Chapter Seventy-Two: The Human Skin Skeleton

"Shanshan, what are you doing here? Is there another case?" Fu Yang greeted her directly as he saw her approaching.

To his surprise, Zhao Shanshan didn’t answer his question. Instead, she stared at Qin Mei, who stood beside him, for a moment before smiling and asking, "Fu Yang, who is this beautiful lady? I don’t recall you ever mentioning her before."

He couldn’t say why, but though Shanshan’s smile seemed no different from usual, he felt a chill run down his spine, as if a small animal had suddenly found itself under the gaze of a predator.

Before he could respond, Qin Mei stepped forward and introduced herself. "Hello, Officer. My name is Qin Mei. I’m Fu Yang’s classmate." As she spoke, she extended her hand.

"Zhao Shanshan, Deputy Captain of the Jiangcheng Police Department’s Criminal Division."

A campus beauty and a police beauty—their hands clasped, their gazes meeting with a slight, knowing smile.

Fu Yang shuddered involuntarily, suddenly overcome with the urge to make a hasty retreat from the two women.

"Well, um, Shanshan, Qin Mei and I won’t hold up your work. We’ll be off now."

"Hey, there’s no need to rush off!" Zhao Shanshan clearly had no intention of letting him slip away so easily.

"It’s a homicide, and a rather troublesome one. I just called Old Huang. Since you happened to come by, you can help out as well. Don’t forget, you’re still holding our temporary detective credential!"

Fu Yang remembered then that when he’d investigated the Zhenhui Silk Factory, both he and Old Huang had been given temporary police IDs by Jiangcheng Police.

But then he realized something and asked in surprise, "A case in the botanical garden serious enough to require Old Huang? Could it be…"

"That’s right! There’s a strong possibility it’s that sort of case, so we need Old Huang and you to help investigate. Which means your lovely classmate may have to head back on her own for now..."

Zhao Shanshan smiled at Qin Mei, making it clear that Fu Yang needed to assist the police and Qin Mei should leave first.

But Qin Mei replied with a charming smile, "Since Deputy Captain Zhao and Fu Yang know each other, wouldn’t it be awkward for me to leave by myself? Could I possibly tag along and have a look as well?"

Zhao Shanshan didn’t answer, but a nearby officer, eager to join the conversation, interjected that generally, police investigations didn’t allow unrelated persons on the scene.

"It’s fine, Xiao Ming. If Miss Qin Mei wants to observe, let her. With Fu Yang and Master Huang here, it shouldn’t be a problem."

Hearing the deputy captain’s approval, the officer could only nod in agreement.

"Why do I sense the smell of gunpowder in the air... What’s with these two women? Neither has a confirmed relationship with me; we’re just friends. Is this rivalry really necessary?" Fu Yang began to seriously consider what Old Huang had told him. If Dong Weike truly had any feelings for him, and saw these two beauties...

When the King of Ghosts is angered, the world is turned upside down!

Fu Yang felt his legs growing weak.

The three of them crossed the police cordon and entered the Hundred Trees Garden.

This was the largest section of the whole botanical garden, filled with all kinds of trees. It was reminiscent of the university’s forest preserve, but much livelier, better designed, and clearly a man-made landscape. The forest preserve already looked like an untended natural woodland...

"Just an hour ago, two visitors in the botanical garden discovered a corpse here. Or, to be precise, not exactly a normal corpse... The state of the body is extremely horrifying!"

Horrifying? Was it dismembered?

But even if it was just dismemberment, plenty of deranged killers have done that. That didn’t necessarily mean anything supernatural was involved.

Zhao Shanshan glanced back at Qin Mei. "By the way, I should warn your beautiful classmate, Fu Yang—the scene may be more than some people can handle. Perhaps she should stay back..."

"No need, Deputy Captain Zhao. I have a strong constitution. Didn’t the police say before that there were demon cultists trying to kill me and refine my soul? And it’s broad daylight—what’s there to fear from ghosts?"

Seeing how determined Qin Mei was, Zhao Shanshan’s lips curled into a faint smile and she gestured ahead.

"It’s over there. Let’s go have a look together."

"Deputy Captain! We’ve checked again—there are no traces of any kind near the victim. It’s very strange."

Zhao Shanshan nodded in acknowledgment.

A few steps further, the victim came into view.

Only then did Fu Yang understand why Shanshan had used words like “horrifying” and “bizarre”, and why she had called Old Huang.

Because lying on the ground... to be precise, it wasn’t a corpse...

It was a human skin, a human skin wrapped around a skeleton!

It lay on the grass, smeared with some sticky, unidentified liquid. Inside were stark white bones, outside, a complete layer of skin. The sight was genuinely shocking.

Qin Mei’s face turned deathly pale in an instant, her eyes wide and unblinking.

The next moment, she spun around and ran to a nearby tree, clutching the trunk as she retched violently...

She vomited for quite a while, until her breakfast was nothing but a memory, and then continued to dry heave.

Clearly, the scene had horrified her.

Zhao Shanshan seemed almost disappointed, grinning at Fu Yang. "Your beautiful classmate overestimated her courage, it seems."

For some reason, Fu Yang felt there was a hint of mischief in that smile—like a playful child who’d just pulled a successful prank.

"Damn... Could Shanshan have done this on purpose to embarrass Qin Mei? Women... especially beautiful women..."

Fu Yang shook his head with a wry smile.

Fortunately, Zhao Shanshan meant no real harm. Seeing Qin Mei so frightened, she told an officer to look after her and even brought her some bottled water to rinse her mouth.

The two turned their attention back to the skin-and-bone remains.

"So, all the victim’s flesh, tendons, organs—every soft tissue—are completely gone. Only the outer layer of skin and the skeleton remain?"

"That’s right. When the body was discovered, it was exactly as you see it now. The forensic team used every standard investigative technique, and found no wounds on the skin. In other words, all the flesh and organs inside vanished into thin air. And it’s so clean, the bones are pure white..."

At this, both of their eyes flashed with a chill.

It was obvious—no ordinary human could have done this.

Only supernatural forces could be at work.

After all, Zhao Shanshan was no ordinary officer. She’d witnessed firsthand the strange events Liu Mengshu had orchestrated, alongside Fu Yang and Old Huang, and the case was still unresolved. They were still in a tense standoff with Liu Mengshu, waiting for her next move...

Fu Yang glanced around, stepped in close, and lowered his voice.

"Shanshan, do you think it’s possible? Could this be the work of that demonic Liu Mengshu?"

"I really can’t say. When it comes to Taoist spells or demonic arts, I’m completely in the dark. We’ll have to wait for Old Huang to have a look."