Chapter 127: The Blue-Eyed Demon Fox

Our group returned to the station, and Lao Yao had just arrived as well. He handed me a file, and Sun Laohu asked, "Are you the computer genius Song Yang mentioned? We need you to analyze the video for us."

Lao Yao grinned, "Piece of cake, leave it to me!" Then he gave Sun Laohu a playful slap on the backside. Sun Laohu's face twisted instantly, and the officers around us struggled to hold back their laughter until their faces turned red.

I went ahead to the morgue first. Huang Xiaotao and Sun Laohu followed me inside. Huang Xiaotao was now technically a suspect, but Sun Laohu hadn't restricted her freedom—just ordered her not to leave the building.

The victim lay flat on the metal slab. Using the listening bonewood technique, I examined her again. Almost all the vital organs in her chest cavity were severely damaged, but her abdomen showed only one deep stab wound. Yet from the outside, the flesh looked like a bloody mess—this was suspicious.

I sprinkled some seaweed ash on the body and gently blew it off. Only two sets of fingerprints appeared: one belonged to the victim herself, the other was clearly not female—most likely Officer Ma's.

It seemed the killer had worn gloves. I asked both of them, "Did the 'Huang Xiaotao' in the video wear gloves?" Both shook their heads, unsure. The hands in the video were covered in blood, so it was hard to tell.

I took out the forensic umbrella and asked Sun Laohu to shine the UV light while I scanned the corpse. Two spots caught my attention: one was on the victim's mouth—a perfectly preserved right-hand female palm print.

The other was on the left side of her head, showing compressed marks with a web-like pattern. No one knew what caused it. When something strange happens, there must be a reason—I had a feeling this pattern was a crucial clue.

After finishing the examination, I explained, "Here's likely how the murder happened: The killer covered the victim's mouth the moment they entered, preventing any scream, while the other hand stabbed her deeply in the abdomen."

...

...

Sun Laohu nodded thoughtfully, "Your analysis makes sense. That's probably how it went down."

"Uncle Sun, did you notice? The handprint on the victim's mouth is a right hand. That means the killer stabbed with their left hand." I glanced at Huang Xiaotao. "Huang Xiaotao is right-handed, but Li Wenjia is left-handed."

"I think you're jumping to conclusions," Sun Laohu said. "Trained people can use both hands."

He wasn't defending Huang Xiaotao personally, just pointing out the facts. Huang Xiaotao understood and didn't take offense.

I carefully cut open the victim's clothes with scissors. Due to massive blood loss, her skin had turned pale gray. Sun Laohu said, "Look, the wounds show the knife mostly entered from the right side, which means the killer is right-handed."

This surprised me. I bit my lip and pondered a moment, then asked, "Where do you think the first stab was?"

"Most likely the abdomen, based on your theory," he replied.

With so many wounds, how to determine the first? Suddenly, inspiration struck—I recalled a technique from Chronicles of the Corpse Whisperer. I summoned an officer and asked him to buy dried lotus leaves, borneol, sulfur, a smoking pipe, and a soft tube. The officer agreed and left.

While waiting, I skimmed through Lao Yao's file. It mentioned that Li Wenjia's right eye was very likely transplanted from a legendary fox species: the Blue-Eyed Demon Fox! These foxes mainly lived around Inner Mongolia. Rare and constantly hunted on the vast grasslands, they evolved a special ability—the demon's gaze.

When animals locked eyes with these demon eyes, they would suddenly freeze, as if time stopped. The foxes used this to escape predators.

Though it sounds unbelievable, there is scientific basis. Mammals have a brain region called the 'basal ganglia,' located beneath the cerebellum, which acts like an internal clock.

Why does time seem to fly when you're happy, and crawl when you're sad? The basal ganglia controls that perception. The Blue-Eyed Demon Fox's eyes can instantly shut down the target's basal ganglia. This is the secret behind Li Wenjia's hypnosis.

Anyone who meets her right eye goes instantly blank, their mind wiped clean. Then she calmly implants hypnotic commands, breaking down even the strongest wills.

Sadly, the Blue-Eyed Demon Fox was thought extinct after the founding of the nation. God only knows how Li Wenjia got her hands on it.

I summarized the info. After listening, Huang Xiaotao said, "Li Wenjia is utterly ruthless—willing to transplant animal eyes onto herself for revenge. Doesn't the body reject that?"

I recalled the needle marks on Li Wenjia's hand, "Of course it does. Even organ transplants between humans with matching blood types get rejected, let alone cross-species ones. She must be on heavy immunosuppressants, so her immune system is much weaker than normal. She probably suffers from constant illnesses and needs tons of antibiotics and painkillers to manage the physical agony."

"Crazy. She's a madwoman!" Sun Laohu shook his head.

Soon the officer returned with the items. It had been tough to find them in the middle of the night. I thanked him repeatedly and took out a mortar and pestle from my bag—since I often needed it, I kept a spare set.

I ground the dried lotus leaves, borneol, and sulfur into powder and said, "Uncle Sun, give me a cigarette."

He laughed, "Aren't you a non-smoker?"

He tossed me a soft Zhonghua cigarette, lighting one himself. Just as he was about to light his, Huang Xiaotao frowned, "Chief, this is the morgue."

"You're right," Sun Laohu said, putting his cigarette away.

I tore open the cigarette, filled the tobacco pipe with the shredded leaves, poured the powder in, then held the pipe in my mouth. Sun Laohu lit it for me. I'd never smoked before, and the first puff burned my throat so badly tears came to my eyes.

Curious, Sun Laohu asked, "What's that stuff taste like? Let me try a puff."

I handed him the pipe. He coughed hard, "Is this even for people?"

"It is—for the dead," I grinned.

I put gloves on Sun Laohu and asked him to help me open the victim's mouth. I inserted the soft tube into her esophagus, then inhaled deeply and blew smoke down the tube.

Sun Laohu said, "Nothing's happening."

"Patience, Uncle Sun. Guess which wound was the first?"

He pointed randomly at a wound.

Suddenly, one abdominal wound started smoking—though not the one he pointed at. Sun Laohu's eyes went wide. "This is incredible!"

This phenomenon is called 'ileum smoke.' It lingers inside the corpse for a long time, eventually escaping from an opening. It's useful for bodies with extensive internal injuries.

I adjusted the tube and inserted it into her trachea, blowing smoke in again.

The corpse twitched lightly. Sun Laohu jumped back, startled, while Huang Xiaotao, used to my grisly work, just covered her mouth and smiled.

Several holes in the victim's chest kept releasing smoke. Because blood clots blocked the wounds, the smoke forced them open and closed like a goldfish's mouth—eerily surreal.

Quickly, I marked the smoking wounds with vermilion ink. After the smoke cleared, I said, "These are the real fatal wounds; the rest are just for show."

Sun Laohu counted five or six such wounds, puzzled. "For show? For who?"

I smiled, "Naturally, for the police."