Chapter 4: Unfathomable Memories

Xia Wuyou agreed to Su Tianmu’s request, even though she knew the situation ahead would be deeply uncomfortable. Still, she mustered her courage and accompanied him back to the police station.

With the forensic pathologist as their guide, they entered the morgue together. Despite her best efforts to prepare herself mentally, Xia Wuyou instinctively hid behind Su Tianmu as soon as they stepped inside.

The stinging scent of disinfectant, mixed with the unique odor emanating from the corpses, assaulted them the moment they entered. Even with a mask, it was almost unbearable.

“The first body has only one wound—a fatal blow to the back of the head with a blunt object,” the pathologist explained, pointing to the victim of the mountain village robbery and murder, tracing with his hand the approximate location of the wound.

He then turned to the next body. “This man’s leg was broken before he died. He was thrown into a water vat and suffocated. Because his lungs were filled with water, we know he was still alive when he was dumped in.”

“Alright, thank you,” Su Tianmu said after the pathologist finished detailing the cases, then asked him to leave. The coming moments wouldn’t be easy for anyone to endure.

“Are you alright? Do you need a moment?” he asked Xia Wuyou, concerned for her well-being.

She was already beginning to adapt to the environment. Approaching the first corpse, she examined the face closely. Though it was expressionless and deathly pale, Xia Wuyou felt something different emanating from it.

She reached out and gently touched the back of the deceased’s hand. Suddenly, a stream of shifting images flashed before her eyes, as if she were watching an old film, scene after scene unfolding in succession.

Through her eyes, it was as if she saw from the victim’s own perspective, experiencing fragments of his sensations.

“What did you see? Did you find anything?” Su Tianmu hurried to her side, gripping her arm, worried she might be in danger.

“I think I saw something, but I’m not sure. I don’t know what connection the victim has to the people in those scenes,” Xia Wuyou replied quietly, raising the hand that had touched the corpse.

“Unlike before, I didn’t feel the terror of the victim’s final moments. Instead, I saw a group of children roughhousing at school. I don’t know what it means.”

It was the first time she’d experienced such a sensation, as if she were an observer drifting through someone else’s memories.

She approached the second body and, as before, placed her hand on the back of the deceased’s hand.

As expected, a similar vision appeared, but this time the scene was different. She saw two children fighting. One seemed to have a disability in his leg, and the other was relentlessly mocking and kicking the injured limb.

The setting appeared to be a restroom. After kicking him, the bully forced the other boy’s head into a sink full of water. Xia Wuyou could hear the desperate struggles and pleas for mercy.

“You’re saying what you saw was all children?” Su Tianmu asked in puzzlement.

“Yes, it’s strange. Neither of the victims appeared in the visions, and I can’t see how these events connect to their murders,” Xia Wuyou replied, deeply confused. It was the first time she had so clearly felt the images the dead wished to convey, as though she had stepped into someone else’s recollections and watched as a bystander.

“Alright, let’s go outside for now,” Su Tianmu said, taking her by the hand and leading her out of the morgue.

As soon as Xia Wuyou stepped into the corridor, she tore off her mask and drew in a deep breath of fresh air.

No matter how prepared she was, the environment and atmosphere in there were always nerve-wracking and uncomfortable.

“I think these must be their memories,” Xia Wuyou said, turning toward Su Tianmu. Her petite frame, barely over five feet, looking up into his tall, athletic gaze, made for an almost comically adorable contrast.

If only they were somewhere scenic instead of outside a morgue, how lovely the scene would be.

Su Tianmu looked down at her, moved and impressed by her efforts. Unable to resist, he reached out and patted her head affectionately, as if praising a child.

“You did well. I think what you found is important. Let’s go back and sort everything out, see if we can find any links to the case.”

Without waiting for her reaction, he took the still-dazed Xia Wuyou by the hand and led her out of the police station.

It was truly a touching sight—one rarely seen amid the usual tension and severity of the precinct.

After Su Tianmu escorted Xia Wuyou home, he had barely settled into his chair to catch his breath when the station’s renowned beauty, Xiao Miao, drifted over with her usual elegance.

“Well, well! Word is our iron-faced heartthrob has finally blossomed! Winter’s only just begun, yet I can already feel spring in the air!” she teased, laughing.

Such a scene had never occurred before. To be caught in such a moment at the station, Su Tianmu could hardly expect to be spared.

“Alright, Princess Miao, give me a break. I’ll treat you to coffee another time,” he replied, his cheeks tinged with embarrassment.

Meanwhile, young Wang, who had never witnessed such an event, stood agape, his mouth hanging open in astonishment.

The phone rang abruptly.

“What are you doing? Answer the phone!” Su Tianmu shot Wang a look, signaling him to focus on his work.

“What? Another murder?” Wang’s words instantly put Su Tianmu on edge, his eyes fixed on the young officer, eager to learn more.

Yet another homicide.

This time, it had occurred in the duty room of the city’s central hospital.

During the morning shift change, the incoming doctor discovered that the night-shift physician had been killed in the duty room.

When Su Tianmu and his team arrived at the hospital, officers from the nearest substation had already secured the scene.

Preliminary analysis indicated the victim had been drugged into unconsciousness, then killed by a large syringe driven through the carotid artery, causing massive blood loss.

The room was spattered with blood—a gruesome and horrific sight.

Because it happened late at night, there were few people moving through the hospital, so the victim was not discovered immediately.

The security footage revealed nothing suspicious, except for a glimpse of a patient in a hospital gown, walking with a cane past the duty room. For now, his identity remained unknown.