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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 168: Oedipus Complex
"Listening to you, Zhou Mengyao was his recognized adoptive sister. With her tragic death, he must be crying," Zhang Ke said seriously, a hint of sympathy in his tone.
"I don't think so. I know Ma Qi too well; he's not the sharpest tool in the shed, completely heartless. He's seen too much to be shocked by this. Even though they were supposed to be adoptive siblings, there's no way he'd shed a tear," Qin Jian replied.
Damn! Is Mortician not human? I cursed silently in my heart and forced myself to open my eyes, scanning the two of them.
"Hey, are you trying to scare me?" Zhang Ke chuckled, adjusting his glasses as he said, "It's fine; I'm heading back to the office."
"You go ahead; I'll stay here for a bit," Qin Jian said, showing no intention of leaving. It seemed he was worried about me!
I looked at the bed I was lying on—it was indeed a Mortuary Table. It was clean, but still, it was a place where the dead lay. Damn these two idiots! Did they think I was dead? That's why they put me on the Mortuary Table?
Then again, it wasn't entirely their fault; the funeral home only had Mortuary Tables available. Were they supposed to bring in a hotel bed? I couldn't help but smile bitterly as I sat up.
"Ma Qi doesn't mind this? When you fainted, you scared us. We were about to take you to the hospital when you woke up," Qin Jian said.
I sat up but still felt dizzy. When Qin Jian came over to help me, I refused, saying, "Come on, I'm not that delicate."
"You're just putting on a brave face! You clearly haven't rested well. By the way, were you crying just now?" This was the real reason Qin Jian stayed behind; he was curious about why I had shed tears earlier. It's common for women to cry, but for men, many consider it abnormal.
Why can't men cry?
Honestly, I wanted to cry.
I wanted to cry for Zhou Mengyao's unjust death, for Spirit Snake's coldness, for Li Gui's treachery and malice, and for the world's indifference.
"You're crazy!" Even though my eyes felt moist, I argued back with a firm tone. "Don't be ridiculous; men don't easily shed tears! Understand? Crying when faced with trouble isn't just a woman's privilege!"
Qin Jian laughed at my seriousness and grinned widely. "You won't turn out to be overly sensitive, will you? Why take it so seriously?"
"No."
Silence enveloped us. After a few seconds, I walked to the door, reluctant to bring up Zhou Mengyao. Qin Jian called out to me, "Ma Qi." I looked at him; he seemed hesitant, shaking his head as he quickly walked over to open the door for me. Then he followed me out.
This was Morgue No. 9.
There were living people—two alive men—walking out of the Morgue, startling the female relatives sitting behind us who were waiting for ashes. They whispered among themselves, their voices still reaching our ears.
"It's for seeing their loved ones one last time."
"Morgue No. 9 had a woman in it; she was sent for cremation."
"So they must be her relatives."
Qin Jian frowned upon hearing this and turned to glare at the gossipers, silencing them instantly. Those who had been talking pretended to be engrossed in their phones.
"How rude."
"This is a place for the deceased to say their final goodbyes to their loved ones; it's normal for them to discuss it," I thought it was nothing serious.
"My only relative is my mom."
An overt Oedipus Complex. I dared not continue joking, fearing it would provoke him, so I simply smiled and fell silent. It was clear that their mother-son relationship was very close, and as someone without a mother, I couldn't help but feel envious.
"I'm sorry."
Qin Jian was also holding back. He ignored me, but his expression softened a bit, no longer darkening his face.
I too refrained from inquiring about Zhou Mengyao.
A Green Corridor stretched out ahead, leading to the exit. Surrounding the corridor were tall Cypress trees, which dominated the landscape. We walked straight into an open area that was divided into several sections.
A parking lot.
A fish pond.
And a temporary leisure area, equipped with artificial wooden benches and flowers. Families waiting for their loved ones' ashes could admire the fish in the pond or sit quietly in the leisure area listening to music. If it weren't for the absence of a crematorium, a Morgue, a makeup room, and a condolence room, along with a two-hundred-meter funeral route, this place would be quite beautiful.
Qin Jian walked quickly and had already reached the side of the station.
Suddenly, I felt an intense chill wash over me, and my body uncontrollably swayed to one side. A faint voice echoed in my ears: “Ma Qi, why don’t you reveal the truth?” Seeing me stagger, Qin Jian rushed toward me without hesitation.
With each step I took, I leaned further to one side. In a moment of panic, I grabbed onto a nearby car for support. When Qin Jian reached me, he looked at my pale face and exclaimed, “What’s wrong with you?” I trembled as I raised my hand to touch my face; it was icy cold, and I must have looked terrible.
“She… Qin Jian… Zhou Mengyao was killed by a giant python.”
Qin Jian stared at me with wide eyes, astonished. “How do you know that?”
“I guessed.”
Clearly, Qin Jian didn’t believe that I could arrive at such an accurate conclusion just by guessing; he fixed his gaze on me intently.
I met his gaze without fear.
His eyes were clear and bright, devoid of any impurities or contamination from the filth of society. In Supernatural Circle jargon, he possessed a pure soul. The power of science is not to be underestimated; Zhang Ke had examined various materials and compared them with the fluids found on the deceased. This was what caused Zhou Mengyao’s body to decompose severely, even turning into a blood skeleton—thanks to an extremely corrosive digestive fluid found only in giant pythons among reptiles.
The presence of giant pythons in a big city was akin to dropping a ticking time bomb into an unarmed crowd. Therefore, the possibility that the deceased had been attacked by a giant python had to be handled discreetly, becoming a bizarre unsolved case left aside for now while the truth was slowly uncovered behind the scenes.
As the main investigator of this matter, Qin Jian took charge while I, Ma Qi, served as his capable assistant.
As things reached this point, I hesitated over whether I should tell Qin Jian the truth. In fact, the giant python no longer existed; it had died just a few moments ago, transforming into a trivial snake after spitting out the Soul Stone.
Qin Jian ultimately lost in the standoff as we exchanged glances. He spoke with a probing tone, "Ma Qi, stop being mysterious. What was that about earlier? You looked like you were about to collapse."
"What's so strange about it? A man's weakness usually comes down to two things: either he's exhausted from too much energy expenditure, or... well, you know, he’s been indulging himself too much."
"Come on, what kind of grown man still does that?"
"Have you never tried it?" I rejected his offer of support. My thoughts drifted to Zhou Mengyao; everything was over between us. I would find her a good grave, and in our next life, we could be siblings again. With that thought in mind, I forced myself to walk toward the car.
Qin Jian's face flushed red, and his bashful demeanor made me laugh. He really was "emotionally clueless."
"Qin Jian, you've never been close to a girl, have you?" This topic had crossed my mind before. Back when I was more sensible, I thought about diving headfirst into a career while casually sleeping with a few women. At that time, I never imagined I would spend my life dealing with the dead. I was a shining virgin then, filled with an urgent desire for a woman's body.
If it weren't for my grandfather's restrictions, I might have actually hooked up with a few girls and left this city behind on a dark night far away from Ma Wu Funeral Home to start anew. But once I left Ma Wu Funeral Home, I would be nothing—my life would be at stake.
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