Chapter 1 Target Found

The moment I saw the cluster of small white fish in the water grass, I knew I'd found my target.

These small white fish are commonly known as "baitfish" in my hometown, and "small river strips" or "river strips" in the Sichuan and Chongqing areas. They're one of the most common types of fish in the water.

They're not picky eaters, eating everything, and they have one particular characteristic—they love the smell of decay.

Because of this, when a floating corpse drifts into the water, especially one that's been soaking for several days, it's sure to attract a swarm of baitfish to feed on it.

Looking closer, I saw a section of pale white jutting out from the depths of the water grass, like a dry tree branch. Wasn't that a dead man's arm?

Knowing that Xiao Liang was timid, I quickly said to her, "Close your eyes if you're scared. Hongjie's (Sister Hong) partner has been found."

Xiao Liang guessed what I meant, pointed to the patch of water grass, and asked, "Are you saying that Hongjie's partner is entangled in this water grass?"

I said, "That's right. Look, his arm is already showing."

After I pointed it out to her, Xiao Liang's pretty face turned as white as paper, and she quickly turned her back, afraid to look.

I teased her with a smile, "How can you be a police officer with this little courage? Did you not think when you chose your major?"

Xiao Liang retorted, "Don't laugh at me. Don't think I'm timid now. I'll get used to it in a few years."

While talking to her, I took off my clothes and went into the water with the sickle, driving away the baitfish surrounding the water grass, and began to clear the dense weeds.

After cutting away a few patches of water grass, the victim entangled within floated to the surface.

Having been submerged in the river for three full days and nights, the poor man was already bloated. His whole body was swollen like a balloon, and his eyes were bulging out of their sockets.

Even I, who was used to seeing drowned ghosts, couldn't help but gasp at his appearance, let alone Xiao Liang.

After cutting away all the water grass around him, I didn't directly drag his body, but climbed back onto the boat first.

There are many taboos in the corpse fishing business, the most important of which is not to directly touch the corpse of the deceased.

Uncle Mei's corpse fishing boat was a relatively new model at the time. This type of corpse fishing boat has a cabin installed under the deck.

Those who are interested can search for related videos online. Until recent years, most corpse fishermen still used this type of corpse fishing boat.

When retrieving a corpse, first open the hatch door, then use a hook to grab the body and drag it into the cabin, then close the hatch door. This is both convenient and dignified, a win-win situation.

I opened the cabin door and began to operate it skillfully. However, just as I was pulling the body over, I suddenly noticed something.

The dead man's fingers were thin and long, and the muscles in his palms were quite full, somewhat similar to the hands of the skinny monkey that Hu Wazi had caught before. Such a pair of hands was not common.

When I saw these hands, my heart skipped a beat, and I couldn't help but feel suspicious.

I quickly nudged Xiao Liang with my elbow and said, "Xiao Liang, look quickly!"

Xiao Liang asked a little nervously, "Look at what? Look at the dead body? Chen Rongsheng, don't mess with me..."

I said speechlessly, "I'm not messing with you. Look at his hands. Don't you think this dead man looks a bit like a *haozi* (tomb robber)?"

When Xiao Liang heard this, she reluctantly turned around and looked at the floating corpse, suppressing her fear.

After carefully examining the corpse's hands, Xiao Liang also felt that these hands were different from ordinary people's.

"Look, there are many scratched scars on his hands. I heard Jiang Yongguang say that these scars were left when they opened coffins during tomb raiding. Usually, only tomb robbers have them."

Hearing this, and thinking about it carefully, my eyes lit up, and I couldn't help but slap my thigh and laugh.

"Hahaha! What is called searching high and low without finding it, only to have it delivered effortlessly! This person is not Hongjie's partner at all. He's a *haozi*!" I said excitedly.

Xiao Liang tilted her head and asked, "Chen Rongsheng, do you mean we got the wrong person? We didn't catch Hongjie's partner, but we accidentally caught a *haozi*?"

I shook my head and said, "No, we didn't get the wrong person. I strongly suspect that the corpse Hongjie asked us to retrieve is this one. However, she didn't tell the truth. This corpse is not her partner at all, but a tomb robber!"

Xiao Liang narrowed her eyes and thought for a while, and suddenly realized, and said in a low voice, "I understand. You mean Hongjie and Shopkeeper Wang are in the same gang!"

I nodded repeatedly and said, "Smart! Have you noticed that Hongjie's massage parlor is located in the area of Hongyan Town closest to the Duck River? From her massage parlor, you can see most of the riverbank. Moreover, Hongjie's job involves sitting in the shop watching the outside from morning to night. Isn't that the equivalent of keeping watch?"

"That makes sense! Hongjie is keeping watch for Shopkeeper Wang's tomb raiding gang! That's right, a massage girl like Hongjie suddenly moving to a town would definitely not arouse suspicion. No one would guess that she is actually a tomb robber, and she usually comes into contact with many different kinds of people, which also makes it easier to gather information." The more Xiao Liang thought about it, the more reliable it seemed.

I added, "On the first day I came to the Duck River, Hongjie took the initiative to strike up a conversation with me. At that time, I thought she was just trying to solicit customers, but now I realize that she was testing the waters. Fortunately, I disguised myself well and didn't give anything away."

Xiao Liang pointed to the corpse and guessed, "This person should be a coolie who unfortunately drowned while robbing a tomb. His body was washed out of the tomb and floated into the Duck River. The tomb robbing gang was worried that the body would be discovered and expose their tracks, so they asked Hongjie to make up a lie and ask us to retrieve the body, so as to destroy the evidence before it was discovered."

I nodded, and said even more excitedly, "It seems that Master Gao's telling of finding the location of a twin tomb is true. Another ancient Shu tomb is in this water area!"

After our discussion, the truth gradually came to light.

But we can't act rashly, because Jiang Yongguang once said that a huge tomb raiding gang is likely to have more than one person keeping watch.

Even if we guessed Hongjie's true identity, we can't easily take action against her. After all, we don't know how many *haozi* are secretly watching us in the dark.

In the end, Xiao Liang and I decided that we would remain calm and cooperate with Hongjie's acting, following the clues to see if we could get more information. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět

We put the *haozi*'s body into the cabin, and rowed back upstream.

Hongjie was still standing on the bank waiting. Seeing us return, the corpse fishing boat was sitting lower in the water, and she knew that we hadn't returned empty-handed.

"How is it? Did you find him?" Hongjie asked nervously.

I nodded and said, "We found him, but I'm not sure if it's your partner. Take a look."

After speaking, I brought the boat ashore and dragged the body out of the cabin.

As a result, when Hongjie saw the *haozi*'s bloated face, she actually burst into tears on the spot, wiping her tears and nodding, "It's him, this is my poor man... Alas! Why were you so stupid! You said you'd jump into the river and you jumped! How am I going to explain this to your parents!"

Xiao Liang and I were both impressed by Hongjie's acting skills. This crying and weeping was so sincere, it was just like the real thing, beating many actresses these days.

In order not to let Hongjie see through our act, I had to cooperate with her performance. I walked over and patted her on the shoulder, and softly comforted her, "What's done is done. Please accept my condolences."

Xiao Liang asked her if she needed help with the funeral arrangements, but Hongjie quickly waved her hand and said, "No need, I won't bother you with that. Just leave the person here, and I'll find some friends to transport him back to my hometown later."