September 7, Saturday, 7:25 a.m.
Police Inspector Oyama stood up and stared at Sakura Kae in front of him.
"Cause of death confirmed."
"You needed to tell us that?"
Duanmu Huai stood beside him with his arms folded, glaring at him irritably.
"Can you say something useful?"
"I'm a detective, not a forensic pathologist..."
Police Inspector Oyama sighed and continued.
"The exact cause of death is still unclear, but judging from the condition of the body... it's been dead for at least six months."
"The eyes, at least, have been preserved pretty well."
Duanmu Huai stared at the two eyeballs floating up and down in the water glass. They looked fresh, as if they had just been plucked out.
"So Miss Sakura's death is related to the ghost story she told yesterday, right? She told that ghost story, and that's why she died..."
"Is that something a police officer should be saying?"
Duanmu Huai frowned and glared at Police Inspector Oyama in displeasure, while the latter shrugged.
"What else can I do? Given the situation, are you really expecting me to come up with a reasonable explanation?"
It was hard to blame Police Inspector Oyama for saying that. After discovering the body, Duanmu Huai had sent Ya Naijian and the others to call him over. Police Inspector Oyama had been shocked when he saw the body as well. Normally, the next step would have been to seal off the scene and call the police---however, the phones were not working.
There was no signal on their cell phones, and the landline could not get through either. What was more, they had originally planned to drive away, but when they stepped outside the entrance of White Snow Hall, they discovered... that this was not the place they knew at all.
Duanmu Huai