"What are you going to do?"
"Leave it to me, you need to stay calm."
After speaking, Ren Yuanhao pushed the door open and left. Murong Yan, after calling the relevant authorities, cautiously guarded the rear hall, never leaving her post.
By this time, the auditorium was already filled with twenty to thirty people. Ren Yuanhao glanced out from the aisle. The man who claimed to be the deceased's father was calmly accepting the condolences of the crowd. Among them were friends and relatives of the deceased, all wearing expressions of unspeakable grief.
Ren Yuanhao changed into a black formal suit, slowly walked onto the stage, turned on the microphone, his expression blank, his voice deep and filled with sorrow: "To all the relatives and friends who have come to mourn, I, on behalf of the funeral home, express my deepest condolences on the premature death of the young lady. The departed has passed, but the living endure. Please accept my sympathies and do not grieve excessively."
He lowered his voice considerably. These words of mourning were, of course, his own fabrication. The important thing was to buy time.
"It's all my fault. If I hadn't argued with her, perhaps she wouldn't have done such a foolish thing. It's all my fault!" The man was overcome with grief and couldn't help but shed tears.
Ren Yuanhao glanced at him coldly, thinking to himself that he knew exactly what he was hiding. Then he turned his attention to the friends of the deceased who were of the same age, and a plan immediately struck him.
"Dear relatives and friends, this is not only a memorial service but also a remembrance gathering. Such a fine person must have unforgettable memories with the friends and relatives present. Some say that a person experiences three deaths. The first is the annihilation of the physical body, buried deep in the earth, neighbors to worms and insects. The second is when their social status is forgotten. The third is when the last person who remembers them forgets them in the river of time. Only then do they truly enter death. As long as one of you remembers her deeply, she will live on in some form."
After rousing the emotions of those friends, Ren Yuanhao continued, "This young lady is undergoing meticulous preparation by the mortician in the rear hall. Her final appearance will be presented to you all in a perfect state. This is a farewell ceremony, and also a mourning session for the deceased to express their innermost thoughts. Come, I have a box and some paper here. Each person can write a sentence or two of blessings or secrets for her, and then place them in this box. These words will be permanently preserved in the young lady's urn, telling her that you all still care for her silently, missing her, letting her know that she is still deeply loved by this world, and may she ascend to paradise early."
Ren Yuanhao slyly lowered his head and chuckled, then holding a stack of palm-sized papers, he handed them out to everyone, along with pens.
Naturally, the crowd was unaware. This was their first time experiencing such a novel way of mourning, and the younger people found it quite engaging.
However, this made the deceased's father a bit uneasy. He slowly paced to Ren Yuanhao's side and said in a deep voice, "Brother, is it because my daughter is too difficult to handle that this process is necessary?"
"No, no, no, this is the latest mourning method. It is said that this way allows the deceased to ascend to heaven better. Rest assured, there is no additional charge."
Hearing Ren Yuanhao say this, the man was somewhat reassured and slowly returned to his seat.
"Everyone, those relatives and friends who have finished writing, please place the papers into the box one by one. Take your time."
Ren Yuanhao's plan not only might collect some important evidence but also helped to delay the time. However, for the deceased, it seemed a bit too frivolous.
However, if the young lady had indeed died unjustly, she would surely forgive his actions.
...
At this very moment, in the rear hall, the forensic doctor had begun a preliminary examination of the 'drowned young lady.'
The man in the cool white coat used a scalpel to first cut open the superficial layer where the lungs were located.
"The ribs are not significantly indented, the lungs do not contain excessive fluid, and there are no frothy bubbles around the mouth and nose. It can be basically concluded that she did not die by drowning. The body must be taken back for further examination to determine the exact cause of death."
Standing beside the man in white was an executor, his pen moving swiftly, continuously recording the deceased's age, identity, address, family situation, and other details.
After the two finished their records and were about to inform the father and bring him back to the police station for questioning, the door to the rear hall suddenly burst open.
"Yuanhao! You are truly amazing, managing to buy us so much time!" Murong Yan, as a mortician, felt responsible for the deceased. If there were any irregularities, given her personality, she would absolutely not tolerate any mistakes. She knew that if she hadn't received Ren Yuanhao's help today, she would never have been able to protect the body from that man, and the truth would have been buried forever.
"This is nothing. I have another piece of news for you. I've found the killer!"
Ren Yuanhao's words stunned the forensic doctor, and even Murong Yan stood frozen on the spot.
He shook the box in his hand and said, "The truth is in this box!"
As he spoke, he explained in detail how he had delayed the time and collected materials and evidence. The three of them gave him a thumbs-up.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, impressive. It's a waste of talent for you not to join us. Little girl, is this your boyfriend?"
The executor, holding the clearly organized information from the box, patted Ren Yuanhao heavily on the shoulder.
Murong Yan lowered her head shyly, but saw Ren Yuanhao pull her into his arms, his face full of adoration.
They had only known each other for a few days, yet why did she feel so close to the person beside her.
"Hahaha, a perfect match, made in heaven. Now, let us go together to expose that person's colossal lie."
The four of them slowly walked out of the back courtyard and headed towards the noisy auditorium.
The auditorium was still submerged in grief. The deceased's father continued to receive comfort from his relatives and friends, and from time to time cast anxious glances in the direction of the aisle.
And what he was about to receive was not his daughter, dressed in a water-green gown, lying in a crystal coffin, but the executor who was about to arrive to demand an explanation.
A series of hollow footsteps echoed from the aisle. Just then, the main door of the auditorium also creaked open and then firmly shut. Ren Yuanhao and Murong Yan were blocking the exit.
The man felt a sense of dread, his face turned pale. As he was about to walk towards the aisle, he was completely blocked by the approaching executor and forensic doctor.
"Running away? Now you know to run?"