Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 780 - 13. The Dead Wife

Chapter 780: 13. The Dead Wife

"Can we talk inside?"

Meng Quan shouted frantically, some neighbors had already noticed and opened their doors to look over.

"No, you all need to—"

"Okay, thank you."

Lu Li ignored Meng Quan’s refusal, using his tall physique to force his way into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

Bang—

"Don’t be nervous, Mr. Meng Quan, we’re just here to understand some situations."

Lu Li said, his gaze sweeping across the room.

It was a typical three-bedroom house, with a study and two bedrooms. The living room window faced west, so the lighting was poor. The smell of disinfectant was much stronger than in a hospital, almost suffocating, as if trying to cover up something. Everything from the floors to the sofas and furniture was spotlessly clean, as though trying to remove traces of something.

Meng Quan seemed to have a severe case of mysophobia, but Officer Wen’s information didn’t mention it.

"You all..." Meng Quan’s eyes flashed, noticing the plural, he turned his head warily to search.

"And my colleague, he’s downstairs and hasn’t come up." Meng Quan’s paranoid behavior caused Lu Li to frown slightly.

He walked over to the sofa, sat down, took out a recorder and pressed play: "Alright, Mr. Meng Quan, please sit, I have some questions I’d like to ask you."

"Didn’t you already ask a few days ago?" Meng Quan sat nervously in front of Lu Li, legs together.

Holding tightly to a mop in his hand, his entire demeanor was extremely vigilant against his surroundings.

Naturally, there was no tea prepared for guests.

"This time, I have new questions," Lu Li said, staring into Meng Quan’s eyes, speaking slowly and deeply: "Just now, you seemed very afraid of us finding your wife, can you tell me why, or—"

His dark eyes narrowed slightly.

"Did you murder Chen Rong?"

"No, I didn’t!" Meng Quan sprang up, eyes bloodshot, roaring furiously: "I know the truth, but the police would never believe it!"

Yang Chunxue floated up, wary and seemingly ready to attack at any moment, like a deranged Meng Quan.

Lu Li’s posture remained unchanged, legs crossed, leaning back into the sofa, face calm: "Whether I believe you or not depends on what you say. After all, analyzing the current situation, you’re highly suspect no matter how you look at it. For example, you’re worried that we police will find her, afraid it will expose your motive for murder. For example, you’ve cleaned this house so meticulously because this was the scene of the crime."

"It really wasn’t me! She was long dead! Last time she came back she was already—" His shout abruptly stopped, and Meng Quan suddenly fell silent, sitting back on the sofa with a grim expression, restoring his quiet demeanor.

Lu Li continued: "If you’re referring to bizarre incidents that can’t be explained scientifically, you can tell me."

"What?" Meng Quan looked up in confusion.

Lu Li subtly guided him: "Like a ghost encounter, or supernatural event."

Meng Quan’s bloodshot eyes locked fiercely on Lu Li, realizing something: "Who exactly are you?!"

Lu Li took out credentials from behind him, showing them: "Officer number 140021, you can call me Officer Wen."

The number and name were real, the credentials drawn by illusion.

Meng Quan slackly sat down, his head buried between his knees, murmuring: "You’ll think I’m crazy..."

"If you’re worrying about something." Lu Li turned off the recorder, putting it back in his pocket. "We’ll temporarily halt the investigation, and I’m not here as a police officer, you can tell me what’s happened as if it were casual talk."

Lu Li tilted his head, looking at Yang Chunxue once.

Yang Chunxue gave an okay gesture, floating towards the bedroom to search for clues.

"Alright... I’ll tell you..."

Meng Quan slowly lifted his head, revealing an extremely haggard face.

No one would believe he was only 26 years old.

"My wife and I are colleagues at a company, known each other for two years. We officially registered at the beginning of this year but haven’t held a wedding... We initially planned to hold the wedding in autumn, bought this place as our wedding house..."

Yang Chunxue floated back from the bedroom, shaking her head at Lu Li.

The study and bedroom all appeared normal, with no abnormalities discovered.

Meng Quan continued his somber narrative.

Already husband and wife, the couple moved into their new home, only missing the formal ceremony, but this happiness was short-lived due to Chen Rong’s disappearance.

The first day, her phone was unreachable, and still the next day, Meng Quan realized something might have happened to his wife, so he called the police for help.

Following an investigation, police found Chen Rong last appeared in the vicinity of the western suburbs of the city.

The Sixth Psychiatric Hospital was there.

Chen Rong was listed as missing, but her phone, ID, and bank card hadn’t been used during this period, making it difficult for the police to track her whereabouts.

Until two weeks ago, Chen Rong returned on her own.

Her speech was vague, only ambiguously saying she’d gone back to her hometown.

Meng Quan initially thought he’d been cheated on, but there was nothing unusual in her phone, so that suspicion was pushed aside.

Still, the seed of doubt had been planted, and rooting and growing was only a matter of time.

With subsequent interactions, Meng Quan gradually began to notice strange things about his wife...

"She was actually dead... What returned that day was her corpse."

Meng Quan painfully held his head, tears streaming down.

"Are you saying she was already dead when she came back after her last disappearance?" Yang Chunxue cried out in shock.

Meng Quan couldn’t hear her words.

Lu Li glanced at her, asking on her behalf: "Are you saying she was already dead when she came back after her last disappearance?"

"Yes."

"How are you so certain?"

"Do living people have livor mortis?" Meng Quan forced a bitter smile.

He noticed the spots when he showered the next day. Showering together, he noticed a patch of spots on his wife’s back but didn’t pay much heed, after all, who would associate spots with livor mortis right away.

Unaware of the truth, he went about his usual routine, working and returning home—

...

Chen Rong giggled lightly, rose to put on shoes, and nakedly headed for the bathroom.

Meng Quan leaned difficulty against the wall, about to admire his wife’s figure, suddenly his pupils contracted.

He saw a large swath of dark bluish spots appear on Chen Rong’s back.

Chen Rong seemed a bit itchy, reaching back to scratch.

What terrified and disgusted him was that as Chen Rong’s nails scraped across her skin, it parted lightly as if separating from flesh, revealing the subcutaneous fat and a viscous, blurry flesh beneath.

Her skin was decaying.

Meng Quan rubbed his eyes hard, and when he opened them again, his wife was already in the bathroom, and soon the sound of running water could be heard.

After a dozen minutes, Chen Rong came out of the bathroom, wearing pajamas after her shower, turned off the lights, and lay down to sleep beside him.

Even though that scene continued to haunt his mind, Meng Quan couldn’t help but embrace his wife from behind... Her body was icy cold, without any warmth.

He finally realized—could his wife be dead, and what returned was the spirit of his wife...