Chapter 81: Fishing Out Human Fragments
After they entered, the abbot in the center looked at her. "Amitabha Buddha. Patron, what brings you here today?"
"To light a rebirth lamp for a relative." Jiang Li bowed politely.
A young monk at the side immediately handed over a prepared Rebirth Plate and lamp, as if he had known all along she would come.
"This way, please." The abbot invited the two to sit. Yu Huannian took out Yu Shuzhen’s birth characters and handed them to the abbot.
The Rebirth Plate was filled out, the rebirth lamp was set in place, and the abbot even personally recited the Rebirth Mantra.
Jiang Li looked at the abbot, confused. They were complete strangers.
"Abbot, this is..."
The abbot looked at her with a benevolent expression. "Patron, your great virtue is clear, and your karmic rewards will be long-lasting. This old monk has other matters to attend to and will not keep you any longer. If fate allows, we will meet again."
Hearing the abbot’s words, Jiang Li knew she couldn’t press the matter. She led Yu Huannian out and, seeing the sweeper monk at the entrance, said, "Thank you, Master."
The sweeper monk said nothing, only giving her a Buddhist salute.
Jiang Li and Yu Huannian followed the GPS to find Lu Xingye and the others. The location was a resort. By the time they arrived, the group had already set up the racks by the river, and the tent was almost pitched.
"That was fast."
"Mm, I pulled some strings." Jiang Li nodded and walked over to sit down.
Wu Ming nodded at her words. ’Makes sense.’
"You go fish first, then! Leave the rest to us!"
Wu Ming shoved a fishing rod into her hands. Jiang Li looked at the rod, threaded some bait onto the hook, and cast it directly into the water, her mind still on the matter with the abbot.
Suddenly, a powerful force tugged on the rod. She hurriedly pulled back, treating the fishing rod like a club.
"A fish, a fish!"
Lu Xingye quickly put down what he was doing and came over to help.
"It’s fine, take it slow. Let’s tire it out first."
Lu Xingye held the rod, tiring out the fish, while Jiang Li watched curiously as it became faintly visible in the water.
"It’s huge!"
A smile touched Lu Xingye’s lips as he asked Wu Ming to bring the landing net.
Wu Ming came over with the landing net, her hair tied up in a bun.
Yu Huannian snatched it from her, quipping, "Don’t let the fish drag you in."
With a deft move, Yu Huannian scooped up the fish. It was as long as a forearm—they’d be eating well tonight.
Jiang Li quickly let go of the rod and went to have a look. ’Is this what they call beginner’s luck?’
The group sat by the river, fishing, talking, and laughing. With Wu Ming around, the atmosphere was instantly lively.
Jiang Li caught another fish. Seeing they had enough, she stopped fishing. As it got later, the group started a fire, and the mood grew especially warm.
The next day, when Jiang Li woke up, the others were packing. She was sent off to fish.
The moment her hook hit the water, it seemed to snag on something heavy. She gave it a tug; it didn’t feel like a fish.
Afraid the line would snap, she quickly called for help. "Lu Xingye! Xiao Nian! I’ve hooked something! It’s heavy!"
Hearing the commotion, Lu Xingye and Yu Huannian rushed over to help. As a bag broke the surface, Jiang Li’s pupils contracted. It looked just like the bag from her dream—the one used to dispose of the body after the murder.
"Quick, pull it up!"
Yu Huannian jumped right in, dragged the object out, and threw it to the side. He was about to open it when Jiang Li pulled him back.
"Don’t touch it."
Seeing her reaction, Lu Xingye stepped forward and opened the bag. A foul stench hit them, and inside were pieces of rotten flesh.
He quickly took out his phone and called the station.
Soon, Zhou Tiancheng arrived with his team. Qin Shu looked at Jiang Li and greeted her with a smile. "Hey, Jiang Li. Long time no see."
With that, she took out a pair of gloves, put them on, and began to examine the contents of the bag. She picked up a piece and studied it for a moment.
"Based on my initial assessment, this is likely from the abdominal area of a human body. Judging by the degree of decomposition, it’s been about ten days."
Qin Shu continued, pulling the bag open wider to search for other tissues inside.
Zhou Tiancheng immediately had people start dredging this section of the river to see if they could find any other remains.
Wu Ming thought about the fish they had eaten from this river, where a corpse had been soaking, and felt a wave of nausea.
Lu Xingye stepped forward and pointed at the outlet. "You can search upstream from here. If what Jiang Li said is right, the final location should be the lake where the body was dumped after the murder."
Zhou Tiancheng nodded and sent people to investigate upstream.
Miao Anji watched all the police officers arrive and asked Jiang Li, "Sister, are they looking for a body?"
"Yes."
Miao Anji’s eyes lit up. "I can help! My bugs are very good at finding these things."
Jiang Li relayed this to Zhou Tiancheng. He looked at Miao Anji beside her and swallowed hard. ’Is she trying to collect all the pieces of a set or something?’
"Ahem, yes, that would be great. We’ll have to trouble you, young man."
"It’s no problem, Uncle." Miao Anji grinned cheerfully. ’Grandma said I should be helpful and do good deeds.’
He took a beautiful jar from his back basket and opened it. A small bug flew out, and Miao Anji tapped its tiny head.
"Go on, now. There’s a reward if you find it."
Zhao Shuo watched the bug with wide eyes and hurried to follow it. ’Things just keep getting weirder.’
Soon, they found several other pieces of tissue—or dead fish—in the spots where the bug paused.
After a full day of searching, they had found quite a few animal carcasses, but also a good number of the pieces they were looking for.
Miao Anji was happily sipping a milk tea from the city. "Sister Wu Ming, this sweet drink is delicious! Can you treat me again next time?"
Wu Ming puffed out her chest and promised, "You can count on me!"
Qin Shu had someone take the parts they’d found back for identification, while Zhou Tiancheng walked over with a frown.
Qin Shu looked at the remains on the ground, then glanced up at Zhou Tiancheng. "All we’re missing now is the head."
Zhou Tiancheng nodded; he had realized it too. "The body was dumped in a lake. It’s very deep, so recovery might not be so fast."
"Still, for it to have been this many days and no one has filed a missing person report..." Qin Shu shook her head helplessly. ’What a pitiful soul.’
Jiang Li found herself at the police station again. The moment she entered, she saw a spread of food laid out for her, and Zhao Shuo was looking at her with excitement.
To think that after just a few months, the scene was repeating itself.
"I only remember that he was in a swimming pool... pushed into the water and drowned. Then he was put in a bag, thrown into a car... It was a rainy day, and the sky was especially dark, so I couldn’t see the details clearly."
"But it was a convertible, because the wind was freezing. Later, the car stopped, and the killer dragged the bag onto a yacht. He drove it for a while, then started smashing and hacking at the body before dismembering it."
Zhao Shuo breathed a sigh of relief. Jiang Li wasn’t as terrifying as last time; at least now she could distinguish that she wasn’t the one who had done it, and she was much calmer.
"There’s a highway next to that lake, but that area isn’t developed. There are no yachts there. That can only mean the perpetrator planned everything in advance. The yacht was probably rented or purchased," Lu Xingye added from the side.
Zhao Shuo nodded in agreement and had someone check yacht rentals and sales in C City.
"Any other details?"
Jiang Li shook her head. "The two of them must have had a grudge against each other."
"Got it." Zhao Shuo stood up to report the situation to Zhou Tiancheng.
Just as Jiang Li was leaving the police station, a Rolls-Royce pulled up in front of her.