Grocery Store No.514

Arc 1 – Headless

Chapter 1

 

A cold wind blew away the dark clouds that covered the whole city, and a cold bright moon peeked out to illuminate the dark streets.
Because it rained for several days in a row, the street was damp with splash water everywhere.
The usual bustle of the city disappeared, making it look unusually desolated.

A man stumbles from the distance with a drunk-eyes reeking of alcohol with a mouth muttering something unclear.
Suddenly, he quickened his pace heading toward the dumpster then began vomiting.

“Come on, my house is up ahead.
Let’s go back and continue.” The man’s tone was full of excitement.

“Stinky rascal.
Continue what? In your dream!” the woman refused.

The drunken man looked at the two people tugging each other while walking into the alley.
He can’t help but curse, “Damn, male-female dog1, pei!”

The drunken man seemed to be displeased.
He lifted his foot to the dumpster next to him, but because of his unsteady body, he fell straight forward.
The dumpster was brought down along by him with the inside poured out, almost drowning him.
Then he jumped up from the garbage heap but didn’t know what he stepped on before he fell again.
A pungent smell of blood came, and the drunken man’s stomach began to churn again.

He stood up angrily, kicked on it, and tore the garbage bag…

“Wū wū wū”

The siren sounded, piercing the silent night sky.
Jiang Chengyan, who received the call, arrived at the scene as quickly as possible.
He put on his coat and his badge, and strode towards the crime scene.

Seeing Jiang Chengyan approaching, Yao Min quickly greeted him and said, “Captain, you’re here.”

“What’s going on?” Jiang Chengyan asked as he walked.

“A drunk man knocked over the dumpster and found a body inside.” Yao Min answered to the point.

“Have the forensic doctor and the trace examination department arrived?”

“Not yet.
But they’ve been notified, and it shouldn’t take long to arrive.”

“Where is the drunken man? Is he sober yet?”

“He was terribly frightened and threw up before you arrived.
So I don’t think you can ask any questions for a while.”

“Then bring him back for questioning.”

During their conversation, they arrived in front of the dumpster.
Jiang Chengyan put on gloves and foot covers and crouched down to examine the body in the garbage bag.
He found nothing but limbs inside, the torso and head were missing.

Jiang Chengyan stood up and looked around the scene.
When he found a CCTV at the intersection, he shouted, “Li Tong, Zhang Liang.”

“Coming!” Li Tong and Zhang Liang hurriedly responded and walked over to Jiang Chengyan.

“You two go around and see if there are any surveillance cameras that can capture this dumpster”

“Yes, Captain.”

“The others go investigate the nearby dumpster, make sure you find the victim’s torso and head.”

“Yes.”

At that moment, forensics and trace examiners arrived one after another and walked over from a distance.
“Su Ke, you need to increase your speed as a police.”

Su Ke put down the things in his hand, put on his gloves, and said, “Cut the nonsense and get out of the way.
”

Jiang Chengyan stood up, came to Qin An’s side, and asked in a low voice, “What’s the matter with him, did he eat gunpowder?”

Qin An shrugged and whispered, “It’s probably those days of the month that come early.”

“No way, isn’t it always on time?”

“I guess he’s been under a lot of stress lately.”

Su Ke looked at the two with amusement and said, “When you bad-mouthing others, you should stay a little farther.
if I hear you again, I will send you all to the dissection table one by one.”

Jiang Chengyan quickly explained, “It’s Qin An, he mentioned it first.
It has nothing to do with me, dissect him if you want.”
Watching Su Ke pull out his scalpel, Qin An could not help but gulped, “work keep work Su Ke.
You are busy, very busy.”

With the recent killing spree, the continuous overtime work has exhausted the police force.
Jiang Chengyan can only use this way to dissipate negative feelings in their hearts.

Su Ke looked up at Jiang Chengyan, “There are only limbs here, what about the torso and head?”

“It’s not found yet.” Jiang Chengyan crouched down beside Su Ke and asked, “Can you predict the time of the death?”

“According to the condition of the body, the time of death should not exceed 48 hours.
But the corpse was dismembered, coupled with such a complex corpse-throwing environment.
It’s difficult to predict the exact time of death, so you should wait for the detailed autopsy report.”

“Captain, we got something over there.” Li Tong panting from running a distance.
Jiang Chengyan’s eyes lit up and asked,

“Have you found the torso and head?”

“Only the torso was found inside the dumpster at the end of the alley.”

Jiang Chengyan looked at Su Ke and said, “Let’s go and have a look.”

“Xiao Zhang, you handle it here.
Xiao Hu, bring the equipment and follow me to inspect there.” Su Ke calls the assistant forensic next to him.

The two men were led by Li Tong, they walked through the alley to the dumpster at the end.
There was a black garbage bag outside the dumpster.
The bag was untied, revealing the body inside.

Hu Qing neatly laid the body bag on the ground and helped Su Ke move the body out of the garbage bag.

“Well? Is it the same corpse?”

“Based on the condition of the body part, it should be the same body.
The limbs and torso have been found, now the only head is missing.”

Jiang Chengyan stood up and said in a raised voice, “Inform everyone to widen the scope of the search area, the victim’s head must be found.”

“Yes!” Li Tong answered and turned to leave.

However, after searching for two hours, almost all the dumpsters in the surrounding five kilometers were turned over, but they could not find the victim’s head.
Jiang Chengyan had to give up the search and took all the officers back to the police station.
Looking at the time, it was already 2:00 a.m.
Jiang Chengyan clapped his hands and said, “All right, let’s call it a day.
Everyone goes back to rest and work on time tomorrow.”

The sparse response was weak because the continuous overtime had exhausted them.
Jiang Chengyan sighed in his heart and said with a smile, “I know the work has been intense lately and everyone is tired.
Well, when this case is over, I will apply to the director for a three-day vacation for each person.
Plus, I invite you all to Fu Manlou and eat whatever you want.”

“Captain, you have to keep your word!”

“That’s it, look at the dark circles under my eyes.
How can I tease my little brother?”

“With three days off, I can travel with my wife.”

Seeing that everyone was regaining their spirits, Jiang Chengyan could not help but breathe a sigh of relief and said, “rest assured.
I keep my word, now all go back to sleep, try to finish this case quickly, and enjoy a leisurely vacation.”

“Let’s go back and take a good shower, I stink to dead after rummaging through the dumpster.”

“Ah, I’m content that I can sleep a few more hours after showering.”

 

As they left, Jiang Chengyan stretched, turned off the office lights, and also followed downstairs.
When he reached the entrance of the police station, he looked at the signboard of the grocery store across the street.
Jiang Chengyan smiled and muttered in a low voice, “Five hundred and fourteen grocery store, 514. I wanted to die2, the name of the store is really auspicious.”

Jiang Chengyan crossed the road.
He went straight to the grocery store, pushed the door, and walked in.

***

Dīng líng líng

The hanging bell on the door is ringing, Ling Hua’an looked up, and the little ghost beside him whispered to his ear, “Laoban, that fool is here again and seems to have brought in something unclean.”

The little ghost is called Wang Lei, a real ghost.
He was an orphan before, he can not afford to pay the cost of hiring Ling Hua’an, so he could only work in the grocery store to pay off his debts until he went to reincarnate.
His job was simple and easy, equivalent to the security guard and a cashier.
It was because Ling Hua’an eyes can’t see the living.
When he is on the night shift, some people would try to deceive him, stealing things, and even not paying.
That’s why Ling Hua’an needs assistance.
Of course, during the day Ling Hua’an hired a clerk.
Wang Lei only work at night.

Ling Hua’an nodded faintly.
Actually, he has already seen the ghostly figure that was covered in blood when Jiang Chengyan walk in through the door.
There were obvious fracture marks at the joints between the limbs and the torso, the neck was severed with no head and he floated close to Jiang Chengyan.

“Laoban, I’ll take instant noodles.” Jiang Chengyan’s loud voice came to his ears.

“Take it yourself.” Ling Hua’an stood in front of the cashier counter without moving, but his eyes followed the ghostly figure.

“Aiya, stinky rascal, he’s not dressed.” Wang Lei complained in Ling Hua’an’s ear.

“He just died, no more than 3 days ago.
His body was dismembered, and his head had not been found.
“Ling Hua’an accurately determined the time of death of the headless ghost.

“So miserable? Wouldn’t that cause a lot of resentment?” There was apparent fear in Wang Lei’s tone.

The more miserable they die, the more resentful they become.
The longer the time lingers, the stronger they can be, and if they are not curbed, they will become malicious spirits.
Malicious spirits prey upon ordinary ghosts to improve their strength.
Thus who reached the entity, their prey will change from ordinary ghosts to human souls, which is very harmful.

It can be said that Jiang Chengyan is young and full of yang energy.
In addition, he works in the police station.
Ordinary ghosts usually can’t get close to him, especially those who have just died.
But now this ghost not only gets close to him but also intends to follow Jiang Chengyan all the time to absorb the yang energy from him.
If it happens in a long time, Jiang Chengyan will not die but will be seriously ill.

“Look at his face.
Is his Yintang turned black?”

“Not only his Yintang, but even his eyes circle is also dark like painted with smoky makeup.”

Ling Hua’an suddenly realized that Jiang Chengyan must have been overworked to such an extent that his body was so weak, and he was taken advantage of by this unjust ghost.

Clueless Jiang Chengyan went to familiar shelves, and casually pick up a random noodles box.
He walked to the cash register, handed it to Ling Hua’an, and asked him to scan the code.

After a “di” sound, a mechanical female voice sounded, “5 yuan.”

Jiang Chengyan took a bill out of his pocket, handed it to Ling Hua’an smiled, and said, “Laoban, it’s ten yuan.”

Wang Lei whispered in Ling Hua’an’s ear, “Laoban, it’s not ten.
It’s fifty.”

Ling Hua’an put the bills on the cash register, raised his hand, and slapped him in the face.

The “pa” sound, in the quiet night, the sound is unusually crisp and loud.
The hit made Jiang Chengyan stunned.

~~~~~

The author has something to say:
The next damnei book《Ah’Piao Survival Story 》is also a story about spiritual beings, love, and support.

Footnotes

the idiom means a couple engaged in an illicit love affair; a cheating couple ↺ pinyin: wǔ yī sì in Mandarin sounds like “我要死” (pinyin: wǒ yào sǐ; lit.
‘I want to die’)