Chapter 193 Sixth Sense

The stairwell was somewhat dirty and messy, the walls mottled, the lightbulb broken; everything spoke to the age of this apartment building.

Even during the day, the light inside was poor, dim and gloomy. If not for the many migrant workers who chose to rent here, it would be perfect for filming a horror movie.

"Why are you so invested in this?" Lawyer An asked from behind.

"Nothing else to do anyway. When I come across something interesting, I just want to lend a hand."

Boss Zhou's answer was honest. For those who knew him well, this was indeed a correct explanation and response.

Even a salted fish,

occasionally flips over.

"That's right, a little exercise is good for the body. Actually, Boss, you could sign up for a gym class. That way, your whole demeanor could change and become different from before."

Lawyer An had already begun to learn the art of indirect persuasion.

"I used to be a doctor. I treated many patients who had physical problems due to improper or excessive exercise."

"You're just arguing for the sake of arguing."

"I'm not. In ancient times, people worked at sunrise and rested at sunset, 'exercising' all day long, eating a lot of coarse grains, and breathing fresh air with little pollution, but they rarely lived past fifty."

Lawyer An was stunned for a moment,

then shook his head and said, "Medical conditions are different."

"See, that's you arguing for the sake of arguing."

The two chatted as they went up another flight of stairs,

and then,

they both stopped.

The smell of blood,

very faint,

but definitely there!

A human's nose certainly can't compare to a dog's, but the human body is much more complex than a dog's. This might be the sixth sense developed through individual experiences.

Not the blood of chickens, ducks, or livestock,

but the blood of a human,

faint,

and a little sweet.

"It's ahead," Lawyer An said.

"Looks like we've found the right place."

Even facing a possible murderer, there was nothing to be afraid of. The murderer was indeed perverted, with a twisted sense of humor in his evil deeds, but Boss Zhou and Lawyer An had both seen their fair share of things and naturally wouldn't be intimidated by him.

The two walked to a door, which was closed.

Zhou Ze used his fingernail to pick the lock, then pushed the door open.

The smell of blood immediately became stronger.

The living room was spotless, everything arranged in perfect order. A thermos with goji berries steeping in it still had lingering warmth on the coffee table.

After walking inside, Zhou Ze first pushed open the bathroom door, as the smell of blood was emanating from there.

A male corpse lay in the bathtub, arms hanging limply over the sides, head resting against one end, completely naked.

The scene reminded Zhou Ze of the world-famous painting "The Death of Marat."

"There's another one here, a woman."

Lawyer An pushed open the door to the inner room. The female corpse lay on the bed, hands crossed over her chest, hair neatly arranged and spread out around her.

"Heh, you really guessed right." Lawyer An took a step back and looked at Zhou Ze. "Boss, you've got talent."

With a dead person in front of them,

they still had the mind to joke around.

You can't accuse Lawyer An of disregarding life,

because Zhou Ze beside him also seemed very calm.

Welcoming and seeing off countless souls, seeing too much of life and death, one becomes detached and indifferent.

"Where's the killer?"

As Zhou Ze asked, he took out his phone. When he dialed Zhang Yanfeng's number, the phone indicated that Officer Zhang was on another call and couldn't be reached.

Somewhat helpless, Zhou Ze walked to the window and pulled open the curtains.

Below,

there were many police officers.

For a moment,

Zhou Ze wasn't in a hurry to call down to the police,

but instead turned to look at the thermos on the coffee table behind him.

Just now,

was the killer also standing here with that thermos, watching a group of police officers busy with his trivial affairs?

He really guessed right.

Zhou Ze picked up a stool from the floor and threw it out the window.

There was a "crash,"

and the police officers below collectively looked up.

Old Zhang, who was on the phone, was also stunned. He looked up and saw the boss behind the window of a room on the fifth floor of the apartment building.

Zhou Ze smiled at Old Zhang, turned around, and left the window.

Zhang Yanfeng immediately reacted, shouting to his subordinates,

"Go to that room, hurry, hurry! Also, Li Yan, take another team to seal off that apartment building immediately, quickly!"

"Middle-aged men have no choice, goji berries in their thermos."

Lawyer An lowered his head and looked at the teacup on the coffee table.

"He doesn't seem to have run away," Zhou Ze said.

"Indeed, he doesn't."

Saying that,

Lawyer An raised his head and said, "I remember, there's a rooftop, right?"

…………

Indeed, there was a rooftop. When Zhou Ze and Lawyer An walked up, they saw an old man in cloth shoes leaning against the railing not far ahead.

Hearing footsteps, the old man turned his head and looked at Zhou Ze and Lawyer An, somewhat puzzled. "Police?"

The old man didn't seem alarmed.

Zhou Ze guessed

that before the two of them came up,

the old man was watching the police officers busy at work. While climbing the stairs, they even heard the old man's intermittent laughter.

He found it interesting,

this was his fun.

"We are soul-reaping ghost messengers."

Lawyer An replied.

"Heh, embarrassing."

"......" Lawyer An.

Zhou Ze moved half a step to the side. He also felt that Lawyer An's playfulness just now was a bit embarrassing.

The old man held a cigarette in his hand, exhaled a smoke ring, and said, "I'm old, and I'm no longer useful. But don't think it's because you police are so capable that you caught me.

I just wanted to play one last game, cough cough cough..."

The old man coughed heavily, then continued to laugh, "I'm dying, liver cancer, terminal. I don't have many months left, but I always felt like something was missing.

Everyone still doesn't know that I did the case sixteen years ago, that's too bad, right?"

Zhou Ze slowly walked forward, while Lawyer An stood still.

"They all say I'm old, and my children嫌弃(xiàn qì - dislike; complain about) me for being old, think I'm a burden. Yes, I'm old. Before, when I killed people, I could just force myself on them directly.

Now, I have to use drugs, tsk tsk."

Zhou Ze continued to walk forward.

"When people get old, they become useless, and they feel meaningless, she's the same."

Saying that,

the old man's gaze flickered downwards.

"Is it the old woman who sells newspapers?" Zhou Ze asked.

"Yes, she was talking to you that day, wasn't she?" The old man grinned. "That night, I took her tricycle back to her house and helped her change a light bulb. On the way, she told me that two people were looking for something on that road that day. She asked what they were looking for, and those two people replied that they were looking for meat.

She told me it as a joke.

Then, I told her about the case sixteen years ago, and then asked her, do you believe that the murderer is me?

She said she didn't believe it.

This old geezer of mine, you can't get a fart out of me with eight sticks, and I'm bullied to death by my son and daughter. How could I dare to kill someone?

Then,

to prove it to her,

I killed her."

Zhou Ze tilted his head slightly and said, "Was she your sweetheart?"

"Well, sort of. She sells newspapers here every night, and I meet her here. Her son wouldn't let her find someone again, and my two children at home wouldn't let me find someone again.

She said I was cowardly, and she was right, because I didn't dare to argue with my children."

Zhou Ze finally walked in front of the old man, less than a meter away.

"I let her wait for me on the road to the Yellow Springs first, and I'll be there soon. You guys came too early. I thought I could still see the stars tonight."

The old man was a little regretful,

he raised his head,

looking at the blue sky at this moment.

"I can still play one more time before I die, I'm very happy. By the way, little policeman, have you ever killed anyone?"

Zhou Ze didn't answer.

"You haven't, have you?" The old man laughed "hehehe," "You're too young, you don't understand the feeling of killing someone. After you kill a living person, they're actually no different from a pig on a cutting board, really, no different.

When I cut them up, I felt like they were standing next to me watching me, accompanying me.

A wandering soul, are you afraid?"

Zhou Ze shook his head.

"You're lying. Who wouldn't be afraid of ghosts? And you haven't even killed anyone."

"Sixteen years ago, my wife just passed away, I was so lonely, so lonely, I just wanted to find someone to accompany me, the house was so deserted, not like a home.

So I went to kill people,

because I thought,

if I killed them,

their wandering souls would keep following me,

they would keep cursing me,

cursing me for not getting retribution.

That would make me feel warm, make me feel like someone was accompanying me all the time, this feeling, is really wonderful."

"Uh... in fact, there aren't any ghosts in your house."

"Bullshit! How could there not be! You say there aren't any?

Heh,

I know,

you young people, especially you policemen, definitely don't believe in ghosts in this world, I understand."

Zhou Ze nodded.

The old man suddenly braced himself with both hands, kicking his legs off the ground, and flipped sideways over the railing.

He's,

going to commit suicide!

Yes,

from killing the old woman to disposing of the body afterwards, he didn't consider his escape route at all, because he didn't want to live anymore, and he couldn't live anymore.

The reason why he committed another crime after sixteen years was because he thought it was fun, wanted to play one more game in the last period of his life.

At the same time,

he was unwilling for his masterpiece sixteen years ago to be unknown.

The old man jumped freely and decisively, looking at the sky, he seemed to see the old woman standing next to the tricycle in front, waiting for him to go to the Yellow Springs together.

She would still ride in front,

and he would still sit behind, letting her carry him.

"Now you know, I wasn't bragging, ha... huh?"

The old man was stunned,

his shoulder was grabbed from above by Zhou Ze, and his whole body was suspended in the air, not falling down.

"Let go of me!"

The old man shouted.

Zhou Ze shook his head,

"That won't do,

if you die like this, I feel like you're getting off too easy,

that would be so boring."