Chapter 508 - 508: A Bizarre Case

Two consecutive attacks occurred inside the hotel. The victims were two people who had recently been featured extensively on television and in the newspapers, and one of them had been killed! When the hotel management got the news, they nearly went insane.

The manager on duty rushed to the scene immediately to coordinate the response. The police, having received the emergency call, also arrived swiftly.

The police copied the recording from Zhao Yuan's phone. Since he had also been attacked, they questioned him about the incident.

"I had just gotten off the phone with a few friends and was getting ready for bed. Suddenly, I heard the faintest sound of a lock being picked. I turned my head and saw Lingzi letting herself into my room. She smelled of blood, which led to the conversation you heard on the recording. Right after that, she attacked me. I've had some martial arts training, so I fought back. In the process, I realized how skilled she was. Her strength and technique were far beyond that of an ordinary person. The fight was making a huge commotion, and people started rushing over. She must have known things were turning against her, because she fled just before everyone arrived..."

Most of Zhao Yuan's story was true. He just omitted a few details, leaving no room for suspicion.

After they finished taking his statement, the officer who had gone to review the hotel's security footage returned. He reported to the lead officer, "Chief, none of the cameras got a shot of Lingzi's face. This woman is extremely cautious; she concealed herself every time she passed a camera. It's like she knows the exact layout of the hotel's security system."

The lead officer mused, "This woman is very cautious. She might have been planning this murder for a long time!" He turned and asked the crowd, "Does anyone here have a photo of Lingzi?"

Everyone shook their heads. Although many of them had been completely captivated by Lingzi, for some reason, not a single one had thought to snap a picture of her.

Not only did they come up empty, but even Kawashima Haruhiro's phone had no pictures of her. It was impossible to know if he'd never taken any or if Lingzi had deleted them. Fortunately, the police had a skilled sketch artist on their team. After a round of questions, they managed to produce a portrait of Lingzi that was a seventy to eighty percent match.

The sketch was sent to airports, train stations, and bus terminals. If Lingzi showed up at any of these places, she would be spotted immediately. Meanwhile, after a detailed examination of Kawashima Haruhiro's body, the police were baffled to find no wounds whatsoever.

If that was the case, then how did Lingzi kill Kawashima Haruhiro?

Actually, the lack of wounds was also why Genji Doju and his disciple had earlier suspected that Zhao Yuan had simply angered Kawashima Haruhiro to death.

The police were also perplexed by Lingzi's words on the recording. "The suspect said she killed the victim and ate his heart and liver. What does that mean? Is it just a threat? Or is there some deeper meaning?"

Zhao Yuan cut in, "I think she meant it literally—she ate Kawashima Haruhiro's heart and liver."

The police were skeptical. "The victim has no wounds. How could this Lingzi woman eat his heart and liver? Besides, nobody could be that depraved, could they?"

But Genji Doju's expression changed dramatically.

He remembered when he first saw Kawashima Haruhiro's body. He had stepped forward to administer first aid, trying to save his life. At the time, as his hands pressed on Kawashima Haruhiro's chest over his heart, something had felt off. But in his anxious and worried state, he hadn't given it much thought.

Now, hearing Zhao Yuan's words, he thought back carefully. When he was performing CPR on Kawashima Haruhiro, the sensation of compressing the chest cavity had felt wrong. It was as if... as if the space beneath his hands was empty!

Genji Doju spun around and barked an order at his disciple: "Bring me a knife!"

He spoke in Japanese, so the police didn't understand him at first. His disciple, though confused as to why he needed a knife, immediately went to find one for him.

Genji Doju took the knife and strode over to Kawashima Haruhiro's corpse.

It was only then that the police noticed something was wrong. They rushed to stop him, but it was too late.

With the knife, Genji Doju made a fast, precise, and brutal incision along the rib cage.

Though he was a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, he had also studied anatomy and was quite proficient. The technique he used to open the chest cavity was textbook perfect.

"What are you doing?"

"Why are you desecrating the body?"

"Cuff him!"

The police swarmed him, wrestling the knife from his hand, ready to cuff him.

Genji Doju didn't flinch or resist. He simply pointed at Kawashima Haruhiro's chest cavity and said, "His heart and liver... they're really gone!"

His words stunned the entire room.

The officers forgot about cuffing him and all rushed to look inside Kawashima Haruhiro's chest. Sure enough, there was no trace of a heart or liver.

"Where are his heart and liver?"

"This is bizarre. There are no wounds on the body, so how could his heart and liver just vanish? Where did they go?"

"You don't think Lingzi actually ate them, do you?"

As everyone chattered, a chill washed over them, and they couldn't help but shudder in unison.

This whole thing was too damn bizarre!

The crowd was buzzing, but the police were left with a massive headache.

None of this, however, had anything to do with Zhao Yuan.

After giving his statement, he was free to go. Kawashima Haruhiro's body was to be sent to the forensic center for further investigation.

Zhao Yuan left Kawashima Haruhiro's room with his teachers.

His new room was already prepared. As compensation, the hotel had upgraded him to a suite.

On the way to the new room, Zhao Yuan asked Ma Guotao, "Principal, when are we heading back to Rongcheng City?"

"We have a flight tomorrow at noon," Ma Guotao replied.

Zhao Yuan said, "I have some business to take care of, so I need to stay in Huashang for a few more days. You can go ahead and cancel my ticket. I'll book a new one myself when I'm ready to head back."

Yang Jingbo quickly interjected, "You're staying in Huashang by yourself? Is that safe? How about I stay behind and keep you company?"

It was clear that the day's events had thoroughly spooked them.

Zhao Yuan politely declined. "Today was just a freak accident. Besides, I won't be alone. Some friends of mine are arriving in Huashang tomorrow, and I'll be with them. Don't worry, I'll be perfectly safe!"

Since he had put it that way, Ma Guotao, Yang Jingbo, and the others could only agree, though they still urged him to be extremely careful and to call the police immediately if he noticed anything amiss.

Back in his new room, after saying goodnight to his teachers, Zhao Yuan swiped his key card and went inside. He saw his travel bag had been placed on the coffee table in the suite's living room.

This hadn't been brought over by the hotel staff, of course; Zeng Rui had carried it over for him. Thanks to her, the police hadn't discovered the Bone Woman inside the travel bag.

Otherwise, even if the Bone Woman remained perfectly still and didn't frighten anyone, he would have had a hard time explaining the origin of a pile of bones.