Pretty idiots are born to be played with and ruined by their husbands.

Chapter 38 Corpse Dissolution to Immortality

Inside the interrogation room.

Zhou Gangxun lowered his eyes and counted the time on his fingers: 10:40.

In the novel, on the night of his accident, his wife was having sex with her lover.

The two of them were entwined and sighing on the bed in the rented room, while he lay helplessly and desperately on the cement floor of the construction site.

In my mind, I pictured his slutty wife, sweating profusely, rolling off another man, her raw, white flesh swaying back and forth, calling her lover "husband" in a coquettish voice—it was sickeningly nauseating.

Damn it.

Zhou Gangxun's hand, resting on the armrest, throbbed with restless veins. How should he punish his slutty wife?

Chop it up and feed it to the dog? But... even the dogs think it's dirty, it smells pungent.

Or throw it into the pigpen as pig feed.

Pigs are omnivorous; as long as the meat is fresh, they will eat even their own kind without hesitation.

Or, buy the rental apartment you're currently living in, and then seamlessly integrate him into the walls of the apartment...

Buy a bigger one; his flirtatious wife likes to live in big houses.

His chest was built in the bedroom, his buttocks in the bathroom, and his limbs were buried in the cement of the living room entrance.

A smile appeared on Zhou Gangxun's cold, hard lips. His tense body relaxed and he leaned back. However, he should keep his wife's head and place it on the bedside table to use as a masturbation aid.

Just then, the interrogation room door opened. "Zhou Gangxun, you can leave now."

……

After Zheng Dayou's idea popped into Liang Youwei's head, he began to repeatedly watch the video.

But after more than ten attempts, I still didn't see the double pupil phenomenon that A-Yi mentioned.

It's likely a visual distortion caused by issues with the lighting and angle of the surveillance video.

He turned off the video and pulled up details of the case of Zheng Dayou, the serial killer who cooked corpses in 92.

"Zheng Dayou was arrested by the police on July 10, 1992, during his last crime."

According to information provided by the police, the last victim in the serial murder case was a 20-year-old male KTV hostess who had illegally immigrated from the mainland to Hong Kong and worked in the sex industry.

"The perpetrator Zheng Dayou confessed to his crimes without reservation, and in his confession, he mentioned, 'The sweetest and most delicious food I've ever eaten was that of a man who looked as beautiful as a woman. I could tell just by the smell that his flesh was divine. Thinking about it now, I still can't forget it. It was truly worth being caught and executed.'"

"He was terrified the moment he saw me dismember him. He couldn't even speak. Tears streamed from his beautiful eyes, filled with horror and despair... He cried and said, 'I'll let you sleep with me, please spare me.'"

"But what I want is his flesh... What's the use of him begging me to sleep with him, hahaha—"

"I stabbed him in the stomach with a knife, like killing a fish, and gutted him—"

Finding no further useful information, Liang Youwei began searching online for information related to Zheng Dayou. In Hong Kong, there had been many reports about this heinous case back then.

Some analyses focus on his criminal psychology, others on his childhood...

Suddenly, Liang Youwei's gaze was drawn to a headline: [Cannibal Zheng Dayou Commits Multiple Crimes, Perhaps Seeking Immortality?]

This is an interview report from the port city back then, which mentioned: Zheng Dayou said, "Eating meat can make you an immortal, live forever... and make your mortal body separate from your soul."

Becoming an immortal... achieving eternal life... immortal flesh...

Immediately, Liang Youwei compared the birth dates of the four victims from that year with those of the three victims in this case.

"Captain, I've discovered something."

Liang Youwei called Ye Yongzhao over, clicked the mouse, and brought up the organized document. "I just put the birth dates and times of the victims in the 1992 case and the victims in these 2002 cases into the astrological chart, and it turns out that they are all showing the year, month, and day of the Yin year..."

「1971年9月20……1973年3月13……这些全部都是。」

"Furthermore, in an interview, he said that eating meat could make him an immortal..."

Ye Yongzhao frowned deeply. "Eating meat makes you an immortal?"

Based on the newly acquired information, Liang Youwei continued his speculation, "Previously, we always thought he chose attractive, young men as his targets, but is it possible that this is the real reason for his choice?"

"Captain, do you think these cases that happened in Fucheng might all be... the ghost of Zheng Dayou? Otherwise, how could they be exactly the same as his crimes from ten years ago in terms of method and details? Copycat crimes can't even be carved with the exact same marks on bones."

Ye Yongzhao crossed his arms, took a deep breath, and exhaled a stale air. "There's no concrete evidence for any of this. Do you think the higher-ups would allow you to close a case with such a terrible social impact using this conclusion?"

"Besides, there is no such thing as becoming an immortal by eating meat; it does not conform to Taoist ethics."

A-Yi, who had just finished processing Zhou Gangxun's signature and left, came over and joked, "Captain Ye, I didn't know you knew metaphysics."

"I don't understand, but I know a troublemaker who does," Ye Yongzhao said, taking out his phone and making a call.

Yang Siyan, who was setting up a stall under the overpass, answered the phone while reading palms for people. "Hello, you want me to tell your fortune? I don't do serial cannibalism murders. The causes and effects of such murders are complicated, and the blood and evil spirits are too heavy. If you do a fortune reading, you will have trouble for three years. It is extremely easy to suffer backlash, which will harm your own fortune and lifespan, and even endanger the safety of your family."

"Uncle, you haven't forgotten, have you? You and I are related by blood."

"I'd rather forget, then I wouldn't have to bail you out by other police officers in different districts." Ye Yongzhao rubbed his head, looking troubled. "I need to ask you about something. In your area, is there any talk of becoming an immortal by murdering, dismembering, and eating the flesh?"

"So there really are people in this world who want to become immortals." A voice came from the other end of the phone, a sound that was hard to decipher, perhaps a hint of doubt or sarcasm. "What do you mean by 'on our side'? It's like you and I aren't on the same side, but down below."

"There's no such thing in the orthodox tradition, and I don't associate with anything unorthodox either. But there is a saying that goes, 'If you don't eliminate the five vices, it's hard to enter the gate of immortality.'"

"Taoism believes that becoming an immortal requires undergoing tribulations to eliminate karma and sins. So, based on your question, there is a kind of unorthodox practice, but the focus is not on sharing food, but on having others take on the bad karma in place of others, so as to undergo tribulations and ascend to immortality."

"The five vices of greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt require the killing of those who commit the corresponding evil deeds, and one must also have a birth chart that is purely Yin or Yin in nature."

"Can an ordinary person become an immortal like this?" Ye Yongzhao frowned even more deeply and looked serious at this alarmist statement. "Zheng Dayou's information does not contain any background or experience related to Taoism."

"Some Taoists believe that those with double pupils can become immortals, and Zheng Dayou has double pupils, but he only killed four people. According to the five karmas, unless..." The person on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, then continued, "he counted himself as the fifth person to complete the final karma, and then through execution, he achieved immortality through corpse liberation."

"team leader."

Ayi opened a document and synced it to the computer in front of Ye and Liang. "I asked the people in Gangcheng for some of his observation reports in prison."

"This includes his physical examination report before his execution, which showed that the cancer cells in his body were extremely advanced. He should have died long ago, or been seriously ill and bedridden, but he did not show any of the signs that a cancer patient should have."

In the early stages of the investigation, Zheng Dayou was only considered as a murderer imitated by the existing case's killer, so his past was not investigated excessively.

"I traced back further and found his earliest medical record in the port city, which was in June 92. At that time, he was diagnosed with a rare cancer and had to go to the hospital for long-term instrument treatment."

Ayi retrieved the hospital's registration records. "Zheng Dayou went at first, but then the frequency dropped to once a month, and eventually he stopped going altogether, only getting his medication."

"However, at the same time, in September 92, Zheng Dayou was seen in the photos of the victims who participated in a gathering of a cult pyramid scheme that was busted in the port city. This is a photo of him at that time."

As A-Yi clicked the mouse, a photo popped up on the screen. It showed a man who was emaciated, with a sallow complexion, and was terminally ill. He could barely stand and looked as if he would fall over with a gust of wind.

It's hard to connect him with the strong, tall man Zheng Dayou who was arrested in December and was able to easily dismember several male victims.

Upon hearing that Zheng Dayou had cancer, Yang Siyan said, "This should be the reason why he committed a series of crimes in less than a month around December 1992. There is also a saying in Taoism that serious illness tempers the mind, is a life-or-death ordeal, and opens the gate to immortality."

"But if what you said is true..." Ye Yongzhao looked at Zheng Dayou's pathology report, "Since he's become an immortal, why is he still working on cases?"

"So I think he probably failed the last time."

Yang Siyan on the other end of the phone thought for a moment and said, "So now we want to complete the final ascension ceremony before the ten-year deadline, which is the day he is executed by firing squad."

Liang Youwei immediately went to confirm the execution time. "Zheng Dayou's execution date is July 29, 1993. Today is the 7th, so there are still nine days..."

"..." There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, followed by the sound of copper coins being tossed to the ground. "Comrade, didn't I tell you that these things should be calculated according to the lunar calendar?"

"June 11th, that's tonight."

The last victim died on July 20, 2002.

Location: Room 806, Building 12, Sunshine Community.

……

10:30 AM, Room 806, Building 12 (rental apartment).

Ruan Zhijuan was fast asleep when she suddenly heard a soft, tentative clicking sound coming from the door lock.

With a final click, the door was pushed open, and someone entered.

"Tap, tap, tap," the footsteps gradually approached, then stopped.

A brief silence fell over the room. Ruan Zhijuan, who was asleep, felt a phantom pain on his scalp that he couldn't ignore. He raised his hand to touch it and then went back to sleep.

Two bulging, murky human eyes were fixed on the top of his head.

Its four eyes darted around.