"Miaomiao, any discoveries on your end?" On the way to the Medical University, I called Miaomiao's phone, putting it on speaker so Zhenzhen could hear too.
"Haaah..." A lazy, contented yawn came through the phone's speaker. "Yikes! It's dark already? What time is it? I'm starving!"
"You... you weren't just asleep, were you? Aren't you supposed to be surveilling Professor Xiao with Xueqing?" Good heavens! Was this girl on a mission or a picnic?
"Hah..." Miaomiao yawned again. "Hmm? Isn't this Xueqing-jie's jacket? Where is she..."
"I'm here." Xueqing's voice came through the speaker; she seemed to be right beside Miaomiao. She took the phone. "A'Mu? We have some findings here. Where are you?"
"We're heading to the Medical University, about ten minutes away." Thankfully, Xueqing wasn't on a picnic. No wonder Old Boss had paired them together. If Miaomiao were my partner, she'd probably drive me crazy. Paired with Zhenzhen? That would be terrifying—might even lead to casualties. But then again, why did Old Boss recruit Miaomiao into the Special Cases Unit? That old fox never acted without a clear benefit; he'd never take on deadweight unless she had some exceptional talent. Yet she seemed like a hopelessly dim-witted high schooler, despite somehow graduating college. What poison or tonic Old Boss was peddling in his gourd was truly baffling.
"Professor Xiao has returned to his dorm and likely won't go out. Surveillance isn't necessary for now. Let's meet at the school gate in ten minutes!" Xueqing stated it like an order, hanging up before I could agree or disagree. I knew she meant no offense, but her attitude was hard to swallow.
We pulled up outside the Medical University gate. They were already waiting by the roadside. Miaomiao, carrying a powder-blue backpack adorned with Hello Kitty, climbed in and immediately started distributing snacks—orange juice, seaweed, pretzel sticks... everything imaginable. This only confirmed my suspicion that her purpose today was picnicking, not working. Old Boss must have either lost his mind or been seriously misled to choose her as a subordinate, even if she were the provincial governor's daughter.
"Today's surveillance yielded no substantive leads, but there was an unexpected discovery..." Xueqing declined the Dove chocolate Miaomiao offered and began recounting her findings:
*Professor Xiao's full name is Xiao Guoqiang, male, 62 years old. Chief Physician, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, National Outstanding Contribution Expert, recipient of Government Expert Allowance... Currently Dean of the Medical University's Medical School, Head of the University's Cardiology Department, Director of the Provincial People's Hospital's Cardiac Research Institute... Former Editor-in-Chief of "China Medical Herald," Deputy Editor and Editorial Board Member of "Chinese Journal of Arrhythmology" and "Chinese Journal of Intervention," author of "Practical Cardiology," "Xiao Guoqiang's Cardiac Surgery Cases"...*
The morning surveillance was uneventful. Aside from lecturing students, Professor Xiao buried himself in his private research lab reviewing materials. He even ate lunch there. I thought we'd return empty-handed, but an unusual scene unfolded in the afternoon.
*Although the surveillance point was over 200 meters in a straight line from Professor Xiao's lab, a high-magnification military telescope clearly showed every hair on his head. He looked younger than his age. Though his hair was graying, his complexion was ruddy, wrinkles were few, giving the impression of a man in his fifties. Dyed black, no one would believe he was over sixty.*
After lecturing, he spent the time reviewing materials and writing papers in the lab—nothing particularly noteworthy. At 15:17, a woman around thirty, with long hair down her back and a pretty face, entered the lab carrying a stack of materials. She closed the door with her full, rounded hips, then placed the materials on the desk. Judging by her age, she was likely Professor Xiao's assistant, Zeng Qianyi.
The moment she entered, Professor Xiao hurriedly drew the curtains. However, they didn't fully cover the window; a gap the width of two fingers remained, allowing a partial view of the area near the desk.
Once the curtains were drawn, Professor Xiao embraced Zeng Qianyi from behind, his left hand slipping into her blouse, his right hand probing beneath her skirt. A faint blush immediately spread across her fair face, yet beneath her intoxicated expression lurked a barely perceptible trace of resignation. After "exploring" her for a moment, Professor Xiao pushed her onto the desk, impatiently hiking up her skirt and pulling down her underwear...
"Sigh..." After hearing Xueqing's account, I couldn't help but shake my head and sigh.
"What's wrong? Problem?" Zhenzhen asked, puzzled. Her face was slightly flushed, likely a reaction to Xueqing's "racy tale."
"Shame I wasn't there myself. Sigh..." I sighed again.
"Did I handle it inappropriately?" Xueqing's icy voice came from the back seat. Through the rearview mirror, I saw her brow furrow slightly.
"Your handling was fine. I just feel it's a pity to miss such a stimulating live performance! Ouch..." As I spoke, my right cheek took a punch, and the back of my head received a sharp knock.
Zhenzhen, having hit me, tried to high-five Xueqing, but the latter ignored her outstretched hand as if she hadn't seen it, continuing her report. Zhenzhen awkwardly settled for high-fiving Miaomiao, who had also eagerly thrust out her hand.
Besides the unexpected discovery of Professor Xiao's affair with his assistant Zeng Qianyi, Xueqing also learned that he was widowed early and had never remarried. He had a son named...
"What? Xiao Yixuan is his son?" Professor Xiao and Xiao Yixuan were father and son? This added another layer of fog to the case.
Despite being over sixty, Professor Xiao's status in the medical field meant plenty of young beauties would willingly throw themselves at him. Hadn't a young female Master's graduate surnamed Weng married an octogenarian returned overseas physicist not long ago?
If Professor Xiao wanted to remarry, he shouldn't have lacked suitors. So why hadn't he remarried, resorting instead to sneaking around with his assistant? If this scandalous affair were exposed by the media, he'd face a disgraceful end to his career.
And was the father-son relationship between Professor Xiao and Xiao Yixuan connected to the missing hearts case at Provincial People's Hospital? If so, what did he need so many hearts for? If it was for research, he could easily apply openly to major hospitals. Why steal?
The questions multiplied, impossible to untangle immediately. Since that was the case, it was better to set them aside for now. Time to find Old Man Liu Shu. The cart would find its way when it reached the mountain.
Miaomiao left alone in a taxi. Though technically a police officer, we were still uneasy. Sadly, we had work to do and couldn't escort her home. After she left, Xueqing continued surveilling Professor Xiao, while Zhenzhen and I headed to the security booth to find Old Man Liu Shu.
The light inside the security booth was dim. A radio on the table played Teresa Teng's "Small Town Story." Old Man Liu Shu sat in his chair, eyes slightly closed, his right hand lightly tapping the armrest in time with the melody, his lips slightly parted as he softly hummed the nostalgic classic.
The scene was poignant. Like most elderly widowers, he spent his days with the TV or radio for company. They had dedicated their youth to society, only to be abandoned by it in the end.
"Uncle Liu, I came for that chess game." Zhenzhen and I entered the booth, placing a large pile of snacks commandeered from Miaomiao's backpack on the table.
"Just visiting is enough! Why bring so much?" Old Man Liu Shu seemed overwhelmed by the snacks.
"No problem, someone else gave them to me. I'm just sharing the wealth. Come on, let's play." I sat down without ceremony.
"Good! If you have the time, we can play all night!" Uncle Liu quickly set up the board.
Zhenzhen had no patience for watching us play chess. After a while, she announced she was going for a walk outside and slipped away before I could respond.
After a few moves, I asked if anything unusual had happened during the construction of the girls' dormitory years ago. Uncle Liu thought for a moment and slowly recounted some fragments he remembered:
About thirty years ago, the school started expanding enrollment. More students meant the old dorms couldn't hold everyone, so they planned a new dorm. Back then, the area around the school wasn't developed yet, and students weren't so numerous. I, the gatekeeper, had plenty of free time. When I had nothing to do, I'd wander over to the construction site. After a few visits, I got to know the workers. I remember their foreman was called... An-ge, I think...
"Was his name Ye Ping'an?" I asked.
"Yes, yes, yes! Ye Ping'an. His surname was rare, and combined with his name, it was quite memorable. An-ge was a good man, kind to his brothers and to outsiders like me. So in my free time, I'd help them with light work." Recalling his youth brought a smile to Uncle Liu's face, but it soon faded into a touch of sadness. "Good men don't live long! I don't know if it was bad feng shui or evil spirits causing trouble, but An-ge's brothers started having accidents one after another while building that dorm...
"The first was Xiao Zhang. That day, he was on the bamboo scaffolding with An-ge and the others, working on the fourth-floor exterior wall. They were joking one moment, the next he said he had a stomach ache, and then he fell. By the time An-ge and the others climbed down, he wasn't breathing. Dead.
"After that, An-ge's brothers died one by one. I heard it was all digestive diseases like stomach cancer. By the time the dorm was finished, only An-ge was left. But he didn't last much longer either. He passed just a few days after the dorm was completed. Sigh..." Uncle Liu let out a long sigh. Remembering these events was heartbreaking.
Auntie Mei had mentioned her husband complained about terrible food at the construction site. I asked Uncle Liu if this was true and if it could be related to An-ge and the others' deaths.
"It was bad, sure, but not bad enough to kill people!" Hearing my hypothesis, Uncle Liu looked incredulous. "Times were tough back then. Having enough to eat was already a blessing. An-ge and his crew ate from the school cafeteria. It was lousy, like pig slop, but so did I and all the students! None of us got sick!"
"I heard An-ge and his men dug up a snake while excavating the foundation. Is that true?" I asked this casually, never expecting it would unearth an unbelievable tale from the past.
"This..." Uncle Liu thought for a moment. "I remember now. Yes, there was. An-ge and the others cooked the snake and ate it. They even asked if I wanted some."
"You ate it?"
Uncle Liu seemed to recall something frightening; his frail body trembled. "No way! I never dared eat those wild beasts. Besides, that snake was dragged out of a coffin! I didn't have the guts for that."
"Out of a coffin? Can you elaborate?" Uncle Liu had my full attention now.
"An-ge told me this himself. The situation back then was roughly like this..." Uncle Liu recounted what An-ge had told him. Organizing his words, the scene from thirty years ago gradually formed in my mind—
The sun dipped westward, the dying light blood-red.
An-ge and his seven men sat around the construction site, eating their pig-slop dinner. The school cafeteria food wasn't just bad; for men doing heavy labor, the portions were pitifully small, barely enough for half a stomach.
They could have gone home like the foreman and the other workers who'd already left, to enjoy meals cooked by their wives—maybe not delicious, but at least filling. But to earn a few extra coins for their families, they stayed, continuing to sweat.
After a brief rest after dinner, they picked up their shovels again to dig the foundation. "Hey, everyone, come quick!" Xiao Zhang's urgent call drew their attention, and they gathered around his spot.
"An-ge, what do we do? Looks like an ancient tomb. Should we tell the foreman?" Xiao Zhang pointed at a dark hole before him, his voice trembling with excitement and nervousness.
Even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen pigs run. Men working construction sites, even if they hadn't personally unearthed an ancient tomb, had heard of such things. It wasn't terribly rare. An intact tomb, regardless of size or age, usually held valuables—gold, silver, jade weren't uncommon. For these laborers scraping by, a small gold ring could equal months of wages.
An-ge stared at the hole in silence, his gaze sweeping over the anxious faces. He spoke gravely, "The foreman's gone home. As long as no one blabs later, whatever's in this hole is only ours to know. Anyone who doesn't want to starve and isn't afraid to die, follow me down. If we find valuables, we split them. Anyone who doesn't want to go, I won't force..."
"I'm in!" "Me too!" "Count me in!"... They were all excited, as if already seeing mountains of gold and silver inside.
"Good! Us eight brothers, we share fortune and hardship! Anyone who harbors evil thoughts—may they die a wretched death!" An-ge's face showed both excitement and unease as he led the way into the hole, like the gaping maw of a man-eating beast. Xiao Zhang followed close behind with an oil lamp. The others eagerly scrambled in after.
Inside was a stone chamber far smaller than imagined, only about forty square meters, already cramped with eight burly men. The air wasn't as stale as expected; fresh air must have flooded in when the hole was breached. Xiao Zhang raised the oil lamp overhead, illuminating the entire chamber. The men looked around, hoping for the gleam of gold, but were met only with disappointment. This cramped chamber could hardly be called an ancient tomb; at best, it was a grave. The imagined burial goods were nowhere to be seen. Only four plain, thick walls and a stone coffin placed squarely in the center.
Disappointed, their eyes fell on the stone coffin. Like the chamber walls, it was utterly plain, devoid of even patterns. The tomb's occupant likely wasn't wealthy. But since he could afford a tomb, surely he had some gold or silver trinket?
Greed gave the eight men courage and strength. They combined their efforts to move the heavy lid aside, hoping to find anything valuable on the occupant's body. However, when Xiao Zhang held the oil lamp over the open coffin, they were stunned.
There was no gold, silver, or jade inside. Not even a piece of clothing. Because lying within wasn't a human corpse, but a thick, wrist-sized white snake, coiled motionless.
"Goddamn! It's a snake!" Someone cursed, breaking the deathly silence. Others followed with their own curses. Suddenly, Xiao Zhang screamed, pointing at the snake's head, mouth agape but speechless. They all looked. The snake's eyes were wide open, its mouth slightly parted, its tongue slowly flicking out.
They instinctively backed away, but after observing for a moment, they realized the snake, though alive, seemed incapable of movement. "Since there's nothing valuable, let's just eat this big snake!" An-ge had said it in anger, but to his surprise, everyone immediately agreed.
Without cooking tools, An-ge went to find the gatekeeper, Xiao Liu—Uncle Liu—for help, fetching knives and cooking pots from the cafeteria. Of course, he told him the whole story and invited him to join the feast.
Fetching the tools was fine, just a small favor. But eating snake? Uncle Liu didn't dare, especially not a strange snake dragged from a coffin.
After dragging the snake out, nothing seemed amiss. It simply hadn't moved, not even when gutted for its gallbladder, skinned, or dismembered. Even so, butchering and cooking such a giant snake wasn't easy.
An-ge personally wielded the knife. Though it was his first time, he managed to extract the intact gallbladder. But when he asked who wanted to swallow it raw, they all demurred. In the end, An-ge popped it into his own mouth.
After butchering the snake, they used planks and branches to build a fire and boiled a huge pot of snake soup. An-ge said it was delicious; the others agreed it was the best thing they'd ever eaten. Whether they said it to tempt Uncle Liu or not, they truly ate with relish, not leaving a drop of soup. They even gnawed the bones down to splinters before spitting them out...
After listening to Uncle Liu's recollection, I pondered a question while playing chess: Why was the white snake in the stone coffin? Or rather, how did it get there?
Assuming the snake crawled in itself, only two possibilities existed: First, it was small enough to squeeze through a gap in the coffin, ate the tomb occupant's corpse, and grew inside. But snakes swallow their prey whole. Could a small snake squeezing through a gap swallow a human corpse? Even if it could, one corpse wouldn't make it grow wrist-thick. The second possibility: the snake was already large and immensely strong. It pried open the lid, ate the corpse, and claimed the coffin. However, the snake prying the lid open was plausible, but closing it afterward? That stretched credulity!
Since the snake couldn't have entered the coffin itself, it must have been placed there deliberately. If true, the tomb was likely a feng shui formation or something similar.
I pondered for a while without reaching a conclusion, losing the chess game instead. After thanking Uncle Liu, I planned to head over to Xueqing's location with Zhenzhen. If nothing new turned up, we could call it a day. But when I called Zhenzhen's phone, there was no answer. I tried several times. A sudden, ominous feeling gripped me. Uncle Liu seemed to sense something wrong too. He grabbed a flashlight, and we went out together to find her.