I had Huang Xiaotao drive the car to our school first, then I went back to the dormitory to grab some things before getting in the car. Seeing me carrying a handbag, Huang Xiaotao curiously asked, "Aren't you bringing your precious umbrella?"
"Don't mention it, I damaged it and didn't bring it this time."
When capturing Bai Ye, I had hastily swung my red umbrella at him in a moment of panic, and the umbrella surface must have hit Bai Ye's fangs, chipping off a small piece. I was heartbroken about it.
Morticians have no fighting capabilities at all. The Broken Prison Gods only mentioned one type of self-defense powder that morticians can throw at criminals' faces during emergencies to make them faint. The effect is similar to being hit by a slapstick, very low-class. This is a helpless measure.
Of course, not all of my ancestors were powerless like me. Some worked as catchers at the Six Doors, and were all highly skilled. The catchers focused on grappling techniques to subdue enemies. Song Buping, who was once known as the best catcher across Guangdong and Guangxi, integrated the strengths of various martial arts and wrote a book called "Song Family's Thirteen Dragon Catching Palms". I've seen this book in my grandfather's collection, but I was born with no interest in studying martial arts.
After all this, my point is that I'm useless in fights!
On the road, Wang Dali lay sprawled on the back seat, tossing and turning, randomly kicking his legs and forcing Wang Yuanchao into the corner. Wang Yuanchao held a flat silver flask, taking sips from it occasionally.
Seeing this from the rearview mirror, Huang Xiaotao angrily said, "Wang Yuanchao, haven't you drank enough? Still drinking!"
Wang Yuanchao's reply nearly made me spit blood. He calmly said, "Just a few sips to sober up."
The drive to Wuqu City was over 600 km. I took a nap in the passenger seat, and after waking up, saw Huang Xiaotao yawning constantly. So I said, "Why don't you rest for a bit and let me drive!"
"Do you have a license?" Huang Xiaotao asked.
"No, but I've learned how to drive," I answered truthfully.
"Haha, are your driving skills decent?" Huang Xiaotao sounded doubtful.
"Certainly no worse than yours," I said plainly.
Huang Xiaotao then parked the car at a spot and gave up the driver's seat, saying, "I'll take a nap. If you see traffic police on the road, wake me up. With two detectives, one consultant in this car, it would be hilarious if we got pulled over and fined..."
"Got it!" I nodded.
My aunt taught me how to drive when I was little. She often traveled for business and had several cars at home. The town was also large, so I would often drive around for fun as a child.
I hadn't touched a steering wheel in years, but after a few tries, I gradually got the feel back and steadily drove on.
Around 4 am, buildings along the roadside gradually increased, and signs with the characters 'Wuqu' could be seen occasionally. Wang Dali mumbled, "I'm parched, pass me water." Then he rolled off the back seat with a thud, waking up the dozing Wang Yuanchao and Huang Xiaotao.
Wang Dali crawled up in shock and cried, "F*ck, how did I get here? Was I kidnapped? Help..."
"Shut up, you wimp!" Huang Xiaotao snapped.
Only then did Wang Dali realize the three of us were also here. I briefly explained the situation, and Wang Dali said, "Damn, Xiao Yang, your business is too busy. You just finished one case and already took on another. Why don't we start a detective agency after graduating? I guarantee booming business!"
"Stop dreaming. This is an emergency commissioned task, so it's a business trip," I said.
"Is there an allowance?" Wang Dali's eyes lit up.
Huang Xiaotao scolded, "As if you deserve one! But don't worry, Inspector Sun has said all expenses will be reimbursed. You just need to keep the receipts."
Wang Dali happily nodded, "Xiao Yang, knowing you as a buddy is the best thing ever. My life has suddenly become so colorful, and I'll have something to brag about when picking up girls! Hahahaha!"
Huang Xiaotao contemptuously said, "Look at you, a dog's stomach can't hold more than two taels of oil."
"Hey, it won't be dangerous this time, right? Not as thrilling as last time?" Wang Dali worriedly asked.
He was getting on my nerves, so I said, "Go lie down again, I'll call you when we arrive."
Wang Dali had just woken up from a hangover, and the alcohol rushed to his head. He suddenly covered his mouth, wanting to vomit. Huang Xiaotao panicked, "Hey, don't you dare vomit in my car! I just had it washed last week!"
Wang Dali forcefully held it in, "It's fine, let me prepare first. I'll vomit after getting off."
Past 5 am, I saw a Yonghe soy milk place nearby and parked the car. Wang Dali rushed out like a mad dog, leaning against a tree and throwing up. Huang Xiaotao's face twitched as he said, "I really don't want to admit I know him!"
"Same," I laughed.
The four of us had a simple breakfast. During the meal, Huang Xiaotao called the Wuqu City Police Department. After eating, we drove straight there. Entering the building, we asked around and found out Group Leader Liao, who was in charge of this case, was waiting for us on the second floor.
Just as we reached the second floor, we heard a very unfriendly female voice complaining loudly in the corridor, "This is ridiculous, sending an undegraduate student to assist us, and not allowing me to perform the autopsy, asking me to keep the corpse for that student. Director Cheng must not take us seriously!"
"I know right!" A man's voice chimed in, "I heard that student comes from a family of morticians, knows some shady tricks, and got lucky solving two cases in Nanjiang City, so their bureau chief praised him to high heaven..."
"What, a mortician?" The woman said, "This is a joke! Director Cheng must have been drugged to believe such warped logic. I have a doctorate in forensic medicine, if we can't crack this case, how could a mortician solve it?"
Huang Xiaotao smiled at me, "People look down on your profession again."
I wasn't mad at all, "I'm used to it."
Huang Xiaotao coughed loudly. The voices inside immediately quieted down. We came to the conference room, where a fat middle-aged policeman walked up, all smiles, "You must be the special consultants from Nanjiang City, welcome, welcome! Let me introduce myself, my surname is Liao, just call me Old Liao."
Huang Xiaotao briefly introduced us. I looked around the room, there were several policemen sitting or standing around. One tall woman in a white coat had an arrogant cold expression. She was quite beautiful, likely the medical examiner. There was also a handsome policeman in his early twenties, but his brows revealed a hint of wickedness, and he looked at us provocatively. I guessed these were the two who were just badmouthing us.
Group Leader Liao introduced the task force members to us. When he got to these two, he laughed heartily, "This is our team's medical examiner Luo Weiwei, she's a flower of our department."
As soon as Wang Dali saw the beautiful examiner, he got excited and obnoxiously introduced himself, going up to shake Luo Weiwei's hand. Luo Weiwei hugged her arms and scoffed, completely ignoring him.
Group Leader Liao admonished, "Weiwei, how could you act like this?"
I thought to myself, this Luo Weiwei is clearly not an easy person to get along with.