I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 31: Chapter 29: Two People

Forensic Center.

Autopsy Room.

Yan Cheng and another forensic examiner were conducting an external examination of the body.

Su Miaoyi stood to the side, trying to actively trigger a vision.

But ten minutes passed, and then twenty.

She even touched the deceased, but still saw nothing.

Yan Cheng said, ”Time of death is between thirty-six and forty-eight hours ago.”

The other forensic examiner took notes.

Su Miaoyi did the math.

Last Sunday. According to Cheng Jue, Shi Tianyu had disappeared on Friday afternoon.

”The body was buried ten to twelve hours after death,” Yan Cheng said.

Su Miaoyi watched Yan Cheng, listening to him speak.

The family had not consented to an autopsy.

So they could only perform an external examination.

”He was in a fight before he died,” Yan Cheng said. ”The fatal wound is on the left side of the chest; it pierced the heart. The weapon...”

Yan Cheng measured the wound and had the other examiner make a detailed record.

Su Miaoyi watched Yan Cheng’s movements.

Suddenly, the scene before her eyes changed.

She saw a boy in a school uniform being held from behind by a pair of arms.

The boy struggled furiously, kicking the person in front of him.

The arms holding him from behind didn’t let go.

After being kicked, the person in front took a knife and stabbed it into the uniformed boy’s chest.

It was a very brief vision.

Su Miaoyi suddenly took a step back.

Yan Cheng looked up at her. ”Feeling dizzy?”

Su Miaoyi shook her head, took two steps forward, and looked at the wound.

The clothes had already been removed from the body.

But it had been clothed before arriving in the autopsy room.

She recognized it—it was the Jinghai First Middle School uniform.

That’s what she had seen in the vision, too.

She looked at the wound, then back at Yan Cheng. ”May I touch it?”

Yan Cheng stepped back half a pace, gesturing for her to proceed.

Su Miaoyi touched it, but no other visions appeared.

She frowned, took a few steps back, and then really did start to feel dizzy.

The small amount of blood around the wound... once she processed it, she started to feel faint.

Yan Cheng took off his gloves and steadied her. ”Are you all right?”

”I’m fine,” Su Miaoyi said, blinking.

Yan Cheng helped her out of the room first.

Su Miaoyi sat down on a chair.

After Yan Cheng finished up, he went back to his office and brought her a bottle of water.

Su Miaoyi took a couple of sips.

”Feeling better?” Yan Cheng asked.

”Much better,” Su Miaoyi said. ”It’s just a spell. Once it passes, I’m fine.”

”Your hemophobia works in a peculiar way,” Yan Cheng remarked, sitting down one seat away from her. ”You aren’t dizzy at first glance. It only hits you after you process it or someone points it out.”

Su Miaoyi sighed softly, leaned back in her chair, and stretched out her legs. ”At this point, I’m no longer surprised by any of the strange, absurd, or illogical things happening to me.”

”You have a high capacity for acceptance and a strong tolerance. You accepted this situation quickly, without fear or any mental trauma,” Yan Cheng said. ”Zhuang Yanzheng and I have discussed it. When you see these visions, most of the time you share all five senses with the victim. You experience being killed, over and over. It’s terrifying, and it’s agonizing.”

Su Miaoyi gripped the water bottle in her hand, squeezing it gently. After a moment, she looked at Yan Cheng. ”But it gives the dead a voice, and it brings the killer to justice.”

Yan Cheng looked at her beautiful, bright eyes.

Her voice was even, as if she were just making small talk.

Yet it conveyed a sense of resolve.

His eyelashes fluttered faintly.

Su Miaoyi said, ”You chose to be a forensic examiner for the same reason, didn’t you?”

Yan Cheng didn’t reply.

”It is agonizing, and it is terrifying,” Su Miaoyi said, looking at him. ”Thank you.”

After saying her thanks, she suddenly raised a hand to wipe away nonexistent tears. ”Finally, someone who understands me, who empathizes with me.”

Yan Cheng: ”...”

Su Miaoyi went back to normal. ”Sorry, I was just so moved.”

Yan Cheng looked at her, unsure of what to say next.

He felt that she didn’t seem particularly moved.

”I meant every word,” Su Miaoyi said. ”I really was moved.”

Yan Cheng nodded, indicating that he believed her.

Su Miaoyi nodded back and said no more.

Just as the two were sitting in silence, Zhuang Yanzheng arrived.

Su Miaoyi immediately stood up and looked at him.

”No need for such a warm welcome,” Zhuang Yanzheng said.

”How did it go?” Su Miaoyi asked.

”Cai Ke says he never went to the amusement park, that the witness is framing him, trying to mess with him.” Zhuang Yanzheng looked annoyed. ”He also claims he never saw Shi Tianyu, and moreover, that he doesn’t even know him.”

”And then?” Su Miaoyi frowned.

”Then I came out. We haven’t released him yet. He’s screaming to see his lawyer,” Zhuang Yanzheng said. ”Let him scream. He’ll quiet down when his throat gets sore.”

”But I really did see him,” Su Miaoyi said.

”I know,” Zhuang Yanzheng said. ”Cai Ke is too composed. The way he answered the questions, it felt like he already knew what I was going to ask, like he’d answered them many times before.”

”He anticipated the questions and prepared the answers,” Yan Cheng said. ”He rehearsed.”

Zhuang Yanzheng nodded. ”When I mentioned the details about him being at the amusement park, he paused for a few seconds. He probably never expected that someone would see him digging a hole there.”

”So what do we do now?” Su Miaoyi asked.

”We really didn’t find anything on the surveillance footage, and we don’t have any solid evidence at the moment,” Zhuang Yanzheng said. ”He brought up the cameras himself, which means he’s confident they won’t find him on them. If we don’t have hard evidence in twenty-four hours, we’ll have to let him go for now.”

Su Miaoyi said nothing.

’It was just a vision I’d seen. No one else could see what I saw. It wasn’t hard evidence. They might even see me, the ”eyewitness,” as unreliable. After all, it was all just my side of the story.’

”What about you guys? Any leads?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked, sitting down on the bench.

The way he sprawled out was a stark contrast to Yan Cheng, who was sitting perfectly upright on the other side.

Yan Cheng stood up and handed Zhuang Yanzheng the records he’d made. ”These are the results of the external examination. The test results for the other samples we collected aren’t back yet.”

Zhuang Yanzheng glanced at it. ”Buried more than ten hours after death? The killer returned to the scene?”

Yan Cheng nodded.

Seeing that they had both fallen silent, Su Miaoyi raised her hand.

Zhuang Yanzheng looked at her. ”Yes, little student, you may speak.”

Su Miaoyi lowered her hand.

’Student is one thing, but ’little student’?’ she grumbled internally, then said, ”I just saw another vision. Just a little snippet.”

Su Miaoyi recounted the vision she had seen in as much detail as possible.

”Three people?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked, puzzled. He exchanged a look with Yan Cheng.

Su Miaoyi nodded. ”I didn’t see any of their faces. I only saw their arms and hands. But both the arms holding the victim from behind and the hand holding the knife looked young. They weren’t wearing school uniforms, but they seemed to be around the same age as the deceased.”

”So the killer and the burier were two different people,” Zhuang Yanzheng said.

Su Miaoyi didn’t say anything.

’So, after Shi Tianyu died, I saw Cai Ke burying the body through the corpse’s perspective.’

’How bizarre.’

...