Chapter 73
Chapter 73
Stealing ashes from a cemetery was not an easy task to pull off.
“First, there’s surveillance. Second, there are security guards. Finally, the ashes are buried in the ground.”
Song Xiaotian broke it down for us. “By the time you dig them up, the police will already be there. How are you going to steal them?”
Meng Yifan looked at me as well. “We’d at least need to ensure the cameras don’t catch us and the guards don’t see us. That seems… impossible.”
“We can’t do it,” I said, “but a ghost can.”
The two of them were instantly startled. Meng Yifan said, “Isn’t Du Yuwei a ghost? Even she’s afraid to go. Who are you going to find?”
Song Xiaotian seemed to have already guessed what I was planning. He looked at me in horror. “You want to find Li Xiumei?”
I nodded. “Li Xiumei has been dead for fifteen years. I saw that even Old Zhao Seven couldn’t do anything to her. Besides, she has a grudge against Du Ruhai. No one is better suited to lead us to steal those ashes.”
Meng Yifan was too terrified to speak.
Song Xiaotian’s face was covered in sweat-it was hard to tell if it was cold sweat or from the spicy hotpot.
“Maybe I should just pay for this meal.”
“And pretend I never met you guys…”
Seeing him get up to leave, I quickly pulled him back. “Brother Tian, if we don’t get Li Xiumei to help, there’s no way we’re getting those ashes. As soon as we have them, Du Yuwei will tell us the identity of the primary culprit.”
“He’s the real killer who murdered Manman!”
“If we try to investigate on our own, we’ll never find out who he is. The police didn’t even notice this person fifteen years ago. You’ve looked into it yourself-did you find anything?”
Song Xiaotian sat back down and said crossly, “Who do you think I am, 007? You think I can just dig him up like that? The guy never even showed his face. There’s no lead to follow.”
As he spoke, he knew deep down that it was nearly impossible to identify the primary culprit through normal means.
But now, an opportunity was right in front of us. Du Yuwei could give us the answer directly.
If it weren’t for that reason, I wouldn’t want to take this risk either.
Song Xiaotian scratched his head and looked straight at me. “What’s your plan?”
I said, “A Ghost follows its ashes and physical remains. Li Xiumei’s remains are currently at the police station. We need to find a way to get her remains out, then summon her. If we frame stealing the ashes as a way to get revenge on Du Ruhai, she’ll definitely help us.”
Song Xiaotian jumped in fright. “You want to steal remains from the police station?”
I told him it wouldn’t come to that; stealing them would be impossible anyway.
However, there was one person who could help us get them out.
“Brother Liu!”
…
The next day.
10:00 AM.
Near the police station.
Meng Yifan and I sat in Song Xiaotian’s car, feeling a bit nervous.
Last night, we planned to call Brother Liu out and have him help us bring out Li Xiumei’s remains. However, Brother Liu had already drawn a clear line between us. Asking for his help was out of the question.
My idea was to bribe him with more money, but Song Xiaotian said money wouldn’t work anymore. It would be better to threaten him directly.
Song Xiaotian pulled out his phone and dialed Brother Liu’s number.
The call was answered quickly, and Brother Liu’s voice came through.
“Who is this?”
“Hey, Officer Liu.”
“There’s a black Buick parked in the alleyway near your station. Come out of the building within ten minutes and get in. I’ll be waiting for you.”
Song Xiaotian’s tone was incredibly calm, as if he were giving Brother Liu an order.
Naturally, Brother Liu was displeased. “Who the hell are you? What do you want?”
Song Xiaotian chuckled. “Don’t be nervous. I just need you to do something for me. Just come over. If you don’t, I have some evidence here regarding your illegal sale of internal department data. You wouldn’t want that stuff showing up in front of your superiors, would you?”
Brother Liu sounded tense. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Song Xiaotian replied, “It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand. I’ll give you ten minutes. You can use that time to bring people to arrest me if you want. At worst, we’ll just end up in prison together.”
With that, Song Xiaotian hung up the phone.
Meng Yifan and I were incredibly nervous.
“Big brother, you’re threatening him like that… what if he actually brings people to arrest us?”
“Arrest my ass. Just watch and see if he dares.”
Meng Yifan looked awkward. “Don’t you think it’s a bit shameless? We paid him to help us before, and now that he’s stopped, we’re using that very same thing to blackmail him…”
Song Xiaotian cursed, “Shameless my ass. Look at his position. Doing things like that brings shame to the police force. A scumbag like him deserves it, you hear me?”
I chimed in, “Brother Tian, it feels like you’re insulting us too.”
Song Xiaotian glanced at me. “You two are scumbags as well. Any problems with that?”
Meng Yifan and I shrunk back, not daring to talk back.
About six minutes later, a man came running from across the street.
We looked closely-Brother Liu had actually come alone.
He pulled open the car door and climbed inside. As soon as he saw us, he froze for a moment before exploding in rage.
“So it was you guys!”
“What the hell are you trying to do? I was kind enough to help you before, and now you’re using that to threaten me?”
Brother Liu grabbed me by the collar, looking like he wanted to punch me.
Knowing we were in the wrong, I looked at him awkwardly, unsure of how to respond.
Song Xiaotian turned around and let out a cold laugh. “Where was this attitude back then? Do you think you’re worthy of that uniform? Worthy of the training the organization gave you? Worthy of the trust the people placed in you?”
Brother Liu wasn’t a pushover either. He said coldly, “Go ahead and report me then. I never took anyone’s money. You say I took a bribe? Do you have evidence?”
Song Xiaotian locked eyes with him. “You took cigarettes, didn’t you? You even weighed them in your hand a few times. Do you think the Internal Affairs people won’t be able to tell what you were weighing? It just so happens that the restaurant’s surveillance footage overwrites every fifteen days. Want to guess if I got my hands on the footage?”
In reality, that restaurant’s surveillance footage overwrote every seven days. We hadn’t gotten anything.
But Brother Liu had already lost his nerve.
“You don’t want your reputation ruined, do you?”
Song Xiaotian’s tone softened slightly. “Do one more thing for us, and that evidence will disappear. We won’t use it to threaten you ever again.”
Brother Liu took a deep breath, resigning himself to his fate. “What exactly do you want me to do?”
Song Xiaotian said, “Bring us Li Xiumei’s remains. Her autopsy is finished, and she’s of no use to you guys now. It shouldn’t be hard for you to get her out.”
Brother Liu’s expression changed. “What do you want her remains for?”
Song Xiaotian replied, “That’s none of your business. Just do it.”
Brother Liu’s face grew increasingly pale. He said, “Her remains… they’ve already been cremated. All that’s left are her ashes.”
We were stunned.
As a former police officer himself, Song Xiaotian questioned him sharply, “How could you cremate a deceased person without authorization? Did the family agree? Who gave the order?”
Brother Liu sighed and said, “It’s not that we wanted to cremate her. It’s just that her remains were incredibly eerie. Our station started having hauntings, and someone even died. We had no choice but to cremate her first.”