.
Zhao Yanbao stared at the "Corpse Handling Opinion Report" on the table, remaining silent for a long time. She was like a relief sculpture made of bluestone, one half of her thoughts hidden deep within the stone, the other half coldly protruding—a contradictory, soul-stirring clarity.
Everyone had their own thoughts, but with the body of the deceased Chi Lei still warm, no one dared to immediately voice their opinions.
As Chi Lei's closest confidante, Zhao Yanbao was morally the most qualified to speak.
Wei Dong felt uneasy. Although he had witnessed countless deaths in his previous paintings, seeing vibrant life vanish in an instant still instilled a sense of despair.
What was even more distressing was that the crimson beast everyone was so desperately searching for was inside the deceased's body—a grave disrespect to the dead according to Chinese tradition. —If this happened to him, he certainly wouldn't want anyone to tamper with the remains of his loved ones.
Mu Yiran broke the silence: "Although the cause of death has been determined to be a heart attack, as criminal investigators, we still need to go through the motions and conduct a thorough investigation of the scene. This is also a task assigned by the police station."
The tense and awkward atmosphere seemed to ease slightly. Zhao Yanbao said softly, "Go ahead."
Mu Yiran and Ke Xun re-entered Chi Lei's dormitory. The people waiting outside also relaxed a little. Zhu Haowen said softly to his companions, "Want something to drink? There's coffee downstairs."
Almost everyone stood up at the same time, except for Zhao Yanbao, who remained standing there lost in thought. Not wanting to disturb her, the others tiptoed downstairs.
At this moment, no one was in the mood for anything to drink. Zhu Haowen immediately called Qin Ci to find out what was happening there and briefly explained what was going on here before hanging up.
All attention was on Zhu Haowen. Wei Dong couldn't help but ask first, "You just said that Zhi Chun committed suicide?"
"Qin Ci said so, that he cut his wrists with a scalpel, and the time of death was between 1:00 AM and 3:00 AM." Zhu Haowen didn't think the similar time of death was a coincidence.
"Has it been determined to be suicide? I remember Zhi Chun and that painter shared a dorm room, right?" Luo Wei suddenly spoke up.
"The forensic doctor and the criminal police have been to the hospital scene, and suicide is basically confirmed." Zhu Haowen poured a glass of water for everyone present. "It's said that this person's emotions were normal before going to bed. Although he was terrified of the unknown night, he didn't show any signs of despair or world-weariness."
Zhi Chun and Chi Lei, one committed suicide with a scalpel, and the other died suddenly from a heart attack. The time of their deaths was similar.
Whether it was suicide or death from illness, these seemed to have nothing to do with external forces—the old members had never experienced such "natural" deaths in their previous paintings.
"There's definitely something going on here, we just can't figure it out." Wei Dong rested his elbows on his knees, his fingers interlaced. "Those two seemed perfectly normal at dinner last night."
"Weren't you drunk last night?" Luo Wei asked.
"It's strange how I got drunk. I was fine at the restaurant, but I felt dizzy as soon as I left. I guess it's because of spring; I'm a bit allergic to pollen." Wei Dong didn't seem to care much about being drunk.
"Qin Ci said on the phone that Yu Ji was also drunk and went to bed early last night, so he didn't notice anything unusual during the night," Zhu Haowen said.
"I don't think analyzing all this now is useful," Xiao Qinxian finally couldn't help but say, her questioning gaze fixed on Zhu Haowen: "Did Dr. Qin mention anything about animals on the phone? Did Zhi Chun have animal spots like Chi Lei's on his face? Did the forensic doctor issue a 'Corpse Disposal Report'?"
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Zhu Haowen, as if Xiao Qinxian had just asked the question that no one else was comfortable asking.
Zhu Haowen remained expressionless: "Zhi Chun's situation is similar to Chi Lei's. Qin Ci and the others are also waiting for everyone to hold a meeting to discuss a solution."
Xiao Qinxian's eyes flashed again: "That means he also has a beast inside him. Did Zhi Chun come alone? He shouldn't have any companions."
Xiao Qinxian's blatant statement made her seem like a beast ready to devour its companion's corpse.
Xiao Qinxian then added: "As Forensic Doctor Zhao just said, we just need to follow the principle of majority rule—since we're in this city, we should abide by its rules. We should forget about the social norms of our previous world for now."
Lion also expressed his opinion: "I don't think it's disrespectful to the deceased. The beast inside should be removed. I don't think it's anything good."
Everyone remained silent, which Lion interpreted as a silent affirmation of his statement.
Lion continued: "If this happened to me, I would also donate the beast without hesitation. I believe Ni would do the same, right?!" Lion looked at Xiao Qinxian beside him.
Xiao Qinxian was momentarily at a loss for words, unsure which expression to wear, as the very assumption itself was ominous.
Suddenly, a strange sound rang out from upstairs. Upon closer listening, they realized it was Zhao Yanbao crying.
Zhu Haowen was the first to rise and head upstairs, followed by the others—Zhao Yanbao was a reserved person; something must have happened to cause her to lose control like this.
Only Xiao Qinxian remained seated, her expression somewhat agitated.
In the living room upstairs, Zhao Yanbao leaned against the sofa, still moaning softly. Ke Xun looked around before taking a tissue from under the coffee table and handing it to her.
"I don't believe she would commit suicide. There must be a conspiracy! This must be the painting's conspiracy! The painting killed her!" Zhao Yanbao's eyes were red and filled with hatred.
Luo Wei frowned, looking at Zhao Yanbao without speaking.
Ke Xun explained to everyone, "When we were checking that dormitory room, we found Chi Lei's suicide note in the drawer."
"A suicide note?" Everyone was surprised. "So Chi Lei didn't suffer a heart attack..."
Ke Xun slowly nodded, "Judging from the contents of the suicide note, it seems the deceased committed suicide."
The suicide note was on the table, the entire sheet of paper wrapped in a transparent plastic bag, presumably to protect fingerprints.
The suicide note contained only a few lines, written in neat handwriting: "
Yan Bao, please forgive my willfulness. I just wanted to seal myself away at my most beautiful and best moment, like amber. "
It was signed with four characters: "Chi Lei's last words.
" "Is this her handwriting?" Mu Yiran also sat down on the sofa, right next to Zhao Yan Bao.
Zhao Yanbao nodded: "It's true she wrote it, but she's struggled against death several times and never gave up easily. I don't believe she would end her life so hastily, especially in such a strange world."
"If it really was Hua who did it, it probably used some kind of soul-bewitching method?" Wei Dong was even glad he'd been drunk last night—with his weak will, he would have been bewitched long ago.
"But why choose these two people? There must be a rule involved. As the difficulty increases, Hua wouldn't likely arrange deaths so arbitrarily." It was Zhu Haowen, who valued rules the most, who spoke. "If we follow the soul-bewitching theory, then the chosen victims must have had relatively weak willpower, but this is inherently difficult to determine."
Zhao Yanbao wiped away her tears with a tissue, raised her head, and said with unwavering determination, "I never thought Chi Lei was a weak-willed person. She has been fighting against illness for a long time, and she is at least stronger than me."
Mu Yiran took out a pen and paper to write down some of what had just been said. After Zhao Yanbao's emotions had stabilized a little, he continued to ask, "How was Chi Lei's condition before going to bed last night? Did she say anything that left a deep impression on you?"
Zhao Yanbao thought carefully for a moment, "Last night, the three of us walked back along the street together. Chi Lei talked the most. She said that although this world is strange, she likes the spring here."
Zhu Haowen nodded as a witness.
"After returning to the detective agency, the three of us had a brief chat on the sofa here, mainly about our opinions on the Scarlet Beast." Zhao Yanbao wiped her eyes with a tissue. "Chi Lei also said that although she was a little scared, she was still full of curiosity about the mysterious game that was about to unfold, and she wanted to be the one who stayed until the end so that she could see what the whole game was all about."
In that case, Chi Lei had even less reason to commit suicide.
Mu Yiran silently took notes, while Ke Xun frowned slightly, and could only continue asking as an unprofessional detective, "What exactly did Chi Lei talk about regarding the Scarlet Beast?"
"We didn't have much of a clue at the time. I just remember Chi Lei saying that she sometimes seemed to understand the protagonist Yuezi's actions... After that, everyone went a little off-topic and talked about some things related to women's rights," Zhao Yanbao said.
Ke Xun looked at Zhu Haowen.
Zhu Haowen: "Yes, we talked quite a bit about women's rights. I've always been an advocate for equality..."
"Why did you connect Yuezi to women's rights? What was the turning point in this topic?" Mu Yiran asked.
The two thought in silence for a moment. Zhao Yanbao bit her lip and said, "I remember when I thought of 'The Scarlet Beast,' I connected it to 'Aying.' Everyone was saying that if the protagonists were men instead of women, it would be a different story."
Just as Ke Xun was wondering about "Aying," Mu Yiran asked, "Why did you suddenly think of 'Aying'? What was the connection?"
"Chi Lei said that the beginnings of these two works are too similar, both about women's sense of shame because of their gender." Zhao Yanbao said, glancing at Zhu Haowen. "It seems she mentioned the title page of 'The Scarlet Beast'?"
Zhu Haowen suddenly remembered something too: "Yes, Chi Lei said there was a strange sentence on the title page of that book, saying that there was a woman riding on a red beast. At first, she thought it was an abstract description of the female protagonist's twisted love, but later she felt it was more and more a symbol of female shame." "
Is there such a beast in the book 'Aying'?" Wei Dong interjected.
"'Aying' is a movie. The film opens with Aying's mother being executed by the 'wooden donkey' for committing adultery, and the executioner is Aying's father," Zhu Haowen explained.
Wei Dong: "…"
"This was just an association we had last night, because both works depict a deep sense of powerlessness in women, and their resistance is all fantasy, not real," Zhao Yanbao further said. "Whether it's the red beast or the wooden donkey punishment, they both seem to allude to the torture of women for adultery."
"Leaving aside the other work for now, let's just talk about 'The Scarlet Beast.' What exactly the words on the title page are, only those who have read the book probably know," Mu Yiran said.
—As Xiao Qinxian slowly walked upstairs, everyone's eyes were focused on her.