Chapter 9: Difficulty in Distinguishing Life and Death

  Twenty strong and robust young security guards, each holding wooden sticks, iron shovels, pickaxe handles, bricks, and kitchen knives, followed me in a fiery manner into the Ghost Market.

  Fellow travelers, of course, include Wu Xing, Zhang Meng and Bai Yang.

  As we entered the Ghost Town, I observed again at the 'gate', under the stone bridge there was a natural tunnel 'cave', in which flowed babbling brook water, these mountain spring waters were all flowing out from inside the Ghost Town, gathering into small lakes, and I was standing on an artificially created small bridge.

  "Police brother, we're all ready, let's go." Security team leader Liu Yingxiong was tall and strong, with a fierce aura, and was said to be Liu Yafang's older male cousin.

  "Hmm..." I didn't notice anything wrong, but where did those goldfish on the water surface go? Were they all scared to the bottom of the water by us? And what about this water level...

  "Police brother, don't be afraid, we'll take down the black boy, spilled several bowls of black dog blood, even ghosts will die from it, no mistake, follow Hero Brother and do it, nothing to fear......" These security brothers are hot-blooded, indeed have a strong momentum, different from those ordinary workers who do their jobs well in my impression. This is the charm of a leader, I suppose.

  "Alright, let's go. Everyone split into two groups and remember to stick close to the walls." I didn't want to bring up any tense topics to scare everyone, while also reminding them to avoid danger.

  Liu Yingxiong organized the lineup and loudly shouted: "Right face, forward march, right turn, quick march!"

  We immediately entered the ghost market with twenty-four people in a row.

  In just a few minutes, we arrived at a secluded uphill location and saw Zhao Hongshan's coffin shop. Since we had just borrowed a coffin cover to carry someone earlier, I took a special look this time.

  "Huh? Zhao Hongsen, right? There's danger in the Ghost Market now, why aren't you getting out to hide?" I was shocked to see that forty-something guy still sitting on the coffin board, staring blankly upwards with a dull gaze, not moving an inch from head to toe. In this somewhat eerie place, it was truly terrifying.

  Luckily there were a group of brothers around me, otherwise I would have been scared to death by him!

  Hearing my call, Zhao Hongsen's empty eyes looked over: "I'm already dead, what danger am I afraid of?"

  What's wrong with this guy?

  "Officer, let's just ignore him and go." Liu Hero and a group of security brothers were all somewhat intimidated by this person and wanted to hurry me along.

  However, as a police officer, I couldn't just leave; the place where I was investigating cases couldn't have any more casualties or incidents.

  "Zhao Hongsen, it's very dangerous here, you must come with us. I absolutely won't leave you behind alone." My tone was firm and unyielding. If he didn't go, I would call my brothers to drag him away if necessary, no matter what, we couldn't leave him here by himself!

  "Hmm..." Zhao Hongshen shook his head and smiled wryly: "I don't have anything to do with this, following you guys will probably be the real danger."

  "What does it mean?" I stepped forward with large strides, staring straight at him: "You know something, spit it out quickly!"

  At this time, Zhao Hongshan jumped down from the coffin and beckoned with his hand: "Old Wu, come over to help."

  He actually ignored my question, which really made me lose face. In this ghost market, I wore the high-ranking police uniform of the criminal investigation team, with three stars on one shoulder, and no one dared not to give me face.

  Wu Xing quickly stepped forward and pulled Zhao Hongsen for a few moments, and the two of them actually lifted out a sturdy large fishing net from a red wooden box!

  Not bad, a very sturdy fishing net, each line is as thick as a finger, the 'holes' in the net are the size of a baby's fist, and the material is like silver thread, crystal clear and tough.

  Zhao Hongsen carried a fishing net and walked over, giving me a strange smile: "You're not bad for a little cop, let's go."

  After he finished speaking, he and Wu Xing led the team forward, while Liu Yingxiong and a group of brothers looked at me.

  "Keep up with them." At this time, I had no choice, the team absolutely could not be separated, and I also had to urge Zhang Meng and Bai Yang to walk on the inside.

  We almost returned by the same route and came back to Xu Jia sisters' small dock, the lights occasionally dimmed a bit, except for being a little scary, it was also considered stable.

  Looking up at the direction of the crane, there is still a damaged small submarine hanging above, with things scattered all over the place, and it seems like there is a smell of blood...

  Zhao Hongsen went to the control room, skillfully found the gate, and the crane roared as he was going to move the submarine onto the receiving platform at the small dock.

  "The light flickered on and off again, and watching the movements of those two people, I somewhat understood: 'Hero, you take five brothers to help them hang up the net. The rest of the people will follow behind, turn on their flashlights, be careful and vigilant, and prepare to respond at any time.'"

  Everyone unfolded their work in an orderly manner, Zhao Hongshan and Wu Xing obviously wanted to turn this fishing net into a trap to capture the ghosts that might exist or might not exist at all.

  At this time, I felt a little uncomfortable in my heart. This Zhao Hongshen seemed to understand more than me. The most hateful thing was that his reckless aura completely defeated mine!

  "Zhao Hongsen, what's with you always sleeping in a coffin?" I opened the conversation by asking, if it were someone else, I would have added "are you watching too many vampire movies?", but facing him, I thought better of it.

  Zhao Hongsen asked while hanging up the net: "Young man, why did you become a policeman?"

  Ginger is still spicy, he countered me with a car: "I am a forensic doctor. For the living, death is always an profound mystery, a password that cannot be cracked, and my existence is to crack the mystery, provide strong evidence, and make the sky clear again. This is a meaningful thing."

  Zhao Hongsen nodded and said: "I'm an old carpenter, specializing in making coffin boards. By the way, what's a forensic doctor?"

  What's going on? If this continues, it won't work out. I guess I'll have to say more and then he'll be too embarrassed not to speak up later.

  "The dead cannot face the living to recount their painful death experiences, so the dead and the living are separated by an invisible but real chasm. In this world, only forensic doctors can fill in this chasm, decipher the code of death, make the dead speak, find powerful evidence through 'dialogue' with the dead, expose suspects, and bring justice to the dead. This is forensic medicine."

  "Ah~" Zhao Hongsen finished hanging the fishing net, and his gaze finally turned to me: "Specializing in talking to dead people, young man? What did you see on me?"

  Ugh... He's asking questions again, and as usual, it makes me a bit angry: "You're a living person, not a dead one, okay?!"

  "Hehe~" Wu Xing and Zhao Hongsen both laughed.

  At this time, Wu Xing spoke up and said: "Chuan Jie, Old Zhao often says that there is no difference between the living and the dead. Although this statement is somewhat heretical, it's not entirely unreasonable. You can observe everything about a dead person, so why can't you do the same with a living person? Can't you distinguish his true nature from his ever-changing facial expressions?"

  "These... two old slippery ones, what they said really makes sense. Why did I take him as a living person? I took him as a dead person, looking at it from a forensic doctor's point of view."

  I walked around Zhao Hongsen and said after a moment of thought: "There's nothing unusual about you from head to toe, except for the ring on your nameless finger shining brightly. It seems that something has happened to your wife, you're here in person, but your soul is always with her. Your eyes are filled with calmness and fearlessness, but judging from your execution, you have an unforgettable attachment, and this attachment is right here at this small dock?"

  Clap, clap, clap! Zhao Hongshen applauded, although the sound was not loud, but his expression revealed a hint of agreement: "You use this kind of gaze to judge people, things, and matters. At the same time, remember not to tie everything up too tightly, because when you focus on finding the culprit, you will miss many clues. Looking back, it's not just one person, but many people, because everyone makes mistakes."

  "...", after listening, his brother was stunned.

  Not to mention me, even Wu Xing, who was working on the side, collapsed: "Old Zhao, I haven't been back for a 'long' time, what's going on here?"

  "Nothing much, everyone get ready, put that piece of pork 'bait' up there." Zhao Hongsen prepares the final 'lure' phase.

  At this moment, I fell into deep contemplation.

  What did I miss from a forensic perspective?

  Bai Yang, a simple little girl, the mole's hole is her own paradise.

  Wang Wenlu has a pair of curious eyes, Noah's Ark is his life.

  Kong Xiangdong offered a reward of one million for cracking the case and vowed to avenge his wife's death.

  Zhao Ye, a rough and simple man who likes fishing, surprisingly enjoys listening to songs and appreciates the beauty of small bridges and flowing water.

  Yan Feng, net worm youth, loves cleanliness, advocates heroism.

  They are normal from inside out, but if they were considered dead, I'm afraid anyone would be - riddled with holes!

  "What's wrong with you, bad guy?" Zhang Meng suddenly interrupted my thoughts.

  "What's going on? I'm analyzing the case." I tried to pick up where we left off earlier and broaden our line of sight.

  "Hey! You're going to tear your clothes again, stop scratching!" Zhang Meng spoke up again with a concerned tone.

  I came back to myself and only then did I stupidly discover that the left shoulder was unbearably itchy, while my right hand had formed a cat's claw shape, scratching hard.

  "Don't move!" Wu Xing suddenly shouted loudly, the old man quickly ran over and pressed down on my hand, tearing open my shirt to take a look.

  Why is everyone staring at me?

  I lowered my head and took a look, on the left shoulder there were small red dots, some of which I had scratched until they bled, it didn't hurt, only felt refreshing!

  "It's indeed a dirty thing." Wu Xing took in a breath of cold air: "Chuan Jie, your allergic symptoms are the same as those of the deceased Li Muhuan. How did you 'manage' this?"

  "Ah... Ah..." My mind suddenly lit up, and I exclaimed: "It was that black shadow! It jumped out of the water and rushed towards Xu Na. I managed to grab Xu Na just in time and turned around to avoid it, but it collided with my shoulder. Look at this spot on my clothes, and there's even a water stain that has dried!"

  "Hmm~ Where did this monster come from?" Zhao Hongsen grasped the trap's rope, sat cross-legged on the shore, with an air of indifference.

  Where did it come from?

  Zhao Ye!

  Zhao Ye, he's the one in charge of guarding the 'gate'. With something like this coming in, he's naturally suspicious. I said every time I passed by the Ghost Market 'gate', I felt something was off, it turns out the difference lies here!

  "No way, I'll go and catch him right now!" I was anxious in my heart, that guy had a thick face, he's actually a bad person, don't let him get away!

  However, Wu Xing suddenly grabbed me: "Chuan Jie, let the bullet fly for a while, first catch the dirty thing and then talk, I think you'd better go get some 'medicine' first."

  "There is at home." Bai Yang hastily said: "My little mole's 'cave' has 'medicine', all kinds of allergy."

  "Go, go get the medicine, can't delay." Zhang Meng was very nervous, which made me feel a bit pleased in my heart.

  At this time, Liu Yingxiong stepped forward and said: "I'll take a few brothers with you, in case something happens on the way."

  "It's unnecessary." I turned around and faced the distance: "A bunch of monkey kids, stop hiding, all come out!"

  Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~ Twenty or thirty web worm troops appeared, each equipped with exquisite iron swords, iron knives, and battle axes, much stronger than our equipment!

  Only one of them was missing Yan Feng, it seems that Liu Yafang's work is still okay.

  "Hey~" The blond-haired young man laughed and said: "Detective, is there anything you'd like to instruct us? Just give a shout to us brothers."

  "That's right, let the evil demons know the power of our unity. If they don't obey, come out and compete with us, see if we won't kill them in an instant...... These kids may be noisy, but they've livened up this gloomy ghost town a lot. For the first time, I feel that they're still valuable, at least to Bai Yang."

  I took a look at the calm water surface and turned back to say, "You guys follow me for a trip, take the 'medicine' quickly and come back, Uncle Wu, Zhao Hongshan and Liu Yingxiong, this place relies on you, we will be back soon, everyone be careful."

  "Alright alright alright~~~~"

  I am unbearable with boils and have to go get some medicine?

  No, I came to the mole's 'cave', wanting to take a look at that legendary tunnel with eight exits, and by the way, take out the air discriminator to verify something I didn't even believe myself...