INSIDER Chapter 37

With a sense of reverence, they refrained from moving the skeletal remains immediately.

Seeing how Lu Chu inexplicably located several burial sites, He Mingde looked at him with curiosity. Qi Li’s gaze turned deep, and from his eyes, Lu Chu could read a hint of worry. After a moment of silence, Qi Li asked, “Can you find the other remains?”

So far, they had found three parts of the skeleton: the skull, the right hand bone, and the right leg bone. Upon digging deeper, they saw that the hand was cut off along with the arm, and the right leg was with the right foot. According to the way the victim was dismembered, they still needed to find the left leg, left arm, and the torso.

Lu Chu closed his eyes, concentrating for a moment, then opened them and said, “The remaining parts are buried farther away. I need to walk around to find them.”

Song Gui still had the mood to joke, “You look like a true master.”

He Mingde frowned at the remains. “What do we do once we find all the parts? Call the police?”

“Yes!” Li Jiapeng, who had come over to check out the commotion, said. “It’s a murder case. Why wouldn’t we call the police?”

Song Gui raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure it’s a murder case?”

“Let’s put that aside for now. We need to find the rest of the bones quickly,” Lu Chu said. Then he turned to Li Jiapeng. “Keep watch. I’ll search the area.”

Li Jiapeng promptly replied, “Got it.”

Lu Chu then continued to locate several more body parts, leaving only the torso unfound.

The village was extremely remote with a sparse population. Each household had its own fields. Behind Wei Rong’s house was a large wheat field. Occasionally, a mound with a tree next to it could be seen amidst the fields. These mounds were graves, as per the village tradition of planting a tree by each new grave. Lu Chu followed his instincts to one such grave, where the tree was particularly tall and lush, indicating it had been there for years. He then said to the others following him, “Here.”

He Mingde hesitated. “Are you sure?”

Lu Chu nodded. “It’s not this grave, but beside it. The murderer must have been in a hurry to dispose of the body and didn’t check the spot properly.”

He then bowed to the grave. “Sorry to disturb you. We just want to find the person buried next to you and give her a complete body.”

The others quickly followed suit and bowed.

Thankfully, they were extremely careful while digging, not disturbing the grave at all. Over the past few days, each of them had developed a deep respect for spirits and didn’t dare offend them.

Better safe than sorry.

After digging up the torso, He Mingde sighed. “Whoever did this, to actually dismember a body, must have no conscience.”

Lu Chu said, “I don’t know if the murderer has a conscience, but it seems their body will pay for it now.”

“Have we confirmed the body is Lin Lin?” He Mingde asked.

Lu Chu nodded. “If our previous deductions are correct, the ghost is Lin Lin, so these bones should be hers too.”

Lu Chu also realized he could differentiate between the scents of a body and a spirit. Although they smelled similar, the spirit’s scent was somewhat fresher.

They discussed briefly what to do next with Lin Lin’s bones when He Mingde, trembling, pointed to the freshly dug pit. “Look… look at that…”

They followed his gaze and saw that Lin Lin’s torso, which they had just unearthed, was gone.

Lu Chu felt a cold sweat break out.

They exchanged glances and quickly checked the other locations. All the bones, including the skull in the storeroom, had mysteriously vanished.

Seeing their frantic and confused behavior, Li Jiapeng asked curiously, “What’s going on? What happened?”

Lu Chu frowned deeply, his voice heavy. “This is not good.”

Li Jiapeng grew serious. “What?”

He Mingde said, “The bones are gone.”

Li Jiapeng’s eyes widened. “No way…”

Lu Chu rubbed his temples and after a moment said, “Let’s go find Liu Cuihe.”

“Not the bones?” Li Jiapeng was puzzled.

Song Gui scratched his chin and asked Lu Chu, “What’s your plan?”

“I can still feel her spirit nearby. I think we need to uncover the truth first.”

Qi Li gathered their tools. “If that’s the case, let’s hurry back and change our gear, then head to the city.”

Lu Chu nodded. “Alright.”

They quickly changed their gear and drove to Zhongxing Street.

The search for Liu Cuihe was particularly challenging. They wondered if she might have changed her name. Lu Chu showed people a photo of Liu Cuihe and Guo Jianping, asking if they had seen anyone resembling Liu Cuihe. Despite their efforts, they couldn’t find her.

After several rounds of searching, the five regrouped at the agreed meeting spot.

Li Jiapeng, He Mingde, and Qi Li reported no luck, but Song Gui had a lead.

Song Gui pointed to a building nearby. “There’s a household in that building that fits the description, but the woman is named Liu Feng.”

“She might have changed her name,” Li Jiapeng said. “But it’s strange that no one here has seen her.”

Lu Chu said, “Maybe we’re overthinking it. The Liu family told us Liu Cuihe might live here now, not that she has always lived here. If she moved recently and doesn’t go out much, it’s normal for the neighbors not to know her.”

Song Gui nodded. “Exactly. This family moved in less than a year ago.”

Lu Chu said, “Alright, let’s check it out.”

They went to the building Song Gui mentioned. He Mingde asked, “Which floor?”

“Thirteen,” Song Gui replied. “1302.”

As they were about to take the elevator, Song Gui received a call from Grandma Lu.

Lu Chu frowned, his expression heavy. After Song Gui hung up, he asked, “Another incident?”

Song Gui nodded. “Yes, three more people.”

Lu Chu guessed they were the ones who looked unusual last time.

“We need to hurry,” Li Jiapeng urged. “If she finishes her revenge before we find Liu Cuihe, she might come after us next.”

“Calm down,” Lu Chu said. “I have a feeling we’re close to the end.”