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Living Funeral
Gao Ling stood by the window, cursing, "Damn it, don't let me catch you. Otherwise, I'll teach you a lesson in no time."
I looked at the words on the paper, and once I regained my senses, I called out to Gao Ling. The note mentioned something about a hidden compartment behind the bookshelf. Was this a reminder for us?
At that moment, I felt both anticipation and a growing sense of unease.
After reading the note, Gao Ling quickly sprang into action.
Old Wang's study had five or six bookshelves, all against the wall by the window. I didn’t pay much attention and walked straight to one of the wall-mounted shelves. The design of this load-bearing wall was somewhat peculiar; it was quite thick.
I pushed the bookshelf aside.
Gao Ling didn’t find anything over there either. After I moved the shelf, I knocked on the wall with my hand. The hollow sound echoed back quickly, and I called out to Gao Ling, "Over here!"
Gao Ling hurried over.
He began searching for something, and I asked him, "What are you doing?"
"Of course I'm looking for a mechanism! Isn’t that how they do it on TV?" Gao Ling replied.
I was at a loss for words. Without further ado, I exerted a bit of force, and the wall pushed open easily. Gao Ling stared blankly for a moment before saying, "You found the mechanism!"
I couldn’t be bothered to explain that there was no mechanism at all. Once the wall was pushed aside, a one-and-a-half-meter-high entrance appeared. However, it was pitch black inside, accompanied by a musty smell wafting out. I turned on my phone's flashlight.
Gao Ling remarked that he had sensed something was off with his uncle for a long time, but he never expected there to be such a hidden mechanism.
At that moment, he couldn't help but make a sarcastic comment about his uncle.
I turned on the flashlight on my phone and stepped inside, with Gao Ling following closely behind. Once we entered, we discovered a set of stairs hidden within. We descended about one and a half flights of stairs, and I concluded that we must be in a basement now.
As we reached the bottom, a musty odor grew stronger, mingled with the unmistakable stench of decay.
I covered my mouth and nose, while Gao Ling exclaimed in disbelief about what his uncle was up to. He was shocked to find such a space underground.
I felt around for a switch and turned on the light. The bulb was an old-fashioned one, casting a dim yellow glow that barely illuminated the area. However, as soon as the light flickered on, both Gao Ling and I gasped in horror.
In the corner of the room lay a coffin, its lid resting on the ground—clearly it had not been closed.
The foul smell intensified as I approached, and I quickly began to wonder if there was a body inside the coffin…
As I got closer and finally peered inside, an icy chill ran down my spine. The corpse within had nearly turned into a mummy.
The beam from my flashlight illuminated the body even more grotesquely…
The corpse was dressed in a Zhongshan Suit, with the bottom two buttons undone, exposing skin that had shriveled up completely. The face… that face was particularly horrifying; the cheeks were sunken in entirely, and although the eyes were open, the pupils were gone.
The skin was severely aged and dry, devoid of any moisture. Yet there was still hair remaining, making it all the more unsettling. But why was there a body here? Could it be that Old Wang had committed murder and disposed of the body here?
Gao Ling leaned in for a closer look and quickly let out a terrified scream. I urged him not to scream like that.
Gao Ling was still in shock, breathing heavily as she tried to calm herself down and take a closer look.
I asked, "Is it possible that your uncle killed someone and dumped the body here?"
Gao Ling replied, "I don't know!" From her response, it was clear that she didn't fully trust her uncle. She stepped forward again, glanced at the body, and suddenly gasped.
I thought she was about to scream again and quickly tried to stop her.
But Gao Ling suddenly said, "Fei, something's not right! The body in this coffin looks like my uncle..."
Her words left me stunned. How could that be possible? Gao Ling seemed anxious too; the fear that had gripped her moments before vanished, and she began rummaging through the pockets of the corpse. Soon, she pulled out a few items.
Among them was a photograph of her and Old Wang, both smiling brightly.
Gao Ling held up the photo and said, "This was taken three years ago during the Spring Festival... three years ago..."
I murmured to myself, pondering for a moment before asking, "When did you first notice something was wrong with your uncle?"
Gao Ling replied, "Just in the past few days."
Suddenly, I felt that something was off as well. Gao Ling continued searching, and after a while, she looked lost and said, "This really is my uncle!"
She quickly lifted the mummy's hand and explained, "My uncle always had poor circulation, so he suffered from frostbite. Because of that, he had a large scar on the back of his hand." Following her words, I looked at the back of the hand. Although the skin was dry and brownish, the scar remained.
As I examined it closely, I indeed saw a scar. My heart raced with unease; could it be that Old Wang was truly dead?
Who is the old man now? At that moment, I noticed that two buttons on the Zhongshan Suit were unbuttoned. It was because his belly was too big, which caused the buttons to be unable to fasten.
This is truly a conspiracy... a huge conspiracy... I felt a chill creeping up my spine, and my palms were sweating profusely.
Gao Ling suddenly exclaimed angrily, "No wonder I always felt something was off about my uncle; it turns out he has been in trouble for a long time, and the current uncle is just an imposter."
Gao Ling was right; Old Wang must be the imposter...
Time passed slowly, and neither of us spoke. In this dark, damp environment, we remained silent.
Gao Ling suggested calling the police.
I replied, "It's better not to call the police now. Reporting it would be like stirring up a hornet's nest; it would make it difficult to catch the murderer later."
Gao Ling's emotions were unstable; suddenly, she cursed, "That son of a bitch murderer! If I catch him, I will tear him to pieces." I knew Gao Ling was just venting her anger; after all, this was a murder case from long ago! Investigating it now would be quite challenging. Although we didn't know the exact time, the body had already decayed significantly, indicating that quite some time had passed.
Gao Ling asked me to help lift the coffin lid. However, when we raised it, we discovered two words written underneath: Hurry Up...
As expected, the words were written in blood, but the stains had already turned black.
Hurry Up... Who was supposed to hurry up? Could it be that someone was still at the murder scene back then...
After closing the coffin again, Gao Ling sighed and said, "Uncle, rest in peace. I will definitely catch the murderer and make him pay for his blood debts. May this bring you some comfort in your spirit."
I echoed her sentiment, saying, "Safe travels."
As they were leaving, Gao Ling knelt down and bowed once more. After stepping outside, Gao Ling called his "uncle," but the phone indicated it was turned off.
I wondered if that crumpled piece of paper had been thrown to me by Zhang Xun. After all, Zhang Xun had previously mentioned that Old Wang had issues, and now throwing the paper at me might have been a hint. Director Wang had been dead for quite some time, yet no one in the museum seemed to have noticed.
Or perhaps they had noticed but chose not to speak up. Could it be possible that from the very beginning, they were all in cahoots? This theory was bold, but it seemed highly plausible!
What I never expected was that Director Wang had been impersonated...
After exiting the room with Gao Ling, I offered my condolences. Gao Ling replied, "Brother Fei, you must help me find the murderer who killed my uncle!" I assured him I would do my best.
It was becoming increasingly clear that Old Wang was involved in something sinister, while Zhang Xun appeared to be relatively innocent.
By the time Gao Ling and I left the building, it was already nearing afternoon, but an unsettling feeling continued to linger in my heart.
At that moment, Gao Ling suddenly received a phone call that changed his expression dramatically. Before I could ask what was wrong, he said, "It's bad news; Hua is in trouble."
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