Chapter 358: Fox Immortal Murders

"Gao Jian, is your hand going to be alright?" Tie Ningxiang felt the flowing warmth in her palm and tightened her grip on my hand.

"It's not my blood. Don't worry." My brow hadn't unfurrowed since we left Century New Garden.

I had managed to stall him this time using the Yin-Yang Ghost Art, but given Lu Jin's habit of seeking revenge for the slightest grievance, he definitely wouldn't let me off. More danger was likely waiting for me in the future.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble," Tie Ningxiang said, her tone filled with self-blame. When her mother forced her to attend the banquet, she had already noticed something off about the way Lu Jin looked at her. Thinking about it now left a bitter taste in her mouth. "Those cultivators have massive backing. I heard my dad say they have close ties with high-level leaders and specifically handle covert affairs for Huaxia. Their status is extremely high, and the local public security bureaus wouldn't dare offend them."

"Yeah, I figured that out when I saw Director Liu bowing and scraping just now." My expression didn't change as I slowly calmed down.

"They originally came to Jiangcheng to commend your contributions. For preventing the Lanjiang Dam from collapsing and saving millions of lives in Jiangcheng, you could have relied on that merit to enter a sect and learn true Daoist methods. It's a pity Lu Jin ruined it." A trace of helplessness seeped into Tie Ningxiang's words. "I foolishly thought cultivators were all pure and untainted, uncaring of worldly karma. But after seeing their true faces, I realized they're just like us ordinary people."

"Everyone has desires. Whether it's seeking immortality or lusting after the mortal world, they aren't fundamentally different from us." Turning to look at Tie Ningxiang, I noticed a hint of worry hidden in her expression. Her already exquisite face became even more captivating with that added touch of melancholy.

Pure Yin energy faintly flowed from my Kidney Aperture, nourishing my body's Yin Meridian. As if possessed, my hands grabbed Tie Ningxiang's arms and slowly began to trail over her body. "Besides, you can't blame Lu Jin for having poor self-control. It's just that you, Senior..."

Stimulated by the Yin energy, the Profound Truth Mental Method that had been suppressed in my lower dantian also began to circulate. A surge of Pre-Heaven True Qi rushed through my Yang meridian, harmonizing the Yin and Yang within my body.

The movement of my hands paused, and my eyes abruptly cleared. Only then did I realize my hands were resting on the edge of Tie Ningxiang's police uniform, my fingertips curled inward with the faint intention of exploring further.

"Junior, if your hands keep wandering, I'll have to arrest my own kin in the name of justice!" Tie Ningxiang managed to keep her face steady, but a flush of pink crept halfway up her snow-white neck.

I sheepishly let go and offered an awkward smile. "I was just giving you an example. I got a little carried away and couldn't help myself. Don't take it to heart..."

"Gao Jian, I'm only just now realizing your IQ is pretty high." Tie Ningxiang casually grabbed me and pulled me toward the snack street by the road, temporarily tossing the unpleasantness brought by Lu Jin to the back of her mind.

"Maybe." I was still thinking about how to handle Lu Jin's upcoming revenge, so I didn't mind and simply let her drag me along.

"What I mean is, a lot of people with high IQs have very low EQs, and you seem to fit that type." Tie Ningxiang dragged me into the snack street. "We didn't get to eat well just now. As your Senior, I'm going to treat you to something. You won't refuse, will you?"

Before I could figure out what Tie Ningxiang meant, her phone suddenly rang. When she answered, Wu Meng's voice came through: "Captain Tie! Get to the Central Hospital immediately! A corpse has been found in the underground morgue!"

"Another murder!" Tie Ningxiang no longer cared about treating me to food and stood by the road to hail a taxi. "Gao Jian, I owe you this meal. I'll make it up to you later."

Just as I was about to politely decline, I suddenly remembered something. On the way to start my ninth live broadcast, I had received a call for help from the Underworld Live Show, and the caller had said their location was the underground morgue at Jiangcheng Central Hospital!

'Is the dead person another live show streamer?' The moment this thought appeared, it spread like wildfire. A sharp light flashed in my eyes, and I quickly chased after Tie Ningxiang. "Senior, I'll go with you!"

...

It was bright and sunny outside the hospital, but the basement was heavy with gloomy Yin energy. Forensics and detectives had already cordoned off the area. Even I couldn't enter the primary crime scene and had to wait outside.

"I heard they were dead for two or three days before being found?"

"Yeah, the orderly smelled a stench in the morgue a while ago but didn't pay it any mind, thinking it was normal. It wasn't until the whole hallway smelled like that that he realized something was wrong. When he went in to look, he was nearly scared to death!"

"What happened? Stop being so dramatic and just tell us."

"The corpse was hidden really well. If you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't have found it at all. Plus, the scene gave off the feeling that a corpse had come back to life and killed someone. The medical examiner just took a look. The victim died from trauma, and the killer didn't use any weapons. The examination showed that all the wounds were torn open by teeth!"

"Teeth?!"

"Yeah, they're making a mold of the bite marks inside right now. Once the results are out, we'll know who the real killer is."

"That's terrifying. If a corpse bit them..."

"I've heard for a long time that this place is haunted. Didn't a female patient jump off the building a while back? Her hospital room was covered in monsters drawn with blood and mercurochrome. I practically asked for it by taking an extra look, and I've been having nightmares every night since!"

"Then how are we supposed to work the night shifts here from now on? This is so frustrating."

...

The surrounding doctors and nurses were whispering among themselves. I stared deep into the morgue, silently listening to their conversation.

"Wounds formed by teeth tearing." I rested my chin in one hand. "If they are fox bite marks, then the killer is one hundred percent the Fox Immortal Corpse. The key is that I need to confirm the identity of the deceased. This concerns another Underworld Live Show Streamer, which makes it far too important to me."

"Gao Jian, Captain Tie wants you to go in." Wearing a mask, Wu Meng walked out of the basement and handed me a pair of sterilized gloves. "There's something wrong with that corpse. You know a lot about this sort of thing, so you should be able to offer some good insight."

I nodded, took the sterilized gloves, and walked into the basement.

I had been here a long time ago when investigating the death of Huang Guanxing. Back then, to protect his girlfriend, I had entered the Central Hospital's underground morgue, but I hadn't stayed long, and all the doors had been locked.

The basement was divided into three levels. The corpse was found on the second level. As soon as I entered, I could smell the pungent stench.

I frowned and looked around. "The corpse stench is so strong."

"Can't be helped, we're out of masks." Wu Meng scratched his head and spread his hands helplessly. "How about you use mine first?"

"That's not what I meant." My nose twitched. I had grown used to that pungent stench during my many live broadcasts. "I'm afraid more than one person died here."

"Are there bodies we haven't found yet?" Wu Meng paused slightly.

"It's very likely. Let's head in first."

In a room at the deepest part of the second level, I saw Tie Ningxiang squatting next to the corpse, her expression completely focused.

"Senior, is the killer's modus operandi a bit unusual?"

"Look here." Tie Ningxiang pointed at the slightly decomposing corpse. Right where her fingertip was hovering, I saw the torn bite marks.

"There are bite marks on the neck, wrists, and chest. It looks like an animal killed the victim. The teeth marks are sharp and fine, so it shouldn't be very large." Tie Ningxiang pondered bitterly, unsure what kind of animal could appear in a hospital morgue. "Could it be a rat? A giant rat attacking a living person? No, although the deceased's identity hasn't been confirmed yet, we've basically ruled out internal hospital staff, and all existing corpse numbers have been screened. This person came in from outside the hospital, and a rat wouldn't have the ability to drag a living adult into a hospital morgue."

"Could it be a fox?" Activating the Judging Eye, I was already certain the moment I saw the bite marks—these wounds were absolutely left by a fox immortal.

"A fox immortal? Are you trying to say a fox immortal is causing chaos? Bewitching people's minds? That's too ridiculous."

Neither Tie Ningxiang nor Wu Meng believed what I said, and I didn't try to defend it. Sweeping my Judging Eye over every inch of the deceased, I began to turn the body over with my sterilized gloves.

"Her age is around twenty-five. There are three unopened condoms in her pockets. Her fingers and toes are all painted with nail polish, and her clothes are revealing and cheap. Since no one has reported her missing after all these days, this woman was likely working in a special industry." I paused for a moment. "What I'm more curious about right now is, what is this woman's actual cause of death? The wounds on her body might look grisly and terrifying, but they are far from fatal."