The Corpse

Chapter 44

Yun Song had questioned the relatives of the elderly couple, and they did not know Ming Qingfu.

The connection point between the two cases was the bank transfers Ming Qingfu had made to this family.

One hundred thousand yuan every year was no small sum, and it had continued for six full years.

Before Yun Song left for Guangcheng, she had divided the investigation team into three groups.

One group was searching for the elderly couple’s daughter.

One group was searching for Ming Qingfu’s daughter, the medical student.

The third group was reviewing surveillance footage to determine the last time Ming Qingfu and the elderly couple appeared on camera.

She rushed back that afternoon and called a meeting immediately upon her return. A team member pinned a photo to the blackboard: “The victim, Ming Qingfu, lived in the North District of Ping City, in a villa district. This villa is also registered under the name of her medical student daughter, Ming Donglai.”

The villa in the photo was a European-style detached house of the kind favored by the wealthy in the North District. It had a large front yard of nearly one hundred square meters, looking very expensive at a glance.

“In the surveillance footage of the villa district, Ming Qingfu’s last appearance was twenty days ago when the victim returned home.” The footage was from outside the villa; the woman walked into her large courtyard and entered the house.

Yun Song had watched the footage before. No suspicious figures appeared in the video.

“We conducted a field inspection,” the team member produced more photos. “There is a blind spot in the surveillance behind her villa. It is possible someone could have been taken from there, but the neighborhood requires personnel for entry and exit, and the walls are very high. It would be difficult to take someone out.”

After the others finished reporting, they went to rest. Yun Song continued to look through the case materials the team had organized.

Once she finished the files, she began watching interview videos of Ming Qingfu.

Yun Song had come from an era without the “Sky Eye¹” surveillance system. When she investigated cases, she still maintained the old-school method – getting to know the victim.

As an outstanding female entrepreneur in the city, Ming Qingfu had participated in several interview videos over the past two years.

“My first pot of gold²?” Ming Qingfu was somewhat stout with middle-aged prosperity. Combined with the slight smile she naturally wore while speaking, she gave off an approachable feeling.

Ming Qingfu said, “If I talk about this, people today might not even understand it.”

The host immediately replied, “Then I want to hear it even more.”

“My first job was as an Egg-selling Woman.”

The host was a young person and had naturally never heard of this profession, but Yun Song, watching the video, knew it well.

“Back then, I would go to the countryside to collect eggs before dawn,” she described it in great detail. “I carried a back basket filled with rice husks. The eggs I bought were placed in the husks. I could walk for an entire day. Eggs were in high demand then; I’d buy them for ten cents each and carry them back to the city the next day to sell. They would go for about twenty or thirty cents.”

The host immediately asked, “How many eggs could you collect in a day?” The host was drawn in, eager to know how much money could be made in a day.

In the video, Ming Qingfu reminisced about the early days of her business: “On a lucky day, I could collect over three hundred eggs. On a bad day, only a few dozen.”

The host did some mental math and said, “Then at most, you could earn thirty yuan a day.”

Ming Qingfu corrected, “In two days. One day to collect, one day to sell. Sometimes I’d run into robbers. Occasionally, I’d also collect some vegetables to sell. At the end of a month, I could earn four or five hundred yuan.”

She spoke with a narrative flow, her emotions full, making the listener feel very comfortable. By this period, no accent could be heard in her speech.

The host said, “At that time, that wage was already very high.”

“Yes, the pay was very high then. Once I had my first pot of gold, I decided to open a restaurant.”

“We understand that every year you sponsor impoverished girls from the mountains to attend school.”

“I didn’t have much schooling and suffered a lot, so in my heart, I hope they can study more.”

She couldn’t help but speak about the hardships of girls in the mountains.

Yun Song flipped through the woman’s files. Actually, two things were very strange. First, she grew up in the city, yet her understanding of the mountain regions was profound, exceeding the scope of what one would learn just by buying eggs. Second, she had undergone plastic surgery.

In the video, Ming Qingfu continued, “Their suffering isn’t just a lack of food and clothing. If I told you, you would surely think I was lying.”

The host said, “Tell us.”

“In the poor mountain areas of the past, some girls would have their toes chopped off by their parents.”

Yun Song suddenly looked up, staring at the middle-aged woman in the video. At that moment, the camera cut to the host’s reaction.

She dragged the progress bar back to watch the segment again. Yun Song noticed that when she mentioned girls in the mountains having their toes chopped off, her eyes and facial muscles twitched involuntarily.

This wasn’t simple empathy for something happening to others.

That was the reappearance of pain that could only come from having experienced it oneself.

Furthermore, Yun Song had spent nearly a year in the mountains and naturally knew that in some places, in order to have a son, people would obtain disability certificates³ for their daughters.

But these girls were extremely sensitive about it. They would almost never let anyone see that they were missing a toe. Yun Song had only discovered it back then because she was a doctor.

Yun Song’s gaze rested on the woman’s face once more.

She remembered that Ming Qingfu’s autopsy report made no mention of this, perhaps because it was an old injury.

Yun Song returned to the morgue under the cover of night. She pulled out Ming Qingfu’s body.

The corpse was mutilated, but the focus had been on the face and hands.

Yun Song saw that this body’s toes were intact, without even a trace of injury.

The image of Ming Qingfu speaking about mountain girls having their toes chopped off remained in her mind.

If Ming Qingfu really had the experience of having her toes chopped off, then whose body was this with the intact toes?

Yun Song remembered that the elderly couple had another middle-aged daughter who was missing.

A suspicion formed in Yun Song’s heart. She called a colleague.

“Run a paternity test.”

“What?”

“Between ‘Ming Qingfu’ and that elderly couple from the Scrap Recycling Station. Do a DNA test for them.”

Yun Song received the results the next day. This result overturned all the previous investigations.

It supported a biological relationship.

The killer murdered the family of three at the scrap recycling station, destroyed the body of the middle-aged daughter, and disguised her as Ming Qingfu?

What was the motive?

Where did Ming Qingfu and her medical student daughter go?

Ming Qingfu’s identity was also suspicious.

She mentioned a mountain girl whose toes were chopped off; she was likely talking about herself. Yet her records stated she was born in the city and had no siblings.

Yun Song was very familiar with the practice of chopping off a first child’s toes just to have a second child.

Because that was exactly how the people of Xinghua Village were.

–

In the spring of 1995, life in Xinghua Village was difficult. Many people in the village had gone to prison. Many of the wives who had been sold there were taken away, and all the bought sons were taken away as well.

The Village Chief had also been arrested. His wife called their youngest son back home.

Then… the youngest son was arrested too.

Back then, the youngest son had treated someone’s illness and ended up killing them. Originally, because the Village Chief was around, the family had accepted some money and let the matter drop. Now that the Village Chief was arrested, the resentment in their hearts resurfaced.

As luck would have it, the youngest son returned. The family immediately went to the nearest police station, and so, the youngest son was also arrested.

None of this had anything to do with Li Qingqing.

In mid-March, Li Qingqing felt a bit nauseous and vomited twice. She thought she might be pregnant.

Upon hearing this, Wu Jie took her to the doctor in the neighboring village for a checkup.

The neighboring village doctor’s house was bustling with activity. It turned out the doctor had built a new house. Everyone was praising his son for being capable, saying he had gone out to earn money for a year and could build a new house upon his return.

There were firecrackers and a banquet.

Li Qingqing saw the doctor, and she was indeed pregnant. The doctor was in a good mood today and insisted she stay for the banquet.

Li Qingqing felt awkward because she hadn’t brought any money or a gift. She was originally unwilling to stay.

Wu Jie said, “You’re being narrow-minded. They were able to build a house and are hosting a feast for everyone just for the sake of celebration. If you go back now, you’re not giving them face.”

This seemed to make sense, so Li Qingqing didn’t refuse and joined the feast.

Indeed, no one asked her if she had given a gift. At the table, everyone was praising the doctor’s son. Wu Jie sat with him, calling him Second Cousin with every breath. The two of them drank quite a bit, making the man very happy.

In reality, Wu Jie wasn’t even a relative. It was just that his cousin’s brother-in-law was supposed to call this man “cousin.”

On the way back, Wu Jie’s face was still red as he chuckled. “Wife, did you hear? Second Cousin said he’ll take us with him when he goes out this time.”

Wu Jie continued, “I’ve been thinking lately. We won’t make anything of ourselves if we stay in the mountains. We still have to go to the city. See how timely this child came? If it weren’t for the baby, how would we have had the chance to see the doctor? It’s clear that we’re destined to strike it rich.”

Li Qingqing’s feelings toward the city were complicated. On one hand, she liked Ming Wen, who was a city person, so she naturally liked the city. On the other hand, city people had come to their village recently and arrested so many people, which left her feeling a bit fearful.

Seeing that she didn’t want to go to the city, Wu Jie said, “How about you wait for me in the village while I go to the city to work?”

Li Qingqing immediately shook her head. “I’m going with you.”

Her parents were in prison, and her close friends Sha Niu and Sha Niu’s Mother were gone. If Wu Jie left too, she would be all alone in the village, which she absolutely did not want.

The next day, Wu Jie went to the town to buy a pack of cigarettes. He also slaughtered a chicken and a duck to bring to Second Cousin.

Second Cousin had only been talking big the day before because he had been drinking. Wu Jie had flattered him relentlessly, and his ego had inflated so much that he couldn’t help saying he would take him out to earn money.

In reality, as soon as he sobered up, Second Cousin slapped himself.

He was looking for an excuse not to take Wu Jie, but then Wu Jie showed up with cigarettes, a chicken, and a duck, speaking very politely.

Second Cousin thought to himself that this kid knew how things worked, so it would be fine to take him along.

And so, Li Qingqing and Wu Jie followed Second Cousin out.

This was Li Qingqing’s first time going to the city. They boarded a bus in the town.

At first, Li Qingqing was excited about going to the city. Soon, however, the bus began to speed along, taking one sharp turn after another. An old man in the back opened a window and started vomiting.

Li Qingqing also felt a wave of nausea. She held it in and asked Wu Jie for a bag.

Wu Jie quickly produced a bag, and Li Qingqing vomited into it.

Second Cousin, sitting in front, heard the noise behind him. He turned around and smiled. “Little Sister-in-law can’t handle the bus. It seems she wasn’t born for a life of luxury.”

Wu Jie said, “Both of us get carsick. It looks like we’ll have to rely on Second Cousin’s help in the future.”

Li Qingqing drank some water and rinsed her mouth. She felt truly miserable and simply leaned on Wu Jie’s shoulder to sleep.

By the time she woke up, they had arrived in the city. Second Cousin kept telling them to stay close.

“There are many pickpockets in the city.”

Li Qingqing finally had a chance to look around. They left the station and walked out onto a flat, wide road. Cars were coming and going everywhere, a sight that made her heart race.

Second Cousin then took them on a bus. Neat rows of buildings and shops began to appear in Li Qingqing’s line of sight. The people passing by were all wearing clothes she would only wear during the New Year…

But soon, they reached the last stop of the bus. By then, it was already dark.

Li Qingqing felt something was wrong. The city… the city she had seen from the bus earlier was more like the city she had imagined. Here, there were hardly any houses, only shacks.

Wu Jie didn’t realize there was a problem at all. He was still talking to Second Cousin, flattering him. Li Qingqing pulled at him twice, but he didn’t look back.

Li Qingqing could only follow along. Finally, they settled down in a makeshift shack.

Li Qingqing frowned. She felt she had been cheated.

That night, they slept in the drafty shack. At first, Li Qingqing only thought she had been tricked and wondered if they had come to the city just to do farm work.

Soon, she recalled the events in the village and the story of Sha Niu’s Mother.

“She was sold here by human traffickers. Those people said they were introducing her to a job, but they ended up taking her into the mountains and selling her to someone as a wife.”

Li Qingqing suddenly felt a wave of fear.

Wu Jie was sleeping soundly beside her. Li Qingqing reached out, and in the next second, she pinched him awake.

“What’s wrong?” Wu Jie woke up groggily. “Do you need to use the bathroom again?”

Li Qingqing whispered, “No. Did you ask where Second Cousin got his money?”

“He said we’ll find out once we get there,” Wu Jie replied. “Do you think this place is too old? This isn’t home, after all. Saving money is the most important thing.”

“No, I’m worried… could he be planning to sell us?” Li Qingqing whispered her concerns.

“What are you thinking? Everyone in our village knows we left with him. If he actually sold us, how could he ever show his face again?”

“Stop overthinking things and go to sleep.” After saying that, Wu Jie laid his head back down and fell asleep immediately.

Li Qingqing’s entire body was tense, her mind filled with the words the police had spoken.

She couldn’t fall asleep no matter how hard she tried.

Then she thought about Wu Jie. If Second Cousin really was a bad person, at least Wu Jie would be there. If Second Cousin and Wu Jie started fighting, she would take the chance to run away.

Li Qingqing felt slightly more at ease, then remembered that she had been away from the city for a long time now.

Thinking of this, her mind drifted to Ming Wen.

Would she ever meet Ming Wen again? After the Immortal Lady returned to the city, was her merit complete? Had she ascended?

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Translator’s Notes

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1. Sky Eye: Refers to China’s ‘Skynet’ (天网/Tianwang), the world’s largest video surveillance network. It uses AI and facial recognition to track vehicles and individuals in real-time for public security. ↩
2. first pot of gold: A common Chinese idiom (第一桶金) referring to the first significant sum of money an entrepreneur earns, which serves as the seed capital for their future business ventures. ↩
3. disability certificates: In the context of the One-Child Policy era, some rural families would intentionally disable a first-born daughter to obtain a disability certificate. Under certain local regulations, having a disabled first child granted a legal permit to have a second child in hopes of birth a son. ↩