I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 38: Chapter 36: Serial Case

"Help me, help me—"

Su Miaoyi stared at the gently swaying surface of the river. She felt like something in the water was bobbing along with the current.

And there seemed to be a faint, almost imaginary voice, calling for help.

"There’s something out there," one of the men said, craning his neck to look at the river’s surface.

"I can’t see it clearly either." Su Miaoyi touched her forehead, feeling a large, swollen lump. "Did you guys hear anything?"

"What kind of sound?"

"It... it sounded like a woman’s voice, saying ’help me’," Su Miaoyi said.

The two men looked around, then exchanged a glance. "Miss, it’s the middle of the night. Don’t go scaring an old man. My heart’s not what it used to be."

"Your heart’s not good, and you’re still out here night fishing?" Su Miaoyi glanced at the two of them; she didn’t recognize either. "Won’t you get an earful when you get home?"

"A bad heart is a bad heart, getting an earful is getting an earful, and night fishing is night fishing. You can’t mix them all up."

Su Miaoyi listened and nodded. "That makes sense."

"Miss, are you from around here? You don’t really look like it. You should call your family to come pick you up."

"I am from nearby," Su Miaoyi said. "Sirs, look. It’s so late, and the three of us met here... wouldn’t you say that’s a kind of fate?"

"I suppose it is pretty fateful."

"So... aren’t you curious about what that thing is?" Su Miaoyi pointed at the river.

"It’s not a matter of curiosity, I just can’t see it," the man said, craning his head to look into the water.

"Then let’s the three of us get a little closer," Su Miaoyi suggested.

"Alright, but let’s be clear: no jumping in. Neither of us can swim," the man said. "You’re so young and pretty, don’t do anything rash. Think about your mom and dad, how hard it was for them to raise you. Your body is a gift from your parents, you can’t just throw it away."

Su Miaoyi looked at him without saying a word.

’I wasn’t planning on dying, but after hearing that, I suddenly feel like giving it a try.’

The three of them slowly approached the riverbank.

Once they were closer, the two men could finally see the object floating in the water.

There was a length of rope and what looked like the corner of a burlap sack.

"There really is something there."

"I’ll go get a pole to fish it out."

"Miss, back up, back up. Don’t come any closer. I don’t trust you right now."

Su Miaoyi, who had been about to step forward, froze. "I can help."

"We don’t need you. We’re two grown men, we don’t need your help."

Hooking the corner of the sack, the two men used all their strength to haul it ashore.

It was a large burlap sack, and it oozed water onto the riverbank.

Su Miaoyi held their flashlight on the sack. She had a bad feeling, because she could smell the faint odor of a decomposing body.

The smell was very, very faint, though.

The two men squatted beside it, panting heavily.

"Whoa, if this is a big fish, we’ve hit the jackpot today."

"In your dreams. When has this place ever had a big fish?"

While the two men chatted, Su Miaoyi crouched by the sack. She tilted her head, wedged the flashlight between her shoulder and her cheek, and began untying the rope at the sack’s opening.

The hemp rope was thick and tied tightly. Having been soaked in water, it was very difficult to undo.

"Let me." One of the men shuffled forward. After failing to untie it, he simply used the small knife on his keychain to cut the sack open.

Su Miaoyi pressed down on the opening of the sack and looked at the two of them. "The smell isn’t good. I don’t think this is anything pleasant. You said your heart is weak, so you should prepare yourself, or maybe just don’t look."

"What’s that supposed to mean?" the man said. "I’m a grown man. There’s nothing I’m afraid of."

With that, he yanked the sack open.

Inside was another layer: a plastic bag.

It was a large, thick plastic bag, sealed very tightly.

"What is this?" The man cut the opening of the sack even wider.

Most of the contents were now exposed.

Upon seeing it, both men fell right on their backsides, plopping onto the ground.

Su Miaoyi’s pupils constricted for a moment, but she first checked on the two men. "Are you alright? How’s your heart?"

"F-fine."

"C-call the police."

...

「By the time the police arrived, the sky was already beginning to lighten.」

The three of them were sitting under an enormous willow tree.

The two old men said the willow was a hundred years old and had gained a spirit of its own.

If they sat beneath it, vengeful spirits wouldn’t dare approach.

Officers from the local station cordoned off the scene.

The police questioned the three of them about the situation.

The two old men recounted the process of discovering the body.

They said that Su Miaoyi had come here to jump into the river, and they had discovered the body while rescuing her.

Su Miaoyi looked at the unfamiliar faces of the officers before her. They weren’t from the same station as the man with the mole at the end of his eyebrow they’d arrested last time.

She thought about it. Compared to explaining how she had been sleeping soundly and then suddenly walked over here in the middle of the night to find a body, Su Miaoyi felt that attempting to jump into the river out of despair was an easier story to sell.

So, in the end, the station contacted Cheng Yong and Ge Yu.

They had the couple take Su Miaoyi back home.

"Uncle, Auntie, I wasn’t actually trying to kill myself. I... I think I was sleepwalking last night. I just went out, and when I became aware of things again, I was by the river. I really wasn’t trying to commit suicide, so don’t worry. I’m fine."

The moment she spoke, Ge Yu snapped back to her senses.

When they got the call from the police station, the couple had been scared stiff.

They had argued the entire way over.

Each blamed the other for not getting up when they heard a noise outside last night.

"As long as you’re okay, as long as you’re okay." Ge Yu gripped her hand tightly, truly terrified. "Sleep... sleepwalking? Has this happened before?"

"It has, and I’ve seen a doctor about it. It’s not a big deal. It’ll... get better with some gradual care," Su Miaoyi said.

"That’s too dangerous," Cheng Yong said. "It’s a good thing you ran into two kind people. What if you had run into someone bad..."

Su Miaoyi touched her swollen forehead.

She glanced at her scraped palms and knees.

’This really is a hassle.’

Sharing a victim’s perspective and their five senses was a mental burden.

But blacking out like this and walking to a body disposal site...

That was genuinely terrifying.

’If I’m not careful, I could end up dead.’

’Is this the price I have to pay for having a special ability?’

Cheng Yong and Ge Yu were both very worried about her, so neither of them went to set up their stall for the day.

They stayed home, keeping a close watch on Su Miaoyi.

Su Miaoyi had originally planned to leave today, but seeing how worried they were, she decided to stay one more night.

In the afternoon, she received a call from Zhuang Yanzheng.

As soon as she answered, Zhuang Yanzheng said, "I heard you tried to kill yourself by jumping in a river?"

"Huh?" Su Miaoyi was lying in bed, icing her forehead. Hearing his words, she sat up. "That was just me getting a whim in the middle of the night to go practice diving by the river."

Zhuang Yanzheng: "...Are you okay?"

"I’m fine. I just blacked out again and don’t know how I got there," Su Miaoyi said. "Was the case transferred directly to the municipal bureau?"

"Yes," Zhuang Yanzheng said. "The method of killing... it’s connected to several previous cases."

"A serial killer?" Su Miaoyi was surprised.

Back at the river, she had used a branch to poke open the sack and look at the body.

It had been sealed in a large plastic bag and was already decomposing.

She hadn’t moved it, just taken a quick look.

That was because the two old men wouldn’t let her look, insisting she go stand under the big willow tree to ward off evil spirits.

’If I saw correctly...’

The body’s eyes had been gouged out. The decomposition on the face was more advanced, as if it had been slashed.

And the hands had been chopped off...

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