Chapter 118: A Temporary Conclusion

Early the next morning, Liu Sheng drove his car with Ren Xiadong, then picked up Fang Po and Mu Jin. With a surge of excitement, they headed toward Wen Gua’s home, for Liu Sheng was confident that today he would put an end to this serial case.

Wen Gua lived in a villa district in Chong City. While not as luxurious or upscale as Liu Sheng’s own home, it was quite pleasant; the entire neighborhood consisted of two-story detached houses. When Liu Sheng’s Audi A6 pulled up to the gate, Wen Gua and Lin Chi were already waiting outside to welcome them. The four of them stepped out, shook hands with Wen Gua, and were led inside.

Once inside, they noticed Wen Gua’s collection of artifacts displayed everywhere, and they were immediately struck by the overwhelming scent of perfume.

"Did your wife knock over a bottle of perfume while doing her makeup? It smells incredibly strong in here," Mu Jin remarked. As a woman, she was highly sensitive to the scent, whereas Liu Sheng and the other men had noticed it but hadn't realized what it was.

"My wife is ill; she went back to her parents' home to recover. I sent her there last week," Wen Gua replied.

Liu Sheng quickly activated his heart-reading ability, connecting to Wen Gua’s heart, and asked, "What kind of illness does your wife have?"

"She was in a car accident and is now in a vegetative state," Wen Gua answered, his voice devoid of energy.

Liu Sheng heard nothing anomalous in Wen Gua’s heart. He probed further: "At least she’s still alive."

Although Wen Gua hesitated for a moment, he replied, "Yes."

Liu Sheng still detected nothing out of the ordinary. Not knowing how to proceed with the questioning, he simply followed Wen Gua to look at his porcelain collection, while Fang Po and Mu Jin used various excuses to search the house.

An hour passed, and Liu Sheng could no longer keep up the act. Fang Po and Mu Jin returned, and their silence told Liu Sheng they had found nothing. Frustrated, Liu Sheng asked directly, "If there were a way to restore your wife to health, would you be willing to try it?"

"How could such a method exist? If it did, there would be no more people in vegetative states in this world," Wen Gua said with a smile.

*What a formidable man,* Liu Sheng thought to himself. *Either you aren't the killer, or you are a criminal mastermind!*

Coming up empty-handed, and to cover the true purpose of their visit, Liu Sheng purchased a piece of porcelain from Wen Gua’s collection for over three million yuan. On the way back, sitting in the passenger seat, Liu Sheng remained silent, feeling deeply unsatisfied.

"Liu Sheng, it seems you were truly wrong this time," Mu Jin said.

Fang Po added, "We’re back to square one with no leads. It’s infuriating—how can we not crack this case?"

Mu Jin then made a seemingly trivial observation: "That perfume is expensive. His wife isn't home, so why would a grown man have perfume around? Especially in the study—that’s where the scent was strongest. Do you think Wen Gua is a pervert?"

Liu Sheng’s mind raced. *Wait. Lin Chi said Wen Gua was devoted to his wife. When I asked about a cure, he should have been eager to hear it, not so indifferent. And the perfume—a man wouldn't wear women's perfume, and even if a bottle broke, it wouldn't be in the study. Why all these signs?*

As they neared the police station, Liu Sheng suddenly shouted, "Turn around! Go back to Wen Gua’s house!"

"What’s going on?" Fang Po asked, baffled.

Ren Xiadong, who believed Liu Sheng to be a superhuman, didn't hesitate. He trusted him implicitly and followed his command immediately.

On the way back, Liu Sheng explained urgently, "Something is wrong. When I mentioned a cure, he was too calm. And a man wouldn't have perfume in his study. These signs suggest there is a hidden room. The site for the ritual and the 'half-dead ghost' must be inside. The 'half-dead ghost' is his vegetative wife—she fits the description perfectly. He isn't seeking the 'Three Corpses' life-extension ritual to save her; he’s doing it to save himself. He has a terminal illness that no one knows about except for the hospital. If he succeeds, no one will ever suspect him because no one knows he's dying!"

"But if his wife is the 'half-dead ghost' and she eventually disappears, how will he explain it?" Mu Jin asked.

"Who would notice a woman in a vegetative state?" Liu Sheng replied. "If she never appears again, no one will suspect a thing."

By the time they reached the villa, Wen Gua had already left for his antique shop.

"Breaking and entering is a serious crime. We can't go in without a warrant," Fang Po warned.

Liu Sheng ignored him. He was determined to solve the case, and having come this far, he was going to see it through. He kicked the door open with a heavy thud. "If I’m right, you take the credit. If I’m wrong, I’ll take the blame!"

Since the door was already open, Fang Po rushed in first, saying, "If you're wrong, we'll share the blame. You’ve got plenty of money—I doubt anything serious will happen to us!"

The four of them tore through the study, but after ten minutes of searching, they found nothing. Liu Sheng leaned against the window, desperately trying to figure out where he had gone wrong. Fang Po walked over and said, "It’s okay, we’re brothers. We’ll face whatever comes together."

Liu Sheng smiled. "I’ve always thought there was nothing I couldn't do. It seems I’m not really cut out for detective work."

"Don't say that. You’re at least better than me; you’ve solved plenty of things," Fang Po comforted him.

Liu Sheng pulled out a cigarette. As he went to light it, the flame flickered toward the wall, as if caught in a draft. Liu Sheng looked at the closed door and the tightly sealed windows. In such an airtight room, there shouldn't be a draft. He looked toward the direction of the airflow, where a bookshelf stood flush against the wall.

"There’s a breeze. There’s a hidden room," Liu Sheng said.

Ren Xiadong noted, "We’ve searched everywhere, but we didn't find any door or mechanism."

Liu Sheng signaled for help moving the bookshelf. Once it was pushed aside, they found nothing but a solid wall. Liu Sheng pressed his face against the wall, moving back and forth until he stopped. "Wen Gua is truly a genius. He made the door look like part of the wall. But where there’s a door, there’s a seam, and no matter how small, air can pass through." He pointed to the spot. "The door is here!"

He searched for a mechanism but found nothing. He backed away, trying to think like Wen Gua. He bumped into the desk, nearly falling, but then paused. He walked back to the desk, trying to lift or move it, but it was bolted to the floor. He pulled out the drawers and, in the empty space, found a piece of rope. He pulled it, and the hidden door rose up.

A foul stench wafted out.

"If I'm right, we're about to find Wen Gua's wife," Liu Sheng said, leading them inside. He froze, his eyes wide as he beheld the scene.

Fang Po followed and shared his reaction, while Mu Jin and Ren Xiadong immediately doubled over to vomit.

The hidden room was dark, illuminated only by two candles on a table. In the center sat a bronze vessel for rituals and tattoo tools. A pattern identical to the one on the arms of Youyou and Sister Lei was drawn on the floor. The walls were covered in grotesque paintings of spirits and demons, and the floor was stained with blood and corpse oil. Hanging from the ceiling was a body, decayed to the bone.

"This is Wen Gua’s wife, the 'half-dead ghost'," Liu Sheng said quietly.

Fang Po added, "Everything you guessed was right."

Beside the corpse were strips of white cloth, all inscribed with the same words: *I love you, please forgive me. You must surely want the one who lives to be me.*

Mu Jin and Ren Xiadong were paralyzed with terror, sitting on the floor after having retched until they were dry. Fang Po was used to murder scenes, and while shocked, Liu Sheng was not afraid.

Later, Fang Po called in a forensics team and ordered the arrest of Wen Gua. Before the police arrived, Liu Sheng quietly pocketed the bronze vessel. He had promised to retrieve it, and he intended to keep his word.

By 4:00 PM, the investigation was complete. On the way back, Ren Xiadong and Mu Jin were still shaking from the horror. At the station, Liu Sheng insisted on joining the interrogation.

Facing them was a man with a bloodless face: Wen Gua. Knowing the game was up, he confessed, "I did it all for the 'Three Corpses' ritual to cure my cancer and achieve immortality."

He explained: The ritual required three female corpses. The first was his wife, who was already a "half-dead" vegetative patient. The second was Youyou, whom he met on a dating app. He seduced her, learned of her family troubles, and used the "tattoo" as a ruse to lure her into a fake suicide attempt that went wrong when she actually drowned. The third, Sister Lei, was a high-spending client he lured to a meeting, beat unconscious, and left in an abandoned factory to starve.

Wen Gua pulled up his sleeve, revealing the same ritual mark. "My wife and I loved these legends. We met because of this very myth. We tattooed these marks to commemorate our love."

"If you loved her so much, why not use the ritual to save her instead of using her to save yourself?" Liu Sheng asked, his voice trembling with anger.

"She was paralyzed. If I died, she could never complete the ritual," Wen Gua replied. "I asked for her consent. She cried, and she agreed. My wife only ever cried when she was moved by something."

Wen Gua then asked, "Youyou’s death looked like a suicide. How did you figure it out?"

Liu Sheng replied coldly, "Because Youyou’s hands were tied behind her back. A person cannot do that to themselves. And if Sister Lei hadn't been discovered, we might have actually labeled Youyou’s death a suicide."