. She still held onto the sword but hadn’t gotten up.
Ouyang Yu grabbed her by the collar and lifted her. Lin Fan swung the short sword horizontally, but he caught it. He forcibly pinned her against the wall, his gaze dark and sinister. “Whose sword is this?”
Lin Fan glared at him, unable to move her arm. Ouyang Yu’s bloodied hand brushed against her face, his voice seductive, “If you follow me, you can live. Deal?”
“I can live without following you!”
Lin Fan kicked towards Ouyang’s groin. Caught off guard, he released her, clutching his crotch. Lin Fan rolled away and sprang up, stabbing at him again. Ouyang Yu seemed surprised that she could hurt him. He raised his hand as if to block, but the sword pierced through his palm and into his shoulder.
Instantly, Lin Fan felt an overwhelming coldness, her head buzzing.