Chapter 13: Unearthing the Corpse

The next afternoon, Sang Ye received a call from Ms. Wang, who said she would come to pick her up that evening.

Sang Ye got into Ms. Wang’s car, and they drove to a luxurious villa.

The villa was very quiet, clearly arranged deliberately.

Ms. Wang went into a room and brought out Aye, pointing to a nearby artificial rock garden. “Aye usually likes to play behind that rock and in the garden.”

Sang Ye took the leash. “Could you give me a private space to spend some time with him?”

“Of course.” Ms. Wang didn’t hesitate and walked away.

Sang Ye crouched to meet Aye’s eyes. “You said the other day you bumped into them burying a body. Where exactly was that? Can you take me there?”

Aye tilted his head, his adorably confused face showing no understanding. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

“You said yesterday at my shop that you’d never eat random things or be curious anymore. You also mentioned bumping into them burying something.”

The Samoyed’s eyes widened in shock, and he bounced a few steps backward. “You can understand what I’m saying?!”

Sang Ye nodded. “Yes, but now I need your help with something.”

The Samoyed was excited; a two-legged creature could understand his words!

He bounced around energetically, completely different from his listless state yesterday.

“You can really understand me!” he exclaimed, then leapt up eagerly.

Sang Ye humored him with a simple “Yes.”

After a while, the Samoyed calmed down and tilted his head to look at Sang Ye. “By the way, what did you say you wanted me to do?”

Sang Ye replied, “I want you to take me to where you saw them bury something—the place where you dug up the bad stuff that made you sick. Once we find it, I’ll give you this to eat.”

She pulled out homemade dog food and waved it in front of the Samoyed’s nose, offering a piece near his mouth.

At first, he wasn’t interested, but the aroma froze him in place, his gaze fixed on the bag.

He quickly licked the piece into his stomach.

The taste was unlike anything he had ever eaten before, yet delicious. He immediately said, “All mine! I’ll take you there!”

Sang Ye smiled.

She knew that no animal could refuse the food she made.

Then she stood up and called, “Ms. Wang, let’s go.”

Hearing Sang Ye, Ms. Wang approached them.

Before they could say anything, the husky was already eager and running toward the spot.

Seeing Aye’s behavior, Ms. Wang looked puzzled. “What did you do just now? Aye seems so...”

She thought for a moment and found the right word: “Excited?”

In just a few seconds, the Samoyed had already run far ahead.

The two hurried to catch up.

Soon, they saw Aye crouched under a tree in the backyard, wagging his tail and barking twice at them: “Here, this is the place.”

Ms. Wang pulled out a shovel from somewhere and began digging without a word.

Seeing this, Sang Ye grabbed a shovel to help—after all, there was a hundred thousand yuan at stake.

Before long, the feeling under the shovel changed.

They exchanged a glance and quickened the pace.

As they dug deeper, a foul odor wafted up.

Ms. Wang immediately turned away, running aside. “Ugh...”

Sang Ye, having seen many bloody scenes recently, calmly pressed her index finger to her nose.

After a few seconds of staring, she said, “Call the police.”

Ms. Wang covered her nose and approached, wanting to see who it was.

When she recognized the body, she widened her eyes in shock and whispered hoarsely, “It can’t be him! Didn’t he go on a trip a month ago?”

Because it was someone familiar, the gruesome sight made her turn away and start vomiting.

Seeing this, Sang Ye asked with concern, “Are you okay?”

“Fine... ugh...” Ms. Wang waved her hand weakly and retched again.

“Please help call the police.”

Sang Ye didn’t know any other officers but remembered she had the detective’s number, so she dialed Xing Hao.

Xing Hao had just finished a case when he received Sang Ye’s call.

Half an hour later.

Several police cars were parked outside the villa. Xing Hao stepped out and strode inside. The forensic expert jogged in behind, carrying a toolbox. The team rushed in briskly.

Seeing them, Sang Ye called out, “Detective, it’s here.”

She then introduced, “This is Ms. Wang, the owner of the villa. It was her dog who found the body.”

She also introduced the detective to Ms. Wang: “Ms. Wang, this is Officer Xing, captain of the Criminal Police Unit of Fu’an District, Longhu City.”

Xing Hao nodded solemnly. He noticed Ms. Wang’s pale face and the dirt on the ground.

After examining the scene, he put on gloves and said reasonably, “Ms. Wang, I may need to ask you some questions. If you feel uncomfortable, you can step aside, but please don’t go far.”

Sang Ye nodded, leading Ms. Wang and the Samoyed to the side.

By then, the forensic expert had almost finished digging out the body.

The examination revealed the body had been dead for at least a month, but the soil covering it was fresh, like it had been buried recently.

The cause of death was a blow to the head. The back showed extensive abrasions, skin loss, and bruising from being dragged. The arms and head had obvious bruises from impact.

There were also clear dog bite marks on the legs.

However, these bites were inflicted long after death, likely when the body was moved the second time.

About ten minutes later, Ms. Wang had recovered somewhat, and Xing Hao approached them.

“Ms. Wang, is now a good time? I need to ask you some questions.”

She nodded. “Yes.”

Xing Hao pulled out a notepad. “Did you know the deceased?”

“Yes, he was my husband’s younger brother, Li Shen. He suddenly said he was going on a trip, and we hadn’t heard from him since.”

Xing Hao frowned. “You didn’t try to contact him all this time?”

“He often did this, traveling about once a month for ten days to two weeks. This time we didn’t worry, thinking he’d just gone to a favorite spot and lost track of time.”

“When was the last time you saw him?”

“End of last month, I think.”

“Exact time?”

Ms. Wang suddenly answered with surprising precision, “Around 3 p.m. on August 29.”

Hearing such a specific time, Xing Hao paused his note-taking and looked up at her. “How do you remember it so clearly?”