Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Fei continued to share his story. “Maybe I was heavily influenced by my senior master, or maybe I was lonely for too long, but for whatever reason, like I said, I developed a particularly keen interest in embalming the dead bodies.”
He then went on to talk about his stint as an actual worker. “The funeral parlor was no peaceful and idyllic place, either. I would often see the fickleness of human relationships through my work there. Sometimes, there were even disputes between the families of the deceased that caused the deceased to not be buried in a timely fashion. Those cases would require an embalmer to preserve the dead body. That’s why I learned so many things from the senior master.”
Everyone nodded their heads, as he was making sense at least for now. He went on to say, “Later on, when I started killing, I started trying to embalm my victims’ bodies. Slowly, I got addicted to it! Sometimes I even thought it would be great if I could preserve the dead bodies so that they could act as a warning to other people!”
He shook his head, a strange expression filling his face as he spoke. “Now that I think about it, I must have been crazy! But, back then, this stubborn idea of mine meant everything to me. I started reading books, doing research, carrying out experiments… I even spent a lot of money to purchase ingredients! Sometimes, I would even arrange to visit experienced embalmers in other funeral parlors to learn their advanced techniques!”
He smiled in remembrance of that time, then said, “Then, I kept improving my skills. I never thought my skills would actually bring me a decent income! Sometimes, as the dead body might need to be transported on a long journey, the deceased’s family members would hire me to embalm the dead body. They were willing to pay a high price for that too!”
He chuckled again. “Hence, there was a period of time when I had plenty to spare. Actually, I once thought that my embalming skills would be sufficient to turn me into a wealthy man, had I not been a murderer!”
He then shook his head again and said, “However, that was obviously not my fate. I was afraid that I would attract the police’s attention, so I didn’t dare gain too much fame as a legit embalmer. Hence, I never stayed for long in the same place! However, I did manage to save up quite a bit of money, and I even had a car! I wasn’t living on a tight budget like before.”
Then, Li Fei paused and took a few more sips of his Coke. He then continued, “In the blink of an eye, it was already 1998. At that time, I felt a sudden urge to return to visit my old haunts. That was when I drove past Bai Ling…”
As he paused, the suspense in the room heightened. “Although I am not sure if Bai Ling could be considered as my hometown, I did grow up here after all! Plus, I really wanted to know if master and my other juniors were living well, especially Fourth Sis. Of course, it was merely a thought, as I had no idea where to look for them. When I went back to the shop, it had already been abandoned!”
The disappointment could be heard in his voice. “I wandered around the city for a bit, then thought of the old house that was next to the cemetery, where we stayed when we were young. So, I drove over to it. At first, I thought the old house would be rundown after all those years, but when I got there, I saw that it was still in good shape. The door wasn’t locked, and there seemed to be people living in the house!”
His eyes grew wide. “Of course, I didn’t dare knock on the door, but waited patiently in the car until I finally saw someone open the door. Then, I saw… I saw…” Li Fei couldn’t help but started shedding tears as he recalled the memory. “I saw my second junior, Tao Xiang, walk out from the front door, carrying a little girl in his arms!”
He spoke through tears. “It had been so many years. I was so excited to see Tao Xiang again, I quickly got out of the car and ran over! Tao Xiang immediately recognized me, and we both hugged each other and cried our lungs out. In the end, even the child was crying too.”
Suddenly, a soft sob came from behind Wu Xiumin. It had come from Cui Lizhu, whose eyes were red. She was clearly very emotional. Obviously, the little girl that Li Fei was talking about was most likely her!
“When we went out drinking that night, Tao Xiang told me everything!” Li Fei steadied his breathing and continued, “It was only then that I found out all of the things that had happened after I ran away! Apparently, Fourth Sis didn’t know what to do, so she stood guard next to the body until nightfall, when master and Tao Xiang came home and saw master’s wife’s dead body!”
His eyes grew even wider than before as he said, “Fourth Sis followed my instructions and told them that I I killed master’s wife! Who would have guessed that master would have a heart attack, as he got too emotional? By the time Tao Xiang and Third Bro brought him to the hospital, his body had already turned cold!”
He shook his head, then slapped his knee at the irony of it all. “Both master and his wife lost their lives, while their eldest senior and I ran away! That’s why Tao Xiang took care of everything else after I left. They buried master and his wife, then dispersed our thievery ring right then and there, sending everyone on their own way!”
He then got a small smile on his face, thinking of his big bro. “From then on, Tao Xiang started his own journey to become the king of the thieves, slowly gaining fame. Third Bro and Fourth Sis also did well, as Cui Fangyu became famous and started his own company. He even married Fourth Sis, Du Manting, and the two had a daughter!”
He smiled at the irony again. “Who would have guessed that Cui Fangyu, that b*stard, would have gotten himself a woman on the side in Nanjiang? In the end, when Fourth Sis was on her way to catch him in the act of adultery, she got into a car accident and passed away!”
He shook his head. “Cui Fangyu, that b*stard! If he hadn’t already died in prison later on, I would never have let him off!” Li Fei clenched his teeth.
He was such a scrawny person that he looked so harmless. No one would have ever guessed that he was a brutal serial killer!
He then said, “The worst part was that the shameless mistress found Cui Fangyu to ask him for money. She even kidnapped Fourth Sis’ daughter! Tell me, how could I just let her off the hook?”
He shook his head. “Tao Xiang told me that, when Cui Fangyu’s daughter was kidnapped, it happened to be around the same time that he was under police investigation. So, he found Tao Xiang and asked him to help look for his daughter! As Fourth Sis had died, Tao Xiang was naturally sad and angry, too, so he promised Cui Fangyu he would help.”
As Li Fei spoke, it was as if he could see the characters he was describing right in front of him in real time. “But, by the time Tao Xiang found his daughter, Cui Fangyu was already behind bars! But, Cui Fangyu was different from us, as he had a family. So, Tao Xiang went to see him and expressed his intention to pass Cui Fangyu’s daughter to her grandparents, but Cui Fangyu wouldn’t let him. In the end, he knelt before Tao Xiang to beg him…”
Everyone was leaning in, wanting to hear what Li Fei would say next! “Cui Fangyu said that he owed a lot of debts in the outside world, and he shared that he had a lot of enemies. So, if he were to pass the daughter to her grandparents, it would definitely ruin her life! So, he begged Tao Xiang to look after the child for him until he got out of prison, when he would then take the child back! Tao Xiang had no choice but to agree to the promise! Not long after that, however, Cui Fangyu committed suicide in the prison!”
“What?” Even though Cui Lizhu had clearly heard his words, she couldn’t help but gasp and exclaim in surprise. She then asked, “Didn’t Cui Fangyu die because of sickness? Why would he have committed suicide?”
Li Fei stared at her, as he was a bit startled by her outburst. He didn’t understand why the female police officer would get that emotional. He took a closer look at her, then continued, “At that time, Tao Xiang told me that Cui Fangyu was healthy, so what sickness would kill him? Tao Xiang felt the same way, so he investigated the issue further and found out that he had really committed suicide! He felt regrets regarding how his actions had affected Fourth Sis, so he hung himself!”
He shook his head, remembering the sad situation. “As a prisoner committed suicide in the prison, the prison security guards were afraid that they’d be seen as being responsible for his death, so they reported that he died of an illness instead. It ain’t anything strange, as that kind of stuff happens all of the time in the big house!”
Li Fei shook his head and said, “Humph, as that b*stard was irresponsible, he deserved it! But, the woman who caused Fourth Sis’ death, she couldn’t be allowed live… So, after I bid farewell to Tao Xiang, I went to Nanjiang directly to look for that woman.”
Li Fei stared straight ahead and said ferociously, “Then, I did it my way… I took care of her!”
