When we arrived, there was already a large crowd. It didn’t feel like we were at a crime scene but some tourist spot. The crowd bustled and the cacophony made sure that we couldn’t hear each other. I noticed most people had their phones out, like they were waiting for the extraction of some valuable relic. When the cruiser arrived, we were immediately surrounded by reporters.
“According to rumors, this body belongs to the young man from the murder video, is that true?” “What is the police’s opinion on this, where is Zhang Bin now?” “The claim that Zhang Bin has used drugs to coerce the man to rape his own younger sister, is that true?”
Gu Chen opened his arms and pushed these people back but the reporters pushed back at him. They were practically sticking to us and they were noisy like flies. The few of us had to push through a lot before we finally reached the cordon line.
On the surface of the ice, about 5 officers were discussing how to haul the body out from the ice. The layer of ice was very thick. When we walked on it, it didn’t shake at all. The ice became thinner as it approached the middle but it was still very firm.
As I walked closer, I noticed there was a round hole in the middle of the river. The hole was too round to be made by nature. In this part of China, winter swimming was a common activity. The swimmers would cut open a round hole on the ice and dive underwater. There would be one such hole every 10 meters so that the swimmers could surface for air. Every winter swimmers knew that the temperature underwater was higher than the surface.
The possibility was that when Du Zigui found Zhang Bin, he was too weakened by drugs to win Zhang Bin. In the duel, neither of them held back. The only way Zhang Bin could survive was to kill Du Zigui. Afraid of discovery, Zhang Bin dropped the body into the frozen river. He thought no one would find the body but he thought wrong.
“Where is the body?” I still didn’t see it. An officer pointed beneath my feet. “It’s right under you…” I immediately jumped back. I looked down and wished that I hadn’t because the shiver immediately crawled all over me.
A white face appeared on the spot where I was standing earlier. The face was large and white. The facial feature was bloated in water. The eyelids were forced open so we could see the dark pupils inside. The man’s hair was long and they were swaying along with the underwater current. There was a strangulation mark on his neck but it was not deep. He was naked. From his bulging stomach and limbs, it was clear that he had been in the water for some time already. If his stomach didn’t get stuck to the ice, his body probably would have been washed further downriver. If that was the case, we might never find the body. It was not impossible for it to flow out of Elm Town.
The body was in an awkward position because it was stuck between 2 ice holes and it was not close to either of them. The police pondered this question of removing the body from the water. It would not be easy. Someone suggested breaking the icy surface but that led to another problem, how big should the crack be? And would the cracking cause all of us to fall into the water?
In his urgency, Gu Chen volunteered, “There’s no need for all that, I can just dive down now.” We turned to the man who was already undressing. “I’ll be back before you know it. It’s not that cold now anyway.” The man shrugged.
The officer prepared a towel for Gu Chen and he dressed down to his briefs. Instantly cheers came from the girls of the crowd. Gu Chen was extremely muscular and clearly an eye candy. As people whooped and cheered, Gu Chen dived into the hole.
Soon we saw a hand appear on the other side of the ice. Gu Chen dragged Du Zigui’s body by his neck and slowly swam back. He pushed Du Zigui’s neck upwards and the latter’s head popped up through the hole. We hurried over to grab Du Zigui by his shoulders and pulled. However, the body was stuck in the hole at the stomach. The stomach was too big. While the body was underwater, the rotting air in the body collected inside the stomach. If we pushed, the rotten air and water inside would be enough to fill up several pints. I was about to warn everyone from pulling too hard just in case the pressure squeezed the body but at that moment, a senior officer from the local station yelled, “Come on, we can do this. Pull!”
And with that, we heard the sound of air being released. A horrible stench was released from the dead body and it clouded the water of the river immediately. After the toxins in the stomach were released, the body slipped out easily. It landed on the ice. The officer said, “How strange is that? I don’t even know a dead body could fart.”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or scold the senior officer. We waited around but we saw no sign of Gu Chen. By then I was seriously worried. I called Gu Chen’s name but there was no reply. The water was still murky and I couldn’t tell where Gu Chen was.
I leaned down on the surface and saw the rot move underneath. It meant that someone was down there, propelling them about. If a person was blasted by the noxious gas, it was understandable for them to get dizzy. Add to the fact that Gu Chen was underwater, it was quite possible that he was drowning…
As that thought crossed my mind, I immediately undressed and jumped through the hole. Instantly the chill enveloped me. It felt like I was swimming in the fridge, I couldn’t move my limbs freely. I kept his eyes narrowed but the water pressure was strong. I saw Gu Chen sinking towards the riverbed so I swam towards him. I grabbed him by his arm and then kicked to the surface as fast as I could.
I could feel my lungs burning and my limbs freezing. My head was spinning and my instinct was to head towards the light. Finally, I touched the icy surface. A hand grabbed me and then more reached to pull me up. My other hand was tight around Gu Chen. When I was hauled through the water, it felt like my skeleton had been shattered. A towel was draped over me. Gu Chen was hauled out of the water right after. Gu Chen lay on the ice with his eyes closed. Seeing him like that, I was worried but the only doctor around was Guan Zhenglin.
Guan Zhenglin laid Gu Chen flat on the ice and then started heart compression. Gu Chen showed no sign of resuscitation. Guan Zhenglin then gave him mouth to mouth. But there was still nothing. I prayed to every God that I knew to save Gu Chen. The few minutes felt like a century. Finally, I heard a cough.
Guan Zhenglin immediately tilted Gu Chen’s head to the side. Gu Chen coughed out some water and vomited. I quickly rushed over to give Gu Chen the towel and then put my clothes back on. I joked, “You sure you didn’t do that just to get some kisses?”
Wrapped in the towel, Gu Chen said, “I was helping to push the body up when he shat on me. I wasn’t prepared for that so I sucked some of the refuse in. Then I lost consciousness.”
The people around were trying to hold in their breath. Thankfully this was just a fake scare. I couldn’t imagine how I would feel if Gu Chen really passed away like that. Gu Chen wiped away the water from his body and said, “By the way, when I was underwater, I noticed something strange.” “What is it?”
He answered, “There are grooves that look like they were dug out by nails. The body was hooked by these grooves and thus didn’t float away.”
Grooves? I frowned, previously, I thought it was because the body’s stomach was too big that it got stuck, I didn’t expect something like this. If Gu Chen didn’t dive underwater to salvage the body, we wouldn’t have noticed these details. Then, the purpose of this body dump was not to hide the body but instead to make sure we would find it. But who would do that?
I frowned. “Who was the first to find the body?”
The officer pointed at an old man not far away, “it was that gentleman, he is part of the winter swimmers. He was spooked when he saw the human face underwater and immediately called us.”
I nodded. “Bring him over here, I have something to ask him.”
Guan Zhenglin added, “There are too many people to conduct the autopsy here. I’ll check on the body back in the morgue.”
The old man walked over. He looked around 60 but he was incredibly spirited and healthy. He was possibly more physically fit than many young people. I asked, “Sir, was it you who found the body?”
He nodded.
I asked, “How did you find it?’
The man answered, “I’m part of the winter swimming team. We came here to drill the swimming holes 4 days ago. Before the real event, we would have a final check on the river for safety reasons. That was why I came here and that was how I found the body…”
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