Chapter 8: The Corpse He Devoured

It was a vulture, possessing a human body but the head of a vulture!

Even Shen Du, who was always calm and composed, displayed a look of astonishment. However, for both Shen Du and Xiao Li, the reaction was more surprise than fear.

"Snap."

In the tense and thrilling scene, the crisp sound of an apple being bitten into was jarringly abrupt. Fu Qiqi chewed and asked, "Where did that corpse come from?"

She pointed to a woman's remains sealed in a bag near the corner. The refrigeration unit used to store the body lacked any cooling function. Having been there for over three months, it was highly decomposed, and only by the clothing could one identify it as Xiao Tao.

Old Wang's entire head had reverted to its original form. His hooked beak opened and closed, emitting a human voice. "I picked it up from the mountain."

"Which mountain?"

"Yinxia Mountain."

Old Wang dropped to his knees and slid forward, looking as though he had suffered a great injustice. "I was just hungry. I didn't intend to eat them on purpose, and besides... I gave them gifts as compensation, and they agreed to it."

According to Old Wang, he took this job precisely because of the bodies; occasionally, there were unclaimed remains in the morgue. Generally, he would strike a bargain with the ghosts, offer compensation, and then enjoy a feast—after all, he had a family to feed. As for Xiao Tao's remains, he had happened upon them by chance.

"I originally thought if I left her for a while, I could eat her, but I couldn't find her ghost. I didn't dare to eat her then. I'm so hungry; I haven't eaten in four months."

He had quite the principles.

Fu Qiqi stepped on his backside. "If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll have you know Xiao Tao's ghost is clearly floating right here in the hospital."

Old Wang looked innocent. "How would I know that? Otherwise, I would have already... cough, cough. I usually don't go upstairs anyway, and there's a big guy up there."

He only mentioned that there was something terrifying upstairs, but no matter how they questioned him, he refused to elaborate. Perhaps, if he were to die, dying at Fu Qiqi's hands would be a quicker end.

"Whew," Fu Qiqi blew out the candle. There was no point in asking further. She walked over to Shen Du. "Let's go. We'll leave Xiao Tao's remains to you."

Old Wang's mouth moved, but he didn't dare ask if he could keep the remains. It was lucky enough that the members of the 09 Task Force weren't arresting him; he dared not dream of food.

On the way out, Shen Du contacted his team to come and collect the remains.

After exiting the dim corridor and turning a corner, they reached a small parking lot. The path toward the elevator seemed shrouded in a layer of mist.

Fu Qiqi paused, glancing back inadvertently, a smile touching her lips.

"Is there a situation?" After Shen Du asked, he looked in the direction she had been watching, but before he could see anything, she slapped him back.

Shen Du froze suddenly.

"No, let's go quickly." That thing had already left.

Because she had placed a mark on it, Fu Qiqi was in a good mood. Looking up, she noticed Shen Du seemed a bit dazed. "What, is Captain Shen still worried?"

Shen Du regained his senses, suppressing the feeling of having been struck. "I was just wondering why you let him go." He was naturally referring to the Vulture Demon.

Fu Qiqi looked at him in disbelief, crossing her arms. "No way. Don't tell me Captain Shen wanted to take Old Wang back?"

Shen Du replied, "He eats human remains." No one could guarantee that just because they were remains now, the next time wouldn't be a living person...

Fu Qiqi was very certain. "Don't let your imagination run wild. Old Wang wouldn't dare. Besides, he is merely following the laws of the world; he obtained the owner's permission and didn't seek out food indiscriminately."

Shen Du lowered his eyes to look at her. This Fu Qiqi was indeed different from the people in the Profound Gate Association.

"Actually, the 09 Task Force also handles special cases. The Xiao Tao case was assigned to us. It has been too long, and the higher-ups wanted us to assist." He spoke with a cold expression, not knowing why he felt the need to explain this, but he said it nonetheless. Logically, these classified matters shouldn't be told to ordinary people, but Fu Qiqi was clearly not one of them.

Fu Qiqi wore an expression that said she saw through his little scheme. "Captain Shen, I have no interest in you people. Fuyun Taoist Temple is my home." As she said this, she raised her small hand in an oath, expressing her firm conviction.

Shen Du remained silent.

The elevator doors opened.

"Ah—" Xiao Li urgently retracted a leg, his hand loosening, allowing a paper talisman to cover his eyes.

Xiao Tao, who had been scared into the corner, looked up pitifully, eyeing Fu Qiqi with lingering fear. "Master, he scared me~"

"You're acting," Fu Qiqi blurted out.

"You aren't even comforting me," Xiao Tao said with regret. She raised a finger toward the paper talisman. "Why is he sticking that on his forehead?" If Xiao Li hadn't used the talisman to scare the ghost, she wouldn't have had to act so coquettishly.

"I don't know."

Hearing this answer, Xiao Li, who had just straightened his back, immediately jumped in frustration. "Miss Fu, wasn't the talisman for my safety?"

"Oh, I originally wanted to show you the world, but unfortunately, that thing is too smart. Besides, if you don't wear the talisman, Xiao Tao following you will cause yin energy to enter your body."

Fu Qiqi was not in the least bit guilty; those two words did not exist in her dictionary. If they did, then you must have seen it wrong.

Xiao Li: ...

He felt a sense of powerlessness, wanting to lash out but finding no strength to do so. As he tore off the talisman—

"Has no one ever told you that you don't have to act like a zombie? Have you never encountered talismans before?"

Shen Du walked past him with elegant poise and exited the elevator. Xiao Li's gaze grew even more resentful.

At the back door of the hospital.

Fu Qiqi, wearing a snake head (mask), squatted on the ground, holding a very small folding knife.

"Was this dug out of the dirt pit?" Shen Du asked.

Fu Qiqi took a turtle out of her cloth bag. It was made of an unknown material and was a dark red, different from the color of a normal turtle. The shell was inscribed with the Taiji Yin-Yang Five Elements Array.

Hearing his question, she curled her lips into a malicious smile, deliberately trying to scare him without any exaggeration. "It wasn't just dug out of the dirt; it was used to dig out eyes, too."

Not far away under a tree, Xiao Li was chatting with Xiao Tao. Xiao Tao's eye sockets were hollow and sunken; a pair of eyes were missing from her remains. It wasn't hard to imagine what she had once endured.

Shen Du fell silent for a moment; he had seen many similar heinous incidents.

Fu Qiqi formed a hand seal, pressing her index and middle fingers together. A faint red spiritual energy, invisible to the naked eye, flowed into the turtle. She then placed the knife into the turtle's mouth.

A faint red smoke drifted from the shell toward an unknown distance. The tracking technique of the Immortal Gate had never failed.

Within half a minute:

"In a village at the foot of Yinxia Mountain, there is a man named Wu Laosan. He is fifty-five years old, has no children, and kidnapped a woman he calls his wife, though they never registered the marriage." When she said this, Fu Qiqi's contempt was undisguised. "He really deserves to die."

Shen Du was silent for a moment. "Is the location accurate?"

Hearing this, Fu Qiqi grew displeased and stood up like a whirlwind. "The... human tracking technique exclusive to our Fu lineage is the most precise positioning in the world. Whether they are taking a dump or eating, we can find them! Therefore! We must carry forward the tracking technique!"

When Fu Qiqi said this, her expression was serious and righteous. Her voice was loud enough for Xiao Tao and Xiao Li to hear. It only left everyone in a state of eerie silence.

It seemed that while the words were crude, the logic held up.

At this moment, Xiao Tao's ghostly face held three parts shock, three parts confusion, three parts doubt, and one part admiration for her nonsense.

Shen Du, however, nodded. As long as the person hadn't run away, that was enough.

Suddenly.

"Captain Shen."