Chapter 152: A Sad Tale

Chapter 152: A Sad Tale

The so-called morgue is actually the cold storage facility of the local funeral home.

It can house up to 400 bodies.

Every day, it manages both natural and unnatural deaths from the city.

Though the storage capacity may seem small, it’s actually quite significant.

Typically, bodies are stored only briefly, though exceptions occur.

For example, corpses linked to investigations are kept for longer periods.

Xiao Yu has visited the morgue more than once, so he’s pretty familiar with it.

Yet every time he comes,

the unnaturally chilling atmosphere still gives him goosebumps.

This is a completely normal psychological response.

Apart from the staff who work here daily, anyone imagining a room filled with all these corpses would feel uneasy.

The morgue is a unique facility that processes bodies both day and night.

There are staff members even during the night.

However, most night shifts are only for handling emergencies.

When staff are present at night, they’re usually in designated break rooms.

Typically, it’s just security patrolling after hours…

Last night, rumors of a ‘haunting’ at the morgue led to a lockdown, and the story quickly spread within.

Xiao Yu clearly noticed many staff members wearing pale expressions.

Such reactions are entirely natural.

Encountering phenomena that defy normal understanding can easily stir deep inner fear.

The sole witness to last night’s events is still in the hospital.

Why had Xiao Yu come here?

To inspect the scene!

After reviewing the witness’s statement, he headed to the scene for further investigation.

From the details in the statement, he could roughly reconstruct what had happened.

First, Xiao Yu entered one of the cold chambers where bodies are stored.

There are eight such chambers in the morgue.

Each chamber is equipped with 50 refrigerated coffins.

These coffins are integrated into the cooling walls, with only their doors exposed.

To store or retrieve a body, one simply slides open the cabinet and pulls out the coffin.

Chamber No. 2.

One of the refrigerated coffins was found open, its body support board pulled out.

This was the very coffin from which a female corpse had vanished last night!

“Jia Yanli, female, 38 years old, local resident, owner of a private company… Cause of death: natural, a sudden heart attack. She had a history of heart disease with two previous emergency hospitalizations. This time, she was taken to the hospital too late; by the time the family arrived, she was already dead.”

Guo Qiang, holding a tablet, reported on the woman’s prior condition.

“Is there an autopsy report?”

Glancing at the support board, Xiao Yu casually asked.

“No,” Guo Qiang replied, shaking his head.

“Because her death didn’t involve an investigation, an autopsy wasn’t required. A hospital-certified death report was sufficient.”

“Then why wasn’t her body collected by her family for the funeral, and instead left in the morgue?”

Xiao Yu furrowed his brow in confusion.

Normally, when a family member dies, the relatives come to claim the body.

There is a local tradition,

where the body stays at home for about 3 to 7 days.

Once someone dies, it signifies a permanent farewell—they will never reunite.

Thus, keeping the body at home for a few days allows loved ones time to mourn and reminisce.

It also gives them time to notify distant relatives, who might take hours or days to arrive.

Every extra look is cherished.

Especially when death strikes suddenly, and the family struggles to come to terms with it immediately.

This custom is meant to ease the pain and grieving process.

So, for a natural death, why would the body be abandoned in the morgue?

If traditions aren’t the issue,

the family could simply secure a death certificate and arrange for cremation at the funeral home.

“Her parents died long ago, but she did have a brother,”

Guo Qiang said while flipping through the records. “Her brother kept insisting that his sister couldn’t have died of natural causes; he was convinced someone had killed her. He always claimed that it was her husband’s doing.”

“Huh?”

Xiao Yu squinted, asking, “And why?”

“Everything boiled down to money,”

Guo Qiang explained with a smile. “After her death, the local police investigated. They discovered that she and her brother weren’t close during her lifetime, barely interacting. Yet after her passing, he caused a major disturbance. The likely reason is that she inherited a huge fortune—tens of millions. But none of it belonged to him; the primary heir was her husband.”

Xiao Yu snorted coldly.

People can be so unreasonable.

Apparently, after the commotion, her brother refused to let her be laid to rest.

Her husband, unable to deal with the risk of her body decomposing, left her in the morgue.

“But there’s something odd about this whole affair,”

Guo Qiang continued as he examined the police report, “Her husband even offered one million to her brother to keep the peace. But he wouldn’t agree, insisting something was off about her death.”

That was indeed strange… Xiao Yu frowned, “One million should have been more than enough.”

“Exactly. And that’s what makes it so peculiar,”

Guo Qiang nodded and added, “In the end, her husband even offered two million, yet her brother still refused, claiming it was not about the money at all.”

Xiao Yu’s expression grew even more unusual.

Could it be that this brother was never satisfied?

Did he want to inherit all of her assets after her death?

What on earth was he thinking?

Was it merely the oddity of the case?

Both veteran detectives Xiao Yu and Guo Qiang were sure it wasn’t that simple.

It was more like…

Why would her husband come up with two million?

To put it simply:

When a beggar comes knocking and you’re wealthy,

you might pity him enough to give a hundred or eighty bucks.

But if the beggar refuses to leave,

would you really hand over a tenth of your entire fortune?

This relative barely had any contact with the family.

Even if he was his own wife’s brother, how is that any different from a stranger?

What would be the normal response?

If it were you, wouldn’t you want to kick him out rather than pay him?

If the culprit refuses to call the police and continues to cause a scene, yet you still offer him two million,

isn’t that absurd?

Of course, it’s possible that her husband was simply a kind man,

but his actions were completely beyond ordinary understanding.

Xiao Yu and Guo Qiang exchanged a knowing glance, both feeling that something was amiss.

Of course, that’s a secondary concern.

The primary issue is to investigate how the body disappeared.

There are two possibilities.

First: The disappearance was deliberate.

Second: Perhaps… the body left on its own.

The first possibility is understandable.

Even if a crime was committed, you can just apprehend the culprit.

But the second possibility… now that’s entirely unsettling.

Corpse transformation? Ghosts? Apparitions?

Xiao Yu was intrigued, eager to learn more.

【Ding – Case Triggered Successfully】

【The Vigilante Case Check-In Activated】

【Host, please check in】

Xiao Yu: …

This is truly a sad tale!