Chapter 153: The Dead Rise

As soon as Wang Dali saw us all staring in the same direction, he turned around without hesitation.

When he caught sight of the corpse sitting up, he screamed in terror and scrambled backward, yelling, "Song Yang, Song Yang, the dead are rising!"

"Hey, hey, calm down," I said. "This is just a normal post-mortem reaction."

But even saying that, in this eerie atmosphere, seeing a corpse sitting up was enough to make even Huang Xiaotao's face turn pale.

I explained, "About six hours after death, rigor mortis sets in, causing muscles to stiffen and the spine to bend. That's the theory. But in reality, dead bodies moving like this is rare and usually happens only in younger victims with stronger muscle fibers. This 'rising' corpse fits that profile."

Wang Dali, still shaken, had accidentally pulled the white sheet off one corpse. I looked closely—and it was none other than Cao Da, the Black Panther gang leader. I recognized him from the photos I'd seen before.

With the body confirmed, I began my examination. First, I determined the time of death by checking the pupils, rigor mortis, and livor mortis. It looked like he'd been dead for about four days.

I pulled out my listening rod and prepared to inspect further.

Wang Dali, nervously, said, "Yangzi, could you please make the big guy lie down? Seeing him sitting up straight like that gives me the creeps."

"Geez, you're such a worrywart," I grumbled.

I grabbed the corpse's arm and twisted hard. Crack! The body collapsed back down. Wang Dali's tongue nearly got tied up: "Did you just break his spine?"

I replied, "No, it's the hardened muscle fibers. There's no hot towel here to relax him, so this is how it's done—same as the mortuary staff, and they're way rougher than me!"

Honestly, I was proud of my cold, unflinching attitude by now. Handling dead bodies like this didn't faze me anymore.

Back to the autopsy, I used my listening rod to check his heart, lungs, and liver—there were extensive internal injuries. I peeled back his clothes and found over a dozen stab wounds on his chest. The blood had long since dried.

Wearing rubber gloves, I examined the wounds carefully. "These are open wounds. The knife probably had serrated edges. Judging by the shape, the stab wounds were made at extremely close range, likely with the right hand. The killer was pretty clumsy with the knife."

Wang Dali scoffed, "How can stabbing someone so many times be clumsy?"

I pointed to a wound on the chest. "See how the wound edges are uneven? That means the blade tilted while being pulled out, tearing the surrounding skin. A skilled killer stabs in a straight line, leaving a clean, fish-mouth-shaped wound. This was definitely done by an amateur."

Huang Xiaotao added, "So it wasn't a professional hit—someone with a deep grudge stabbed him repeatedly."

I nodded, "The victim was a gang leader. He had more enemies than friends. So the killer having a vendetta makes sense."

Wang Dali said, "So he died from the stabbing?"

I clarified, "Stabbing was the immediate cause, but the fatal wound depends on where it hit and which organs stopped working. For example, if the knife pierced the lung, blood could block the airway, causing suffocation."

I then told Wang Dali to help me bend the corpse's knees and arms while I listened to the joints, trying to reconstruct the victim's death posture.

Wang Dali looked so nervous, he turned his face away.

After adjusting the limbs, I fixed the body in place and said, "This is the posture at the moment of death."

Wang Dali's legs were bent, hands stretched out. Huang Xiaotao frowned, "What kind of weird position is that?"

I ordered, "Wang Dali, flip him over."

He flipped the body. Hands on the bed, knees bent. Xiaotao immediately understood: "He was… having sex when he died."

I said, "Exactly." I used the listening rod like a dagger and gestured toward Wang Dali's chest, "Judging by the stab wounds' position and depth, the killer's identity becomes obvious."

Xiaotao looked confused. "So the killer was a woman? But didn't Haotzi say there was no one else in the room?"

I corrected, "He said there were no living people in the room. That contradiction might be the key to solving the case. Let's finish the autopsy first."

Wang Dali asked, "Can I get down now?"

I ordered, "Hold that pose!"

Then I climbed onto the bed and slid under Wang Dali, who blushed furiously. "Xiaotao's right here. This isn't the dorm where we mess around. Watch it, okay?"

I shot back, "Who doesn't mess around with you in the dorm? Just don't say things that sound suspicious."

Xiaotao couldn't help laughing. I was simply reconstructing the death scene—that can reveal a lot of crucial info. An ancestor of mine, Song Xia, was a gutsy detective known for his radical methods: to investigate burial cases, he once buried himself alive; for drowning cases, he tied a stone to his foot and sank in the lake. Compared to his dedication, I was a mere amateur.

Wang Dali was mortified, "Please don't let my classmates hear about this. I'll never face them again."

I teased, "When don't you blab to everyone?"

Suddenly, while poking the corpse's chest with the listening rod, a flash of insight hit me.

I rolled the body over and inspected the diaphragm area. There was a long, distinct stab wound. I said, "This was the first stab. The victim was moving, caught off guard, so the wound is especially long. Also, judging from the crime scene reconstruction, the killer was about 1.5 meters tall."

I studied the chest again. "But there's something off."

Xiaotao asked, "What's wrong?"

"The victim was a gang leader," I said. "Look at his old scars—he's been stabbed before. How could he just stand there and take over a dozen knife wounds without fighting back?"

I tapped my temple, thinking hard. We had to continue reconstructing the death.

I turned around—Wang Dali was gone. I heard him outside say, "I'm going to the bathroom, be right back!"

I cursed under my breath, "Typical—always bailing when we need him."

Xiaotao smiled, "How about the two of us finish the reconstruction?"

I was stunned. "Huh?"